Philips Records is a

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 by Dutch electronics company

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

and in 1999 was absorbed into Dutch- American music corporation

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, ...

. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in Amsterdam.

History

The record label originated as "Philips Phonographische Industrie" (PPI) in June 1950 when it began issuing

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

recordings. Recordings were also made of popular artists of multiple nationalities and of classical artists from Germany, France and the Netherlands. Launched under the slogan "Records of the Century" (referring to Philips Industries' UK Head Office at Century House, W1), the first releases in Britain appeared in January 1953 on 10" 78 rpm discs, with LPs appearing in July 1954. Philips also distributed recordings made by the United States

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

(which at the time was a unit of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

) in the UK and on the European continent. After the separation of the English Columbia label (owned by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

) and American Columbia, Philips also started distributing original Columbia recordings on the Philips label in the UK. The first batch of eight singles releases in 1953 included British artists such as Gilbert Harding, Flanagan and Allen and

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

, followed by American Columbia recording artists

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

and

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

. The first single on the label to chart was Frankie Laine's " I Believe", which reached the No. 1 chart position in the UK that April. Many of the first British recordings on the label were produced by Norman Newell until John Franz was appointed artists and repertoire ( A&R) manager in 1954. In 1958, Philips created a subsidiary label,

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label. History Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...

, which meant that American-Columbia recordings were being issued on both the Philips and Fontana labels. This arrangement lasted until April 1962, when, under pressure from Columbia in America, Philips then created a third label for them, CBS Records (it could not name the label Columbia as the copyright for that name had long been owned by EMI). In late 1964, under the stewardship of U.S. President of Columbia Records Goddard Lieberson, CBS Records formed its own international operations, adopting the name of its then parent

. CBS Records set up their UK operation in Theobalds Road in Holborn. Singles and albums on the Philips and Fontana labels by Columbia-owned product were subsequently deleted from the catalogue. In 1962, Philips Records and

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

formed the Grammophon-Philips Group joint venture (GPG), which later became PolyGram in 1972. UK pressings were manufactured at the company's large factory based at Walthamstow in N.E. London. In 1961, after Philips lost its US and Canadian distribution deal with Columbia Records, it entered an exchange agreement with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. A year later, Philips' US affiliate Consolidated Electronics Industries Corp. (a.k.a. Conelco), bought Mercury and its subsidiary labels, such as Smash. Philips classical, jazz and pop records were now marketed by Mercury in the US under the Philips label. The Mercury Living Presence team also made classical recordings for Philips, in July 1961. These records, made in Walthamstow Town Hall near London, included Liszt piano concertos by

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time,Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his interpreta ...

and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

conducted by Kiril Kondrashin; two albums of symphonic "bon-bons" by the London Symphony Orchestra and

Charles Mackerras Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an American-born Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associ ...

released as "Kaleidoscope"; "Russian Song Recital" by

Galina Vishnevskaya Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya (, Ivanova, Иванова; 25 October 1926 – 11 December 2012) was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. She was the wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropo ...

and

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

; and Beethoven sonata op. 69 for cello and piano by Richter and Rostropovich. The Richter Liszt album was recorded on 3-track 35mm magnetic film and was reissued on CD from a remaster made from the film by original producer Wilma Cozart Fine, (wife of the recording engineer Bob) as part of the Philips Solo series. Classical groups that Philips heavily recorded included the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...

, the

Beaux Arts Trio The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio, celebrated for their vivacity, emotional depth and wide-ranging repertoire. They made their debut on 13 July 1955, at the Berkshire Music Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, known today as the ...

, and the Quartetto Italiano. Violinist

Arthur Grumiaux Baron Arthur Grumiaux (; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian violinist, considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful t ...

and the pianist

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean and American pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque music, baroque to 20th-century classical music, 20th-century composers, especially B ...

were under contract to Philips. Symphony orchestras under contract, including the LSO, were under the command of prestigious young conductors such as Colin Davis and

Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lond ...

