Home | Index | Search Introduction | What's New | Thanks | Links


Record labels bibliography

A selection of discographic and historical books about record labels.

This is a slow growing page that will be expanded intermittently.



Related pages:
Grateful Dead bookshelf
Grateful Dead songbooks
San Francisco sixties music books
Source and reference books




4AD

info 4AD, Rob Young, 2007


A&M

info From Brass to Gold: Vol. I: Discography of A&M Records and Affiliates in the United States, Leslie J. Pfenninger, 2000
info From Brass to Gold: Vol. II: Discography of A&M Records and Affiliates Around The World, Leslie J. Pfenninger, 2000


Ace

info Ace Records, David Stubbs, 2008


Aladdin

info The Aladdin/Imperial Labels: A Discography, Michel Ruppli, 1991


Apple

no info AppleLog (1st edition), Jefferey Levy, 1984
no info AppleLog (2nd edition), Jefferey Levy, 1986
no info AppleLog (3rd edition), Jefferey Levy, 1988
no info AppleLog (4th edition), Jefferey Levy, 1990
info Those Were the Days: An Unofficial History of the Beatles Apple Organization 1967-2001, Stefan Granados, 2002
info The Beatles on Apple Records, Bruce Spizer, 2003
info The Beatles Solo on Apple Records, Bruce Spizer, 2005
info AppleLog (5th edition), Jefferey Levy, 2006


Atlantic

info Making Tracks: The History of Atlantic Records, Charlie Gillett, 1973
info Atlantic Records: A Discography, Vol 1: 1947-1966, Michel Ruppli, 1979
info Atlantic Records: A Discography, Vol 2: 1966-1970, Michel Ruppli, 1979
info Atlantic Records: A Discography, Vol 3: 1970-1974, Michel Ruppli, 1979
info Atlantic Records: A Discography, Vol 4: 1974-1978, Michel Ruppli, 1979
info Music Man: Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records, and the Triumph of Rock'N'Roll, Dorothy Wade, Justine Picardie, 1990
info East Coasting: The Cover Art of Prestige, Atlantic and Riverside Records, Graham Marsh, Glyn Callingham, 1993
info What'd I Say: The Atlantic Story, Ahmet Ertegun et al, 1998
info The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun, Robert Greenfield, 2011


Berliner Gramophone Records

info Berliner Gramophone Records: American Issues, 1892-1900, Paul Charosh, 1995


Black Swan

info Black Swan: The Record Label Of The Harlem Renaissence, Helge Thygesen, Mark Beresford and Russ Shor, 1996


Blue Note

no info The Blue Note Label: A Discography, Michael Cuscuna, Michel Ruppli, 1988
info Blue Note: The Album Cover Art, Graham Marsh, Glyn Callingham, 1991
info The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff, Michael Cuscana, Charlie Lourie, Francis Wolff, 1995
info Blue Note: The Album Cover Art 2, Graham Marsh, Glyn Callingham, 1997
info Blue Note: Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff, Michael Cuscuna, Charlie Lourie, Francis Wolff, 2000
info The Blue Note Label: A Discography, Revised and Expanded, Michael Cuscuna, Michel Ruppli, 2001
info Blue Note Records: The Biography, Richard Cook, 2003


Brunswick

info Brunswick Records: A Discography of Recordings, 1916-1931, Vol 1: New York Sessions, 1916-1926, Ross Laird, 2001
info Brunswick Records: A Discography of Recordings, 1916-1931, Vol 2: New York Sessions, 1927-1931, Ross Laird, 2001
info Brunswick Records: A Discography of Recordings, 1916-1931, Vol 3: Chicago and Regional Sessions, Ross Laird, 2001
info Brunswick Records: A Discography of Recordings, 1916-1931, Vol 4: Other Non-U.S. Recordings and Indexes, Ross Laird, 2001


Charisma

info The Famous Charisma Discography: A 40th Anniversary Celebration, Mark Jones, 2010


