Essex Records was founded in 1951 by German-born producer Dave Miller. The label had local popular success, being known mostly for its release of the early Bill Haley & His Comets recordings. Miller originally changed the name of the group from the "Four Aces of Western Swing" to "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" then repeated a suggestion that the group change their name to the Comets after Halley's Comet.
After Bill Haley left Essex for Decca Records in 1954, Miller was sued by Haley for selling the group's former hits on his Essex label without paying royalties. Miller filed for bankruptcy before the hearing came to court and Essex Records folded in 1956. Miller moved on to start several new labels, including Trans-World, Somerset and Stereo Fidelity, where he re-released most of the Essex material, including those Bill Haley recordings.
Essex Records (UK) is an unreleated 1990s reissue label for psychedelic and progressive rock albums of the late 1960s and 1970s.