GRT Records was the name of both a U.S. and a Canadian

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, ...

, both created by General Recorded Tape, a

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based company that existed from 1965 to 1979.Richard Green
GRT of Canada, Ltd.

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

. Retrieved 2013-02-26. Their demise was concurrent with the bankruptcy of their owner, General Recorded Tape.Uncredited
Overview of GRT Records

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online encyclopedia of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also features comm ...

. Retrieved 2013-04-11.

U.S. label

The American branch of GRT Records was founded in 1970. Artists who released material on GRT Records in the United States included The Mojo Men, Sam Taylor,

Lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

, Bobby Jameson, Edwards Hand, Terry Bush,

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

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 ...

, Mainline, Minnie Riperton, Flower Travellin' Band, Rastus, String Driven Thing, Lotti Golden,

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 ...

, Meri Wilson and

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...

. Contrary to original expectations, the label was not a major component of the operations of parent General Recorded Tape. Instead of its record releases being referenced to the GRT label, as originally announced, General Recorded Tape referred to its

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...

record operations. The GRT label had more success with their

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

operations, but the Nashville office was shut down in 1978. In 1976, GRT Records established a subsidiary, Sunnyvale Records, which concentrated on releases of interest to an older audience, including releases of

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

, organ, harmonica and accordion music.

Canadian label

In contrast to the U.S. label, the Canadian subsidiary became a major source of original releases by Canadian artists. GRT Records, legally known as GRT of Canada Ltd., was established as the Canadian subsidiary of General Recorded Tape. It was initially based in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, as a Canadian distributor of 4-track and

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, ...

s produced in the United States. The company was specifically established to produce records of Canadian artists. Its founding president was Ross Reynolds, who later was the president of

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 ...

Canada. The company was relocated to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

in 1969, and commenced distributing foreign label records and tapes, as well as recording its own artists. By 1976, the foreign labels distributed by GRT in Canada included GRT-owned Chess Records and Janus Records, as well as other labels such as

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 ...

, Dunhill Records,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

, Westminster Records, America Records, Impulse Records, Musidisc Records,

20th Century Fox Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three distin ...

and

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

.Ramones on Vinyl!
Ramones and GRT: The Final Chapter
Retrieved 2013-03-04. In addition to releasing records under the GRT label, other Canadian labels distributed included Axe Records and Daffodil Records. Notable Canadian artists whose records were released by GRT included Dan Hill, Ian Thomas, Downchild Blues Band,

, Prism and FM.Paul Wentworth
Interview With Cameron Hawkins
The FM Archive. Retrieved 2013-03-02. GRT Records went bankrupt in 1979, with significant effects on the career progress of certain Canadian artists. The second album release of FM had been scheduled for release one week subsequent to the GRT Records bankruptcy. The Canadian band Prism had sold in excess of 200,000 copies of their album '' Armageddon'', which was released the same year as the GRT bankruptcy. Both

s and records by

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

were remaindered as a result of the GRT bankruptcy. Paradoxically, the remaindering of Ramones music in Canada is regarded as having contributed to the band's popularity in that country, since their music was discovered by persons who would not otherwise have purchased the music at full price.

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States Defunct record labels of Canada Record labels established in 1969 Record labels disestablished in 1979 Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies 1969 establishments in California 1969 establishments in Canada Virtual reality companies