Colgems Records | |
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Parent company | Columbia-Screen Gems and RCA Records |
Founded | 1966 |
Status | Defunct |
Distributor(s) | RCA Records |
Colgems Records was a record label that existed from 1966 to 1971. It was a joint venture between Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures, and RCA Records to issue records by the Monkees and other artists affiliated with Screen Gems. The label would also issue soundtrack recordings for Screen Gems and Columbia Pictures productions. RCA acted as manufacturer and distributor for Colgems. (Outside the United States, Colgems productions appeared on the RCA Victor label.)
An earlier label, Colpix Records, was dissolved to make way for the new company, and nearly all Colpix titles went out of print. (One Colpix album was reissued on Colgems, the soundtrack to the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia.) Even before the Monkees began, Colpix had signed two future members – Davy Jones, recruited to Screen Gems by Ward Sylvester, and Michael Nesmith, who recorded as "Michael Blessing". Eventually, the Colpix catalog was sold to Roulette Records. Today, the Colpix catalog is owned jointly by Rhino/Warner and EMI.
The non-Monkees Colgems roster included Sally Field (star of Gidget and The Flying Nun), Jewel Akens, Sajid Khan (star of the MGM film and short-lived TV series Maya), Paula Wayne, P.K. Limited, the Hung Jury, Fountain of Youth, The Lewis & Clarke Expedition (whose members included Michael Martin Murphy), Hoyt Axton (who went on to write "The Pusher" for Steppenwolf and "Joy to the World" for Three Dog Night), Alex Keenan and comedian Rich Little. Soundtracks to Casino Royale, Oliver!, In Cold Blood, Head and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner were also released on Colgems.