Capricorn Records Revisited
In the middle 1960's, a Mercer University grad named Phil Walden began his music business career in Macon, GA when he and his brother Alan booked Rhythm & Blues performers into local high schools and colleges. Within that performing circuit were young and developing artists such as, Otis Redding, Johnny Jenkins, Percy Sledge, Arthur Conley, Sam & Dave and Clarence Carter. During this omnipotent cycle, several Southern roots artists, such as the ones that Walden catered towards, were gaining notoriety via the marketing muscle of Atlantic Records. First, there were the hit acts coming from STAX Records which had a extended run of monster hits in the 60's. STAX had developed it's roster and benefited greatly from a distribution deal with Atlantic. Next came a stable of smashes recorded at Fame Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This new found chart success continued to put major emphasis on Southern musicians. It appeared from of these developments that someone knew the formula of success. But one may ask...who was brokering all these successful deals? Surely there was an individual who quarterbacked this movement and provided leadership for this phenomenal growth. Come to find out, there was such a person. Seems that industry figures knew the individual who pioneered this consolidation of music sources and was none other than Atlantic's Jerry Wexler. Yet, one might make particular note here. The initial exchange of connections which developed during these timely events were fostered by the introductions provided by Otis Redding's co-manager, Joe Galkin, a close associate of Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden, and Atlantic Records European Manager, Frank Fenter, who would soon relocate to Macon as to team-up with Walden. Those parties came together and jelled centered around the developments of the highly successful STAX-VOLT European Tour in 1967 which featured a host of Southern musicians including several of the aforementioned artists.
Phil Walden (L) and Frank Fenter (R) formed a unique partnership in 1968. Here you had the combination of a charismatic South African via London decent with a Georgia local who made things happen. Both were powerful music men with visions committed to success. At that time, the company's name was instituted as Capricorn and coined from Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden's astrological sign. The Capricorn production series would be released on the Atlantic Records subsidiary label, ATCO, and built on the strength of sessions guitarists Duane Allman. As the developments unfolded, Jerry Wexler had convinced Phil Walden to purchase Allman's contract from Fame Recording Studio owner, Rick Hall. Allman's guitar playing had earned him quite the reputation as the session man for the many artists who recorded at Fame Studio such as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Boz Skaggs among others. Upon Walden purchasing his contract, Duane Allman then moved from his home in Florida to Macon where he and his brother Greg organized and fine-tuned The Allman Brothers Band. Walden and Fenter went on to built a recording studio with the aspirations of developing musicians and songwriters similar to the successes of Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals and STAX Records in Memphis.
The Capricorn executive staff was formed with the addition of VP Promotion Dick Wooley (center) who also had a background with Atlantic Records. Wooley's duties consisted of the daily engagement with the Atlantic field staff combined with the ever changing radio media. When product was finally ready, The Allman Brothers released their first album in 1969.
The Allman Brothers Band members Barry Oakley and Duane Allman pose back stage for a photograph with a sobering stare of intensity. Remarkably, The Allman Brothers Band's music blended a fusion of gospel, blues, jazz, pop, country and R&B - into a jam session of what was coined as, "Southern Rock."
Capricorn went on to release additional albums by Cowboy, Wet Willie, Jonathan Edwards, Johnny Jenkins and Livingston Taylor. However, after extensive promotion and marketing campaigns, the music directly attributed to the success of Capricorn were albums by The Allman Brothers Band. The company would continue to grow and become it's own record label as they were distributed by ATCO and later marketed by Warner Brothers Records. Yet Capricorn would then endure a eerie cycle of incidents that included the tragic deaths of Duane Allman and Barry Oakley on separate motorcycle accidents. It would take years for Capricorn to overcome the emotional trauma of those events. Several years after those untimley deaths, Capricorn's co-founder Frank Fenter died of a fatal heart attack while at work at the Capricorn offices.But the band would play-on when Greg Allman and Dickie Betts took the reigns and reorganized The Allman Brothers Band. At that time Phil Walden changed Capricorns distribution system to PolyGram Records. That only contributed to small successes for The Allman Brothers Band as their downward spiral continued to collapse when personal and creative differences within the band began to erode their chemistry. In 1976, the Allman Brothers decided to call it quits. Plus, the roller coaster ride for Capricorn persisted when Walden, amidst a slew of lawsuits, filed for bankruptcy in 1979. A short period later several band members resurfaced with solo albums and the band regrouped briefly. Plus, the label resurrected in Nashville in 1990 and experienced moderate success with artists The Freddie Jones Band and Cake. Yet the success was short-lived when Capricorn again relocated to Atlanta and that's when Walden sold it's assets to PolyGram/Mercury which was later acquired by Universal Music in 1998. Perhaps the only good thing derived from those transactions was that now the master tapes of the superb Capricorn catalog were reissued and available to the public.
Sadly Phil Walden died in Atlanta after an illness in April of 2006 leaving behind a music business legacy.
