The Rocket Record Company was founded in 1973 by Elton John, his lyricist Bernie Taupin, and his producer Gus Dudgeon, along with other partners. The label was named after their hit song “Rocket Man.” Rocket was originally distributed in the UK by Island and in the US by MCA Records, both of which Elton John was also signed to (after 1976).
The label signed artists such as Stackridge, Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka, Colin Blunstone, The Hudson Brothers and Judie Tzuke, while Elton John’s own albums were still released by DJM in the UK until 1976. Distribution changed frequently on both sides of the Atlantic; in the UK from Island to EMI, then PhonoGram and Mercury; in the United States from MCA to RCA which discontinued the US branch in the early 1980s.
By 1995, Elton John was the only artist on the label, and the Rocket Record Company was absorbed by Universal Music’s subsidiary Island Records in 1999. Source >
https://psyne.co/products/the-rocket-record-company-1973-vintage-mens-t-shirt/
