Wikipedia

Decca Records

(Redirected fromDecca Nashville)
For the whole set of Decca labels, seeDecca Gold.

Decca Recordsis a Britishrecord labelestablished in 1929 byEdward Lewis.Its US label was established in late 1934 by Lewis,Jack Kapp(the first president of the Decca Record company of the USA) andMilton Rackmil,who later became American Decca's president too. In 1937, anticipatingNaziaggression leading toWorld War II,Lewis sold American Decca, and the link between the UK and US Decca label was broken for several decades.[1]The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept ofcast albumsin themusicalgenre.

Decca Records
Parent companyUniversal Music Group(UMG)
Founded1929;95 years ago(1929)
FounderEdward Lewis
Distributor(s)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited Kingdom
LocationKensington,London, United Kingdom
Official website

In 1947, following World War II, British Decca re-established distribution in the United States through its new subsidiaryLondon Records.The London trademark name has also been used in other countries such asCanada,Mexico,GermanyandJapan.

In 1973, the US Decca label becameMCA Records,which formed half of what is nowUniversal Music Group(UMG). The UK and US divisions of the former Decca label were combined under UMG in 1998 and the MCA brand was retired in 2003 (with the exception of the AmericanMCA Nashvillecountry music imprint).

Label name

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The name dates back to a portablegramophonecalled the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca"with the initial D of their logo" Dulcet "or their trademark" Dulcephone ".[2]Samuel, a linguist, chose "Decca" as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages. That company was eventually renamed the Decca Gramophone Co. Ltd. and then sold to former stockbroker Edward Lewis in 1929. Within years, Decca Records was the second-largest record label in the world, calling itself "The Supreme Record Company". Decca bought the UK branch ofBrunswick Recordsand continued to run it under that name. In the 1950s, the American Decca studios were located in thePythian Templein New York City.[3]

Classical music

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Original 1929 Decca release ofSea DriftbyDelius,first published recording of the work, but deleted by 1936

In classical music, Decca had extensive work from its roots to be equals with the establishedHMVandColumbialabels (later merged asEMI). The pre-war classical repertoire on Decca was not extensive but was select. The 3-disc 1929 recording ofDelius'sSea Drift,arising from the Delius Festival that year, suffered by being crammed onto six sides, being indifferently recorded and expensive; following issue in July they were already withdrawn by October the same year.[4]However, it won Decca the loyalty of thebaritoneRoy Henderson,who went on to record for them the first completeDido and AeneasofPurcellwithNancy Evansand theBoyd Neelensemble (Purcell Club, 14 sides, issued February 1936[4]); and Henderson's famous pupilKathleen Ferrierwas recorded and issued by Decca through the period of transition from 78 to LP (1946–1952).Heinrich Schlusnusmade pre-warliederrecordings for Decca.

Decca's emergence as a major classical label may be attributed to three concurrent events: the emphasis on technical innovation (initially the development of the full frequency range recording [ffrr] technique, followed by the early adoption of stereo recording), the introduction of thelong-playing record,and the recruitment ofJohn Culshawto Decca's London office.

Decca released the stereo recordings ofErnest Ansermetconducting L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, including, in 1959, the first complete stereo LP recording ofThe Nutcracker,as well as Ansermet's only stereo version ofManuel de Falla'sThe Three-Cornered Hat,which the conductor had led at its first performance in 1919.

John Culshaw,who joined Decca in 1946 in a junior role, quickly rose to become a senior producer of classical recordings. He revolutionised recording – ofopera,in particular. Hitherto, the practice had been to put microphones in front of the performers and simply record their performance. Culshaw was determined to make recordings that would be 'a theatre of the mind,' offering listeners at home not merely a second-best alternative to being in theopera house,but an entirely distinct experience. To that end, he had the singers move about in the studio as they would onstage, used discreet sound effects and different acoustics, and recorded in long, continuous takes. His skill, coupled with Decca'ssound engineeringcapabilities, elevated the label into the top tier of recording companies. Hispioneering recording(begun in 1958) ofWagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungenconducted byGeorg Soltiwas a huge artistic and commercial success (to the chagrin of other companies). Solti recorded throughout his career for Decca, and made more than250 recordings,including 45 complete opera sets. Among the international honours given to Solti (and Decca) for his recordings were 31GrammyAwards – more than any other recording artist, whether classical or popular.[5]Following Decca's success, artists such asHerbert von Karajan,Joan Sutherlandand laterLuciano Pavarottiwere keen to join the label's roster.

However, Culshaw was not the first to do this. In 1951, Columbia Records executiveGoddard Liebersonpartnered with Broadway conductorLehman Engelto record a series of previously unrecorded Broadway musical scores forColumbia Masterworks,including what Engel, in his bookThe American Musical Theatre: A Consideration,termed "Broadway opera," and in 1951, they released the most completePorgy and Bessrecorded up to that time. Far from being a mere rendering of the score, the 3-LP album set used sound effects to realistically recreate the production as if the listener were watching a stage performance of the work.