. From 1961 until the late 1980s, Philips Records (USA) issued many classical titles in US-specific packaging, initially in the same glossy-laminated covers as Mercury Records. The records were pressed at Mercury's plant in Richmond, Indiana, and mastered in New York by George Piros at Fine Recording, using 2-track and mono master tapes provided by Philips. These releases were the PHS 900 xxx series for stereo and the 500 xxx series for mono. Clair Van Ausdal in Mercury's New York office oversaw the Philips classical US releases through the mid-1960s. Philips also launched an eponymous jazz label in the US, releasing both imported European Philips recordings and making new American recordings of

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

, among others. These records were made through Mercury's existing jazz operations and produced by Jack Tracy and others. In addition to jazz and classical music, Philips also became a major label in the world of rock and pop music in the late 1950s until late 1970s. In the UK, Philips developed a strong popular music roster, signing acts like

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s and 1960s hit singles including " E ...

, Roy Castle, Anne Shelton,

the Four Pennies The Four Pennies were an English beat group most notable for their 1964 UK chart-topping song " Juliet". The band achieved four more top 40 hits in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States during the British Invasion. Career The Four ...

, the Springfields,

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 ...

, and

the Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (musician), John Walker (real name John Maus) and Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker (real name Noel Scott Engel), with Gary Walker (musician), Gary Wal ...

. The American pop label was launched in 1962 starting with the R&B single "Gee Baby" by Ben & Bea as well as folk-country, like "Makes You Wanna Sigh" by Ross Legacy in 1969. It signed the Four Seasons in 1964. It also played a part in promoting the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

genre and the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

genre in the mid to late 1960s, their most successful signing being

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...

. In the UK during the 1960s and 1970s, Philips turned its attention more to the growing MOR market with artists like Lena Zavaroni, Peters and Lee,

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( ; born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer and politician. Over the span of her career, she has released an estimated 450 albums in at least thirteen languages, including Greek language, Greek, French language, French, ...

and

Demis Roussos Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; , ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek-Egyptian singer, songwriter and musician. As a band member, he is best remembered for his work in the progressive rock music act Aphrodite's Child, but as a ...

, as well as issuing novelty records by media personalities like

Ed Stewart Edward Stewart Mainwaring (23 April 1941 – 9 January 2016), known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 (particularly the Saturday morning ' ...

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 75 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the Associated Te ...

, Dave Allen and Chris Hill. In 1970, Philips, Fontana,

, and the newly formed

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a British record company. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Universal Music Group#B ...

were amalgamated into a new company called

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phon ...

. In Europe, however, Philips was used on a major basis and it became the outlet for

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 ...

in America and distributed a number of punk and new wave bands like

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

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 ...

, and Radio Birdman, who were signed from Australia. It also released some disco records by

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

and the Village People, as their home label

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

was not cleared for use in all countries around the world. Another important American label signing for the UK was Avco Records, which provided Phonogram with one of their best-selling U.S. acts, the Stylistics. By late 1979 Phonogram signed Dire Straits to the Vertigo label. The band sold huge numbers of records all over Europe and were chosen to promote the initial release of CDs in 1985, with a nationwide road tour in association with Philips/Sony Industries. By 1980, PolyGram consolidated all of its U.S. operations, Phonogram, Inc.

, RSO, Casablanca and

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

and associated labels into PolyGram Records and it was based in New York City. Under the new company, PolyGram decided to discontinue Philips as a pop and rock label in the UK and throughout much of Europe, though it still frequently issued records in France and South East Asia by Chinese and Hong Kong pop artists. The majority of PolyGram's rock and pop music signings went to Mercury, and Polydor in the UK and Europe, though the label was used sparingly in America. Philips became part of PolyGram Classics as a classical music label along with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

and

. Most artists were moved to

or other local PolyGram-owned labels. From the early 1970s, Philips classical records were no longer being produced in the US; rather they were made in the Netherlands and sold as imports in the American market. Philips reissued a group of Mercury Living Presence titles as "Mercury Golden Imports", with manufacture in the Netherlands and masters cut from 2-track production tapes, as opposed to the original-issue method of mixing stereo LPs directly from the edited 3-track master tapes and films. In the 1980s, Philips Classics Records was formed to distribute its classical artists, although classical recordings have also been issued on the regular Philips label. In the US, Philips eventually handled distribution and sales for Philips, Mercury, British Decca (sold under the London label in the US) and Deutsche Grammophon. After the sale of PolyGram to Vivendi/Seagram, all PolyGram-labels - including Philips and Decca - became part of the

Compact disc era

In 1983, Philips became one of the first record labels to issue

compact discs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of holding of uncompr ...

