Vintage Label Shorts
Description: Death Records is a San Francisco-based Lo-Fi/Outsider Pop record label. Founded by Brian Wakefield & Colin Arlen in 2014, the label was created to "Represent the 'misfits of this city' who have been left behind to fend for themselves". The label has started an annual festival, Deathstock, to celebrate the labels "birthday". Acts such as Gary Wilson, Tomorrow's Tulips & The Memories played the inaugural year.
Description: Löwenbräu (German: [ˈløːvn̩bʁɔʏ]) is a brewery in Munich. Its name is German for "lion's brew". Most Löwenbräu beers are marketed as being brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian beer purity regulation of 1516. Löwenbräu claims to have been founded around 1383. In 1524, Jörg Schnaitter, a pierprew (beer brewer), is mentioned in connection with the property at the address 17 Löwengrube. The brewery was first mentioned in 1746 in the Munich tax records.
Description: Rawkus Records is an American hip hop record label, owned by James Murdoch, known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One). Label heads Brian Brater and Jarret Myer then signed some of the top underground talent from the New York area, notably Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek and Company Flow, who went on to define the label's sound. The string of 12" releases and full-length albums that followed helped initiate a resurgence in the New York/East Coast sound. Many of these are considered classics among hip-hop aficionados. During the mid to late 1990s, Rawkus became a dominant label in the underground hip-hop scene.
Description: The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American record company and phonograph manufacturer. The company was founded by engineer Eldridge R. Johnson, who had been manufacturing gramophones for inventor Emile Berliner, to play his disc records. After a series of legal issues between Berliner, Johnson and their former business partners, the two joined to form the Consolidated Talking Machine Co. in order to combine Berliner's patents for the disc record and Gramophone, along with Johnson's patents for improving its performance and fidelity. The Victor Talking Machine Co. was incorporated officially on October 3, 1901 shortly before an agreement with Columbia Records to share their various disc record patents.
Description: Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce. Hi Records' first big hit was "Smokie Part 2", an instrumental by Bill Black's Combo, released in 1959. Black was a bass player with Elvis Presley and a long-time friend of Ray Harris. Founder Claunch was forced out of the label, selling his share in 1960 to Carl McVoy (a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis), who had been involved with the label since its first recording and had worked with Bill Black.
Description: King Records was an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The label owned several divisions, including Federal Records, which launched the career of James Brown. It released original material until 1975. Initially King specialized in country music, at the time known as hillbilly music. King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly – If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King." One of the label's hits was "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map" by Reno and Smiley. Important recordings in this field were done by the Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney. The Delmores and Moon Mullican played a country-boogie style that was similar to rockabilly.
Description: Reprise Records was formed in 1960 by Frank Sinatra in order to allow more artistic freedom for his own recordings. Soon thereafter, he garnered the nickname "The Chairman of the Board". Because of dissatisfaction with Capitol Records, and after trying to buy Norman Granz's Verve Records, the first album Sinatra released on Reprise was Ring-a-Ding-Ding! As CEO of Reprise, Sinatra recruited several artists for the fledgling label, such as fellow Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Description: Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot specialized in artists from Tennessee. Then it branched out to include musicians from across the U.S. It recorded country music, rhythm and blues, polkas, waltzes, gospel, rockabilly, pop, and early rock and roll.
Description: Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé, then owners of a successful bistro in Paris. In the mid-1890s, they began selling Edison and Columbia phonographs and accompanying cylinder records. Shortly thereafter, the brothers designed and sold their own phonographs. These incorporated elements of other brands.
Description: Blue Note Record Label merchandise captures the essence of iconic jazz artistry. Explore a curated selection that reflects the timeless style and musical innovation celebrated by enthusiasts. Experience the legacy through collectible items inspired by legendary musicians and unforgettable albums.
Description: Comet Records was an American jazz and R&B record label, founded in 1944 by Les Schriber, Sr. and Harry Alderton. The label is most known for having recorded and produced T-Bone Walker and Red Norvo. The label was acquired by Black & White Records and operated as a subsidiary. Comet recorded – but never released – a session with Charlie Parker on June 6, 1945. That master was sold to Dial Records in 1949, when Black & White Records went out of business.
Description: Grolsch Brewery, known simply as Grolsch, is a Dutch brewery founded in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt in Groenlo. In 1895 the de Groen family bought the brewery. They had started their own brewery in Enschede in the early 19th century. It held a significant stake until November 2007. Today the main brewery is located in Enschede.
