Imperial Records is an American record company and

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Early years to 1979

When Imperial was founded in 1947, it concentrated on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

(R&B) and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

: Fats Domino, Frankie Ford, Ricky Nelson, and Slim Whitman. In the UK, Imperial was distributed by London Records. During the 1950s and 1960s, Imperial released jazz albums by Sonny Criss, Charlie Mariano, Papa Celestin, Erskine Hawkins, and

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/ Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Cliff ...

. Imperial bought

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

in 1960 and Minit Records in 1963, having distributed Minit since 1960. During the 1950s, Imperial was one of the primary labels issuing a vast quantity of R&B from New Orleans through their involvement with producer and writer

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

and in the 1960s with their distribution (and purchase, a few years later) of Minit. In 1963, after Imperial lost Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson to rival record companies, Chudd sold the label to

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals ...

. Under Liberty's management, the label enjoyed success with Irma Thomas, Johnny Rivers, Jackie DeShannon, Classics IV, and

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

. During the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

, Liberty (whose recordings were distributed by EMI in the UK) licensed

the Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the ban ...

, Billy J. Kramer, the Dakotas, and the Swinging Blue Jeans from EMI. Recordings by the Bonzo Dog Band and Kim Fowley were issued in the U.S. by Imperial. By 1970, the label had become part of Liberty's merger with

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

but was phased out shortly after, with its roster transferred to United Artists. EMI acquired the Imperial Records catalogue with its acquisition of UA Records in 1979.

1990s to present

Throughout the 1990s, EMI released CD compilations of Imperial artists that featured the original Imperial labels. In June 2006, EMI re-activated the Imperial Records imprint and announced that it would be the urban music division of Caroline Distribution, part of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

, spearheaded by the urban music veteran Neil Levine. The first signing to the imprint was Raptivism Records. Fat Joe signed with Virgin Records and Imperial Records. Imperial provided resources for developing urban artists with EMI's major labels, including Capitol Records and Virgin Records, which were merged into the Capitol Music Group in January 2007. Universal Music Group acquired the Capitol Music Group as part of its acquisition of the majority of EMI's recorded music operations in 2012. After a few releases, Imperial became dormant again. In September 2021, Imperial Music got re-made by Republic Records in partnership with Ingrooves.

Label variations

*Early 1950s to 1954: Blue label with "IMPERIAL" in script letters at the top; 78-RPM counterparts have red labels) *1954–1955: Red label with "IMPERIAL" in script (also silver block) letters at the top *1955–1957: Maroon label with "IMPERIAL" in silver block letters at the top *1957–1963: Black label with colored rays and "IMPERIAL" in white block letters at the top; stereo album counterparts have black labels with silver lettering *1964–1966: Black, white and magenta label with I-R logo in a black box on the left side, "IMPERIAL" under the logo, and "A SUBSIDIARY OF LIBERTY RECORDS" at the bottom *1966–1969: Black and lime green label with I-R logo in a red box on the left side, "IMPERIAL" under the logo, "A PRODUCT OF LIBERTY RECORDS" under "IMPERIAL" and "A DIVISION OF LIBERTY RECORDS" *1970: Black and lime green label with I-R logo in a red box on the left side, "IMPERIAL" (in slightly larger letters than the previous label) under the logo, and "LIBERTY/UA, INC"

Imperial Records artists (1947–1970)

* Doris Akers (1953) (IM-694) *

Jeff Alexander Jeff Alexander (born Myer Goodhue Alexander; July 2, 1910 – December 23, 1989) was an American conductor, arranger, and composer of film, radio and television scores. Early years Born in Seattle, Washington, Alexander began performing in h ...

*Zane Ashton (Bill Aken) * Ross Bagdasarian Sr. *

*Lee Bedford, Jr. *

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

*Joe Bill (DeAngelo) * The Bonzo Dog Band *

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. ...

Katie Van Syckle, James Booker, the 'Black Liberace,' Celebrated in New Doc
Rolling Stone, Retrieved 29 October 2021 * Billy Briggs *

Mel Carter Mel Carter (born April 22, 1939, Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer and actor. He is best known for his 1965 million-selling recording, " Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me". Biography At age 16 Carter studied singing with vocalist Little Ji ...

