Time-Life Music
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and
direct marketer Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. By ...
conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. The current focus of the group is music, video, and entertainment experiences (such as the StarVista cruises) as the Time Life book division closed in 2001. Its products have been sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales. Current operations are focused in the US and Canada with limited retail distribution overseas.


Overview

Time Life was founded in 1961 as the book marketing division of Time, Incorporated. It took its name from Time Inc.'s cornerstone magazines, '' Time'' and '' Life'', two of the most popular magazines of the era, but remained independent from both. Starting in 1967, Time Life combined its book offerings with music collections (two to five records) and packaged them as a sturdy box set. After Walter Wanger's death in 1968, its Time Life Films subsidiary also acquired his production company Walter Wanger Productions and many of its films. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the selection of books, music and videos grew and diversified into more genres. When record labels were no longer producing vinyl albums in 1990, Time Life transitioned to CD. In the mid-1990s, Time Life acquired
Heartland Music Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...
, with the Heartland Music label now appearing as a brand. This company was subsequently sold off and is no longer associated with Time Life. At the end of 2003 Time Life was acquired by Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. and
ZelnickMedia Harry Strauss Zelnick (born June 26, 1957) is an American businessman. Born in Boston and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, he attended Columbia High School, Wesleyan University, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School. He is the f ...
to become part of Direct Holdings Worldwide L.L.C. Direct Holdings Americas Inc. operates as a leader in the sale of music and video products under the Time Life brand. Since 2003, Direct Holdings US Corp is the legal name of Time Life, is no longer owned by its former parent Time Warner, later Time Inc. on June 9, 2014. In March 2007 Ripplewood led a group that took The Reader's Digest Association private and treated Time Life as a division of RDA. By 2003 onward, a disclaimer on the copyright stated that it is "not affiliated with Time Warner Inc. or Time Inc.," which owns the ''Time'' and ''Life'' magazines, which this company name came from. In addition to the company's film and music core activities, it was also the holding company of television and radio combo stations. Stations the company owned were KLZ-TV- AM- FM in Denver,
WFBM-TV WRTV (channel 6) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Meridian Street north of downtown Indianapolis, and its transmit ...
- AM- FM in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, WOOD-TV- AM in Grand Rapids, Michigan, KERO-TV in
Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
, and KOGO-TV- AM- FM in San Diego, many of which were sold to McGraw-Hill in 1972; however, Time Life kept WOOD-TV, which became WOTV after the sale of the other stations, and remained owned by the company until 1984. Time Life was based in the Time Life building in Rockefeller Center. In 2013 Reader's Digest Association sold Time Life to Mosaic Media Investment Partners.


