Atco Records began as a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (its name derives from Atlantic Recording Corporation) that was founded in 1955. For a while, it was a repository for any act that didn't fit the parent label's emphasis on Soul, Blues and Jazz, but this gradually changed. The Coasters and Bobby Darin were Atco's first hitmakers; its roster during The '60s included Sonny & Cher, Iron Butterfly, Buffalo Springfield, and Vanilla Fudge. Starting with The British Invasion and continuing into The '70s and The '80s, the label became the American licensee for English acts such as Cream, The Bee Gees, Genesis, Roxy Music, and Gary Numan.
In The '90s, Atco was wound down, and due to corporate dealings within its parent company Warner Music Group, its catalog was controlled by Elektra Records for a while. Starting in 2006, the label was sporadically revived as a division of Rhino Entertainment; its releases during this era include new albums by New York Dolls, Jeff Beck, Queensrÿche, Scarlett Johansson, and Art Garfunkel, as well as the soundtrack album to Kevin Spacey's Bobby Darin Biopic Beyond the Sea.
Atco eventually went dormant again, but received yet another revival in 2020, which brought the label full circle by returning it to the Atlantic family.
Atco Records performers with TV Tropes pages:
- AC/DC
- The Allman Brothers Band
- Amon Düül II
- Bad Company
- The Beatles* (Atco was the American distributor for the band's early German recordings with Tony Sheridan)
- Jeff Beck
- The Bee Gees*
- Chuck Berry
- Buffalo Springfield
- Cher
- Eric Clapton*
- Cream*
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (some Brazilian & Greek releases)
- Bobby Darin
- Derek and the Dominos*
- Aretha Franklin (a few Brazilian releases)
- Genesis*
- Hawkwind*
- Horslips*
- Iron Butterfly
- Scarlett Johansson
- New York Dolls
- Stevie Nicks (Atco distributed her Modern Records vanity label)
- Gary Numan*
- Pantera
- Queensrÿche
- Otis Redding
- Roxy Music*
- Soft Machine (a European compilation of the first two albums)
- Sonny & Cher (and Sonny's solo work)
- Trans-X
- The Who* (Atco released the "Substitute" single in America during the band's legal battle with Shel Talmy; Pete Townshend and John Entwistle later released solo work on the label)
- Yes (Transferred from Atlantic during The '80s)
* US and Canada only
