Editing ABC Records (section)

===ABC-Paramount Records===
[[File:ABCParamount78rpmlabelandsleeve.jpg|right|thumb|ABC Paramount 78rpm record and original sleeve]]
American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres formed a records division, incorporating the Am-Par Record Corporation on {{dts|1955|6|14}} with Samuel H. Clark as its first president.<ref name=bb>{{cite news|title=ABC: Brief History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kCkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43 |publisher=Billboard  |date=September 12, 1970 |access-date=September 9, 2011|pages=abc2–abc3}}</ref><ref name=nysc>{{cite web|title=Entity Information: ABC Records, INC.|url=http://appext20.dos.ny.gov/corp_public/CORPSEARCH.ENTITY_INFORMATION?p_nameid=125168&p_corpid=103889&p_entity_name=ABC%20Records%2C%20Inc&p_name_type=%25&p_search_type=BEGINS&p_srch_results_page=0|website=Corporation & Business Entity Database|publisher=New York State Division of Corporations|access-date=April 6, 2015}}</ref> By August 1955, the unit was organized with AMPCO ([[ASCAP]]) and PAMCO ([[Broadcast Music, Inc.|BMI]]) as subsidiary publishing units.<ref name=bb1>{{cite news |title=ABC-Paramount Through the Years |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-09-18.pdf |access-date=November 15, 2018 |work=Billboard |issue=38 |date=September 18, 1965 |volume=77 |page=32}}</ref> Though the record label was established as Am-Par, no records were released until after the division's name was changed to ABC-Paramount in September 1955.<ref name=":1" />

[[Eydie Gorme]] was the company's first signed artist. The company recorded its first single record, "Sincerely Yours" and "Come Home", both by Gorme. Alec Templeton's "Smart Alec" was the company's first LP recorded, also in September 1955.<ref name=bb1/>

One of Gorme's singles was its first release in January 1956.<ref name=bb1/><ref>{{cite news |title=The First Decade|url= https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-09-18.pdf |access-date=November 15, 2018 |work=Billboard |issue=38 |date=September 18, 1965 |volume= 77 |page=32}}</ref> "[[Chain Gang (1955 song)|Chain Gang]]" by Bobby Scott in February 1956 was the company's first national hit. George Hamilton IV's "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" single was Am-Paramount's first million-selling single in October 1956.<ref name=bb1/>

In 1957, the company had two million-selling singles: in June with "Diana" by Paul Anka and in October with "At the Hop" by 
Danny & the Juniors. Am-Paramount Records in May 1958 debuted the Apt subsidiary label with its first million-selling single, "Little Star" by the Elegants, released the same month.<ref name=bb1/>

[[Chancellor Records]] had Am-Par Record Corporation handle its distribution starting in 1957 and started a trend. 

Am-Par purchased [[Grand Award Records]] including the newly formed [[Command Records]] label, in 1959.<ref name="bb1" /> The company started a second label for jazz, [[Impulse! Records]], in November 1960.<ref name="bb1" /><ref>{{cite news| last1=Montagne |first1=Renee |title=Impulse Records: 'The House That Trane Built' |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5452186 |access-date=April 11, 2018|work=NPR.org|date=June 6, 2006|language=en}}</ref> Impulse released its first four records in January 1961.<ref name="bb1" />

The company had artists that earned three Grammy Awards in 1960.<ref name="bb1" /> While in January 1961, the company purchased Westminster Records, a classical label. Thus Am-Par Record had a label for each music genre.<ref name="bb1" />

Am-Par Record Corporation was renamed to ABC-Paramount Records, Inc. on December 7, 1961.<ref name=nysc/> The company opened a Los Angeles office in January 1962. [[Ray Charles]] formed Tangerine Records in March 1962 and arranged for ABC-Paramount to distribute Tangerine's records. The company formed Jet Record Distributors based in Long Island City, N.Y. as its local distributor. Also in 1962, the company had acquired Music Guild label and library for Westminster Records.<ref name="bb1" />

In 1965, Clark was promoted to vice-president in charge of AB-PT's non-broadcast operations. National sales manager [[Larry Newton]] was named ABC-Paramount president.<ref name=bb/> On January 4, 1965, vice-president in charge of sales Larry Newton was promoted to president of ABC-Paramount Records. The previous president, Sam Clark was promoted to director of theater operations for American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. Newton's first action as president was to restart Apt Records as a teen-oriented West Coast base label under Irwin Garr.<ref>{{cite news |title=ABC-Paramount will Reactivate Apt Label |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0UEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Apt+Records%22++ABC-Paramount+Records&pg=PA3 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |work=Billboard |issue=2 |date=January 9, 1965 |volume = 77|language=en}}</ref>