![]() ![]() back in full in installment payments for the Casablanca label as opposed to taking it for free. Bogart was thrilled at the opportunity to own his own record company outright and being able to make all the decisions, but he did pay Warner Bros. and giving Bogart ownership of the label, thus making Casablanca an independent label. Ostin, who did not feel strongly about the Casablanca venture anyway, decided to handle the situation by completely breaking Casablanca Records away from Warner Bros. Once Bogart realized this, he took the issue to Warner head Mo Ostin who had not been aware of the lack of attention being given to the sudsidiary labels. Thus, Casablanca found itself with only modest success with its releases as it had limited distribution. However, a few years later when Warner began experiencing manufacturing problems, it began focusing mainly on manufacturing albums by Warner acts and not so much the sudsidiaries. Both Casablanca and Warner handled promotion for Casablanca artists. Warner manufactured and distributed albums for its own acts, as well as for all its sudsidiary labels. Thus, Casablanca experienced lukewarm relations with Warner Bros., its parent company. Bogart was also quite brash and sure of himself, which rubbed some Warner staffers the wrong way. ![]() "Butter Boy" by Fanny and The Hudson Brothers' "So You Are a Star" proved to be Casablanca's first Billboard Top 40 hits.įrom the time of its inception, Casablanca did not quite fit within the Warner scope of music, especially with the signing of a then-new act known as Kiss. The label's first signing was the rock group Kiss, however, the label's first single was Bill Amesbury's "Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)" which became a minor hit on the US Hot 100. ![]() owned the rights to the title of the film Casablanca, Bogart knew there would be no lawsuit against him regarding the name Casablanca Records. Bogart called the label Casablanca as it was the name of his favorite film, and he also had the same last name as its star Humphrey Bogart. After much back and forth, the green light was eventually given by Warner and Bogart started the new label, bringing Harris, Holmes, and Reingold with him. Records whereas he could start his own record label, which would be a sudsidiary of Warner Bros. In 1973, he arranged financing through Warner Bros. Bogart had an unorthodox approach to the music business and he eventually grew tired of answering and conforming to Viewlex's business mode. Also employed at Buddah Records were Holmes, Harris, and Reingold. Historyīogart was the head of Buddah Records, which was owned by the Viewlex Corporation. Casablanca is currently a dance and electronic label under Republic Records headed by GM, Brett Alperowitz. In a Billboard article, Mottola said that he chose the name as a homage to the original label, but that there was no connection between the old and new labels. In 2000, the Casablanca Records name was revived for a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Tommy Mottola. In 1999, PolyGram (including its subsidiaries) was purchased by Seagram and then merged with Seagram's MCA Music Entertainment Group to form the Universal Music Group. ![]() The label was eventually shut down by PolyGram with some of the artist roster and catalogue absorbed into sister label, Mercury Records. In the early 1980s, with Bogart no longer heading the label, Casablanca had hits with acts Lipps Inc, Stephanie Mills, Cameo (on sister label Chocolate City Records), and Irene Cara, but it did not have the same level of success it had enjoyed in the '70s. The film division was separated from the label and renamed PolyGram Pictures. That same year, PolyGram pushed Bogart out of Casablanca due to what it viewed as the label's overspending and accounting irregularities. In 1980, one of the label's biggest acts, Donna Summer, departed for another record label as she and Casablanca failed to agree on her musical direction for the future. In 1977, PolyGram acquired a 50 percent stake of Casablanca for $15 million in 1980, it purchased the remaining half. headed by founder, Peter Guber to form Casablanca Record and Filmworks, Inc., which had hits with the movies The Deep and Midnight Express. In 1976, the label merged with indie-film company Filmworks, Inc. (with lead vocalist Cynthia Johnson), and Parliament (featuring George Clinton). Casablanca became one of the most successful labels of the 1970s, signing and releasing albums by such acts as Kiss, Donna Summer, Village People, Cher, Lipps Inc. The label was formed after they left Buddah and secured financing by Warner Bros. He partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris and Buck Reingold in 1973, and was based in Los Angeles. Casablanca was founded in 1973 by former Buddah Records executive Neil Bogart, who named the label in homage to the classic film, Casablanca. ![]()
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