Columbia

Columbia on vinyl: Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and the six-eye label

In short: Columbia is one of the oldest record labels in the world, and in 1948 it launched the long-playing record at 33⅓ rpm. Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”, Dave Brubeck’s “Time Out”, Bob Dylan’s albums and countless soul, rock and pop classics came out here. The Vinyl Room currently has 227 Columbia records from every decade since the fifties.

What makes Columbia special?

Columbia’s roots go back to the late 19th century. In 1948 the label introduced the 12-inch LP at 33⅓ revolutions per minute – the format we still play today. In jazz, producer George Avakian brought Miles Davis to Columbia in 1955. What followed were “’Round About Midnight”, “Milestones”, “Kind of Blue” and the orchestral albums with Gil Evans such as “Miles Ahead” and “Sketches of Spain”. Add Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus with “Mingus Ah Um”. From the sixties, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Santana and Barbra Streisand shaped the label, later soul and funk from Earth, Wind & Fire to the Weather Girls.

Six-eye, two-eye, CBS: which edition do you have?

With US pressings, collectors can often tell the age from the label alone. The red six-eye label with six small eye logos around the edge belongs roughly to the years 1955 to 1962. Then came the two-eye label with two logos, on stereo records usually with the words “360 Sound”. In many countries outside North America, Columbia recordings came out under the name CBS, because EMI held the rights to the name “Columbia” there – so a European CBS pressing is often the same recording with a different label. As always, label, catalogue number, runout and cover must match – more on our page “How to spot a first pressing”.

From our stock

Columbia first pressings

Jazz on Columbia

Rock & folk

Soul & funk

Still sealed

New in

→ Miles Davis · Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained · Plattenparty on YouTube

FAQ

What is a six-eye label? The red label of US Columbia pressings with six small eye logos around the edge, used roughly from 1955 to 1962. Many collectors look for jazz LPs from this period with exactly this label, “Kind of Blue” for example.

Why do European Columbia records often say CBS? Because EMI held the rights to the name “Columbia” in many countries. The recordings were released there on the CBS label instead.

Did Columbia invent the LP? Columbia launched the 12-inch long-playing record at 33⅓ rpm in 1948. It became the standard for albums.

Which Columbia records are most sought after? Among others early pressings of Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” and Dave Brubeck’s “Time Out”, both from 1959, and Bob Dylan’s early albums from the sixties.