Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then artists and repertoire (A&R) director at Myrrh Records.

[1] Barry McGuire was the first artist signed to the label, followed quickly by John Michael Talbot and his brother Terry, Janny Grein, and Annie Herring of 2nd Chapter of Acts; all of whom released albums with Sparrow in May of that year.

[2] Purchased by Thorn EMI in 1992, Sparrow's parent underwent a demerger four years later to become the EMI Group,[3][4] and the label is now part of the Capitol Christian Music Group.

[5] As of 2009, Sparrow's artists include Britt Nicole, Chris Tomlin, Mandisa, Matt Redman, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman and Switchfoot.

Since 1996, a popular production of Sparrow Records has been the annual WOW Hits contemporary Christian music series.