ABC-Paramount Records

ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company (then known as American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters). ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H. Clark. Am-Par also established the Impulse! jazz label in 1961 and subsequently acquired a number of other labels before the entire division was sold to MCA Records in 1979.

ABC Records sub-labeled Apt Records to release singles. In 1961 ABC launched its new Impulse Records label to record and distribute jazz. Under the guidance of the founding label manager Creed Taylor and his successor Bob Thiele, Impulse soon became famous for its innovative releases, most notably the string of groundbreaking albums recorded by John Coltrane between 1961 and his death in 1967. Several years later, Bluesway records was created to distribute ABC's blues releases. Tangerine was formed by Ray Charles to produce not only his albums but artists produced by Charles, as well.
ABC Records purchased Dunhill Records in the summer of 1967, forming ABC Dunhill Records. They purchased Don Robey's record labels including Duke Records, Peacock Records, Back Beat Records and Song Bird Records on May 23, 1973. Afterwards, they also purchased the Famous Records record labels from Paramount Pictures' then-parent Gulf & Western in 1974 (these included Dot Records and Blue Thumb Records). With the Famous acquisition, ABC gained a distribution deal with Sire Records. ABC distributed (through Sire) the first releases by punk band the Ramones. Sire switched to Warner Bros. distribution in 1977, being sold to WB a year later.
In addition to sub-labels, ABC Records purchased all labels from Enoch Light in October, 1959. ABC acquired Audition, Command Performance, Colortone and Waldorf Music Hall Records.
In 1979, ABC Records was acquired by MCA Records for the sale price of $30 million. It briefly operated as a unit of MCA before it was dissolved and absorbed into MCA; MCA in turn would eventually be absorbed into the Universal Music Group.