Smash Records

Smash Records was an American record label founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records[1] by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966. Its recording artists included Frankie Valli, James Brown, Bruce Channel, Roger Miller, The Left Banke, Bill Justis, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

1960s Smash Records logo
Parent companyMercury Records
Founded1961 (1961)
FounderShelby Singleton
Defunct1996 (1996)
StatusDefunct
Distributor(s)Island Records (catalog)
GenreVarious
Country of originU.S.

A dispute with King Records led Brown to release all of his band's instrumental recordings between 1964 and 1967 on Smash. Smash also released three of Brown's vocal recordings, including his 1964 proto-funk single "Out of Sight".[2]

Smash shared the numbering system for their singles with other labels that they distributed. The most important of these was Fontana Records. Mercury discontinued the Smash label in 1970.[3]

1990s Smash Records logo

Mercury label owner PolyGram used the Smash imprint for reissues in the 1980s. PolyGram revived Smash in 1991 as an R&B/dance label with its offices located in Chicago. It was first under the PolyGram Label Group (PLG) umbrella, then under the Independent Label Sales (ILS) umbrella, then under Island Records until the imprint was retired in 1996. One of the hits Smash saw during this period was "People Are Still Having Sex" by house music producer LaTour. Another successful artist on the dance charts was Jamie Principle.

Artists

See also
  • List of record labels

References
  1. Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll ((2nd Ed.) ed.). New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. p. 51. ISBN 0-306-80683-5.
  2. "James Brown Biography". allmusic. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
  3. "Smash Album Discography". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  4. Stefan Wirz. "Luke "Long Gone" Miles discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
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