Colgems Records was a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

that existed from 1966 to 1971.

History

Colgems was a joint venture between Screen Gems, the television division of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, and RCA Victor to issue records by

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

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, was dissolved to make way for the new company, and nearly all Colpix titles went out of print. Even before the Monkees began, Colpix had signed two future members – Davy Jones, recruited to Screen Gems by Ward Sylvester, 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., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

with its Rhino Records unit holding the rights in North America and its

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

unit the rights in the rest of the world. The non-Monkees Colgems roster included Sally Field, Jewel Akens, Sajid Khan, Paula Wayne, P.K. Limited, the Hung Jury, Fountain of Youth, the Lewis & Clarke Expedition (whose members included Michael Martin Murphey), Hoyt Axton, Alex Keenan and comedian Rich Little. They also released soundtracks to '' Oliver!'', '' In Cold Blood'', ''Head'', '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'', '' Casino Royale'', '' Hammerhead'', '' The Professionals'', '' The Night of the Generals'', '' Murderers' Row'', '' Lawrence of Arabia'', '' The Southern Star'', '' The Happening'', '' Interlude'' and '' Getting Straight''.

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

albums released include, ''

'', '' More of the Monkees'', ''

Headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

'', '' Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'', and '' The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees''.

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 George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...

. The label's last release, titled '' Barrel Full of Monkees'' and showcasing its flagship act, appeared in January 1971 and sold poorly but charted on ''Billboard'' at 207. Colgems then closed, and its master recordings and artists were folded into Bell Records, 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 American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

, headed by Clive Davis. In 1979, Columbia Pictures sold Arista (including the Colgems assets) to BMG-owned Ariola Records. Six years later, Ariola's parent company, BMG, merged with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

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

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. The parent company,

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

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

's Rhino Records, which licensed the group's original Colgems LPs from Arista and reissued them in the mid-1980s. Rhino acquired the entire Monkees audio catalog, ''

'' 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 ani ...

'', 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 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 the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

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

References

External links

The Colpix/Colgems storyColgems - Label Discography
at 45 cat {{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 Former joint ventures

History

Decline and phaseout

SGC Records

See also

References

External links