Caedmon Audio and HarperCollins Audio are record label imprints of

HarperCollins Publishers HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

that specialize in

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s and other literary content. Formerly Caedmon Records, its marketing tag-line was Caedmon: a Third Dimension for the Printed Page. The name changed when the label switched to CD-only production.

Caedmon history

Caedmon Records was a pioneer in the audiobook business, it was the first company to sell spoken-word recordings to the public and has been called the seed of the audiobook industry. Caedmon was founded in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1952 by college graduates

Barbara Holdridge Barbara Holdridge, together with her business partner, Marianne (Roney) Mantell, co-founded Caedmon Records in 1952. As an entirely female-owned company Caedmon stressed gender equality and focused on many women's writings. She was a pioneer in t ...

and Marianne Roney. The label's first release was a collection of poems by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Und ...

as read by the author. The B-side contained ''

A Child's Christmas in Wales ''A Child's Christmas in Wales'' is a piece of prose by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas recorded by Thomas in 1952. Emerging from an earlier piece he wrote for BBC Radio, the work is an anecdotal reminiscence of a Christmas from the viewpoint of a y ...

'', which was added as an afterthought; the story was obscure and Thomas himself could not remember its title when asked what to use to fill up the LP's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. However, this recording went on to become one of his most loved works, and launched Caedmon as a successful company. The original 1952 recording was a 2008 selection for the United States National Recording Registry, stating it is "credited with launching the

industry in the United States". The company went on to record other notable writers reading their own works, such as W. H. Auden,

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

, T. S. Eliot,

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

and many more. The label expanded further to encompass other types of spoken-word recordings, including children's stories, speeches, plus English- and foreign-language classics. Theater performances were also staged for the label, starring either the Shakespeare Recording Society or the Theatre Recording Society, depending on the playwright. These performances included many famous actors and actresses, including

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969 ...

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960 ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Brit ...

Siobhán McKenna Siobhán McKenna (; 24 May 1922 – 16 November 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress. Background She was born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast in the newly-created Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family. ...

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

, Felix Aylmer,

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seve ...

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dance ...

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He w ...

, Max Adrian, and

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performer ...

, among others. Other notable readers for the label included

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

, and

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Lette ...

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...

, which also owned D. C. Heath and Company, bought Caedmon in 1971.

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

(now HarperCollins) purchased the label in 1987.

Selected discography

This partial discography provides an idea of the range of literary and acting talent that Caedmon was able to record and distribute. * ''Dylan Thomas Reading, Volume 1'' (TC 1002) * ''Laurence Olivier'' (TC 1003) * ''Thomas Mann Reading'' (German) (TC 1004) * ''Tennessee Williams Reading'' (TC 1005) * ''Katherine Anne Porter Reading Downward Path'' (TC 1006) * ''Catcher in the Rye'' (read by Ray Hagen) (TC 1007) * ''Chaucer: Nun's Priest's, Pardoner's Tales'' (Middle English) (TC 1008) * ''Archibald MacLeish Reading'' (TC 1009) * ''Eudora Welty Reading'' (TC 1010) * ''

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''T ...

Speaks'' (TCR 101/TC 1011) * ''Sean O'Casey Reading'' (TC 1012) * ''Osbert Sitwell Reading'' (TC 1013) * ''Israel is Born'' (TC 1014) * ''Ogden Nash Reading'' (TC 1015) * ''Edith Sitwell Reading'' (TC 1016) * ''e. e. cummings Reading'' (TC 1017) * ''Dylan Thomas Reading, Volume 2'' (TC 1018) * ''W. H. Auden Reading'' (TC 1019) * ''Colette Reading'' (TC 1020) * ''Hearing Poetry, Volume 1'' (TC 1021) * ''Hearing Poetry, Volume 2'' (TC 1022) * ''The Rubiyat'' (read by Alfred Drake) (TC 1023) * ''Millay Poetry'' (read by Judith Anderson) (TC 1024) * ''Marianne Moore Reading'' (TC 1025) * ''Wordsworth Poetry'' (read by

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...

