X-Nico

28 unusual facts about Decca Records


Arthur Haddy

His work as Technical Director of the Decca Record Company Ltd. caused him to be nicknamed "the father of hi-fi".

Away All Boats

A record with some of Frank Skinner’s music from the movie was released by Decca Records in May 1956.

Baker Knight

The next release, "Bring My Cadillac Back", was a local hit and was picked up for national distribution by Decca Records, but radio stations refused to play it as it served as unpaid advertising for Cadillac cars.

Black Ace

In 1937, Turner recorded six songs (possibly with Hogg as second guitarist) for Chicago's Decca Records in Dallas, including the blues song "Black Ace".

Bruno Walter

His famous Decca Das Lied von der Erde with Kathleen Ferrier, Julius Patzak, and the Vienna Philharmonic was made in May, 1952, and he recorded it again in studio with the New York Philharmonic in 1960.

Charley Jordan

Jordan recorded numerous singles for Vocalion and Decca between 1930 and 1937, and also performed with some well-regarded bluesmen from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Charlie Monroe

Charlie signed with RCA Victor in 1946 and with Decca Records in 1950; he wrote and recorded a large body of material and continued to tour relentlessly until he announced his retirement in 1957.

Cock Sparrer

In 1977, Garrie Lammin (Burge's cousin) joined in as second guitarist and the band secured a deal with Decca Records, who were hoping to cash in on the now blooming punk movement.

Decca Radar

The Decca Company, a British gramophone manufacturer that, as Decca Records, released records under the Decca label, contributed to the British war effort during the Second World War.

Eddie Zack

By 1948 Zack had recorded his first record in 1951 and received a contract with Decca Records.

Fritz Schulz-Reichel

His tunes became hits in Germany, France, England, and America; his albums were released on Decca and MGM in the U.S. and Polydor which were distributed by Philips Electrical Industries Pty.

G.V. Series

At the same time in West Africa (what became Nigeria and Ghana, specifically) EMI was recording and releasing Sakara, Juju and Apala music on 78rpm discs in the Parlophone B, HMV JL, HMV JZ and Decca WA/GWA/NGA series (1947–52), as well as HMV owned local labels, such as Ghana's Taymani Special.

Günter Wand

After several recordings of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven with the Gürzenich for a French subscription collection in the mid-1950s, he made no studio recordings for nearly two decades with the exception of an appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on Decca Records, accompanying Wilhelm Backhaus in Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto (his only recording with that orchestra).

H. C. Speir

In 1926, through selling blues records in his store, he began working as a scout for the record companies producing the records, such as Okeh, Victor, Gennett, Columbia, Vocalion, Decca and Paramount.

Harley Usill

Due to cash problems, the company was taken over by British Decca in 1957, though with Usill remaining as Managing Director, and being given pretty much full autonomy to run the record label as he wished.

Here I Am, Here I Stay

The third Haley recording made for the film, "Whoa Mabel", has not surfaced as of 2011 (like the other two it is not the same recording as released by Haley on Decca Records).

I Want You to Be My Baby

The single's failure to rise no higher than #33 is attributable to a strike at the Decca processing plant, which stopped the pressing of discs.

Jack Hylton

He became a director and major shareholder of the new Decca record label.

Jackie Lee Cochran

He then signed with Decca Records, and his single "Ruby Pearl" sold well and nearly hit the Billboard charts, but his manager let the Decca contract lapse, and the single fizzled before charting.

Jean Ferrat

He signed with Decca and released his second single, "Ma Môme", in 1960 under the musical direction of Meys.

Lake Chaubunagungamaug

The second was recorded by Ethel Merman and Ray Bolger and released in 1954 by Decca and incorporates the tale about the lake's name according to Daly.

Lee Lawrence

He made his first recordings for Decca Records in the early 1950s, in a romantic ballad style which was compared to that of David Whitfield and Ronnie Hilton.

Needle time

The "208" shows on Luxembourg were mainly fifteen minutes to thirty minutes in length and presented under names such as the Decca Records Show or the Capitol Records Show.

Reginald Gardiner

(A sound no longer heard since welded rail joins were introduced.) "Trains" was released as a 78 and 45 by English Decca Records (F 5278) which remained on catalogue into the 1970s.

Rex Allen

In 1948 he signed with Mercury Records where he recorded a number of successful country music albums until 1952, when he switched to the Decca label where he continued to make records into the 1970s.

Smokey Hogg

In 1937 Smokey and Black Ace were brought to Chicago, Illinois by Decca Records to record, and Smokey had his first gramophone record ("Family Trouble Blues"/"Kind Hearted Blues") released, as by Andrew Hogg.

Sylviane Deferne

Under the Decca label, the Concerto for Two Pianos by Poulenc was recorded in collaboration with Pascal Rogé and the New Philharmonia of London, conducted by Charles Dutoit.

The Aerovons

In 1968 they travelled to London twice, receiving offers from both EMI and Decca.


Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Other labels the orchestra has recorded for include Argo, Capriccio Records, Chandos Records, Decca Records, EMI, Hänssler Classic, Philips Records, and Hyperion Records.

