RSO Records was 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, ...

formed by

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several major acts, the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

, Yvonne Elliman,

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, and

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and songwriter. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, musicians who had formed the Bee Gees during the late 1950s. Andy G ...

. The release of the soundtracks of '' Saturday Night Fever'' (over 50 million copies sold worldwide) and '' Grease'' (over 30 million copies sold worldwide), which were two of the best selling albums ever, made RSO one of the most financially successful labels of the 1970s. Additionally, the record label released the soundtracks to '' Fame'', '' Sparkle'', '' Meatballs'', '' The Empire Strikes Back'', '' Return of the Jedi'', ''

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

and'' ''

Grease 2 ''Grease 2'' is a 1982 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film, and a standalone sequel to the Grease (film), 1978 film ''Grease'', adapted from the 1971 Grease (musical), musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Orig ...

''. At one point in 1978, the label boasted an unprecedented six consecutive number-one singles on 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 ...

'' (US) pop charts, holding the top spot for 21 consecutive weeks. With singles releases from the ''Grease'' soundtrack album (" You're the One That I Want", and the title track) and another

hit (" Shadow Dancing"), RSO logged a further 10 weeks at the number 1 position, giving the label a record nine in one calendar year. This feat remains unduplicated by any record label to date. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair. RSO Records underwent four distribution stages: by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

from March 1973 to December 1975, by

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 ...

from January 1976 to December 1977, as an independent label under the PolyGram Group umbrella from January 1978 to around October 1981, and finally by PolyGram Records from around November 1981 until the label's end in 1983. As well as the label was operating in 1978, the disastrous commercial and critical failure of the ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' soundtrack album crippled the company. The woes of this failure were somewhat offset by the middle of 1979, as the

album ''

Spirits Having Flown ''Spirits Having Flown'' is the fifteenth album by the Bee Gees, released in 5 February 1979, by RSO Records. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the '' Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The album's first three tracks we ...

'' went on to eventually sell over 30 million copies (with the album producing three further number 1 singles that each sold more than one million copies in their own right). In 1980, the label's most famous act, the

, filed a $200 million lawsuit against both RSO and Stigwood, claiming mismanagement, which was met with Stigwood's own $310 million countersuit alleging libel, defamation of character and extortion. It is still considered to be the largest successful lawsuit against a record company by an artist or group. The lawsuit was subsequently settled for an undisclosed amount, and after a public reconciliation, the band remained with the label until its dissolution. By 1981, Stigwood had ended his involvement with the label, which was absorbed into PolyGram a few years later. All previous RSO releases were later re-released under the Polydor label, which is now owned by

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, ...

. Reissues from Polydor are distributed in the U.S. by sister label

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 ...

. The ''Star Wars'' soundtracks passed through several hands before ending up with Sony Classical in the 1990s, and finally,

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...

after Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. The Bee Gees catalog reverted to the Gibb family, who set up a new distribution arrangement with Warner Music's

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

, which reissued their albums and the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack until 2016, when the Bee Gees signed a new deal with Universal's

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

Company logo

Stigwood explained the inspiration for RSO Records's akabeko logo in a 2001 interview for ''

'': In the 1978 movie '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', a similar logo of a pig, rather than a cow, was used as a logo of the fictional Big Deal Records label depicted in the film.

Label variations

During its existence, the styling of the RSO circular label changed as it changed its distribution partner. *

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

- distributed label: Peach label with small logo *

Polydor 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 ...

- distributed label: Tan label with large logo, Polydor logo at bottom perimeter of label * Independently distributed label: Tan label with larger logo * PolyGram - distributed label: Silver label with large logo * RSO Top Line - reissue label: White label with gold or silver star, very small logo at top of label between TOP and LINE

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rso Records British record labels Disco record labels Rock record labels Pop record labels Record labels disestablished in 1983 Record labels established in 1973

Company logo

Label variations

See also

References