Dot's original headquarters were in Gallatin, Tennessee. It was founded by Randy Wood in 1950.
In 1956 the company moved its headquarters to Hollywood, California.
Early on the label specialized in artists from around Tennessee, then branched out to musicians and singers from throughout the USA. They offered a vairety of country music, rhythm & blues, gospel music, rockabilly, pop music, and early rock & roll.
After the move to Hollywood, Dot bought up many recordings by small local independent labels and issued them nationally.
In 1957 Wood sold ownership of the label to Paramount Pictures. Wood remained the President of Dot for another decade, then in left to co-found the Ranwood Records label with Lawrence Welk.
In 1958 Dot started a subsidiary label, Hamilton Records, for rockabilly and rhythm & blues.
The label produced many albums by hiring artists with hit records in previous years to record remakes of their earier hits.
In 1968, after Parmount was bought out by Gulf+Western, the Dot label was rebranded as a country music label. In 1974 the label was bought by the American Broadcasting Company, which discontinued the label in 1977.
Artitsts whose recordings were issued on Dot included Billy Vaughn, Margaret Whiting, Louis Prima, Tab Hunter, The Hilltoppers, Sanford Clark, Pat Boone, Lawrence Welk, Johnny Maddox, Eddie Peabody, Steve Allen, The Surfaris, Vaughn Monroe, Liberace, Roy Clark, Bonnie Guitar, Freddy Fender, the Andrews Sisters, the Mills Brothers, Jimmie Rodgers, Tommy Jackson, Gale Storm, Barbara Mandrell, and Leonard Nimoy.
Randy Wood: The Dot Records Story multipage history and discographyExternal link