Spring Records

Here’s a summary in English of Spring Records (U.S. soul / funk label) plus a music-nerd detail:Spring Records was an American label founded in 1967 in New York City by Bill Spitalsky, Roy Rifkind, and Julie Rifkind. Its name comes from combining parts of the founders’ names: “Sp” (Spitalsky) + “ri” (Rifkind).  In its early years it was distributed via MGM Records, but by about 1969 the distribution shifted to Polydor (U.S.), which later became part of PolyGram. 

Spring became a key label for soul, funk, and R&B in the 1970s, releasing hits by artists such as Millie Jackson, Joe Simon, and The Fatback Band. They also ran subsidiary labels—Event and Posse—to expand their output. 

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as disco and dance music rose, Spring continued releasing in those styles, but many of its core soul artists had already moved on. By 1983, Spring ended its tie with Polydor / PolyGram, and afterward operated more independently, but with diminishing commercial success. 

Formally, the company was wound up in 1993. 

Music nerd fact: One of Spring’s in-house producers in the 1970s was Raeford Gerald, who worked closely with Millie Jackson and Joe Simon.  Also, many of Spring’s albums featured deep, emotionally raw lyricism—Millie Jackson’s work especially blurred the line between soul music and confessional narrative, which was unusual for the era’s commercial soul labels.