Rhino Factoids: Reprise Goes To Warner

Last year, we did a post about the anniversary of Frank Sinatra founding his own label, Reprise Records, and thereby being able to legitimately describe himself as the Chairman of the Board. This year, we decided we'd focus in on when the Chairman realized that running a label wasn't the easiest thing in the world and decided to sell 2/3 of Reprise to Warner Brothers, which - big surprise - happened 52 years ago today.

(What, like we'd be doing a post if it'd happened 52 years and three months ago today?)

Anyway, Reprise Records had been a success for those who recorded for the label, with Sinatra's biggest concern - due to having dealt with it at Capitol - being that the artists signed to Reprise would own their own masters. Unfortunately, most seem to agree that the label's financial situation wasn't nearly as successful as its artistic intentions, hence Sinatra's decision to take a step back and sell the majority of Reprise to Warner Brothers. Not that it stopped him from continuing to record for the label, which he did all the way into the 'early '80s, wrapping up his run with 1981's She Shot Me Down.

Although Sinatra eventually parted ways with Reprise altogether and jumped back over to Capitol for his final albums, the label lives on even now, and the list of artists who've graced it with their presence over the years is significant. Indeed, you're liable to do a spit take when you read the contents of the below playlist: it's filled nothing but Reprise artists, and it covers 50+ years of music before you've realized it, starting with Sinatra's very first effort for the label, the single “Ring-A-Ding-Ding.” That's a whole lot of music, but it's also a whole lot of quality, and if you've got to thank someone for that, you might as well thank Sinatra.