Columbia Records

==== Ascension of Clive Davis ====
When Mitch Miller retired in 1965,<ref name="Inc.1965">{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3|access-date=July 21, 2013|date=December 11, 1965|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=3|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> Columbia was at a turning point. Miller's disdain for rock and roll and pop rock had dominated Columbia's A&R policy. Sales of Broadway soundtracks and Mitch Miller's singalong series were waning. Pretax earnings had flattened to about $5&nbsp;million annually.{{sfnp|Dannen|1991|p={{page needed|date=July 2022}}}} The label's only significant "pop" acts at the time were Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Paul Revere & the Raiders and [[Simon & Garfunkel]]. In its catalogue were other genres: classical, jazz and country, along with a select group of R&B artists, among them [[Aretha Franklin]].<ref name="bsn17" /> Most historians observed that Columbia had problems marketing Franklin as a major talent in the R&B genre, which led to her leaving the label for [[Atlantic Records]] in 1967.<ref>{{Gilliland|https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19834/m1|Show 52 – The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 8&#93; : UNT Digital Library}}</ref><ref name="AR story">{{cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=David|last2=Callahan|first2=Mike|title=Atlantic Records Story|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlanticstory.html|website=www.bsnpubs.com|access-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref>

In 1967, Brooklyn-born lawyer [[Clive Davis]] became president of Columbia. Following the appointment of Davis, the Columbia label became more of a rock music label, thanks mainly to Davis's fortuitous decision to attend the [[Monterey International Pop Festival]], where he spotted and signed several leading acts including [[Janis Joplin]]. Joplin led the way for several generations of female rock and rollers. However, Columbia/CBS still had a hand in traditional pop and jazz and one of its key acquisitions during this period was [[Barbra Streisand]]. She released her first solo album on Columbia in 1963 and remains with the label to this day. Additionally, the label kept Miles Davis on the roster, and his late 1960s recordings, ''[[In a Silent Way]]'' and ''[[Bitches Brew]]'', pioneered a [[Jazz fusion|fusion of jazz and rock music]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/bitches-brew-r106167/review| title = Bitches Brew| author = Jurek, Thom| access-date = April 11, 2012| publisher = AllMusic}}</ref>

A San Francisco group called [[Moby Grape]] had been gaining popularity on the West Coast, and were signed by Davis in 1967. As a way of introducing them to the world with a splash, they released [[Moby Grape (album)|their debut album]], along with five singles from the album, all on the same day, June 6, 1967, 23 years following [[D-Day]]. The album hit made No. 24 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], but the singles barely made a dent in the charts, the best performer being "Omaha", which lasted a mere three weeks on the Hot 100 reaching only No. 88. The other charter, "Hey Grandma", only reached the Bubbling Under chart and faded within a week. Also, there were some complaints about the obscene gesture made to the American flag on the front cover that had to be edited out on the second pressing, not to mention that the group started to decline in sales after that. The return on all the promotional budget for the singles realized nothing. Although the group made two more albums, this particular publicity stunt was never again attempted by Columbia or any other major label.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}