Editing MCA Records (section)

=== Early success ===
The first MCA Records release in the U.S. was former Uni artist [[Elton John]]'s "[[Crocodile Rock]]" single in 1972, which appeared on a plain black and white label.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ig8EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22mca+records+presents+its+first+single%22&pg=PA15|title=Billboard|work=google.com|date=December 2, 1972}}</ref> Immediately following this, the American MCA label used a black with curved rainbow design until the late 1970s. This design was directly inspired by the U.S. Decca label of the 1960s.

In December 1972, [[Neil Diamond]], another Uni artist, reached  superstar status with his first MCA release, the live multi-platinum ''[[Hot August Night]]''. Elton John's [[double album]] ''[[Goodbye Yellow Brick Road]]'' was released in October 1973 and was number one on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] albums chart for eight straight weeks. The management of former Decca artists [[the Who]] had formed their own label [[Track Records]] in the UK, but were still under contract with MCA for American distribution. The Who's double album ''[[Quadrophenia]]'' was  released by Track/MCA also in October 1973. ''Quadrophenia'' peaked at number 2 as it was held back from the number 1 slot by ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.''

Other successful artists on MCA, after the consolidation, included former Kapp artist [[Cher]], and Uni artist [[Olivia Newton-John]]. In 1973 MCA released the highly successful soundtrack album to the film ''[[The Sting]]''. The movie used the [[Ragtime]] music of [[Scott Joplin]], arranged and conducted by [[Marvin Hamlisch]]. It won an [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]] (MCA issued many other soundtracks to films from Universal, along with some non-Universal films).

One of the most successful MCA artists in this era was the rock band [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]], who would become one of the most popular in the [[Southern rock]] genre. The group was discovered by [[Al Kooper]] and initially released on his Sounds of the South label imprint of MCA. The song "[[Free Bird]]" became one of the most popular songs of all time on [[album-oriented rock]] radio stations. On ''[[Second Helping]]'', the group recorded a song about their relationship with the label called, "Workin' for MCA". ''[[Street Survivors]]'' was released in October 1977, just prior to a tragic [[Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash|plane crash]] in which members of the group were either killed or severely injured. The original ''Street Survivors'' cover had a picture of the band members surrounded by flames, but this was quickly substituted for a design without flames. Lynyrd Skynyrd's streak of hits ended after the crash. Eventually, three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums reached the double platinum sales level and at least two others reached platinum or gold levels.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

During the 1970s and 1980s, MCA profited from reissuing classic early [[rock and roll]] recordings made by artists who recorded for the numerous labels absorbed by MCA. One notable example was the 1954 Decca recording "[[Rock Around the Clock]]" by [[Bill Haley & His Comets]], which was featured as the lead track of MCA's number one–charting ''[[American Graffiti (soundtrack)|American Graffiti]]'' soundtrack album, and as a single returned to the American top 40 that year, 20 years after it was recorded.