Columbia Records

===1950s ===
[[File:ATeenageLoveAffair.JPG|thumb|Columbia used this label for its 45 r.p.m. records from 1951 until 1958.]]
[[File:Columbiatransitionallabel.jpg|thumb|Transitional 1955 promo 45 r.p.m. label showing both the old notes and mike and new walking eye logos]]
In 1951, Columbia US began issuing records in the 45 rpm format RCA Victor had introduced two years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cubby.net/worldofcubby/RCR/record_history.html |title=Record Collector's Resource: A History of Records |publisher=Cubby.net |date=February 26, 1917 |access-date=February 28, 2013}}</ref> The same year, Ted Wallerstein retired as Columbia Records chairman;<ref name="Inc.1970">{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10|access-date=July 21, 2013|date=September 26, 1970|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=10|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> and Columbia US also severed its decades-long distribution arrangement with EMI and signed a distribution deal with [[Philips Records]] to market Columbia recordings outside North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/bbe12043 |title=Mitch Miller And His Orchestra And Chorus – Mitch Miller – Philips – UK |publisher=45cat |access-date=February 28, 2013}}</ref> EMI continued to distribute Okeh and later Epic label recordings until 1968. EMI also continued to distribute Columbia recordings in Australia and New Zealand. American Columbia was not happy with EMI's reluctance to introduce long playing records.<ref name="Broven2009">{{cite book|author=John Broven|title=Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers|url=https://archive.org/details/recordmakersbrea0000brov|url-access=registration|access-date=July 21, 2013|date=February 26, 2009|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-03290-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/recordmakersbrea0000brov/page/22 22]}}</ref>

Columbia became the most successful non-rock record company in the 1950s after it lured producer and bandleader [[Mitch Miller]] away from the Mercury label in 1950. Despite its many successes, Columbia remained largely uninvolved in the teenage rock'n'roll market until the mid-1960s, despite a handful of crossover hits, largely because of Miller's frequently expressed loathing of rock'n'roll. (Miller was a classically trained oboist who had been a friend of Columbia executive Goddard Lieberson since their days at the [[Eastman School of Music]] in the 1930s.){{sfnp|Dannen|1991|p=62}} Miller quickly signed up Mercury's biggest artist at the time, [[Frankie Laine]], and discovered several of the decade's biggest recording stars including [[Tony Bennett]], [[Mahalia Jackson]], [[Jimmy Boyd]], [[Guy Mitchell]] (whose stage surname was taken from Miller's first name), [[Johnnie Ray]], [[The Four Lads]], [[Rosemary Clooney]], [[Kay Lande]], [[Ray Conniff]], [[Jerry Vale]] and [[Johnny Mathis]]. He also oversaw many of the early singles by the label's top female recording star of the decade, [[Doris Day]].

In 1953, Columbia formed a new subsidiary label [[Epic Records]].<ref name="Inc.1953">{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16|access-date=July 21, 2013|date=September 19, 1953|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=16|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> 1954 saw Columbia end its distribution arrangement with Sparton Records and form Columbia Records of Canada.<ref name=ce>{{Cite web |url=https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sony-music-entertainment-inc-emc|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203002802/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003271|url-status=dead |title=Sony Music Entertainment Inc &#124; The Canadian Encyclopedia|archivedate=February 3, 2010|website=thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> To enhance its country music stable, which already included [[Marty Robbins]], [[Ray Price (musician)|Ray Price]] and [[Carl Smith (musician)|Carl Smith]], Columbia bid $15,000 for [[Elvis Presley]]'s contract from [[Sun Records]] in 1955.<ref name="Elvis">{{cite book|last=Worth|first=Fred|title=Elvis: His Life from A to Z|year=1992|publisher=Outlet|isbn=978-0-517-06634-8|page=38}}</ref> Presley's manager, [[Colonel Tom Parker]], turned down their offer and signed Presley with RCA Victor.<ref name="Elvis"/> However, Columbia did sign two Sun artists in 1958: [[Johnny Cash]] and [[Carl Perkins]].<ref name="Elvis"/>

With 1954, Columbia U.S. decisively broke with its past when it introduced its new, [[modernist]]-style "Walking Eye" logo,<ref>{{cite book|date=September 11, 1954|title=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_xiEEAAAAMBAJ_2|access-date=July 21, 2013|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_xiEEAAAAMBAJ_2/page/n44 45]|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> designed by Columbia's art director [[S. Neil Fujita]]. This logo actually depicts a stylus (the legs) on a record (the eye); however, the "eye" also subtly refers to CBS's main business in [[CBS Network|television]], and that division's iconic Eye logo. Columbia continued to use the "notes and mike" logo on record labels and even used a promo label showing both logos until the "notes and mike" was phased out (along with the 78 in the US) in 1958. In Canada, Columbia 78s were pressed with the "Walking Eye" logo in 1958. The original Walking Eye was tall and solid; it was modified in 1961<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSEEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22columbia+representative%22+%2B+billboard+%2B+1961&pg=PA16|title=columbia representative |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]  |date=August 14, 1961}}</ref> to the familiar one still used today (pictured on this page), despite the fact that the Walking Eye was used only sporadically during most of the 1990s.

