Kapp Records
| Kapp Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | MCA Inc. |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Founder | David Kapp |
| Defunct | 1973 |
| Status | Inactive |
| Distributor(s) | MCA Records |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| David Kapp | |
|---|---|
|
David Kapp and Danny Kaye, 1947 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Kapp |
| Born |
August 7, 1904 [1] Chicago, Illinois |
| Died |
March 1, 1976 [1] New York City[1] |
| Genres | Country, pop, rock, R&B, jazz, musical theatre |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer |
| Years active | 1930s–1960s |
| Labels | Decca, RCA, Kapp |
| Associated acts | Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Ernest Tubb, Danny Kaye, |
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who had set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records.[2][3] Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.
In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc. and the label was placed under Uni Records management;[4] Kapp was consolidated with MCA's other record labels in 1971 and, in 1973, MCA Records released the last Kapp record. Catalogue albums that continued to sell were renumbered and reissued on the MCA label.[5]
Kapp's subsidiaries included Medallion Records (an audiophile label),[6] Congress Records, Leader Records, and Four Corners Records with its "4 Corners of the World" log. Four Corners was formed to promote European artists, such as Françoise Hardy, Raymond Lefèvre, and the Barclay Singers.
History
- 1954: Kapp Records was created by David Kapp.
- 1960: Kapp Records released one of the first cover versions of songs from The Sound of Music, which was running on Broadway at that time. The Pete King Chorale was featured on the album.
- 1964: Kapp Records released "Hello Dolly" sung by Louis Armstrong that became the number one song in America on Billboard Top 100, two months after The Beatles' arrived from England.
- 1966: The record label released the original cast album of Man of La Mancha, perhaps their most successful cast album.
- 1967: David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc. and became a division of Uni Records.
- 1973: MCA released the last Kapp record. The catalog and artist roster was absorbed by MCA Records.
- 2003: MCA Records is absorbed into Geffen Records, which currently manages Kapp's pop/rock/R&B catalogs. The country, jazz, and musical theatre catalogs are now managed by MCA Nashville Records, GRP Records, and Decca Broadway, respectively. Decca Broadway released a remastered version of the Man of La Mancha original cast album in 2001.
Label variations
Throughout Kapp's history, its logo was a stylized "K" incorporating a phonograph record design. Three versions of this logo appeared during the company's history. Until 1970, this logo also appeared on a drum major's cap in a wordplay of the label's name.
- 1950s: Stylized "K/record" logo and KAPP at top of either red/white, silver/maroon or purplish red/white labels.[7]
- Early 1960s: Black label with white "K/record" logo and KAPP in red at top,[8] a similar design had a red drum major cap and KAPP in yellow at top.[9]
- Mid to late 1960s: Black label with red drum major cap (showing "K/record" logo in yellow) and KAPP in black letters in white box at left for singles, at top for albums.[10]
- 1970-1972: Purple, red, orange and yellow label with new "K" logo, either in black or in white inside black box, at left.[11] (A few 1970s releases were also pressed with the mid-to-late 1960s black label.)
Roster
- Eddie Albert
- Louis Armstrong
- Paul Arnoldi
- Fred Astaire
- Burt Bacharach
- Joe Harnell
- Kenny Ball
- Kenny Ballard
- Gilbert Bécaud
- Budgie
- Change
- Maybelle Carter
- Cher
- The Critters
- The D-Men
- Bill Dana (a.k.a. José Jiménez)
- Anita Darian, 1960, a self-titled album, Anita Darian (later titled East of the Sun), KL-1168
- El Chicano
- Shirley Ellis (Congress)
- The Flying Machine (Congress)
- The Four Lads
- Sergio Franchi (Four Corners)
- Frank Gallop
- The Ginger Snaps (including Judi Weiner)
- Tom Glazer
- Good Rats
- The Greenwood County Singers (including Van Dyke Parks)
- Bill Hayes
- Françoise Hardy (Four Corners)
- The Hesitations
- Gregory Howard and group
- Brian Hyland (Leader & Kapp)
- Jellyroll
- Elton John (two singles on Congress)
- Jack Jones
- Just Us
- Jerry Keller
- The Kids Next Door (Four Corners)
- The Latin Souls
- Raymond Lefèvre (Four Corners)
- Charles Lloyd
- Rod McKuen
- Miriam Makeba
- Sam Makia and the Makapuu Beach Boys
- Jo Mapes
- Carmen McRae
- David McWilliams
- Chad Mitchell Trio
- Art Mooney
- Jane Morgan
- Billy Mure (Tough Strings, KL-1253)
- The Nightcrawlers
- Linda Perhacs
- Pat Rolle
- Patty Lace & the Petticoats
- David Rose
- Ruby & the Romantics
- The Searchers
- Kermit Schaefer
- Linda Scott
- Harry Simeone Chorale
- Cal Smith
- Silver Apples
- Sonny & Cher
- Sugar & Spice
- Sundance
- Sylvia Telles
- Thee Prophets
- Mel Tillis
- The Trophies
- The Unifics
- Billy Usselton
- Leroy Van Dyke
- Lenny Welch
- Billy Edd Wheeler
- Roger Williams
- Bob Wills
- The "You Know Who" Group (Four Corners)
- Pete King Chorale
References
- 1 2 3 Hoffmann, Frank (2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 1119. ISBN 978-0415938358.
- ↑ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.com. 1967-12-09. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Kapp Records - CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". Discogs.com. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.com. 1967-12-09. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Kapp Album Discography, Part 7". Bsnpubs.com. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ↑ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.com. 1960-05-09. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Kapp Records". Collectable-records.ru. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Kapp Records". Collectable-records.ru. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Kapp Records". Collectable-records.ru. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Black Major'S Hat(Us)". Collectable-records.ru. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
- ↑ "Kapp Records". Collectable-records.ru. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
Hall, Claude: "MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni", Billboard, February 10, 1973