Label Guide: Dial

Dial Records was an American Jazz Label, founded in 1946 by Ross Russell out of his record store in Los Angeles, California. The label's name was inspired of Russell's favorite 1920s literary magazine, The Dial. By signing Charlie Parker in February 1946, the label quickly evolved into one of the most important independent jazz labels, especially for the new Bebop music.

Other notable artists on Dial Records include Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Howard McGhee and Erroll Garner. When Charlie Parker moved to New York in 1947, Russell and Dial Records followed him and kept recording Parker's sessions. In 1954, he sold Dial to the Concert Hall Record Company.

Dial Records (II) was an American Soul Label, founded in 1961 by Nashville-based producer Buddy Killen as a subsidiary of Tree Publishing, and completely unrelated to the previous jazz label. When Killen discovered soul singer Joe Tex, he wasn't successful in signing him with any of the major labels, so he just started his own specifically to record Tex.

Dial albums were distributed by Atlantic Records from 1965 to 1971, using the standard Atlantic label design with an additional "Dial Series" print identifying them as Dial Records releases. Dial switched distribution to Mercury Records in 1971, with the first album using a unique Dial Records label design (DL-6000 series) being released in 1972. Joe Tex remained the label's defining artist until 1975, when Tex signed with Epic Records as Dial's distribution deal with Mercury was not renewed.

Dial became dormant for a few years until Epic let go of Joe Tex and Buddy Killen reactivated the label to record him again. With T.K. Records he found a new distributor, but the label's relaunch was not successful and only a single album was released before Dial Records closed for good in 1979.