RCA Camden
Encyclopedia
RCA Camden was a budget record label
of recordings, first introduced by RCA Victor.
, original home to the Victor Talking Machine Company
, later RCA Records
. It specialized in reissuing historic classical
and popular recordings from the RCA catalog. The long play albums originally sold for $1.98 retail and consisted of strictly monaural recordings, often drawn from 78-rpm discs. The label also issued 45-rpm "extended play" (EP
) records, including contemporary singers such as Snooky Lanson
and Jack Haskell, at a suggested retail price of 79 cents.
The RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra was a New York City
"pick-up" orchestra drawn from members of the NBC Symphony Orchestra
and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The New York City Symphony Orchestra, created by Leopold Stokowski
in the 1940s, recorded for RCA Victor and some of its recordings were issued on Camden under the name "Sutton Symphony Orchestra," not to be confused with a British orchestra with the same name.
- 1951) and, later, rock and roll
releases, issuing, for example, an EP
of such songs by "The Honey Dreamers". About 1958, Camden began releasing stereo albums and subsequently issued popular recordings by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
, The Living Strings and Living Voices.
From 1968 to 1975, RCA Camden issued a series of compilation albums featuring recordings by Elvis Presley
, who recorded for the main RCA Victor label. This output primarily consisted of repackagings of Presley's 1960s-era movie soundtrack recordings, however several albums, such as Elvis Sings Flaming Star
also featured previously unreleased material, while two later compilations, Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2
and Separate Ways
actually featured then-current chart hits for Presley that were issued to album on RCA Camden instead of the expected RCA Victor. In 1975, RCA leased Presley reissue rights to Pickwick Records
, which subsequently reissued most of the RCA Camden catalog under its branding starting in late 1975. RCA eventually regained the rights to its Pickwick-leased recordings and reissued several of them in the 1980s.
During the early- to mid-1970s, as the fame of another RCA artist, Dolly Parton
, grew, the label reissued much of her earlier RCA material in a series of budget compilations to capitalize on her more recent success. Just the Way I Am
, Mine
, Just Because I'm a Woman (not to be confused with Parton's 1968 debut solo album for RCA of the same name), and I Wish I Felt This Way at Home were all issued between 1972 and 1976, and were largely made up of lesser known material Parton had recorded or RCA during the late 1960s and early '70s. As with the Presley reissues, RCA Camden also leased the reissue rights to the four Parton albums to Pickwick, which rereleased the albums during the late 1970s.
The label continued onto compact discs in the 1980s and the 1990s, focusing more on popular and country music. With the 2004 merger of BMG (RCA Victor's parent company) and Sony (Columbia Records' parent company), the Camden label, as well as the RCA Victrola
and Gold Seal labels, were absorbed into RCA Red Seal Records
. As of 2008, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, the partnership owner of RCA Label has re-registered CAMDEN as music entertainment trademark at the USPTO.
RCA Victor also used a modified and shorter version of this statement in the liner notes of early releases on the RCA Victrola
label.
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
of recordings, first introduced by RCA Victor.
History
The label was named after Camden, New JerseyCamden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
, original home to the Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
, later RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. It specialized in reissuing historic classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and popular recordings from the RCA catalog. The long play albums originally sold for $1.98 retail and consisted of strictly monaural recordings, often drawn from 78-rpm discs. The label also issued 45-rpm "extended play" (EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
) records, including contemporary singers such as Snooky Lanson
Snooky Lanson
Roy Landman , better known as Snooky Lanson, was an American singer known for co-starring on the NBC television series Your Hit Parade....
and Jack Haskell, at a suggested retail price of 79 cents.
Earliest releases
RCA Camden originally issued its classical recordings using the real names of the orchestras involved. But soon, to avoid competing with modern recordings by the same orchestras, they adopted a series of pseudonyms. Here is a partial listing of the real orchestras and their pseudonyms:- BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
- Thames Symphony Orchestra - Boston Pops OrchestraBoston Pops OrchestraThe Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
- Festival Concert Orchestra - Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
- Centennial Symphony Orchestra - Chicago Symphony OrchestraChicago Symphony OrchestraThe Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
- Century Symphony Orchestra - Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra - Star Symphony Orchestra
- Indianapolis Symphony OrchestraIndianapolis Symphony OrchestraThe Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana.Annually, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs 200 concerts for over 350,000 people. It is the largest performing arts organization in Indiana. The ISO is currently one of only 18 American...
- Sussex Symphony Orchestra - London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
- Stratford Symphony Orchestra - London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
- Jewel Symphony Orchestra - Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra - Marlborough Symphony Orchestra
- National Symphony OrchestraNational Symphony OrchestraThe National Symphony Orchestra , founded in 1931, is an American symphony orchestra that performs at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.-History:...
- Globe Symphony Orchestra - Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
- Warwick Symphony Orchestra - Paris Conservatory Orchestra - Seine Symphony Orchestra
- RCA Victor Symphony OrchestraRCA Victor Symphony OrchestraThe RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra was an American symphony orchestra founded in 1940 by the RCA Victor music label. Based in Camden, New Jersey, the orchestra made numerous recordings up through the early 1960s with notable conductors like Leopold Stokowski and Leonard Bernstein. A number of their...
