American record label
20th Century Fox Records
(also known as
20th Fox Records
and
20th Century Records
, or simply
20th Century Fox Film Scores
and
Fox Records
) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio
20th Century Fox
. The history of the label covers three distinct 20th Century Fox-related operations in the analog era, ranging chronologically from about 1938 to 2011.
History
[
edit
]
20th Century Fox (now
20th Century Studios
) was formed through the merger of
Darryl F. Zanuck
's
Twentieth Century Pictures
with the
Fox Film
Corporation on May 31, 1935.
[1]
Before the merger, Fox Film Corporation tried out a couple of short-lived record labels in conjunction with its
Movietone sound system
. Although Movietone was a dedicated sound-on-film system, in 1929-30 Fox produced some soundtracks on disc to accompany features shown in theaters not yet equipped for optical sound.
[2]
Between 1933 and 1937, a custom record label called
Fox Movietone
was produced starting at F-100 and running through F-136.
[3]
It featured songs from Fox movies, first using material recorded and issued on the
RCA Victor
Bluebird
label and halfway through switched to material recorded and issued on
ARC
's dime store labels. These scarce records were sold only at Fox Theaters.
In 1938, 20th Century began a new, semi-private line of records employing white labels with typed, or mimeographed, information. Matrix numbers are variable, but the earliest known records in this series correspond to the picture
Sally, Irene and Mary
(1938) and the latest ones to
The Gang's All Here
(1943).
[2]
These discs were limited exclusively to studio properties recorded on 20th Century Fox soundstages and were used for promotional purposes and as giveaways to staff and visitors to the studio itself. After this small scale venture was discontinued, 20th Century Fox stayed out of record production for about 15 years, though its music division remained very active in licensing 20th Century Fox musicals and soundtrack music for use on record albums to other companies, such as that for the 1956 film
The King and I
, released on
Capitol Records
. The studio also had success in the 1950s with films starring popular singers
Elvis Presley
and
Pat Boone
, with Presley making his film debut in
Love Me Tender
(1956) and Boone debuting in
Bernardine
and then following it up with
April Love
(both 1957).
[4]
Fox set up a record company in South Africa and started talks with
Roulette Records
to form a partnership in the US but talks fell through and Fox decided to set up their own company in the US.
[4]
20th Fox Records
[
edit
]
20th Fox Records was established in 1958 with Henry Onorati at its head; Onorati was hired away from
Dot Records
to run the new label.
[5]
Onorati brought with him "Carol of the Drum," a
Katherine K. Davis
Christmas carol that had been recorded at Dot, but not released; it was retooled as "
The Little Drummer Boy
" and issued on 20th Fox as a single by the
Harry Simeone
Chorale. It became a Christmas standard in short order
[6]
and put the label on a sound footing.
[7]
During Onorati's tenure, 20th Fox was at its most ambitious and the album program was oriented towards an adult audience, whereas the singles attempted, without much success, to crack the sales charts.
[8]
20th Fox albums often appeared in deluxe packaging, and sometimes the film soundtrack albums featured narration or were bridged with dialog from the films.
Other releases, such as those featuring
Glenn Miller
,
George Gershwin
, and
Shirley Temple
, were sourced from vault film elements. 20th Fox also featured new albums by veteran artists such as
Eubie Blake
,
Claude Hopkins
and
Stuff Smith
;
Hugo Winterhalter
made his debut as a leader on 20th Fox.
[2]
In 1962, Onorati resigned from 20th Fox and went back to Dot;
[9]
his last 20th Fox project was the soundtrack album for
The Longest Day
. Onorati was replaced by Basil J. Bova.
[10]
20th Century Fox Records
[
edit
]
Upon assuming the top job at 20th Fox, Basil Bova's first order of business was to quell rumors that the label planned to merge with
Cameo-Parkway Records
.
[11]
In May 1963, Bova renamed 20th Fox Records as 20th Century-Fox Records and the label design was changed to incorporate the movie studio logo.
[12]
20th Century Fox was unusual in that its singles and album programs were separate entities; whereas the singles exploited pop and novelty fare,
[13]
the album program was considerably more adult and represented a continuation of the plan Onorati had originally devised for the label.
[14]
Exceptions include albums based around successful singles, such as
Sing We Now of Christmas
which included "The Little Drummer Boy" by The Harry Simeone Chorale,
Navy Blue
by
Diane Renay
and two albums by
Mary Wells
who enjoyed five mid-chart hits in 1964 and 1965.
Bova anticipated that the soundtrack album for
Cleopatra
would be "the blockbuster of them all".
[15]
Appearing before the film's release by about two months in June 1963,
[16]
the soundtrack debuted at #2 on the Billboard album chart and sold steadily. But the film opened to losses so great
[17]
that belt-tightening was felt throughout the studio structure, and in 1965 it reached the record label. The 20th Century Fox studio closed its newsreel division in 1963,
[18]
cutting off the label's access to documentary audio for use in a series of current events albums, and tentative steps towards branching out into folk music and psychedelic rock were stopped altogether.
