| His Master's Voice | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The company's His Master's Voice logo, featuring Nipper. | |
| Parent company | Electric and Musical Industries Ltd |
| Founded | 1952; 73 years ago (1952) |
| Defunct | 1967; 58 years ago (1967) |
| Genre | Pop |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
His Master's Voice was a British record label, founded in 1952 by Electric and Musical Industries (EMI).
From December 1899, the predecessor to EMI, the Gramophone Company, had purchased the His Master's Voice painting from Francis Barraud, and began using the phrase "His Master's Voice" and likeness of Nipper on its releases, however, these releases still had "The Gramophone Co. Ltd." imprinted on them as the name of the record label. In 1921, the Gramophone Company established His Master's Voice as a music retail chain. In 1931, the Gramophone Company merged with Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI, with Gramophone Company continuing as a label under EMI.
In 1952, EMI decided to capitalise on the emerging pop music industry by re-establishing the "His Master's Voice" name and likeness of Nipper as its own dedicated recording label. The label used a POP number prefix. This label continued until 1967, with its domestic artists moving to either Columbia Graphophone or Parlophone, and record deals with American performers were moved to Stateside Records.
In 1998, EMI spun off its retail business, becoming its own entity, and in 2003, divested the "His Master's Voice" intellectual property to the retail business.
Artist list
- The Ames Brothers
- Louis Armstrong
- Eddy Arnold
- Frankie Avalon
- The Blue-Belles
- Bernard Bresslaw
- Al Caiola
- Ray Charles
- Alma Cogan
- Jerry Colonna
- Perry Como
- Danny and the Juniors
- Dion
- Fabian
- Ferrante and Teicher
- Eddie Fisher
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Eydie Gorme
- The Highwaymen
- The Impressions
- Spike Jones
- Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
- Eartha Kitt
- Julius LaRosa
- Steve Lawrence
- John Leyton
- Manfred Mann
- Johnny Mathis
- Mickey & Sylvia
- Jaye P. Morgan
- The Olympics
- Gene Pitney
- The Poni-Tails
- Perez Prado
- Elvis Presley
- Lloyd Price
- Tommy Roe
- Soupy Sales
- Dinah Shore
- Jimmy Smith
- Kay Starr
- The Swinging Blue Jeans
- Philip Upchurch Combo
- Danny Williams
- Hugo Winterhalter
References
- "BBC News | BUSINESS | EMI: A brief history". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- "Gramophone Company Discography". EMI Archive Trust. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1967-11-11). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help) - Lara (2024-03-27). "Nipper and His Master's Voice". Huguenot Museum. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
External links
- HMV singles discography including POP series
- HMV POP, 45worlds.com