Alex Steinweiss

Starting in around 1950, Steinweiss did the covers and record label for Remington, and began a more than 20 year association with both Decca and London Records.

Alfred Brendel discography

He has recorded with only three record companies: Vox Records, DECCA and Philips.

Charles Magnante

Magnante was featured as accordion soloist on more than two dozen albums (many with studio orchestras), released by Columbia, Grand Award, Command Records, Decca Records, and other record labels.

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra works with labels such as Decca, EMI, Sony BMG and many international film studios.

Days of Future Passed

Members of the group have claimed that originally, the Moodies' British label, Decca Records, had wanted them to record a rock based on Dvořák's New World Symphony for the newly formed Deram Records division in order to demonstrate their latest recording techniques, which were named "Deramic Sound."

Eric Coates

Coates made a number of 78 rpm recordings of his music, initially for The British Columbia label and then for Decca Records (released in the U.S. on the London Records label).

Flying Home

In 1979, Ella Fitzgerald recorded a seven-minute-plus rendering that can be found on the Pablo release Digital III at Montreux while an earlier Ella version (with Vic Schoen and his Orchestra) is included on the Decca release Lullabies of Birdland.

Hans Hotter

In Die Walküre and Siegfried he was recorded in Decca's famous Ring Cycle in the early 1960s, conducted by Georg Solti and produced by John Culshaw.

Jack Kapp

Jack Kapp (June 15, 1901 – March 25, 1949) was a record company executive with Brunswick Records who founded the American Decca Records in 1934 along with British Decca founder Edward Lewis and later American Decca head Milton Rackmil.

Jane Turzy

She succeeded in reaching the popularity charts only in 1951 with three recordings she made for Decca Records.

John Shirley-Quirk

Notable recordings include many of Britten's works and Mahler's Eighth Symphony under Sir Georg Solti on Decca, and Vaughan Williams' vocal works under Sir David Willcocks and the Choir of King's College, Cambridge for EMI.

Kim Gardner

They were signed to Decca Records at the end of that year, and in 1965 released several singles, including "No Good Without You Baby" and "Leaving Here", after a name change from The Thunderbirds to The Birds.

Lana Chapel

She was a staff writer for several major music publishing companies in Nashville including: Owen Bradley of Decca Records, Tree Music, Frank and Nancy Music, Frank Sinatra, Tammy Wynette's company, First Lady Music and Resaca Music, Kris Kristofferson, President.

Parrot Records

The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England for the release in the USA and Canada, most notably by The Zombies, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Them, Jonathan King, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, Lulu, Bobby "Boris" Pickett (reissued from Garpax), Savoy Brown, Alan Price, Love Sculpture (reissued from EMI) and Frijid Pink.

Percy Faith

After working briefly for Decca Records, he worked for Mitch Miller at Columbia Records, where he turned out dozens of albums and provided arrangements for many of the pop singers of the 1950s, including Tony Bennett, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis for Mathis' 1958 Christmas album titled Merry Christmas, and Guy Mitchell for whom Faith wrote Mitchell's number one single, "My Heart Cries for You".

Play of Daniel

A recorded 1958 performance by the group at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and featuring boy choristers of the Church of the Transfiguration as satraps and soldiers, was released by Decca, with sleeve notes by Paul Henry Lang and Dom Rembert Weakland, O.S.B., who had discovered the text at the British Library.

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

The orchestra has recorded more than 198 compact discs for many Polish and foreign labels (Decca, EMI, Phillips, etc.) and made numerous archival recordings for the needs of Polish Radio.

Red Norvo

Norvo recorded 8 modern swing sides for Columbia in 1934–1935, and 15 sides of Decca and their short-lived Champion label series in 1936 (strangely enough, Jack Kapp ran Decca, so they must've patched things up by then).

Riccardo Brengola

In addition to his Decca recordings with the Quintetto Chigiano (see article for listing), in maturity he also recorded the Brahms violin sonatas with the pianist Piernarciso Masi.

Sampler album

Amongst the most well regarded, and subsequently collectable, were those from Island Records, CBS, Decca Records, Liberty Records, Vertigo Records and Harvest Records.

Savannah Churchill

From 1949 she recorded with Regal, RCA Victor and Decca Records, recording the original version of "Shake A Hand", later a big hit for Faye Adams, and also recording with the Ray Charles Singers.

Selah Jubilee Singers

The Selah Jubilee Singers first recorded on April 28, 1938 for Decca, a session which included popular songs such as "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (DE 7598), and in February 1941, "I'll Fly Away" (DE 7831).

Tony Reeves

He worked in the music industry for several years, first in the quality control department of Decca Records listening to output that ranged from medieval classical music to Chubby Checker, after four years becoming assistant producer to Tony D'Amato, then briefly a record plugger for Pye Records.

Vic Lewis

Lewis toured the U.S. with the band at various intervals between 1956 and 1959, and recorded extensively for Parlophone, Esquire, Decca, and Philips.