Dark Horse Records
Dark Horse Records is a record label which was controlled by George Harrison from his creation of it in 1974 until his death.
Distribution
Harrison had recorded for the Parlophone label under a contract terminated in 1976. All his subsequent recordings were released through Dark Horse. This started with Thirty Three & 1/3 in 1976 and ending with the posthumous release of Brainwashed in 2002. Harrison's Dark Horse back catalogue was remastered and reissued in a box-set during 2004. These, and releases of other artists, have been distributed in turn by three record companies:
- A&M Records (1974-1976)
- Warner Brothers Records (1976-1992)
- Parlophone (starting 2002)
Artists Recorded on Dark Horse
Though Dark Horse ultimately focused solely on Harrison's releases, the label also released albums by the following artists between 1974 and 1976:
- Ravi Shankar
- Jim Keltner's band Attitudes
- Splinter, a South Shields duo
- The R&B vocalists the Stairsteps
- Ex-Joe Cocker guitarist Henry McCullough
- Jiva, a California band
Logo
The inspiration for the Dark Horse logo came from a label on a tin box Harrison saw on one of his many trips to India.
The logo features the seven-headed horse Uchchaisravas, a common figure in Indian art and mythology. Harrison was arguably a dark horse in seeking a solo career after having been overshadowed among The Beatles by Lennon and McCartney, despite his creating several of the band's more popular later songs (such as "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something"), and being the first ex-Beatle with a number-one ranked solo album (All Things Must Pass in 1970).