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Monument Records
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==History== After working in record promotions for several years, in March 1958 Fred Foster co-founded Monument Records and publishing company Combine Music with business manager Jack Kirby and well-known [[Baltimore]] disc jockey "Buddy" Deane.<ref name="Unterberger">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p77128/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: Fred Foster|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=23 February 2019}}</ref> Founded in Washington, D.C., the label's name was inspired by the [[Washington Monument]].<ref name="TapeOpMar2017">{{cite web|last1=Crane|first1=Larry|last2=Lehning|first2=Kyle|last3=White|first3=Bergen|title=Fred Foster: Monuments of Sound - Roy Orbison, Ray Price, Kristofferson|url=https://tapeop.com/tutorials/118/fred-foster/|website=Tape Op|date=March 2017|access-date=May 21, 2024}}</ref> For the label's first release, Foster took [[Billy Grammer]] to [[RCA Studio B|RCA's Nashville studio]] to record "[[Gotta Travel On]]" with [[Chet Atkins]]. Having spent all but $80 of Monument's initial $1,200 of funding, Foster negotiated for Monument to be the first label distributed by [[London Recordings|London Records]].<ref name=TapeOpMar2017/> Grammer's single, released in October 1958, was a crossover hit, reaching #4 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|U.S. pop chart]], #5 on the [[Hot Country Songs|U.S. country chart]], and #14 on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|U.S. R&B chart]] in 1959, selling over 900,000 copies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1959.php|title=Billboard Top 100 - 1959|access-date=March 30, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102011043/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1959.php|archive-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> It also spawned a nationwide [[Dance crazes|dance craze]] called "[[St. Louis shag|The Shag]]". Later in 1959, Monument co-founder "Buddy" Dean sold his 30% share of the company back to Foster before moving to [[Pine Bluff, Arkansas]]. He bought [[KOTN (Pine Bluff, Arkansas)|KOTN]], a radio station, in the early '60s. In early 1959, [[Wesley Rose]], [[Roy Orbison]]'s manager and the president of [[Acuff-Rose]], approached Foster about signing the singer to Monument Records, and Foster said yes. As Orbison began recording for the label, his signature sound was realized, leading to a string of 18 hit singles and five best-selling LPs, beginning with the 1960 release "[[Only the Lonely]]."<ref name="BBFCAM">{{cite magazine|last=Williams|first=Bill|title=Foster Creates A Monument|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0QEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22fred+foster%22&pg=PA42|magazine=Billboard|date=December 21, 1968|access-date=May 20, 2024}}</ref> Also in 1960, recognizing he was spending more than half of his time in Nashville for recording sessions with Monument artists, Foster moved Monument Records and Combine Music [[Hendersonville, Tennessee|Hendersonville]].<ref name="BBFCAM" /><ref name="TapeOpMar2017" /> By 1961, London Records' roster of labels the company was distributing had grown to more than forty independents, prompting Foster to move Monument to the independent-distributor network. [[File:Yakety-Sax-Monument-45804-300px.jpg|thumb|180px|right|1963 Monument Records single label]] In addition to Orbison, Monument became home to a number of other artists including [[The Velvets]], [[Bob Moore (musician)|Bob Moore]], [[Boots Randolph]], [[Charlie McCoy]], [[Tony Joe White]], [[Ray Stevens]], [[Kris Kristofferson]], [[Larry Jon Wilson]], [[Larry Gatlin]], and [[Robert Mitchum]]. [[Willie Nelson]], [[Tommy Roe]], [[Connie Smith]] were also signed to Monument for short times. The label was responsible for developing a number of artists including [[Jeannie Seely]], [[Dolly Parton]], and [[Grandpa Jones]].<ref name=BBFCAM/> In 1962, Monument Records made history when it released "Too Many Chicks" and "[[Jealous Heart]]" by Leona Douglas, the first country & western recording by an African-American woman.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_SRgEAAAAMBAJ |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_SRgEAAAAMBAJ/page/n45 48] |quote=leona douglas jealous heart. |title=Billboard Music Week - Spotlight Singles of the Week|via=[[Internet Archive]] |date=November 10, 1962 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media |access-date= July 12, 2015}}</ref> Foster started a [[soul music|soul]] and R&B label [[Sound Stage 7]] in 1963. Artists on Sound Stage 7 included [[Joe Simon (singer)|Joe Simon]], [[The Dixiebelles]], [[Arthur Alexander]], and [[Ivory Joe Hunter]]. Another Monument sublabel was Rising Sons Records.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XygEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22rising+sons+records%22&pg=PA26 |title=Billboard β Google Books |date=September 16, 1967 |access-date=July 22, 2013}}</ref> In 1971, Foster signed a worldwide distribution agreement with [[Columbia Records|CBS Records]]. The distribution agreement lasted until 1976. Foster switched distribution to [[PolyGram]] which lasted until 1982, and then CBS handled distribution again until 1990. Fred Foster invested heavily in a banking venture in the 1980s, and sustained disastrous financial losses, which led to Monument filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1983 and the sale of its publishing counterpart, Combine Music, to Entertainment Music Co. in 1985.<ref name="BBDec1985">{{cite magazine |last=Morris |first=Edward |title=Combine Gets New Owner: Entertainment Music Co. Takes Over |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sCQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22fred+foster%22&pg=PT3 |magazine=Billboard |date=December 14, 1985 |access-date=May 20, 2024}}</ref> CBS Records acquired the Monument catalog, and its successor company, [[Sony Music]], reactivated the label in 1997 as a country label. Some successful artists signed to Monument during this era were [[Little Big Town]] and [[The Chicks|Dixie Chicks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=20289|title = SONY BMG: One Word, Three Letters And A Whole Lot Of History|website = Top40-Charts.com|access-date = 2016-03-25}}</ref> Monument Records catalog is managed by Sony Music's [[Legacy Recordings]] unit.
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