This blog will be a reference and information discography for LP / EP45's and reel to reel releases, for Capitol Records first 25 years, from its' early days from 1942 to 1968 by Label, Title, Number and where available, year of release as well as mono and stereo. I will start with my personal collection and build from there. LP's that were re-released as different titles will also make this survey. I will be cataloging in numerical order, LP's and EP45's (extended play 45's) from 1 to 2999 with letter prefixes for this Capitol discography blog. I am in the process of constructing a page for Capitol Records Discography Part 2 1968 - 1983 and Part 3 Special Markets and the 16000 reissue series. I will post these pages soon.
The Disclaimer Note. I will not be listing every LP that was ever pressed (The thought would be nice). THE PASSAGE OF TIME HAS MADE LOCATING AND CONFIRMING SOME EARLY TITLES A CHALLENGE. This will in no way be a complete survey as there are LP's that never made any music charts or record collectors catalogs. IMPORT TITLES WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THIS REFERENCE DISCOGRAPHY. This is mainly as I just stated for reference and information purposes. If you would like more information on this blog, please post a note. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Please be patient. Also, I am not affiliated with Capitol, EMI or any record label or it's subsidiaries. I do not own a record store(although the thought has crossed my mind for the last 20 years). I am doing this for fun and because I love music. I will list a handful of LP's that were Budget reissues, mainly from my personal collection. These Reissue titles in some cases were an abridged version of the original album, and will be referenced in another survey blog.
If you live in the Chicago Metro Area here is a link to the Chicagoland Record Collectors Show at http://www.chicagorecordcollectors.com/
A Brief History Of Capitol Records.
Founded in 1942 by Glenn Wallachs, Johnny Mercer and Buddy DeSylva. The tower at Hollywood and Vine, built in 1955 was nicknamed "The House that Nat (Nat King Cole) built". Some Early Artists besides Nat, were Johnny Mercer, Stan Kenton, Peggy Lee, Mel Blanc, Jerry Lewis, Jackie Gleason, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Four Freshman, The Kingston Trio, The Letterman, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and the list goes on and on.
Between 1944 and 1948, Capitol would bundle 3 or 4 two sided 78's and released them as 78 RPM album sets that used 2 letter prefixes. These were numbered 1 to approx 100.
10" LP’S issued between 1949 - 1955 were assigned an "H","L" or “S” prefix and those were numbered low 100's to the mid 500's. 10" LP'S issued with a L prefix were sometimes reissued with the "H" prefix and vice-versa. Extended Play 45's and Gatefold EP45’S used a three letter prefix beginning with "E".
Early 12” Records between 1950-1954 were issued with a “P” prefix. Capitol also combined two 10” albums into one long playing record. Some of these titles were later reissued with a “T” or “W” prefix as a single LP dropping the second title.
In 1955, most 10" LP releases were reissued as 12" LP's with additional tracks. I will list these 12" reissued titles with their respective T or W prefix in parentheses next to the original prefix. Some of those 12” mono reissues were released as a Duophonic LP (explained below), with a different title and / or catalog number. For the purpose of this blog, on various 10” LP’S, I will have the ‘D‘ prefix listed to the right of the T or W prefix to show the different ways the album was issued.
12" LP's used either "T" or "W" with and numbered with mid 500's and on. Gatefold Cover LP’S, Soundtracks and Box Sets had additional letters in their prefixing. Capitol issued many early LP albums as EP45's in parts. Some EP45 releases were assigned the next number in line. Stereo issued LP's simply had an S in front of the prefixing. Some early Stereo LP's were also reissued with a different catalog number and title. I will note those some of those albums that were re-released.
Capitol also released a series of International Records during the 1950's starting with the number 10001. I will also list some of those titles for reference purposes. I do not have a year of release for this series. A side note, Capitol's Classical division had it's own numbering system utilizing the 8000 series and 30000 series for the Angel Label for those releases.
