History Creator / DunhillRecords

[=McGuire=] didn't sustain his popularity and became a OneHitWonder, but he made another contribution to Dunhill's success by bringing Music/TheMamasAndThePapas to Adler's attention. [=McGuire=] recorded John and Michelle Phillips' song "California Dreamin'" with the group on backing vocals; Adler liked it so much that he withdrew the M&Ps' intended debut single, "Go Where You Wanna Go", and replaced it with [=McGuire=]'s recording of "California Dreamin'", only credited to the group and with Denny Doherty's lead vocal replacing [=McGuire=]'s.[[note]]Those who hear the stereo version of "California Dreamin'" can faintly hear [=McGuire=] sing its opening line on one of the channels if they listen closely[[/note]] Not only did the result hit #4, but the M&Ps had several other hits and became one of Dunhill's most enduringly popular acts.

[=McGuire=] didn't sustain his popularity and became a OneHitWonder, but he made another contribution to Dunhill's success by bringing Music/TheMamasAndThePapas to Adler's attention. [=McGuire=] recorded John and Michelle Phillips' song "California Dreamin'" with the group on backing vocals; Adler liked it so much that he withdrew the M&Ps' intended debut single, "Go Where You Wanna Go", and replaced it with [=McGuire=]'s recording of "California Dreamin'", only credited to the group and with Denny Doherty's lead vocal replacing [=McGuire=]'s.[[note]]Those who hear the stereo version of "California Dreamin'" can faintly hear [=McGuirre=] sing its opening line on one of the channels if they listen closely[[/note]] Not only did the result hit #4, but the M&Ps had several other hits and became one of Dunhill's most enduringly popular acts.

[=McGuire=] didn't sustain his popularity and became a OneHitWonder, but he made another contribution to Dunhill's success by bringing Music/TheMamasAndThePapas to Adler's attention. [=McGuire=] recorded John and Michelle Phillips' song "California Dreamin'" with the group on backing vocals; Adler liked it so much that he withdrew the M&Ps' intended debut single, "Go Where You Wanna Go", and replaced it with [=McGuire=]'s recording of "California Dreamin'", only credited to the group and with Denny Doherty's lead vocal replacing [=McGuire=]'s. Not only did the result hit #4, but the M&Ps had several other hits and became one of Dunhill's most enduringly popular acts.

Active between 1965 and 1975, Dunhill was a pre-eminent American pop label that released some of the most iconic songs of its era.

Adler had hired P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri as artists and songwriters. One of the songs they brought in, a solo Sloan composition titled "Eve of Destruction", had already been rejected by Music/TheByrds and recorded as an album track by Music/TheTurtles. A take on the {{Protest Song}}s that singers like Music/BobDylan and Music/PhilOchs were doing then, it was dark to the point of nihilism, with lyrics passionately decrying man's inhumanity to man and the various injustices occurring at the time (and all too often, before and since). At Dunhill, "Eve" was recorded by gravel-voiced Barry [=McGuire=], formerly of the New Christy Minstrels; he gave a ferocious performance, while Adler, Sloan and Barri oversaw the FolkRock backing. "Eve" was controversial from the moment of release -- it was widely criticized and even banned in some areas -- but a lot of people around the world were ready to hear it. It topped the charts in the US, Canada and Norway, hit the top 5 or 10 in several other countries, and became one of the songs that defined the 60s.

