Capitol Records facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Capitol Records |
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| Parent company | EMI (1955–2012) Universal Music Group (2012–present; company & most of catalogs) Warner Music Group (2013–present; some recordings) |
| Founded | March 27, 1942 (as Liberty Records) April 8, 1942 (as Capitol Records) |
| Founder | Johnny Mercer Buddy DeSylva Glenn Wallichs |
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| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Capitol Records, LLC is a famous American record label. It is owned by Universal Music Group. The company started in 1942. It was the first big record label on the West Coast of the United States.
Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn E. Wallichs created Capitol Records. In 1955, a British music company called EMI bought Capitol. Later, in 2012, Universal Music Group bought EMI. This made Capitol part of Universal Music Group. The main building for Capitol Records is a round tower in Hollywood, California. It is a well-known landmark.
People sometimes call the label and its building "The House That Nat Built." This is because of one of Capitol's most famous artists, Nat King Cole. Capitol Records is also known for releasing music by the Beach Boys. It was also the U.S. record label for the Beatles during their huge popularity from 1964 to 1967. Some other artists on Capitol Records today include Ice Spice, Sam Smith, Katy Perry, and Lewis Capaldi.
Contents
History of Capitol Records
How Capitol Records Started
Songwriter Johnny Mercer had an idea to start a record company in 1942. He got financial help from songwriter and film producer Buddy DeSylva. Glenn Wallichs, who owned a music store, helped with the business side. They officially started the company on March 27, 1942, first calling it Liberty Records. A little later, they changed the name to Capitol Records.
Capitol Records made its first recording on April 6, 1942. Martha Tilton recorded a song called "Moon Dreams." Soon after, other artists like Freddie Slack and Ella Mae Morse recorded music. Ella Mae Morse's song "Cow-Cow Boogie" became Capitol's first "gold single" in 1942. A gold single means it sold many copies!
Capitol Records was the first major record label on the West Coast. It competed with big East Coast labels like RCA Victor and Columbia. Besides its studios in Los Angeles, Capitol also had a studio in New York City.
Different Kinds of Music
In 1946, Capitol Records started making records for children. Writer-producer Alan W. Livingston created Bozo the Clown for these records. Famous cartoon voices like Pinto Colvig (Goofy) and Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny) also recorded for Capitol. The label also released jazz music, including Miles Davis's album Birth of the Cool.
Capitol also released some classical music albums in the 1940s. These included music by composers like Heitor Villa-Lobos and César Franck. By the 1950s, Capitol became a huge label, mostly focusing on popular music. They also started recording early rock and roll artists like Gene Vincent.
EMI Takes Over Capitol
In 1955, a British record company called EMI bought Capitol Records. EMI paid $8.5 million for most of Capitol's shares. EMI then built a new, modern studio building in Hollywood. This building was similar to EMI's famous Abbey Road Studios in London.
In the 1950s, Capitol also started distributing Cuban music in the United States. This helped Capitol become more important in the music world. In 1957, EMI's classical music label, Angel Records, joined with Capitol. This brought more classical recordings to Capitol.
Capitol also created a series of albums called "Capitol of the World." These albums featured music from many different countries. In the 1960s, Capitol started other smaller record labels, like Tower Records. Capitol was also the company that distributed the Beatles' music in the U.S.
In 2012, Universal Music Group bought EMI. This meant Capitol Records became part of Universal Music Group.
Capitol Records Today
After joining Universal Music Group, Capitol Records moved its main offices back to the Capitol Tower in Hollywood. In 2014, singer Katy Perry started her own record label, Metamorphosis Music, with Capitol. The label later changed its name to Unsub Records.
In 2018, Capitol's electronic music division, Astralwerks, moved its operations to the Capitol Tower. In 2021, Michelle Jubelirer became the Chair and CEO of Capitol Records. In 2024, Capitol Records joined UMG's Interscope Capitol Labels Group.
Capitol Records Headquarters
The Capitol Records Tower is a very famous building. It has thirteen stories and is shaped like a circle. It was the world's first circular office building. It was designed by Welton Becket and Louis Naidorf. The building was finished in 1956.
Some people say the building looks like a stack of records on a record player. It is located in Hollywood, California. The building was nicknamed "The House That Nat Built" because of the success of singer Nat King Cole.
In 2006, EMI sold the tower and nearby properties. In 2008, there was a concern about building a new complex next door. People worried it might affect the building's special underground echo chambers. In 2012, it was announced that Steve Barnett would lead Capitol Music Group from the Capitol Records Building.
Recording Studios
Capitol's recording studios were built to be very quiet. They wanted to keep out all outside noise and vibrations. The inner walls of the studios float on layers of rubber and cork. This creates a small air gap that blocks sound.
The studios also have special underground echo chambers. These chambers are about 30 feet underground. They have thick concrete walls and ceilings. Engineers use speakers and microphones in these chambers to add an echo effect to recordings. This echo can last up to five seconds! The first album recorded in the tower was Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color.
International Music Releases
Capitol Records sometimes changed albums that were first released in other countries. For example, albums released in the United States often had fewer songs than albums released in the United Kingdom. This was due to different rules about how artists were paid. Also, in the U.S., people expected albums to include the latest hit song. British albums usually did not include songs already released as singles.
The Beatles' Albums
A famous example of this was how Capitol released albums by the Beatles. When the Beatles' first album came out in the U.S., Meet the Beatles!, Capitol changed it. The original British album, With the Beatles, had 14 songs. Capitol removed five songs. They then added two hit singles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There." This made Meet the Beatles a 12-song album. It also gave Capitol extra songs to use on later U.S. Beatles albums.
Capitol also made "duophonic" stereo versions of some songs. This happened when the original recording was only in mono (single channel sound). Capitol engineers would split the mono track into two. They would boost the bass on one side and the treble on the other. They also added a tiny delay between the channels. This made it sound like stereo, but it was not true stereo. This meant that American fans sometimes heard a slightly different version of a Beatles song.
This way of changing albums continued until 1967. After that, the Beatles got more control over their album titles, artwork, and song lists in North America. Starting with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles' albums were released without changes.
Capitol Records Around the World
Capitol Records also had operations in other countries.
- United Kingdom: After EMI bought Capitol in 1955, EMI handled Capitol's music releases in the UK. In 2012, when Universal Music Group bought EMI, Capitol started working as its own label in the UK.
- Canada: Capitol Records of Canada started in 1949. In 1957, Paul White joined the company. He helped find Canadian music talent like Anne Murray. They also released music by British artists like Cliff Richard and the Beatles in Canada.
- Latin America: Capitol Latin focuses on Latin music artists. It started in 1989 as EMI Latin and changed its name in 2009. It later joined Universal Music Latin Entertainment.
- Germany: Capitol Music Germany was founded by EMI Music Germany. In 2013, it joined Universal Music Group's Vertigo Berlin. The new label is called Vertigo/Capitol.
- Sweden: Capitol Music Group Sweden restarted in 2015. It had been a part of EMI Music Sweden before.
- France: Capitol Label Services is a part of Universal Music France. It uses the old 1970s Capitol "C" logo.
See also
- Capitol Records Nashville
- List of Capitol Records artists
- List of record labels