Book series

As Time Life Books, the company gained fame as a seller of book series that would be mailed to households in monthly installments, operating as book sales clubs, and known as the
direct-to-consumer Direct-to-consumer (DTC) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or any other middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually tr ...
business model. The original publisher, Jerome Hardy, declared early on that the publisher would succeed through a strategy to "give the customer more than he has any right to expect."; Several of these book series garnered substantial critical acclaim unusual for a mass-market mail order house. For example, the series ''
Library of Photography A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
'' of the early-1970s featured very high-quality duotone printing for its black-and-white reproductions in its original edition, and was of course able to draw on ''Life''s vast archive of journalistic and art photographs from virtually every major photographer; '' Foods Of The World'' featured contributions by
M. F. K. Fisher Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (July 3, 1908 – June 22, 1992) was an American food writer. She was a founder of the Napa Valley Wine Library. Over her lifetime she wrote 27 books, including a translation of ''The Physiology of Taste'' by Brillat-S ...
, James Beard,
Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...
, Craig Claiborne, and many others; and ''The Good Cook'' series, edited by Richard Olney, featured contributions from Jeremiah Tower, fe Grigson,
Michel Lemonnier Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), S ...
, and many others. Another series of high regard covered nature and the sciences, as well as the history of world civilizations. The science books are interesting as ephemera of their time. The content of these series was more or less encyclopedic, providing the basics of the subjects in the way it might be done in a lecture aimed at the general public. There was also a series on contemporary life in various countries of the world. Some other series are much less highly regarded, especially the later output as the publisher moved away from soberly presented science and history toward sensationalism, pop history, and DIY-themed books. The books, whatever their quality, are easy to find at low prices on the used-book market, due to their being published in millions of copies. (Some of the items in this list may also be single books not in a series, but followed the same types of themes as the book series.) Yet, in some series it is known that a particular title in the series enjoyed a much smaller print run than the other volumes in the series, resulting in the after-market value of that particular volume and/or the set as a whole increasing. Examples include fourteen-volume "40th Anniversary Edition" ''The Civil War: A Narrative'' and the 18-volume ''Voices of the Civil War'' series, where the volumes "Petersburg Siege to Bentonville" and "Shenandoah 1864" are the rarer ones respectively. Non-USA-specific topic series were habitually translated into other languages (French being the most predominant, due to Time Life's desire to have to bordering French-Canada served as well), and disseminated through local branches of Time-Life Books in the intended target markets. For some, usually smaller language areas, Time Life resorted sometimes to licensing out their publications to local publishers, as was for example the case with ''
The Old West ''The Old West'' is a series of books about the history of the American Old West era, published by Time-Life Books from 1973 through 1980. Each book focused on a different topic specific for the era, such as cowboys, American Indians, gamblers ...
'' and ''
The Enchanted World ''The Enchanted World'' was a series of twenty-one books () published in the time period 1984-1987. Each book focused on different aspects of mythology, fairy tales or folklore, and all were released by Time Life Books. Their overall editor was E ...
'' series. However, not rarely were these translated versions truncated for various reasons. The Dutch language versions—disseminated through Time-Life Books nternationalBV, Amsterdam, the local branch for mainland Europe at the time located at Ottho Heldringstraat 5, 1066 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands—of ''History of the World'' (as "Time Life Wereld Geschiedenis"), ''The Epic of Flight'' (as "De Geschiedenis van de Luchtvaart") and ''The Enchanted World'' (as "Het Rijk der Fabelen"), for example, were shy of four, seven, and eight volumes respectively in translation, whereas the German-language version of ''The Old West'' (as "Der Wilde Westen," and, even though American specific, translated nonetheless due to the continued and unabated popularity of the Western genre in Germany), disseminated through the Amsterdam branch as Time-Life Bücher, was shy of seven volumes. Of at least one book series is known that it was initiated by a local branch and not by the American mother company; the 1986–89 book series ''Australians at War'' was initiated by Time-Life Books Australia for that country, and therefore relatively rare on American soil. Time Life no longer publishes books, as its book division, Time Life Books (including its foreign subsidiaries), was closed in January 2001. Time Inc./Time Warner, however, continues to publish similar material through Time Home Entertainment Inc., but as (oftentimes retail) single volume titles, instead of (direct marketed) book series.