EDITORS NOTE: Because of the successful relationship between Capricorn and Atlantic Records, combined with support from the managers and artists from STAX Records, I am honored to have been associated with the principals who were involved with the development of this monumental label. Please note I take no claim as to the label's direct successes other than the establishment of airplay and placement of product directly involved with Capricorns first three years with Atlantic Records.Pictured above is Capricorn's lone remaining musically active executive Dick Wooley (R) along with Phillip Rauls (L) at the company's annual picnic in Macon in 1976. Nowadays, Dick Wooley has resurfaced with a 21st Century version of a regional record label devoted towards roots music with the development of KingMoJo Music. For more information please visit http://www.kingmojo.com/
Photos of Phil Walden & Frank Fenter from the Rob Fenter collection. All rights reserved.
Photo of Barry Oakley & Duane Allman provided by http://www.messyoptics.com/
Photo of Dick Wooley & Phillip Rauls by http://www.philliprauls.com/
Copyright protection applied. Unlawful duplication prohibited.
posted by phillip rauls at 5:12 PM
8 Comments:
Thank you for the kind words, Phillip, and for you knowing to give him
credit last year when every media outlet did not have a clue.
RF
i love your website and photo collection
lee
Somewhere on my site I link to your site. I think your blog is great.
So much history from the inside. I also recommend your blog to
musicians and music reviewers.
Carter
this post is nice but riddled with inaccuracies. phil did not die of prostate cancer. Phil and Alan Walden created the original Capricorn Records, they signed a deal with Atlantic in 1969, between Atlantic and No Exit Records,Inc. which was the actual name of the company. Frank became a shareholder (20%) soon thereafter. Alan, Phil and Otis bought the studio,not Frank and Phil. The Capricorn of the 90's was a bit more than moderately successful, it did over 100 million dollars in sales over a 3 year period and was sold to Zomba in 2000 for a ten figure sum. It did enter into a joint venture with Mercury in 1996, which ended in 1999. As far as Wooley being the lone executive, what about Alan, Don S., Phil Rush, Keith Crossley, Mike Hyland, Mark Pucci, and on and on....
Interesting that Rob Fenter did not raise all of these new facts before Phil died.
Once again, great site, Phillip. while here, I am inspired to make a comment on the last blog entry about my late dad and the "new facts" I created after Phil's passing.
Growing up, my father told me on many occasions he wanted to start his own label. According to Frank and my late mother (and others who were in London and worked closely with him) Phil and Frank had talked of starting a label together way before Capricorn or No Exit ever got incorporated.
Frank had discussed endlessly of creating a integrated record company that would include publishing, merchandising, booking and management, which subsequently became the structure of Capricorn.
Quite naturally the new label was incorporated initially without Frank having equity as he was a British subject and, by law, could not have ownership in a US company until he got legal status and moved to Macon in 1969.
Frank and Phil were in constant contact during the formation of Capricorn, as my dad was working behind the scenes, structuring the deal with Atlantic to finance and distribute Capricorn. Phil needed my father because he had the experience of running a record label as Phil's background and expertise was artist management.
My "new facts" are not new and had been substantiated and documented through my direct communication with the late Ahmet Ertegun way before Phil's unfortunate passing for involvement in a soon-to-launch music book which features a chapter on my late father. The "new facts" were only shared when the press inaccurately got the facts wrong on the death of Phil by crediting him as the sole founder of Capricorn.
Rob Fenter
Thank you for directing my attention to the blog comments by an “anonymous” poster and thank you for the opportunity to correct misinformation by someone who obviously wasn’t there and doesn’t want to be identified.
From 1969 to 1972 Phil Walden, Frank Fenter had one hit single “Sunshine” by Johnathan Edwards distributed by Atlantic Records and I worked with them both on a weekly basis from 1969 as Atlantic Record’s representative. In 1972, I joined my two friends Frank and Phil full-time, after the “Sunshine” hit money had ran out and before the ABB money started to come in.
Phil, Frank and myself shared a 10’ x 20’ office between the years 1972 and 1976 and trust me, I had intimate knowledge of everything in business, personal and private matters that went on in that office and for the time being, "enough said".
To the point, Frank Fenter alone engineered the Atlantic Records “Capricorn Productions” debut to the distribution of “Capricorn Records” by Warner Brothers Records. And, Phil Walden, although an ingenious artist manager, had no expertise or experience of running a record company, everything Phil knew he’d learned by being in the same office with Frank Fenter and myself. In turn, we learned artist management from Phil.
Also, with the exception of Alan Walden who’d left PW management after “Otis Redding’s” death to start “Lynyard Skynyrd” and publicist Mike Hyland, the folks being promoted by “anonymous” came onboard years after Phil, Frank and I had established the “Capricorn Records” label, the “Allman Brothers Band”, the “Marshal Tucker Band” and “Wet Willie”.
Thanks again,
Dick Wooley
www.kingmojo.com
as i recall Frank and Phil each had their own office on Cotton Avenue, right next to each other and Dick Wooley had his own office, all in a building that had three stories full of offices that Phil had owned since the REDWAL Music days. perhaps i imagined it all.
frank fenter was a wonderful man and as i understand, one of Phil's closest if not the closest friend until his untimely death.
i believe Phil's friendship with Dick Wooley ended with the original capricorn
I have bookmarked your blog and will be a frequent visitor. I have always been interested in music, music history and "trivia". I am a music lover, especially interested in southern rock. I'm certain this is due to being raised in the Macon area in the 70's. What a great place to be during that time. I also had the pleasure of being part of the Capricorn 'family' for a few years and attended some of those company picnics. Those were good times, thank you for sharing with us.
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