Verve Forecast Records
Verve Forecast Records | |
---|---|
Parent company | Universal Music Group |
Founded | 1967 |
Founder | Jerry Schoenbaum |
Distributor(s) | Verve Records (In the US) |
Genre | various |
Country of origin | US |
Official website | www.verveforecast.com |
Verve Forecast Records is a record label specializing in cutting-edge material which was founded in 1967 by Verve Records and since been revived twice.
Verve Forecast was founded by Verve executive Jerry Schoenbaum as an outgrowth of Verve Folkways Records, founded in 1964 in association with Folkways Records owner Moe Asch.[1][2] Originally a folk music label, Verve Forecast challenged standard record industry practice by developing long term careers instead of generating hit records. Verve Forecast attracted a new generation of talent which included The Blues Project, Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Janis Ian, Laura Nyro, Jim and Jean, Friend & Lover, Caravan, The Hombres and Bob Lind. Established folk music artists included Odetta, Dave Van Ronk and The New Lost City Ramblers along with blues artists John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lead Belly and James Cotton.
The label fell victim to corporate shuffles in the early 1970s around the time Verve parent MGM Records was sold to PolyGram (at that point, the original catalog of Verve Forecast was incorporated into that of Polydor Records).
Verve Forecast was first revived for smooth jazz releases in the 1990s, with artists such as Chris Botti, Jeff Lorber, and Will Downing recording for the label. The revived label also fell to corporate restructuring when PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group in the late 1990s; the imprint was deactivated with its smooth jazz artists being transferred to GRP Records. Verve Forecast was then revived in 2004 to handle the Verve Music Group's non-jazz talent, replacing the revived Blue Thumb Records.
Today's artist roster includes Aqualung, Avant, Sunshine Anderson, Beast, Blues Traveler, Brazilian Girls, The Bridges, Jessie Baylin, Elvis Costello, Jamie Cullum, Dion, John Fogerty, Jackie Greene, Guillemots, Daryl Hall, Jesse Harris, Ledisi, Rhett Miller, Ollabelle, Susan Tedeschi, Teddy Thompson, Kate Walsh, Lucy Woodward, Lizz Wright and Yoav. Some of these artists recorded for other Universal-owned labels in the past, including Avant (MCA and Geffen) and Blues Traveler (A&M).
Chris Isaak has more recently joined Verve Forecast and his most recent recording was released on October 18, 2011.
References
- ^ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.com. 1967-01-21. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- ^ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.com. 1965-08-21. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
External links
- Record labels established in 1967
- Record labels established in 2004
- Re-established companies
- American record labels
- Vivendi subsidiaries
- Labels distributed by Universal Music Group
- Verve Music Group labels
- Folk record labels
- Verve Forecast Records artists
- Verve Forecast Records albums
- Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
- Companies based in Santa Monica, California
- 1967 establishments in the United States