) (TC 1026) * ''Mark Twain'' (read by

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...

) (TC 1027) * ''Edgar Allan Poe'' (read by

) (TC 1028) * ''Baudelaire Reading'' (read by Eva LeGallienne,

), (French) (TC 1029) * ''Wellsprings of Drama'' (TC 1030) * ''Everyman'' (read by

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

) (TC 1031) * ''The Second Shepherd's Play'' (TC 1032) * ''Dr. Faustus'' (read by

Frank Silvera Frank Alvin Silvera (July 24, 1914 – June 11, 1970) was a Jamaican-born American character actor and theatrical director. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Boston, Silvera dropped out of law school in 1934 after winning his first stag ...

) (TC 1033) * ''Greek Prose and Poetry'' (Greek) (TC 1034) * ''William Faulkner Reading'' (TC 1035) * ''Frank O'Connor Reading'' (TC 1036) * ''Leaves of Grass, Volume 1'' (read by Ed Begley) (TC 1037) * ''Just So Stories, Volume 1'' (read by

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

) (TC 1038) * ''Conrade Aiken Reading'' (TC 1039) * ''Red Badge of Courage'' (read by

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

) (TC 1040) * ''Vachel Lindsay Reading'' (TC 1041) * ''Poetry of Byron'' (read by

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

) (TC 1042) * ''Dylan Thomas Reading, Volume 3'' (TC 1043) * ''Wilde Fairy Tales'' (read by

) (TC 1044) * ''T. S. Eliot Reading'' (TC 1045) * ''Walter de la Mare Reading'' (TC 1046) * ''William Carlos Williams Reading'' (TC 1047) * ''Poetry of Browning, Volume 1'' (read by

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

) (TC 1048) * ''17th Century Poetry'' (read by

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

) (TC 1049) * ''Gertrude Stein Reading'' (TC 1050) * ''Sermons of Donne'' (read by

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

) (TC 1051) * ''Book of Judith, Ruth'' (read by Judith Anderson,

) (TC 1052) * ''Psalms and David'' (read by Judith Anderson) (TC 1053) * ''Cambridge Treasury of English Prose: Malory to Donne, Volume 1'' (TC 1054) * ''Cambridge Treasury of English Prose: Burton to Johnson, Volume 2'' (TC 1055) * ''Cambridge Treasury of English Prose: Defoe to Burke, Volume 3'' (TC 1056) * ''Cambridge Treasury of English Prose: Austen to Bronte, Volume 4'' (TC 1057) * ''Cambridge Treasury of English Prose: Dickens to Butler, Volume 5'' (TC 1058) * ''Poetry of Shelley'' (read by

) (TC 1059) * ''Robert Frost Reading'' (TC 1060) * ''Dylan Thomas Reading, Volume 4'' (TC 1061) * ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (read by

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ...

) (TC 1062) * ''Joyce's Ulysses'' (read by

E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

) (TC 1063) * ''Frank Lloyd Wright Speaking'' (TC 1064) * ''Diego Rivera Speaking'' (Spanish) (TC 1065) * ''Robert Graves Reading'' (TC 1066) * ''Lorca'' (read by

Maria Douglas Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

Raul Dantes Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

) (Spanish) (TC 1067) * ''Wallace Stevens Reading'' (TC 1068) * ''Noel Coward Duologies'' (read by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

, Margaret Leighton) (TC 1069) * ''Ecclesiastes'' (read by

) (TC 1070) * ''E. B. Browning Sonnets/Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (read by

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

, Anthony Quayle) (TC 1071) * ''German Lyric Poetry'' (read by Lotte Lenya) (German) (TC 1072) * ''Andersen Fairy Tales'' (TC 1073) * ''Reluctant Dragon'' (read by Boris Karloff) (TC 1074) * ''Pied Piper/Hunting of the Snark'' (read by Boris Karloff) (TC 1075) * ''The Book of Job'' (read by

) (TC 1076) * ''Child's Garden of Verses'' (read by Judith Anderson) (TC 1077) * ''Nonsense Verse'' (read by

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End theat ...

