"Paramount" is a name that has been on records dating back to the 1920s on 78rpm, but few of these labels had anything to do with Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures is also an old studio that dates back decades. In 1950, the government brought an antitrust action against Paramount Pictures Corporation and forced them to divest themselves of their movie theater chain, Paramount Theaters, which became known as United Paramount Theaters. In 1954, United Paramount Theaters merged with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), forming ABC-Paramount. ABC-Paramount formed Am-Par Recording Company in 1955, and started the ABC-Paramount label. By 1957, ABC-Paramount and Paramount Pictures, now completely separate corporations, were both looking for ways to get into the record business as a major. ABC wanted a major record label because the competing networks both had major labels (NBC had RCA-Victor, and CBS had Columbia). ABC expressed interest in buying Dot Records, but Paramount Pictures gave Dot owner Randy Wood a better deal, and Paramount Pictures purchased Dot in 1957.

ABC-Paramount changed names in 1962 to the American Broadcasting Companies, and the record label changed from ABC-Paramount to ABC. Paramount Pictures, meanwhile, seemed to be content letting Wood run the Dot label, and kept a low profile for about 10 years. When Paramount was purchased in 1968 by conglomerate Gulf+Western, some changes were in store. G+W's influence seemed to be a shift of Dot's repertoire from pop music to country, and most of the Dot catalog was deleted about 1969. Gulf+Western did some other corporate shuffling, putting the record division under the music publishing arm of Paramount, Famous Music (I can hear the G+W brass now, "Might as well have the music people handling the records, instead of the video people"). With Dot going country, they started another record label, called Paramount Records, mostly to handle the soundtrack albums from Paramount Pictures films, but also to handle Dot's pop back catalog. The Dot catalog was for the most part reissued in a series of 2-LP issues cleverly called "Famous Twinsets," not because the music on the records was famous (although some was, obviously), but because the company issuing them was "Famous", as in "Famous Music." Some of the Famous Twinsets had the Paramount label, some had a special Famous Twinsets label (which curiously didn't mention Paramount at all), and some had the ABC Records label after the 1974 sale to ABC. The series numbering system in the PAS-1000 series was continuous, however, no matter which label was used.

Paramount was known to have issued albums in the 1000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, and 9000 series, although some of these were very short series indeed. Their singles were in the 0000 series. The label lasted until 1974, when Gulf+Western ironically enough sold their entire record holdings, including Dot and Paramount, to ABC Records. The Paramount family was back together, after all these years, at least on records.








The Paramount label was a tan or grey color with black print, with the Paramount logo to the left of the center hole. Around the bottom of the label it said, "PARAMOUNT RECORDS, A DIVISION OF FAMOUS MUSIC CORPORATION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10023". Deejay copies were white with the same graphics. A few titles were issued with a blue label with the white Paramount logo on top (this was the same label that was used for European issues). The "Famous Twinset" label was black with silver print, an orange and yellow "Famous Twinset" logo above the center hole. Around the bottom of the label it says, "Famous Twinsets/Distributed by Famous Music Corp., New York, 10023/A G+W Company". The only indication that this is in fact a Paramount Record is the production copyright, which states Paramount Records. Generally, the Famous Twinset series was a good quality reissue series.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Paramount Records or Famous Music. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1999, 2003 by Mike Callahan.