Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed by

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

. The first Dunhill single was "My Prayer/Pretty Please" (catalog #D-4001) by Shelley Fabares, who was married to Adler at the time. In the summer of 1967 Adler sold his shares to ABC Records, creating ABC-Dunhill Records, after which he started yet another label Ode Records (which was first distributed by CBS and later by

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

). Until 1975, ABC continued to release records on the Dunhill label, after which all remaining artists were absorbed into the ABC Records roster before

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

bought the label outright in 1979. Buluu Dunhill Records was an offshoot of the ABC/Dunhill days using catalog series #B-73001 (45 RPM singles) and #B-60001 (LP). Today, the Dunhill catalog is managed by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. A later independent reissue label called Dunhill Compact Classics was formed in 1986 to reissue recordings on the new CD format.

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, E ...

, a UK tobacco company, sued the company because of the use of the " Dunhill" name, forcing the company to rename itself DCC Compact Classics.

Dunhill label variations

*1965–1968—Black label with DUNHILL in white outline letters inside yellow frame *1968—Same as above, but with the "abc" logo added in front of the DUNHILL logo *1968–1969—Black label with 3-compartment multi-color box consisting of smaller DUNHILL logo (now in white letters inside white frame) in the left hand box and the white circular "abc" logo and "RECORDS" in the right hand boxes *1969–1973—Same as above, but with the multicolor "DUNHILL" and "abc RECORDS" boxes separated *1973–1974—Black label with DUNHILL spelled out in children's blocks (followed by a block with the "abc" logo) in white box (This variation only lasted a few months before the label was changed back to the multi-color box logo in which both the "one box" and "two box" variations were used) *1974–1975—Yellow, orange, red and purple label with "abc Dunhill" ("abc" circle logo in black) in between two black lines *White labels were used for most promotional issues.

Dunhill (ABC/Dunhill) Records artists

* Ranji *

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

* Andwella * Attlee * Bangor Flying Circus * Birtha *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

* The Brass Ring *

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

*The Bully Boys Band * Solomon Burke *Avalanche * Bush * Eddie Cano and His Quintet *

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

* Cashman & West * Zach Clark *

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

* Danny Cox *

Denny Doherty Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock ...

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the P ...

* Shelley Fabares *Mickie Finn *

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

Ernie Freeman Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop music, pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s. B ...

*Fresh Start * Giorgio *Gladstone *

Grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

* The Grass Roots * Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds *The Happy Day Choir *

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

* Roy Head *Headstone * The Hello People * Thelma Houston *Jamme * John Kay * Thomas Jefferson Kaye *

Andy Kim Andrew Kim (born July12, 1982) is an American politician and former diplomat serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

* B. B. King &

* The Artie Kornfeld Tree * Kracker * Dennis Lambert * The Lamp of Childhood * Richard Landis *

Locomotiv GT Locomotiv GT (often abbreviated LGT, and sometimes using the nickname Loksi) was a Hungarian rock band formed in 1971. Starting out as a progressive rock band, they later experimented with many other styles including jazz, funk, and pop. During ...

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

* The Mamas & the Papas * Kenneth Mars * Tony Martin * Gayle McCormick *

Barry McGuire Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for his 1965 hit " Eve of Destruction". He was later a singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. Early life McGuire was born in Oklahoma City; ...

Mighty Clouds of Joy The Mighty Clouds of Joy were an American traditional gospel music quartet. Career The Mighty Clouds of Joy was formed in 1959 in Los Angeles as a tradition-based style group. It wasn't until 1961 as the group became famous, they added bass, ...

* Mrs. Miller * Daniel Moore *Murphy's Law *Lady Nelson and the Lords *Noah *

Michael Omartian Michael S. Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. H ...

* Pacific Gas & Electric * Freda Payne * John Phillips * Pratt & McClain * Jim Price *Pure Love & Pleasure *

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock music, rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Early life Genyusha Zel ...

*Rejoice! *Rincon Surfside Band * Emitt Rhodes *The Road Home *The Rock & Roll Revival *William St. James *

Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; as Jakuta or Badé; and as Ṣangó in Trinidad Orisha) is an Orisha (or spirit) in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of th ...

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

* P. F. Sloan * Smith *Sonoma (band) *

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

*The Stapleton-Morley Expression * Steppenwolf * Alex Taylor *

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

* Three's a Crowd *

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

*The Trousdale Strings and the Dawn Chorale *

Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith. They were the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much ...

* The John Verity Band *Bengt Arne Wallin *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

Bobby Whitlock Robert Stanley Whitlock (born March 18, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos, with Eric Clapton, in 1970–71. Whitlock's musical career began with Memph ...

* Wings (1968 band) * Charles Wright

References

External links

The Dunhill Records Story

Profile of Dunhill Records at Discogs
{{Authority control Pop record labels Record labels based in California Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1964 Record labels disestablished in 1975 1975 disestablishments in California Universal Music Group Labels distributed by Universal Music Group