International Artists (IA) was an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States, that originally existed from 1965 to 1970. It is not to be confused with International Artists Records, a classical music record label founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1956. During its existence IA, owned by a group of businessmen in Houston, released 12 albums and 39 singles.The International Artists label, Story and Discography by

Patrick Lundborg Patrick Lundborg (1967 – June 7, 2014) was a writer on psychedelic culture and author of the books ''Psychedelia'' and ''The Acid Archives''. Lundborg had a Bachelor of Science degree in applied systems science ('datavetenskap' in Swedish) fr ...

, 2008 Among its staff was producer

Lelan Rogers Lelan Edward Rogers (June 9, 1928 – July 22, 2002) was an American record producer and record company executive. He was born in Cherokee County, Texas, United States, the eldest in a family of eight; which included his brother, singer Kenny ...

, brother of

country singer Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

. The label is famous for its roster of well-known

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

bands, including

The 13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, an ...

, The Red Crayola, and

Bubble Puppy Bubble Puppy is an American psychedelic rock band originally active from 1967 to 1972. They are best remembered for their Top 20 hit, "Hot Smoke & Sasafrass". History Origins Bubble Puppy was formed in 1966 in San Antonio, Texas, by Rod Prince ...

, as well as lesser known bands such as The Golden Dawn, Lost And Found, and Endle St. Cloud. International Artists also released an album by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

, '' Free Form Patterns'', that featured session work by the 13th Floor Elevators' rhythm section. International Artist was based out of Goldstar Studios which is now known as SugarHill Studios in Houston,TX. SugarHills Studios is still in operation. The label originally folded in 1971 but was revived by Lelan Rogers in 1978. Rogers released a box-set of all 12 reissued albums. In 1980 the double-LP ''Epitaph for a Legend'' (IA #13) reissued rare International Artists tracks from

Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre. Biography Erick ...

's first band,

The Spades Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre. Biography Erickso ...

; early demos by the Red Crayola; and forgotten relics from other Texas blues and psychedelic artists. A six- CD box set, ''The Best of International Artists'', was released in 2003 and included the entire ''Epitaph'' compilation, along with reissues of the debut albums by the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Red Krayola, Lost & Found, and Bubble Puppy. In 2008, now under the control of

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fra ...

, the label began to re-issue all of its past albums, together with some rarities and previously unheard recordings, including a 10-CD box set dedicated solely to the 13th Floor Elevators.

References

External links

The Official International Artists Records web site
Story and discography by

, 2008 American independent record labels Record labels established in 1965 Record labels disestablished in 1970 Psychedelic rock record labels Companies based in Houston {{US-independent-record-label-stub

See also

References

External links