Island Records
Island Records, founded 1959: jazz artists and albums on the label.
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, Leslie Kong and lawyer Michael Ernest David Chambers in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France (known as Vertigo France until 2014). Current key people include Imran Majid and Justin Eshak who were named co-CEOs of Island Records in 2021. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.
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Artists on Island Records
Amy Winehouse
1983–2011 · English singer-songwriter (1983–2011)
Angelique Kidjo
b. 1960 · Beninese-French world music singer (born 1960)
Paco de Lucía
1947–2014 · Spanish flamenco, classical, jazz guitarist & musician…
Etta James
1938–2012 · American singer (1938–2012)
Tom Waits
b. 1949 · American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1949)
Manu Dibango
1933–2020 · Cameroonian musician and songwriter, recording artist…
Traffic
1967– · English rock band
Ginger Baker
1939–2019 · British drummer (1939–2019)
Gabriella Cilmi
b. 1991 · Australian singer
John Surman
b. 1944 · British saxophonist and clarinetist
Georgie Fame
b. 1943 · English rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player
Ernest Ranglin
b. 1932 · Jamaican guitarist and composer
Chris Spedding
b. 1944 · English rock and roll and jazz guitarist
Will Downing
b. 1963 · American singer-songwriter and producer
James Booker
1939–1983 · American musician and singer (1939–1983)
Danny Thompson
1939–2025 · English double bassist (1939–2025)
Kid Creole and the Coconuts
American band
Gin Wigmore
b. 1986 · New Zealand singer
Ray Lema
b. 1946 · Congolese musician
Tommy McCook
1927–1998 · Jamaican musician (1927–1998)
Stomu Yamash'ta
b. 1947 · Japanese musician
Ronny Jordan
1962–2014 · English guitarist (1962-2014)
Mica Paris
b. 1969 · English soul/jazz singer
Basil Kirchin
1927–2005 · British musician
Quiet Sun
1970–1975 · English progressive rock/jazz fusion band
Ian Gillan Band
1975–1978 · band fronted by Ian Gillan
Label profile
Multinational label.
Label Code: LC 0407 / LC 00407
Island Records (often using a logo that omits "Records") was named for Island In The Sun (a novel, film, and Harry Belafonte calypso hit), and was founded in Jamaica in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, and . In May 1962, Blackwell relocated the label to the UK in order to market music by Jamaican artists to immigrant communities in London and Birmingham. In 1967, however, Island shifted its focus to relatively edgy rock music, and most of its Jamaican acts were moved to the spinoff label Trojan Records. Island resumed its support of reggae artists with the signing of The Wailers in 1972.
In the UK, Island was independently distributed until mid-1977 when Blackwell did a deal with EMI Records Ltd.. The EMI Records Ltd. name thereafter appeared on UK labels until the early 1980s.
For several years, Island licensed American rights to its material to a variety of labels, most frequently A&M and Atlantic. In 1971, Island first gained its own US label identity through a distribution deal with Capitol. In 1973, Island's American division switched to independent distribution. US headquarters, formerly based in Los Angeles, were relocated to N
Profile from Discogs (CC0)