RECORDS
The MGM label came into being in 1946. At first it was used for issuing soundtracks from Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer movies, but over the years its scope broadened (as witness the purchase in 1961 of Norman Grantz's 'Verve' Jazz label); eventually Country music became its main concern. The '50s brought success in that field, with Hank Williams, and in the area of Rock 'n' Roll, with Connie Francis and Conway Twitty. Following heavy financial losses in the late '60s the company changed musical direction; the emphasis in the '70s was on 'Family Entertainment' and Pop, the Osmonds being the most successful fruits of this new policy. MGM was subsumed into PolyGram in 1972; it was discontinued in 1982 after a merger between MGM Inc. and the United Artists corporation. Manufacture and distribution in the late '50s and '60s were by EMI; during that period singles were numbered in the MGM-900s, which in the fullness of time became the MGM-1000s. In 1970 Polydor / Phonodisc took over, and catalogue numbers changed to a 2006-000 series. Three basic label designs were used in Britain, during the 7" era: a yellow one up to 1968; a blue-and-gold swirly one from 1969 into the early '70s, covering the transition from EMI to Polydor, the gold swirl being smaller in the Polydor years; and finally a dull injection-moulded one from 1972 onwards, when all the Polydor family labels went that way. Early injection-moulded singles had three- pronged centres, later ones had solid ones or came factory-dinked. The paper label and the broad, four-pronged dinking perforation of the seventh single shown suggests that it may have been custom-pressed by another company. As was the way with all the labels in the Polydor and Phonogram family, singles were often 'dinked' at the factory so that they came ready for use in juke boxes. A short-lived 'Action Replay' series appeared across several Polydor group labels in 1971 featuring a slight adaptation of the standard labels. EPs in the '50s and '60s had the standard yellow label with an appropriate inscription added. The late '60s demos are in fact a fluorescent pink colour with a silver 'A'. In the 1970s, MGM singles appear to have come in either plain white or all-purpose Phonogram Group sleeves. The discography below has many gaps, most of which are due to the fact that the numbers were used for overseas releases.Thanks to Robert Lyons for the info.
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF MGM SP SERIES 1953-1956 CAN BE FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF MGM 900 SERIES 1956-1958 CAN BE FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF MGM 1000 SERIES 1958-1969 CAN BE FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF MGM EPs SERIES 1955-1966 CAN BE FOUND HERE