Proprietary published book series

:''note: most of the information on the book series can be ascertained through M. Legg's and M.L. Martin's websites, listed
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
'' * ''American Country'' * ''The American Indians'' (1992–96, 23 volumes) * ''The American Story'' (1996, 6 volumes) * ''The American Wilderness'' (1972–77, 27 volumes)From a list of "Other Publications" on the copyright page of "The Commandos," the final volume of the Time-Life Books Series "World War II" * ''Ancient Civilizations'' * ''The Art of Sewing'' * ''Australians at War'' (1986–89, 16 volumes) * ''Canada'' * '' The Civil War'' (1983–87, 28 volumes, not the same as their 14-volume 1999-2000 ''The Civil War: A Narrative'' 40th anniversary edition) * ''Classics of the Old West'' (1980-84, 31 volumes) * ''Classics of World War II'' (The Secret War) (24 volumes) * ''Collector's Library of the Civil War'' (1981–85, 30 volumes) * ''Collector's Library of the Unknown'' (24 volumes) * ''Curious and Unusual Facts'' * ''The Emergence of Man'' * ''
The Enchanted World ''The Enchanted World'' was a series of twenty-one books () published in the time period 1984-1987. Each book focused on different aspects of mythology, fairy tales or folklore, and all were released by Time Life Books. Their overall editor was E ...
'' (1984-87, 21 volumes) * ''Echoes of Glory'' (1991, 3 volumes) * ''The Encyclopedia of Collectibles'' * ''The Epic of Flight'' (1980-83, 23 volumes) * ''Eyewitness'' * ''Family Library'' * ''Fitness, Health, and Nutrition'' * ''Fix It Yourself'' * ''Foods of the World'' * ''Fresh Ways'' * ''
The Good Cook ''The Good Cook'' was a series of instructional cookbooks published by Time-Life Books 1978-1980 and sold on a month-to-month basis until the early 1990s and edited by cookbook author Richard Olney. Each volume was dedicated to a specific subject ...
'' * ''Great Ages of Man'' * ''The Great Cities'' * ''History of the World'' (1991, 24 volumes) * ''Home Repair and Improvement'' * ''How Things Work'' * ''Human Behavior'' * ''I Love Math!'' * ''The Kodak Library of Creative Photography'' * ''Library of Health'' * ''Library of Nations * ''The LIFE History of the United States'' * ''LIFE Library of Photography'' * '' LIFE Nature Library'', (25 volumes) * '' LIFE Science Library'', (26 volumes) * ''LIFE World Library'' * ''Little People, Big Books'' * ''Lost Civilizations'' * '' Mysteries of the Unknown'' (1987-91, 33 volumes) * ''Myth and Mankind'' (1997-99, 20 volumes) * ''The Nature Company Discoveries'' * ''The New Face of War'' (1990-92, 9 volumes) * ''
The Old West ''The Old West'' is a series of books about the history of the American Old West era, published by Time-Life Books from 1973 through 1980. Each book focused on a different topic specific for the era, such as cowboys, American Indians, gamblers ...
'' (1973-80, 27 volumes) * ''Planet Earth'' * ''The Seafarers'' (1978–81, 22 volumes) * '' The Third Reich'' (1988-91, 21 volumes) * ''This Fabulous Century'' * ''Time Frame'' * ''Time-Life Early Learning'' * ''Time–Life Library of America'' * ''Time-Life Library of Art'' * ''The Time–Life Library of Boating'' * ''The Time–Life Library of Gardening'' * ''Time Life Library of Curious and Unusual Facts'' * ''Time Life Student Library'' * '' Time Reading Program'' * ''Three Hundred Years of American Painting'' * ''Understanding Computers'' * ''Voices of the Civil War'' (1996–98, 18 volumes) * ''Voices of Triumph'' (3 volumes) * ''Voyage Through the Universe'' (1988-90, 20 volumes) * ''
Wild, Wild World of Animals ''Wild, Wild World of Animals'' is a syndicated American television show that features wildlife and nature documentaries. It was originally produced from 1973 until 1978, and was narrated by William Conrad. The soundtrack was composed by Gerhard ...
'' * ''What Life Was Like'' * ''The World's Wild Places'' * ''Wings of War'' (26 volumes) * '' World War II'' (39 volumes) * ''100 Years of Hollywood''


Licensed published book series

While the vast majority of published book series were initiated and produced by Time Life itself, the company also (re)issued on occasion series in similar vein as licensee under its own imprint that were originally produced and/or released by publishers elsewhere, typically for release on the US home market, though series with a British Commonwealth pedigree were released through Time-Life Books International Amsterdam, as mentioned in the colophons of the individual books. Aside from the translations, the English-language versions of the Commonwealth-derived series were published by a variety of publishers for the different English-speaking territories with Time Life as the USA designated one. These Time Life versions are far less common in the used-book markets than Time Life's own proprietary releases. * ulturalAtlas of..., An Equinox Book (1991-1996, 19 volumes); series licensed from Andromeda Oxford Ltd, Oxfordshire, England – British series, conceived in the second half of the 1980s, dealing with the history and culture of territories and civilizations, predominantly related in maps. *
A Child's First Library of Learning A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
; series of educational books based on a Japanese series by
Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces other ...
* The Civil War: A Narrative – 40th Anniversary Edition by Shelby Foote (1999-2000, 14 volumes); originally a US 1958-1974 three-volume release from Random House * The Illustrated Library of the Earth (1993-1996, 6 volumes, also translated and released in Dutch by Time Life); licensed from Weldon Owen Pty Ltd, Australia – essentially a deluxe and updated, or addendum version of the ''Planet Earth Series'' * Understanding Science and Nature; based on a Japanese series of books by Gakken


Music

Time Life added music in 1967, selling
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
s and collections through Time–Life Records. During the 1960s and 1970s, the collections released by Time–Life Records catered to an adult audience, with genres including classical, jazz,
swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...
and orchestral music; and the music of operas and Broadway theatre. On occasion, Time Life offered popular music (generally pre-1955 music, as opposed to
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
and rock music airing on
contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
stations in the United States at the time) in box-sets. Although there were television advertisements, Time Life advertised most of these sets in magazines, specialty catalogs and direct mail. In the early 1980s, Time Life began branching out, offering a series of albums focusing on country music. The first series was 1981's "Country Music," with volumes focusing on a particular artist and featuring eight or nine tracks per album. Twenty volumes were issued, with many of country's greatest artists of the time ( Charley Pride was the first artist featured) getting their own album. But until the mid-1980s, Time–Life did not feature a rock music-intensive series for customers, preferring to cater to older adults with conservative music tastes.