Decca logo used on classical music releases

Until 1947, American Decca issued British Decca classical music recordings. Afterward, British Decca took over distribution through its new American subsidiary London Records. American Decca actively re-entered the classical music field in 1950 with distribution deals fromDeutsche GrammophonandParlophone.[6]American Decca began issuing its classical music recordings in 1956 whenIsrael Horowitzjoined Decca to head its classical music operations.[7]To further American Decca's dedication to serious music, in August 1950, Rackmill announced the release of a new series of disks to be known as the "Decca Gold Label Series" which was to be devoted to "symphonies, concertos, chamber music, opera, songs and choral music."[8]American and European artists were to be the performers. Among the classical recordings released on Decca's "Gold Label" series[9]were albums byLeroy Anderson,theCincinnati Symphony Orchestraconducted byMax Rudolfand guitaristAndrés Segovia.American Decca shut down its classical music department in 1971.[10]

Decca Gold logo once used for classical music released from the US

Between 1973 and 1980, Decca championed new music through itsHeadlineimprint. Works given their recorded premiere included pieces byPeter Maxwell Davies,Harrison Birtwistle,Luciano Berio,Hans Werner Henze,Witold Lutoslawski,Toru Takemitsu,David Bedford,Thea Musgrave,Andrzej Panufnik,Iannis Xenakis,Brian FerneyhoughandJohn Cage.Performers includedRoger Woodward,Stomu Yamash'ta,Salman Shukur,andthe Grimethorpe Colliery Band,as well as the composers themselves.

For many years, Decca's British classical recordings had been issued in the US under the London Records label because the existence of the American Decca company precluded the use of that name on British recordings distributed in the US. The practice was no longer necessary when the MCA and PolyGram labels merged in 1999 and created Universal Music. Today Decca makes fewer major classical recordings but still has a full roster of stars, includingCecilia BartoliandRenée Fleming.Its back catalogue includes several landmarks and critically acclaimed recordings, such as theSoltiRing,voted the greatest recording of all time by critics with theBBC Music Magazine,[11]andLuciano Pavarottiremained an exclusive Decca artist throughout his recording career.

In 2017, Universal Music revived Decca's American classical music arm as Decca Gold under the management ofVerve Music Group.[12]

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For a list of artists on the Decca label, seeList of Decca Records artists.

In Britain, Decca bought out the bankrupt UK branch ofBrunswick Recordsin 1932, which added such stars asBing CrosbyandAl Jolson[13] to its roster. Decca also bought out theMelotoneand Edison Bell record companies. In late 1934, a United States branch of Decca was launched. In establishing the American unit, the founders bought the former Brunswick Records pressing plants in New York City andMuskegon, Michigan,which were shut down in 1931, fromWarner Bros.in exchange for a financial interest in the new label.[1]In 1934Guy Lombardoalso recorded for Decca.[14]Decca became a major player in the depressed American record market thanks to its roster of popular artists, particularlyBing Crosby,the shrewd management of former US Brunswick general managerJack Kapp,and the decision to price Decca at 35 cents. The US label also brought back the discontinued Champion label (from Gennett), as well as a short-lived version of the Broadway label. The following year, the pressing and Canadian distribution of US Decca records was licensed toCompo CompanyLtd. inLachine, Quebec,a breakaway and rival ofBerliner Gram-o-phoneCo. ofMontreal,Quebec. (Compo was acquired by Decca in 1951 although itsApexlabel continued in production for the next two decades.) By 1939, Decca andEMIwere the only record companies in the UK. That same year, British Decca headEdward Lewiscompleted a three-year sale of his interest in American Decca to avoid a potential freeze on his foreign investments due to the threat ofWorld War II.[15]

In 1941, American Decca acquired Brunswick Records and its sublabelVocalion RecordsfromWarner Bros.,which had a financial interest in Decca.[1]In 1942, stock in American Decca began trading on theNew York Stock Exchangeas Decca Records Inc.[1]Therefore, the two Deccas became separate companies and remained so until American Decca's parent company bought British Decca's parent company in 1998 (during this time, US Decca artists were issued in the UK on the Brunswick label until 1968 whenMCA Recordswas launched in the UK).

In 1940, American Decca released the first album of songs from the 1939 filmThe Wizard of Oz.However, it was not a soundtrack album but a cover version featuring onlyJudy Garlandfrom the film, with other roles taken by the Ken Darby Singers.

