Warner Bros. Records - History - 1970-1979: The Ostin Era

1970-1979: The Ostin Era

By 1970, "Seven Arts" was dropped from the company name and the WB shield became the Warner Bros. Records logo again. During 1971 a financial scandal in its parking operations forced Kinney National to spin off its non-entertainment assets, and the Warner recording, publishing and film divisions then became part of a new umbrella company, Warner Communications Inc..

In July 1970 the Warner recording group acquired another prestige asset with the purchase of Jac Holzman's Elektra Records for US$10 million. With three co-owned record companies, the next step was formation of the group's in-house distribution arm, initially called Kinney Records Distributing Corporation, to better control distribution of product and make sure records by breaking new acts are available.

Beginning in 1967 with the signing of The Grateful Dead, Warner Bros. Records steadily built up a diverse and prestigious lineup of rock and pop artists through the 1970s. Under the guidance of Edward West, Vice-President of Warner Bros. Records Inc in 1973 and its executives, A&R managers and staff producers, including Mo Ostin, Stan Cornyn, Lenny Waronker, Andy Wickham, Russ Titelman and ex-Warner Bros. recording artist (with Harpers Bizarre) Ted Templeman, sales grew streadily throughout the 1970s and by the end of the decade it had become one of the world's leading rock labels, with a star-studded roster that included Curved Air, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Van Morrison, America, Alice Cooper, Van Halen, The Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Seals & Crofts, Labelle and Rickie Lee Jones. This was augmented by lucrative licencing deals with American and international labels including Sire, Vertigo and Island Records (1975–1982) that gave WBR the American distribution rights for leading British and European rock acts including Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Roxy Music, King Crimson and Kraftwerk. Aided by the growth of FM radio and the album oriented rock format, LPs became the primary vehicle of Warner Bros. sales successes throughout the 1970s, although artists such as the Doobie Brothers and America also scored many major US and international hit singles.

One of the first Warner Bros. albums to achieve both critical and commercial success in the early 1970s was Van Morrison's third solo LP Moondance (January 1970) which consolidated his distinctive blend of rock, jazz and R&B, earned glowing critical praise and sold well—it made the Top 40 album chart in both the US and the UK, the single "Come Running" was a US Top 40 hit (#39, Billboard) and the title track became a radio perennial.

British group Black Sabbath were signed to Philips Records' progressive subsidiary Vertigo, which Warner Bros. Records distributed in the USA; Deep Purple were originally signed in the USA to the independent Tetragrammaton Records, which was distributed by Warner Bros., who acquired the label after it folded in 1970. Black Sabbath's eponymous debut album (recorded in just two days) reached #8 on the UK album chart, and #23 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for over a year, selling strongly despite some negative reviews. It has since been certified platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and in the UK by British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Sabbath's second album was to have been called War Pigs, but Warner Bros. Records changed the title to Paranoid fearing a backlash by consumers. It was a Top 10 hit on the US album chart in 1971, and went on to sell four million copies in the US alone with virtually no radio airplay.

In 1971 UK-based pop rock trio America were signed to the recently established British division of Warner Bros. Their debut album, released late in the year, at first enjoyed only moderate success, but in early 1972 their single "A Horse With No Name" became a major international hit, reaching #1 in the US. Warner hastily reissued the album with the song included and it too became a huge hit, reaching #1 on the US album chart and eventually earning a platinum record award. Although criticised for their similarity to Neil Young (indeed, rumours circulated around Hollywood that Young had cut the track anonymously), America scored five more US Top 10 singles over the next three years, including a second US #1 with "Sister Golden Hair" in 1975. Their albums performed very strongly in the charts—each of their first seven LPs were US Top 40 albums, five of these made the Top 10 and all but one (Hat Trick, 1973) achieved either gold or platinum status. Their 1975 Greatest Hits album became a perennial seller and is now accredited at 4x platinum.

