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Rolling Stones Records was the record label formed by
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
members
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
,
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...
,
Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...
,
Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...
, and
Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...
in 1970, after their recording contract 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 ...
expired. The label was initially headed by Marshall Chess, the son of
Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...
founder
Leonard Chess Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recor ...
. It was first distributed in the United States 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 ...
subsidiary
Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...
. On 1 April 1971, the band signed a distribution deal for five albums with
Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun ( ; , ; July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and championed many lead ...
, acting on behalf of
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 ...
. In the US, the albums were distributed by Atlantic until 1984. In the UK, Rolling Stones Records were distributed by WEA from 1971 to 1977 and by EMI from 1978 to 1984. In 1986,
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
started distributing it in the United States and CBS for the rest of the world until 1991. It was discontinued in 1992 when the band signed to
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
, but the tongue and lips logo remains on all post-1970 Rolling Stones releases.


History

In its original concept, the label was formed to ensure the Rolling Stones would retain the rights over their own music, while also giving each bandmember the option to release solo albums. The first album to be released was ''
Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka ''Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka'' is an album by the Moroccan group the Master Musicians of Joujouka, released on Rolling Stones Records and distributed by Atco Records in 1971. It was produced by Brian Jones of the Rolli ...
'' in 1971, a pioneering
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 ...
LP. In 1972 the label released '' Jamming with Edward!'', a collection of tracks recorded by Jagger, Wyman, and Watts with
Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...
and
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
in 1969. Bill Wyman released two solo albums through the label, '' Monkey Grip'' in 1974 and '' Stone Alone'' in 1976. Wyman found that the label's promotional and sales people paid very little attention to him, as the Rolling Stones had albums due out shortly after both releases which were the subject of major marketing campaigns. As a result, Wyman chose to record his next solo album with A&M. The label also released a solo single by Richards in December 1978, featuring a rendition of
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
's " Run Rudolph Run" backed by a version of
Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...
's " The Harder They Come".


Other artists

Unlike
Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...
, Grunt Records, Purple Records, or Swan Song Records (the
vanity label Informally, a vanity label (compare vanity press) 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 com ...
s of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...
,
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
, and
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
respectively), Rolling Stones Records never made much of an effort to sign outside artists. Kracker, a Cuban American rock group produced by Rolling Stones producer, Jimmy Miller, was the first outside act to be signed to Rolling Stones Records in 1973. Kracker, along with
Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...
, opened the show for the Stones during their 1973 European Tour. John Phillips was signed to Rolling Stones Records in 1976.


Peter Tosh

In 1977
Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...
, a former member of
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
's band the Wailers signed a recording deal with Rolling Stones Records. His debut album onTiVO the label, '' Bush Doctor'', which featured Jagger on the track " Don't Look Back", was moderately successful. Despite further moderate success, Tosh left the label in 1981 due to personal problems with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, his band members and the recent passing of
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
.


1980s to the end

Jagger released his first solo albums, '' She's the Boss'' and '' Primitive Cool'', in 1985 and 1987 respectively, through a newly conceived partnership between Rolling Stones Records and CBS Records (now
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
). Thus the trademark Rolling Stones logo was affixed to each record and the label "Rolling Stones Records" was also printed on each new release, which angered Richards. In fact, through the 1980s and early 1990s, "Rolling Stones Records" continued to be printed on the labels of all new releases up through '' Flashpoint'' (1991). However, as the back catalogue has been shifted to Virgin/EMI, these markers are the last vapour trails of Rolling Stones Records. In 2008, the group switched distribution of Rolling Stones Records back catalogue material as well as new material to
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 ...
in the UK, and
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
in the US (both imprints of
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, ...
, also distributor of their pre-1971 catalogue as UMG is the distributor for ABKCO Records).


See also

*
Lists 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, ...
*
1970 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1970. Specific locations * 1970 in British music * 1970 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1970 in country music * 1970 in heavy metal music * 1970 in jazz Events *January 3 � ...


References

{{Authority control British record labels Vanity record labels The Rolling Stones Record labels established in 1970 Rock record labels Record labels disestablished in 1992