GNP Crescendo Record Co.

GNP Crescendo Record Co.
Parent company GNP Crescendo Records
Founded 1954
Founder Gene Norman[1]
Distributor(s) GNP Crescendo Records (In the United States)
Genre Various
Country of origin United States
Official website http://www.gnpcrescendo.com

GNP Crescendo Record Co. is an American record label based in Hollywood, California. Its catalog primarily consists of jazz records, as well as motion picture and television soundtracks and film scores, mostly in science fiction, fantasy and horror. Formed around 1954,[2] GNP stands for Gene Norman Presents.[3]

History

After hitchhiking from New York to Los Angeles, Norman promoted concerts at the Shrine Auditorium and the Civic Center, hosted a popular radio show, and opened his own nightclub, the Crescendo, on the Sunset Strip. The Crescendo hosted a wide swath of jazz legends and comedians, ranging from jazz legends Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to popular comedians such as Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart and Mort Sahl, with Norman often paying acts their weekly asking rate for a single night’s engagement. Norman sold his nightclub in 1963.[4]

The first inspiration for the label was to issue live recordings made at concerts promoted by Gene Norman, including the 'Just Jazz' series. A few of the artists featured were Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Kenton, Charlie Ventura, Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Gerry Mulligan, Teddy Buckner, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. GNP Crescendo was also the home of the legendary Los Angeles garage/punk-rock band The Seeds who made 6 albums for the diskery. Gene Norman also "discovered" Queen Ida and together they won a Grammy for her album "On Tour" as well as two other Grammy nominations. Robin Trower also made a strong comeback with the album "Passion" (NAIRD Best Rock Album 1986) enjoying 6 months on the Billboard Top 200 album charts. Additional artists who have worked for GNP Crescendo include Don Fardon, Savoy Brown, Delaney Bramlett, John Mayall, Savoy Brown, Clifton Chenier, The Limeliters, Rusty Warren, Billy Strange, Bill Watrous, Jack Sheldon, Mort Sahl, Malo, Orson Welles, The Robins, Mama Roo, Joe & Eddie, Tito Puente, Walter Wanderly, Rene Touzet, Frances Faye, The Mom and Dads, Bobby Enriquez, Arthur Lyman, Dick Dale, Elisabeth Waldo, The Challengers, Buddy Merrill, Kay Starr, The Ventures, Yan Steindl and Vance Burrow.

Today, Gene's son Neil Norman acts as executive producer for many of the albums produced by GNP and has been a successful recording artist since 1978. Another area of interest for Neil was original soundtracks from science fiction films and television series. This specialization resulted in the release of many classic scores such as Forbidden Planet, Godzilla, Quantum Leap and Star Trek TOS, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Emmy Winner for Dennis McCarthy), Star Trek: Voyager (Emmy Winner for Jerry Goldsmith), Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection and Outer Limits TOS.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.genenorman.com/
  2. ↑ "GNP Crescendo Record Co. Official Website".
  3. ↑ GNP Crescendo (RCS Label Listing)
  4. ↑ http://variety.com/2014/music/features/at-age-60-gnp-crescendo-label-is-the-little-indie-that-could-1201032184/

External links

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