In 1972, Dionne Warwick was signed to Warner Bros. Records after leaving Scepter Records in what was the biggest contract at the time for a female recording artist, although her five years at Warner Bros. were relatively unsuccessful in comparison to her spectacular hit-making tenure at Scepter.

After a slow start The Doobie Brothers proved to be one of Warner Bros.' most successful signings. Their debut album made little impact but their second album Toulouse Street (1972) reached #21 and spawned two US Top 40 singles, "Listen to the Music" and "Jesus is Just Alright", inaugurating a string of hit albums and singles over the next five years. Their third album The Captain and Me was even more successful, reaching #7 in the US and producing two more hit singles, "China Grove" (#15) and "Long Train Runnin'" (#8); it became a consistent seller and is now accredited 2x Platinum by the RIAA. What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1974) reached #4 and produced two more hits including their first US #1 single "Black Water" (1975). Stampede also reached #4, and producing another hit single with the Motown cover "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (US #11).

Warner Bros. Records' reputation for nurturing new artists was demonstrated by the career of Alice Cooper (originally the name of the band, but later taken over as the stage name / persona of singer and main songwriter Vince Furnier). The Alice Cooper band recorded two unsuccessful albums for Frank Zappa's Warner-distributed label Straight Records before teaming with producer Bob Ezrin, who became a longtime collaborator. Their third LP Love it to Death (originally released on Straight and later reissued on Warner Bros.) reached #35 on the Billboard album chart and produced the hit single "I'm Eighteen", which reached #21. Following the runaway success of their 1971 European tour Warner Bros. Records offered the band a multi-album contract; their first Warner Bros. album Killer sold well, with the single "Halo of Flies" making the Top 10 in the Netherlands, but it was their next album School's Out (1972) that really put them on the map. The title song was a Top 10 hit in the US, reached #1 in the UK and became a radio staple, and the album went to #2 in the USA and sold more than a million copies. Billion Dollar Babies (1973) became their biggest success, going to #1 in both the US and the UK. The follow-up Muscle of Love (1973) was less successful, although the single "Teenage Lament '74" was a Top 20 hit in the UK. Furnier split from the band in 1974 and signed to Warner Bros.' sister label Atlantic as a solo artist, scoring further success with his solo albums and singles.

In 1973 Frank Zappa and manager Herb Cohen closed the Straight and Bizarre labels and established a new imprint, DiscReet Records, retaining their distribution deal with Warner Bros. Zappa's next album Apostrophe (') (1973) became the biggest commercial success of his career, reaching #10 on the Billboard album chart, and the single "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" was a minor hit and (at the time) his only single to make the Hot 100 chart. Zappa also enjoyed moderate commercial success with the live double LP Roxy and Elsewhere (1974) and his next studio LP One Size Fits All (1975), both of which reached the Top 30 on the Billboard album chart.

WBR introduced a new label design for its LPs and singles in mid-1973. This design, which WBR would use until mid-1978, featured a multi-coloured, idealised view of a Burbank street lined by palms and eucalypts, and titled with the slogan "Burbank, Home of Warner Bros. Records".

After several years as a 'cult' artist, Randy Newman achieved his first significant commercial success as a solo artist with his 1974 album Good Old Boys which made the Top 40. His controversial 1977 single "Short People" was one of the surprise hits of the year, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 12, 1974 WBR and Phil Spector established Warner-Spector Records, but the label was short-lived and folded in 1977; most of its releases were reissues Philles Records recordings from the 1960s and the only new material released was two singles by the disco group Calhoon and a single by Cher.

In 1975 Joe Smith was promoted to become President of the combined Elektra/Asylum label. At this time Warner Bros. began to wind down the Reprise label. In 1976-77 almost all Reprise acts, including Fleetwood Mac, Gordon Lightfoot, Ry Cooder and Michael Franks were transferred to Warner Bros, leaving only Neil Young (who refused to move) and founder Frank Sinatra. Apart from these artists and some reissues, the Reprise label was dormant until it was reactivated in 1986 with the issue of The Dream Academy's single "The Love Parade" on Reprise 28750.

