Tetragrammaton Records 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 1968 by music industry executives Roy Silver, Bruce Post Campbell, Marvin Deane, and comedian

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

. Silver, at the time, was also Cosby's manager. The term "Tetragrammaton" refers to the Hebrew

name of God There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to refer to different deities, or speci ...

considered by some to be unspeakable (YHWH, or "Yahweh", translated as "Jehovah" in English). Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed August 2010 The label's most successful act was rock band

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

History

Tetragrammaton was also responsible for releasing the controversial 1968

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...

album, '' Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins'' in the United States. This avant-garde album was recorded by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

and featured nude photos of the pair on the front and back cover. Tetragrammaton stepped in as distributor after

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, the usual US distributor for Apple and the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

, refused the album, citing a possible negative response from retailers. The Lennon/Ono album was also declared to be pornography by some authorities. Tetragrammaton went into financial difficulties, which may have been related to the distribution of the Lennon/Ono album. Approximately 30,000 copies of the record were seized by police at a warehouse in New Jersey. The records were held as evidence in a court case, which made it impossible for the label to sell them at the time. Bill Cosby's 1969 stand-up comedy album, '' 8:15 12:15'', was also released by the label, as were two albums by comedian

Murray Roman Murray Roman (March 8, 1929 – November 6, 1973) was an American stand-up comedian, whose career was cut short by a car crash. Many consider his style, and material, to be similar to Lenny Bruce. Roman was also a writer on The Smothers Brothers C ...

, ''You Can't Beat People Up & Have Them Say I Love You'' and ''A Blind Man's Movie''. A number of the label's projects were left unissued. Among these were a second album by singer songwriter Elyse Weinberg, and an album by

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

musician Captain Milk (real name, Edwin Hubbard) who described himself as a "flute picker". Tetragrammaton did however release a single of the Lennon/McCartney song "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release o ...

" from the Captain Milk recording sessions. An English rock band named

Bodast Bodast (also known as Canto) were a late 1960s rock group from London, England. Its most notable member was Steve Howe, later to join the progressive rock band Yes. Members were Clive Skinner on guitar and vocals, Dave Curtiss on bass and Bobb ...

also recorded an unreleased album for Tetragrammaton in 1968. The group featured guitarist

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...

, later a member of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

. The Bodast recordings were first released in 1981 by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

. Despite having several popular artists on its roster, Tetragrammaton ceased trading after declaring

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1970. In 1972, Deep Purple's new label,

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

(also Cosby's former label), reissued various tracks from the group's first three Tetragrammaton albums on one compilation album entitled '' Purple Passages''. In Canada, some of Tetragrammaton's releases were manufactured and distributed by the Canadian division of

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, which also issued several Canada-only Deep Purple compilations after Tetragrammaton's demise. Tetragrammaton's co-founder, Marvin Deane, died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on August 16, 2010, in Los Angeles, California, at age 79.

Discography

* T-101You Can't Beat People Up and Have Them Say I Love YouMurray Roman

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (the ...

* T-102''

Shades of Deep Purple ''Shades of Deep Purple'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released in July 1968 on Tetragrammaton in the United States and in September 1968 on Parlophone in the United Kingdom. The band, initially called Roundab ...

''Deep Purple /68 * T-103The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's SideBiff Rose

* T-104IvoryIvory

* T-105Let Me Show You the WayBobby Paris

* T-106Together Again for the First TimeCarol Burnett & Martha Raye

* T-107''

The Book of Taliesyn ''The Book of Taliesyn'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, recorded only three months after ''Shades of Deep Purple'' and released by Tetragrammaton Records in October 1968, just before their first US tour. The n ...

''Deep Purple 1/68 * T-110Both Sides NowJohnstons

* T-111Relight My FireRhetta Hughes

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

* T-112Sweet ThursdaySweet Thursday

* T-113Tom GhentTom Ghent

* T-114SummerhillSummerhill

* T-116Children of LightBiff Rose

* T-117Elyse

Elyse Weinberg Elyse J. Weinberg (October 25, 1945 – February 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American singer-songwriter. In later life she used the name Cori Bishop. Biography Weinberg was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. She and her family moved to Montreal w ...

/1/69 * T-118DeparturePat Boone

* T-119''

''Deep Purple /69 * T-120Blind Man's MovieMurray Roman

* T-123The Mother of Us AllSteve Baron Quartet

* T-124Hello Love ka Gene and Francescaene & Francesca

* T-125Joshua FoxJoshua Fox

* T-12?Greasepaint SmileElyse Weinberg nissued * T-131''

Concerto for Group and Orchestra ''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' is a live album by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in September 1969. It consists of a concerto composed by Jon Lord, ...

''Deep Purple

* T-5000The Girl on a Motorcycle (Soundtrack)Douglas Gamley & British Lion Orchestra

* Apple/Tetragrammaton T-5001Unfinished Music No. 1: Two VirginsJohn Lennon & Yoko Ono 1/1969 * T-5002QuatrainQuatrain

* T-5003Mark Slade's New HatMark Slade

* T-5006 ''Che!'' (soundtrack)

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

* T-5007The Chairman (Soundtrack)Jerry Goldsmith

* TD-5100'' 8:15 12:15''Bill Cosby

* TD-5101Once Upon a TimeKingston Trio

* TDL 5200

The Great White Hope ''The Great White Hope'' is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1968, ...

(Original Cast)Charles Gross & Cast

References

External links

Discography from BSN Pubs
{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1968 Record labels disestablished in 1969 Rock record labels Pop record labels Comedy record labels Bill Cosby

History

Discography

See also

References

External links