Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz around 1947. From there, Blue Note grew to become one of the most prolific, influential and respected jazz labels of the mid-20th century, noted for its role in facilitating the development of hard bop, post-bop and avant-garde jazz, as well as for its iconic modernist art direction.
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.
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other record labels, from ABC to Motown to Geffen. MCA Inc. became Universal Studios, Inc., in 1996, and the MCA record label was folded into Universal Music Group's Geffen Records in 2003, but Universal's MCA Nashville continues to use the moniker.
Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group.
Eric Robin Bell is a Northern Irish rock and blues musician, best known as a founding member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy, of which he was a member from 1969 to 1973. After his time in Thin Lizzy, he briefly fronted his own group before joining the Noel Redding Band in the mid-1970s. He has since released several solo albums and performs regularly with a blues-based trio, the Eric Bell Band.
Uni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan. Notable artists on Uni included Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Foundations, Hugh Masekela, Brian Hyland, Desmond Dekker, Bill Cosby, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Dave and Ansil Collins, Fever Tree, Olivia Newton-John, Betty Everett, and the Factory. In 1967, Uni took over management of MCA's newly acquired Kapp Records. Uni also operated Revue Records, a soul music subsidiary, from about 1967 to 1970. In 1971 Uni was merged with Kapp and the co-owned American Decca Records, to form MCA Records. The Decca, Kapp, and Uni labels continued to be used for new releases for a short time, but in late 1972, new releases by their former artists began appearing on the MCA Records label; before long, their back catalogs were transferred to MCA as well. That year, Regan left MCA to revive 20th Century Records for 20th Century Fox.
Philips Records is a record label founded by Dutch electronics company Philips and Dutch-American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in Amsterdam.
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp. David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.
FFRR Records is a dance music label founded as a subsidiary of London Records in 1986, with A&R run by the British DJ Pete Tong. Originally a part of London Records' label roster, FFRR is currently a sublabel of Parlophone, a division of Warner Music Group. Its activities were mostly halted in the early 2000s, until the label was revived in 2011. Its catalog was sold off in 2017, but the label was revived a second time in 2021, this time with a new identity.
Felsted Records was the name of two record labels. The UK version began as a subsidiary of Decca Records in July 1954 with music mainly in the jazz and dance band genres and recordings leased from the French Blue Star, Riviera, and Classique labels. The label took its name from the village where Sir Edward Lewis, the head of UK Decca, lived. The British label's only release of note was "Smokie", the first single by Bill Black's Combo, Black having been Elvis Presley's bassist, licensed from Hi Records.
Rex Records was a United Kingdom-based record label founded in 1933 by the Crystalate Gramophone Record Manufacturing Company, also the parent of British Imperial Records. Rex released their first discs in September 1933, with the initial release bearing a catalogue number of 8000 or 8001. The company was taken over by Decca Records in March 1937. Rex Records were sold at Marks & Spencer's chain stores.
That'll Be The Day is the second and final studio album from Buddy Holly. Decca, Holly's first major record label, after failing to produce a hit single from Holly's early recordings, packaged these 1956 tunes after he had some success with recordings from the Brunswick and Coral labels, especially the previously released single "That'll Be the Day". This is the last album released before his death in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, and is rare among collectors.
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.
Helen Darling is an American country music artist. Darling has released one studio album on Decca Nashville. She also charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart; "Jenny Come Back", peaked at No. 69 in 1995.
Cathal Dunne is an Irish singer. He is most famous for representing Ireland in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Happy Man". He has since gained a following as Cahal Dunne, performing traditional Irish songs in the United States, where he now lives.
"Skinny Minnie" is a 1958 song co-written and recorded by Bill Haley and his Comets. The song was released as a Decca single which became a Top 40 chart hit in the U.S., peaking at #22 on the Billboard chart.
"The Last Letter" is a song written by country music singer Rex Griffin. Griffin wrote the song in 1937, after he was left by his wife. The song tells through a suicidal letter the feelings of an older man who is left by his young wife. The song, released on Decca Records became a hit for Griffin.
Waiata : Maori Showbands, Balladeers & Pop Stars is a compilation album of historical performances by various artists released on compact disc in 2001 by the His Master's Voice and EMI labels. It features recordings by Prince Tui Teka, the Maori Volcanics, the Howard Morrison Quartet, The Quin Tikis, Billy T. James, and John Rowles.
The Grehan Sisters were an Irish folk music act of the mid to late 1960s who achieved popularity in Britain after moving to Manchester, England in 1967 from their native Boyle in County Roscommon, via a spell performing in Dublin. They disbanded around 1970 but have occasionally reunited for one-off appearances in subsequent years, most recently in 2015, while Helen continues to perform intermittently as a solo artist.
Bill Anderson Sings Country Heart Songs is a compilation album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released in January 1962 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. Despite it being a compilation, the project was Anderson's debut album release as a recording artist. It featured several of his early hits with the Decca label and included one song that would later be issued as a single in 1962.
