Reprise Records is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

founded in 1960 by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

. It is owned by

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

, and operates through

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

, Michael Bublé,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

, Deftones,

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of the ...

, Lindsey Buckingham, Josh Groban, Disturbed, Idina Menzel,

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

, Gerard Way,

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

, Dwight Yoakam, and

Never Shout Never Never Shout Never (originally typeset as nevershoutnever! and NeverShoutNever!) is an American rock band formed in Joplin, Missouri in 2007. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Christofer Drew began the band as a solo project before expanding it ...

Company history

Beginnings

Reprise Records was formed in 1960 by Frank Sinatra in order to allow more artistic freedom for his own recordings. Soon thereafter, he garnered the nickname "The Chairman of the Board". Because of dissatisfaction with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

, and after trying to buy Norman Granz's

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

, the first album Sinatra released on Reprise was ''

Ring-a-Ding-Ding! ''Ring-a-Ding-Ding!'' is a 1961 album by Frank Sinatra. It was the inaugural record on Sinatra's Reprise label and, as the initial concept was "an album without ballads", it consisted only of uptempo swing numbers. The title track was written ...

'' As CEO of Reprise, Sinatra recruited several artists for the fledgling label, such as fellow

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

members

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and Sammy Davis, Jr. The original roster from 1961 to 1963 included

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, Jo Stafford,

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song " Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano" ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

, Nancy Sinatra, Esquivel and stand-up comedian

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...

. The original Reprise LP label had four different logos, depending on the genre: a steamship for Pop records (pictured), a cherub for Jazz records, an owl for Spoken Word/Comedy records, and a picture of Sinatra for his records. One of the label's founding principles under Sinatra's leadership was that each artist would have full creative freedom, and at some point complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights. This is the reason why recordings of early Reprise artists (Dean Martin,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, the Kinks, etc.) are (in most cases) currently distributed through other labels. In Martin's case, his Reprise recordings were out of print for nearly 20 years before a deal was struck with

. Reprise continued to reissue the Sinatra catalog until 2013 when it was sold to Capitol.

Sale to Warner Bros.

In August 1963, as part of a film deal, Warner Bros. purchased Reprise (which had been losing money) from Frank Sinatra, who nonetheless retained a 1/3 interest in the label. Many of the older artists on the label were dropped by Warner Bros. Records. Reprise president Mo Ostin was retained as the head of the label and he went on to play a very significant role in the history of the Warner group of labels over the next four decades. Warner-Reprise executives began targeting younger acts, beginning by securing the American distribution rights to the Pye Records recordings by the Kinks in 1964. Reprise soon added teen-oriented pop acts like Dino, Desi & Billy to the roster. As well, Sinatra's own daughter Nancy (who began recording for the label in 1961) was retained by Ostin, becoming a major pop star from late 1965. The label moved almost exclusively to rock-oriented music in the late 1960s, although Frank Sinatra continued to record for the label until the 1980s. Through direct signings or distribution deals, by the 1970s the Reprise roster grew to include Lee Hazlewood, Jill Jackson,

, the early

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...

recordings,

, the Electric Prunes, Donna Loren, Arlo Guthrie, Norman Greenbaum, Tom Lehrer, Tiny Tim,

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, a ...

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

, John Sebastian,

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, the early 1970s recordings by

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...

and the Mothers, Gram Parsons,

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

, Nico's ''

Desertshore ''Desertshore'' is the third studio album by German musician Nico. It was released in December 1970 on the Reprise label. Recording ''Desertshore'' was co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd. Unlike its predecessor ''The Marble Index'' it incorp ...

'',

the Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. K ...

, Jethro Tull, Pentangle, T. Rex, the Meters,

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1 ...

, Michael Franks, Richard Pryor,

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

, Fanny, and

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

Dormancy

In 1976, the Reprise label was deactivated by Warner Bros. and all of its roster (except Frank Sinatra and Neil Young) was moved to the main Warner Bros. label. Although older catalog albums continued to be manufactured with the Reprise logo, and albums by

Brother Records Brother Records, Inc. (BRI) is an American holding company and record label established in 1966 that owns the intellectual property rights of the Beach Boys, including "The Beach Boys" trademark. It was founded by brothers Brian, Carl and Den ...

were issued in the Reprise catalog numbering sequence, aside from Sinatra and Young (and the

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''No Trees in the Street'' (1959), ''Victim'' (1961), and ''The Tamari ...

album '' Syms by Sinatra'', which Sinatra conducted and co-produced) there were no new releases on Reprise for several years.

