Hickory 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, ...
founded in 1954 by
Acuff-Rose Music
Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose (songwriter), Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Currently, the company's catalog is owned by Sony Music Publishing.
Early hi ...
, which operated the label up to 1979.
Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV) revived the label in 2007. Originally based in
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 ...
, and functioning as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
label throughout its history, it has had several distributors.
History
From its inception in 1955 to 1973, Hickory was distributed independently.
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
then distributed the label in 1973, and
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 ...
began distributing it four years later.
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 ...
inherited the ABC distribution deal when it bought ABC Records in 1979. The relationship between Acuff-Rose/Hickory and MCA turned sour shortly afterwards, so the Hickory label was discontinued, and its catalog was pulled when the distribution deal expired later in 1979.
In 1993,
Scotti Bros. Records began reissuing the Hickory catalog.
The Hickory catalog is owned by Sony Music Publishing, which owns the Acuff-Rose catalogue, and the Hickory label was revived in 2007 with an album by
Elliott Yamin. The output of the revived Hickory Records is distributed by Sony Music's
RED Distribution
RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...
unit.
Although Hickory began as a country music label, it signed some rock groups, such as Neal Ford and the Fanatics,
The Sparkles (from Texas), and
The Newbeats, as well as distributing a few UK
Pye Records
PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...
artists such as
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
. Pye distributed Hickory in the UK. Among the hits that Hickory had on the pop charts were those by
Sue Thompson,
Kris Jensen, Donovan, and The Newbeats.
Hickory Records artists
*
Ernest Ashworth
*
Roy Acuff
*
Glenn Barber
*
Bill Carlisle
*
Helen Carter
Helen Myrl Carter Jones (September 12, 1927 – June 2, 1998) was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of ...
* Jim Chesnut
*
Wilma Lee and
Stoney Cooper
* The In-Crowd
*
Mark Dinning
*
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
*
Jimmy Elledge
*
Don Everly
Isaac Donald Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) was an American musician. Everly was one-half of the singing duo The Everly Brothers alongside his younger brother Phil Everly, Phil.
Early life
Don was born in Brownie, Kentucky on Febru ...
*
Neal Ford and the Fanatics
* Frankie & Johnny
*
Bob Gallion
*
Don Gibson
Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...
* B.J. Hickman
*
Frank Ifield
*
Kris Jensen
*
Bobby Lord
Robert Lester Lord (January 6, 1934 – February 16, 2008) was an American country music singer-songwriter popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography
Lord was born January 6, 1934, in Sanford, Florida, but grew up in Tampa, Florida, Tampa. As a ...
*
Bob Luman
*
Sandy Mason
*
Joe Melson
* Barbara Mills
*
Jim Mundy
*
The Newbeats
*
Mickey Newbury
*
The Overlanders
*
Rusty & Doug (prior to their Warner Records period)
* Randy and the Holidays
*
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie (born Beverley Jean Santamaria; February 20, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist.
Sainte-Marie's singing and writing repertoire includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism, and h ...
*
Ruben Studdard
Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recordi ...
*
The Sparkles
*
Sue Thompson
*
Leona Williams
* Gail Wynters
*
Elliott Yamin
Notable releases
* There's a Big Wheel by
Wilma Lee &
Stoney Cooper, released in 1959
*
Fairytale by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released October 22, 1965
*
Universal Soldier (written
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie (born Beverley Jean Santamaria; February 20, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist.
Sainte-Marie's singing and writing repertoire includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism, and h ...
) by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released March 12, 1965
*
The Real Donovan by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released September 1966
*
Catch the Wind by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released March 12, 1965
*
Colours
Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...
by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released May 28, 1965
*
You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond
"You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" (later titled "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond") is a gospel song that is attributed to both tradition and to gospel blues musician Blind Willie Johnson. Johnson first recorded the song in December 1930 ...
by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released November 1965
*
To Try for the Sun
"To Try for the Sun" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "To Try for the Sun" single was backed with "Turquoise" and released in the United States in January 1966 through Hickory Records (Hickory 45–1402) ...
by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released January 1966
*
Josie by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released February 18, 1966
*
Like It Is, Was, and Evermore Shall Be by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released April 1968
* A Girl For All Seasons by Gail Wynters, Hickory LPS 138
*
Early Treasures by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released 1973
*
Donovan P. Leitch by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released October 1970
*
The Best of Donovan by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released November 1969
* ''
What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid'' by
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, released June 1965 as "Catch the Wind"
*The Very Best of
Don Gibson
Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...
(album), released 1973
*Louisiana Man by
Rusty and Doug Kershaw, released 1974
*Back In The Country by
Roy Acuff, released 1974
*Still Loving You by
Bob Luman, released 1974
*Smoky Mountain Memories by
Roy Acuff, released 1974
*The Girl I Love by
Carl Smith, released 1975
*
Snap Your Fingers by
Don Gibson
Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...
, released 1974
*Elliott Yamin by
Elliott Yamin, released 2007
*Love Is by
Ruben Studdard
Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recordi ...
, released May 19, 2009
*Fight for Love by
Elliott Yamin, released 2009
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, ...
References
External links
Hickory Records album discographyHickory Recordson the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control
Record labels established in 1954
Record labels disestablished in 1979
Record labels established in 2007
Re-established companies
American independent record labels
Folk record labels
1954 establishments in Tennessee
Sony Music Publishing