Chess

info The Chess Labels: A Discography (2 vols), Michel Ruppli, 1983
info The Story of Chess Records, John Collis, 1998
info Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records, Nadine Cohodas, 2000
info Machers and Rockers: Chess Records and the Business of Rock & Roll, Rich Cohen, 2004
info The Record Men: The Chess Brothers and the Birth of Rock & Roll, Rich Cohen, 2005


Clef

info The Clef/Verve Labels: A Discography Vol I, The Norman Granz Era, Michel Ruppli, 1986


Columbia

no info Columbia 10" Records, 1904-30, Frank Andrews, 1985
info Note The Notes: An Illustrated History of the Columbia Record Label 1901-1958, Michael W. Sherman, 1998
info The Columbia Master Book Discography, Vol I: U.S. Matrix Series 1 through 4999, 1901-1910, Brian Rust, Tim Brooks, 1999
info The Columbia Master Book Discography, Vol II: Principal U.S. Matrix Series, 1910-1924, Brian Rust, Tim Brooks, 1999
info The Columbia Master Book Discography, Vol III: Principal U.S. Matrix Series, 1924-1934, Brian Rust, Tim Brooks, 1999
info The Columbia Master Book Discography, Vol IV: U.S. Twelve-Inch Matrix Series, 1906-1931, Brian Rust, Tim Brooks, 1999
info The Label: The Biography of Columbia Records, Gary Marmorstein, 2007
info Complete Catalog Of Columbia Records: 1918 Reprint, Ross Bolton, 2008
info 360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story, Sean Wilentz, 2012


Decca

no info Decca Complete 78/45 R.P.M.Singles Catalogue: 1954-83, Paul M. Pelletier, 1986
info The Decca Hillbilly Discography, 1927-1945, Cary Ginell, 1991
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 1: The California Sessions, Michel Ruppli, 1996
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 2: The Eastern and Southern Sessions (1934-1942), Michel Ruppli, 1996
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 3: The Eastern Sessions (1943-1956), Michel Ruppli, 1996
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 4: The Eastern Sessions (1956-1973), Michel Ruppli, 1996
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 5: Country Recordings, Classical Recordings and Reissues, Michel Ruppli, 1996
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 6: Numerical Listings and General Artist Index, Michel Ruppli, 1996


Def Jam

info Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years Of The last Great Record Label, 2011


Elektra

info Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records, Jac Holzman, 2000
info Becoming Elektra: The True Story Of Jac Holzman's Visionary Record Label, Mick Houghton, 2010


EMI

info Since Records Began: EMI, The First Hundred Years, Peter Martland, 1997
info The Rise & Fall of EMI Records, Brian Southall, 2009


ESP Disk

info Always in Trouble: An Oral History of ESP-Disk', the Most Outrageous Record Label in America, Jason Weiss, 2012


Factory

info Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album, Matthew Robertson, 2006
info Factory: The Story Of The Record Label, Mick Middles, 2009
info You're Entitled to an Opinion: The High Times and Many Lives of Tony Wilson, Factory Records and The Hacienda, David Nolan, 2009
info Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records, James Nice, 2010


Folkways

info Making People's Music: Moe Asch & Folkways Records, Peter D Goldsmith, 1998
info Folkways Records: Moses Asch and His Encyclopedia of Sound, Tony Olmsted, 2003
info Worlds Of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways, Richard Carlin, 2008


Gennett

info Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Studios and the Birth of Recorded Jazz, Rick Kennedy, 1994


Immediate

info Immediate Records, Simon Spence, 2008


Imperial

info The Aladdin/Imperial Labels: A Discography, Michel Ruppli, 1991


Impulse

info The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records, Ashley Kahn, 2006


Island

info Keep on Running: The Story of Island Records, Chris Salewicz et al, 2009


King

info The King Labels: A Discography, Michel Ruppli, 1985
info King Records of Cincinnati, Randy McNutt, 2009
info King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records, Jon Hartley Fox, 2009


Liberty

no info Liberty Records: A History of the Recording Company and Its Stars, 1955-1971, Michael Bryan Kelly, 1993


