Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A British branch was also active in the 1960s and 1970s. Bell Records was replaced in the mid-1970s by Arista Records.
Bell originally specialized in budget generic pop music, with the slogan "music for the millions". Originally sold on seven-inch...
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Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A British branch was also active in the 1960s and 1970s. Bell Records was replaced in the mid-1970s by Arista Records.
Bell originally specialized in budget generic pop music, with the slogan "music for the millions". Originally sold on seven-inch 78rpm and 45rpm records for 39 cents (US), this style of music went out of fashion as rock and roll became more prevalent. Bell also issued sound-alike cover versions of hit records on 45rpm disks priced at 49 cents. One of these records was by "Tom & Jerry" who would later be famous using their real names Simon & Garfunkel. These records were pressed with polystyrene which had either glued-on labels or the label information was printed directly on the polystyrene, rendering many copies almost unreadable. Some Bell and associated label 45rpm...
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