Description: Dixieland Jubilee Records was an American record label during the 1950s that released Dixieland jazz. The label's roster included Teddy Buckner, Kid Ory, and Wild Bill Davison. Dixieland Jubilee was owned by Frank Bull and Gene Norman and run by Norman, who owned GNP Crescendo.
Description: The earliest Bullet Records was a record label based in Nashville, United States, which was started in 1946 by Jim Bulleit and C.V. Hitchcock. Bulleit was an early partner in Sun Records. Its only national hits were by orchestra leader Francis Craig. The pop hit "Near You" made in early 1947 was a monster, topping the charts for seventeen weeks and having a chart run of twenty-five weeks. Craig also made the charts at #3 with "Beg Your Pardon", but no further hits were forthcoming. Despite these hits, the label was known for country music artists such as Boots Woodall's Radio Wranglers, who also recorded for Capitol Records, and Southern Gospel artists such as the Rangers Quartet and Speer Family.
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: Def Soul Records was an R&B-based division of American multinational record label Def Jam Recordings. It was formed in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles to expand R&B and soul music through Def Jam's said genre-related roster following the successes of Montell Jordan and Case.
Def Soul T-Shirt
$24
Description: Derby Records was an independent record label founded by Larry Newton in 1949. The label's logo featured a Derby hat. First headquartered in New York City, it moved to Los Angeles shortly before going out of business in 1964. The label offered selections in various styles of pop music of the era, including jazz, rhythm and blues, and Western swing.
Description: Discos Taxco was a mid 20th century record label specializing in Mexican music. The label was mostly marketed in Mexico, but was manufactured in Los Angeles, California, in the United States of America. It was owned by William Castillo. It was one of the few record labels in the United States catering to Chicanos following the Second World War which achieved more than local distribution.
Description: A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distributing releases from Polydor Ltd. from the UK. PolyGram was acquired by Seagram and dissolved into Universal Music Group in 1998, and A&M's operations were ceased in January 1999 when it was merged with Geffen Records and Interscope Records to form the record company Interscope Geffen A&M Records. In 2007, Interscope Geffen A&M announced that A&M was revived as trademark and brand and was to be merged with Octone Records to form A&M Octone Records.
Description: Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle that was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was initially owned by Bob Reisdorff and Bonnie Guitar. Success for the label came early with "Come Softly to Me" by the Fleetwoods, the first single to be released on that label. Reisdorf was soon informed that there was another Dolphin Records in circulation (which was a subsidiary of Laurie Records), so he changed the name to Dolton after the first release, the second release being an instrumental by the Frantics called "Straight Flush" b/w "Young Blues" (Dolton 2). The new label retained the fish symbols on the logo and the fonts associated with the Dolphin name.
Description: Discovery Records was a United States-based record company and label known for its recordings of jazz music. Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx; it was headquartered in Hollywood, California. The record label would eventually record jazz notables such as Dizzy Gillespie, Georgie Auld, Red Norvo, Art Pepper, Joe Pass and Charles Mingus. Discovery later recorded such performers as singers Lorez Alexandria and Ernie Andrews, and Grammy winning composer-band leader Gerald Wilson.
Description: DiscReet Records, self-identified simply as DiscReet, was a record label founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner/manager Herb Cohen. The name of the label was a pun derived from disc and the Compatible Discrete 4 process of encoding quadraphonic sound signals into phonograph records. The label was launched in January 1973 when DiscReet arranged a distribution contract with the Warner Bros. Records group of labels. The previous Zappa/Cohen labels, Bizarre Records and Straight Records, were discontinued at the same time that DiscReet was created.
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: Dovecote Records was a New York–based independent record label. It was run by its founder, Carter Matschullat, and was distributed by Redeye Distribution in the US. Dovecote's roster included Wise Blood, SSION, Hooray for Earth, Supreme Cuts, Ski Lodge, Jonquil, Wunder Wunder, The Futureheads, Ed Harcourt, Mason Proper, Tim Williams, Trevor Giuliani, Cast Spells, Bad Veins, Blamma! Blamma! and Aberdeen City.
