339

Subject Index

369th Infantry (Hell Fighters) Band 3“81” Theater (Atlanta) 122

A

Adams, W. A. 160Advertising — see Marketing of race

recordsAeolian Hall (New York) 57Aeolian-Vocalion (label) 1, 24; see also

Vocalion (label)Agee, Alphonsus 180Ajax (label) 83–84, 85, 86–96: Ajax

Record Co. founded; failure of 98; first releases 85; recording sessions described 88–89, 90–91; white pop material on 98

Akers, Garfield 254Alabama Fuzzy Wuzzies (pseudo) 189Alabama Harmony Boys (pseudo) 189Alabama Jazz Pirates (pseudo) 189Alabama Jug Band 286Aladdin (label) 333Alcohol: Prohibition, repeal of 283;

served at recording sessions 171–172, 260–261; use of by blues singers 187, 287

Alderson, Mozelle 207, 208, 266Alexander, Dave 289Alexander, Texas 235, 250, 293Allen, Fulton (“Blind Boy Fuller”) 296–

297, 304; as part-time talent scout 295; described in Time magazine 297

Allen, Henry “Red” 289Allen, Walter C., on Handy Record

Company 59–60Allied Record Manufacturing Co. 313,

324All Star Artists’ Bureau 324Alston, James 124Altschuler, Robert 298, 301American Federation of Musicians:

actions discourage use of non-union artists 305; addresses irregularities in Gant artist contract 326; grants recording license to Oberstein 309; recording ban imposed 316; recording ban lifted 321; shuts down Charlie’s

Rhumboogie Café 329; singers and non-union members not bound by recording ban 316; supports higher pay for black artists 305; threatens to revoke Decca and RCA licenses over sub-scale pay for black artists 305

American Record Corporation: Arthur Satherley employed by 214; artist pay rates 305; as division within Consolidated Film Industries 278–279; as second-largest U.S. record company 300; budget-label reissues by 235, 293; concurrent issues on budget labels by 278, 285; disbanded 300; discontinues Okeh 291; division of race material between Vocalion and ARC budget labels 291; problems encountered following Brunswick-Vocalion acquisition 291; purchased by Columbia Broadcasting System 300; race series slow to develop in early 1930s 279; recording expeditions by 293–294, 297, 298; reorganized by Robert Altschuler 298; selective allocation of masters to budget labels by 294, 299–300; shared catalog-numbering system for budget labels 294; suspends new race record issues (1931) 278; takes over production of Broadway records 288; white country music catalog 277

Ampex Corporation 334Anderson, Charles 123Anderson, Marian 78Anderson, Missouri 180Andrews, Ed 140Angelus (Australian label) 273Anonymous race record issues 258Apex (Canadian label) 84Apollo (label) 323Arco (label) 321Armstrong, Lil 289; see also Hardin, LilArmstrong, Louis: and Erskine Tate’s

Vendome Orchestra 162, 165; and Hot Five 157, 158; leaves King Oliver band 109; quoted on King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band 104; quoted on Lincoln Gardens 102; pseudonym use by 163;

Subject IndexIllustrations are shown in boldface type

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

340

signed by Okeh 157; transition to commercial material 251

Arnold, Kokomo: Decca records 287–290; quoted concerning his first Decca session 287; Victor records by 287

Artist-management contracts: abuses in 326; negotiated by talent scouts 70, 79, 169, 287, 303

Artist payment fees (flat rate): attempts by record companies to avoid paying union scale 305; Black Swan 40–41; Columbia 29, 120; Edison 78, 79; for major vs. minor artists 305; Gennett 194 (note 16), 227; Pathé 69; union scale 305; see also Royalties, artist

Artist pseudonyms on race records 87, 93, 163, 173–174, 189, 200, 203, 206, 221–225, 232, 244, 250, 258, 269, 274, 277, 278, 279, 287, 288, 289, 297, 309, 311–312; use of to disguise white artists on Black Swan records 46

Artist royalties — see Royalties, artistArto Company 24–27, 30; and G.-B.

Records 57–58; Arto records 24–28; financial problems 27–28; licenses recordings to other labels 26; piano rolls 24; presses Sunshine records 59

Artophone Corporation 215 (note 13); and Herwin records 197; as Paramount distributor 198; trademark filing 198

Art Tone (label) 333Ashford, R. T.: as Paramount talent

scout 191, 337; refers Blind Lemon Jefferson to Paramount 145

Associated Independent Record Company Operators Association 333

Atlanta Phonograph Company 273Austin, Claude 258Austin, Gene 78Austin, Lovie: and Blues Serenaders 106,

107; at Monogram Theater (Chicago) 129; quoted on Bessie Smith 117

Autograph (label) 112

B

Bailey, Buster 289Bailey, Kid 254Ballard Chefs 266Ballenger, Eugene 254Baltimore Afro-American 43Baltimore Blues Orchestra (pseudo) 48Banks, Paul’s Kansas City Trio 64Banner (label) — see American Record

Corporation; Plaza-Scranton labels

Banta, