Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its US label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president too. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca, and the link between the UK and US Decca label was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre.
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album or LP record, typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standalone tracks or connected to an artist's album, and in the latter case would often have at least one single release before the album itself, called lead singles.
An extended play (EP) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to six tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes. An EP is usually less cohesive than an album and more "non-committal".
"Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland's signature song.
Gordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Harry Nilsson, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald.
"The Third Man Theme" is an instrumental written and performed by Anton Karas for the soundtrack to the 1949 film The Third Man. Upon release the theme proved popular, spending eleven weeks at number one on Billboard's United States Best Sellers in Stores chart. Multiple versions have been performed and recorded, selling tens of millions of copies, and its success influenced the release strategy of later film singles.
The songs from the 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz have taken their place among the most famous and instantly recognizable American songs of all time, and the film's principal song, "Over the Rainbow", is perhaps the most famous song ever written for a film. Music and lyrics were by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who won an Academy Award for Best Song for "Over the Rainbow."
Merry Christmas is a Christmas-themed compilation album by Bing Crosby that was released in 1945 on Decca Records. It has remained in print through the vinyl, CD, and downloadable file eras, currently as the disc and digital album White Christmas on MCA Records, a part of the Universal Music Group, and currently on vinyl as Merry Christmas on Geffen Records. It includes Crosby's signature song "White Christmas", the best-selling single of all time with estimated sales of over 50 million copies worldwide. The album was certified 4× Platinum by RIAA for selling over 4 million copies in United States. The original 1945 release and subsequent re-releases and re-packages spent a total of 39 weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard pop albums chart.
Judy Garland signed her first recording contract at age 13 with Decca Records in late 1935. Garland began recording albums for Capitol Records in the 1950s. Her greatest success, Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961), was listed for 73 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, was certified Gold, and took home five Grammy Awards.
"Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied the group with their previous Top 20 Hit "I'm on the Outside ". Their original version of the song was a Billboard Top 10 Pop smash, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 in the Canadian RPM-list in 1965. The song peaked at No. 8 on Cashbox magazine's R&B chart. The Little Anthony and the Imperials original recording is the best-known version of the song, although it has since been covered by many other artists, including the Zombies, who released a rendition as their last single on Decca Records.
"Among My Souvenirs" is a 1927 song with words by Edgar Leslie and music by Horatio Nicholls.
"Sugar-Foot Rag" is a song written by Hank Garland and Vaughn Horton. It was originally recorded by Garland on August 26, 1949, and released in 1949, selling over a million records. It was then recorded by American country music artist Red Foley on November 10, 1949. It was also recorded by American country music artist Jerry Reed and released in November 1979 as the lead single from his album, Texas Bound and Flyin. The song reached a peak of number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and number 13 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. Junior Brown covered "Sugar Foot Rag" on his 1993 album Guit with It.
St. Patrick's Day is a compilation album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1947 featuring songs with an Irish theme. This includes one of Crosby's most-beloved songs, "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" which was number four on the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks, and topped the Australian charts for an entire month, on shellac disc record. This version, the 1945 re-recording, was released earlier in another Crosby album, Selections from Going My Way.
Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer is a Decca Records compilation album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Mary Martin and Johnny Mercer.
Christmas Greetings is a studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby released in 1949 featuring popular Christmas songs.
Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz is a Decca Records studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby of songs from his movies Top o' the Morning and The Emperor Waltz, catalog number DL 5272.
Meet Me In St. Louis is the second studio album of phonograph records by Judy Garland with Georgie Stoll's Orchestra, released in 1944 by Decca Records, featuring songs presented in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer eponymous motion picture.
Judy Garland Souvenir Album is the debut compilation album by Judy Garland released in 1940 by Decca Records. The album includes six tracks, featuring two from her 1937 single "(Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You"/"You Can't Have Everything" and others recorded between 1937 and 1939.
Judy Garland Second Souvenir Album is the second compilation album by Judy Garland, released in 1943 by Decca Records. The album was made to celebrate Garland's first starring role in a film, For Me and My Gal, and the success of the title song in which she performs with co-star Gene Kelly. Most of the songs are revivals of old standards.
