Warner Bros. Records - From Movies to Music Row

Warner Bros. Records - From Movies to Music Row

By Tom Roland

One of the stereotypes of the entertainment business is that every actor wants to sing, and every singer wants to act. Strangely enough, Warner Bros. (WB) fought the temptation from its very beginning as a motion picture company, waiting some three decades to establish a record label for good, and nearly two decades longer before making a commitment to Nashville. Today, the Warner Bros. Nashville Country division remains one of only a handful of labels that survived the consolidation of the late-1990s and early-21st century.

With nearly 80 years of hindsight, the seeds of WB's foray into Country Music can be detected in Warner Bros. Pictures' first film product. It may have been called "The Jazz Singer," but the movie featured Al Jolson singing "Blue Skies," a song that Willie Nelson would eventually turn into a Country hit.

To be accurate, WB did make a move into the music business when it purchased Brunswick - the bowling ball maker - in 1930. Brunswick also had a label but the purchase came during the Great Depression and was a financial disaster, so WB unloaded it within just a few years.

It wasn't until 1958 that the company jumped back into the business with its own label, and even then it was tentative. Within two years, WB cut staff by more than 75 percent, and it appeared doomed. The one thing that saved the firm was a Nashville duo - The Everly Brothers. Los Angeles-based chief Wade Conkling wanted the act badly, believing it was the one thing that could keep his company from imploding. He pieced together a $1 million deal in 1960, and within months, "Cathy's Clown" was on its way to No. 1.

That same year, WB experienced its first Country hit, Bob Luman's "Let's Think About Living," but the company would not have another until 1973's "Dueling Banjos." At that point, WB began a commitment to Music City, eventually establishing an office in 1975.

With early leaders such as producers Frank Jones, Chips Moman and Norro Wilson and transplanted Englishman Andrew Wickham, WB made inroads by signing Rex Allen Jr., John Anderson, Donna Fargo, Emmylou Harris, Buck Owens, T.G. Sheppard and Margo Smith.

The label played off its Bugs Bunny connection with some success and managed to keep a comparatively casual atmosphere, reflecting the attitude in its home office located in Burbank, Calif.

Through several deals that pre-dated its Nashville office, WB entered Nashville as one-third of the WEA distribution company, which also included the Elektra and Atlantic record labels. Atlantic had attempted only briefly in the early '70s to open a Music City branch, with its only lasting contribution coming with the release of Nelson's Phases and Stages album.

Elektra had established a Nashville division in 1973, first finding success with Eddie Rabbitt and Hank Williams Jr., with Jimmy Bowen heading the company beginning in 1978.

In 1983, a consolidation leveled Elektra, and Bowen ended up in charge of a combined roster that featured such acts as Anderson, The Bellamy Brothers, Crystal Gayle, Rabbitt, Conway Twitty and Williams Jr. Bowen convinced West Coast producer Jim Ed Norman - who had successfully turned out Country hits for Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Anne Murray - to relocate with the understanding he would likely end up running the label.

That happened within a year when Bowen bolted for MCA, establishing a remarkable tenure. Norman, the former WB VP of A&R, flourished as WB's Nashville chief, remaining for two decades. Norman, who began his career in the early '70s as a keyboardist in Shiloh, a band that included guitarist Richard Bowden and drummer Don Henley, produced a number of the label's acts, including Gary Morris, Michael Martin Murphey and Southern Pacific - and proved broad-minded in selecting artists for the roster.

For example, during Country's pop-inflected mid-'80s, he oversaw the additions of a full-bodied harmony group, The Forester Sisters; the Buck Owens-inspired Bakersfield artist Dwight Yoakam; and deep-voiced traditionalist Randy Travis. His reign would also include the signings of Faith Hill, Little Texas and Travis Tritt.

But WB also stepped outside of typical Nashville boundaries, releasing a series of cowboy albums on Warner Western, providing a home for jazz-leaning Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, building an enclave of comedians such as Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy , and netting a handful of adult-contemporary hits with singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman.

Norman left in 2004, with Bill Bennett - formerly of Madonna's Warner-affiliated Maverick label - taking the post. Shortly before Bennett's arrival at WB, the label's Chief Creative Officer, Paul Worley, signed eclectic duo Big & Rich.

In a sort of full-circle moment, Norman completed his two-decade stretch with WB in June 2004, one month to the day before "The Stepford Wives" opened in theaters. The picture put the division's best-selling artist, Hill, back where the company began: on the silver screen.

Warner Holdings

Through a series of mergers and deals, Warner Bros.' catalog represents numerous labels with their own interesting histories:

.Reprise Records, established by Frank Sinatra in 1961 and merged with Warner two years later. The label launched Emmylou Harris and Dwight Yoakam to the mainstream, and also released Kenny Rogers' pre-Country work with The First Edition.

.Atlantic Records, originally created as a jazz label in 1947, became a significant pop label in the '60s, but never made a lengthy commitment to Country until 1989. Atlantic provided a recording home for Tracy Lawrence, Neal McCoy and John Michael Montgomery during their initial years.

.Asylum Records, founded by David Geffen, came to prominence with Jackson Browne, The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, building a stand-alone hub in Nashville during the '90s with Lila McCann, Kevin Sharp and Bryan White.

.Giant Records, created by Eagles manager Irving Azoff, earned its biggest success with Clay Walker and the 1994 CMA Album of the Year Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, though it also provided a starting place for Daryle Singletary and Blake Shelton.

.Curb Records, an independent company owned by Mike Curb, currently distributes its music through Warner. Curb's roster includes Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina LeAnn Rimes, former WB act Trick Pony and Wynonna.

.Raybaw Records (an acronym for Red and Yellow, Black and White) is a new label created by Big & Rich to showcase their fellow MuzikMafia members including Cowboy Troy and James Otto. John Anderson is also on the label and whose new album is being produced by Rich.

.The current Warner Bros. Nashville roster includes John Anderson, Big & Rich, Shannon Brown, Joanna Cotton, Faith Hill, Rick Huckaby, Lauren Lucas, Lori McKenna, Lance Miller, Ray Scott, Blake Shelton, Randy Travis, Rick Trevino, Lane Turner and The Wreckers (Michelle Branch & Jessica Harp). Comedy acts include Blue Collar Comedy, Henry Cho, Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, Lisa Lampanelli, Larry the Cable Guy, Kathleen Madigan, Ralphie May, Russell Peters and Brad Stine.

On the Web: www.wbrnashville.com

October 10, 2006