About Company
The name "Decca" dates back to a portable gramophone called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons. That company was eventually renamed The Decca Gramophone Co. Ltd. and then sold to former stockbroker Edward Lewis in 1929. Within years Decca Records Ltd. was the second largest record label in the world, calling itself "The Supreme Record Company". The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca" with the initial D of their logo "Dulcet" or their trademark "Dulcephone."
Artists signed to Decca in the 1930s and 1940s included Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Jane Froman, The Boswell Sisters, Billie Holiday, The Andrews Sisters, Ted Lewis, Judy Garland, The Mills Brothers, Billy Cotton, Guy Lombardo, Chick Webb, Louis Jordan, Bob Crosby, The Ink Spots, Dorsey Brothers, Connee Boswell and Jack Hylton, Victor Young, Earl Hines, Claude Hopkins, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe - the original 'soul sister' of recorded music.
Today, Decca thrives on discovering talent in new areas ranging from pop, rock, folk and Americana, and takes pride in strengthening its classical and jazz heritage with consistent benchmark recordings from some of the world’s greatest musicians. 2010 includes releases from established musicians and rising recording stars including Robert Plant (his ninth solo studio album) Imelda May (her second studio album), William Orbit, Kirsty Almeida, Melody Gardot, Eric Whitacre, Nikki Yanofsky and Andrea Bocelli.
Decca Records incorporates Decca Classics, Concord Records, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips and Verve Records, Blue Thumb, Rounder Records and UCJ.