Description: Downey Records was an American record label owned by Bill Wetzel (July 26, 1912 – November 20, 1999) in Downey, California, and distributed at times by Dot Records. Wetzel worked as a sound engineer for MGM studios and in 1958, opened Wetzel's Music Town in Downey, California. In 1959, he began the Jack Bee label which he eventually turned into the Downey label with a studio in the back of the record store.
Description: Era Records was an independent American record label in Hollywood, California. It was founded by Herb Newman and Lou Bedell in 1955 as a pop, country and western, and jazz label. In 1959 Bedell sold his interest in the label to Newman. Era had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with Gogi Grant's "The Wayward Wind" written by Newman. Musicians with hits on Era include Ketty Lester ("Love Letters"), Larry Verne ("Mr. Custer"), Donnie Brooks ("Mission Bell"), Dorsey Burnette ("Tall Oak Tree"), Art & Dotty Todd ("Chanson D' Amour"), and The Castells ("So This Is Love").
Description: Dunwich Records was an independent American record label started by Bill Traut, Eddie Higgins and George Badonsky in Chicago in 1965. Dunwich was also a production company which licensed recordings to other labels, including Atlantic, Atco, Columbia, Mercury and SGC. The label was primarily known for the release of singles from the emerging Chicago rock scene in the 1960s. Only two artists, the Shadows of Knight and Amanda Ambrose, released albums on the label.
Description: Era Records was an independent American record label in Hollywood, California. It was founded by Herb Newman and Lou Bedell in 1955 as a pop, country and western, and jazz label. In 1959 Bedell sold his interest in the label to Newman. Era had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with Gogi Grant's "The Wayward Wind" written by Newman. Musicians with hits on Era include Ketty Lester ("Love Letters"), Larry Verne ("Mr. Custer"), Donnie Brooks ("Mission Bell"), Dorsey Burnette ("Tall Oak Tree"), Art & Dotty Todd ("Chanson D' Amour"), and The Castells ("So This Is Love").
Description: Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a husband-and-wife team who used their initials for the label's name. Vivian's brother, Calvin Carter, was the label's A&R man. Ewart Abner, formerly of Chance Records, joined the label in 1955, first as manager, then as vice president, and ultimately as president.
Description: End Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner. In 1962 the label was acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records. Among its more successful recording acts were the Flamingos, the Chantels, and Little Anthony and the Imperials; it also recorded singles by Marilyn Monroe and Wilt Chamberlain. In 1988 Roulette was purchased by Rhino Records, and Rhino in turn was sold in the 1990s to what is now the Warner Music Group, which currently owns the End Records archives.
Description: Falcon Records was a record label from McAllen, Texas, that was instrumental in the establishment of tejano as a widespread musical style. Founded in 1948 by Arnaldo Ramirez, the label specialized in the rural norteño music which had been abandoned by the major labels. By the early 1960s it was clearly the leading tejano music label. Falcon was responsible for numerous recordings by Los Alegres de Terán, Chelo Silva, René y René, Roberto Pulido, and many other tejano and norteño artists of significance. Falcon's product gained international exposure through the syndicated television program Fanfarria Falcon. The label's activities wound down around 1990, and the recordings were purchased by EMI.
Description: Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/distributor, in 1981. Four years later, in 1985, Enigma severed ties with Greenworld and became its own company. Enigma was initially located in Torrance, California, then El Segundo, California and finally Culver City, California. Enigma was founded and run by brothers William and Wesley Hein.
Description: Falcon Records was a record label from McAllen, Texas, that was instrumental in the establishment of tejano as a widespread musical style. Founded in 1948 by Arnaldo Ramirez, the label specialized in the rural norteño music which had been abandoned by the major labels. By the early 1960s it was clearly the leading tejano music label. Falcon was responsible for numerous recordings by Los Alegres de Terán, Chelo Silva, René y René, Roberto Pulido, and many other tejano and norteño artists of significance. Falcon's product gained international exposure through the syndicated television program Fanfarria Falcon. The label's activities wound down around 1990, and the recordings were purchased by EMI.
Description: Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. The company also released hillbilly and rockabilly recordings from 1951 onward, e.g., "Rockin' and Rollin" by Ramblin' Tommy Scott on Federal 10003. Singles were published on both 45 and 78 rpm speed formats.
