- Bell Records
:"This article is about the record label active in the US and UK in the 1960s and 1970s.
For the earlier Bell Records labels, seeBell Records (1920s) andBell Records (1940) .Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1954 in
New York . A British branch was also active in the 1960s and 1970s. Bell Records was replaced in the mid-1970s byArista Records .1950s
Bell originally specialized in budget generic
pop music , with the slogan "music for the millions". Originally sold on seven-inch 78rpm and 45rpm records for 39 cents (US), this style of music went out of fashion asrock and roll became more prevalent. Bell also issuedsound-alike cover version s of hit records on 45rpm disks priced at 49 cents. One of these records were by "Tom & Jerry" who would later be famous using their real namesSimon & Garfunkel . [http://www.globaldogproductions.info/b/bell-50s.html] These records were pressed withpolystyrene which had either glued-on labels or the label information was printed directly on the polystyrene. Some Bell and associated label 45rpm records were pressed that way into the 1970s. [http://anorakscorner.homestead.com/pressingplantinfo.html] In1959 ,Mala Records was formed as a subsidiary label, specializing in rock and roll as well asrhythm and blues .1960s
In
1960 , another subsidiary label,Amy Records was formed. In1961 ,Larry Uttal purchased Bell, along with its Amy and Mala subsidiary labels, and folded his Madison Records into Bell. Early on, Uttal concentrated on the Amy and Mala labels, and rendered Bell dormant. The Bell label was revived in 1964, with a stylized "BELL" word mark shaped like a bell. In 1966, the company decided to issue all their albums, even for Amy and Mala acts, on the Bell label. Bell Records went on to issue several hit singles, including, "I'm Your Puppet " byJames and Bobby Purify in1966 , "The Letter" byThe Box Tops (the single on Mala, the album on Bell) in1967 , "Angel of the Morning " by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts in1968 , and "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin " byCrazy Elephant in1969 .The three labels were merged into a single unit in
1969 , retaining the Bell moniker. This company was then acquired byColumbia Pictures in1969 . Bell Records expanded when Columbia folded the assets of itsRCA -distributed label,Colgems Records , into the newly purchased company. Uttal retained a portion of the company and remained as Bell's president. The expanded label issued recordings byThe Partridge Family andRicky Segall , and artists includingThe Fifth Dimension andTony Orlando & Dawn . The merged label also adopted a new logo with a more readable Bell logo.1970s
By 1970, the Bell label was more successful with pop music singles, and less successful with more lucrative pop music LPs. When Uttal left the company in
1974 ,Clive Davis , who had become a music consultant to Columbia Pictures, took over. Uttal then foundedPrivate Stock Records . By late 1974, Davis would merge the various Columbia Pictures legacy labels (Colpix Records ,Colgems Records , and Bell) into a new entity namedArista Records , ultimately buying a percentage of the company from Columbia. The very last releases by the company have the designation "Bell Records, Distributed by Arista Records, 1776 Broadway, New York, New York 10019." The final hit singles on the Bell label were "Mandy" byBarry Manilow (Bell 45,613, #1 US) and "Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman" byTony Orlando and Dawn (Bell 45,620, #11 US). The more successful Bell albums were reissued on the Arista label.Bell Records UK
The British branch was established in 1967. Previous British issues of Bell recordings were on
EMI 'sStateside Records . Bell Records inLondon was headed byDick Leahy and distributed by EMI (In other foreign territories,Polydor handled distribution which later picked up British distribution.). Artists signed to them included theBay City Rollers ,Gary Glitter , The Piglets, andThe Partridge Family withDavid Cassidy . Otherartists on the label includedBarry Blue ,Barry Manilow ,Terry Jacks ,Hello ,The Pearls andHarley Quinne ,The Drifters ,Showaddywaddy and the UK releases ofThe Box Tops . Bell UK also adopted the Arista name by 1976, although releases continued on the UK Bell label until 1982. [http://vtmusic.co.uk/shop/label/Bell.aspx]Current ownership
The former catalog of Bell Records and its related labels is now owned by
Sony BMG and managed byLegacy Recordings .ubsidiary and associated labels
*
Big Tree Records
*Philly Groove Records
*Aurora Records
*Mala Records
*Amy Records
*AGP (American Group Productions)
*Neighborhood Records
*Nite Life Records
*DynoVoice Records
*NewVoice Records
*Page One Records
*Carousel Records
*Rocky Road Records
*Windfall Records Bell had three oldies reissue labels in its history. The first wasSphere Sound Records , established in1965 which was replaced in the early 1970s byBell Gold Records before the oldies label name was changed toFlashback Records (which continued after the Bell/Arista transformation).Bell Records artists (1960s)
*
Cilla Black
*The Box Tops (Mala, Bell)
*Crazy Elephant
*The Delfonics (Philly Groove)
*Lee Dorsey (Amy)
*Al Green e & The Soul Mates (Hot Line)
*Sonny Knight
*O'Jays
*James & Bobby Purify
*Ronny & the Daytonas (Mala)
*Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts (Bell, AGP)
*Syndicate of Sound
*Vanity Fare (Page One)Bell Records artists (1970s)
*
April Wine (Big Tree)
*Bay City Rollers
*Brownsville Station (Big Tree)
*David Cassidy
*Climax (Carousel, Rocky Road)
*Dawn (featuringTony Orlando )
*Edison Lighthouse
*The 5th Dimension
*First Choice (Philly Groove)
*Gary Glitter
*Godspell (1971 Off-Broadway Cast)
*Terry Jacks
*Davy Jones
*Vicki Lawrence
*Lobo (Big Tree)
*Melissa Manchester
*Barry Manilow
*Partridge Family
*Suzi Quatro
*Rodney Allen Rippy
*Ricky Segall
*Labi Siffre (two singles, no albums)
*The Stampeders
*The Sweet
*Marlo Thomas
*Al Wilson (Rocky Road)See also
*
List of record labels
*Arista Records External links
* [http://bsnpubs.com/bell/bellstory.html The Bell/Amy/Mala story from Both Sides Now Publications]
* [http://www.globaldogproductions.info/b/bell-50s.html 1950s Bell 45rpm discography]
* [http://www.globaldogproductions.info/b/bell.html 1960s Bell 45rpm discography]
* [http://vtmusic.co.uk/shop/label/Bell.aspx Vinyl Tap Records UK Bell discography, including later releases]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.