Pop music enters the picture

Time Life's first successful foray into rock music came in 1986, with a series called "The Rock 'n' Roll Era." Each volume in that series—like similar series that followed—focused on a particular year (in this case, 1955 through 1964—the early, pre-Beatles years of rock music), a stylistic trend or particular artist influential in rock music. Each volume had 22 tracks, and was said to contain the original hit recording by the original artist (although this wasn't always true on early pressings of the early albums in the series). The songs themselves represented the most important and popular songs from the period or subject featured. An essay published by ''Both Sides Now Publications'' noted that Time-Life's move into rock music came at a time when much of the adult audience Time-Life catered to grew up during the rock-and-roll era and, as such, the new series was consistent with its goal of catering to an adult audience. " The Rock 'n' Roll Era" series was a big success, and by the time the final volume was issued in the early 1990s, more than 50 different volumes (including two Christmas albums) had been released. This paved the way for more country and pop music-intensive series, including " Country USA," " Classic Rock," " Sounds of the Seventies," "Sounds of the Eighties," " Your Hit Parade" (a series featuring popular music of the 1940s through early 1960s) and " Super Hits." Like the earlier series, each volume issued had its own paperback booklet containing liner notes and information about the songs, with the addition of placement on various ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine charts. Like the earlier box-sets featuring other musical styles and genres, the country and pop music series were advertised in magazines, catalogs and direct mail. By this time, some of these collections were advertised on television: either commercials or 30-minute
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s. The television advertisements used slogans (e.g., "Relive your high school days ..."), clips of songs included in each volume (along with a scrolling list of other titles), a commercial spokesman (usually a performer or legendary disc jockey relevant to a given series, such as Rick Dees for a 1970s-intensive collection and Ralph Emery for a country music series) and testimonials from customers attesting to the quality and value of the albums, to pitch a given series. Key selling points of these collections are that each track was digitally transferred to the desired format using the original master recordings, as opposed to being "re-records"; and that the most popular and requested songs by customers could be found in a single collection (as opposed to a customer having to purchase many albums to obtain just a few desired tracks). Customers were given a choice of which format they wanted their box set: either vinyl albums (through 1990), 8-track or
cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...
, or compact disc; today's box sets are offered only as compact discs. While most of Time Life's box-sets and releases were critically hailed, there were also some minor faults pointed out by critics. For instance, several early pressings of the early volumes in "The Rock'n'Roll Era" series contained stereo re-recordings of the original hits (something that would be corrected on later pressings, either with the correct original recording or a replacement track). Sometimes, the most popular songs of a given time period were omitted, frequently due to licensing issues. Examples included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the '' Classic Rock'' and "Super Hits"/"AM Gold" series;,
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
and Shania Twain on various country music series;, and Prince,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, Whitney Houston,
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
,
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
,
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
and Michael Jackson on the main ''Sounds of the Eighties'' series. Through 2010, several different series Time Life had offered were available on a subscription basis, either by calling a
1-800 number A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing pref ...
or sending a completed postcard-sized card and payment to Time–Life. Purportedly, the customer would get a specific volume (as advertised on TV or in a magazine) first, before receiving a new volume roughly every other month (on the format of their choice); customers and had the option of keeping just the volumes they wanted. In time, each volume was also offered for individual sale. Several of the series – especially the pop, rock, country and rhythm and blues series – had retail versions for sale, released after the entire series was issued. Typically, these were sold at discount stores, often grouped in three-CD sets of 12 tracks each and having the most popular of the series' tracks, and cover artwork and naming loosely based on the subscription/catalog-exclusive titles. Additionally, the "Classic Country" series had special 15-track single-CD versions of several of its volumes issued for retail sale (in addition to budget 3-CD sets).