Note: The Dunhill label existed only in the USA and (after 1971) Canada. From 1965 to 1970, Creator/RCARecords was the international licensee; after that, Canada got a new hybrid label called ABC/Dunhill, while in the rest of the world Dunhill joined its corporate parent at the Creator/{{EMI}}-associated Creator/{{Stateside|Records}} and Probe labels.[[note]]Probe was named after a short-lived PsychedelicRock imprint of ABC, repurposed as a label for overseas releases.[[/note]]

Note: The Dunhill label existed only in the USA and (after 1971) Canada. From 1965 to 1970, Creator/RCARecords was the international licensee; after that, Canada got a new hybrid label called ABC/Dunhill, while in the rest of the world Dunhill joined its corporate parent at the Creator/{{EMI}}-associated Stateside and Probe labels.[[note]]Probe was named after a short-lived PsychedelicRock imprint of ABC, repurposed as a label for overseas releases.[[/note]]

!!Dunhill performers with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

Dunhill began as production company that licensed recordings to other labels, including the early hits by blue-eyed soul singer Johnny Rivers (on Imperial) and an album of [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] interviews (on Vee Jay, still smarting over having lost the Fab Four's American rights to Creator/{{Capitol|Records}}). By 1965, Dunhill was ready to become a label in its own right, so the four founders signed a distribution deal with [[Creator/ABCRecords ABC-Paramount]]; the first release was a single by Adler's then-wife, actress Creator/ShelleyFabares. Some EarlyInstallmentWeirdness followed, including a spoken-word single by Creator/DickClark, three albums by Music/{{The Wrecking Crew|Music}} drummer Hal Blaine[[note]]Blaine and his bandmates also played on many Dunhill releases[[/note]], and many releases by instrumental GenreMotif/EasyListening group The Brass Ring. However, by the end of the year Dunhill would have its first #1 single -- a release that had big implications for its future, some of them unexpected.

* '''Music/{{Steppenwolf}}'''. Canadian expatriates who would up in LA, their brand of politically aware HardRock made them stars among the hippie counterculture, while being catchy enough to resonate with more mainstream listeners. Best known for their top 10 hits "Rock Me", "Magic Carpet Ride" and their [[invoked]] SignatureSong "Born to Be Wild".

* '''Joe Walsh'''. Formerly of ABC band The James Gang, later of Music/{{Eagles}}, Walsh recorded his first three solo albums for Dunhill. ''Barnstorm'''s sales were just okay, but the next two (''The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get'' and ''So What'') were major hits. Walsh also had a modest hit single for the label with "Rocky Mountain Way", which peaked at #23.

Dunhill began as production company that licensed recordings to other labels, including the early hits by blue-eyed soul singer Johnny Rivers (on Imperial) and an album of [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] interviews (on Vee Jay, still smarting over having lost the Fab Four's American rights to Creator/{{Capitol|Records}}). By 1965, Dunhill was ready to become a label in its own right, so the four founders signed a distribution deal with [[Creator/ABCRecords ABC-Paramount]]; the first release was a single by Adler's then-wife, actress Creator/ShelleyFabares. Some EarlyInstallmentWeirdness followed, including a spoken-word single by Creator/DickClark, three albums by Music/TheWreckingCrew drummer Hal Blaine[[note]]Blaine and his bandmates also played on many Dunhill releases[[/note]], and many releases by instrumental GenreMotif/EasyListening group The Brass Ring. However, by the end of the year Dunhill would have its first #1 single -- a release that had big implications for its future, some of them unexpected.

* '''Smith'''. No relation to Music/TheSmiths, this was a BluesRock band which, like labelmates Three Dog night (see below), had several lead vocalists and did a lot of {{Cover Version}}s. Another Dunhill act with only one major hit, their version of The Shirelles' "Baby It's You" hit #5 in 1969; Creator/QuentinTarantino later included it in ''Film/DeathProof''. They're also known for their cover of Music/TheBand's "The Weight", which made it to the ''Film/EasyRider'' soundtrack album when rights issues made the original unavailable.

Final note: The Dunhill label existed only in the USA and (after 1971) Canada. From 1965 to 1970, Creator/RCARecords was the international licensee; after that, Canada got a new hybrid label called ABC/Dunhill, while in the rest of the world Dunhill joined its corporate parent at the Creator/{{EMI}}-associated Stateside and Probe labels.[[note]]Probe was named after a short-lived PsychedelicRock imprint of ABC, repurposed as a label for overseas releases.[[/note]]