Columbia Records

=== The 1960s ===
==== Outing of "deep groove" ====
By the latter half of 1961, Columbia started using pressing plants with newer equipment. The "deep groove" pressings were made on older pressing machines, where the groove was an artifact of the metal stamper being affixed to a round center "block" to assure the resulting record would be centered. Newer machines used parts with a slightly different geometry, that only left a small "ledge" where the deep groove used to be. This changeover did not happen all at once, as different plants replaced machines at different times, leaving the possibility that both deep groove and ledge varieties could be original pressings. The changeover took place starting in late 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia1600.html |first1=Randy |last1=Watts |first2=Mike |last2=Callahan |first3=David |last3=Edwards |first4=Patrice |last4=Eyries |date=October 28, 2015 |title=Columbia Album Discography, Part 12 (CL 1600-1699/CS 8400–8499) 1961–1962|website=Both Sides Now Publications|access-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref>

==== CBS Records ====
[[File:CBSRecords.png|thumb|The CBS Records logo used outside of the United States]]
In 1961, CBS ended its arrangement with Philips Records and formed its own international organization, [[CBS Records International]], in 1962. This subsidiary label released Columbia recordings outside the US and Canada on the CBS label (until 1964 marketed by Philips in Britain).<ref name="Inc.1963">{{cite book |title=Billboard|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_eQsEAAAAMBAJ|access-date=July 21, 2013|date=March 16, 1963|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_eQsEAAAAMBAJ/page/n37 40]|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> The recordings could not be released under the Columbia Records name because EMI operated a separate record label by that name, [[Columbia Graphophone Company]], outside North America. This was the result of legal maneuvers which led to the creation of EMI in the early 1930s.

While this happened, starting in late 1961, both the mono and the stereo labels of domestic Columbia releases started carrying a small "CBS" at the top of the label. This was not something that changed at a certain date, but rather, pressing plants were told to use up the stock of old (pre-CBS) labels first, resulting in a mixture of labels for some given releases. Some are known with the CBS text on mono albums, and not on stereo of the same album, and vice versa; diggings brought up pressings with the CBS text on one side and not on the other. Many, but certainly not all, of the early numbers with the "ledge" variation (i.e., no deep groove), had the small "CBS".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia1700.html |first1=Randy |last1=Watts |first2=Mike |last2=Callahan |first3=David |last3=Edwards |first4=Patrice |last4=Eyries |date=October 29, 2015 |title=Columbia Album Discography, Part 13 (CL 1700-1799/CS 8500–8598) 1961–1962|website=Both Sides Now Publications|access-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref> This text would be used on the Columbia labels until June 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia1800.html |date=October 30, 2015 |first1=Randy |last1=Watts |first2=Mike |last2=Callahan |first3=David |last3=Edwards |first4=Patrice |last4=Eyries |title=Columbia Album Discography, Part 14 (CL 1800-1899/CS 8600–8699) 1960–1961 |website=Both Sides Now Publications|access-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref>

Columbia's Mexican unit, Discos Columbia, was renamed Discos CBS.<ref name="Inc.1963"/>

With the formation of CBS Records International, CBS started establishing its own distribution in the early 1960s, beginning in Australia. In 1960 CBS took over its distributor in Australia and New Zealand, the [[Australian Record Company]] (founded in 1936) including [[Coronet Records]], one of the leading Australian independent recording and distribution companies of the day. The CBS Coronet label was replaced by the CBS label with the 'walking eye' logo in 1963. ARC continued trading under that name until the late 1970s when it formally changed its business name to CBS Australia.

==== Mitch Miller on television ====
In 1961, Columbia's music repertoire was given an enormous boost when [[Mitch Miller]], its A&R manager and bandleader, became the host of the variety series ''[[Sing Along with Mitch]]'' on NBC.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128957153 |date=August 3, 2010 |title=Remembering Singing Along With Mitch Miller|work=Talk of the Nation |first1=Jim |last1=Bessman |first2=Tony |last2=Cox |first3=Mitch |last3=Miller |publisher=NPR |access-date=December 26, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171226130426/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128957153|archive-date=December 26, 2017 }}</ref> The show was based on Miller's 'folksy' but appealing 'chorus' style performance of popular standards. During its four-season run, the series promoted Miller's "Singalong" albums, which sold over 20&nbsp;million units, and received a 34% audience share when it was cancelled in 1964.{{sfnp|Dannen|1991|p={{page needed|date=July 2022}}}}

