| His Master's Voice | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The company's His Master's Voice logo, featuring Nipper. | |
| Parent company |
|
| Founded | 1909; 116 years ago (1909) |
| Defunct | 1990; 35 years ago (1990) |
| Status | Replaced by EMI Classics |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
His Master's Voice was a British subsidiary label, founded in 1909.
It was originally a sub-label of the Gramophone Company releasing classical music. From 1952 to 1967 it also released pop music and signed American talent for British distribution, such as Elvis Presley. From 1967 to 1973, it reverted to being a classical music sub-label again.
In July 1973, the Gramophone Company became EMI Records, with His Master's Voice continuing as a sub-label. In 1990, His Master's Voice was replaced for EMI Classics. "His Master's Voice" would still be used on occasion releases after this period, but as a throwback as opposed to being a dedicated record label.
History
HMV was founded as a classical label. From December 1899, the predecessor to EMI, the Gramophone Company, had purchased the His Master's Voice painting from Francis Barraud, and, from 1909, began using the phrase "His Master's Voice" and likeness of Nipper on its releases. 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, and His Master's Voice continuing as a sub-label, under EMI.
In 1952 the label entered the pop music genre, and used a POP number prefix. This continued until 1967, when its domestic pop artists moved to either Columbia Graphophone or Parlophone, and American performers were moved to Stateside Records, reserving HMV for classical recordings.
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.
His Master's Voice POP artist list (1952 to 1967)
- 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
- ^ "EMI Revamps Three Labels". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1967-11-11. p. 51.
- "The Beatles U.K. LP Stereo/Parlo#2". www.yokono.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- Gateway, Music (2019-08-22). "EMI Records: The Story of EMI Music Publishing". Music Gateway. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- "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.
- 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