Everything about Apple Records totally explained
Apple Records is a record label founded by
The Beatles in 1968 as a division of
Apple Corps Ltd..
EMI and
Capitol Records agreed to distribute Apple Records until 1975. Apple owned the rights to records by artists they signed, while EMI retained ownership of the Beatles' records and solo Beatles.
In addition to releasing the work of the Beatles and the individual members (
John Lennon,
Paul McCartney,
George Harrison, and
Ringo Starr), Apple signed other artists, mostly brought in from individual Beatles who sometimes wrote material or produced their recordings.
Allen Klein ran the label in 1969, keeping some artists while dropping others. It was then run by
Neil Aspinall on behalf of the four Beatles and their heirs. He retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones.
History
Apple Records was founded in 1968 as part of the Beatles'
Apple Corps project. At this time, the Beatles were contracted to
Parlophone in the
United Kingdom and
Capitol Records in the
United States. In a new
recording deal, EMI and Capitol agreed to distribute Apple Records until 1975. Apple owned the rights to records by artists they signed, while EMI retained ownership of the Beatles' records, issuing them on the Apple label but with Parlophone R-prefixed catalogue numbers. Apple Records owns the rights to all of the Beatles' videos and movie clips.
Lennon was introduced to
Allen Klein through
Mick Jagger, as Klein was managing
The Rolling Stones at the time. Klein went on to manage Apple.
During the 1974 proceedings dissolving the Beatles as an entity, a court ruling decreed that eighty percent of all profits from Beatles albums (as a group) would accrue to Apple Records, and five percent would go to each of the four members. The label consistently made a profit through 1984, mostly through continued issues of old Beatles records, then lost money for several years.
Standard Apple album and single labels displayed a bright green
Granny Smith apple on the A-side, while the flipside displayed the apple cut in half. The bright green apple returned for Beatles
CDs releases in the 1990s, following initial CD releases on
Parlophone.
Original U.K. versions of all standard Beatles albums were released worldwide on CD in 1987 on the Parlophone label with no Apple logo, even including albums originally released on Apple. Previously, "Abbey Road" had been issued on CD by the EMI-Odeon label in Japan in the early 1980s. Although this was a legitimate release, it wasn't authorized by the Beatles, the main EMI company or Apple Corps. As a result, very few were made. It wasn't until the
BBC sessions and the Anthology series that Apple labels started appearing on the CDs. Subsequent releases have either been the familiar Apple label or at least had the Apple logo.
In 2006 the label was again newsworthy, as the long-running dispute between Apple Records' parent company and
Apple Inc. went to the High Court (see
Apple Corps v Apple Computer). In 2007, the company settled a dispute with
EMI over royalties, and announced that long term chief executive
Neil Aspinall had retired and been replaced by American music industry executive
Jeff Jones. These changes lead to speculation that the Apple Records catalogue — and most importantly
The Beatles discography — would soon appear on Apple Inc.'s
iTunes online music store, and that a remastering and reissue program of The Beatles' CDs might be forthcoming (Jones having worked on reissues at Sony). Brautigan's record was eventually released as
Listening To Richard Brautigan on
Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Apple distributor EMI, in the US only.
Artists who recorded for Apple Records
Artists who went on to have some considerable success (though in some cases, for their post-Apple work) include
Badfinger (then known as The Iveys),
James Taylor,
Mary Hopkin,
Hot Chocolate,
Yoko Ono and
Billy Preston.
Artists who were to appear on the label, but didn't make it, include:
- McGough and McGear, whose self-titled album was due to be released on Apple, but it was released on Parlophone Records, to which both were signed, as members of The Scaffold;
- Grapefruit, whose single "Dear Delilah" was issued on RCA Records with Apple Records publishing credit;
- Delaney and Bonnie's Accept No Substitute album was originally meant to be released on Apple in 1969; it was originally commercially released on Elektra Records the same year.
