Decca Records

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its US label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp (the first president of the Decca Record company of the USA) and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president too. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca, and the link between the UK and US Decca label was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre.

In 1947, following World War II, British Decca re-established distribution in the United States through its new subsidiary London Records. The London trademark name has also been used in other countries such as Canada, Mexico, Germany and Japan.

The US Decca label became MCA Records, which formed half of what is now UMG (Universal Music Group). Both UK and US divisions of the former Decca label are… More