CNR is a Dutch audio and video label. It was founded in 1937 as CNR Records by Cornelis Nicolaas Rood, who made his fortune as a producer of lampshades and other lighting materials.
Rood regarded his record label merely as a hobby, but things changed for the better in the early 1950s when CNR bought distribution and marketing rights for several foreign pop and classical record companies. He also signed up several local artists.
One of CNR's first major successes was Dutch singer Gert Timmerman, who became one of the Dutch top selling male artists from the end of the 1950s. In the 1960s, CNR enjoyed major successes with artists like Trio Hellenique, Gert Timmerman (who was also part of a duo, Gert & Hermien) and Heintje, a Dutch teenage singer who sold millions of singles and albums in Europe between 1966 and the early 1970s.
By this time, CNR had grown into one of the Dutch major independent record labels. It mainly focussed on local talent such as André van Duin, Benny Neyman and Tol Hansse, but it also had hit singles with licensed international productions like Baccara's "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" and "Sorry, I'm a Lady".
Local success continued well into the 1980s with artists including Stars on 45. CNR began distributing the up-and-coming Jive Records label in 1982. In the budding video market, CNR had a major presence with its CNR Video label, which specialised in kids material (Bassie & Adriaan).
In 1988 Rene Froger released his first top 10 hit ("Winter in America"), a Doug Ashdown cover on the CNR label. The singer would record two successful albums: Who Dares Wins (1988) and You're My Everything (1989).