Imperial

Do not confuse with the European label Imperial (2). US indie label formed by Lew Chudd in 1946 in Hollywood. The label was sold to Liberty Records, Inc. in 1964. Liberty was purchased by United Artists in 1968 and then UA was bought by EMI in 1979. The catalogue and brand are now owned by Universal Music Group. The name was re-launched in 2006 when entrepreneur and music industry veteran, Neil Levine joined Imperial to establish a unit focused on the independent, urban music market. Imperial is a full service, label group specializing in artist, brand development, releasing critically acclaimed albums from Fat Joe, Evidence (of Dilated Peoples), Jin, and Anthony Hamilton (previously unreleased tracks). For unofficial releases, see Imperial (12). For companies, see Imperial Records, Inc.. Imperial Record Company or Imperial Record Company Inc.. The early 45rpm singles were blue and had the Western Avenue address on them. The label lasted until 1954, when a Hollywood address replaced it. At the beginning (late1950?), the 45’s corresponding to 78’s in the 1000 series were assigned to a 6000 series. By March, 1951, Imperial was releasing the most popular members of their “Hillbilly” series (8000’s) as 45’s. In January, 1952, Imperial began issuing R&B singles in the new format. When these came out they had a 45‐ prefix and at the start only the most popular singles were released as 45’s. The new black label style began in July, 1958, with approximately single 5531. It was black with a color spectrum at the top of the label. Some pressing plants added the words “Imperial Records, Inc.” and “Hollywood USA” to the label, but others did not. By September, 1961, Imperial was dropping the "X‐" prefix for 45rpm singles; however, some pressing plants kept the “X” all the way to October, 1963. The month of October, 1963, saw another completely new design adorn Imperial singles. Associated with the purchase of Imperial by Liberty Records, the new labels have an “IR” logo at the left side and sport rim print declaring “A Subsidiary of Liberty Records, Inc. LosAngeles, California.” Two colors, white and hot pink, adorn the left side of the label containing the Imperial logo. A new label, starting with approximately 66160 in February, 1966, features a red Imperial logo with “a product of Liberty Records” underneath it. The rim text has been altered slightly to read “A Division of Liberty Records...” instead of “a subsidiary.” The white and pink motif was replaced with lime green. Some pressing plants show the record with an IM‐ prefix.