Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902.
The record label started out as
Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, RiverSong,
StarSong, Power Discs and
Home Sweet Home. In the 1970s, Impact became the top label with artists such as New Dawn,
the Imperials
The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...
,
J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet,
the Rambos,
Dottie Rambo,
the Archers
''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...
, the
Bill Gaither Trio, the
Speer Family
The Speer Family was a Southern gospel family musical group. It was founded in 1921 by George Thomas ("Dad") Speer (1891–1966), his wife, Lena Darling ("Mom") Speer (née Brock; 1899–1967), and his sister and brother-in-law, Pearl Claborn ( ...
and
Sandi Patty
Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility.
Biography
Early life
Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musician ...
(her Impact catalog is owned by
Curb Music).
History
In 1980, Paragon Associates formed a partnership with
Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins, Ha ...
to own/operate Benson Records. Paragon Assoc. was founded in 1975, by Bob MacKenzie and
Bill Gaither (gospel singer)
William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria Gaither, Gloria; he is also known for per ...
. Paragon sold its interest to Zondervan in 1983, where under the leadership of Bob Jones, Jr. saw the Benson company grow even bigger in the 1980s. Artists included
Gold City,
The Kingsmen Quartet,
DeGarmo & Key,
Dallas Holm, and others producing several hits.
In the 1980s, Benson Records continued with success by signing a contract to distribute a new label, founded by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key and Ron W. Griffin.
Forefront Records
ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a divis ...
was born, and in 1989
Dc Talk was signed. In 1996,
Forefront Records
ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a divis ...
was sold to EMI (now
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
); this acquisition includes the entire
DeGarmo & Key catalog. On July 27, 1993, Benson Music Group launched the Christian children's music series, ''Kids' Classics'' with the first six titles including Bible Songs, Action Bible Songs, Sunday School Songs, Songs of Praise, Silly Songs, and Lullabies. In 1994, the name Impact Records was sold to Landmark Distribution. On July 26, 1994, Benson Music Group released two new ''Kids' Classics'' including Toddler Tunes and Hymns. On November 1, 1994, ''Kids' Classics'' changed their name to ''Cedarmont Kids''. In 1995, they acquired Diadem Music Group which included gospel-jazz pioneer Ben Tankard's
Tribute Records label contracts. These contracts included Tankard,
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...
,
Twinkie Clark and
Bob Carlisle. Carlisle is best known for his hit song, "
Butterfly Kisses".
Benson Records was sold to
Bertelsmann AG via its
Provident/
Zomba in 1997,
which is now a part of
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 Benson label was reformatted to focus on new artists.
Zomba closed the label in late 2001.
Most recently, the name
Heart Warming Records and RiverSong was sold to Homeland Entertainment. Homeland is owned by Bill Traylor and former President of Zondervan, Bob Jones, Jr.
Benson's choral music printing business is now owned by the
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a Baptist Christian denomination in United States, established after the conservative resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, and headquarte ...
, whose Celebrating Grace subsidiary acquired its assets from Universal Music Group in 2023.
Artists
*
4Him
*
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...
*
Angelo & Veronica
*
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...
*
Andrus, Blackwood & Co
*
Ray Boltz
* Brush Arbor
*
Bob Carlisle
*
Commissioned
*
Carman
* Cedarmont Kids
*
Twinkie Clark
*
DeGarmo & Key
*
Bryan Duncan
* Gary Dunham
*
East to West
* Farrell & Farrell
*
Don Francisco
*
Bill Gaither Trio
*
Glad
*
Gold City
*
Fred Hammond
*
Harvest
Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
*
Dallas Holm
*
The Imperials
The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...
*
Kingsmen Quartet
*
Life Action Singers
*
Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe B ...
*
Sandi Patty
Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility.
Biography
Early life
Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musician ...
* Chuckie Perez
*
Pilgrim Jubilees
*
Dottie Rambo
*
The Rambos
* Songfellows Quartet
*
Speer Family
The Speer Family was a Southern gospel family musical group. It was founded in 1921 by George Thomas ("Dad") Speer (1891–1966), his wife, Lena Darling ("Mom") Speer (née Brock; 1899–1967), and his sister and brother-in-law, Pearl Claborn ( ...
*
Billy Sprague
*
J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet
* Straight Company
*
Michael Sweet
Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is an American musician; he is the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of the heavy metal music, metal band Stryper. He has also had a successful solo career and served as singer and gui ...
* Tanya Goodman-Sykes
*
Three Crosses
*
Tourniquet
A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to create ischemia or stopping the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation.
A simple tourniquet can ...
*
Truth
Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
*
Hezekiah Walker
*
Whisper Loud
*
Thomas Whitfield
* J.C. White and the TFT Church Choir
See also
*
List of record labels
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File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
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Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, ...
External links
Benson Records websiteProvident-Integrity Distribution
Provident Label GroupSouthern Gospel History
Resources
*Powell, Mark Allan. ''The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'' Hendrickson Publishers, August 2002. ( )
References
{{Authority control
American record labels
Gospel music record labels
Sony Music
Record labels established in 1902
Record labels based in Nashville, Tennessee
American companies established in 1902
American companies disestablished in 2001
Record labels disestablished in 2001
Christian record labels