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 (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. and the label was placed under Uni Records management; 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. 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 label), Congress Records, 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, Raymond Lefèvre, 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'', 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' arrived from England. The label also distributed American releases by another successful British Invasion group, The Searchers. * 1966: The record label released the original cast album 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 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 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 *

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 *

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 *

Kenny Ballard Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" ...

* Gilbert Bécaud *

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

* Change * Maybelle Carter *

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* The Critters * Johnny Cymbal *

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* Bill Dana (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 * El Chicano * Dean Elliott * Shirley Ellis (Congress) * Jerry Fielding * The Flying Machine (Congress) *

The Fortune Tellers ''Ghost Sweepers'' (; also known as ''The Fortune Tellers'') is a 2012 South Korean comedy horror film about a group of shamans from across the nation who gather together for a grand exorcism at a small village notorious for dark spirits, as a you ...

( Robert Maxwell (songwriter)) (Medallion) * The Four Lads * Sergio Franchi (Four Corners) * Frank Gallop *

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(including Judi Weiner) * Tom Glazer *

Good Rats The Good Rats are an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Their music mixes elements of rock with blues and pop. They are best known on their native Long Island, although they had some success nationally and internationally. Histo ...

* The Greenwood County Singers (including Van Dyke Parks) * Françoise Hardy (Four Corners) * Joe Harnell * 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 Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...

* Brian Hyland (Leader & Kapp) * Jellyroll *

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(two singles on Congress) *

Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer *Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971) *Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...

* Just Us * Jerry Keller *The Kids Next Door (Four Corners) *

Pete King Chorale Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a charact ...

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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

* Raymond Lefèvre (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 ...

* Miriam Makeba *

Sam Makia and the Makapuu Beach Boys Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

* Jo Mapes * Carmen McRae * David McWilliams * Chad Mitchell Trio *

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. His ...

* Jane Morgan * Billy Mure (Tough Strings, KL-1253) * The Nightcrawlers * Linda Perhacs *

Leroy Pullins Carl Leroy Pullins (November 12, 1940 - May 5, 1984) was an American country singer and guitarist. He is best known for his 1966 hit single " I'm a Nut". Biography Carl Leroy Pulling was born November 12, 1940, in Berea, Kentucky. He played in ...

*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 *

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Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada *Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood *Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated place ...

Sylvia Telles Silvia D'Atri Telles (; August 27, 1934 – December 17, 1966) was a Brazilian jazz samba and bossa nova singer of the 1950s and 1960s. Life Daughter of Paulo Telles and Maria Amelia D'Atri, Sylvia was born in 1934 and she had the ambition to be ...

Thee Prophets The word ''thou'' is a second-person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in most contexts by the word ''you'', although it remains in use in parts of Northern England and in Scots (). ''Thou'' is th ...

* Mel Tillis *

The Trophies Trophy Mountain (locally called Trophy Mountains or The Trophies) is a mountain in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located in the south-east region of Wells Gray Provincial Park. The Clearwater River flows to the west, Raft River to the eas ...

The Unifics The Unifics were an American soul group from Washington, D.C. History In 1966 a group of students at Washington D.C.'s Howard University formed the group Al & the Vikings. Consisting of singer/songwriter Al Johnson, Michel Ward, Greg Cook and ...

Billy Usselton William "Billy" Usselton (July 2, 1926 – September 5, 1994) was an American jazz reed player. Early life Usselton was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Proficient on tenor saxophone, clarinet, and oboe, he began playing professionally in ...

* Leroy Van Dyke *

Lenny Welch Leon "Lenny" Welch (born May 31, 1938) is an American MOR and pop singer. Early years He was born in New York City, United States, and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, by his godparents, Eva and Robert Richardson. He attended Asbury Park H ...

* Billy Edd Wheeler *

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 ...

* Bob Wills *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