Elektra Records had a pretty solid run in between being founded in 1950 by soon-to-be-legendary record man Jac Holzman and being shuttered in 2004 as part of a merger with Atlantic Records. Now that story is getting another chapter: Atlantic announced today that effective immediately, Elektra is once again a functioning label under its corporate umbrella. Signees to the reincarnated Elektra, which is being run by Fueled By Ramen founder John Janick and Atlantic A&R exec Mike Caren, include Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo, French electro mavens Justice, and U.K. dance-pop sensation Little Boots. That’s a fairly eclectic lineup, but it’s nothing compared to the label’s wide-ranging history. Over the years Elektra has been home to everyone from folkies like Phil Ochs and Judy Collins to cutting-edge rockers like the Doors, Love, and the Stooges, to hip-hop innovators like Missy Elliott — and that’s just a small sampling.
So what do you hope the new Elektra will do with the name? Personally, I’m hoping they can reissue the unconscionably out-of-print Phil Ochs In Concert, though I’m not sure what the rights situation is there. Check out a vintage clip of Ochs playing that album’s "There But For Fortune" below, then weigh in.
More on Elektra:
EW review: Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra Records — 1963-1973
More from EW’s Music Mix:
Grizzly Bear takes a victory lap in New York City
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I bought my very first 45 single on Elektra, The Cars ‘My Best Friend’s Girlfriend’! A couple of years later,
I continued my 45 collection with other Elektra label hits like Eddie Rabbit’s ‘Drivin’ My Life Away’ and Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’!
Here’s hoping now that Elektra is back up & running, that Atlantic will give back some of the Elektra artists. Atlantic has become way too bloated in the past few years and as is expected since its now the WB affiliated labels #1 label. I for one hope Missy Elliott can NOW finally drop her long-awaited new cd, “Block Party”.
Always great to see a clip of Phil Ochs here! I think Carly Simon started on Elektra too. It was a quirky, great label.