Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was originally active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot specialized in artists from Tennessee. Then it branched out to include musicians from across the U.S. It recorded country music, rhythm and blues, polkas, waltzes, gospel, rockabilly, pop, and early rock and roll.

After moving to Hollywood in 1956, Dot Records bought many recordings by small local independent labels and issued them nationally. In 1957, Wood sold the label to Paramount Pictures, but remained in charge until 1967, when he departed to join Lawrence Welk in the formation of Ranwood Records.

In 1968, the label was acquired as part of the acquisition of Paramount by Gulf+Western, which transitioned it to recording exclusively country music and placed it under the management of Famous Music in 1971. Gulf+Western sold its labels to ABC in 1974. Dot was renamed to ABC-Dot Records before closing in 1978.

The label was reactivated in 2014 through a joint venture between Big Machine Label Group and the Republic Records unit of Universal Music Group (which owns the original Dot Records catalog). Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the label was retired in 2017.

History

Early years

Dot's founder, Randy Wood, a veteran of the Army during World War II, settled in Gallatin, Tennessee. There he started an appliance store named Randy's, and began carrying records as an afterthought in 1947. Wood initially carried records in the classical and popular genres, but found his customers were asking for records of such rhythm and blues artists as Joe Liggins, Roosevelt Sykes, and Cecil Gant. They were staples of the playlist of Nashville's CBS Radio affiliate, WLAC.

After discovering that their records were only available in limited quantities—and not in Gallatin—Wood formed a mail-order operation by placing a short advertisement with WLAC personalities "Hoss" Allen and Gene Nobles. By 1950, his record sales had far surpassed that of the appliances he carried and he renamed his store Randy's Record Shop. As an extension, he formed a label named Randy's, which released "Gene Nobles' Boogie" by Richard Armstrong, and Record Shop Special, which had Gant on its roster.

One of the first artists he recorded was the young Johnny Maddox, who packed records for him at his store, and whose honky tonk piano style graced Dot Records for almost twenty years. Wood's roster of R&B artists included Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Liggins, the Four Dots, the Big Three Trio, Brownie McGhee, Shorty Long, the Counts, and the Griffin Brothers, who had a number one R&B hit with "Weepin' & Cryin'" (with vocal by Tommy Brown) in 1951. His country artists included Mac Wiseman, who had hits with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" and "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy", and, more famously, Jimmy "C." Newman, who scored many hits on the label (the biggest being "Cry, Cry, Darling") before leaving for MGM Records in 1958. Wood also recorded such gospel artists as the Fairfield 4, the Gateway Quartet, the Golden Voice Trio, Rosa Shaw, Joe Warren, the Singing Stars, and the Brewsteraires. Also in 1956 novelty artist Nervous Norvus (Jimmy Drake) had 2 hit singles with "Transfusion" and "Ape Call". His third and last single "The Fang" did not chart at all.

Paramount years

thumb|right|Dot Records logo after its sale to Paramount Pictures combined the original Dot script logo with the Paramount mountain and halo of stars symbol.

In late 1956, Wood signed Warner Bros. star Tab Hunter to a record contract after Chicago disc jockey Howard Miller suggested to Wood that he might want to sign Hunter, who was enormously popular and had just packed a stage show in Chicago with screaming girls. Wood asked if Hunter could sing, but Miller replied, "I don't know, it doesn't matter, I guess." Tab Hunter was the first to tell Wood that he could not sing a note. However, after giving Hunter the Ric Cartey tune "Young Love", Wood told producer Milt Rogers to repeatedly teach Hunter how to sing it until he finally reached the point where he could. The record topped the charts in 1957; Dot's release of a follow-up record from Hunter ("Ninety-Nine Ways") frustrated Warner Bros. chief Jack L. Warner, who retaliated by forming Warner Bros. Records and placing Hunter on the label as its first artist.

In 1957, Wood sold the label to Paramount Pictures, a 2-LP set that played longer than the usual record album.

Remakes were commonplace at Dot in the 1960s, with the label having artists such as Tony Martin, Jo Stafford, Vaughn Monroe, Gene Austin, Jimmie Rodgers, the Andrews Sisters, Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher re-record their old hits at various times; in 1968, Dot issued a various-artists album devoted to remakes of these artists' million-sellers. which included Paramount Records, Stax (until 1970), and Blue Thumb, with distribution of Sire (now owned by Warner Music Group) and Neighborhood, originally owned by Melanie Safka. By 1968, Lawrence Welk had acquired his portion of the Dot back catalog and subsequently reissued the material on his own Ranwood label.

With the rest of the Famous Music Group, in 1974, Dot was bought by ABC, which had tried to purchase the label years before, and renamed it to ABC/Dot Records, a name it retained before the label was discontinued at the start of 1978. The ABC/Dot headquarters became the Nashville office of ABC Records.

thumb|right|The ABC/Dot Records logo. The logo first read 'ABC/Dot' and the word 'Records' was added later.