In 1942, American Decca released the first recording of "White Christmas"byBing Crosby.He recorded another version of the song in 1947 for Decca; to this day, Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" for Decca remains the best-selling single worldwide of all time.[16]In 1943, American Decca ushered in the age of theoriginal cast albumin the United States, when they released an album set of nearly all the songs fromRodgers and Hammerstein'sOklahoma!,performed by the same cast who appeared in the show onBroadway,and using the show's orchestra, conductor, chorus, and musical and vocal arrangements. The enormous success of this album was followed by original cast recordings ofCarouselandIrving Berlin'sAnnie Get Your Gun,both featuring members of the original casts of the shows and utilising those shows' vocal and choral arrangements. Because of the technical restrictions of recording on78 rpm records,none of these scores were recorded completely; they were shorter than cast albums made afterLPswere introduced. But Decca had made history by recordingBroadwaymusicals, and the influence of these releases in the recording of theatrical shows in the US continues to this day – in Decca's home country, the UK original cast albums had been a fixture for years.Columbia Recordsfollowed with musical theatre albums, starting with the 1946 revival ofShow Boat.In 1947,RCA Victorreleased the original cast album ofBrigadoon.By the 1950s, many recording companies were releasing Broadway show albums recorded by their original casts, and the recording of original cast albums had become standard practice whenever a new show opened.[17]

Decca throughout the 1930s and early to mid-1940s was a leading label of blues and jump music with such best-selling artists asSister Rosetta TharpeandLouis Jordan(who was the best-selling R&B artist of the 1940s). In 1954, American Decca released "Rock Around the Clock"byBill Haley & His Comets.Produced byMilt Gabler,the recording was initially only moderately successful, but when it was used as the theme song for the 1955 filmBlackboard Jungle,it became the first internationalrock and rollhit, and the first such recording to go to No. 1 on the American musical charts. According to theGuinness Book of Records,it went on to sell 25 million copies, returning to the US and UK charts several times between 1955 and 1974. But due to management and promotion decisions, Decca lost its place as a major hit label on the US R&B and pop charts as Bill Haley's popularity started to fade, in the late 1950s. Decca's strong country catalogue did very well throughout this period and they had several crossover-to-pop hits, as well as the blockbuster success ofBrenda Lee,but many R&B and rock music artists passed through Decca with little success (The Flamingos,Billy Ward and his Dominoes,Bobby Darin,The Shirelles,etc.)

American Decca embraced the new post-war record formats adopting the LP in 1949 and the 45 rpm record around a year later while continuing to sell 78s.[1]During the 1950s, American Decca released several soundtrack recordings of popular motion pictures, notablyMike Todd's production ofAround the World in Eighty Days(1956) with the music of veteran film composerVictor Young.Since Decca had access to the stereo tracks of the Oscar-winning film, they quickly released a stereo version in 1958. Because American Decca boughtUniversal Picturesin 1952, many of these soundtrack albums were of films released by what was then called Universal-International Pictures.

In June and July 1957, Decca Records released the soundtracks fromHecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions' filmSweet Smell of Success.It was a landmark event in the soundtrack industry; the first time that a film had two separate soundtracks, each featuring completely different music.[18][19]All of the music fromSweet Smell of Successwas published byCalyork Music,a music publishing company founded by the film's producersHarold HechtandBurt Lancaster,along with Hecht's brother-in-law, established music publisherLoring Buzzell,who secured the releasing of the music through Decca Records.[20]The first soundtrack LP featured the jazz score composed byElmer Bernstein,[21]while the second soundtrack LP featured music composed and performed by theChico Hamilton Quintet,a band that appears in the film.[22]

In 1961, American Decca released the soundtrack album ofFlower Drum Song,Universal Pictures' film version of the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. In a reversal of the usual situation, in which American Decca had released original Broadway cast albums of three Rodgers and Hammerstein shows, this was the only film soundtrack album of a Rodgers and Hammerstein show ever released by Decca, while the Broadway cast album had been released by Columbia Masterworks.

The AmericanRCAlabel severed its longtime affiliation withEMI'sHis Master's Voice(HMV) label in 1957, which allowed British Decca to market and distributeElvis Presley's recordings in the UK. on theRCAlabel (later RCA Victor).[23]

British Decca had several missed opportunities. In 1960, they refused to release "Tell Laura I Love Her"by licensed artistRay Petersonand even destroyed thousands of copies of the single.[24]In 1962, Deccafamously turned downa chance to recordThe Beatles,believing "guitar groups are on the way out."[25]Other refusals of note includethe Yardbirds,the Kinks,the Who,andManfred Mann.Decca had earlier accepted London-born pioneer rock'n'roll singerTerry Dene,who was later known as the British Elvis Presley, and another Merseyside singer,Billy Fury.[citation needed]

The turning down ofThe Beatlesled indirectly to the signing of one of Decca's biggest 1960s artists,The Rolling Stones.Dick Rowe was judging a talent contest withGeorge Harrison,and Harrison mentioned to him that he should take a look at the Stones, who he had just seen live for the first time a couple of weeks earlier. Rowe saw the Stones and quickly signed them to a contract. Decca also released the first recording of Rod Stewart in 1964, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" / "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town". Decca also signed up many rock artists (The Moody Blues,The Zombies,The Applejacks,Dave Berry,Lulu,Alan Price),The Marmalade,with varying degrees of success.

