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Apple Records
Apple Records is a British record label which was founded in 1968 (as a division of Apple Corps Ltd.) by The Beatles. Earlier Beatles albums had been released on Parlophone in England, and Capitol Records (or United Artists Records) in the US. 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, though issuing them under the Apple label. The label became successful, surviving the breakup of the Beatles in 1970, and was resurrected in the late 1980s, for use on all Beatles CDs. Apple Records owns the right to all of the Beatle videos and movie clips.
This venture was reportedly due to the Beatles' need to invest money as a tax shelter. The British tax laws at the time were regarded by many as draconian. When George Harrison sang in his song "Taxman", "There's one for you, nineteen for me", (referring to shillings in the pound) he was not kidding. That was the exact amount they retained after taxes – five per cent. As George added, "Should five per cent appear too small, be thankful I don't take it all."
The first group to have a record released on the label (a 45rpm single titled "Dear Delilah") was called Grapefruit. The recording sessions were done in London in late 1967, and the producer was the American Terry Melcher of Byrds fame. Terry Doran, who was the director of Apple Publishing, helped to put the group together and his assistant Derek Lepper became the group's road manager.
During the 1974 proceedings dissolving the Beatles as an entity, a court ruling decreed that eighty per cent of all profits from Beatles albums (as a group) would accrue to Apple Records, and five per cent 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.
Apple Corps has had a long history of trademark disputes with Apple Computer, and (as of 2005) the two companies are still involved in litigation.
Apple Records - Releases on the Apple label
The first LP release from Apple Records (also the first "solo" album by a Beatle) was George Harrison's Wonderwall Music, his soundtrack recordings for the movie Wonderwall, on November 1, 1968. Shortly afterward came the Two Virgins album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released on November 11. (Both EMI and Capitol Records refused distribution, because John and Yoko were shown naked on the cover; the album was licensed to Track Records in the UK and Tetragrammaton Records in the US.) Two Virgins was closely followed by the first Beatles album released on the label, titled The Beatles but more commonly known as the White Album, appearing on November 25.
Some other Beatles albums released on the Apple label included:
- Yellow Submarine
- Abbey Road
- Let It Be
- Hey Jude
- 1962–1966
- 1967–1970
The label also released singles, the most successful (non-Beatle) of which was Mary Hopkin's "Those Were the Days", which was released in four languages.
List of Apple Records singles as released in the US, List of record labels
Apple Records - Artists recorded on Apple Records
Apple Records - Members of the Beatles and their bands
- The Beatles
- John Lennon
- Plastic Ono Band
- Paul McCartney
- Wings (band)
- George Harrison
- Ringo Starr
Apple Records - Other artists
- Badfinger (originally recorded as The Iveys)
- Black Dyke Mills Band, under the name John Foster & Sons Ltd. Black Dyke Mill Band, performing "Yellow Submarine"
- Elastic Oz Band (a one-shot single, "God Save Us", produced by Lennon and Ono on behalf of Oz magazine)
- Grapefruit
- Jimmy Cliff
- Mary Hopkin
- Jackie Lomax
- Modern Jazz Quartet
- David Peel and the Lower East Side
- Billy Preston
- Ravi Shankar
- Ronnie Spector
- John Tavener
- James Taylor
- Elephant's Memory (also served as the Plastic Ono Band during Lennon's stay in NYC)
- Chris Hodge
- Hot Chocolate
- Radha Krishna Temple
- The Sundown Playboys
- Trash (aka White Trash; their name was softened for the record market)
- Doris Troy
- Lon and Derek Van Eaton
Apple Records - Other labels with similar names
Many record labels have had similar names to Apple Records through the years, including:
- Bad Apple Records
- Big Apple Records
- Black Apple Records
- Crab Apple Records
- Mountain Apple Records
- Screaming Apple Records
- Zapple Records
See also
- List of Apple Records singles as released in the US
- List of record labels
Apple Records - External link
Categories: The Beatles | British record labels | 1968 establishments
Other related archives1962–1966, 1967–1970, 1968, 1968 establishments, 1970, 1974, 1984, Abbey Road, Apple Computer, Apple Corps Ltd., Badfinger, Billy Preston, Black Dyke Mills Band, British, British record labels, Byrds, Capitol Records, David Peel, Doris Troy, Elastic Oz Band, Elephant's Memory, George Harrison, Grapefruit, Hey Jude, Hot Chocolate, James Taylor, Jimmy Cliff, John Lennon, John Tavener, Let It Be, List of Apple Records singles as released in the US, List of record labels, Mary Hopkin, Modern Jazz Quartet, November 1, November 11, November 25, Oz, Parlophone, Paul McCartney, Plastic Ono Band, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Spector, Terry Melcher, Tetragrammaton Records, The Beatles, The Iveys, Track Records, Trash, Two Virgins, US, United Artists Records, White Album, White Trash, Wings (band), Wonderwall, Wonderwall Music, Yellow Submarine, Yoko Ono, Zapple Records, as of 2005, draconian, pound, recording deal, shillings, single
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Apple Records", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
