Ardent Records

Ardent Records
Parent company	Ardent Music LLC
Founded	1959 (1959)
Founder	John Fry
Genre	Various
Country of origin	U.S.
Location	Memphis, Tennessee
Official website	www.ardentrecords.com

External video
Oral History, John Fry talks about his love of music and a passion for the radio which led to his first basement studio while still in high school. Interview date July 15, 2000, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library

Ardent Records, often shortened to "Ardent," is a Memphis record label founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Big Star, whose first two albums, released in 1972 and 1974, helped define the style known as power pop. The label was initially an attempt by the R&B-focused Stax to move into rock music, but distribution problems prevented any releases from succeeding. Big Star became widely known through 1980s reissues and the long delayed first release of Third/Sister Lovers, recorded in 1974.

The label was revived in the 1990s with two divisions: Alternative Mainstream and Contemporary Christian. Former Big Star guitarist Alex Chilton released recordings on the Ardent mainstream division, which also released recordings by bands such as Spot, Jolene, Two Minutes Hate, The Idlewilds, Neighborhood Texture Jam, and Techno-Squid Eats Parliament. The mainstream division of Ardent Records was closed in the mid-1990s.

Ardent's Christian label issued its first Christian releases in 1995. Initial projects included albums from Big Tent Revival, Skillet, and Smalltown Poets. To date, Ardent Records has released more than 35 albums by artists such as Skillet, Todd Agnew, Jonah33, Smalltown Poets, Satellite Soul, Clear, All Together Separate, Brother's Keeper, Justifide, Before You Breathe, NonFiction and Joy Whitlock. In 2005, Ardent inked a deal with INO Records, a division of Integrity Media, to distribute and market its entire roster.

The label's albums are recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis.

Roster

The following artists either are performing or have performed under the Ardent label.

Current – Christian

Todd Agnew (Ardent/Columbia Records/Fair Trade Services)
Jeremy Horn (Ardent/Fair Trade Services)
Skillet (Atlantic Records/Ardent/Fair Trade Services) used to
Joy Whitlock

Former – Christian

All Together Separate (Disbanded)
Before You Breathe
Big Tent Revival (Disbanded 2000) (Reunited, Active)
Brother's Keeper (Disbanded 2003)
Clear (Disbanded 2001)
Justifide (Disbanded 2003)
Jonah33
NonFiction
Smalltown Poets (On Hiatus)
Satellite Soul (Active, on Underdog Records)
Steve Wiggins

Current – Mainstream

Greyhounds

Former – Mainstream

The Avengers
Chris Bell (Deceased 1978)
Big Star (Disbanded, then reformed in 1993; likely disbanded for good after the death of Alex Chilton)
Cargoe
Alex Chilton (Deceased, 2010)
The Eric Gales Band (Active, on Blues Bureau)
The Goatdancers
The Hot Dogs
The Idlewilds
Jolene (Active, on Blue Rose Records)
Lawson and Four More
The Ole Miss Downbeats
Neighborhood Texture Jam
Retrospect
Brian Alexander Robertson
The Robins
Spot
Techno-Squid Eats Parliament
Tora Tora
Two Minutes Hate

External links

Official site

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