The first and by far the largesr Capricorn company of the '70s was American; it was based in Macon, Georgia. It was financed by Atlantic Records, and was the brainchild of Phil Walden, manager of various R'n'B singers; it came into being in 1967. The label's biggest act was the Allman Brothers; thanks to that band and others in the same mould, it became renowned for its 'Southern Rock 'n' Roll' style. 1977 saw a move from Atlantic to Polygram, but the great days had gone: financial troubles struck and by the middle of 1979 many staff had been made redundant and the label had ceased to function. Attempts at refinancing and at selling the company to Polygram failed, and Capricorn went to the wall. As far as Britain is concerned, the Capricorn label first appeared as a member of the WEA stable in mid 1972 (1, 5), with numbering in the K-17500s; for some reason the first number to be used was K-17505. Manufacturing was by CBS, as it was for the other WEA labels. In June 1974 an agreement was signed with Polydor to the effect that that company would manufacture, distribute, sell and promote Capricorn's records in the U.K. with Capricorn paying half the costs and taking half the profits (Billboard, 15th June 1974). The injection-moulded labels (3) and the 2089-000 numbers were from this later, Polydor group, incarnation. At the time of the change-over some singles with the WEA-numbered labels were stickered with a Polydor number (2). From late April 1977 the appropriate sign of the zodiac - a small picture of a goat - was added to the label, with the name shrinking in order to accommodate it (4). Capricorn never repeated over here the success that it enjoyed in the States, though the Allman Brothers Band's 'Jessica' became familiar as the theme tune to BBC Television's 'Top Gear' programme and sold well enough to merit a couple of reissues. The discography below only covers the 1970s; there are many gaps in it, some, presumably due to overseas issues.
('Both Sides Now'; www.bsnpubs.com)
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.