using

digital recording In digital recording, an audio signal, audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or Color, chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is s ...

s that had been made since 1978. Philips and its subsidiaries eventually re-issued many of its pre-digital stereo and mono recordings on compact disc. Philips and DuPont partnered in four CD manufacturing plants in Hanover, Germany; Blackburn in the UK (formerly the Philips Laservision Disc factory); Kings Mountain in North Carolina, and Louviers in France. By the mid-1990s, PolyGram Classics handled the classical labels (Philips, Mercury, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon) and Verve Music Group handled the jazz back catalogue (from Verve, Mercury, etc.) and new jazz releases. Island Records absorbed Mercury in 2014 and in doing so, Island has continued to manage the Philips pop back catalogue to this day. Philips Records has been part of

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

since 1998, the name continuing to be licensed from the label's former parent company. In 1999, Philips Classics was absorbed into the Decca Music Group, and Philips recording and mastering operations in the Netherlands were shut down. Former employees bought the Philips Recording Center in Baarn, Netherlands, and formed Polyhymnia International (a recording and mastering company) and Pentatone Records (which specializes in SACD releases). Many of the Philips classical recordings have been reissued on the Eloquence label. Universal also released a "Philips 50" series marking the 50th anniversary of Philips Records in the early 2000s; some of those CDs are still in print. Pentatone has released Philips

Quadraphonic sound Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio formed by analogy with "stereo"">portmanteau.html" ;"title="/nowiki>portmanteau">formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 s ...

recordings from the early and mid-1970s in 4-channel SACD format, as their RQR Series. Philips' classical catalog was issued on CD under the headings ''Digital Classics'', ''Legendary Classics'' and ''Silver Line Classics.'' Many of these titles have been reissued on the Decca label.

Releases

Connoisseur Collection

The "Philips Connoisseur Collection" issued

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and other genres. *PCC–603: Soeur Sourire – ''The Singing Nun'' *PCC–606: Missa Luba (a version of the Latin Mass based on traditional Congolese songs) *PCC–611: Les Soeurs Blanches Of Katana – ''Missa Bantu'' *PCC–616:

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...

– '' The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies De Cherbourg)'' *PCC–619: Los Fronterizos Chorus and Orchestra – ''Misa Criolla'' *PCC–608:

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

– ''Adieu, Little Sparrow'' *PCC–620:

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

: ''The Poetic World of Jacques Brel'' *PCC–621: Sarah Gorby – ''Songs of the Ghetto'' *PCC–623: Various – ''Misa Flamenca · Misa Mozarabe'' *PCC–633:

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...

– ''Extraordinaire!'' *PCC–634:

: ''If you go away''

Popular music artists

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

– '' David Bowie (Space Oddity)'' (1969) * Lucifer's Friend – Germany/UK (1970) *

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a Breton people, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specif ...

– '' Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique'' (1972) * John R. Cash – U.S. *

Nike Ardilla Raden Rara Nike Ratnadilla Kusnadi (27 December 1975 – 19 March 1995), better known as Nike Ardilla (), was an Indonesian singer and actress of Sundanese descent. Usually referred to as the Lady Rocker and the Queen of Rock by the In ...

–

South East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

(1990–1993) * Kamahl – Australia * Galapagos Duck – Australia * Radio Birdman – Australia – European release only * Hush – Australia (debut single release only) * Silver Studs – Australia *

– Greece *

– Greece * Guys 'n' Dolls – England * The Missing Links – Australia *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

(US singles from 1968 to 1970) *

Mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

– England (1969, but also on Philips in Europe from 1975 to 1977) * Thunderthighs – England * 5,000 Volts – England * Lena Zavaroni – Scotland * Madeline Bell –

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

* Jorge Ben - Brazil * Maria Bethânia – Brazil *

–

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, U.S. * Blue Mink – England *

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

–

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, U.S. *

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, econom ...

– Brazil *

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

–

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany *

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

(licensed from U.S.

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) *

Gal Costa Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of Música popular brasileira, popular music. Twelve-times Bra ...

– Brazil *

Teresa De Sio Teresa De Sio (born 3 November 1952) is an Italian pop-folk singer and songwriter. She is the elder sister of actress Giuliana De Sio. Life and career Teresa De Sio was born in Naples and grew up in Cava de' Tirreni, where her family was origin ...

