United Artists Records (Unart Records)

United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.

In 1959, United Artists released Forest of the Amazons, a cantata by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos adapted from the music he composed for MGM's Green Mansions, with the composer conducting the Symphony of the Air. Brazilian soprano Bidu Sayao was the featured soloist on the unusual recording, which was released on both LP and reel-to-reel tape.
Besides the movie soundtracks and the few classical releases, UA had quite a few rock 'n roll and r&b hits from 1959 (and into the 1960s) with hits by The Clovers, Marv Johnson, The Falcons, The Exciters, Patty Duke, Bobby Goldsboro, and later Manfred Mann and The Easybeats. Berry Gordy placed a number of early Motown acts with UA including Marv Johnson and Eddie Holland in 1959. UA signed Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller after they left Atlantic to produce artists. They had hits with The Exciters, The Clovers, as well as Mike Clifford.

The soundtracks from the James Bond movies and A Hard Day's Night were very popular United Artists releases in the 1960s. United Artists released many other movie soundtrack albums, including those of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Greatest Story Ever Told, and of the film versions of the musicals A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha. However, the movie soundtrack album of United Artists' most critically acclaimed and financially successful film musical, West Side Story, was released by Columbia Records, which had also released the Broadway cast album (Leonard Bernstein, who wrote the music for West Side Story, was a Columbia recording artist). Many of these soundtracks have reverted back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, whose MGM Music unit (no connection with the now-defunct MGM Records) in turn have licensed them out to other labels for reissue; first Rykodisc, and more recently, Universal Music and EMI (the Fiddler on the Roof movie soundtrack). However, it is Sony, which now owns Columbia Records (and now a stake in MGM as well), that has released the West Side Story original cast album and film soundtrack on CD.
In addition to soundtracks and pop output, United Artists also produced a series of children's records under the "Tale Spinners For Children" name throughout the 1960s. These were album-length adaptations of classic fairy tales and children's stories done in an audio drama format.
United Artists also had a few subsidiary labels: Unart Records, Ascot Records, Musicor Records, (United Artists was half owner of the company from 1960–1964 before selling out in 1965) Ultra Audio (an audiophile label) and Veep Records. Unart was initially created in 1958 and was only in operation until 1959 producing some vocal group 45 singles; Unart was recreated in 1967 for budget albums.

In 1969, United Artists merged with co-owned Liberty Records and its subsidiary Imperial Records.
United Artists involvement with jazz was significant. The company recruited Alan Douglas in 1960 to run its new jazz department. The company's jazz included albums by Duke Ellington and Art Farmer, although there were only a few jazz titles after about 1963. Around 1966 a subsidiary jazz label Solid State was founded, which lasted until 1969, on which recordings by the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and Chick Corea, among others, were issued. Liberty's ownership of Blue Note resulted in Solid State's artists being transferred to the more prestigious label, and Solid State itself being wound up.
In 1961, designer and photographer Frank Gauna who worked with Alan Douglas joined the company as art director after Candid Records was wound up. Gauna photographed and designed a variety of album covers for the company.
Mainstream pop acts were signed to the label, among them being Traffic, the Spencer Davis Group, Peter Sarstedt, Shirley Bassey, and War. The label also attempted, without success, to update the style of 1950s rock group Bill Haley & His Comets with a 1968 single. After UA bought the small Mediarts Records label, their roster grew to include Don McLean, Merrilee Rush, Paul Anka, Chris Rea, Dusty Springfield, Bill Conti, Bobby Goldsboro, Ferrante & Teicher, Northern Calloway, Johnny Rivers, Ike & Tina Turner, Gerry Rafferty and Crystal Gayle. Later, through a distribution deal with Don Arden's Jet Records, Electric Light Orchestra was signed to UA in America. UA also distributed the otherwise-independent Grateful Dead Records in the early-to-mid 1970s.
In England, Andrew Lauder, who had been head of A&R at the UK branch of Liberty Records, transferred to UA when Liberty was shut down in 1971. His signings included The Groundhogs, Ansley Dunbar (only in the UK), Bonzo Dog Band, Hawkwind, Brinsley Schwarz, Man (all originally Liberty artists), Help Yourself, Dr. Feelgood, The Buzzcocks, The Stranglers and 999. Lauder left UA in late 1977 to help found Radar Records.
The label's most successful artist was country artist Kenny Rogers who signed to UA in the mid-1970s, enjoying a long string of hit singles and albums.