mentions:
The Skatt Brothers - Disco Daze
Showing posts with label Casablanca Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casablanca Records. Show all posts
July 22, 2024
December 31, 2022
Buddy Miles articles/mentions
March 1, 2021
May 5, 2020
Meco (Domenico Monardo) articles/mentions
June 22, 2019
Giorgio Moroder articles/mentions
~
Berlin & Top Gun @ 30
John Heard & Cat People
DAF ~ Alles Ist Gut
Giorgio Moroder
date & photographer unknown
April 19, 2019
Disco Daze articles
~ A. R. Costandinos ~ Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Patrick Gleeson ~ Star Wars
Günther, Louis and Zach ~ Ding Dong Song
The Latin Rascals ~ 12" of Macho Mozart
Skatt Brothers ~ Don't Be Cruel
February 14, 2018
Casablanca Records ~ Disco Daze 3
Casablanca record sleeve
photo by Styrous®
Casablanca Records was an American recording label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. It was
founded in 1973 by former Buddah Records executive Neil Bogart, who named the label in homage to the classic film, Casablanca, and was based in Los Angeles in Southern California, The label became most successful as a disco label in the 1970s and
currently operates as an electronic dance music label under the
direction of Tommy Mottola.
The Casablanca Label launched the careers of KISS, Donna Summer*†, Meco*†, Parliament, The Funkadelics*†, Angel and the Village People. It also recorded Cher, The Sylvers, Buddy Miles, Giorgio Moroder*†, Santa Esmeralda*† and many others.
Kiss was the first group to be signed by Casablanca. It released three albums by the group: Kiss (1974), Hotter Than Hell (1974), and Dressed to Kill (1975), but all failed to make an impact on the charts, however, the glam rock band did amass a following. However, it was NOT a disco album.
Although the band's studio albums had not been strong sellers, the band had a reputation for performing exciting live shows. Casablanca decided to try to capitalize on that reputation by releasing the double-live Alive! (1975) album. It became both Casablanca's and Kiss's first top ten album, being certified gold.
vinyl LP cover
cover photo by Joel Brodsky
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Although the band's studio albums had not been strong sellers, the band had a reputation for performing exciting live shows. Casablanca decided to try to capitalize on that reputation by releasing the double-live Alive! (1975) album. It became both Casablanca's and Kiss's first top ten album, being certified gold.
The Kiss follow-up studio albums to Alive! were better sellers than its previous studio albums. Destroyer (1976), Rock and Roll Over (1976), and Love Gun
(1977) were all certified platinum in the United States. The band would
release several more albums, with its last studio album on Casablanca
being Creatures of the Night (1982).
In 1975, Casablanca signed a new artist named Donna Summer and released her album entitled Love to Love You Baby which was certified gold. I will never forget this song; it was my introduction to the world of DISCO!
The title song, written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, is over 17 minutes long, and Casablanca released the song in
its entirety as a single (a shorter version was also promoted for
radio). In releasing the 17 minute version as a single, Casablanca would
help make popular a format that would become known as the 12 inch.
The song, featured Summer seductively moaning and groaning, it was banned by some American radio stations (as it was in Europe)
but made its way to #2 on the US Hot 100. Summer had several gold and platinum albums on Casablanca from 1975–1979, and
became the label's most successful act on the singles chart. At one
point, she scored eight US top 5 singles within a 19-month period.
Summer had 10 gold singles (1 million), 2 went platinum (2 million) and a
gold maxi-single while with Casablanca.
In 1979 Lipps Inc., with Steven Greenberg as writer, producer, and musician, and Cynthia Johnson on lead vocals, signed with Casablanca. Soon the single Rock It was released, followed by the album Mouth to Mouth. The album included the #1 smash hit Funkytown. A totally bubble-gum tune, it's one of my all-time favorite hits.
Lipps Inc. - Mouth To Mouth
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Parliament with group leader George Clinton was signed to the Casablanca label in late 1973.
Their first official release for the label was in 1974 with the album Up for the Down Stroke.
The title song from the album gave Parliament its first top ten R&B hit. Their next album, Chocolate City sold approximately 150,000 albums in the Washington, D.C. area alone. But it would be their next release, Mothership Connection,
that would give the group its first gold and, eventually, platinum
album. Parliament would achieve either gold or platinum status with each
album release up until 1980, as well as scoring hit singles with Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker), Flash Light (Casablanca's first R&B #1 hit) and Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop). The success of Parliament allowed George Clinton to develop another P-Funk spin off act known as Parlet.
vinyl LP cover
cover photo by Leandro Correa
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Casablanca also financed the various extravagant P-Funk stage shows, including the "Mothership Connection/P-Funk Earth Tour" of 1976-77; as well as the Motor Booty Affair underwater tour of 1979. Parliament were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Parliament also gave Casablanca Records a much needed presence in the R&B/Soul market.
The Casablanca film division produced the films, The Deep, Midnight Express*†, Foxes and The Hollywood Knights. Casablanca Records was purchased by PolyGram after which the label went into decline. Visit the Casablanca website to see more Casablanca Records videos. Be warned, however, it takes forever to get the pages to open.
KISS
Record Labels
Santa Esmeralda
Donna Summer
Village People
Net links:
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, February 14, 2018
KISS articles/mentions
Santa Esmeralda articles/mentions
Santa Esmeralda is a U.S./French Disco group[1] formed in the 1970s; perhaps best known for their hit disco remakes of the 1960s hits "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "House of the Rising Sun".
Viewfinder links:
Eric Burdon & The Animals
The Skatt Brothers - Disco Daze
Santa Esmeralda - 1977
press photo
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