Kapp Records
Parent company	MCA Inc. (original),Universal Music Group (current)
Founded	1954 (1954)
Founder	David Kapp
Defunct	1973 (1973)
Status	Inactive
Distributor(s)	MCA Records Universal Music Group
Genre	Various
Country of origin	U.S.

David Kapp
David Kapp and Danny Kaye, 1946
Background information
Birth name	David Kapp
Born	August 7, 1904[1] Chicago, Illinois
Died	March 1, 1976[1] New York City[1]
Genres	Country,pop,rock,R&B,jazz,musical theatre
Occupation	Record producer
Years active	1930s–1960s
Labels	Decca,RCA Victor, Kapp

Kapp Records was anindependent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother ofJack Kapp (who set up AmericanDecca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca andRCA Victor.^[2][3] Kapp licensed its records toLondon Records for release in the UK.

In 1967, David Kapp sold his label toMCA Inc. and the label was placed underUni Records management;^[4] 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.^[5]

Kapp's subsidiaries includedMedallion Records (anaudiophile label),^[6]Congress Records, Leader Records, andFour Corners Records with its "4 Corners of the World" logo. Four Corners was formed to promote European artists, such asFrançoise Hardy,Raymond Lefèvre, and the Barclay Singers.

Today, the Kapp Records catalog is owned by MCA's successor-in-interest Universal Music Group through its Geffen Records subsidiary.

• 1954: Kapp Records was created by David Kapp.
• 1955: Kapp Records released "Autumn Leaves" played byRoger Williams (pianist) that became the number one song in America onBillboard Top 100.
• 1960: Kapp Records released one of the first cover versions of songs fromThe Sound of Music, which was running on Broadway at that time. The Pete King Chorale was featured on the album.
• 1964: Kapp Records released "Hello Dolly" sung byLouis Armstrong that became the number one song in America onBillboard Top 100, two months afterThe Beatles' arrived from England. The label also distributed American releases by another successful British Invasion group,The Searchers.
• 1966: The record label released theoriginal cast album ofMan of La Mancha, perhaps their most successful cast album.
• 1967: David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc. and it became a division ofUni Records.
• 1973: MCA released the last Kapp record. The catalog and artist roster was absorbed by MCA Records.
• 2003: MCA Records is absorbed intoGeffen Records, which currently manages Kapp's pop/rock/R&B catalogs. The country, jazz, and musical theatre catalogs are now managed by MCA Nashville Records,GRP Records, andDecca Broadway, respectively. Decca Broadway released a remastered version of theMan of La Mancha original cast album in 2001.

Throughout Kapp's history, its logo was a stylized "K" incorporating aphonograph record design. Three versions of this logo appeared during the company's history. Until 1970, this logo also appeared on adrum major's cap in a wordplay of the label's name.

• 1950s: Stylized "K/record" logo and KAPP at top of either red/white, silver/maroon or purplish red/white labels.^[7]
• Early 1960s: Black label with white "K/record" logo and KAPP in red at top,^[8] a similar design had a red drum major cap and KAPP in yellow at top.^[9]
• Mid to late 1960s: Black label with red drum major cap (showing "K/record" logo in yellow) and KAPP in black letters in white box at left for singles, at top for albums.^[10]
• 1970-1972: Purple, red, orange and yellow label with new "K" logo, either in black or in white inside black box, at left.^[11] (A few 1970s releases were also pressed with the mid-to-late 1960s black label.)

Hall, Claude: "MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni",Billboard, February 10, 1973

• Kapp Records story from BSN Pubs
• A collection of Kapp record labels
• Kapp Records 45 rpm discography
• Kapp Records on the Internet Archive'sGreat 78 Project

• American jazz record labels
• Record labels established in 1954
• Record labels disestablished in 1972
• Pop record labels
• MCA Records
• Universal Music Group
• Labels distributed by Universal Music Group

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