Saguaro Road Records

In 2008, Time Life launched Saguaro Roads Records as an in-house music recording label. Under this label, albums have been released with Adam Hood,
Blind Boys of Alabama Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind ...
, Bo Bice,
Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
and Ray J, Collin Raye, Dion, Edwin McCain,
Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...
(estate), Jim Brickman, Joan Osborne,
Lonestar Lonestar (formerly known as Texassee) is an American country music group from Nashville, Tennessee. The group consists of Drew Womack (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Michael Britt (lead guitar, background vocals), Dean Sams (keyboards, acousti ...
, Marc Cohn, Mark Chesnutt, Patty Loveless, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Tanya Tucker,
The Grascals The Grascals are a six-piece American bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in February 2004, the band has gained a level of fame by playing on the Grand Ole Opry and bluegrass festivals around the country, as well as with Dolly Part ...
, Angie Stone, Waylon Jennings and Don McLean. Since its launch Saguaro Roads Records has had seven Grammy nominations. Notable releases include Patty Loveless's ''Mountain Soul II'' which one a Grammy for best Bluegrass Album in 2010, ''Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings ''which was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Historical Album category in 2010, Joan Osborne's ''Bring it on Home ''which was nominated for Best Soul album in 2012, ''The Beatles' "First Recordings: 50th Anniversary Edition" ''which was nominated for Best Album Notes in 2012, and The Blind Boys of Alabama's ''Down in New Orleans ''which won a grammy for Best Traditional Gospel Album.