Although the big band era had passed, Columbia had [[Duke Ellington]] under contract for several years, capturing the historic moment when Ellington's band provoked a post-midnight frenzy (followed by international headlines) at the 1956 [[Newport Jazz Festival]], which proved a boost to a bandleader whose career had stalled. Under new head producer [[George Avakian]], Columbia became the most vital label to the general public's appreciation and understanding (with help from Avakian's prolific and perceptive play-by-play liner notes) of jazz, releasing a series of LP's by [[Louis Armstrong]], but also signing to long-term contracts [[Dave Brubeck]] and [[Miles Davis]], the two modern jazz artists who would in 1959 record albums that remain—more than sixty years later—among the best-selling jazz albums by any label—viz., ''[[Time Out (album)|Time Out]]'' by the Brubeck Quartet and, to an even greater extent, ''[[Kind of Blue]]'' by the Davis Sextet, which, in 2003, appeared as number 12 in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'s'' list of the "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time".<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Kind of Blue| magazine=Rollingstone.com| date=February 9, 2003| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/kind-of-blue-miles-davis-19691231| access-date=April 11, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-date=March 17, 2011| archive-url=https://archive.today/20110317190607/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/kind-of-blue-miles-davis-19691231}}</ref> With another producer, [[Teo Macero]], a skilled modernist composer himself, Columbia cemented contracts with jazz composer/musicians [[Thelonious Monk]] and [[Charles Mingus]], while Macero became a significant figure in Miles Davis career from an explorer of the art of [[modal jazz]] from Davis' sextets 1958 album ''[[Milestones (Miles Davis album)|Milestones]]'' to innovator and avatar of the marriage of jazz with rock and electronic sounds—commonly known as [[jazz fusion]].

In 1954, Columbia embraced small-group modern jazz by signing of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which resulted in the release of the on-location, best-selling jazz album (up to this time), ''[[Jazz Goes to College]]''. Contemporaneously with Columbia's first release of modern jazz by a small group, which was also the Brubeck Quartet's debut on the label, was a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine cover story on the phenomenon of Brubeck's success on college campuses. The humble [[Dave Brubeck]] demurred, saying that the second ''Time'' cover story on a jazz musician (the first featured [[Louis Armstrong]]'s picture) had been earned by [[Duke Ellington]], not himself. Within two years Ellington's picture would appear on the cover of ''Time'', following his success at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. [[Ellington at Newport]], recorded on Columbia, was also the bandleader-composer-pianist's best-selling album. Moreover, this exclusive trinity of jazz giants featured on the cover of ''Time'' magazine were all Columbia artists. (In the early 1960s Columbia jazz artist [[Thelonious Monk]] would be afforded the same honor.)

Columbia changed distributors in Australia and New Zealand in 1956 when the Australian Record Company picked up distribution of U.S. Columbia product to replace the [[Capitol Records]] product which ARC lost when EMI bought Capitol. As EMI owned the Columbia trademark at that time, the U.S. Columbia material was issued in Australia and New Zealand on the [[Coronet Records|CBS Coronet]] label.

In the same year, former Columbia A&R manager [[Goddard Lieberson]] was promoted to President of the entire CBS recording division, which included Columbia and Epic, as well as the company's various international divisions and licensees. Under his leadership the corporation's music division soon overtook [[RCA Victor]] as the top recording company in the world, boasting a star-studded roster of artists and an unmatched catalogue of popular, jazz, classical and stage and screen soundtrack titles. Lieberson, who had joined Columbia as an A&R manager in 1938, was known for both his personal elegance and his dedication to quality, overseeing the release of many hugely successful albums and singles, as well as championing prestige releases that sold relatively poorly, and even some titles that had limited appeal, such as complete editions of the works of [[Arnold Schoenberg]] and [[Anton von Webern]]. One of his first major successes was the original Broadway cast album of ''[[My Fair Lady (Broadway cast recording)|My Fair Lady]]'', which sold over 5&nbsp;million copies worldwide in 1957, becoming the most successful LP ever released up to that time. Lieberson also convinced long-serving CBS President William S. Paley to become the sole backer of the original Broadway production, a $500,000 investment which subsequently earned the company some $32&nbsp;million in profits.{{sfnp|Dannen|1991|pp=60–61}}

