Benson Records
| Benson Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent company | Provident Label Group |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Founder | Bob Benson John T. Benson |
| Status | Defunct (2001) |
| Distributor(s) | Sony Music |
| Genre | Christian |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson & John T. Benson, beginning as the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records and would come to house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, RiverSong, StarSong and Home Sweet Home. In the 1970s Impact Records became the top label with artists such as Sandi Patty, The Imperials, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, The Rambos, Dottie Rambo, The Archers, The Bill Gaither Trio, and The Speer Family. Heart Warming Records became The Benson Co.
In 1980, Paragon Associates formed a partnership with Zondervan to own/operate Benson Records. (Paragon Assoc. was founded in 1975 by Bob MacKenzie and Bill Gates). Paragon sold its interest to Zondervan in 1983 where under the leadership of Bob Jones, Jr saw the Benson company grow even bigger in the 1980s, with artists such as Gold City, The Kingsmen, DeGarmo & Key, Dallas Holm and others making several hits.
In the 1980s, Benson Records continued with success by signing a contract to distribute a new label founded by DeGarmo & Key member Eddie DeGarmo. Forefront Records was born and in 1989 Dc Talk was signed. In 1990 Forefront Records was sold to Chordant Music Distribution. In 1994 the name Impact Records was sold to Landmark Distribution. In 1995 they acquired Diadem Music Group which included gospelJazz pioneer Ben Tankard's Tribute Records label contracts. These contracts included Tankard, Yolanda Adams, Twinkie Clark, and Bob Carlisle. Carlisle is best known for his hit song "Butterfly Kisses".
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