==== Bob Dylan ====
In September 1961, CBS A&R manager [[John Hammond (producer)|John Hammond]] was producing the first Columbia album by folk singer [[Carolyn Hester]], who invited a friend to accompany her on one of the recording sessions. It was here that Hammond first met [[Bob Dylan]], whom he signed to the label, initially as a harmonica player.<ref name="bsn17">{{cite web | last1 = Watts | first1 = Randy | last2 = Callahan|first2=Mike|last3=Edwards|first3=David|last4=Eyries|first4=Patrice|title=Columbia Album Discography, Part 17 (CL 2100-2199/CS 8900–8999) 1963–1964|url=http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia2100.html |date=November 2, 2015 | website=Both Sides Now Publications |access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref> Dylan's self-titled debut album was released in March 1962 and sold only moderately.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/20-things-you-might-not-know-about-bob-dylans-debut-album-764154|title=20 Things You Might Not Know About Bob Dylan's Debut Album – NME|date=March 19, 2013|work=NME|access-date=December 26, 2017}}</ref> Some executives in Columbia dubbed Dylan "Hammond's folly" and suggest that Dylan be dropped from the label.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/50-years-ago-today-bob-dylan-released-his-debut-album-20120319|title=50 Years Ago Today: Bob Dylan Released His Debut Album|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=December 26, 2017}}</ref> But John Hammond and Johnny Cash defended Dylan, who over the next four years became one of Columbia's highest earning acts.

Over the course of the 1960s, Dylan achieved a prominent position in Columbia. His early folk songs were recorded by many acts and became hits for [[Peter, Paul & Mary]] and [[The Turtles]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/6201418/Peter-Paul-and-Mary-Top-songs-of-all-time.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/6201418/Peter-Paul-and-Mary-Top-songs-of-all-time.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Peter, Paul and Mary: Top songs of all time|last=Willis|first=Amy|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=September 17, 2009|access-date=December 26, 2017|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Some of these cover versions became the foundation of the [[folk rock]] genre. The Byrds achieved their pop breakthrough with a version of Dylan's "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]". In 1965, Dylan's controversial decision to [[Electric Dylan controversy|'go electric']] and work with rock musicians divided his audience but catapulted him to greater commercial success with his 1965 hit single "[[Like a Rolling Stone]]". Following his withdrawal from touring in 1966, Dylan recorded a large group of songs with his backing group [[The Band]] which reached other artists as 'demo recordings'. These resulted in hits by [[Manfred Mann]] ("[[Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)|The Mighty Quinn]]") and [[Brian Auger]], [[Julie Driscoll]] & Trinity ("[[This Wheel's On Fire]]"). Dylan's late 1960s albums ''[[John Wesley Harding]]'' and ''[[Nashville Skyline]]'' became cornerstone recordings of the emergent [[country rock]] genre and influenced The Byrds and [[The Flying Burrito Brothers]].

==== Rock and roll ====
When the [[British Invasion]] arrived in January 1964, Columbia had no rock musicians on its roster except for [[Dion DiMucci|Dion]], who was signed in 1963 as the label's first major rock star, and [[Paul Revere & the Raiders]] who were also signed in 1963. The label released a [[merseybeat]] album, ''The Exciting New Liverpool Sound'' (Columbia CL-2172, issued in mono only). [[Terry Melcher]], son of Doris Day, produced the hard driving "[[Don't Make My Baby Blue]]" for Frankie Laine, who had gone six years without a hit record. The song reached No. 51 on the pop chart and No. 17 on the easy listening chart.<ref name="bsn17"/>

Melcher and [[Bruce Johnston]] discovered and brought to Columbia [[the Rip Chords]], a vocal group consisting of Ernie Bringas and Phil Stewart, and turned it into a rock group through production techniques. The group had hits in "Here I Stand", a remake of the song by [[Wade Flemons]], and "[[Hey Little Cobra]]".<ref name="bsn17"/> Columbia saw the two recordings as a start to getting into rock and roll. Melcher and Johnston recorded several additional singles for Columbia in 1964 as "[[Bruce & Terry]]" and later as "The Rogues". Melcher produced early albums by [[the Byrds]] and Paul Revere & the Raiders for Columbia while Johnston produced [[the Beach Boys]] for [[Capitol 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}}