From 1966,
ABC Records
handled distribution of 20th Century Fox Records, and the label issued soundtrack LPs only, but also briefly instituted a budget subsidiary, Movietone Records, to handle back catalog.
[19]
20th Century Fox Records enjoyed one more hit album with the soundtrack to
Valley of the Dolls
, though it did not contain
Dionne Warwick
's version of the film's theme. They also released the soundtrack to
Hello Dolly
, starring
Barbra Streisand
, among other film-related projects.
In 1970, the 20th Century Fox studio shut down the record label, though ABC Records still continued to distribute stock on
The Little Drummer Boy
, a repackaging of
Sing We Now of Christmas
.
20th Century Records
[
edit
]
The label was dormant (with
ABC Records
distributing the label's back catalog during that time) from 1970 to early 1972, when the label was revived as 20th Century Records by
Russ Regan
on a budget of $1 million a year for the first 3 years.
[20]
The first three acts signed to the 20th Century label were
The DeFranco Family
,
Maureen McGovern
, and
Barry White
; however,
Brighter Side of Darkness
gave the newly renamed label their first hit record in 1973 with
Love Jones
. The label also had major hits with
Barry White
's
The Love Unlimited Orchestra
,
Love Unlimited
,
Carl Douglas
(best known for the song "
Kung Fu Fighting
"),
Edwin Starr
,
Stephanie Mills
,
Leon Haywood
, Carl Carlton and the
Star Wars
soundtrack in 1977. The label also released the debut album from
The Alan Parsons Project
in 1976 in most of the world except Europe.
Other projects
[
edit
]
The company also re-released the
Harry Simeone
Chorale's recording of "
Little Drummer Boy
" and the album on which it was first featured,
Sing We Now of Christmas
, later reissued as
The Little Drummer Boy
(this was part of the first 1958-era label series). It became the best selling Christmas album of all time. The rights were later acquired by
PolyGram
, which released it on CD in 1988, on the
Mercury Records
label.
Among the movie soundtrack albums released by 20th Century Fox Records were those of
Zorba the Greek
,
The Bible: In the Beginning
,
Doctor Dolittle
, and
Patton
, all of them 20th Century Fox films. However, the label did not issue the soundtrack albums of any of the
Rodgers and Hammerstein
films released by the studio. Instead, the albums made from five of these films were released by
Capitol Records
(
Oklahoma!
and
Carousel
due to star
Shirley Jones
' recording contract and
The King and I
due to contractual obligations of
Yul Brynner
), and the remaining two albums by
RCA Victor
(
South Pacific
and
The Sound of Music
due to stars
Mitzi Gaynor
's and
Julie Andrews
' recording contracts with that label). Years later, the Capitol albums reappeared on CD in expanded versions issued by
Angel Records
. (The film versions of
Oklahoma
and
South Pacific
, although released in
roadshow
format by the Magna Corporation, were given general release by 20th Century Fox.)
Later years
[
edit
]
In 1966, Fox had a deal with
ABC Records
for distribution and until 1970, this partnership enjoyed success. By 1970, with the parent 20th Century Fox in financial trouble (which eventually led to discontent that resulted in the ousting of
Darryl Zanuck
), the new output of the record company dropped to zero. Although albums that had been selling were distributed by
ABC Records
, no new product was forthcoming and 20th Century-Fox then shut down its record subsidiary.
[21]
It was re-activated in 1972 as
20th Century Records
and designed a smart new blue label with a new logo.
Russ Regan
, a veteran "record man", became the new head of the label, a move that increased their credibility in the business considerably. Promotion seemed better, too, as the first two singles issued by the new incarnation both charted. Their biggest selling artist at the time,
Barry White
, scored two number one hits with "
Love's Theme
" with
Love Unlimited Orchestra
and his own "
Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
". 20th Century-Fox had budgeted a million dollars a year for three years to support the revived label, but it began paying its own way after only six months.
[20]
In 1976, Russ Regan left to form his own
Parachute Records
label which was distributed by
Casablanca Records
(Regan folded Parachute in mid-1979, and, ironically, Casablanca would later redistribute 20th Century's back catalog after PolyGram bought the label). Barry White then set up his own label, Unlimited Gold Records, through CBS, which had performed the pressing duties for 20th since 1972, after he chose not to renew his contract with Fox in 1978.
The company reverted to 20th Century-Fox Records with a new label design featuring the movie studio's logo and launched a new distribution deal for
Carl Davis
'
Chi Sound Records
in 1978 after leaving their deal with
United Artists Records
. In 1979,
RCA Records
took over distribution of the label.
[22]
Closure
[
edit
]
Managerial and operational control of the label were sold
PolyGram
in April 1982;
[23]
the company acquired its catalog in July.
[24]
Oil magnate
Marvin Davis
, who had acquired 20th Century Fox, was not interested in the record company, hence its sale. All of its catalog and contracts for then-current artists including
Stephanie Mills
,
Dusty Springfield
and
Carl Carlton
were folded into and became part of the
Casablanca
label, which PolyGram had purchased in 1977.