Staff producerHugh Mendl(1919–2008)[26]worked for Decca for over 40 years and played a significant role in its success in the popular field from the 1950s to the late 1970s. His first major production credit was pianistWinifred Atwell.He producedRock Island Line,the breakthroughskifflehit forLonnie Donegan,and he is credited as the first executive to spot the potential of singer-actorTommy Steele.Mendl's other productions included the first album by humoristIvor Cutler,Who Tore Your Trousers?(1961),Frankie Howerdat The Establishment(1963), a series of recordings withPaddy Roberts(best known for "The Ballad of Bethnal Green" ), numerous "original cast" and soundtrack albums includingOh! What a Lovely Warand even an LP record of the 1966Le Mans24-hour race, inspired by his lifelong passion for motor racing. Mendl was a driving force in the establishment of Decca's progressiveDeramlabel, most notably as the executive producer ofThe Moody Blues' groundbreaking 1967 LPDays of Future Passed.He is credited with battling against Decca's notorious parsimonious treatment of their artists, ensuring that the Moody Blues had the time and resources to develop beyond their beat group origins into progressive rock, and he also used profits for pop sales to cross-subsidise recordings by avant-garde jazz artists likeJohn Surman.

British Decca lost a key source for American records whenAtlantic Recordsswitched British distribution toPolydor Recordsin 1966 for Atlantic to gain access to British recording artists which they did not have under Decca distribution.[27][28]The Rolling Stones left Decca in 1970, and other artists followed. Decca's deals with numerous other record labels began to fall apart:RCA Records,for instance, abandoned Decca to set up its own UK office in June 1969, just before the Rolling Stones decided to also abandon Decca in favour of forming their label.The Moody Blueswere the only international rock act that remained on the label. The company's fortunes declined slightly during the 1970s, and it had few major commercial successes; among those wereDana's1970 two-million selling single, "All Kinds of Everything",issued on their subsidiary labelRex Records.

Although Decca had set upDeramin 1966, the first of the British "progressive" labels, with such stars as the Moody Blues, Cat Stevens andTen Years After,Decca in the 1970s became increasingly dependent on re-releases from its back catalogue. It had some renewed pop success in the late 1970s despite the growth ofpunk rock,with hits by acts such asJohn Miles,novelty creationFather Abrahamandthe Smurfs,and productions by longtime Decca associateJonathan King.King had achieved an early hit with Decca in 1965, "Everyone's Gone to the Moon",while he was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Edward Lewis recruited him as his personal assistant and" talent spotter ".[29][30]But contemporary punk rock signings such asSlaughter & the Dogsand the pre-stardomAdam and the Ants(whose sole single with Decca, "Young Parisians",would later be a UK Top 10 hit on the back of the band's success atCBS),[31][32]were second division when compared to the likes ofPolyGram,CBS, EMI, and newcomerVirgin'srosters of hitmakers.

Ultimately Decca's founder Edward Lewis "was unable to appoint a successor or relinquish control of the business. As a consequence, in 1980, days before his death, the business, then in the grip of a serious financial crisis, was sold."[33]PolyGram acquired the remains of Decca UK within days, and British Decca's pop catalogue was taken over by Polydor.

Spoken word

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American Decca also released several notable spoken word albums, such as a recording ofCharles Dickens'sA Christmas CarolstarringRonald Colmanas Scrooge, and a recording of the Christmas chapter fromThe Pickwick Papersread byCharles Laughton.These two separate 78-RPM albums were later combined into one LP. Other spoken word albums includedLullaby of Christmas,narrated byGregory Peck,a twenty-minute version ofMoby Dick,with Charles Laughton as Captain Ahab, andThe Littlest Angel,narrated byLoretta Young.British Decca released on LP, in 1968, the most complete version ofMan of La Manchaever put on vinyl records, a 2-LP album featuring most of the dialogue and all of the songs, performed by the show's original London cast.Keith Michellstarred as Don Quixote and Cervantes, andJoan Dienerwas Aldonza/Dulcinea. Around 1970, American Decca enjoyed success with LPS of soundtrack dialogue excerpts from the films ofW.C. Fields,theMarx Brothers,andMae West.The Fields and Marx Brothers albums were narrated by radio personality and cartoon voice actorGary Owens.

