Record Label Socks
Description: Philo Records was a short-lived record company and label founded in 1945 by the brothers Eddie and Leo Messner. Soon after it was founded, the name was changed to Aladdin. Philo's releases included 78 RPM singles of Illinois Jacquet, Wynonie Harris, Helen Humes with the Bill Doggett Octet, Jay McShann and Lester Young, and an album (set of two 78 RPM records) of Lester Young, Nat King Cole and Red Callender.
Description: Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo. Although Chess was a blues label, the Argo division began to record jazz in 1955 and over decades attracted some big names: Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Barry Harris, Illinois Jacquet, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, James Moody, Max Roach, Red Rodney, and Ira Sullivan.
Description: Broadcast Twelve Records was a United Kingdom based record label introduced in 1928 to partner the regular "Broadcast" brand records introduced in 1927. These brands replaced the Aco Records label. The manufacturer of the discs were the Vocalion Gramophone Company. "Broadcast" discs were 8-inch (later increased to 9-inch) and "Broadcast Twelve" discs were 10-inch 78rpm gramophone records, but with small labels and a fine groove pitch so they would play as long as regular 10- and 12-inch discs respectively. They ceased production in 1934.
Description: Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released music during the golden age of hip-hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. A producer-and-crew label founded by manager Tyrone Williams and run by Len Fichtelberg (1930–November 4, 2010), most of the label's releases were by members of the Juice Crew, a loosely knit group of artists centered on producer Marley Marl. In 1998, the label shut down, and the majority of its catalog was bought by Massachusetts-based LandSpeed Records (now Traffic Entertainment).
Description: Alston Records was an American record label founded by Henry Stone and Steve Alaimo in 1964 that went bankrupt in 1981. Artists previously on its roster include Bill Pursell, Betty Wright, The Beginning of the End ("Funky Nassau"), Jimmy "Bo" Horne, Clarence Reid, Timmy Thomas and Sam & Dave.
Description: A retro-style circular design resembling a vinyl record label. The center features a metallic silver and grey disc. The outer edge of the record is filled with lyrics from the 'Y.M.C.A.' song by Village People, arranged in a circular pattern. Above the record is the text 'Village People' and 'Y.M.C.A.' in bold lettering.
Description: Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was influential in the creation of Southern soul and Memphis soul music. Stax also released gospel, funk, and blues recordings. Renowned for its output of blues music, the label was founded by two siblings and business partners, Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton. It featured several popular ethnically integrated bands (including the label's house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s) and a racially integrated team of staff and artists unprecedented in that time of racial strife.
Description: Trix Records was an American independent record label, which was set up in 1972, by the folklorist Peter B. Lowry. It lasted just under a decade as an active label dealing mainly with Piedmont blues artists from the Southeastern states (the focus of Lowry's folkloric field research), together with the anthology Detroit After Hours, a collection of Detroit piano players. The label's last release was by David "Honeyboy" Edwards in 1978, although Lowry continued recording until 1980 with Cephas & Wiggins. Lowry's long-time partner, Roberta Casey, ran things in the 1990s and helped in arranging the sale of its eighteen issued LP master tapes to Joe Fields of Muse Records.
Description: Refuge Records was a contemporary Christian music record label founded in 1980 by Greg Nelson, Jack Hafer and Ray Nenow. One imprint of Refuge was Pure Metal Records, although Star Song Communications bought out that branch in 1990. The label had Doug Mann, future founder of R.E.X. Records, as an employee.
Description: Pye International started in November 1958, mainly for licensed recordings from foreign labels for the UK market, including Chess, A&M, Kama Sutra, Colpix, Warner Bros., Buddah, 20th Century, and King. It also released recordings from British artist Labi Siffre which were produced outside the company. Shut down in 1979.
Description: The Standard Talking Machine Company was an American record label created in October 1901 and operated until March 1918. The Chicago, Illinois based company distributed several models of phonographs from Columbia Graphophone Company parts and issued single-sided and double-sided disc records from Columbia Records masters. Despite the label name, the discs were not quite ’Standard’; the spindle hole at the center of the discs was 9/16 inch, larger than the industry standard. This made discs produced by other companies such as Victor and Columbia unable to be played upon Standard Disc phonographs, entrapping the buyer into purchasing only Standard Disc records.
Description: Bizarre Records, self-identified simply as Bizarre, was a production company and record label formed for artists discovered by rock musician Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. Bizarre was originally formed as a production company. In 1967 Zappa's label, Verve Records, missed the deadline to renew their option on Zappa's recording contract after his second album, Absolutely Free, recorded with his group the Mothers of Invention. This gave Zappa and Cohen the upper hand in negotiating their own production deal with Verve.
