360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story
Columbia Records will celebrate its 125th anniversary with the release of a book titled 360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story on the American record label and its role in initiating recorded music, cultivating artists, and igniting cultural change.
Written by Pulitzer Prize-and GRAMMY nominated author and historian Sean Wilentz, the book provides a journey through Columbia Records’ storied past and its contributions to entertainment from the invention of commercial recording through the present day.
360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story, published by Chronicle Books, will be released on October 30th. It begins in the late 1880’s, when Columbia, under the leadership of Edward Easton, seized upon the phonographic inventions of Thomas Edison and others to offer the public the first commercial musical recordings.
The book goes on the explore the rich stories of how Columbia’s artists and producers have redefined American music and performance over the past 125 years, at once reflecting and shaping changes in the wider culture.
Simultaneously, Columbia Records will release a deluxe package, which will include, in addition to a hard cover copy of the Wilentz book, a separate book, written by Dave Marsh, entitled 360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story: Legends and Legacy. Marsh has culled from Columbia’s vaults a collection of 263 songs and tracks of the historical, as well as musical, significance, and his book offers his thoughts on each selection. The package also includes a drive with all 263 recordings.
360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story will also be available as an e-book through multiple platforms.