- Slow Dog (Wheels) who were a Cambridge based rock band headed up by Scottish singer/guitarist Dave Kelly. They were the winners of the Apple Records sponsored national talent contest early 1969, organized by Apple A & R head Peter Asher prior to his departure for the USA. The winner of the talent contest was promised a record contract with Apple Records, but the band only recorded demo tracks, due to Asher's departure. On the recommendation from Beatles' roadie Mal Evans, however, Warner Brothers Records in London, headed up by Ian Ralfini, signed them to a record contract, changing their name to Wheels.
- See also Zapple Records section for cancelled releases.
Members of the Beatles and their bands
The Beatles
John Lennon
Plastic Ono Band
Paul McCartney
Wings
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Other artists and their Beatle connections
Badfinger (originally as The Iveys) - Signed to Apple after several demo tapes were brought in by Mal Evans, after getting approval from McCartney, Harrison and Lennon.
Black Dyke Mills Band (as John Foster & Sons Ltd. Black Dyke Mills Band) - Paul McCartney employed them for the one-off "Thingummybob" / "Yellow Submarine" single which he recorded on location near Bradford.
Brute Force - George Harrison attempted to have their single, "The King of Fuh" released through Apple. EMI refused to handle it due to its references to "the Fuh king". Apple manufactured a small number of promotional copies.
Elastic Oz Band - A one-off single, "God Save Us", was written and produced by John Lennon and Yoko Ono to raise money for a legal battle involving Oz magazine. The A-side of the single was sung by Bill Elliott, later of George Harrison's Dark Horse Records signing Splinter.
Elephant's Memory - Recruited as backing band for John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and also released material separately.
Chris Hodge - Discovered by Ringo Starr; they shared an interest in UFOs.
Mary Hopkin - Early recordings produced by Paul McCartney, including the Lennon-McCartney original "Goodbye" and her hit recording of "Those Were the Days".
Hot Chocolate (as Hot Chocolate Band) - Released one single, "Give Peace A Chance" after John Lennon heard and liked it. Their post-Apple releases as Hot Chocolate were more commercially successful.
Jackie Lomax - Liverpudlian singer known via his Brian Epstein connections, he recorded with Harrison, McCartney and Starr at various times. His first single "Sour Milk Sea" features all three and was written by Harrison.
Modern Jazz Quartet - Associated with Yoko Ono.
Yoko Ono - Recorded extensively with John Lennon and released several singles and albums herself, with Lennon usually performing, and directing the band.
David Peel and the Lower East Side - Political folk singer brought to the label by John Lennon.
Billy Preston - Brought in to work with the Beatles in January 1969 on their "Get Back" / "Let It Be" sessions, and signed as a solo artist. George Harrison worked on some of Preston's recordings.
Radha Krishna Temple, the London Hare Krishna temple - George Harrison brought them to the label and produced them.
Ravi Shankar (with Ali Akbar Khan) - George Harrison brought him to the label.
Ronnie Spector - Married to Phil Spector, who separately worked with the Beatles and solo Beatles around 1970. George Harrison and John Lennon appear on her only Apple single "Try Some Buy Some".
The Sundown Playboys - A French-language cajun band from Louisiana. A pre-existing single was brought to the label by Ringo Starr.
John Tavener - A classical composer. His brother, a builder, worked on Ringo Starr's house, and Starr took interest in Tavener.
James Taylor - Recorded with Paul McCartney, who appears on the Apple LP which launched his career.
Trash (originally White Trash) - Brought to Apple by Tony Meehan, formerly of the Shadows. Their second single was a cover of "Golden Slumbers".
Doris Troy - An American soul artist since the early 1960s, who worked with George Harrison and Billy Preston while signed to Apple.
Lon and Derek Van Eaton - Brought in during 1970s by George Harrison, who worked on their Apple album.
Also released were the soundtracks to Come Together and El Topo (in the U.S.), the Son of Dracula soundtrack (on Rapple), the onetime Philles Records compilation Phil Spector's Christmas Album and the multi-artist The Concert for Bangla Desh. Cassette and 8-track tape versions of Bangla Desh were marketed by Columbia Records, in a deal that permitted the inclusion of Bob Dylan, a Columbia artist, on the album.
Discography
Further Information
Get more info on 'Apple Records'.
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