Brother Records
 | |
| Holding | |
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1967 in Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Founders | |
| Brands | The Beach Boys |
| Brother Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | Los Angeles, 1966 |
| Founder | Nick Grillo |
| Distributor(s) | |
| Genre | Rock |
| Country of origin | United States |
Brother Records, Inc. (BRI) is a holding company established in 1967 that holds the intellectual property rights of the Beach Boys, including "The Beach Boys" trademark.[1] Prior to being incorporated, Brother Records was a record label founded by Beach Boys' manager Nick Grillo in October 1966. Its output was distributed by Capitol Records in 1967, and then Reprise Records throughout 1970–78.
History
In mid-1966, Beach Boys business manager Nick Grillo formed the Brother Records corporation, bringing in Van Dyke Parks's manager and Brian Wilson's friend David Anderle to run the organization from an office on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Motivated in no small part by the negative reaction of Capitol Records to some of Brian's ideas for Smile, the new company gave the band more control over their recordings.
The shareholders were the 1966 members of the Beach Boys: Wilson brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis, along with their first cousin Mike Love, their friend Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston, who traded his share in 1971. In 1983, shortly after the death of Dennis Wilson, his estate sold his share back to the corporation to repay loans. In 1998, following Carl Wilson's death, his share of the corporation passed to and is still controlled by his estate.
The label's first releases were the Beach Boys' "Heroes and Villains" single and Smiley Smile album in 1967, distributed by Capitol Records. However, the record label was almost immediately rendered dormant, only releasing the Brian Wilson/Mike Love single "Gettin' Hungry" before the band's albums and singles reverted to appearing on the Capitol label alone. In 1969, however, concurrent with their signing to Reprise Records, the Brother label was reactivated, beginning with the single "Add Some Music to Your Day", and the Sunflower album.
Numerous other Beach Boys albums followed on the joint Brother/Reprise label during the 1970s, including Holland, and 15 Big Ones. An album by The Flame, produced by Carl Wilson, was released in 1970 on the Brother label, distributed by Star-day King Records. By the late 1970s, Beach Boys records were issued on Brother and distributed by Caribou Records through CBS. As of 2007, the most recent CD re-release series of the Beach Boys' 1970s albums is on the joint Brother/Capitol Records label.
Since the 1980s, Brother Records' business manager is Elliott Lott, a former chauffeur for The Beach Boys.
Logo
The logo for Brother Records is from Cyrus E. Dallin's life size bronze statue, Appeal to the Great Spirit in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. When Carl was asked in 1975 why the group used this as their logo, he said the Indian was chosen because the Wilson brothers' grandfather believed that there was a spiritual Indian guide who watched over them from the "other side". The choice of the logo was Brian's. Carl called the logo "The Last Horizon."
Discography
| ARTIST | TITLE | YEAR |
|---|---|---|
| The Beach Boys | Smiley Smile | 1967 |
| The Beach Boys | Sunflower | 1970 |
| The Flames | The Flame | 1970 |
| The Beach Boys | Surf's Up | 1971 |
| The Beach Boys | Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" | 1972 |
| The Beach Boys | Holland | 1973 |
| The Beach Boys | The Beach Boys In Concert | 1973 |
| The Beach Boys | 15 Big Ones | 1975 |
| The Beach Boys | Love You | 1977 |
References
External links
- Edwards, David; Patrice Eyries, Mike Callahan (2004). Brother Records Album Discography. Retrieved January 26, 2006.
