A short-lived Country Music label, and a member of the Philips family. Nashville was run by Mervyn Conn, and was a sister to his 'Carnaby' label (q.v.). Its forthcoming launch was mentioned in 'Record Retailer' of the 10th of January 1970; the edition of the 24th added that the new label was to offer both original and licensed material. 'RR' of the 14th of March was able to reveal that the company's first single, 'Moment Of Glory' b/w 'Pride' by Durward Erwin, was scheduled for release the following week; three more singles followed it, all in 1970. There were also a couple of albums: one by Peter Skellern's first group, Harlan County, and one by Blaine Smith. Catalogue numbers followed the usual 'seven figure beginning with a 6' Philips style of the time: singles came in a 6076-000 series, albums in a 6366-000 one. None of them are easy to find nowadays, and the company sleeve seems very rare. Manufacturing generally was by Philips / Phonodisc, but the texture of the label on the second scan above suggests an Orlake product; the four-fold dinking perforation is very atypical of Philips, too. There are Philips pressings of that record, which suggests that at least two pressing runs were made. 'RR' of the 28th of March 1970 mentioned that Nashville was going to release an album called 'The Johnny Cash Register' by The New Decimal System, but it came out on Fontana (6438-012) - there's no 6366-001 in the Nashville listings, so perhaps that album was intended as Nashville 6636-001 and was switched to Fontana for some reason.
Sadly Nashville lasted for a mere twelve months or so. 'RR' of the 13th of March 1971 broke the news that the label was going to be dropped and the artists on it were going to be transferred to other parts of the Philips group: Laura Conn was to switch to Philips and Harlan County to Vertigo. That transfer seems not to have happened for the most part, though the Malcolm Anthony single 'Memories' b/w 'Traces Of Tomorrow' can be found on the Vertigo label with its old Nashville catalogue number. Towards the end of 1972 Conn resurrected the brand, this time as Nashville International (q.v.); in its new incarnation it handled by Pye. The Harlan County LP was reissued on the new label.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.