Colgems Records was a

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 pr ...

that existed from 1966 to 1971.

History

Colgems was a joint venture between

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

, the television division of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, and

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

to issue records by The Monkees and other artists affiliated with Columbia/Screen Gems. The label would also issue soundtrack recordings for Screen Gems and Columbia Pictures productions. RCA acted as manufacturer and distributor for Colgems. Outside of the United States, Colgems productions appeared on the RCA Victor label. An earlier label,

Colpix Records Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement o ...

, was dissolved to make way for the new company, and nearly all Colpix titles went out of print. (One Colpix album was reissued on Colgems, the soundtrack to the 1962 film ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

''.) Even before the Monkees began, Colpix had signed two future members – Davy Jones, recruited to Screen Gems by

Ward Sylvester Ward Sylvester (October 22, 1939 – June 12, 2017) was an American entertainment industry producer, manager, promoter, executive and consultant. He served as President of Pacific Arts Inc., and Personality Productions; Vice President of Columbia ...

, and Michael Nesmith, who recorded as "Michael Blessing". The Colpix catalog was sold to Roulette Records. The Colpix catalog is owned by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

with its

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

unit holding the rights in North America and its Parlophone unit the rights in the rest of the world. The non-Monkees Colgems roster included Sally Field,

Jewel Akens Jewel Eugene Akens (September 12, 1933 – March 1, 2013) was an American singer and record producer. Career He recorded with The Medallions on Dootone, with The Four Dots on Freedom, and then with singer Eddie Daniels as "Jewel and Eddie" on t ...

Sajid Khan Sajjad Khan (born 28 December 1951) is an Indian actor and singer. Born into poverty in the Bombay slums, he became the adopted son of Bollywood filmmaker Mehboob Khan, founder of Mehboob Studios. He worked in a handful of Indian films, debutin ...

, Paula Wayne, P.K. Limited, the Hung Jury, Fountain of Youth, The Lewis & Clarke Expedition (whose members included Michael Martin Murphey),

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

, Alex Keenan and comedian Rich Little. Soundtracks to '' Casino Royale'', '' Oliver!'', ''

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the qu ...

'', ''Head'', and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' were also released on Colgems.

Decline and phaseout

Colgems Records slumped after the critical and commercial failure of the final Monkees album '' Changes'', which featured only Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz. The label's last release, titled ''

Barrel Full of Monkees ''Barrel Full of Monkees'' is a compilation album of songs by the Monkees, released by Colgems Records in 1971. The double album was produced and marketed for children, after the success of the Monkees' television show being rebroadcast on Saturda ...

'' and showcasing its flagship act, appeared in 1971 but sold poorly. Colgems then closed, and its master recordings and artists were folded into

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

, which, unlike Colgems, was wholly owned by Columbia Pictures. Bell itself was later disbanded and Columbia's music division was reorganized into

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

, headed by

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...

. In 1979, Columbia Pictures sold Arista (including the Colgems assets) to BMG-owned

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

. Six years later, Ariola's parent company, BMG, merged with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. Today, the assets of Colgems Records (except for the Monkees' output) are controlled by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

. The parent company,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, acquired Columbia Pictures in 1989. All of The Monkees' recordings are currently owned by

, which licensed the group's original Colgems LPs from Arista and reissued them in the mid-1980s. Rhino acquired the entire Monkees audio catalog, The Monkees TV series, their 1968 feature film ''

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

'', and the rights to The Monkees name and logo, in August 1994. SME merged Arista into RCA Records in 2011 but revived it in 2018.

SGC Records

A label related to Colgems was SGC (Screen Gems-Columbia) Records. SGC issued albums by

Nazz The Nazz was an American rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The group was founded by guitarist and principal songwriter Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten. Drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Antoni joi ...

through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

in a distribution deal similar to the one Screen Gems held with RCA.

References

External links

The Colpix/Colgems story
{{Columbia Pictures Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1966 Record labels disestablished in 1971 The Monkees Pop record labels RCA Records Columbia Pictures Screen Gems

History

Decline and phaseout

SGC Records

See also

References

External links