Kapp Records was an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of

Jack Kapp Jack Kapp (born Jacob Kaplitzky; June 15, 1901 – March 25, 1949) was a record company executive with Brunswick Records who founded the American Decca Records in 1934 along with British Decca founder Edward Lewis and later American Decca head Mi ...

(who set up American

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. Kapp licensed its records to

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

for release in the UK. In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to

MCA Inc. MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

and the label was placed under

Uni Records Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 in music, 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen ...

management; Kapp was consolidated with MCA's other record labels in 1971 and, in 1973,

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

released the last Kapp record. Catalogue albums that continued to sell were renumbered and reissued on the MCA label. Kapp's subsidiaries included

Medallion Records Medallion Records was a record label (1919–late 1921 or early 1922) owned by the Baldwin Piano Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio. Most Medallion issues were pressed from masters leased from Emerson Records, whose catalogue included early jazz re ...

(an

audiophile An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...

label),

Congress Records Congress Records was a record label founded in 1962 by Neil Galligan who headed Canadian-American Records and brought with him Linda Scott from that label. The label was sold the following year to Kapp Records. Under Kapp, the most successful artist ...

, Leader Records, and

Four Corners Records Four Corners Records (rendered on its logo as 4 Corners of the World) was a sublabel of Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). Da ...

with its "4 Corners of the World" logo. Four Corners was formed to promote European artists, such as

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; born 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy has been an important figure in French pop music since her debut, spanning a career of ...

Raymond Lefèvre Raymond Lefèvre (20 November 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer. Biography and career Born on 20 November 1929 in Calais, France, Raymond Lefèvre is best known for his interpretation of ...

, and the Barclay Singers. Today, the Kapp Records catalog is owned by MCA's successor-in-interest Universal Music Group through its Geffen Records subsidiary.

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 ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'', 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 Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

that became the number one song in America on ''Billboard'' Top 100, two months after

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' arrived from England. The label also distributed American releases by another successful British Invasion group,

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

. * 1966: The record label released the

original cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

of ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...

'', perhaps their most successful cast album. * 1967: David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc. and it became a division of

. * 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 Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

, 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 GRP® Records (Grusin-Rosen Productions) is a jazz record label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen (producer), Larry Rosen in 1978. Distributed by Verve Records, GRP® was originally known for its digital recordings that focuses on its jazz ...

, and

Decca Broadway Decca Broadway is an American record label specializing in musical theater recordings founded in 1999 by Decca Records and is a unit of Universal Music Group. Decca Broadway issued both new original cast albums as well as reissues of classic music ...

, 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 A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

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. *Early 1960s: Black label with white "K/record" logo and KAPP in red at top, a similar design had a red drum major cap and KAPP in yellow at top. *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. *1970-1972: Purple, red, orange and yellow label with new "K" logo, either in black or in white inside black box, at left. (A few 1970s releases were also pressed with the mid-to-late 1960s black label.)

Roster

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

Paul Arnoldi Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Kenny Ball Kenneth Daniel Ball (22 May 1930Larkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music''. (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), p. 29; ) – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and ...

* Kenny Ballard *

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* The D-Men *

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(a.k.a. José Jiménez) *

Anita Darian Anita Darian (April 26, 1927 – February 1, 2015) was an American singer and actress who had an extensive career from the 1950s to the 2010s. A soprano, Darian performed roles with the New York City Opera and was a featured soloist with the New ...

, 1960, a self-titled album, ''Anita Darian'' (later titled ''East of the Sun''), KL-1168 *

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Shirley Ellis Shirley Marie O'Garra (stage name Shirley Ellis, married name Shirley Elliston; January 19, 1929 – October 5, 2005) was an American soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian heritage. She is best known for her novelty hits "The Nitty Grit ...

(Congress) *

Jerry Fielding Jerry Fielding (born Joshua Itzhak Feldman; June 17, 1922 – February 17, 1980)Redman, Nick"Fielding, Jerry" Jackson, Kenneth T.; Markoe, Karen E.; Markoe, Arnold (1995). ''Dictionary of American Biography; Supplement 10: 1976–1980''. New ...

* The Flying Machine (Congress) * The Fortune Tellers (

Robert Maxwell (songwriter) Robert Maxwell (born Max Rosen; April 19, 1921 – February 7, 2012) was an American harpist, songwriter, and teacher who wrote the music for two well-known songs: "Ebb Tide" and "Shangri-La" (originally a composition entitled "Fantasy for Harp ...

) (Medallion) *

The Four Lads The Four Lads was a Canadian male singing quartet which, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; "No, Not Much"; "Who Needs ...

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(Four Corners) *

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* The Ginger Snaps (including Judi Weiner) *

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* The Greenwood County Singers (including

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) *

(Four Corners) *

Joe Harnell Joseph Harnell (August 2, 1924 – July 14, 2005) was an American composer, musician, and music arranger. Early life His father was a vaudeville performer who also played in jazz and klezmer ensembles. Harnell began playing piano at age six and ...

* Bill Hayes *

The Hesitations The Hesitations are an American R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1965, they scored several hits in 1967 and 1968, the biggest being their gospel-infused version of the title track to the movie ''Born Free''. After one of the group's singer ...

* Gregory Howard and group *

Brian Hyland Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s. AllMusic journalist Jason Ankeny says "Hyland's puppy-love pop vir ...

(Leader & Kapp) *

Jellyroll Jason DeFord (born December 4, 1984), known professionally as Jelly Roll (sometimes written as JellyRoll), is an American rapper and country singer known for his collaborations with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, Yelawolf, Tech N9ne, and Ryan U ...

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(two singles on Congress) * Jack Jones * Just Us *

Jerry Keller Jerry Paul Keller (born June 20, 1937) is an American pop singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 hit song "Here Comes Summer". Career Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Keller moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was six, an ...

*The Kids Next Door (Four Corners) * Pete King Chorale *

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

* The Latin Souls *

(Four Corners) * Charles Lloyd *

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range ...

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* Sam Makia and the Makapuu Beach Boys *

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Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

* David McWilliams *

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Art Mooney Arthur Joseph Mooney (February 11, 1911 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer and bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and " Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955. ...

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(Tough Strings, KL-1253) *

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* Leroy Pullins *Pat Rolle * Patty Lace & the Petticoats * David Rose *

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Kermit Schaefer Kermit Schafer (March 24, 1914 – March 8, 1979) was an American writer and producer for radio and television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his collections of "bloopers"—the word Schafer popularized for mistakes and gaffes o ...

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Harry Simeone Chorale Harry Moses Simeone (May 9, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was an American music arranger, conductor and composer who popularized the Christmas song " The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit. Early years Simeone was born ...

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* Sugar & Spice * Sundance *

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* Thee Prophets *

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* Billy Usselton *

Leroy Van Dyke Leroy Frank Van Dyke (born October 4, 1929) is an American country music and honky-tonk singer and guitarist, best known for his hits "The Auctioneer" (1956) and "Walk On By (Leroy Van Dyke song), Walk on By" (1961). Biography Van Dyke was bor ...

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Billy Edd Wheeler Billy Edward "Edd" Wheeler (born December 9, 1932, Boone County, West Virginia, United States) is an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include "Jackson" (Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and June Carter) ...

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...

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*The "You Know Who" Group (Four Corners)

References

Hall, Claude: "MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni", ''Billboard'', February 10, 1973

External links

Kapp Records story from BSN Pubs

Kapp Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American record labels Jazz record labels Record labels established in 1954 Record labels disestablished in 1972 Pop record labels MCA Records