By far the most successful of the Reprise acts who moved to Warner Bros. was Fleetwood Mac, whose massive success firmly established Warner Bros. in the front rank of major labels—although few would have predicted it from the band's tumultuous history. Between 1970 and 1975 there were multiple lineup changes (with only two original members remaining by 1974), their album sales declined drastically, and a legal battle over the group's name kept them off the road for over a year. However, just as Fleetwood Mac was switching labels in 1975, it was re-invigorated by the recruitment of new members Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The 'new' Fleetwood Mac scored a string of US and international hits and their self-titled Warner Bros. debut album was a huge success, reaching #1 in the US, charting for more than 30 weeks and selling more than 5 million copies. In 1977 their now-legendary Rumours took both group and label to even greater heights—it generated a string of international hit singles and became the most successful album in the label's history; it is currently ranked the 11th biggest selling album of all time and as of 2009 was estimated to have sold than 40 million copies.

After a string of albums with The Faces and as a solo artist for Mercury Records in the early 1970s, British singer Rod Stewart signed with Warner Bros. in 1974, applied for American citizenship and moved to the USA. Launching a sustained run of success, his Warner debut album Atlantic Crossing (1975) was a major international success, reaching #9 on the Billboard album chart and #1 in Australia, and the single "I Don't Want to Talk About It" went to #1 in the UK. His second WBR album A Night on the Town (1976) went to #2 in the USA and #1 in Australia and produced three US Top 40 singles, including his first US #1 "Tonight's the Night". Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977) reached #2 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and #1 in Australia and again produced three US Top 40 singles, including "You're In My Heart", which reached #4. Blondes Have More Fun (1978) went to #1 in the USA and Australia, and produced two more Top 40 singles including his second US #1, "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (although Stewart and co-writer Carmine Appice were later successfully sued for plagiarizing the song's catchy melody hook from "Taj Mahal" by Brazilian songwriter Jorge Ben). Stewart's Greatest Hits collection (1979) went to #1 in the UK and Australia, giving the singer a record-breaking five consecutive #1 albums in the latter country.

Warner Bros. Records also had unexpected success in the mid-70s with another 'heritage' act, veteran vocal group The Four Seasons. In early 1975 they signed with Curb Records (which was distributed by WBR) just as lead singer Frankie Valli scored a surprise hit with his independently released solo single "My Eyes Adored You". Soon after, Valli and the Four Seasons burst back onto the charts with the disco-styled "Who Loves You", which reached #3 in the US and sold more than a million copies, and the album Who Loves You sold more than 1 million copies. Their next single "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" topped the charts in both Britain and the US in early 1976, becoming the group's first US #1 since 1967. A remixed version was a hit again in 1994 and its total of 54 weeks in charts gives it the longest tenure of any song on the Billboard Hot 100.

By the time of The Doobie Brothers 1976 album Takin' It to the Streets founding member Tom Johnston had effectively left the band and he was replaced by former Steely Dan session man Michael McDonald, whose distinctive voice helped to propel the group to even greater success. The new album sold strongly, reaching #8 in the US, and the title track reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming a perennial on radio playlists. Warner Bros. also released the massively successful Best of the Doobies (1976), which has become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time and is currently accredited at 10x Platinum status. 1978's Minute by Minute marked the peak of their career—both the album and its lead single "What A Fool Believes" went to #1 in the US and the album's title track also made the US Top 20, although it was their last album with founding drummer John Hartman and longserving guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.

