Epic Records (CBS) · 1973–1980s
Epic 1970s and 1980s vinyl labels.
How to identify one.
Epic changed its US label twice in the 1970s. The yellow label with an oval logo gave way in 1973 to a bright orange label with white concentric circles and a round logo. By 1979 new albums were on a dark blue-to-black label with a pastel script 'Epic'. Boston's first two albums are orange-label originals; Off the Wall and Thriller are blue.
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What to look for on the label
Epic shared Columbia's price-code system, with E for Epic, so the prefix dates a copy as well as the label color does. The blue script label was also used on 1980s reissues of 1970s albums. A blue-label copy of Boston is never an original.
- Yellow label (1964 to 1973). Plain bright yellow with the oval Epic logo at top center. Most collectible 1960s Epic originals are on it.
- Orange label with white circles (1973 to 1978). Bright orange with thin white concentric circles and a round logo above 'Epic'. Boston (PE 34188, 1976) and Don't Look Back (FE 35050, 1978) were first issued on it.
- Dark blue script label (1978 onward). A black-to-blue background with a pastel script 'Epic' and a white line near the edge. Off the Wall (FE 35745, 1979) and Thriller (QE 38112, 1982) originals use it, and so do 1980s reissues of earlier albums.
- PE, JE, FE and QE prefixes. The first letter is the price code: P ($6.98 when introduced), J (late 1976, $7.98), F (1978, $8.98), and the higher Q on Thriller. Boston first sold as PE 34188 and was repressed as JE 34188 after the price rose.
- Barcodes. 1970s Epic originals have no barcode, and later reissues of those albums do. By 1982 originals carry one too: Thriller's first jacket already has 0 7464-38112-1.
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What the label does not prove
A period-correct label narrows the search. It does not replace the album-specific matrix, jacket, and format checks.
- Calling a blue-label copy of a 1970s album an original. Boston and Don't Look Back were both reissued on the blue script label with barcodes.
- Missing the price-code repress. Boston's first run is PE 34188; JE 34188 copies without a barcode are later 1970s represses.
- Using the barcode to date Thriller. Every US copy has one; the back-cover credits are what separate the first jacket.
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Albums found on the Epic orange and blue labels label
These album-specific guides show how the shared label clue combines with a catalog number, matrix, jacket, and value range.
1976 · PE 34188
Boston — Boston
VG+ originals: $8–$16
Check this album1978 · FE 35050
Boston — Don't Look Back
VG+ originals: $5–$10
Check this album1982 · QE 38112
Michael Jackson — Thriller
VG+ originals: $10–$25
Check this album1979 · FE 35745
Michael Jackson — Off the Wall
VG+ originals: $15–$35
Check this albumDeeper pressing guides
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A four-step check for your copy
- Note the label color and logo: yellow oval, orange with white circles, or dark blue script.
- Read the prefix on the label, spine, and back cover. A mid-1980s Don't Look Back reissue reads PE 35050 on the spine and E 35050 on the labels.
- Check the back cover for a barcode.
- Copy the runouts and the plant letter: P for Pitman, T for Terre Haute, G or G1 for Carrollton.
- For Thriller, read the production credits on the back cover.
Keep checking the shelf
Compare another label family.
The same visual method works across the rest of the shelf.
roughly 1955–1962
Columbia six-eye
Identify a Columbia six-eye pressing by its six walking-eye marks, catalog prefix, label text, and dead-wax matrix—then check album-specific details.
Check this pressing
roughly 1962–1970
Columbia two-eye
Identify a Columbia two-eye pressing from its two walking-eye logos, 360 Sound text, catalog prefix, and dead-wax matrix variations.
Check this pressing
mid-1960s–early 1970s
Atlantic red and plum
Identify Atlantic red-and-plum LP pressings by label layout, catalog number, address and rim text, pressing-plant marks, and matrix details.
Check this pressingA few questions
The ones that come up.
In 1973. The orange label with white circles ran until 1978, when the dark blue label with the script logo took over.
An orange-label copy reading PE 34188 with no barcode belongs to the original PE run of 1976–77. JE 34188 copies were pressed after a price increase, and copies with a barcode on the back are 1980s reissues.
Read the back cover. First US jackets for QE 38112 do not list Michael Jackson as co-producer; later jackets add the credit. Some early Pitman copies also have a side-one label printed for an Adam and the Ants album, a documented misprint.
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