List of series

The following list shows many of the collections the company has released, but is by no means exhaustive. * '60's, The * '60's Country * '60's Music Revolution * '60's Gold (discontinued) * '70's Collection, The (discontinued) * '70's Country * '70's Music Explosion (discontinued) * '80's Collection, The (discontinued) * '80's Music Explosion (discontinued) * '90's Collection, The (discontinued) * 100 Christmas Songs for Kids * 100 Classics for Kids * 100 Classics for Relaxation * 100 Kids Songs * 100 Masterpieces * 100 Piano Masterpieces * 101 Sing a Longs for Kids * American Gold #1 Hits * AM Gold (2021) * AM Gold (discontinued; was first issued as "Super Hits") * Beethoven Collection, The * Best of Soft Rock * Big Bands * Billboard #1 Hits of the '70's * Blues Legends (discontinued) * Blues Masters (discontinued) * Bobby Jones Presents Ultimate Gospel * Body and Soul * Body Talk (discontinued) * British Invasion, The * Classic Bluegrass (discontinued) * Classic Country (2022) * Classic Country * Classic Drive (discontinued) * Classic Love Songs of the '60's * Classic Radio Hits (discontinued) * Classic Rock (discontinued, was a collection of mid- to late-1960s music) * Classic Rhythm and Blues * Classic Soft Rock *
Classic Soul Ballads ''Classic Soul Ballads'' is a 16-volume soul CD-set, released by Time–Life Records in 2005, featuring 264 songs from the 1960s through the 1990s. It was not sold in stores, but sold directly by Time–Life. Also included in this collection w ...
* Classic Love Songs of Rock 'n' Roll (2016) * Classic Love Songs of Rock 'n' Roll (discontinued) *
Classic Soul Ballads ''Classic Soul Ballads'' is a 16-volume soul CD-set, released by Time–Life Records in 2005, featuring 264 songs from the 1960s through the 1990s. It was not sold in stores, but sold directly by Time–Life. Also included in this collection w ...
* Classical Power * Concerts of Great Music, The, AKA Story of Great Music Concerts, The 11 LP (5) volumes, 1966–68, (discontinued) * Contemporary Country (discontinued) * Country Jukebox * Country Music Explosion * Country Music Hall Of Fame Presents Classic Country * Country Music Of Your Life * Country USA (2011) * Country USA (discontinued) * Country's Got Heart * Def Comedy Jam * Dick Clark's Jukebox Gems * Disco Fever (discontinued) * Disney's Greatest * Easy '80's * Easy Listening Classics * Edge Of The '80's (discontinued) * Emotion Collection, The (discontinued) * Fabulous Fifties, The (discontinued) * Faith, Hope & Country * Feel Good Rock * Flower Power * Folk Years, The (discontinued) * Forever '60's * Forever '70's * Forever Soul * Giants of Jazz (discontinued) * Girl Groups * Glory Days Of Rock 'n' Roll (discontinued) * Great American Songbook * God Bless the USA * Gold And Platinum: The Ultimate Rock Collection (discontinued) * Golden Age of Country * Golden Age of Pop * Great Composers * Great Men of Music * Greatest Love Songs of the '60's * Greatest Love Songs of the '70's * Grooves (discontinued) * Guitar Rock (discontinued) * Hard & Heavy (discontinued) * Heart Of Rock 'n' Roll, The (discontinued) * Heart Of Classic Rock, The * History Of Rock 'n' Roll, The (discontinued) * I Can Only Imagine Platinum * Instrumental Favorites * It All Started with Doo Wop (discontinued) * Jukebox Memories * Kingston Trio * Lifetime of Country Romance * Lifetime of Romance * Legendary Singers * Legendary Voices * Legends Of Country * Legends: The Ultimate Rock Collection (discontinued) * Living the Blues (discontinued) * Living the Gospel (discontinued) * Magic of Love (discontinued) * Malt Shop Memories * Midnight Soul * Modern Rock Dance * Modern Rock (discontinued) * Motown Collection, The * Mozart Collection, The * Music of Your Life * Mysteries of the Unknown * Opry Video Classics * Party Rock * Pop Goes The '70's * Pop Memories of the '60's * Pop Revolution (discontinued) * Power of Love * Power Of Love, The (1996) (discontinued) * Prom Night * Pure Rhythm and Blues * Quiet Storm * Raunchy Blues * Rhythm & Blues * Rhythm+Grooves (discontinued) * Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert * Rock Collection, The (discontinued) * Rock & Romance * The Rock 'n' Roll Era (discontinued) * Rock 'n' Roll Era (2013) * Rock 'n' Roll: Legendary Years (discontinued) * Romancing the '60's * Romancing the '70's * Romantically Yours * Secret Love * Singers & Songwriters US version * Singers & Songwriters Europe Version * Smooth Soul * Sock Hop Collection, The * Solid Gold Soul US version (discontinued) * Solid Gold Soul Europe Version (discontinued) * Songs 4 Ever (discontinued) * Songs 4 Life (discontinued) * Songs 4 Worship Country * Songs 4 Worship * Songs For Lovers (discontinued) * Soul Of The '60's * Soul Of The '70's * Soul Story (discontinued) * Soul Superstars Of The '70's * Soulful Christmas * Sounds Of The '70's (discontinued) * Sounds of the 80s * Sounds of the Seventies * Sounds Of The Sixties (discontinued) * Sounds of the Seventies (discontinued) * Sounds of the Eighties (discontinued) * Sounds of the Nineties (discontinued) * Spirit Of The '60's (discontinued) * Story of Great Music, The, 11 LP (4) volumes, 1966–68, (discontinued) * Story of Great Music Concerts, The, AKA Concerts of Great Music, The 11 LP (5) volumes, 1966–68, (discontinued) * Superhits * Superstars of Country (discontinued) * Superstars of the '80's * Sweet Soul of the '70's (discontinued) * Teen Years, The * Timeless Music Collection, The (discontinued) * Time Life Loves The '80's * To The Moon, a 6-record set: a documentary with accompanying book about the early space program, the space race, the missions to the moon and the first moon landing, published soon after Apollo 11 completed its mission to the moon. (discontinued) * Treasury of Christmas * Ultimate Love Songs * Ultimate Oldies but Goodies Collection, The (discontinued) * Ultimate Rock Ballads * Ultimate Seventies (discontinued) * Uptown Saturday Night (discontinued) * We Love the Nightlife * What Life was Like * World of the Supernatural * Woodstock Collection, The * Worship Together * Your Hit Parade (discontinued) * You So Crazy


