Passport Records was a U.S.-based independent record label that existed between 1973 and 1988. It was notable for popularizing such artists as Larry Fast, FM, Richard Barone, and Wendy O. Williams. It was distributed by

Jem Records Jem Records (also known as JEM Records) was a United States record label that originally existed from 1970 to 1988, at the time principally known as the parent company of Passport Records. The label was resurrected in 2013 as Jem Recordings. His ...

in the United States and by

GRT Records GRT Records was the name of both a U.S. and a Canadian record label, both created by General Recorded Tape, a California-based company that existed from 1965 to 1979.Richard GreenGRT of Canada, Ltd. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-02-26 ...

in Canada. Passport was Jem's flagship label, eventually growing to form the Passport Records Group, which included the labels PVC Records, Passport Jazz, Audion Records, Import Records, and Visa Records.

History

Passport Records was founded in 1973 by Jem Records, which had been co-founded in 1971 by Martin L. Scott, Jeff Tenenbaum and Ed Grossi. Passport was initially operated in partnership with

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 ...

. The partnership between Jem and Sire ended in 1977, when Sire owner

Seymour Stein Seymour Steinbigle (April 18, 1942 – April 2, 2023), known professionally as Seymour Stein, was an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was vice president of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed ba ...

sold the label to

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. Julia Flynn Siler
Business People: Jem Records president confident despite woes

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, August 22, 1988. Retrieved 2013-08-02. Larry Fast was the first American artist signed to the label.Profile of Passport Records

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

. Retrieved 2013-08-05. His records were primarily released under the name of

Synergy Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts (i.e., a non-linear addition of force, energy, or effect). The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' f ...

. Other artists on the label included FM,

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...

,Biography of Al Stewart
Folkville. Retrieved 2013-08-06. Nektar, The Hunt,

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the ...

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 Instrumental rock, instrumental single "Rumble (instrumental), Rumble", reached the ...

, Tucky Buzzard,

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 ...

, Human Sexual Response, Wendy O. Williams,

Brand X Brand X were a British jazz rock band formed in London in 1974. They were initially active until 1980, followed by reformations between 1992–1999 and 2016–2021. Despite sometimes being considered to be a Phil Collins side project (due t ...

Anthony Phillips Anthony Edwin Phillips (born 23 December 1951) is an English musician and composer who gained prominence as the original lead guitarist of the rock band Genesis, from 1967 to 1970. He left in July 1970 and learned to play more instruments, bef ...

Mike Rutherford Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, best known as co-founder, lead guitarist and bassist of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis. He and keyboardist Tony Banks (musici ...

, Robbie Krieger,

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...

, Richard Barone & James Mastro,

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

and

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

. As of 1984, Passport had three albums in the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

top album charts. In 1986, Passport, led by JEM President Marty Scott, began operating separately from Jem internally, though it was still distributed by JEM. The Passport Records Group, as part of the JEM Records bankruptcy, was closed in 1988. Marty Scott took Paradox Records to MCA where he operated the label from Warren, NJ.

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels established in 1973 Record labels disestablished in 1988