Country music

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Short-lived Decca Records country music label logo
Main article:MCA Nashville Records

In 1934, Jack Kapp established a country & western line for the new Decca label by signingFrank Luther,Sons of the Pioneers,Stuart Hamblen,The Ranch Boys, and other popular acts based in both New York and Los Angeles. Louisiana singer/composerJimmie Davisbegan recording for Decca the same year, joined by western vocalistsJimmy WakelyandRoy Rogersin 1940.[34]From the late 1940s on, the US arm of Decca had a sizeable roster ofcountryartists. The main architect of Decca's success in country music wasOwen Bradley,who joined Decca in 1947 and was promoted to vice president and head of A&R for the Nashville operations in 1958.[35]

Technology developments

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Full frequency range recording (ffrr)

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Full frequency range recording (ffrr) was a spin-off devised byArthur Haddy[36]of British Decca's development, during theSecond World War,of ahigh fidelityhydrophonecapable of detecting and cataloguing individualGerman submarinesby each one's signature engine noise, and enabled a greatly enhanced frequency range (high and low notes) to be captured on recordings.[37]Critics regularly commented on the startling realism of the new Decca recordings. The frequency range of ffrr was 80–15000 Hz, with asignal-to-noise ratioof 60 dB. While Decca's early ffrr releases on 78-rpm discs had some noticeablesurface noise,which diminished the effects of the high fidelity sound, the introduction of long-playing records in 1949 made better use of the new technology and set an industry standard that was quickly imitated by Decca's competitors. Nonetheless, titles first issued on 78rpm remained in that form in the Decca catalogues into the early 1950s. The ffrr technique became internationally accepted and considered a standard. TheErnest Ansermetrecording ofStravinsky'sPetrushkawas key in the development of full frequency range records and alerting the listening public to high fidelity in 1946.[38]

The LP

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The long-playing record was launched in the US in 1948 byColumbia Records(not connected with theBritish companyof the same name at the time). It enabled recordings to play for up to half an hour without a break, compared with the three to five minutes playing time of the existing records. The new records were made ofvinyl(the old discs were made of brittleshellac), which enabled the ffrr recordings to be transferred to disc very realistically. In 1949, in both the UK and the US, Decca took up the LP promptly and enthusiastically[1]giving the British arm an enormous advantage over EMI, which for some years tried to stick exclusively to the old format, thereby forfeiting competitive advantage to Decca, both artistically and financially.

British Decca recorded high-fidelity versions of all the symphonies ofRalph Vaughan Williamsexcept for the ninth, under the personal supervision of the composer, withSir Adrian Boultand theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra.Benjamin Brittenconducted recordings of many of his compositions for Decca, from the 1940s to the 1970s; most of these recordings have been reissued on CD.

Stereo (ffss)

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The British Decca recording engineers Arthur Haddy, Roy Wallace, andKenneth Wilkinsondeveloped in 1954 the famousDecca tree,a stereo microphone recording system for big orchestras.

Decca started the first actual stereophonic recording on 13–28 May 1954, atVictoria Hall,Geneva, the first European record company to do so; only two months before,RCA Victorhad begun the first actual stereophonic recording in the US, 6–8 March 1954. Decca archives show thatErnest Ansermetand theOrchestre de la Suisse RomanderecordedAntarbyNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov(Decca's official first actual stereo recording);Stenka RazinbyAlexander Glazunov;TamarabyMily Balakirev;Anatoly Liadov'sBaba-Yaga,Eight Russian Folksongs,Kikimora;andLe Martyre de saint SébastienbyClaude Debussy.These performances were initially issued only in monaural sound; and in 1959, the stereo version ofLe Martyre de saint Sébastienwas issued only in the US as London OSA 1104 (OS 25108); and stereo versions of others were finally issued from the late 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s as part of the "Ace of Diamonds" series and "" Decca Eclipse "" series (in the UK) or "Stereo Treasury" series (in the US on the London label).[39]

The Decca stereo format was called (in succession to ffrr) "ffss", i.e. "full frequency stereophonic sound". With most competitors not using stereo until 1957, the new technique was a distinctive feature of Decca. Even after stereo became standard and into the 1970s, Decca boasted a special sound quality, characterized by aggressive use of the highest and lowest frequencies, novel use of tape saturation and out-of-phase sound to convey a livelier hall ambiance, plus considerable bar-to-bar rebalancing by the recording staff of orchestral voices, known as "spotlighting". In the 1960s and 1970s, the company developed its "Phase 4" process which produced even greater sonic impact through even more interventionist engineering techniques. Big-band leaderTed Heathwas an early pioneer of the Decca "Phase 4" sound. Decca recorded somequadrophonicmasters that were released inSansui'squadraphonicsystem called QS Regular Matrix.

