Capricorn Records: Difference between revisions
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=== Capricorn today === |
=== Capricorn today === |
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While the record label is defunct, the legacy of Capricorn lives on in its sound studio. On December 10 |
While the record label is defunct, the legacy of Capricorn lives on in its sound studio. On December 10, 2015, [[Mercer University]] announced its plan to restore the studio space originally purchased by RedWal and later became the sound studio for Capricorn Records. Sierra Development and Southern Pines purchased the property from Newtown Macon and donated it to [[Mercer University]]. The university plans to reopen the studio by the end of 2019, 50 years after the record label was founded. The plans for the studio include restoring the original recording studio and adding a large studio to accommodate the space needed for an orchestra to record. The restorations will also include a space for film scoring and an area for live performances.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=https://news.mercer.edu/historic-capricorn-studios-projected-to-re-open-by-end-of-2019-with-2-million-in-new-funding-from-peyton-anderson-foundation-and-knight-foundation/|title=Mercer University to Reopen Capricorn Records by End of 2019|last=Sears|first=Kyle|date=8 April 2019|website=Mercer University|archive-url=https://news.mercer.edu/historic-capricorn-studios-projected-to-re-open-by-end-of-2019-with-2-million-in-new-funding-from-peyton-anderson-foundation-and-knight-foundation/|archive-date=14 July 2019|dead-url=|access-date=14 July 2019}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Revision as of 15:33, 16 July 2019
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2010) |
| Capricorn Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Universal Music Group (first incarnation catalogue) Sony Music Entertainment (second incarnation catalogue) |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Phil Walden, Alan Walden, Frank Fenter |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | First Incarnation Atlantic Records Warner Bros PhonoDisc Second Incarnation RED Distribution PolyGram The Island Def Jam Music Group Reissues Island Records/UMe (first incarnation catalogue) Volcano Entertainment/Legacy Recordings (second incarnation catalogue) |
| Genre | Southern rock, soul, jazz fusion, country, alternative rock |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | Macon, Georgia |
Capricorn Records was an independent record label which was founded by Phil Walden, Alan Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia.
History
The beginnings of a plan
The idea for Capricorn Records started with Phil Walden when he was booking bands for high schools and colleges in and around Macon, Georgia with the help of his brother Alan Walden. The idea for starting a record company came after Phil Walden met Otis Redding, who was a vocalist for a band called Pat Tea Cake[1]. As Redding gained more fame, he founded Redwal Music with the Walden brothers and the company purchased property in Downtown Macon, including office space on Cotton Avenue, just a short walk away from city hall. Redwal also purchased space for a sound studio. The space was comprised of four buildings located on one block. [2].
Redwal was one of the first integrated music publishing companies in the South. Redding and the Waldens planned to start a record label together but the plans stalled after Redding’s death in 1967[3]. In 1969, Phil Walden, Alan Walden, and Frank Fenter founded Capricorn Records with the help of Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records. Phil Walden chose the name Capricorn because it was the zodiac sign of himself and Jerry Wexler[1].
First incarnation
Capricorn was the label for many Southern rock and soul bands in the 1970s including the Allman Brothers Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, Delbert McClinton, the Outlaws, the Dixie Dregs, the James Montgomery Band, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie, Jonathan Edwards, Captain Beyond, White Witch, Grinderswitch, Cowboy, Hydra, Kitty Wells, Dobie Gray, Alex Taylor, Travis Wammack, Sea Level and Stillwater. Gregg (Stony) Atwill was a recording and concert sound engineer with Capricorn through the 1970s.[4]
Initially the label was distributed by WEA (first through Atlantic Records, then later Warner Bros. Records) and later by PolyGram Records. Capricorn went bankrupt in October 1979.
Second incarnation
The label was later relaunched out of Nashville, Tennessee, as a joint venture with Warner Bros. in the early-1990s. Distribution later jumped to Sony Music's independent RED Distribution network, then back to PolyGram, by way of its flagship label, Mercury Records. The first act to sign onto the resurrected label was Athens, Georgia's Widespread Panic. After signing with the new version of the label the band celebrated by buying rounds of drinks and beers for attendees at a Macon Pirates game at Luther Williams Field.
Cake and 311 were the most popular artists to come out of Capricorn during this period; a then-unknown Kenny Chesney also released his debut album on the label. Other artists ranged from Rabbitt to Big Sister, the Dixie Dregs, and to the jazz/rock fusion of Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. Capricorn also released a series of box sets of vintage material in the blues and rhythm and blues genres, presenting the stories of such labels as Jewel/Paula Records and Cobra Records.
After moving back to Atlanta, the second incarnation of Capricorn eventually folded. Phil Walden sold the label's assets to Zomba subsidiary Volcano Entertainment in December 2000.[5] By 2002, new releases on Capricorn ceased to appear, as remaining artists were dropped, transferred to Volcano (311), or moved to other labels (Cake).
Co-founder and partner Frank Fenter died on July 21, 1983, at the age of 47 and Phil Walden died on April 23, 2006, at the age of 66.[6]
Capricorn today
While the record label is defunct, the legacy of Capricorn lives on in its sound studio. On December 10, 2015, Mercer University announced its plan to restore the studio space originally purchased by RedWal and later became the sound studio for Capricorn Records. Sierra Development and Southern Pines purchased the property from Newtown Macon and donated it to Mercer University. The university plans to reopen the studio by the end of 2019, 50 years after the record label was founded. The plans for the studio include restoring the original recording studio and adding a large studio to accommodate the space needed for an orchestra to record. The restorations will also include a space for film scoring and an area for live performances.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Staff Writer. "Capricorn's Significance". Mercer Music at Capricorn. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Sears, Kyle (8 April 2019). "Mercer University to Reopen Capricorn Records by End of 2019". Mercer University. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Huff, W.A.K. (9 September 2005). "Georgia Encyclopedia". Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Gregg Atwill". Doc Hollywood Media & Neon Lights Entertainment.com. Neon Lights Entertainment. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ "Discography". Mule.net. Archived from the original on 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Neon Lights Entertainment: Electronic Press Kit - Gregg Atwill". Neonlightsentertainment.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Sears, Kyle (8 April 2019). "Mercer University to Reopen Capricorn Records by End of 2019". Mercer University. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help)
External links
