Infinity Records
Encyclopedia
Infinity Records was a short-lived subsidiary of MCA Records
established in New York City
in 1977. The label was conceived by MCA president Sidney Sheinberg
as a way for the Los Angeles-based entertainment conglomerate to improve its presence on the East Coast. Ron Alexenberg, who had previously been the head of the Epic Records
division of CBS Records
was hired as CEO.
The biggest hit the Infinity label had was "Escape" by Rupert Holmes
, which was #1 at the end of 1979. Other acts that had chart entries on Infinity included Dobie Gray
, Hot Chocolate, New England
, Orleans
and Spyro Gyra
. Under the distribution of MCA, the Infinity Records label released titles in the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K., Japan and parts of Europe.
Infinity spent lavishly but failed to earn a profit. In addition to developing new talent, Infinity also paid substantial sums to acquire established artists. Most of the established artists were unable to duplicate their previous success.
In October 1979, Infinity released Pope John Paul II Sings at the Festival of Sacrosong, an album of songs sung by Pope
John Paul II in his native Polish
. Due to the tremendous popularity of the new Pope at that time, Infinity was convinced the record would be a huge hit. The company paid a substantial fee (which went to charity) to the Catholic Church to obtain exclusive rights to the recording. The album briefly peaked at #126 on the Billboard 200
albums chart, however, it received poor reviews and was quickly seen as a colossal failure. Most of the one million advance copies of the John Paul II album were returned unsold to the label, producing a huge financial loss. MCA pulled the plug on Infinity Records in December 1979, and the Infinity catalog was immediately absorbed by the parent company. Rupert Holmes and Spyro Gyra were the only Infinity acts to be retained by MCA, and most of the label's catalog went out of print.
The collapse of Infinity also coincided with rising costs of manufacturing for vinyl LP records and a huge sales slump for the music industry. Infinity has since become known as one of the most expensive failures in the history of the record business.
There are at least two other smaller record labels that also have used the name Infinity Records. One of these other labels was a subsidiary of Festival Records
, which for many years was Australia's leading independent record company, but is now also defunct. Other companies with the Infinity Records name do not have an affiliation with MCA.
Artists associated with other labels named Infinity Records that are not connected with MCA include:
See also:
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
established in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1977. The label was conceived by MCA president Sidney Sheinberg
Sidney Sheinberg
Sidney "Sid" Jay Sheinberg is a lawyer and American entertainment executive. He is married to actress Lorraine Gary.-Early life and education:...
as a way for the Los Angeles-based entertainment conglomerate to improve its presence on the East Coast. Ron Alexenberg, who had previously been the head of the Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
division of CBS Records
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
was hired as CEO.
The biggest hit the Infinity label had was "Escape" by Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
, which was #1 at the end of 1979. Other acts that had chart entries on Infinity included Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray
Dobie Gray is an African American singer and songwriter, whose musical career has spanned soul, country, pop and musical theater...
, Hot Chocolate, New England
New England (band)
New England was an American rock band that was mainly active from 1978-1982. The group was best known for the song, "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya", which received heavy radio exposure on Album-oriented rock stations and reached #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979...
, Orleans
Orleans (band)
Orleans is an American pop-rock band best known for its hits "Dance with Me" , "Still the One", from the album Waking and Dreaming and "Love Takes Time" . The group's name evolved from the music it was playing at the time of their formation, which was inspired by Louisiana artists such as Allen...
and Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra
Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was originally formed in the mid-1970s in Buffalo, New York, USA. With over 25 albums released and 10 million copies sold, they are among the most prolific as well as commercially successful groups of the genre...
. Under the distribution of MCA, the Infinity Records label released titles in the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K., Japan and parts of Europe.
Infinity spent lavishly but failed to earn a profit. In addition to developing new talent, Infinity also paid substantial sums to acquire established artists. Most of the established artists were unable to duplicate their previous success.
