Sinatra Heads: some Reprise label questions

Hello!

Is anyone here an expert on the Reprise label era? I just collected all four of the original Reprise genre labels

- Pop Series: Steamship
- Jazz Series: Cherub w Harp
- Spoken Word: Owl
-Sinatra series: original "serious" photo of Frank

My questions are as follows:
How long did Reprise press records in these categories before they paired it down to just the Steamship for non-Frank stuff and Frank's picture for his stuff?

Did Sinatra have any creative input after Warner Bros purchased the label in 1963? Was he even active in the overseeing of it by the time Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Captain Beefheart came along?

Why are Beefheart's records both on Straight/Bizarre and Reprise? Did Warner use Reprise as an "oddball" arm? Why not just one or the other?

Does anyone have any insight into Frank's view of some of the weirder artists on his label, including even the Kinks?

Thank you!!

 

1) To the best of my knowledge the label variations were gone by the time of the W7 label. Since the new management did not actively continue to pursue the diversification after 1963 I think they just used up their stock until it was gone. It’s probably more of a hypothetical question since the original artist roster was largely dumped anyway.

2) According to Stan Cornyn, Sinatra basically lost any interest in Reprise as his „brain child“ after Warner Bros. took over. The experiment was over, and he just moved on, as strange as it seems. The Warner Executives quickly dumped the original artist roster and remodeled Reprise into a sister label to Elektra/Asylum. Although Sinatra‘s own records continued to appear on the label he founded, he didn‘t seem to care about it. He didn‘t even object to „L.A. is My Lady“ being issued under the QWest label instead of Reprise.

3) The „double billing“ was probably just part of a licensing deal. I think Stan Cornyn wrote something about that too in his book on Warner. I‘ll look it up.

 

Keep in mind that Sinatra lost an awful lot of money with Reprise (literally millions, and that‘s 1960s money). If it wasn‘t for the contractual obligation, he‘d probably even have moved to another label.

 

Those variations ended when Frank Sinatra sold Reprise Records to Warner Brothers Records in 1963. The labels existing of those designs were used up from the existing stocks.

 

thanks! It’s a shame that Frank didn’t continue to take an interest. Reprise was a cool concept in its infancy.​

 

That makes sense. I've definitely seen the vintage "steamship" labels printed on both their original tri-color template, and the one that was originally used for the "Owl" labels.

 

Reportedly when Reprise signed the Fugs, the label guys played their album for Sinatra who said "I guess you know what you're doing."

I'm not sure about Beefheart but the decisions about his albums probably came from some combination of Zappa, Herb Cohen and/or Beefheart.

 

Given how Sinatra kinda felt about Rock 'n Roll as a whole (despite coming around to Elvis & admiring Harrison's "Something"), I truly doubt that the Kinks, Hendrix, Neil and many of the label's late 60's arrivals would have passed the test with him. He simply had his little clique of Dino, Sammy, Keely, daughter Nancy & a couple of others. He was light years from the mindset that the post-Beatle era would bring. It was a wise decision on his part to let it go.

 

I have thought about this anecdote often since you posted it. I absolutely love that response from Frank.

The ultimate irony is that Frank Sinatra was ahead of his time, but couldn’t appreciate the people that came through the door he opened.

 

Sinatra tried to buy Verve records before he started Reprise. He had a strong jazz connect, and wanted to move in that direction. Hence, the Basie LP at Reprise in '62. He owned Reprise, and sold it to Jack Warner for $2 million, I believe. Maybe $3 million. There was a big story in Life magazine at the time.
I think he was contracted to record on Reprise as part of the deal, and may have shared in the profits.

Frank contracted many singers in his first Reprise recordings, including Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, and a few well known female singers. Also Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, which made a bundle. One of his first efforts was the Reprise Repertory Theater in 1962,
four recordings of different Broadway classic shows, featuring many great singers. It's a collector's item. I found a CD set years ago on ebay for $30 bucks. Somebody on the island of Jersey in England (!) had two copies to sell.
I should have bought them both.

 

re: mentions of Cornyn's book, it's good resource if you're at all interested in the Reprise WB saga. If fact, there's a lot about the business, and less than you might think about the music.... which was a bit disappointing to me, but at least the tale is now told from someone who was there. And who can actually write.

 

Huh? How were they connected with Reprise?

 

They recorded on Reprise. Herb Alpert had that big hit "This guy's in Love..." and others.

 

Herb Alpert recorded for his own label A&M.

 

Nope, only A&M. Alpert never recorded for Reprise. Google him.

 

"This guy's in love..." did appear on Reprise, by Sammy Davis jr

 

Sorry, I thought I had read that years ago about Herb Alpert. Sometimes you read things that aren't true. Sammy did record for Reprise. So did Dean Martin at some point.
And I think also Keely Smith and Rosie Clooney, and maybe even Peggy Lee. Jo Stafford I know recorded in the Repertory Theater albums. Dinah Shore? Dinah really liked Frank.
There's nice duet of Dinah and Frank on a 50s TV show that's on Youtube.

 

mo ostin was sinatra's "go to" accountant and label head. after the sale though Ostin stayed on nearly forever as a chairman emeritus. i would doubt sinatra had any "interest" beyond royalty accountings. which Ostian would have at least in sprit, overseen.

probably a result of overlap of P&D deals. think of Reprise as one might "Epic" as a sister ( and tier b label initially ) to the flagship label Columbia.

if memory serves, the kinks were a UK pickup from Pye was it? and, again Ostin was responsible.

doubt highly that sinatra knew or cared.