Kapp Records | |
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Parent company | MCA Inc. |
Founded | 1954 |
Founder | David Kapp |
Defunct | 1973 |
Status | Inactive |
Distributor(s) | MCA Records |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | U.S. |
David Kapp | |
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David Kapp and Danny Kaye, 1947
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Background information | |
Birth name | David Kapp |
Born | August 7, 1904 Chicago, Illinois |
Died | March 1, 1976 New York City |
Genres | Country, pop, rock, R&B, jazz, musical theatre |
Occupation(s) | Record producer |
Years active | 1930s–1960s |
Labels | Decca, RCA, Kapp |
Associated acts | Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Ernest Tubb, Danny Kaye, |
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who had set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records 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 (an audiophile label),Congress Records, Leader Records, and Four Corners Records with its "4 Corners of the World" log. Four Corners was formed to promote European artists, such as Françoise Hardy, Raymond Lefèvre, and the Barclay Singers.
Throughout Kapp's history, its logo was a stylized "K" incorporating a phonograph record 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.
Hall, Claude: "MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni", Billboard, February 10, 1973