Crown Records was a budget label for the Bahari Brothers, who ran Modern and RPM labels. It started in 1957 and continued for about a dozen years, earning itself the reputation of the king of the junk record labels. Aside from endlessly reissuing the legitimate hits that were on Modern and RPM, and the B.B. King material, what Crown had to offer was musical junk food on plastic plates. The covers and the vinyl were cheaply made, fell apart almost instantly, and the records sounded worn out right out of the package. Crown was much too cheap to issue special promotional copies; in fact, it's doubtful they ever gave away promotional copies, special labels or not.

The one nod to class was that early stereo albums were often issued in red vinyl. The stereo numbering did not correspond to the mono numbering for about the first 250 albums, so we have listed a cross- reference of stereo to mono numbers after the main discography.

The first Crown label was black with silver print. This was replaced in the early 1960s by a black label with the logo in block multi-color letters. By the mid-1960s, the same design was used, but the label had changed to grey with black printing, discarding the colors in the logo. Later in the 1960s, a logo with stylized "CROWN" lettering and a three-pointed crown above was used, again in grey with black print. In the very late 1960s, the label became black with white print, with "CROWN RECORDS" curving around the top of the label and a stylized script logo beneath it.

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 Crown Records. 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 2000 by Mike Callahan.