* Papa Celestin * Paul Chambers *

* Petula Clark * Classics IV * Clay Cole *

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

* Kenneth Copeland *

Sugar Boy Crawford Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or doub ...

* Sonny Criss * Sonny Curtis * Wild Bill Davis * Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich * Jackie DeShannon * Fats Domino *

Dukes of Dixieland The Dukes of Dixieland was an American, New Orleans "Dixieland"-style revival band, originally formed in 1948 by brothers Frank Assunto, trumpet; Fred Assunto, trombone; and their father Papa Jac Assunto, trombone and banjo. Their first records ...

* Georgie Fame *

The Fantastic Baggys The Fantastic Baggys were an American surf and hot rod group, created by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. The studio group released several unsuccessful singles. They released one album internationally, ''Tell 'Em I'm Surfin' '' (1964) on Imperial Re ...

* Freddy Fender * The Fender IV * Ralph Flanagan * Frankie Ford * Pete Fountain * Kim Fowley * Ernie Freeman *

George Girard George Girard (October 7, 1930 – January 18, 1957) was a New Orleans jazz trumpeter. He was known for his great technical ability, playing in a style that combined traditional New Orleans Dixieland jazz with the big-band-style trumpet, and ...

* Bob Harrington * Peppermint Harris *Ray Harrison Orchestra * Duke Henderson * Adolph Hofner *

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the ban ...

*The Irresistibles *Betty Kay * Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas * Smiley Lewis * George Liberace * Bob Luman *Harley Luse and His Orchestra *The Majors * Wingy Manone * Warne Marsh *Reginald G. Marshall * Punch Miller *The Misfits * Garnet Mimms *Bill Mooney and his Cactus Twisters *Carl Myles * Ozzie Nelson * Ricky Nelson * Sandy Nelson *

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor h ...

* Don Ralke * Bo Rhambo * Johnny Rivers *

Weldon Rogers Weldon Nelson Rogers (30 October 1927 Marietta, Oklahoma – 13 September 2004, Perryton, Texas) was an American songwriter, singer of country and rockabilly, radio disc jockey, and record producer. He co-founded Je–Wel Records with Jean Oliv ...

* Leonard Rosenman * Santo & Johnny *

Sheriff John Sheriff John was an American children's television host who appeared on KTTV in Los Angeles from July 18, 1952, to July 10, 1970, on two separate series, ''Sheriff John's Lunch Brigade'' and ''Sheriff John's Cartoon Time''. He was played by John ...

*Dorothy Simmons (1953) (IM-693) * Huey "Piano" Smith *Johnny Spencer & The Kona Koasters (1959) (LP-9076) * The Spiders * April Stevens * The Sunshine Company * The Swinging Blue Jeans * The Teddy Bears * Irma Thomas *Al Toft and His Orchestra * T-Bone Walker * Slim Whitman * Tim Whitsett *

Lester Williams Lester Williams (January 19, 1959 – August 16, 2017) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), mainly for the New England Patriots, including the team's first Super Bowl appearance. He finished his career ...

Lew Williams Lewis Wayne Williams (January 12, 1934 – September 1, 2019, born Chillicothe, Texas) was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter, known as the "Cab Calloway of rockabilly". Williams began singing at age four, and moved with his family t ...

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include " Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and "Roland the Headless Tho ...

Later artists

* Fat Joe * MC Jin *

Rasheeda Rasheeda Buckner-Frost (often stylized RaSheeda) is an American rapper, television personality, and businesswoman. Music career Music beginnings Rasheeda started her music career as a member of the female hip hop trio Da Kaperz, which made a n ...

Julian Park Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

References

{{Authority control American record labels Jazz record labels Rhythm and blues record labels Rock and roll record labels Hip hop record labels Record labels based in California Companies based in Los Angeles Universal Music Group EMI Record labels established in 1947 Record labels disestablished in 1970 Record labels established in 2006 1947 establishments in California 1970 disestablishments in California 2006 establishments in California Re-established companies