Mercury

info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 1: The 1945-1956 Era, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1980
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 2: The 1957-1963 Era, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1980
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 3: The 1964-1968 Era, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1980
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 4: The 1968-1991 Era & The Classical Sessions, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1980
info The Mercury Labels: A Discography, Vol. 5: Tables & Numerical Listings, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1980


MGM

info The MGM Labels: A Discography, Vol. 1: 1946-1960, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1998
info The MGM Labels: A Discography, Vol. 2: 1961-1982, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1998
info The MGM Labels: A Discography, Vol. 3: Additional Recordings/Record and Artist Indexes, Michel Ruppli, Ed Novitsky, 1998


OKeh

info Discography of OKeh Records, 1918-1934, Ross Laird, Brian Rust, 2004


Prestige

no info Prestige Jazz Records 1949-1969: A Discography, Michel Ruppli, 1972
info The Prestige Label: A Discography, Michel Ruppli with Bob Porter, 1980
info East Coasting: The Cover Art of Prestige, Atlantic and Riverside Records, Graham Marsh, Glyn Callingham, 1993


Riverside

info East Coasting: The Cover Art of Prestige, Atlantic and Riverside Records, Graham Marsh, Glyn Callingham, 1993


Rough Trade

info Rough Trade, Rob Young, 2006


Rounder

info The Never-Ending Revival: Rounder Records and the Folk Alliance, Michael F. Scully, 2008


Savoy

info The Savoy Label: A Discography, Michel Ruppli with Bob Porter, 1980


Smithsonian-Folkways

info Worlds Of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways, Richard Carlin, 2008

(Also see Folkways above).


Starday

info The Starday Story: The House That Country Music Built, Nathan D. Gibson with Don Pierce, 2011


Stax

info Soulsville U.S.A: The Story of Stax Records, Rob Bowman, 1997


Stiff

info Stiff: The Story of a Record Label, Bert Muirhead, 1983


Studio One

info The Cover Art Of Studio One Records, Stuart Baker, 2011


Sun

info Catalyst: The Sun Records Story, Colin Escott, Martin Hawkins, 1975
no info Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label, Colin Escott, Martin Hawkins, 1980
info Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records & The Birth Of Rock 'N' Roll, Colin Escott, Martin Hawking, 1992
info Sun Records: An Oral History, John Floyd, 1998
info Sun King: The Life and Times of Sam Phillips, the Man Behind Sun Records, Kevin & Tanja Crouch, 2010


Trojan

info Young, Gifted, and Black: The Story of Trojan Records, Michael De Koningh, Laurence Cane-Honeysett, 2003


Verve

info The Clef/Verve Labels: A Discography Vol I, The Norman Granz Era, Michel Ruppli, 1986
info The Clef/Verve Labels: A Discography Vol 2, The MGM Era, Michel Ruppli, 1986


Victor

no info The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings, Ted Fagan and William R. Moran, 1983
no info The Paper Dog An Illustrated Guide to 78 R.P.M. Victor Record Labels 1900-1958, Michael W. Sherman, 1987
info The Collector's Guide To Victor Records, Michael W. Sherman, 1992
info The Collector's Guide To Victor Records: Revised Edition, Michael W. Sherman with Kurt Nauck, 2009


Warner Bros

info Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records The First Fifty Years, Warren Zane, 2009


Warp

info Warp, Rob Young, 2005


General

no info The American Record Label Directory and Dating Guide, 1940-1959, Galen Gart, 1991
info Little Labels - Big Sound: Small Record Companies and the Rise of American Music, Rick Kennedy, Randy McNutt, 1999
info The A-Z of Record Labels, Brian Southall, 2000
no info American Record Labels & Companies: An Encyclopedia, 1891-1943, Allan Sutton & Kurt Nauck, 2000
info Labelography: The Major U.K. Record Labels, Jan Patterson, 2008
info Independence Days: The Story of UK Independent Record Labels, Alex Ogg, 2010
info Labelography, Vol. 2: Progressive U.K. Record Labels, Jan Patterson, 2012


Last updated June 2012