Digital recording and mastering

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Starting in late 1978, British Decca developed its owndigital audiorecorders used in-house for recording, mixing, editing, and mastering albums. Each recorder consisted of a modifiedIVCmodel 826P open-reel 1-inchVTR,connected to a customcodecunit with time code capability (using a proprietarytime codedeveloped by Decca), as well as outboardDACandADCunits connected to the codec unit. The codec recorded audio to tape in 18-bit linear PCM at 48 kHz, with a maximum of eight channels. Later versions of the system used 20-bit recording. Except for the IVC VTRs (which were modified to Decca's specifications by IVC's UK division inReading), all the electronics for these systems were developed and manufactured in-house by Decca (and by contractors to them as well). These digital systems were used for mastering most of Decca's classical music releases to both LP and CD and were used well into the late 1990s. After the start of the new century, Decca became actively involved in pioneering a new generation of high-resolution and multi-channel recordings, includingSuper Audio CD(SACD) andDVD-Audio(DVD-A) formats. Decca is now routinely mastering new recordings in these formats.

Decca Special Products

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Decca Special Products developed products for the audio marketplace[citation needed]and a line of home audio equipment.[40]

Later history

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American Decca boughtUniversal-Internationalin 1952, and eventually merged withMCA Inc.in 1962, becoming a subsidiary company under MCA. Dissatisfied with American Decca's promotion of British Decca recordings and because American Decca held the rights to the name Decca in the US and Canada, British Decca sold its records in the United States and Canada under the label London Records beginning in 1947. In Britain, London Records became a mighty catch-all licensing label for foreign recordings from the nascent post-WW II American independent and semi-major labels such as Cadence, Dot, Chess, Atlantic, Imperial and Liberty.

Conversely, British Decca retained a non-reciprocal right to license and issue American Decca recordings in the UK on their Brunswick (US Decca recordings) andCoral(US Brunswick and Coral recordings) labels; this arrangement continued until 1967 when a UK branch of MCA was established utilizing theMCA Recordslabel, with distribution fluctuating between British Decca and other English companies over time.

In Canada, theCompo Companywas reorganized into MCA Records (Canada) in 1970.[41]

The Decca name was dropped by MCA in America in 1973 in favor of theMCA Recordslabel. The first-run American Decca label's final release, "Drift Away"byDobie Gray(label No. 33057), reached No. 5 on theBillboardchart and received gold record status.

PolyGramacquired the remains of Decca UK within days of Sir Edward Lewis's death in January 1980. British Decca's pop catalogue was taken over byPolydor Records.Ironically, PolyGram descended from British Decca's former Dutch distributor Hollandsche Decca Distributie.

In Taiwan, PolyGram acquired 60% of Linfair Magnetic Sound (founded in 1961) in 1992 and renamed it Decca Records Taiwan. The name remained until 2002, when it decided to sell its 60 percent stake, and changed its name to Linfair Records, making the company independent from Universal Music. In addition to the Decca label, Linfair Records also distributes V2 Records' releases and some independent labels. However, Linfair Records' releases outside Taiwan will continue to be released internationally via Universal Music.

The Decca label is currently in use byUniversal Music Groupworldwide; this is possible becauseUniversal Studios(which officially dropped the MCA name after theSeagrambuyout in 1996) acquired PolyGram, British Decca's parent company in 1998, thus consolidating Decca trademark ownership. In the US, the Decca country music label was shut down and the London classical label was renamed as it was able to use the Decca name for the first time because of the merger that created Universal Music. In 1999, Decca absorbedPhilips Recordsto create the Decca Music Group (half ofUniversal Music Classics Groupin the US, withDeutsche Grammophonbeing the other half).

Today, Decca is a leading label for both classical music and Broadway scores although it is branching out into pop music from established recording stars: in 2007 itsMotown: A Journey Through Hitsville USAbyBoyz II Menreached No. 27 on theBillboardTop 200 Albums chart. In 2007 they won the race to sign English teen jazz sensationVictoria Hartand released her first albumWhatever Happened to Romancein July.[42]In December 2007, it was announced thatMorrisseywould be joining the Decca roster. In August 2009, it was revealed thatAmerican Idolalum,Clay Aiken,had signed with Decca.[43]It reentered the American country music scene in 2008. There are two Universal Music label groups now using the Decca name. The Decca Label Group is the US label whereas the London-based Decca Music Group runs the international classical and pop releases by such world-famous performers asAndrea BocelliandHayley Westenra.The London Records pop label that was established in the UK in 1990, run by Roger Ames, and distributed by PolyGram became part ofWarner Music Groupin 2000 when he was hired to run that company. Universal Music reacquired trademark rights in 2011, and Warner Records 90 Ltd. (formerly London Records 90), a company that controlled most of London's post-1980 catalogue, was acquired by French companyBecause Musicin 2017. They started licensing "London Recordings" name and logo from UMG, and Warner Records 90 was renamed London Music Stream Ltd.

