JMI Records

History

Jack Clement, active in the country music scene from 1954 to 2013, built a state-of-the-art recording studio in Nashville in the mid-1960s. His success enabled him to launch his own label, J-M-I Records, in 1971. The label aimed to foster an atmosphere centered on the inventive talents of Nashville studio musicians and songwriters. Its distribution announcement stated that releases would not be marketed under specific categories, allowing artists freedom to record any style regardless of commercial formats. The first two albums, Short Stories by Bob McDill and Finally Getting Home by Susan Taylor, were released in 1972. Allen Reynolds served as vice-president from the outset and brought Don Williams to the label that same year. Williams' first single, released in summer 1972, became the label's first official country music release. He recorded two albums with J-M-I before moving to ABC-Dot Records after that company purchased the catalog. Big Ken Smith of Tennessee Pulleybone noted in a 2002 interview that the label folded due to lack of distribution, despite a single reaching number one in major markets at different times. A planned distribution deal with a major label never materialized.