During the late 1970s Warner Bros.' reputation as an "artists first" label was challenged by a bitter and long-running dispute with Frank Zappa. In 1976 Zappa's relationship with manager Herb Cohen ended in litigation. For Zoot Allures Zappa took his own copy of the master directly to Warner Bros. Records, who agreed to release the album, therefore bypassing Cohen and DiscReet. However, Warner Bros. changed their position following legal action from Cohen. Zappa was then obligated to deliver four more albums to Warner Bros. for release on DiscReet. Zappa sequenced a double live album and three studio albums, but Warner Bros. objected to some or all of these recordings and refused to reimburse Zappa for production costs as required by the DiscReet distribution contract. Zappa then re-edited the material into a 4-LP set called Läther (pronounced 'leather'). Zappa made a deal with Phonogram and scheduled the release of Läther for Halloween 1977. However, Warner Bros. threatened legal action and this forced Zappa to shelve the project. Infuriated, Zappa hosted a broadcast on KROQ-FM in Pasadena, California and played the entire Läther album. Zappa repeatedly criticized Warner Bros. and openly encouraged listeners to record the broadcast. Warner Bros. took further legal action against Zappa, preventing him from issuing material for over a year. During 1978 and 1979 Warner Bros. issued the disputed material as Zappa in New York (an edited and censored version of the original 1977 live double album), Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt and Orchestral Favorites. Zappa eventually won the rights to his Straight, Bizarre, DiscReet and Warner Bros. material, but remained trenchantly critical of his treatment by Warner Bros. for the rest of his life. Zappa's recordings were subsequently reissued on CD by Rykodisc, including Läther, which appeared posthumously in 1996.

Ry Cooder's first Warner Bros. release was the 1977 live album Showtime and he remained with the label until his contract expired in the late 1980s. His 1979 album Bop 'Til You Drop is notable the first major-label rock recording to be digitally recorded and it became the best-selling album of his career.

Thanks to its distribution deal with Curb Records, WBR scored the biggest hit single in the company's history in 1977. The ballad "You Light Up My Life" (written and produced by Joe Brooks) was originally recorded by the late Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack to the film of the same name, in which actress Didi Conn lip-synched to Cisyk's recording. Teenager Debby Boone (daughter of actor-singer Pat Boone) was recruited to record a new version for single release, and this became a massive success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-setting ten consecutive weeks and earning a Platinum certification from the RIAA. It became the most successful single of the 1970s in the United States, setting what was then a new record for longest run at #1 in the US and surpassing Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog". Boone's success also earned her Grammy nominations for "Best Pop Vocal Performance Female" and "Record of the Year" and won her the 1977 Grammy for "Best New Artist" and the 1977 American Music Award for "Favorite Pop Single". The song also earned Joe Brooks the 1977 "Song of the Year" Grammy (tied with "Love Theme from "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)") as well as "Best Original Song" at both the 1977 Golden Globe and Academy Awards. The single currently ranks at #7 on the Billboard All Time Hot 100.

Throughout the 1970s Warner Bros. also benefited from its US/Canada distribution deals with independent labels such as Straight Records, DiscReet Records, UK labels Chrysalis (1972–1976) and Island (1974–1982), Bizarre Records, Bearsville Records (1970–1984) and Geffen Records (which was sold to MCA in 1990).

Although primarily associated with mainstream white acts in the Seventies, Warner Bros.' distribution deals with smaller labels also brought it some success in the disco, soul and funk genres in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Among the imprints it distributed that were notable in these fields were Seymour Stein's Sire Records (which Warner Bros. soon purchased), Curtis Mayfield's Curtom, Norman Whitfield's Whitfield Records, Quincy Jones' Qwest, Prince's Paisley Park, RFC Records (formed in December 1978 when Ray Caviano became the executive director of Warner's disco division), Tom Silverman's Tommy Boy Records (another label Warner Bros. eventually took over).

