is our beloved "Casablanca" record company active again?

[Mr.Ree]

I was in a music store today and I saw a record on the Casablanca label whose release date was listed as 2005. The artist was named "Cory Gunz" and the song was titled "Shake". It appeared to be R&B or hip-hop but that's just my guess. Anyone have any info? I haven't googled yet....

[BrunoRepublic]

I was in a music store today and I saw a record on the Casablanca label whose release date was listed as 2005. The artist was named "Cory Gunz" and the song was titled "Shake". It appeared to be R&B or hip-hop but that's just my guess. Anyone have any info? I haven't googled yet....

Well, there's a much more famous recent album on the so-called Casablanca label: Mika's Life In Cartoon Motion.

Having said that, Casablanca today is an "imprint", i.e. not a real label. I would imagine the people who made the original Casablanca so special have nothing to do with this. After all, Neil Bogart died about 25 years ago.

[Videoskooter]

The Casablanca label was revived by Tommy Mottola in 2003 but I think it's already history (again).

TOMMY MOTTOLA - MOTTOLA READY TO PLAY IT AGAIN AS CASABLANCA BOSS

[Pete Denis]

I could only wish for something like that to really happen. A second Coming of CASABLANCA could mean the end of the world as we know it. The days of horrible music would be over. DISCO would rise from the ashes. The Clubs would start featuring a new cleaner, more orchestrated music that would sound just like DISCO!!! Oh This would be so COOL! In BAGDAD the opposition forces would do the bump!The end of The IRAQ WAR!! DISCO could do this!! DISCO music would spread all over the world again, In the Mountains of PAKISTAN the TALIBAN would start dancing the HUSTLE and forget about their JIHAD. The MIRRORBALLS would blind them as we capture BIN LADIN.DISCO Could do this!! CASABLANCA started the first revolution, it could do it again!! Imagine HILARY CLINTON, BARACK OBAMA and BILL CLINTON doing an 8ball and having a threesome!! All while the new CASABLANCA release of ISSAC HAYES old DISCO song MENAGE A TROIS played in the background. JOHN McCAIN could retire in tranquility, and take his wife on a second HONEYMOON IN PUERTO RICO, DISCO COULD DO IT!! HAVE FAITH!! Come on put all your support behind CASABLANCA, we can change the world, again!! They could talk DONNA SUMMER into another comeback album, with Giorgio Moroder producing it! The VILLAGE PEOPLE could come out with a special double album celebrating their thirty year reunion. EVERYBODY SING!! "Y.M.C.A."- With CASABLANCA back, there would be new DISCOS popping up in every strip-mall. Please, CASABLANCA, come back. The world needs you. Can You Imagine!!! Another DISCO CLASSIC from The ROLLING STONES or The BEE GEES. I got it!! THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY-30 Year Reunion!!!

[boogyjuice]

Their official site currently promotes 2 artists and 2 soundtracks

www.casablanca-music.com/soundtracks.asp

......................................

And i bumped into this



http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...2em118Q2el1247

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53...ayphotohosting

[boogyjuice]

I could only wish for something like that to really happen. A second Coming of CASABLANCA could mean the end of the world as we know it. The days of horrible music would be over. DISCO would rise from the ashes. The Clubs would start featuring a new cleaner, more orchestrated music that would sound just like DISCO!!! Oh This would be so COOL! In BAGDAD the opposition forces would do the bump!The end of The IRAQ WAR!! DISCO could do this!! DISCO music would spread all over the world again, In the Mountains of PAKISTAN the TALIBAN would start dancing the HUSTLE and forget about their JIHAD. The MIRRORBALLS would blind them as we capture BIN LADIN.DISCO Could do this!! CASABLANCA started the first revolution, it could do it again!! Imagine HILARY CLINTON, BARACK OBAMA and BILL CLINTON doing an 8ball and having a threesome!! All while the new CASABLANCA release of ISSAC HAYES old DISCO song MENAGE A TROIS played in the background. JOHN McCAIN could retire in tranquility, and take his wife on a second HONEYMOON IN PUERTO RICO, DISCO COULD DO IT!! HAVE FAITH!! Come on put all your support behind CASABLANCA, we can change the world, again!! They could talk DONNA SUMMER into another comeback album, with Giorgio Moroder producing it! The VILLAGE PEOPLE could come out with a special double album celebrating their thirty year reunion. EVERYBODY SING!! "Y.M.C.A."- With CASABLANCA back, there would be new DISCOS popping up in every strip-mall. Please, CASABLANCA, come back. The world needs you. Can You Imagine!!! Another DISCO CLASSIC from The ROLLING STONES or The BEE GEES. I got it!! THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY-30 Year Reunion!!!

