Elektra Entertainment

Background

Elektra Entertainment was a music entertainment subsidiary of Elektra Records.

1st Logo (1984-1989)

Nickname: "The Test Card"

Logo: We see a color bar test card. Pieces of the test card fall off to reveal a black TV tube on a shady tan/cream gradient background with "elektra" written in an orange cursive font below the TV tube with "ENTERTAINMENT" in black below "elektra". As the logo zooms-in, an orange sunrise occurs in the TV tube. The logo shines, and it fades to black.

FX/SFX: The test card falling apart, the zooming and shining, the sunrise.

Music/Sounds: There are sound effects of glass shattering followed by 2 dramatic notes. Then, a calm piano/harp tune plays as the logo shines. When the logo fades to black, there is a another shattering glass sound effect.

Availability: Rare. It appears on some music videos on VHS during this era.

2nd Logo (1989-2004)

Nicknames: "Bouncing Logo", "The Bouncing e", "Ee"

Logo: On a yellow background, we see a blue capital "E" in the background. Suddenly, a red lowercase "e" bounces into view, as the capital "E" slowly hops towards the screen. The lowercase "e" bounces around a bit until landing on top of the capital "E", which rotates 45 degrees. The background turns to an ultramarine blue gradient color with a spotlight, and the blue "E" turns black, as the text "Elektra Entertainment" appears in a sans serif font. A copyright stamp appears on the corner of the screen.

Variant: A variant without the copyright stamp appeared on Metallica: Live S**t: Binge & Purge VHS.

FX/SFX: The bouncing and hopping, the background color switch; cel animation produced by The Ink Tank and directed by R.O. Blechman.

Music/Sounds: Strange background music from some type of percussion instrument with vibraphone notes synced with the bouncing of the "E". A "BOING!" plays when the lowercase "e" lands on the capital "E".

Music/Sounds Trivia: The low-pitched “BOING!” sound effect heard in this logo is a portion of "Audio Fidelity, Boings (1st boing)", but low-pitched.

Availability: Found on all music video releases by Elektra. Also seen on the very first Nickelodeon tapes from 1989. It also appeared on The Best of Friends VHS & DVD Volumes after the music video featuring the full theme song.