[78-L] Odd Capitol 78

David Lennick dlennick at sympatico.ca
Sat Jun 27 08:34:48 PDT 2009


The first purple label discs are 10001/4 in album A-1 (later renumbered CD-1 to 
reflect the price, label and number of discs in the album), Songs by Johnny 
Mercer. Matrix numbers are between 84 and 103, pre-dating the first King Cole 
Capitols of November 1943 so I'd say this album was issued in early 1944 unless 
they rushed it into the stores for Christmas. Capitol started in '42, just in 
time to be silenced by the AFM ban, and they survived on Cow Cow Boogie for 
that first year.

dl

Taylor Bowie wrote:
> Capitol started in 1942, right?    I  thought that originally it was like 
> the Model T...you could get any color label so long as it was black.  When 
> are the earliest purples,?
> 
> Taylor
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 8:04 AM
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Odd Capitol 78
> 
> 
>> The different label colors were in place from the very beginning, with the
>> purple label being the more expensive one. As with Decca, artists who sold 
>> well
>> could be moved onto the higher priced label. But at some point the prices 
>> must
>> have been leveled and the black label numbering was continued on purple 
>> label
>> (for a time with prefixes like 57-), with the 15000s and 10000s continued 
>> as
>> album numbers or special series issues.
>>
>> Anyone know exactly when the black label disappeared? The numbering system
>> didn't, so I can't tell from chronological listings or entries in 
>> Whitburn. I'd
>> guess 1949.
>>
>> dl
>>
>> Taylor Bowie wrote:
>>> Hi Ron,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your interest.  It for sure is Whiting on the one side and 
>>> Clark
>>> Dennis on the other.  I won't have the filing problem mentioned by dl as
>>> Margaret Whiting easily trumps the light tenor of Mr. D for my taste!
>>>
>>> Taylor
>>>
>>> P.S.  Would it somehow be some sort of promotion for the switch to the 
>>> new
>>> purple label by the company?
>>>
>>> PPS:  The Whiting side is credited as being from the Welles movie The 
>>> Lady
>>> >From Shanghai...a memorable show but  the song didn't make any impression 
>>>> on
>>> me when I saw it!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Ronald Lees" <rebc1 at comcast.net>
>>> To: "'78-L Mail List'" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>>> Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 9:06 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Odd Capitol 78
>>>
>>>
>>>> I must have read through that to fast...plastic it is :)
>>>>
>>>> This definitely makes sense #485 was released at the very end of 1947 or
>>>> beginning of 1948 and #15085 was released within the first few months or
>>>> so
>>>> of 1948. Well before the white label flex promo's you mentioned.
>>>>
>>>> Ron
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
>>>> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of David Lennick
>>>> Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 11:29 PM
>>>> To: 78-L Mail List
>>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Odd Capitol 78
>>>>
>>>> Ah, it WAS mentioned as being a plastic pressing. That's definitely a
>>>> promo.
>>>>
>>>> dl
>>>>
>>>> Ronald Lees wrote:
>>>>> Forgot to mention you should check the matrix numbers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ron
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
>>>>> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Taylor Bowie
>>>>> Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 11:00 PM
>>>>> To: 78-L Mail List
>>>>> Subject: [78-L] Odd Capitol 78
>>>>>
>>>>> While finishing the long-overdue sorting of my vocal 78s,  I found
>>>> something
>>>>> which strikes me as a real oddball...but I don't really know much about
>>>> late
>>>>> 40s 78s so maybe it's not so strange after all,  but...
>>>>>
>>>>> It's a sort of plastic pressing thing:  Margaret Whiting doing "Please
>>>> Don't
>>>>> Kiss Me" on a purple label,  #15058.
>>>>>
>>>>> OK,  so far so good....but the other side is a BLACK label of Clark
>>>>> Dennis
>>>>> singing "I'll Never Say I love" you and it says #485!
>>>>>
>>>>> Was this some kind of hybrid thing for radio stations by any chance?
>>>>> Both
>>>>> the songs are from movies issued in 1948.
>>>>>
>>>>> I can see maybe mixing it up with an old black and a new purple  label,
>>>> but
>>>>> the different catalog numbers seems really  weird.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any info about this or other such Capitol issues would be appreciated.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Taylor B
>>>>>



More information about the 78-L mailing list