LOL ! yeah that would have been the bomb (oopz)

Besides the box-set which is still available , i think if they did another quality retrospect-release of classic albums including many photos , aneqdotes and a good bio from every artist , and on top of that a sorta Casablanca-sublabel with newer house & clubgrooves which relate much to the classic sound , they could make a major step in the danceclub-scene. I mean , the last few years there have been a few artists which kinda revived the disco-scene to some degree like , Jamiroquai , Madonna (Confessions on the Dancefloor) , Kylie , and a few others. Would be great if they could contract Jamiroquai because of those mentioned artists , his work breathes a good disco-vibe imo . Oh well , wishful thinking i guess , lol.

[Videoskooter]

And i bumped into this

Thx for posting this, never seen it before. It's the cover of a Video-release, right? Anyone has more info on that?

The site you are referring to is apparently promoting "older" new stuff till' 2005 (didn't have the time to check it all the way) but the copyright says "2008". Are they still in business?

It's great to see that the Casablanca name still rings a bell in the industry but I'm afraid that the new Casbah is definitely not so exciting as the old Casbah.

And that brings me a little off-topic: Is the Tony Mottola in Dr. Buzzard's "Cherchez La Femme" the same guy as the Tony from Sony?

"Tommy Mottola lives on the road
He lost his lady, two months ago
mabye he'll find her, mabye he won't
Oh no, never, no, no
He sleeps in the back of his grey Cadillac"

[Pete Denis]

Tommy Mattola was definitely who AUGUST DARNELL and CORY DAYE were referring to. In the early to mid seventies in the greater NEW YORK CITY Area, Tommy Mattola was everywhere. I swear there were at least three of him. He could be with DR BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND in West Orange, New Jersey, at 10pm, then be in the City at The COPACABANA at 10:10pm and opening the door at THE LOFT at 10:12 PM?? By 11pm he was helping some new artist record at his studio. I know the drugs were good back then, but HOW did he do it? Remember, we are talking about New York Traffic!! And of course New York Minutes!! If anyone could save our world from destruction it's..... wait a second, I just had a FLASHBACK!!!

[RobbaDobba]

This iteration of Casablanca used Lindsay Lohan as its poster girl/launch artist. 'Nuff said.

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

The Casablanca label was revived by Tommy Mottola in 2003 but I think it's already history (again).

TOMMY MOTTOLA - MOTTOLA READY TO PLAY IT AGAIN AS CASABLANCA BOSS

Here you go... Quick synopsis...

After Casablanca practically bankrupted Polygram in 1980 (The exact figures were never released, but Polygram... not "Polydor", POLYGRAM... wasn't back in the black until 1984. Thanks mostly to the Flashdance soundtrack) they absorbed FilmWorks into Polygram Pictures, slashed the artist roster, shut-down production on unreleased projects (some of you know the heartbreak of losing "Fenotti's Magic Garden" which Howard Merritt was putting the finishing touches on:icon_cry:) and wound-down the label. Using it for a small number of Artists (Stephanie Mills, Robin Williams, Lipps Inc., etc...), soundtracks, re-releases from the 20th Century catalogue that they'd acquired, and endless re-releases and compilations from the back-catologue.

The last new releases were 1984's Thief of Hearts soundtrack, 1985's A Chorus Line soundtrack and 1986's Strange Behavior LP by Animotion.