It is also the distributing label ofPOINT Music,a joint venture between Universal andPhilip Glass's Euphorbia Productions that folded shortly after the merger that created Universal Music. Ironically, the American Decca classical music catalogue is managed by sister Universal labelDeutsche Grammophon.They include the recordings of guitaristAndrés Segovia.[44]Before Deutsche Grammophon founded its own American branch in 1969, it had a distribution deal with American Decca until 1962 when distribution switched toMGM Records.[45]Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyreis a wholly owned subsidiary specialising in European classical music of the 15th to 19th centuries. American Decca'sjazzcatalogue is managed byGRP Records,an imprint ofVerve Records.The American Decca rock/pop catalogue is managed byGeffen Records.American distribution of British Decca's rock/pop catalogue is handled byIsland Records.TheDecca Broadwayimprint is used for both newly recorded musical theatre songs and Universal Music Group's vast catalogues of musical theatre recordings from record labels UMG and predecessor companies acquired over the years.

On 10 January 2011, Universal Music Group, which owns the masters to Decca Records, announced that it was donating 200,000 of its master recordings from the 1920s to the 1940s to the United States Library of Congress. The collection of master recordings will be cleaned and digitised. Included in this group are Bing Crosby's original recording of 'White Christmas' and thousands more by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, the Andrews Sisters, and other famous and lesser-known musicians who recorded during this time. Because of this transaction, once the Library has organised and cleaned the collection, the public will eventually have some degree of access to thousands of recordings that have been commercially unavailable for decades. According to theLos Angeles Times,"[a]s part of the agreement between UMG and the library, Universal retains ownership of the recording copyrights and the right to exploit the cleaned-up and digitized files for commercial purposes."[46]

Today, Decca distributes UMG's jazz holdings led byBlue Note RecordsandVerve Recordsalong with the classical music holdings led by Decca Classics,Philips RecordsandDeutsche Grammophon.It also distributes recordings from theConcord Music Group,which includesRounder Records.[47]

Decca matrix prefixes

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The followingmatrixprefixes were used by Decca:[48]

DL: 12-inch 78 rpm mono
AL: 12-inch 78 rpm mono
DRL: 10-inch 33+1⁄3rpm mono
ARL: 12-inch 33+1⁄3rpm mono
ZDR: 10-inch 33+1⁄3rpm stereo
ZAL: 12-inch 33+1⁄3rpm stereo
ENO: 7-inch 45 rpm mono
ZENO: 7-inch 45 rpm stereo

Key

A = classical
Z = stereo
L = London
Xxxx = external recording

See also

edit

Selected affiliated labels

Personnel and staff

  • Owen Bradley(1915–1998), head of Decca's Nashville operation and credited with helping to create theNashville sound
  • Paul Cohen(1908–1970), longtime executive widely attributed for helping Nashville flourish in the recording industry
  • Milt Gabler(1911–2001), American Decca executive and producer from 1941 to 1971
  • Henry Jerome(1917–2011), music director at Decca Records in the early 1950s; and A&R director forCoral Recordsbeginning late 1960s
  • Jack Kapp(1901–1949), American Decca founder
  • Edward Lewis(1900–1980), financier who led Decca recording group for 5 decades
  • Tony Meehan(1943–2005), drummer turnedA&R
  • Mitch Miller(1911–2010), joined Decca in 1965
  • Alex Murray(born 1939), A&R
  • Milton Rackmil(1906–1992) American Decca head from 1949 to 1972
  • Dick Rowe(1921–1986),A&Rexecutive
  • Nat Tarnopol(1931–1987), former president of Brunswick Records
  • Bob Thiele(1922–1996), headed Coral Records