==== Simon & Garfunkel ====
Arguably the most commercially successful Columbia pop act of this period, other than Bob Dylan, was Simon & Garfunkel. The duo scored a surprise No. 1 hit in 1965 when Columbia producer [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]], inspired by the folk-rock experiments of Dylan, The Byrds and others, added drums and bass to the duo's earlier recording of "[[The Sound of Silence]]" without their knowledge or approval. Indeed, the duo had already broken up some months earlier, discouraged by the poor sales of their debut LP, and [[Paul Simon]] had relocated to the UK, where he only found out about the single being a hit via the music press. The dramatic success of the song prompted Simon to return to the US; the duo reformed, and they soon became one of the flagship acts of the [[folk-rock]] boom of the mid-1960s. Their next album, ''[[Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme]]'', went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' album chart. The duo subsequently had a Top 20 single, "[[A Hazy Shade of Winter]]", but progress slowed during 1966–67 as Simon struggled with writer's block and the demands of constant touring. They shot back to the top in 1968 after Simon agreed to write songs for the [[Mike Nichols]] film ''[[The Graduate]]''. The resulting single, "[[Mrs. Robinson]]", became a smash hit. Both ''The Graduate'' soundtrack and Simon & Garfunkel's next studio album, ''[[Bookends (album)|Bookends]]'', were major hits on the album chart, with combined total sales in excess of five million copies. Simon and Garfunkel's fifth and final studio album, ''[[Bridge over Troubled Water]]'' (1970), reached number one in the US album charts in January 1970 and became one of the most successful albums of all time.<ref name="bridge">{{cite web|last1=Eder|first1=Bruce|title=Bridge Over Troubled Water|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bridge-over-troubled-water-mw0000191730|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 11, 2012}}</ref>

==== Hoyt Axton and Tom Rush ====
Davis lured artists [[Hoyt Axton]] and [[Tom Rush]] to Columbia in 1969, and both were given what was known as "the pop treatment" by the label. Hoyt Axton had been a folk/blues singer-songwriter since the early 1960s, when he made several albums for [[Horizon Records|Horizon]], then [[Vee-Jay Records|Vee-Jay]]. By the time he joined Columbia, he had mixed successful pop songs like "[[Greenback Dollar]]", with hard rock songs for [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]], such as "[[The Pusher]]", which was used in the film ''[[Easy Rider]]'' in the same year. When he landed at Columbia, his album ''My Griffin Is Gone'' was described as "the poster child for 'overproduced,' full of all kinds of instruments and even strings".<ref name="bsn27">{{cite web|last1=Watts|first1=Randy|last2=Callahan|first2=Mike|last3=Edwards|first3=David|last4=Eyries|first4=Patrice|title=Columbia Album Discography, Part 27 (K)CS 9900–9999 (1969–1970)|url=http://bsnpubs.com/columbia/columbia12/columbia3100.html |date=November 10, 2015 |website=Both Sides Now Publications|access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref> After that album, Axton left and joined Capitol Records, where his next albums contained "[[Joy to the World (Three Dog Night song)|Joy to the World]]" and "[[Never Been to Spain]]", which became hits for [[Three Dog Night]] on [[Dunhill Records|Dunhill]]. Axton eventually became a country singer, and founded his own record label, Jeremiah.

Tom Rush had always been the "storyteller" or "balladeer" type of folk artist, before and after his stint with Columbia, to which Rush was lured from [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]. As with Axton, Rush was given "the treatment" on [[Tom Rush (1970 album)|his self-titled Columbia debut]]. The multitude of instruments added to his usual solo guitar were all done "tastefully", of course, but was not really on par with Rush's audience expectations. He commented to record label historian Mike Callahan: {{cquote|Well, when you're in the studio, they bring out all these "sweeteners" and things they have, and while you're there, you say, yeah, that sounds good. But then you get the album home and you almost can't hear yourself under all that.<ref name="bsn27" />}} Eventually, Rush returned to his usual sound (which he applied to his [[Wrong End of the Rainbow|next]] [[Merrimack County (album)|three]] [[Ladies Love Outlaws (Tom Rush album)|albums]] for Columbia) and has been playing to appreciative audiences ever since.