Record Mugs
Description: The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York. It quickly expanded to make band organs, orchestrions, player pianos and pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during the days of silent movies.
Description: Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd Price. Rupe established the company under the name Juke Box Records but changed it to Specialty in 1946 when he parted company with a couple of his original partners. Rupe's daughter, Beverly, restarted the label in the 1980s. The record label was sold to Fantasy Records in 1991 and is now part of the Concord Music Group. The music publishing unit was sold to Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
Description: Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, then later Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned. In March 1964, Warner Bros. president Mike Maitland announced the formation of Loma Records. Former promotional man and record producer Bob Krasnow was named the manager of the new label. Maitland explained the purpose of Loma was "an attempt to broaden singles coverage. There's so much product available through outside source, that we can afford to release it on Warner Bros., Reprise and now Loma." The first releases on the label were purchased masters.
Description: The roots of jazz run deep in Seattle culture. From the '20s through the '50s, the jazz scene flourished in nightclubs along Jackson Street, starting the careers of Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Ernestine Anderson, and many others. If you allowed yourself to follow the sound of these music legends, you'd end up at Bud's Jazz Records — where history could be heard and learned. Listen carefully, though, or you might pass this hidden repository that has been tucked away in a basement suite well below Jackson Street. Far from a polished mega-chain record store, Bud's was the real deal with literally stacks upon stacks of records and CD's that helps them live up to their tagline - Jazz in all it's forms.
Description: Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most of the Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969.
Description: Championship Vinyl is the fictional record store from the 2000 film, High Fidelity, based on the 1995 British novel of the same name, though the setting moved from London to Chicago for the screen. Owned by Rob Gordon, and located in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, he and his employees are archetypal music snobs, the kind who'd sneer when someone picks up the latest hit record. Throughout the film, the crew leverage their encyclopedic knowledge of music to belittle customers, compile "Top 5" lists for every conceivable occasion, openly mock people's musical tastes, and occasionally manage to sell few records. How Championship Vinyl managed to stay in business is beyond me, but hey, it's a movie, right?
