Fox Records

Lore & Background

20th Century-Fox began a semi-private line of records before 1938, using white labels with typed information. These discs were limited to studio properties and used for promotional purposes and giveaways, ending around 1943. After a 15-year hiatus, the studio established 20th Fox Records in 1958 under Henry Onorati, who brought "The Little Drummer Boy" to the label. In 1963, under Basil Bova, the label was renamed 20th Century-Fox Records and adopted the studio logo. The label issued soundtrack albums for films such as Cleopatra and Valley of the Dolls, and distributed through ABC Records from 1966. The label shut down in 1970 but was revived in 1972 as 20th Century Records by Russ Regan, with a budget of $1 million per year. This incarnation scored hits with Barry White, Carl Douglas, and the Star Wars soundtrack in 1977. The label ceased operations by 1981.

Reader's Guide

Fox Records, in its various forms, served as the in-house record label for 20th Century-Fox, primarily releasing film soundtracks and related material. Its most enduring contribution is the Harry Simeone Chorale's recording of "The Little Drummer Boy," which became a Christmas standard and the best-selling Christmas album of all time. The label also issued notable soundtracks for films such as Zorba the Greek, Doctor Dolittle, and Patton, though it did not release soundtracks for the studio's Rodgers and Hammerstein films due to contractual obligations. The 1970s revival under 20th Century Records produced major pop hits and the iconic Star Wars soundtrack. The label's history reflects the studio's fluctuating commitment to the record business, from promotional giveaways to a full commercial enterprise, and its eventual closure as the parent company faced financial troubles.

Did You Know?

• The earliest known records in the promotional series predate 1938, corresponding to the film Sally, Irene and Mary.
• Henry Onorati brought "Carol of the Drum" from Dot Records, retooling it as "The Little Drummer Boy" for 20th Fox.
• The label did not issue soundtrack albums for any of the Rodgers and Hammerstein films released by the studio.
• The Star Wars soundtrack was released by 20th Century Records in 1977.

From Movietone to White Labels: The Studio's Early Disc Experiments

The story of Fox's foray into recorded music stretches back to the very formation of the studio itself. When Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Pictures merged with Fox Film Corporation on May 31, 1935, the combined entity inherited a history of short-lived disc experiments tied to the Movietone sound-on-film system. Between 1929 and 1930, Fox had pressed soundtracks onto disc for theaters not yet equipped with optical sound playback. From 1933 through 1937, a dedicated Fox Movietone label issued scarce records numbered F-100 through F-136, featuring songs drawn from Fox pictures, first sourced from RCA Victor Bluebird recordings and later from ARC's dime-store imprints. These discs were sold exclusively inside Fox Theaters. In 1938, the studio launched a new semi-private series of white-label records bearing typed or mimeographed information, covering material from soundstage recordings between Sally, Irene and Mary and The Gang's All Here. These were strictly promotional items for staff and studio visitors. After this modest venture ended, 20th Century-Fox stepped away from record production for roughly fifteen years, though its music division remained busy licensing soundtrack material to outside labels, including Capitol Records' 1956 release of The King and I.

The Onorati Era and the Birth of a Christmas Classic

When 20th Fox Records was established in 1958, the studio made a shrewd hiring move by luring Henry Onorati away from Dot Records to helm the new operation. Onorati carried with him an unreleased Katherine K. Davis Christmas carol called "Carol of the Drum," which he retooled as "The Little Drummer Boy" and issued as a single by the Harry Simeone Chorale. The song rapidly became a Christmas standard, giving the fledgling label an immediate and durable foothold. Under Onorati's leadership, the label pursued its most ambitious programming: albums were oriented toward adult listeners, often housed in deluxe packaging, and soundtrack releases sometimes incorporated narration or dialogue bridged from the films themselves. The catalog also drew on vault film elements for albums featuring Glenn Miller, George Gershwin, and Shirley Temple, while new recordings brought veteran artists like Eubie Blake, Claude Hopkins, and Stuff Smith to the label, with Hugo Winterhalter making his debut as a leader. Onorati's tenure ended in 1962 when he returned to Dot, his final project being the soundtrack album for The Longest Day.

Bova's Rebrand, the Cleopatra Gamble, and Corporate Squeeze

Basil J. Bova took over from Onorati and moved swiftly to rebrand the operation. In May 1963, he renamed 20th Fox Records to 20th Century-Fox Records, updating the label design to incorporate the studio's logo. Bova maintained the dual-track strategy: singles chased pop and novelty hits while albums continued the adult-oriented program Onorati had established. The label scored with albums tied to successful singles, including Sing We Now of Christmas and Navy Blue by Diane Renay. Bova had pinned enormous hopes on the Cleopatra soundtrack, which debuted at number two on the Billboard album chart in June 1963, two months before the film's release. Yet the movie opened to devastating losses, triggering belt-tightening across the studio that eventually reached the record label. The 1963 closure of Fox's newsreel division cut off the label's access to documentary audio for planned current-events albums, and tentative forays into folk and psychedelic rock were abandoned. From 1966, ABC Records took over distribution, and the label narrowed its output to soundtrack LPs. The label enjoyed one more hit with the Valley of the Dolls soundtrack and released the Hello Dolly album starring Barbra Streisand before the studio shut the operation down in 1970.

The 20th Century Records Revival and a New Chapter

After the 1970 shutdown, the label sat dormant for roughly two years while ABC Records continued distributing its remaining back catalog to the public. In early 1972, the imprint was revived under the new name 20th Century Records, with Russ Regan placed at the helm and a budget of one million dollars per year allocated for the first three years of operation. The first three acts signed to the relaunched label were The DeFranco Family, Maureen McGovern, and Barry White. It was Barry White's album Brighter Side of Darkness that ultimately delivered the newly renamed label its first hit record, marking a fresh chapter for an imprint that had weathered multiple reinventions since the 1930s. The revival represented the latest iteration of a label whose history spanned three distinct 20th Century Fox-related operations in the analog era, stretching chronologically from about 1938 to 1981.

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