A&M Records

A&M Records is an American record label under Universal Music Group, operating as part of Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Founded in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, it began as an independent label. It quickly grew into a major independent force before PolyGram bought it in 1989. After that purchase, A&M kept running as a self-managed frontline label within PolyGram. In 1998, Seagram bought PolyGram and folded it into Universal Music Group. In January 1999, A&M’s operations merged with Interscope Records and Geffen Records to form Interscope-Geffen-A&M, which by 2024 is part of the Interscope Capitol Labels Group. A&M then became a brand under the larger group, losing its independent operation. In 2007, the A&M name and trademark combined with Octone Records to create A&M Octone Records, which lasted until 2014, when it was absorbed into Interscope. Today, some A&M catalog releases are handled by Verve Records, Universal Music Enterprises, and Interscope, while much of Alpert’s back catalog is issued under his own label, Herb Alpert Presents. Although A&M went dormant in 2014, its name and logo still appeared on Sting’s 2021 album *The Bridge*. In 2024, A&M was revived as a brand under Interscope.

**History**

**Founding** A&M Records was started in late 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. They first wanted to call it Carnival Records and released two singles under that name, but another label already owned it. So they renamed it A&M, using Alpert’s and Moss’s initials. From 1966 to 1999, the company’s headquarters and recording studios were at the historic Charlie Chaplin Studios at 1416 North La Brea Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

During the 1960s and 1970s, A&M’s roster included Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Baja Marimba Band, Burt Bacharach, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66, the Sandpipers, Boyce & Hart, We Five, the Carpenters, Chris Montez, Elkie Brooks, Lee Michaels, Captain and Tennille, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Quincy Jones, Lucille Starr, Stealers Wheel, Hoyt Axton, Gallagher and Lyle, Barry DeVorzon, Perry Botkin, Jr., Marc Benno, Liza Minnelli, Rita Coolidge, Gino Vannelli, Wes Montgomery, Jan Davis, Paul Desmond, Bobby Tench, Hummingbird, Toni Basil, and Paul Williams. Folk artists Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and Gene Clark also recorded for the label in the 1970s. Billy Preston joined in 1971, followed by Andre Popp and Herb Ohta in 1973.

In the late 1960s, through direct signings and licensing deals, A&M added British acts like Cat Stevens, Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Humble Pie, Fairport Convention, Free, the Move, Strawbs, and Spooky Tooth. In the 1970s, via a manufacturing and distribution deal with Ode Records, A&M released albums by Carole King and the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. Other notable acts from that era included Nazareth, Y&T, the Tubes, Styx, Supertramp, Joan Armatrading, Bell and James, Chris de Burgh, Rick Wakeman, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Chuck Mangione, Squeeze, and Peter Frampton. On March 10, 1977, A&M held a mock signing of the Sex Pistols outside Buckingham Palace after EMI dropped them, though the real signing happened the day before; A&M dropped the band within a week.

A&M kept its success in the 1980s with acts such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Henry Badowski, Janet Jackson, the Police, Sting, the Brothers Johnson, Falco, Atlantic Starr, the Go-Go’s, Bryan Adams, Suzanne Vega, Righeira, Brenda Russell, Jeffrey Osborne, Oingo Boingo, the Human League, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Sharon, Lois & Bram, Annabel Lamb, Jim Diamond, Vital Signs, Joe Jackson, Charlie Peacock, Vesta Williams, and Scottish rock band Gun. Through a deal with Christian label Myrrh, A&M distributed Amy Grant’s back catalog and new recordings starting with 1985’s *Unguarded*, helping her break into the mainstream.

Within ten years of starting, A&M became the world’s largest independent record company. Its releases first came out in the UK via EMI’s Stateside Records, then through Pye Records, which put out early Herb Alpert records on the Pye International label before issuing them on the A&M label until 1967. In 1969, A&M set up its own UK base, hiring John Deacon (not Queen’s bassist) as general manager until 1979. A&R men Larry Yaskiel, Derek Green, and Mike Noble were recruited, and major UK acts like the Police, Supertramp, Rick Wakeman, Squeeze, Gallagher & Lyle, Elkie Brooks, the Strawbs, and Peter Frampton were signed to the UK label. In Australia, Festival Records handled A&M releases until 1989. A&M Records Ltd. was founded in 1970, with distribution through other European labels. A&M Records of Canada Ltd. started in 1970, and A&M Records of Europe in 1977. In 1979, A&M made a US distribution deal with RCA Records and a deal with CBS Records in many other countries.

Over time, A&M added specialty imprints: Almo International for middle-of-the-road music; Omen Records (1964–1966) for soul; Horizon Records for jazz (1974–1978); AyM Discos for Latin-American music; Vendetta Records for dance music (1988–1990); and Tuff Break Records for hip-hop (1993–1995).