JMI Records (Jack Music International) was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded in 1971 by

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

, and was primarily active until 1974, when the catalog was sold to ABC-

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

. It was notable for having been the record label that first signed several

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, ...

singers and songwriters that would come to dominate the American country music charts of the 1970s, including singer

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

, and songwriters Bob McDill and

Allen Reynolds Allen Reynolds (born August 18, 1938) is an American record producer and songwriter who specializes in country music. He has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Biography Ear ...

History

Background (1964-1971)

was an American singer, songwriter and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

active between 1954-2013. Clement rose to prominence in the country music scene in the 1950s and 1970s collaborating with such stars as Johnny Cash,

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Rec ...

, Bobby Bare,

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

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and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

. His success allowed him to build his own state of the art recording studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

in the mid-1960s, and eventually he was able to fulfill his ambition of having his own recording label, J-M-I Records, in 1971.

Active Years (1971-1974)

At the record labels' inception, the goal was to create an atmosphere centered around the inventive talents of a variety of highly skilled Nashville studio musicians and songwriters. In the distribution announcement for the new company, it was noted that the releases would not be marketed under any specific

categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * ...

. This meant that artists would be free to record whatever styles they wanted, regardless of how the recordings would fit into the existing commercial formats of the early 1970s country music scene. The first two

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s released on the record label were "Short Stories" by Bob McDill and "Finally Getting Home" by Susan Taylor (formerly of the Pozo Seco Singers) in 1972.

was brought on as vice-president from the outset, and he can be credited with bringing on Don Williams to J-M-I records in 1972. The labels initial offerings were considered more modern fare by the

commercial press The Commercial Press () is the first modern publishing organisation in China. History In 1897, 26-year-old Xia Ruifang and three of his friends (including the Bao brothers Bao Xian'en and Bao Xianchang) founded The Commercial Press in Shang ...

, and Williams' first single, released in the summer of 1972, became the first official "

" release by the label. Williams released his first two albums with J-M-I, but moved to ABC-Dot Records when that company purchased J-M-I's catalog. Big Ken Smith of Tennessee Pulleybone spoke of the demise of J-M-I Records in a 2002 interview:

'"Our single, “The Door's Always Open,” did well. It was #1 in all the major markets, but never at the same time because JMI didn’t have the distribution. Our 3rd single got some airplay, but it didn’t get the airplay that “The Door's Always Open” did. Right after that, JMI folded because without distribution, it’s tough. Allen Reynolds, who was at JMI at the time, was going to go do a distribution deal with one of the big labels, but it never panned out."

Contributions

Partial List of Artists that have recorded and worked with J-M-I Records: * Bob McDill * Susan Taylor *

* Tennessee Pulleybone *

Discography

Partial list of recordings known to have been released on J-M-I Records, including artist, release name and year.

References

External links

{{Authority control American companies established in 1971 Record labels established in 1971 Record labels based in Nashville, Tennessee American country music record labels American record labels Defunct record labels of the United States