ABSTRACT
Pop-rock label of the 1950s and 1960s founded in 1955 by Simon (Si) Waronker and Jack Ames. The label’s first hits came in 1958 with rocker Eddie Cochran, and then producer Snuff Garrett signed Johnny Burnette and Bobby Vee to the label in the early 1960s. In 1963, the company purchased Imperial Records, inheriting its roster of rock acts. Major hitmakers for the label through the 1960s were the Ventures, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and Jan and Dean; its last major signing was the blues-rock group Canned Heat. The company also had a related music publishing division, Metric Music. In 1972, Liberty was sold to United Artists Records.
