MCA Records · 1973–1977
MCA black rainbow vinyl labels.
How to identify one.
MCA's US label from 1973 is black with a broad rainbow band arcing around the spindle hole and MCA RECORDS printed across it. It is the label on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (MCA2-10003, 1973) and on MCA's reissues of the Uni, Decca and Kapp catalogs, which MCA retired in favor of its own name that year.
01
What to look for on the label
Discogs' MCA label notes give a clear sequence for US LPs: black with rainbow from 1973 through fall 1977; tan with a brown-to-tan fading ring from October 1977 (MCA-3027); tan with a solid brown ring from July 1978 (MCA-3046); blue with a rainbow from 1980 (MCA-3189). A black rainbow dates a pressing to 1973–77, but it does not make an MCA reissue of a Uni album an original.
- Rainbow sweep on black. A wide rainbow band arcs across a black label from the upper left, with MCA RECORDS in white and blue to the right of the hole and silver-white track copy below.
- Universal City rim text. The rim reads 'Mfd. by MCA Records, Inc., 100 Universal Plaza, Universal City, Calif. 91608', as on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and the 1973 Honky Château reissue.
- Old Uni numbers in parentheses. Honky Château first came out on Uni 93135 (1972) with Uni's swirl label. The 1973 MCA reissue, MCA-2017, prints '(93135 A)' under the catalog number and '(Formerly 93135)' on the back cover.
- Tan and blue labels that followed. A Single Man (MCA-3065, 1978) is on the tan label with a solid brown outer ring. A tan or blue label on a 1973–76 album means a later pressing.
- Custom picture labels. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (MCA-2142, 1975) came on picture labels printed with the cover art, not the rainbow.
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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 black-rainbow Honky Château an original. The first US issue was Uni 93135 in 1972; the MCA-2017 rainbow copy is a 1973 reissue.
- Expecting a rainbow label on Captain Fantastic. US originals use custom picture labels.
- Missing later renumbering. Honky Château also turns up with an MCA-3004 sticker (1977) and as budget reissue MCA-37064.
- Treating the rainbow as a sign of value. It was MCA's everyday label for five years, and big sellers on it are common.
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Albums found on the MCA black rainbow label
These album-specific guides show how the shared label clue combines with a catalog number, matrix, jacket, and value range.
1973 · MCA2-10003
Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
VG+ originals: $10–$20
Check this album1975 · MCA-2142
Elton John — Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
VG+ originals: $7–$14
Check this album1972 · 93135
Elton John — Honky Château
VG+ originals: $6–$12
Check this albumDeeper pressing guides
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A four-step check for your copy
- Identify the label: Uni swirl, black with rainbow, tan with a brown ring, blue with rainbow, or a custom picture label.
- Read the catalog number and anything in parentheses beneath it, such as an old Uni number or a label matrix like (MCA354).
- Check the jacket for 'Formerly' notes or a renumbering sticker over the spine number.
- Read the dead wax for the plant mark: a stamped G for Gloversville, P for Pinckneyville, or Columbia plant initials on contract and club pressings.
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.
From MCA's first full year as a US label in 1973 through fall 1977, according to Discogs' MCA label notes. Tan labels followed in October 1977 and July 1978, and a blue label with a rainbow arrived in 1980.
It is the right label for a 1973 original of MCA2-10003. Copies came from MCA's Gloversville and Pinckneyville plants and from contract pressers, with small typesetting differences between them. Discogs medians for common US copies were about $12 to $15 in October 2026.
MCA folded Uni into the MCA label in 1973 and reissued its catalog under new numbers. Honky Château became MCA-2017, and the old number 93135 still appears in parentheses on the label and as 'Formerly 93135' on the jacket.
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