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Liberty

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Multinational label, originally founded 1955 in Hollywood, California. Also known as Liberty Records. Label code: LC 0249 / LC 00249 Use [l=Liberty (3)] for all unofficial/bootleg/counterfeit releases pretending to be this label. See [l=Liberty Records, Inc.], for the company. [b]History[/b] 1955: The independent American label was launched February 22, 1955, as subsidiary of [l=Liberty Records, Inc.], in Hollywood, California, by [url=/artist/352703]Simon (Si) Waronker[/url], who previously was music director for 20th Century Fox films. The idea for the record company came from Waronker's cousin, Herb Newman, who would found Era Records. [a=Jack Ames (3)] was vice president; [a=Alvin Bennett (3)] joined the company as VP and general manager on March 1, 1958, and was later president; [a=Ted Keep] (Theodore) was chief engineer. Simon's, Alvin's and Theodore's names were later immortalized in [a=The Chipmunks] — a release that brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy in 1958. [a=Julie London] had the label's first big hit in 1955, and she became known as the "Liberty Girl." 1959: Liberty begins to distribute local labels through [l=Liberty Records Sales Corp.], soon acquiring and licensing several other independent American labels including [l=Dolton Records] (1963), [l=Imperial] (and subsidiaries [l=Aladdin] and [l=Minit], 1964), [l=Blue Note] (1965), [l=World Pacific] (1965), [l=Pacific Jazz] (1965), and [l=Blue Thumb Records]. 1960: Liberty was taken public by Bennett to raise capital. 1963: Avent Electronics bought the company for $12 million, and Waronker retired. After two years of financial losses, Avnet sold the company back to Bennett for $8 million. 1967: [l=Liberty Records Limited] established in the UK and [l=Liberty Records GmbH] in Germany. 1968: Liberty was bought by [l=Transamerica Corporation] — the parent company of [l=United Artists Records] — for $38 million, on March 1, 1968. The union of Liberty and UA operated as a "paired" entity in various markets as "Liberty/UA." The companies at this time were [l=Liberty/U.A. INC.], [l=Liberty/UA GmbH] and [l=Liberty/United Artists Records Ltd.] (which may help to date versions). 1970: Bennett resigned, replaced by Michael Stewart. 1971: Liberty was folded into [url=/label/4898]United Artists[/url]. 1979: UA was taken over by EMI and the Liberty brand was revived in 1980. It traded as [l=Liberty/United Records, Inc.], for a short time. 1980: Start of the budget line with catalog number format LN 10XXX (see the bsnpubs link for dating). 1981: Liberty label relaunched in the UK through [l=Liberty Records (UK) Ltd.] The Liberty brand currently exists as an EMI Group imprint around the world, used by various EMI operating companies for a variety of acts. [b]International[/b] Belgium: Originally released through [l=London Records], represented by [l=Fonior]. Represented by [l=S.A. Gramophone N.V.] since circa 1962. Netherlands: Originally released through [l=London Records], represented by [l=Philips Phonografische Industrie]. Represented by [l=N.V. Bovema] (later [l=B.V. Bovema]) since circa 1962. Germany: [l=Liberty Records GmbH] (circa 1967) UK: [l=Liberty Records Limited] (circa 1967); [l=Liberty Records (UK) Ltd.] (circa 1980s) [b]Identification (U.S. releases)[/b] [u]Label dating for 45 rpm releases[/u] 55001 through 55270 (1955–1960): green labels with silver print. 55271 through 56218 (1960–1970): multi-color label. [u]Producers[/u] Between 1959 and 1962, Liberty was known to credit producers with their initials on the labels. The initials can appear as a suffix to the label matrix or in or out of parentheses on other parts of the label. Upper- and lowercase initials are known to exist. [i]Known initials:[/i] FS – [a=Felix Slatkin] JA – [a=Joe Allison] PM – unidentified SG – [a=Snuff Garrett] SW – [a=Si Waronker]