In 1994 Polygram/Casablanca re-signed Donna Summer and released "Melody Of Love". With this, Polygram threw an enourmous amount of money into reviving the label's visibility, by capitalizing on it's legendary status. The 4-Disc Boxed-Set, the promo tote-bag to DJs with all the double-a-sided 12" re-releases. (A bunch of us were called, the year before, to submit our "Casablanca Wish List". But weren't given any more information about why, other than "it's a suprise". When "The Casablanca Story" came out, it was very exciting!) A massive promotion campaign to re-launch the label, anchored on Donna's new LP with David Morales.

One problem...

Donna had a clause in her contract that she exersized when it was obvious that she wasn't getting the creative control she was promised. Morales had 3, or 4 songs ready for the LP, but Donna was out the door. And Polygram lost the anchor to the whole project.

Back to the re-releases. (TGIF 1 Disc, then TGIF 2 Discs, etc...) Then Polygram quietly shut-down the industry-dubbed, "cursed" label.

In 1998 Seagrams (the booze people) bought Polygram for 10.6 billion, and merged Polygram into their Universal Entertainment division. With little to no fanfare they decided to re-launch the Casablanca name, but dropped the "Records and Filmworks" and the desert graphics. To be based in NYC and distributed by Universal/Motown Group, they brought-in Tommy Mottola to run it. Threw a big chunk of money at it and the rest is... Well... There isn't really much to tell.

"Do you hear a flushing sound? Uh oh... Here we go again".:icon_rolleyes:

Here's a 2/26/06 press release that I stumbled upon, that wraps the story-up. Right up to Donna's "Crayons" LP.

Lindsay Lohan: Mottola's Waterloo?
A big message came out of Universal Music Group yesterday that bore hidden messages for all those involved.

The company re-aligned its R&B artists into two labels, Motown and Republic. They named the artists on each label, including soul diva — no, just kidding — Lindsay Lohan, the gossip-plagued teen queen actress on Motown.

What the press releases didn't say spoke volumes. Lohan was the only artist of any note on Casablanca Records, the ill-fated project re-started by Tommy Mottola after Sony Music showed him the door a couple of years ago.

The UMG release made no mention of Casablanca's future, but with Lohan (a not very best-selling recording artist) officially being moved to Motown, that would seem like the end for Mottola and Casablanca.

We'll skip for the moment the completely idiotic idea of Lohan as a singer being grouped in a sentence with Stevie Wonder, India.Arie and Erykah Badu as a Motown artist. And we won’t even mention her now on a label that once bred the colossuses of the music business, from Diana Ross and Gladys Knight to Marvin Gaye and Levi Stubbs.

More to the point: moving Mottola's one act to Sylvia Rhone's purview is UMG's Doug Morris' way of not having to say the ex-husband of Mariah Carey has been "Tommy-gunned." It's just over, that's all.

Maybe worse than anything is the news that Casablanca's one-time queen, Donna Summer, is signed or has signed or may sign —- that’s what I hear — with Sony’s Burgundy label for heritage artists. She'll join Chaka Khan, possibly Patti LaBelle, and some other vintage talents.

How ironic, no? Burgundy is a simple idea, and one that Mottola could have used to stage a comeback ***simply by reviving Casablanca's best names of the past.

*** Um... Uh... Didn't they try that once before?

Ahhh...the Casablanca curse:icon_twisted: Sometimes, exquisite memories should be left as just that.

[Pete Denis]

:icon_razz:SERIOUSLY, if we can help CASABLANCA COME BACK, it would be great. Wouldn't it? Maybe some of those stoned out retreads from our day would
actually do some good work? Is it simply wishful thinking. Think KC and The SUNSHINE band is free. :icon_lol:I know we could get ISH LADESMA to get FOXY together again. Miami will do their part. We will get RAY MARTINEZ to get his crew working again. VOYAGE, BEAUTIFUL BEND even The RITCHIE FAMILY could be coaxed into another album. The only problem would be, who would spin these records? The baby boomers are too old, the deejays of today couldn't come close! So in 20-20, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm bumbed out!:icon_evil:

[boogyjuice]

I know we could get ISH LADESMA to get FOXY together again.

