Tetragrammaton Records

Tetragrammaton Records was an American record label founded in the late 1960s by entertainment manager Roy Silver, Bruce Post Campbell, Marvin Deane, and comedian Bill Cosby (whose manager was Roy Silver). The term "Tetragrammaton" refers to the unspeakable Hebrew name of God.

Tetragrammaton's most successful act was the first incarnation of the rock band Deep Purple. The label was also responsible for issuing John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1968 Apple Records album, Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, in the United States after the Beatles and Lennon's US label, Capitol Records, refused to distribute it due to the front and back covers' controversial nude photos of Lennon and Ono. Bill Cosby's 1969 stand-up comedy album, 8:15 12:15, was also released by the label, as were the following two albums by comedian Murray Roman: You Can't Beat People Up & Have Them Say I Love You and A Blind Man's Movie.

Despite having several popular artists on its roster, Tetragrammaton permanently closed its doors after declaring bankruptcy in 1971. In 1972, Deep Purple's new label, Warner Bros. Records (also Cosby's old label), reissued various tracks from the group's first three Tetragrammaton albums on one compilation album entitled Purple Passages. In Canada, some of Tetragrammaton's releases were manufactured and distributed by the Canadian division of Polydor Records, which also issued several Canada-only Deep Purple compilations after Tetragrammaton's demise.

Tetragrammaton's co-founder, Marvin Deane, died of heart failure on August 16, 2010, in Los Angeles, California.

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