Description: Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. The company also released hillbilly and rockabilly recordings from 1951 onward, e.g., "Rockin' and Rollin" by Ramblin' Tommy Scott on Federal 10003. Singles were published on both 45 and 78 rpm speed formats.
Description: Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the last commercial 78rpm disc in the United States. Although this has been dis-proven, the label is still known for their late-issue 78s.
Description: Gold Star Recording Company originated as a recording studio in Houston, Texas, and was founded in October 1941 by Bill Quinn under the name Quinn Recording Company. In 1950, Quinn changed the name of the studio to Gold Star Studios and, as such, remains the oldest registered recording studio in the Southeastern United States.
Description: Pathé introduced a line of "needle-cut" records, at first only for the USA market in 1920. The needle-cut records were laterally-cut discs designed to be compatible with standard phonographs, and they were labelled Pathé Actuelle. In the following year, these "needle-cut" records were introduced in the United Kingdom and within a few more years they were selling more than the vertical Pathés, even on the continent. Attempts to market the Pathé vertical-cut discs abroad were abandoned in 1925, though they continued to sell in France until 1932.
Actuelle T-Shirt
$24
Description: Zonophone (early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone) was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey, by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company but was applied to records and machines sold by Seaman's Universal Talking Machine Company from 1899 to 1903. The name was subsequently acquired by Columbia Records, the Victor Talking Machine Company, and finally the Gramophone Company/EMI Records. It has been used for a number of record publishing labels by these companies.
Description: Philadelphia International Records was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. It was known for showcasing the Philadelphia soul music genre that was founded on the gospel, doo-wop and soul music of the time. This sound later marked a prominent and distinct era within the R&B genre. During the 1970s, the label released a string of worldwide hits that emphasized lavish orchestral instrumentation, heavy bass and driving percussion.
Description: Blue Goose Records was an American independent record label set up in the early 1970s by Nick Perls. While on Blue Goose's sister label, Yazoo Records, Perls compiled rare 78 rpm recordings from the 1920s by Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell, Memphis Jug Band, Blind Blake, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. On Blue Goose Records he recorded not only 'rediscovered' black blues artists like Sam Chatmon, Son House, Yank Rachell, Shirley Griffith and Thomas Shaw, but also younger blues and jazz performers, including Larry Johnson, Jo Ann Kelly, Woody Mann, John Lewis, Roy Book Binder, R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, Rory Block, Roger Hubbard, Alan Seidler, and Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts' member Graham Hine.
Description: Gold Mind Records was the record label of guitarist Norman Harris, distributed via Salsoul Records. Many of the early Gold Mind tracks were amalgamated by DJ Walter Gibbons. These tracks date from the late 1970s; a couple of years later, Salsoul (with the help of Shep Pettibone) would revive some of the Gold Mind tracks like First Choice's "Doctor Love" and "Let No Man Put Asunder", and Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation" for the early 1980s dance jams auditions. These were opened on Salsoul and Larry Levan chose "Double Cross" and "The Greatest Performance Of My Life" for his Larry Levan's Greatest Mixes Volume Two.
Description: Bigtop Records was an American record label started by music executive Johnny Bienstock (brother of Freddy Bienstock) and the major music publisher Hill & Range Music and was co-owned along with Big Top Record Distributors. Hit artists included Del Shannon, Johnny and the Hurricanes, Lou Johnson, Sammy Turner, Don Covay, Don and Juan and Toni Fisher. Big Top Record Distributors also distributed Paul Case's Dunes Records label in the early 60's, which had hits from Ray Peterson ("Corrina, Corrina") and Curtis Lee ("Pretty Little Angel Eyes"), both records produced by Phil Spector. Bell Records briefly distributed Bigtop prior to the label closing, around 1966. Bigtop also released two Mad magazine music parody themed albums.
Description: Bertelsmann Music Group was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America. Although it was established in 1987, the music company was formed as RCA/Ariola International in 1985 as a joint venture to combine the music label activities of RCA's RCA Records division and Bertelsmann's Ariola Records and its associated labels which include Arista Records. It consisted of the BMG Music Publishing company, the world's third largest music publisher and the world's largest independent music publisher and the 50% share of the joint venture with Sony Music, which established the German American Sony BMG from 2004 to 2008.
BMG T-Shirt
$24