Speaking of ... check his story.

[boogyjuice]

Thx for posting this, never seen it before.

You're welcome !

It's the cover of a Video-release, right?

Yep!

Anyone has more info on that?

Found about 2 few reviews so far :

" Preconceived notions can spoil a perfectly rewarding experience. Thinking that Inside the Casbah: A History of Casablanca Records and Film Works would be a penetrating look at the meteoric record and film company founded by Neil Bogart, I grew disappointed as a stream of promotional material never gave way to interviews or insight. I should have felt blessed that Damien Vivona took the time to track down all this wonderfully dated archival footage of KISS, The Village People, Donna Summer, and Parliament; the artists that made Casablanca Records rich. Instead, I questioned the use of the word ‘history’. There really is no story here and little study is given to the events that brought Casablanca and its artists to prominence. While the footage itself may hold historical relevance, there is very little holding together these clips other than a passive interest in the artists and films the label was promoting. If one is not already interested in the subject matter, there is scant argument made as to why you should be. Having a mild interest in KISS, my attention is piqued during the promotions for the famously face-painted quartet. Placed aside the Village People, KISS does not become more fierce, but actually loses some of its shock appeal. They look like a disco act and serve as a reminder that 70’s rock branched outwards in two distinct directions. KISS forged one path, while Black Sabbath paved another. The difference between the two is unmistakable. KISS will get you girls. Black Sabbath won’t. "

Made Out Of Mouth

.................................................. ....

" Neil Bogart founded a company in the 1970s that he named Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Unfortunately, he died five years later. During that interim period, a number of the company's performers became stars. They included the Village People, Donna Summer, and Parliament. After Bogart's death, the famous Casablanca logo and Rock Steady/Chocolate City label imprints fell into disuse. Years later, Damien Vivona searched for archival footage of some of these performers that had entered the public domain so an inexpensive film could be made documenting this company's brief history. "
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

allmovie ((( Inside the Casbah: A History of Casablanca Record and FilmWorks > Overview )))

.................................................. .....................................


Greetz!
BJ

[boogyjuice]

Here you go... Quick synopsis...

*me reading here a whole bunch of fab inside stuff*

Ahhh...the Casablanca curse:icon_twisted: Sometimes, exquisite memories should be left as just that.

GREAT read Stephen ! ... thanx for sharing

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

..."I questioned the use of the word ‘history’. There really is no story here and little study is given to the events that brought Casablanca and its artists to prominence. ... Having a mild interest in KISS, my attention is piqued during the promotions for the famously face-painted quartet."
.................................................. ....

"...After Bogart's death, the famous Casablanca logo and Rock Steady/Chocolate City label imprints fell into disuse."

What neither of the reviewers mention (or didn't research, as is frequently the case) is that this video is a "Rock Steady/Kissin' Time" production. "Rock Steady" was Bill Aucoin's company. Not part of Casablanca, per se. (They even spell Donna's last name incorrectly, on the box.) And, certainly not a "label imprint". (A silly mistake, exposing sloppy journalism.) Bill Aucoin was the manager for KISS. Which explains why this video is a bit KISS-heavy. And relies on some corporate, archival footage, but little in the way of interviews, or Artist footage. It appears that he built as much as he could, around what little he could get his hands on, for as little money as possible.

Although, it is pretty cool to watch the LP assembly plant, during the KISS solo LPs section.

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

GREAT read Stephen ! ... thanx for sharing

My pleasure. I like debunking myths and exaggerations. More often than not, the truth is less exciting than the rumors.

But in this case, Casablanca never failed to sway towards the extremes. Whether very-very good... Or very-very bad.

[boogyjuice]

What neither of the reviewers mention (or didn't research, as is frequently the case) is that this video is a "Rock Steady/Kissin' Time" production. "Rock Steady" was Bill Aucoin's company. Not part of Casablanca, per se. (They even spell Donna's last name incorrectly, on the box.) And, certainly not a "label imprint". (A silly mistake, exposing sloppy journalism.) Bill Aucoin was the manager for KISS. Which explains why this video is a bit KISS-heavy. And relies on some corporate, archival footage, but little in the way of interviews, or Artist footage. It appears that he built as much as he could, around what little he could get his hands on, for as little money as possible.

