Bell Records
Bell Records, founded 1952: jazz artists and albums on the label.
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell, who used the Bell name to issue risqué novelty records. A British branch was also active in the 1960s and 1970s. Bell Records was shut down in late 1974, and its assets were transferred to Columbia Pictures' new label, Arista Records.
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Artists on Bell Records
Quincy Jones
1933–2024 · American record producer and composer (1933–2024)
Michel Legrand
1932–2019 · French film score composer (1932–2019)
Al Green
b. 1946 · American singer
Cab Calloway
1907–1994 · American jazz singer (1907–1994)
Artie Shaw
1910–2004 · American clarinetist, composer, and bandleader (1910-2004)
Dick Powell
1904–1963 · American actor (1904-1963)
Tommy Dorsey
1905–1956 · American big band leader and musician
Allen Toussaint
1938–2015 · American musician, songwriter and record producer…
Shirley Horn
1934–2005 · American singer (1934–2005)
Jimmy Dorsey
1904–1957 · American clarinetist, alto saxophonist, bandleader, and…
Kitty Kallen
1921–2016 · American singer (1921-2016)
Sy Oliver
1910–1988 · American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and…
Ray Eberle
1919–1979 · American singer (1919–1979)
Larry Clinton
1909–1985 · American musician (1909–1985)
Will Bradley
1912–1989 · American trombonist (1912–1989)
Label profile
Also appears as "Bell" only or "Bell Record". For unofficial releases, see Bell Records (3).
In 1952 Arthur Shimkin bought the Bell label from Benny Bell and became President of the company. Head of A&R was Morty Palitz. The musical director was Sy Oliver. In its early stages, Bell recorded popular music and comedy. By 1959, Al Massler was President of Bell. Massler formed Mala Records in 1959 as a subsidiary label to Bell, Mala recorded popular, rock and roll and R&B music. Massler also formed another subsidiary, Amy Records, in 1960. Amy recorded popular, rock and roll, ethnic, comedy and R&B. The original Bell records of the '50s generally tended toward cover versions of popular hits of the times, much as the Tops Records label did, or "generic" non-hit pop. After Massler became president, they concentrated more on albums, much like budget pop labels such as Strand. The orchestral backup was first-rate on many of these, with bands such as Sy Oliver and Burt Bacharach appearing.
But generic pop music was dying out as the '50s closed, and by the turn of the decade, some changes needed to be made if the label was to survive. By 1959, the Bell label itself was almost inactive on th
Profile from Discogs (CC0)