Fantasy Records

Fantasy Records, along with its subsidiary Galaxy, was established in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1949. Their first artist was an Oakland pianist named Dave Brubeck.  In1968 they hit the jackpot with Creedence Clearwater Revival, the most successful four-piece American rock 'n' roll band of all time. In the '70s, Fantasy purchased the catalogs of three of New York's top jazz independents: Prestige (also including its subsidiaries New Jazz, Bluesville, Folklore, Swingville, Tru-Sound, and Moodsville), Riverside (and subsidiary Jazzland), and Milestone. Fantasy also owned distribution rights to the Debut label.  In 1977, Fantasy went on to acquire the catalog of another legendary independent, Memphis-based Stax Records (and affiliated labels Volt, Enterprise, and Gospel Truth). Other label purchases followed: in 1984, Contemporary/Good Time Jazz; in 1987, Pablo; and in 1991, Specialty, one of the first post-war independent labels to have specialized in black popular music. In 1995, Fantasy acquired two new labels — Takoma and Kicking Mule.

In 2004, Fantasy was sold to a consortium led by Norman Lear and merged with Concord Records to create a new company called Concord Music Group. While some operations are still located in Berkeley, California, the record label is now headquartered at the Concord Music Group location in Beverly Hills, California.