Although, it is pretty cool to watch the LP assembly plant, during the KISS solo LPs section.

Yes , the Rock Steady-logo rang a bell for me. My very first connection with music was Kiss.
I started to get my interest for illustrating at an early age , and the grapic-painted faces of Kiss caught my attention. Since then i bought a bunch of music-mags whenever possible , had a vintage & glittery 70's iron-on of the group printed on a black shirt , went to see the "Phantom of the Park"-movie with Kiss-buddies in the cinema-theatre , and i clearly remember buying the Love Gun-album on a warm sunny day. Every album included an order-sheet with all kinda merchandise-goodies from the Kiss-Army.
Also remember that the Phantom-movie premiered in the capital of my country , when i was on a trip to the capital with my family in that particular premiere-weekend. All kinda fan-stuff was for sale at a shop in the cinema-theatre. Although i went to see the movie the next week in my hometown , my dad said i could choose something from that Kiss-shop in the cinema.
They sold this big black silk-shiny scarf with the kiss-logo printed on it which immediately caught my attention. It was a great moment , and the scarf was proudly placed on the wall of my room along with the posters.

One more thing before i end this corny madness , lol.
I managed to create a Kiss-gadget , which included a white shiny ball with Gene Simmons' face painted on it , his hair-doo i made from black wool , and on the back of his head i crafted a hole which went to the mouth of the Gene-face. Now i attached one of those long , red party-balloons in the back of his head so that you could see a part of it flapping out of it's mouth , and it could be blown up as a growing tongue , lol ! Yep , i was a freak

Anyways , thanks again for clearing that up Stephan , and i'll see if i'm gonna buy a copy of that Casbah-video one day.
There's still a little Kiss-nut left in me. The Phantom-dvd is another one on my wishlist. Love the 70's vintage !

[boogyjuice]

My pleasure. I like debunking myths and exaggerations. More often than not, the truth is less exciting than the rumors.

But in this case, Casablanca never failed to sway towards the extremes. Whether very-very good... Or very-very bad.

I also think it would make great material for an expanded retrospect-docu.
Like SalSoul and Prelude , these labels have meant much for the global dance-scene and future of it.

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

Yes , the Rock Steady-logo rang a bell for me. My very first connection with music was Kiss.
I started to get my interest for illustrating at an early age , and the grapic-painted faces of Kiss caught my attention. Since then i bought a bunch of music-mags whenever possible , had a vintage & glittery 70's iron-on of the group printed on a black shirt , went to see the "Phantom of the Park"-movie with Kiss-buddies in the cinema-theatre , and i clearly remember buying the Love Gun-album on a warm sunny day. Every album included an order-sheet with all kinda merchandise-goodies from the Kiss-Army.
Also remember that the Phantom-movie premiered in the capital of my country , when i was on a trip to the capital with my family in that particular premiere-weekend. All kinda fan-stuff was for sale at a shop in the cinema-theatre. Although i went to see the movie the next week in my hometown , my dad said i could choose something from that Kiss-shop in the cinema.
They sold this big black silk-shiny scarf with the kiss-logo printed on it which immediately caught my attention. It was a great moment , and the scarf was proudly placed on the wall of my room along with the posters.

One more thing before i end this corny madness , lol.
I managed to create a Kiss-gadget , which included a white shiny ball with Gene Simmons' face painted on it , his hair-doo i made from black wool , and on the back of his head i crafted a hole which went to the mouth of the Gene-face. Now i attached one of those long , red party-balloons in the back of his head so that you could see a part of it flapping out of it's mouth , and it could be blown up as a growing tongue , lol ! Yep , i was a freak

WOW! You, Sir, are a true "fan". As a "Donna" junkie, I can empathise.
And I salute you.

[boogyjuice]

WOW! You, Sir, are a true "fan". As a "Donna" junkie, I can empathise.
And I salute you.

Ayai Sir !