- Regent Symphony Orchestra or Golden Symphony Orchestra - Henri ReneHenri RenéHenri René was an American-born German producer, conductor and arranger. René mother's was German and his father French; while young, his family moved to Germany, and René studied at the Royal Berlin Academy of Music. Returning to the U.S. in the mid 1920s, he began appearing with several...
and his Orchestra - Cosmopolitan Orchestra - San Francisco Symphony Orchestra - World Wide Symphony
- Saint Louis Symphony OrchestraSaint Louis Symphony OrchestraThe Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the SLSO is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States as it is preceded by the New York Philharmonic.-History:The St...
- Savoy Symphony or Schuyler Symphony Orchestra - Toronto Symphony OrchestraToronto Symphony OrchestraThe Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
- Dominion Symphony Orchestra - Vienna Philharmonic OrchestraVienna Philharmonic OrchestraThe Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
- Danube Symphony Orchestra
The RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra was a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
"pick-up" orchestra drawn from members of the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The New York City Symphony Orchestra, created by Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
in the 1940s, recorded for RCA Victor and some of its recordings were issued on Camden under the name "Sutton Symphony Orchestra," not to be confused with a British orchestra with the same name.
Later releases
In the early 1950s, RCA Camden began dabbling in rhythm & blues (Little RichardLittle Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
- 1951) and, later, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
releases, issuing, for example, an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of such songs by "The Honey Dreamers". About 1958, Camden began releasing stereo albums and subsequently issued popular recordings by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Oslo-Filharmonien is a symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra was founded in 1919, and has since 1977 had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1...
, The Living Strings and Living Voices.
From 1968 to 1975, RCA Camden issued a series of compilation albums featuring recordings by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, who recorded for the main RCA Victor label. This output primarily consisted of repackagings of Presley's 1960s-era movie soundtrack recordings, however several albums, such as Elvis Sings Flaming Star
Elvis Sings Flaming Star
Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star and Others is the thirty-third album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Records in stereo, PRS 279, in October 1968...
also featured previously unreleased material, while two later compilations, Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2
Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2
Burning Love and Hits From His Movies, Volume 2 is a compilation album by Elvis Presley. The album was released on November 1, 1972 on RCA's subidiary label, RCA Camden. The contents of the album primarily consists of soundtrack recordings from various Presley films of the 1960s, augmented by both...
and Separate Ways
Separate Ways (Elvis Presley album)
Separate Ways is a compilation album by Elvis Presley from 1973. Released by RCA Records under its RCA-Camden subsidiary exactly one month after another compilation, Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2, Separate Ways was the second and final attempt by RCA to repackage older Elvis...
actually featured then-current chart hits for Presley that were issued to album on RCA Camden instead of the expected RCA Victor. In 1975, RCA leased Presley reissue rights to Pickwick Records
Pickwick Records
Pickwick Records was an American record label and distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo , Hurrah, Grand Prix, and children's records on the Cricket and Happy Time labels.The label is also...
, which subsequently reissued most of the RCA Camden catalog under its branding starting in late 1975. RCA eventually regained the rights to its Pickwick-leased recordings and reissued several of them in the 1980s.
During the early- to mid-1970s, as the fame of another RCA artist, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, grew, the label reissued much of her earlier RCA material in a series of budget compilations to capitalize on her more recent success. Just the Way I Am
Just the Way I Am
Just the Way I Am is a 1972 compilation album by singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Issued by RCA Camden, RCA's budget reissue division, the album was largely made up of material Parton had recorded between 1967 and 1970 and had first released on her earlier albums, and was an attempt to capitalize on...
, Mine
Mine (album)
Mine is a 1973 compilation album by singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, issued by RCA's budget compilation division, RCA Camden. As was the case with Parton's 1972 RCA Camden compilation, Just the Way I Am, the album was an attempt by RCA to capitalize on Parton's early 1970s chart success by reissuing...
, Just Because I'm a Woman (not to be confused with Parton's 1968 debut solo album for RCA of the same name), and I Wish I Felt This Way at Home were all issued between 1972 and 1976, and were largely made up of lesser known material Parton had recorded or RCA during the late 1960s and early '70s. As with the Presley reissues, RCA Camden also leased the reissue rights to the four Parton albums to Pickwick, which rereleased the albums during the late 1970s.
The label continued onto compact discs in the 1980s and the 1990s, focusing more on popular and country music. With the 2004 merger of BMG (RCA Victor's parent company) and Sony (Columbia Records' parent company), the Camden label, as well as the RCA Victrola
RCA Victrola
RCA Victrola was a budget label introduced by RCA Victor in the early 1960s to reissue classical recordings originally issued on the RCA Victor "Red Seal" label. The name "Victrola" came from the early console phonographs marketed by the Victor Talking Machine Company...
and Gold Seal labels, were absorbed into RCA Red Seal Records
RCA Red Seal Records
RCA Red Seal Records is a classical music label and is now part of Sony Masterworks.The Red Seal label was begun in 1902 by the Gramophone Company in the United Kingdom and was quickly picked up by its United States affiliate, the Victor Talking Machine Company, and its president, Eldridge R. Johnson...
. As of 2008, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, the partnership owner of RCA Label has re-registered CAMDEN as music entertainment trademark at the USPTO.
Promotional material
From the liner notes of several 1957-58 Camden releases:RCA Victor also used a modified and shorter version of this statement in the liner notes of early releases on the RCA Victrola
RCA Victrola
RCA Victrola was a budget label introduced by RCA Victor in the early 1960s to reissue classical recordings originally issued on the RCA Victor "Red Seal" label. The name "Victrola" came from the early console phonographs marketed by the Victor Talking Machine Company...
label.