Video

Time Life's video business has been growing quickly since 2000. Starting with documentaries including ''
Growing Up Wild ''Growing Up Wild'' is a 24-episode web series which premiered July 21, 2012 on The Pet Collective on YouTube, starring Robert and Bindi Irwin, children of ''The Crocodile Hunter''s Steve Irwin. Both Robert and Bindi live at the center of the 1, ...
'' and the re-release of ''World at War'', the company has more recently branched into nostalgic television shows. Time Life is able to leverage their music industry knowledge and contacts to release television shows previously held back because of expensive music rights clearances. Their collections are known for having extensive bonus features, liner notes and packaging. Television show releases from Time Life include:Classic TV Shows on DVD
from TimeLife.com, retrieved February 14, 2020
* ''America A Look Back'' * '' Barney & Friends'' * '' The Jack Benny Program'' (50 episodes, plus 10 specials and 7 guest star appearances) * ''The Beginner's Bible'' * ''The Best of George Carlin'' (15 specials, plus 30 other guest appearances) * '' The Big Comfy Couch'' * ''The Ultimate Carol Burnett Show Collection'' (50 Episodes, plus the special '' Carol + 2'' and the 1972 version of '' Once Upon a Mattress'') * ''The Clint Eastwood'' Collection * '' China Beach'' (complete series) * ''Cedarmont Kids'' * '' CMA Awards'' Live (performance compilations) * '' Dallas'' (seasons 1 to 4) * ''Dolly: The Ultimate Collection'' (select episodes of '' The Porter Wagoner Show'', the
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
incarnations of the ''Dolly'' variety show, '' Crook & Chase'' and other assorted Dolly Parton appearances) * ''Great Films of the Bible'' * '' Fat Albert'' * '' Get Smart'' (complete series) * ''Growing Up Wild'' * '' The Real Ghostbusters'' (complete series) * '' The Jackie Gleason Show'' (color episodes) * ''The John Wayne'' Collection "Rio Bravo" (1959), "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949), "Stagecoach" (1939), "The Cowboys" (1972), "The Green Berets" (1968) and "The Quiet Man" (1952), * ''The Hee Haw Collection'' (select episodes and sketches) * '' Lucy: The Ultimate 12 DVD Collection'' (76 episodes spanning ''
I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'', '' The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'', '' The Lucy Show'', ''
Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's thir ...
'' and ''
Life with Lucy ''Life with Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball that aired for one season on ABC from September 20 to November 15, 1986. It is the only Lucille Ball sitcom to not air on CBS and the very last sitcom she starred in before her death ...
'') * '' Looney Tunes: Library'' * '' Mama's Family'' (complete series) * '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (complete series) * '' The Dean Martin Variety Show'' (select sketches and episodes, by agreement with NBCUniversal and the estate of Greg Garrison) * '' The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast'' (complete series) * ''The
Mayberry Mayberry, North Carolina, is a fictional community that was the setting for two popular American television sitcoms, ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960–1968) and ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971); Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reuni ...
Collection'' (select episodes from '' The Andy Griffith Show'', '' Gomer Pyle, USMC'' and '' Mayberry RFD'', plus the reunion movie '' Return to Mayberry'' and the backdoor pilot from '' The Danny Thomas Show'') * ''Midway'' * '' Power Rangers'': From Mighty Morphin' to Lost Galaxy (first seven seasons) * ''The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection: Uncensored'' (26 hours, spanning his television specials, '' The Richard Pryor Show'' and '' Pryor's Place'') * ''
Motown 25 ''Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' is a 1983 television special, produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's 25th year (Motown was founded in January 1959). The program was taped before a live audience at th ...
'' * '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (40 episodes) * '' Saturday Night Live'' * '' Tales From The Crypt'' * '' The Six Million Dollar Man'' (complete series) * '' The Red Skelton Show'' * '' The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' (Season 3) *''I Got You Babe - The Best of Sonny & Cher''/''The Best of Cher'' (selected episodes from '' The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'', ''
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
'', The Sonny & Cher Show from the ‘70s, as well as '' Cher... Special'' and ''Cher and Other Fantasies'' specials) * ''The Best of
Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...
'' (Highlights from the '70s) * '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Johnny and Friends'' (licensed from Carson Productions) * '' The Wonder Years'' (complete series) * ''Trials of Life'' Video Offer * '' Robin Williams: Comic Genius'' (five HBO specials and compilation of other TV appearances) * ''The Best of The Muppet Show'' (complete series), produced by Jim Henson Home Entertainment * ''
NOVA A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' (1974-1985)


See also

* List of record labels * Columbia House


References


External links


Official site
* *
Time-Life research files on dance, 1920-1994
held by the Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Time-Life Magazine publishing companies of the United States Companies based in New York City Companies based in Fairfax, Virginia Former Time Warner subsidiaries Reader's Digest Rockefeller family American record labels Publishing companies established in 1961 Infomercials