Record Label
Multinational record label; appears with logo "*Verve*" as well as with logo "*Verve Records*". For all Unofficial / Bootleg releases of this label, please use [[label:188303]]. Verve Records was originally the product of the vision of jazz impresario [[artist:Norman Granz]] (1918-2001). He formed the label in 1956 and moved all of the recordings released on his earlier [[label:Norgran Records]] and [[label:Clef Records]] labels to create the new Verve catalog. The first releases were in February of that year. In March 1957, Verve set up a tape division and announced they were entering the market using their term "Reel O' Gold" to describe the 7 1/2 i.p.s. 7" reel containing 1200 feet of tape. Even though it was still early 1957, they planned only to release stereo tape at the time and would look into monaural tape in the future. The initial price of their stereo tape packages retailed at a whopping $13. In the east, tape reproduction was to be handled by [[label:402017]] and [[label:3513019]] in the west. Among the first releases was [[master:249904]] and other packages by Count Basie, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday and a series of instrumental mood music. On September 10, 1958, Verve entered the stereo LP market releasing 25 albums. In December 1960, Granz sold the label to [[label:247112]], becoming a subsidiary of [[label:MGM Records]] in the process. During the 1960s, Verve expanded into comedy ([[artist:Jonathan Winters]], [[artist:Mort Sahl]], [[artist:Phyllis Diller]]), pop ([[artist:254127]]), R&B ([[artist:Howard Tate]], [[artist:Arthur Prysock]]), rock ([[artist:The Velvet Underground]], [[artist:Frank Zappa]] and the [[artist:Mothers of Invention]], [[artist:Blues Project]]) and folk ([[artist:Janis Ian]], [[artist:Richie Havens]], [[artist:Tim Hardin]]) music, eventually creating the [[label:Verve Folkways]] (later renamed [[label:Verve Forecast]]) label in 1966 for issuing more psychedelic-leaning rock as well as folk and blues material. Verve had million-selling jazz recordings during that decade from [[artist:Stan Getz]], [[artist:Kai Winding]], [[artist:Astrud Gilberto]], [[artist:Ella Fitzgerald]] and [[artist:Jimmy Smith]] among others under the studio/A&R direction of [[artist:Creed Taylor]]. The MGM film studio sold its record division to [[label:Polydor]] in 1972, a move that brought Verve into the newly formed [[label:PolyGram]] and its family of record labels. Verve slowly became relegated to jazz reissues as MGM Records (and the non-jazz Verve output) was ultimately absorbed into Polydor by 1976. During this period, PolyGram had [[label:Mercury]] Records' [[label:Emarcy]] jazz catalog absorbed into Verve's holdings. In the late 1980s, PolyGram decided to reactivate the long-dormant label with both a reissue program and new artist signings. The revitalized label's new material and remastered classic recordings sold very well and it soon became PolyGram's front-line jazz division. With the 1999 merger of [[label:PolyGram]] with Vivendi Universal creating the [[label:Universal Music Group]], Verve Records became the hub of the [[label:The Verve Music Group]], which also encompasses the influential [[label:1071]], [[label:26557]] and [[label:6433]] labels as well as overseeing the jazz catalog holdings of a number of UMG-owned labels, including [[label:Commodore]], [[label:Chess]], [[label:Brunswick]] (pre-1958), [[label:Argo (2)]], [[label:Cadet Records]], [[label:Dot Records]], [[label:Coral]], [[label:Decca]], [[label:ABC-Paramount]], [[label:904]], [[label:Mercury]], [[label:Philips]] and [[label:Polydor]]. For the different label designs, see label guide links below. For the company credits, see: -[[label:Verve Records, Inc.]] (1956-1960) -[[label:MGM Records]], a division of [[label:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.]] (US) / [[label:MGM Records]], a division of [[label:Loew's Incorporated]] (Germany) (1960-1971)