In October 1958, Columbia, in time for the Christmas season, put out a series of "Greatest Hits" packages by such artists as Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray, [[Jo Stafford]], Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Frankie Laine and [[the Four Lads]]; months later, it put out another Mathis compilation as well as that of [[Marty Robbins]]. Only Mathis' compilations charted, since there were only 25 positions on [[Billboard 200|''Billboard''{{'}}s album charts]] at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia1200.html|title=Columbia Album Discography, Part 8 (CL 1200 to CL 1299) 1958-1959 |website=Both Sides Now Publications |first1=Randy |last1=Watts |first2=Mike |last2=Callahan |first3=David |last3=Edwards |first4=Patrice |last4=Eyries |date=October 24, 2015 |access-date=July 2, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819215009/http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia1200.html |archive-date= Aug 19, 2018 }}</ref> However, the compilations were so successful that they led to Columbia doing such packages on a widespread basis, usually when an artist's career was in decline.

==== Stereo ====
Although Columbia began recording in stereo in 1956, stereo LPs did not begin to be manufactured until 1958. One of Columbia's first stereo releases was an abridged and re-structured performance of [[Handel]]'s ''[[Messiah (oratorio)|Messiah]]'' by the [[New York Philharmonic]] and the [[Westminster Choir]] conducted by [[Leonard Bernstein]] (recorded on December 31, 1956, on {{1/2}}-inch tape, using an Ampex 300-3 machine).<ref>This stereo LP Box Set (2 LPs) have released first as M2S-603 (MS 6038-9) in 1958.</ref> Bernstein combined the Nativity and Resurrection sections, and ended the performance with the death of Christ. As with RCA Victor, most of the early stereo recordings were of classical artists, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by [[Bruno Walter]], [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]], and [[Leonard Bernstein]], and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by [[Eugene Ormandy]], who also recorded an abridged ''Messiah'' for Columbia. Some sessions were made with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble drawn from leading New York musicians, which had first made recordings with Sir Thomas Beecham in 1949 in Columbia's New York City studios. [[George Szell]] and the [[Cleveland Orchestra]] recorded mostly for Epic. When Epic dropped classical music, the roster and catalogue was moved to [[Columbia Masterworks Records]].

Columbia released its first pop stereo albums in the summer of 1958. All of the first dozen or so were stereo versions of albums already available in mono. It was not until September 1958, that Columbia began simultaneous mono/stereo releases. Mono versions of otherwise stereo recordings were discontinued in 1968. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the LP, in 1958 Columbia initiated the "Adventures in Sound" series that showcased music from around the world.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Billboard|date=January 6, 1958|title=Columbia's 1958 Tee-Off Cues Big Product Campaign: Program Set to Tie in with LP Disk's 10th Anniversary Year|magazine=Billboard|page=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Designed for Hi-Fi Living : The Vinyl LP in Midcentury America|last=Borgerson|first=Janet|publisher=MIT Press|others=Schroeder, Jonathan E., 1962|year=2017|isbn=9780262036238|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=283–297|oclc=958205262}}</ref>

As far as the catalog numbering system went, there was no correlation between mono and stereo versions for the first few years. Columbia started a new CS 8000 series for pop stereo releases, and figuring the stereo releases as some sort of specialty niche records, didn't bother to link the mono and stereo numbers for two years. Masterworks classical LPs had an MS 6000 series, while showtunes albums on Masterworks were OS 2000. Finally, in 1960, the pop stereo series jumped from 8300 to 8310 to match ''Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing [[Duke Ellington|Ellington]]'', the [[Lambert, Hendricks & Ross]] album issued as CL-1510. From that point, the stereo numbers on pop albums were exactly 6800 higher than the mono; stereo classical albums were the mono number plus 600; and showtunes releases were the mono number MINUS 3600. Only the last two digits in the respective catalog series' matched.

Pop stereo LPs got into the high 9000s by 1970, when CBS Records revamped and unified its catalog numbering system across all its labels. Masterworks classical albums were in the 7000s, while showtunes stayed in the low 2000s.

Columbia's engineering department developed a process for emulating stereo from a mono source. They called this process "Electronically Rechanneled for Stereo". In the June 16, 1962, issue of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine (page 5), Columbia announced it would issue "rechanneled" versions of greatest hits compilations that had been recorded in mono, including albums by Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Percy Faith, Mitch Miller, Marty Robbins, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and Johnny Mathis.