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

, Stanley Holloway) (TC 1078) * ''Juan Ramon Jimenez Reading'' (Spanish) (TC 1079) * ''Poetry of Tennyson'' (read by

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

, Lewis Casson) (TC 1080) * ''Poetry of Yeats'' (read by

, Cyril Cusack) (TC 1081) * ''Henry Mencken Speaking'' (TC 1082) * ''Jean Cocteau Reading'' (French) (TC 1083) * ''Stephen Spender Reading'' (TC 1084) * ''Song of Songs/Heloise & Abelard'' (read by Claire Bloom,

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Ma ...

) (TC 1085) * ''Joyce's Finnegans Wake'' (read by

, Cyril Cusack) (TC 1086) * ''Poetry of Keats'' (read by

) (TC 1087) * ''Just So Stories, Volume 2'' (read by Boris Karloff) (TC 1088) * ''Rootabaga Stories'' (read by

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

) (TC 1089) * ''Moll Flanders'' (read by

) (TC 1090) * ''Mother Goose'' (read by Cyril Ritchard, Boris Karloff,

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to ...

) (TC 1091) * ''Poetry of Coleridge'' (read by Ralph Richardson) (TC 1092) * ''Boswell's London Journal'' (read by Anthony Quayle) (TC 1093) * ''Apple Cart and Poems by Noël Coward'' (read by Noël Coward, Margaret Leighton) (TC 1094) * ''Picture of Dorian Gray'' (read by

Hurd Hatfield William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film '' The Picture of Dorian Gray'' ...

) (TC 1095) * ''Genesis'' (read by Judith Anderson) (TC 1096) * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (read by Joan Greenwood, Stanley Holloway, Cast.) (TC 1097) * ''Through the Looking Glass'' (read by Joan Greenwood, Stanley Holloway, Cast.) (TC 1098) * ''Gulliver's Travels'' (read by

) (TC 1099) * ''Kipling's Jungle Books: How Fear Came'' (read by Boris Karloff) (TC 1100) * '' The Bab Ballads of WS Gilbert and The Cautionary Tales by

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. ...

'', (read by Stanley Holloway and Joyce Grenfell), (TC1104) * Jeeves: (''

PG Wodehouse PG or P.G. may refer to: *Parental Guidance (PG), a content rating in motion picture content rating systems and television content rating systems *Paying Guest (PG), also called homestay, a type of accommodation Businesses and organisations * ...

''), 'Indian Summer of an Uncle'. 'Jeeves Takes Charge': readings by : '' Judith Furse'', '' Miles Malleson'', ''

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of th ...

'', '' Rita Webb'', and '' Roger Livesey'', (TC-1137) (mono), 1958, and (TC01137-S), stereo, 1964 * ''

Poems and Songs of Middle Earth ''Poems and Songs of Middle Earth'' is a studio album of spoken-word poetry by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien and art songs composed by the English musician Donald Swann. On the first half of the album, Tolkien recites seven poems from ...

'' (read by J. R. R. Tolkien) (TC 1231) * ''What is Puerto Rico?'' (read by

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

) and ''So Far'' (read by Miguel Robles) (TC 1431) * ''

Alligator Pie ''Alligator Pie'', first published in 1974, is a book of children's poetry written by Dennis Lee and illustrated by Frank Newfeld. It won the Book of the Year award from the Canadian Library Association in 1975. The book had multiple adaptation ...

and other poems'' (read by Dennis Lee) (TC 1530) * ''Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears and Other Tales'' (read by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis) (TC 1592) * ''Churchill in His Own Voice: and the Voices of His Contemporaries'' (read by

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

and

) (TC 2018)

References

External links

Official WebsiteHarperCollins Audio
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1952 Spoken word record labels Audiobook companies and organizations HarperCollins books

Caedmon history

Selected discography

See also

References

External links