In October 1979, Infinity released Pope John Paul II Sings at the Festival of Sacrosong, an album of songs sung by Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
John Paul II in his native Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. Due to the tremendous popularity of the new Pope at that time, Infinity was convinced the record would be a huge hit. The company paid a substantial fee (which went to charity) to the Catholic Church to obtain exclusive rights to the recording. The album briefly peaked at #126 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart, however, it received poor reviews and was quickly seen as a colossal failure. Most of the one million advance copies of the John Paul II album were returned unsold to the label, producing a huge financial loss. MCA pulled the plug on Infinity Records in December 1979, and the Infinity catalog was immediately absorbed by the parent company. Rupert Holmes and Spyro Gyra were the only Infinity acts to be retained by MCA, and most of the label's catalog went out of print.
The collapse of Infinity also coincided with rising costs of manufacturing for vinyl LP records and a huge sales slump for the music industry. Infinity has since become known as one of the most expensive failures in the history of the record business.
There are at least two other smaller record labels that also have used the name Infinity Records. One of these other labels was a subsidiary of Festival Records
Festival Records (Australia)
Festival Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....
, which for many years was Australia's leading independent record company, but is now also defunct. Other companies with the Infinity Records name do not have an affiliation with MCA.
Partial list of Infinity Records recording artists
- Randy Bishop & Marty Gwinn
- Blue Steel
- Solomon BurkeSolomon BurkeSolomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
- Chromium
- Dixon House BandDixon House BandThe Dixon House Band was a prog-rock/pop group based in Seattle, Washington in the late 1970s. It issued one album on New York City-based Infinity Records in 1979 entitled Fighting Alone and had a minor chart hit with the song "Sooner Or Later"....
- Flyer
- Dante's Inferno (featuring Ron DanteRon DanteRon Dante is an American singer, songwriter, session vocalist, and record producer...
) - Dobie Gray
- Rupert Holmes
- Hot Chocolate
- Robert A. JohnsonRobert A. JohnsonRobert A. Johnson is a rock and blues guitarist based in Memphis, Tennessee who is best known for his work in the 1970s. He is usually known professionally as "Robert Johnson." He is no relation to the 1930s era blues guitarist Robert Johnson.Early in his career Johnson played in bands with Jack...
credited as "Robert Johnson" (a MemphisMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
based Roots rockRoots rockRoots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
guitarist, not the famous BluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician) - The Kats (signed to the label but had no recordings issued)
- Orsa LiaOrsa LiaOrsa Lia, born in Virginia, is a female singer. She recorded some jingles for television commercials in the 1970s before signing on with an upstart record label, Infinity Records, in the late 1970s....
- Native Son
- Nature's Divine
- New England
- Orleans
- Pope John Paul II
- RaceyRaceyRacey was a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, by singer Phil Fursdon and Clive Wilson. The group was formerly known as Alive 'n' Rockin.-Career:...
- Screams
- Spyro Gyra
- Richard Stepp
- TKOTKO (band)TKO was a hard rock/heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington. The group's leader and only consistent member was singer Brad Sinsel. TKO lasted from approximately 1977-2001....
Artists associated with other labels named Infinity Records that are not connected with MCA include:
- Richard BatchensRichard BatchensRichard Batchens is an Australian record producer and recording engineer. He was the main in-house producer for the Australian recording company Festival Records in the early-mid 1970s and was one of the most prominent and successful producers of the era....
- The Texans (Johnny BurnetteJohnny BurnetteJohn Joseph "Johnny" Burnette was an American rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette, and also a friend named Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.-Early life:Johnny Burnette...
and Dorsey BurnetteDorsey BurnetteDorsey Burnette was an early Rockabilly singer. With his younger brother, Johnny Burnette, and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio.-Background and early career:Dorsey Burnett was born on December 28, 1932 to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr...
)
See also:
- Donald DempseyDonald DempseyDonald Dempsey Sr. was an American recording executive who helped launch Ozzy Osbourne and Merle Haggard.A one-time math teacher, Dempsey began his music career peddling albums for a distributor to dime and discount department stores that would eventually embark on a 25-year career with CBS Records...