ABC Records was then sold to MCA Records in 1979. MCA's Nashville division briefly revived the Dot label in 1985–86 for a series of one-off albums by country music artists such as Jan Howard, Jeanne Pruett, Jim Ed Brown and the Browns, Carl Perkins, Billie Jo Spears, Porter Wagoner, and Tompall Glaser.

The merger of the MCA Records and PolyGram Records families became the foundation for Universal Music Group in 1999. Currently, the Dot pop music catalog is managed by Universal Music's Geffen Records. The country back catalog is managed by the former Decca and Coral unit, which was rebranded as MCA Nashville, except for those by Roy Clark and Hank Thompson (owned by their respective estates).

Randy Wood died at age 94 in his La Jolla, California, home on April 9, 2011, from complications after a fall.

Revival

Big Machine Records revived the Dot Records name for a new label in March 2014. The label's first signees included Maddie and Tae, Drake White, and Steven Tyler. Big Machine discontinued the label in 2017.

Artists

(**indicates a master purchase/lease from another record company)

  • Liberace
  • Hal Aloma
  • Arthur Alexander
  • Steve Allen
  • George Wright
  • Eddie Baxter
  • The American Breed (Acta)
  • The Andrews Sisters
  • Ernie Andrews
  • Louis Armstrong
  • Gene Austin
  • Charles Ashman
  • Jack Barlow
  • Count Basie
  • Margaret Whiting
  • Eddie Baxter
  • The Baskerville Hounds
  • Leon Berry
  • Danny Boy (Danny Wahlquist)
  • Al Bollington (British organist)
  • Pat Boone
  • Pat & Shirley Boone
  • Barbara Eden
  • Jimmy Boyd
  • Walter Brennan
  • Jim Ed Brown & The Browns
  • The Blenders
  • Browning Bryant
  • Rusty Bryant
  • Jerry Burke
  • Ashley Campbell
  • Jo Ann Castle
  • The Chantays**
  • Children of Rain
  • Roy Clark
  • Sanford Clark**
  • Colours
  • Helen Cornelius
  • Don Cornell
  • Eddie Costa
  • The Counts
  • Brian Collins
  • Bob Crosby
  • Mac Curtis
  • Velva Darnell
  • The Dartells**
  • Jimmy Dee
  • The Dell-Vikings**
  • Frank DeRosa
  • Lonnie Donegan**
  • Jimmy Dorsey
  • Jim Doval and the Gauchos
  • Barbara Eden
  • The Fairmount Singers
  • Donna Fargo
  • Fear Itself
  • Freddy Fender
  • Jack Fina
  • The Fireballs
  • Eddie Fisher
  • Myron Floren
  • Brian Foley
  • The Fontane Sisters
  • The Four Lads
  • William Frawley
  • Bob Gaddy
  • Cecil Gant
  • Jan Garber
  • Althea Gibson
  • Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
  • The Griffin Brothers featuring Margie Day
  • The Griffin Brothers featuring Tommy Brown
  • The Griffin Brothers
  • Bonnie Guitar
  • The Jack Halloran Singers
  • Hamilton Streetcar
  • Roy Head
  • Milt Herth (organist)
  • The Hilltoppers
  • Ivory Joe Hunter
  • Tab Hunter
  • Gunilla Hutton
  • The Illusion (Steed)
  • Tommy Jackson
  • Harry James
  • Denise Jannah
  • Carol Jarvis
  • Danny Kaye
  • Sandra Kaylor
  • Sylvia and the Five Panthers
  • Dr. Charles Kendall
  • The Kendalls
  • Gary Usher
  • Jack Kerouac
  • Anita Kerr
  • Andy Kim (Steed)
  • Robert Knight
  • Sonny Knight
  • The Lennon Sisters
  • Wally Lewis
  • Liberace
  • Jim Lowe
  • Warren Luening
  • Robin Luke**
  • Maddie & Tae
  • Johnny Maddox
  • Barbara Mandrell
  • Tony Martin
  • Wink Martindale
  • Wink Martindale & Robin Ward
  • Robin McNamara (Steed)
  • The Mills Brothers
  • Mike Minor
  • Mint Tattoo
  • Vaughn Monroe
  • Tiny Morrie
  • Greg Morris
  • Mount Rushmore
  • Jack Narz
  • Jimmy Newman
  • Leonard Nimoy
  • Ken Nordine
  • Nervous Norvus**
  • Larry Novak
  • Tommy Overstreet
  • Paramounts
  • Bunny Paul
  • Eddie Peabody
  • Marty "The Phantom" Lott