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. 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, Congress Records, Leader Records, and Four Corners Records with its "4 Corners of the World" logo. Four Corners was formed to promote European artists, such as Françoise 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.
1964: Kapp Records released "Hello Dolly" sung by Louis Armstrong that became the number one song in America on Billboard Top 100, two months after The Beatles' arrived from England. The label also distributed American releases by another successful British Invasion group, The Searchers.
1967: David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc. and became a division of Uni Records.
1973: MCA released the last Kapp record. The catalog and artist roster was absorbed by MCA Records.
2003: MCA Records is absorbed into Geffen 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, and Decca Broadway, respectively. Decca Broadway released a remastered version of the Man of La Mancha original cast album in 2001.
Label variations
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.
1950s: Stylized "K/record" logo and KAPP at top of either red/white, silver/maroon or purplish red/white labels.
Early 1960s: Black label with white "K/record" logo and KAPP in red at top, a similar design had a red drum major cap and KAPP in yellow at top.
Mid to late 1960s: Black label with red drum major cap and KAPP in black letters in white box at left for singles, at top for albums.
1970-1972: Purple, red, orange and yellow label with new "K" logo, either in black or in white inside black box, at left.