Universal Music Group
, the successor of PolyGram, now owns the old 20th Century-Fox Records catalog with reissues handled by
Universal Music Enterprises
(UMe), which took over distribution from Mercury, which
Island Records
absorbed in 2014. Soundtracks that 20th Century Fox owned are controlled by
Fox Music
(now
Hollywood Records
) but are often licensed to other entities for reissues.
Fox Music Records
[
edit
]
It was launched in 1992 as Fox Records in a joint venture with
BMG Music
.
[25]
One of the artists of the label was
Jamie Foxx
.
[26]
It folded again in 1995.
[27]
Fox Music licensed music heard on Fox feature films or TV shows to other record companies. For example, the rights to the soundtrack of the film
Titanic
are licensed to
Sony Music
.
[28]
Also,
Glee
cast
albums are licensed to Sony Music's
Columbia Records
in a 50/50 venture with 20th Century Fox. These albums were issued using the
20th Century Fox TV Records
imprint, which was launched in 2009 and distributed by Columbia.
[29]
[30]
In 2019, Fox Music was absorbed into the
Disney Music Group
upon
The Walt Disney Company
's absorption of parent company
21st Century Fox
. Disney Music Group is distributed by Universal Music, which owns the 20th Century Fox Records catalog.
Artists
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Unofficial Fox Studios fansite - Chronology"
. the studiotour.com
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
a
b
c
David N. Lewis: "Where Did You Come From: The 20th Century Fox Label" ARSC Journal XLIII, No. 1 Spring 2012
- ^
"Fox Movietone Records"
. Hensteeth.com
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
a
b
"20th-Fox Entering Record Business"
.
Variety
. January 22, 1958. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 20,
2021
– via
Archive.org
.
- ^
Anonymous, "20th Fox set with 1st Disk Releases."
Billboard
April 21, 1958.
- ^
"The Little Drummer Boy by Harry Simeone Chorale Songfacts"
. Songfacts.com
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
Anonymous, "20th Fox in Black, Onorati Tells Brass," Billboard January 26, 1959.
- ^
"20th Century Fox Records"
. Bsnpubs.com. 2006-02-07
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
"Onorati Rejoins Dot for N.Y. Post,"
Billboard
, October 6, 1962.
- ^
There is a long held rumor that "break-in" record king
Dickie Goodman
headed the 20th Century Fox record label in the early 1960s, stemming from an article by Chuck Miller. Goodman did make a single for 20th Century Fox and produced some albums for them in 1963-1964, but apparently was never president of the company. Contemporary articles establish that the job passed from Onorati directly to Bova.
- ^
"20th Head Denies Merger Talk,"
Billboard
, March 30, 1962, p. 12
- ^
"Now It's 20th Century Fox,"
Billboard
, May 25, 1963, p. 4
- ^
"Global Dog Productions"
. Globaldogproductions.info
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
"20th Century Fox Album Discography, Part 2"
. Bsnpubs.com
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
"20th Head Denies Merger Talk,"
Billboard
August 25, 1962, pg. 4
- ^
"20th Century Fox Album Discography, Part 3"
. Bsnpubs.com. 2006-02-08
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
John Patterson (July 15, 2013).
"Cleopatra, the film that killed off big-budget epics | Film"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
"History of 20th Century Fox"
. 6 March 2007.
- ^
"Movietone Album Discography"
. Bsnpubs.com. 2006-02-07
. Retrieved
2015-07-12
.
- ^
a
b
Billboard Magazine
. Billboard Publications, Inc. August 31, 1974
. Retrieved
March 26,
2011
.
- ^
Callahan, Mike; Edwards, David; Eyries, Patrice (February 7, 2006).
"20th Century Fox Records"
. Retrieved
March 26,
2011
.
- ^
Billboard Magazine
. Billboard Publications, Inc. January 13, 1979
. Retrieved
March 26,
2011
.
- ^
"PolyGram, 20th Tie Seen As Foundation For Buyout"
(PDF)
.
Billboard
. 1982-04-10
. Retrieved
2023-04-18
.
- ^
"PolyGram Firms 20th Ownership"
(PDF)
.
Billboard
. 1982-07-24
. Retrieved
2023-04-18
.
- ^
Billboard
. Nielsen Business Media. July 4, 1992. p.
6
. Retrieved
August 15,
2011
– via
Internet Archive
.
fox records + bmg + 1995.
- ^
Billboard
. Nielsen Business Media. August 14, 1993. p.
11
. Retrieved
August 15,
2011
– via
Internet Archive
.
jamie foxx + fox records.
- ^
Meyer, Gust de (1997).
Sprekende machines: geschiedenis van ...
Maklu.
ISBN
9789053505113
. Retrieved
August 15,
2011
.
- ^
"Titanic" floats Sony Classical"
. Gregsandow.com. Archived from
the original
on March 17, 2012
. Retrieved
July 13,
2015
.
- ^
Barker, Andrew (2009-12-04).
"Music biz strikes a chord with TV placement"
. Variety
. Retrieved
2013-07-22
.
- ^
"20TH CENTURY FOX TV RECORDS - Reviews & Brand Information - Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Los Angeles, CA - Serial Number: 77835627"
. Trademarkia.com
. Retrieved
2015-07-13
.
External links
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Defunct or sold units
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Lists of films
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