Fontana Records
{{Short description|Record label; imprint of N.V. Philips Phonografische Industrie}}
{{More footnotes|date=June 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox record label
| bgcolor = #000000
| name = {{color|white|Fontana Records}}
| image = Fontanalogo.png
| image_size = 150
| parent = Universal Music Group (1999–2012, 2019–present)
Isolation Network (2012–2019)
| founded = {{start date and age|1954}}
| distributor = {{hlist|Philips Records {{small|(1954–72)}}|PolyGram Group Distribution {{small|(1972–99)}}|Fontana Distribution {{small|(1999–2020)}}|Virgin Music Group {{small|(2020–present)}}}}
| genre = Various
| country = U.S.
| location = Los Angeles
| website =
}}
Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records.{{cite book|last=Bell|first=Robin|title=The History of British Rock and Roll: The Beat Boom 1963 – 1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trymCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT226|date=13 February 2016|publisher=Lulu Press |isbn=978-91-981916-6-0|pages=226–}} Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label.
History
Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations, it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records.
Fontana's U.S. counterpart label was started in 1964 and distributed by Philips US subsidiary Mercury Records. The initial single release (F 1501) was an instrumental track with a wild teen beat by famed British session drummer Bobby Graham, both sides featuring Jimmy Page on guitar. Among the hitmakers were Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders (later on their own simply as The Mindbenders), The Troggs, The New Vaudeville Band, Manfred Mann, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, and Steam.{{cite news|author=Daniel E. Slotnik|title= Gary DeCarlo, Who Sang 'Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,' Is Dead
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/arts/music/gary-decarlo-dead-sang-na-na-hey-hey-kiss-him-goodbye.html|date=29 June 2017|newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=9 March 2023}}
In 2009 the label released Brooke Hogan's album.[http://www.usmagazine.com/node/27137 US Weekly review Brooke Hogan] retrieved 22 December 2021
U.S. label variations
- 1964—Pink label
- 1965-1970—Light blue or slightly darker-toned blue label (some of these labels were stamped with an "S")
- 1980s—Black and silver label
See also
References
External links
- [http://bsnpubs.com/mercury/fontana/fontana.html Fontana story from BSN Pubs]
- [http://microgroove.jp/mercury/Fontana.shtml A discography of American Fontana albums in the 1960s and early 1970s]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928164121/http://globaldogproductions.info/fontana.html A discography of American Fontana singles in the 1960s and early 1970s]
- [http://globaldogproductions.info/f/fontana-uk.html A discography of UK Fontana singles from 1958 to 1974]
- [http://globaldogproductions.info/f/fontana-oz.html A discography of Australian Fontana singles]
{{Universal Music Group}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Record labels established in 1954
Category:Record labels disestablished in 1970