– Cava de' Tirreni, Italy * Val Doonican – Ireland *

Ekseption Ekseption was a Dutch rock band active from 1967 to 1989, playing mostly-instrumental progressive rock and Classical crossover, classical rock. The central character in the changing roster, and the only band member present on every album, was con ...

– Netherlands * Eloy ( debut album only) *

The Four Pennies The Four Pennies were an English beat group most notable for their 1964 UK chart-topping song " Juliet". The band achieved four more top 40 hits in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States during the British Invasion. Career The Four ...

– various, England * The Four Seasons –

, U.S. * Frumpy – Hamburg, Germany *

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

– France *

– Belgium *

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

–

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, France (from 1961 until 2005) *Coco Briaval – Paris, France (1966) * Wes Harrison – * H.P. Lovecraft –

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, U.S. * Bobby Hebb –

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, U.S. *

Johnny Horton John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...

– (licensed from U.S.

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) *

Brian Hyland Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He had a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with " Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot B ...

–

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, U.S. * Jim and Jean –

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, U.S. (1965) *

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

– New York, U.S * The Kaye Sisters – England *

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

–

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany *

(licensed from US Columbia Records) * Vicky Leandros – Greece/Germany * Los Paraguayos –

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Luv' Luv' were a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe ( Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Finland) as well as Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Cana ...

– Netherlands * Harvey Mandel –

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, U.S. *

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

– European release only * Susan Maughan – Consett, County Durham * Paul Mauriat –

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France *

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...

–

, U.S. *

Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. His best-kno ...

(licensed from US Columbia) * Mouth & MacNeal – Netherlands * Osamu Minagawa – Japan * New Vaudeville Band – England * Peters and Lee – England *

Ajda Pekkan Ayşe Ajda Pekkan (; born 12 February 1946) is a Turkish singer. She is known by the title "superstar" in the Turkish media. Pekkan became a prominent figure of Turkish pop music with her songs, in which she tried to create a strong female figure. ...

– Turkey *

(licensed from US Columbia) * Richard and the Young Lions –

, U.S. * Raul Seixas – Brazil * Serendipity Singers –

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, U.S. *

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

–

Tryon, North Carolina Tryon is a town in Polk County, on the southwestern border of North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,562. Located in the escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, today the area is affluent and a center ...

, U.S. *

The Singing Nun Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers (17 October 1933 – 29 March 1985), better known as and often called The Singing Nun in English-speaking countries, was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic singer-songwriter and former member ...

– Fichermont, Belgium *

Sir Douglas Quintet The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record produ ...

–

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, U.S. *

– West Hampstead,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* The Springfields –

* The Swingle Singers – Paris, France * Wally Tax –

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands *

The Tempters The Tempters were part of Japan's Group Sounds pop music era in the 1960s. Featuring lead singing, vocalist Kenichi Hagiwara, who was also known by the nickname of Shoken, they rivaled The Tigers (Japanese band), The Tigers for the top spot in th ...

– Japan *T.O.P - Norway * Luigi Tenco – 21 March 1938, Cassine,

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

– 27 January 1967,

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

Imperia Imperia (; or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini create ...

, Italy * Frankie Vaughan –

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, EnglandFormerly on

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

, and on Columbia from 1967. Then moved to Pye in 1973 until 1978, when he recorded for a variety of labels, including

Ronco HD Schulman International Trading LLC, doing business as Ronco, is an American company that manufactures and sells kitchen appliances. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials for the company's products quickly made Ronco a hous ...

, ''Big V Records''. *

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

– Brazil *

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (musician), John Walker (real name John Maus) and Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker (real name Noel Scott Engel), with Gary Walker (musician), Gary Wal ...

–

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, U.S.; based in London from Feb. 1965 * John Walker – New York, U.S. * Scott Walker –

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

, U.S. * David Whitfield – England *

– Greenwich, South London *

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (; 21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flamen ...

– Algeciras, Spain * UG14 - Malaysia (1991)

References

External links

Philips Records
* https://philipsrecords.wixsite.com/history
Official Decca & Philips Classics Website

A discography of American Philips pop albums in the 1960s and early 1970s

{{Authority control Dutch record labels Jazz record labels Philips Record labels established in 1950 Dutch companies established in 1950 Labels distributed by Universal Music Group