Revival and Reprise today (1985–present)

In late 1985, some copies of the Dream Academy's hit single " Life in a Northern Town" were pressed on the Warner Bros. label bearing the Reprise logo. 1986 saw releases bearing Reprise labels from the Dream Academy as well as Dwight Yoakam. In summer 1987, Warner Bros. Records chairman Mo Ostin and label president

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment to artists and ...

officially announced the reactivation of Reprise, including its own separate promotions department, and former Warner Bros. Vice President of Promotion Rich Fitzgerald was appointed as label vice president. In the time since, Warner Bros. has often elevated the stature of Reprise to the rank of secondary parent label, as many of its subsidiary labels (such as Straight and

Kinetic Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to: * Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion * Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to its motion Art and ent ...

) have had their records released in conjunction with Reprise. As of 2017, it is home to such artists as

, Michael Bublé,

, Deftones, Josh Groban, Disturbed, Idina Menzel, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gerard Way and

. It was formerly home to the

and the

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reached ...

' catalogs in the U.S. When the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

back catalog was remastered by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

in the 2000s, their CDs were issued under the Reprise label (they appeared on sister labels Atco and Warner Bros. in the past). Neil Young stated in a documentary about his life that

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

was turned down by Reprise. In 2010, Reprise opened a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

division, operating as part of Warner Music Group Nashville, featuring Blake Shelton,

the JaneDear Girls the JaneDear girls was an American country music duo, consisting of Susie Brown (vocals, mandolin, fiddle, bass, guitar, accordion) from Alpine, Utah, and Danelle Leverett (vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica) from Amarillo, Texas. The duo was wit ...

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: ''The Spirit Room'' and ''Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Coll ...

and

Frankie Ballard Frank Robert Ballard IV (born December 16, 1982) is an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has released two albums each for Reprise Records and Warner Bros. Records, and has charted eight singles on the Hot Country Songs ch ...

as part of its roster. In September 2011, several layoffs took place at Reprise Records and other Warner labels. In 2017, Reprise released Enya's albums on vinyl. Some of them were pressed on this format for the first time.

Reprise Records artists

Labels

143 Records 143 Records was the record label of producer David Foster. 143 was a sub-label of Warner Records and Atlantic Records. The numbers 1-4-3 are derived from the words "I (1 letter) love (4 letters) you (3 letters)." History When record producer D ...

(1999–present) * Bizarre Records (1968–1972) * Big Brother Records (2008–present) * BME Recordings (2004–present) *

(1970-1977) *

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright A ...

(1969–1972) * Cold Chillin' Records (1988–1993; select releases) *

DiscReet Records DiscReet Records, self-identified simply as DiscReet, was a record label founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner/manager Herb Cohen. The name of the label was a pun derived from disc and the Compatible Discrete 4 process of encoding ...

(1973–1979) * Elementree Records (1995–2000) *

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fro ...

(1990–2001; select releases) * Grand Jury Records (1990–1993) * In Bloom Records (1998–2000) *

Kinetic Records Kinetic Records was a New York City-based record label founded by Steve Lau (founding member of Sire Records act the Ocean Blue), and co-owned with Alyson Shapero. The label launched the careers of artists and DJs such as Paul Oakenfold, BT, Ra ...

(1992–2000) *

Straight Records Straight Records, self-identified simply as Straight, was a record label formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. Straight was formed at the same time as a companion l ...

(1968–1972) * Sire Records (1977–2000: select releases) * Vapor Records (1995–present; current status unknown)

Parent organizations

*(1960–1968) Independent *(1968–1969) Warner Bros.-Seven Arts *(1969–1972) Kinney National Company *(1972–1990)

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

*(1990–2001)

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

*(2001–2003) AOL Time Warner *(2004–present)

Notes

References

External links

*
A discography of American Reprise singles from 1961 to 1970
{{Authority control American record labels Frank Sinatra Jazz record labels Labels distributed by Warner Music Group Pop record labels Record labels established in 1960 Record labels disestablished in 1976 Record labels established in 1987 Re-established companies Rock record labels Soundtrack record labels Warner Records Warner Music labels Vanity record labels 1960 establishments in the United States 1963 mergers and acquisitions