Hickory was a Nashville-based label, the recording arm of the giant Acuff-Rose music publishing business. It was started around 1955, but for years it issued singles only. Although it was primarily a country label, there were pop and light-rock artists on the label also, such as Sue Thompson, Kris Jensen, the Newbeats, Donovan, Frank Ifield, and B.J. Thomas. It also featured the early work of Doug Kershaw, in a duo with his brother Rusty (as Rusty & Doug, with the classic country fiddle recording of "Louisiana Man." ). Country giants on the label were Roy Acuff (of course), and Don Gibson.

Most of the material recorded from 1960 or so forward was recorded in stereo, often at the RCA studios in Nashville. These stereo masters didn't immediately translate into stereo albums, however, as many of the early Hickory LPs were issued in mono only, even though they had been recorded in stereo. By 1965, most of the albums were being issued in both stereo and mono. The 1970 various artists' collection Hickory's Treasure Album was all true stereo, and went back to the early days to provide stereo versions for many of the hits that had been issued in mono only until that time. Later, Hickory had the interesting habit of putting old tracks on Sue Thompson's 1970s albums, much to the delight of stereo collectors, for whom they had been hard to find.

In the 1970s, Hickory entered into distribution agreements first with MGM, and then with ABC, although Hickory remained an independent label. Both ABC and MGM were eventually absorbed into MCA/Universal Music, but Hickory went its own way. In 1985, the Acuff-Rose empire was sold to Gaylord Broadcasting, the owners of Opryland USA and other holdings.

The original Hickory label was black with silver print, followed (after #111 or so) by the more common black label with the rainbow logo. The mono issues used a prefix of "LPM-" while the stereo albums' prefix was "LPS-". We have found stereo listings for the albums with the "LPS-" prefix in the discography below. We believe those with the "LPM-" prefix were issued in mono only, but we would appreciate any corrections.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Hickory Records. Should you want to contact Hickory, or should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1998, 1999, 2003 by Mike Callahan.