Ardent Records is an American

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, ...

based in Memphis, which was founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

acts and was distributed by

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...

, whose first two albums, released in 1972 and 1974, helped define the style known as

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

. The label was initially an attempt by the R&B-focused Stax to move into

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

, but distribution problems prevented any releases from succeeding.

became widely known through 1980s reissues and the long delayed first release of ''

Third/Sister Lovers ''Third'' (reissued in 1985 as ''Third/Sister Lovers'') is the third studio album by the American band Big Star. The sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the recor ...

'', recorded in 1974. The label was revived in the 1990s with two divisions: Alternative Mainstream and Contemporary Christian. Former

guitarist

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...

released recordings on the Ardent mainstream division, which also released recordings by bands such as Spot, Jolene, Two Minutes Hate, The Idlewilds, Neighborhood Texture Jam, and Techno-Squid Eats Parliament. The mainstream division of Ardent Records was closed in the mid-1990s. Ardent's Christian label issued its first Christian releases in 1995. Initial projects included albums from Big Tent Revival, Skillet, and Smalltown Poets. To date, Ardent Records has released more than 35 albums by artists such as

Todd Agnew Todd Wilson Agnew (born March 15, 1971, in Dallas, Texas) is a contemporary Christian musician and songwriter. Early life Agnew was born in Dallas, Texas and was adopted at birth. He was raised in Dallas, but began traveling to Memphis to h ...

, Jonah33, Smalltown Poets, Satellite Soul, Clear, All Together Separate, Brother's Keeper, Justifide, Before You Breathe, NonFiction, and Joy Whitlock. In 2005, Ardent signed a deal with INO Records, a division of

Integrity Media Integrity Music is part of the David C. Cook nonprofit group. Founded as a direct-to-consumer music club in 1987 as ''Integrity Music'', Integrity was at the forefront of contemporary worship music's widespread popularity of praise and worshi ...

, to distribute and market its entire roster. The label's albums are recorded at

Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The studio was founded in the late 1950s by John King, Fred Smith, and John Fry. Over time, it has become a commercially successful recording studio. ...

in Memphis.

Roster

The following artists have performed under the Ardent label.

Former – mainstream and rock and roll

Christian

Former – Christian

Current – mainstream

Greyhounds The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-coated, "S-s ...

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1959 Re-established companies Pop record labels Rock record labels Christian record labels Stax Records