Everything about Casablanca Records totally explained
» This article is about Casablanca, the record label. For other uses please see Casablanca (disambiguation).
Casablanca Records is a
record label which was started by
Neil Bogart, who partnered with
Cecil Holmes,
Larry Harris and
Buck Reingold, in
1973 after all of them left
Buddah Records. The label released hits by
Donna Summer,
Brooklyn Dreams,
KISS,
Santa Esmeralda,
Cher,
Captain & Tennille,
Angel,
Fanny,
The Sylvers,
Cameo,
The Hudson Brothers,
The Village People, and
Parliament featuring
George Clinton. The label's film division, Casablanca Filmworks, had hits with
The Deep and
Midnight Express. PolyGram acquired a 50 percent stake of Casablanca in
1977 for $15 million; however, in 1980 Polygram pushed Bogart out due to accounting irregularities and poor label performance. Afterwards, the label had hits with
Lipps Inc and
Irene Cara. The label was shut down in
1984.
In
2000, the name was revived for a joint venture between
Universal Music Group and
Tommy Mottola. In a
Billboard article
, Mottola said that he chose the name as an homage to the original label, but that there was no direct connection between the old and new labels. Casablanca is now a part of
Universal Motown Records Group.
History
In 1973
Neil Bogart formed Casablanca Records with money
Warner Brothers put up. Originally he wanted to call the label
Emerald City after the city in
The Wizard of Oz, but since Warner owned the rights to the movie
Casablanca, it was easier to get the rights to use that name, and much better for promotions (especially since he shared a surname with
Humphrey Bogart, a star of the movie). Neil Bogart's first big signing was the rock group
KISS.
The independent label was put in a tenuous financial situation due to the release of a two-record set of audio highlights from
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,
Here's Johnny: Magic Moments from The Tonight Show, in
November 1974. The album was overpressed, and returns from retailers were high. KISS's breakthrough live album,
Alive!, although rumored to have been heavily overdubbed in the studio, was produced with a minimum amount of post-production due to lack of budget.
The label became very popular in the disco business, thanks to Donna Summer, who Bogart gambled with to save his record label. Warner Brothers and Bogart would have a tempestuous relationship as Bogart wanted more freedom to release records whenever he wanted and not according to a timetable, as was the case of the major labels. Bogart and Warner came to an agreement that Bogart on a monthly basis would pay back the money Warner had put into the company, which he did. After the split with Warner, the Casablanca office was moved to Sunset Boulevard in the former Gold Star Studios, where
Herb Alpert recorded many of his early albums. Casablanca's office was soon modeled after the movie set of the same name.
The label was infamous for providing illegal drugs, prostitutes, and other questionable
perquisites as incentives for some acts to sign up. Casablanca's rise and fall were both dramatic; the rise came after the success of
Saturday Night Fever and the fall came soon after the movie disappointment
Thank God It's Friday and
Donna Summer's exit for
Geffen Records. With only veteran acts like KISS and
Parliament on his roster, Bogart still was able to negotiate a lopsided acquisition deal with
Polygram for his remaining share right before the label's cash-flow problems peaked in
1979. He used the money to start an independent label,
Boardwalk Records, and sign
Joan Jett, but that label vanished soon after his death from
cancer in
1982.
Casablanca's only notable releases after 1979 were the
Robin Williams debut comedy LP
Reality, What A Concept! (
1981) and the soundtrack to
Flashdance (
1983).
2000 Relaunch
Mottola's re-launch was intended to be started with a girl-group, first known as
iNK, but later changing its name to
NSS(Not So Sweet)16. The group's original makeup was composed of Timna Perez and Alicia Respicio as well as Brittany King and Karla Murphy. Soon, however, Perez left the group, which prompted them to add Hannukkah Zertuche to fill in for the Latina component. A little while after that, due to some family issues King had to leave the group also, which prompted them to replace her with Jasmine Heriman. Soon afterwards, they recorded their debut single, "Oopdeewopdee", written by
Greg Lawson, and Michael Anthony and featuring
David Banner. Due to internal problems the group disbanded. The website however is still active, at
www.nss16.com and the "Oopdeewopdee" video can currently be seen on YouTube.
Mottola's all-female roster was reminiscent of the original Casablanca's Dreamland imprint from
1978-79.
Mottola's label has once again become dormant due to main acts
Brie Larson and
Lindsay Lohan moving on to other labels within the Universal family. The current site is
still active, but the site hasn't been updated since
2005.
Releases
Current artists
Tamar Braxton
Cory Gunz
Mika
Ryan Leslie (NextSelection/Casablanca/Universal Records)
Past artists
Captain & Tennille 1980
Irene Cara
Cher 1979-1980
Cameo
Mac Davis
Brooklyn Dreams
Fanny
Hudson Brothers
KISS 1973-1982 (Moved to Mercury Records)
T.Rex 1974
Brie Larson 2004-2006 (Moved to Universal Music)
Ryan Leslie
Lipps Inc
Lindsay Lohan 2004-2006 (Moved To Motown Records)
Love & Kisses
Meco
Buddy Miles
Stephanie Mills 1983-1984
Parlet
Parliament
Larry Santos
Stallion
Santa Esmeralda
Donna Summer
Village People
Robin Williams
Pattie Brooks
Angel
Teri Desario
MantraFurther Information
Get more info on 'Casablanca Records'.
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