Notes

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  1. ^abcdefBillboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 28 August 1954. p. 14.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved27 July2013.
  2. ^Shepherd
  3. ^Christopher Gray"An Improbable Cradle of Rock Music",The New York Times,18 June 2009
  4. ^abDecca monthly record supplements
  5. ^"Solti, Georg",Decca Classics. Retrieved 22 February 2012
  6. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 28 August 1954. p. 15.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved27 July2013.
  7. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 31 January 2009. p. 18.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved27 July2013.
  8. ^Decca to Do Records in the Serious Field,The New York Times,18 August 1950, page 32.
  9. ^Rochlin, Steven R."Is There A Difference (London/Decca) by Sedrick Harris".Enjoythemusic.com.
  10. ^Kozinn, Allan (5 January 2009)."Israel Horowitz, Record Producer, and Billboard Columnist, Dies at 92".The New York Times.
  11. ^"Solti's The Ring takes the top spot as greatest recording ever".Immediate Media Co. 18 December 2011.Retrieved17 December2011.
  12. ^"Decca Gold announces albums from the Emerson String Quartet and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition".universalmusic.com.26 April 2017.
  13. ^Al Jolson,who had recorded for theVictor Talking Machine,Columbia Records,and Brunswick Records, made a series of recordings for Decca from 1946 until he died in 1950, following the success ofColumbia PicturesTechnicolorfilm biographyThe Jolson Story(1946).[citation needed]
  14. ^"Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians".Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  15. ^"A 20-Year History of Decca",Billboard,28 August 1954, pp. 13–14. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  16. ^"Imageshack.us: Best Selling Single"(PDF).Img827.imageshack.us. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 February 2013.Retrieved27 February2013.
  17. ^However because the US did not begin making these types of albums until 1943, the original Broadway cast versions of all Broadway musicals before that year are now lost to history. The closest we can come to them isthe 1936 film version of "Show Boat"and the1951 studio cast album of "Porgy and Bess",both of which use many original cast members.
  18. ^"2 Soundtracks for Same Flick".Billboard,17 June 1957. p. 29.
  19. ^"Decca Debuts Double Feature".Billboard,1 July 1957. p. 25.
  20. ^"Major Decca Focus on Pic LPs, Singles".Billboard,8 July 1957. p. 20.
  21. ^"Reviews and Ratings of New Popular Albums".Billboard,5 August 1957. p. 28.
  22. ^"Reviews and Ratings of New Jazz Albums".Billboard,19 August 1957. p. 72.
  23. ^[1]Archived10 July 2011 at theWayback Machine
  24. ^Laing, Dave (1 February 2005)."Obituary: Ray Peterson".The Guardian.London.Retrieved19 February2020.
  25. ^The Beatles (2000).The Beatles Anthology.San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
  26. ^Mendl was sidelined by a heart attack in 1979; during his convalescence, Sir Edward Lewis died and Decca was taken over by PolyGram, and when he returned to work he discovered that his office had been cleaned out and his diaries—which would have provided a vital insight into the company's history—had been thrown away.
  27. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 26 March 1966. p. 34.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved27 July2013.
  28. ^Gillett, Charlie (1984).The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll.Da Capo Press.
  29. ^Larkin, Colin (2002).The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music.Virgin. p. 217.ISBN1-85227-947-8.
  30. ^Hardy, Phil; Laing, Dave (1995).Da Capo companion to twentieth-century popular music.Da Capo Press. p. 520.ISBN0-306-80640-1.
  31. ^"Discography".Adam-ant.net.Retrieved27 February2013.
  32. ^"Young Parisians".Adam-ant.net.Retrieved10 April2016.
  33. ^Martland, Peter,"Lewis, Sir Edward Roberts (1900–1980)",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2024(subscription required)
  34. ^"DECCA (USA) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5500 – 6000".78discography.com.Retrieved13 December2022.
  35. ^Billboard – Google Books.21 April 1958.Retrieved28 June2014.
  36. ^Arthur Haddy, English electronics engineer, 1970s– Science Museum, Science and Society Picture Library
  37. ^Millard, Andre J., "America on record: a history of recorded sound", Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.ISBN0-521-47544-9.Cf. page 198 for material on ffrr.
  38. ^"Decca's (ffrr) Frequency Series – History of Vinyl 1".Vinylrecordscollector.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2002.Retrieved10 April2016.
  39. ^"British Decca LP"– TheAHRCResearch Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music
  40. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 7 July 1956. p. 25.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved27 July2013.
  41. ^"MCA Records (Canada) – CDs and Vinyl at Discogs".Discogs.
  42. ^Collar, Matt (30 June 2007)."Whatever Happened to Romance? – Victoria Hart: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards".AllMusic.Retrieved27 February2013.
  43. ^Gans, Andrew."Clay Aiken Signs with Decca Records".Playbill.Archived fromthe originalon 14 August 2009.
  44. ^"IClassics".Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2007.Retrieved6 February2016.
  45. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 5 January 1963. p. 36.ISSN0006-2510.Retrieved27 July2013.
  46. ^Lewis, Randy,"Universal Music Group's vintage recordings head to Library of Congress",Los Angeles Times,10 January 2011.
  47. ^"About".Decca. Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2014.Retrieved28 June2014.
  48. ^"Decca/LondonPhase Four Recordings– Part V: Decoding the Inner Groove Information, "The Absolute Sound,Vol. 11, No. 42, July–August 1986, pps. 181, 182;ISSN0097-1138

References

edit
  • Culshaw, John (1981).Putting the Record Straight:the autobiography of John Culshaw.London: Secker & Warburg: Secker & Warburg.ISBN0-436-11802-5.
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