Label Guide: 20th Century Fox

20th Century-Fox Records was a wholly owned subsidiary of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, one of the six major American film studios. The record label started business in 1958 as 20th Fox Records before it changed its name to 20th Century-Fox Records in 1963. Most of the label's output in these early years were soundtrack albums for 20th Century Fox films and strings/Christmas music for the older generation, most of which received very little chart action.

In 1966, the label struck a distribution deal with ABC Records which lasted until 1970 when the parent film studio got in financial trouble and the new output of the record company dropped to zero. When the label was re-activated in 1972, it came with an all-new design, logo, and name: 20th Century Records. And their biggest selling artist at the time, Barry White, finally turned the record label into a viable enterprise of its own.

When White chose not to renew his contract in 1978, the company reverted its name back to 20th Century-Fox Records, with a new label design featuring the movie firm logo. At that time, control of the parent film studio passed to investor Marvin Davis who was not very interested in the music business and subsequently sold the record label to PolyGram in 1982. All of its catalog and contracts for then-current artists were folded into and became part of the Casablanca label, which PolyGram had purchased in 1977.