Until the late 1970s Warner Bros. itself still had very few African American music artists on its roster, but this began to change during with the singing of artists such as George Benson and Prince. Benson had risen to prominence in jazz in the 1960s but was still relatively little-known by the general public. However, his move to Warner Bros. in 1976 and the teaming with producer Tommy LiPuma enabled him to straddle genres and made him a popular and highly successful mainstream R&B and pop artist. His first Warner Bros. LP Breezin' (1976) became one of the most successful jazz albums of the decade and a major 'crossover' hit—it topped the American Pop, R&B and Jazz album charts and produced two hit singles, the title track (which became a jazz standard and a radio favourite) and "This Masquerade," which was a Top 10 pop and R&B hit. Benson enjoyed enormous success with his subsequent Warner albums. All of his Warner LPs made the Top 20 on the US jazz album chart and beginning with Breezin', he scored seven consecutive US #1 jazz albums; the first five of these were also Top 20 hits on both the Pop and R&B charts. His live version of Leiber & Stoller's "On Broadway" (from his 1978 live album Weekend in L.A.) outcharted the original version by The Drifters, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gained further exposure thanks to its memorable use in the famous audition sequence in Bob Fosse's 1979 film All That Jazz. Benson's most successful single "Give Me The Night" (1980) became his first US #1 R&B hit, reached #4 on the Pop chart and also reached #2 on the Hot Disco Singles chart.

Prince signed to Warner Bros. in 1977. His first album For You made little impact, although the single "Soft and Wet" reached #12 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, his second (self-titled) album (1979) fared considerably better, reaching #3 on the R&B album chart and earning a gold record award; the first single lifted from the album, "I Wanna Be Your Lover" became Prince's first crossover hit, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and #11 on the main pop chart, while the follow-up single "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" reached #13 on the R&B chart. Although he was still little known outside the USA at this stage, this early success set the stage for his major commercial breakthrough in the 1980s.

Another valuable late '70s discovery was metal-pop band Van Halen, who were spotted at a Hollywood club by Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman in 1977. Their self-titled debut album was a notable success, reaching #19 on the Billboard album chart, and their second album Van Halen II (1979) reached #6 and produced their first hit single "Dance the Night Away" (#19).

Warner Bros. also began to tentatively embrace the burgeoning New Wave movement in the late 1970s, signing cult bands Devo and The B-52s. A crucial acquisition in this field—and one which would soon proved to be of enormous importance to the company—was the New York-based Sire Records, founded in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. Warner Bros. took over Sire's distribution from ABC Records in 1977 and bought the label in 1978, retaining Stein as its president. The addition of the Sire roster gave Warner Bros. an important foothold in this area (indeed, Stein is often credited with naming the genre to replace the term "punk", which he disliked); its American signings included The Ramones, The Dead Boys, and Talking Heads and most importantly of all, Madonna, who soon became the most successful female artist in music history, earning billions for Warner. Sire's distribution deals with British independent labels including Mute, Rough Trade, Korova and Fiction gave WEA the American rights to important UK-based New Wave bands including Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Beat, Madness, Echo & the Bunnymen, and The Cure. Into the 1990s, the label had continued success with Seal, k.d. lang, Tommy Page, Ice-T, and Ministry.

In the late '70s Warner Bros. also scored mainstream pop hits with singer/actor Shaun Cassidy -- his version of "Da Doo Ron Ron" went to #1 in the US in 1977, his next two singles (both penned by Eric Carmen) were US Top 10 hits and Cassidy was nominated for a Grammy award. As the decade drew to a close there were more breakthroughs with new acts. Rickie Lee Jones' self-titled debut album went to #3 in the US, #1 in Australia and #18 in the UK and produced two hit singles, "Chuck E's in Love" (US #4) and "Young Blood" (US #40). Thanks to its American distribution deal with Vertigo, British group Dire Straits provided another sustained run of hit albums and singles in the late 1970s and 1980s. Their eponymous debut album (1978) was a surprise international hit, going to #2 in the USA and earning a gold record award from the RIAA, while the single "Sultans of Swing" went to #4 in the US. Their second album Communiqué (1979) made the Top 20 in many countries and earned another gold record award in the U.S. WBR also enjoyed renewed success with comedy recordings in this period, transferring Richard Pryor from Reprise and signing rising star Steve Martin, whose second Warner album A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) became one of the label's biggest comedy hits—it reached #2 on the pop album chart, won the 1979 Grammy for 'Best Comedy Album', and Martin's novelty single "King Tut" was a US Top 20 hit.