The label design was based on Evening, Fall of Day (1869) by painter William Rimner, while the company logo featured a pair of swans.
A lavish media party was held at Chislehurst Caves in Kent, England on October 31, 1974, to celebrate the labels first release by the Pretty Things, Silk Torpedo. By March 1975, Swan Song had four albums (Bad Company, Silk Torpedo, Physical Graffiti, and Suicide Sal) in the Billboard Top 200 chart. The recording label also partly funded film projects such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975.
Artists who signed with the label but did not produce any releases included New York singer-songwriter Mirabai, Metropolis which featured members from the Pretty Things, guitarist Richie Sambora (who later joined Bon Jovi), and the Kentucky Headhunters. Both Iron Maiden and The Q Tips featuring Paul Young were considered but not signed. Four artists that Swan Song Records wanted to sign but bowed out to other labels were Roy Harper, blues guitarist Bobby Parker, composer Vangelis, and John Lennon before his return to music in 1980.
Swan Song ceased operations in October 1983 due to the break-up of Led Zeppelin and Peter Grants health problems. A rescue attempt to save the label by Atlantic Records executive Phil Carson proved fruitless. Robert Plant started his own label Es Paranza Records in the wake of Swan Songs passing, while Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones signed up with Atlantic Records.
Label discography
see also List of record labels