record label art: Apple Records

There is a small number of record labels that are so cool that I collect the catalog; Apple is one such label. Apple Records, in my opinion, is the coolest looking record label of all time. It is strikingly simple, which is one reason that as a brand it is so memorable (that and the fact that most people associate the label with the biggest band of all time). I've always thought that its use of the sliced apple on side 2 was very clever.The Beatles started Apple in 1968 with plans for a multi-media corporation, producing records, film, and other projects for a mess of independent artists. Within a couple of years the band said 'screw it' and focused primarily on Apple's functions as a record company, eventually for Beatles-associated records only.

The label released new music until 1975, ending with the Ringo Starr Blast From Your Past compilation LP. Legal problems kept the label dormant until the early 90's, after which Apple released a flurry of reissues (most of which are now out of print), and oversaw the highly successful Beatles Anthology project. To this day any official Beatles products (DVDs, CDs, LPs, t-shirts, etc) are released through the label.

Although I'm been buying records on Apple since I was a kid, it wasn't until recently that I began collecting the Apple catalog in earnest. Part of what makes Apple so fun to collect is that the label's artist roster is so varied. Apple covered everything, from the Modern Jazz Quartet, to the folk of Mary Hopkin, to the avant garde orchestration of John Tavener. The label also released a handful of film soundtracks, and launched the careers of some pretty high profile artists such as James Taylor and Badfinger.

Some of my Apple LP collection.