My sources for this survey come from the following:
My Personal Album and EP Collection
Many Capitol Inner LP Sleeves which also listed other titles available
A Capitol Records Catalog, Nov. 1963 pre Beatles Era (Note: Many Titles were out of print in this edition.)
A 1954 Capitol Records Catalog. (didn’t have all the early numbers, but a great find)
Capitol Stereo Tape Checklists that often came with pre-recorded reels. After Sept 1966, I cannot confirm titles that were released on reel. When I have confirmed info, I will update.
Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records by Tim Neely 5th Edition (Many errors and omissions, still a great reference guide)
Respective Artists Websites (those that do exist who list LP titles, not CD releases) and EBAY
And the many people who have so far contributed to this page.
In the early 1960's Capitol, like the other record labels began reissuing mono recordings in a process where the "highs"(treble)were heard on one speaker and the "lows" (bass) were heard on the other speaker. Columbia Records called it "Electronically Re channeled Stereo". RCA called it "Stereo Effect Reprocessed from Monophonic". Capitol called it "Duophonic Stereo". Capitol Duophonic Albums have a "D" prefix in front of the mono prefix and is listed in parenthesis's in this listing. This format enabled these Capitol titles to be played on a Stereo Phonograph since the original mono grooves were cut at a 90 degree angle where Stereo Records were cut at a 45 degree angle. Playing Stereo records of that time on a mono turntable would damage the record.
Also there were albums released as Duophonic during the 1960's. One example, The Beach Boys. Some albums were recorded in True Stereo and some were only in mono and released in Duophonic. Some Titles with the "Greatest Hits" or "The Best Of" that were Stereo Releases had Duophonic sound on some tracks and vice-versa. Example. (D)T-2601 / Martin, Dean / The Best Of Dean Martin / 1966. 4 tracks are True Stereo and the other 8 mono are released in Duophonic.
Pre-recorded 7" reel to reels beginning in 1957 were assigned a "Z" prefix and were released at 7 ½ I.P.S.(inches per second). The early 2 Track Stereo Tapes were numbered from 1 to 100(to be catalogued in a separate listing). 4-Track Stereo tapes corresponded with the same catalog number as the LP. Note, most LP releases were not issued on reel. I will list the tape prefix next to the LP Prefix (Example ST-( Z )1793 Cole, Nat King / Ramblin' Rose / 1962)
In 1965 Capitol began releasing 2 albums on 1 Pre-recorded Reel to Reel Tape at 3 ¾ IPS(inches per second) as opposed to the better quality speed of 7 ½ IPS. Those tape releases were assigned the prefix "Y2T" or "Y2W", as well as the next number in line. I have to this day not seen double LP issues of the tape releases, except on 8-track. Those numbers will be listed in this survey.
Many reels first issued at 7 ½ IPS were later re-released with a "Y1T" prefix at 3 ¾ IPS. There were also a handful of 5" pre-recorded reel to reels released with a "Y' prefix at 3 ¾ I.P.S. with one exception. Meet The Beatles; Z2-2047 & Z4-2047. This tape was issued as a 2-track mono, known as twin track, as well as a 4-track stereo tape at 3 ¾ I.P.S . Note: I will not be listing Capitol Reels issued by AMPEX, which assigned an “L” or “X” prefix, as well as Capitol’s LP catalog number. I have no catalog source to confirm actual titles released. Only exception I make is for all Beatles Albums were released on AMPEX at 7 ½ I.P.S. and a handful of other titles.
Some codes for your reference
*First Reissue (If available, of actual album #, unless otherwise noted)
**Second Reissue (Abridged in some cases)
The Survey will be listed by Label, Prefix, Number, Artist (s), Title and Year Of Release
THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION. COMPILING THIS LIST WILL TAKE TIME. SOME TITLES ARE POSTED. CLICK ON THE "CAPITOL RECORDS DISCOGRAPHY (SO FAR)" LINK
Last Updated 06/19/2009
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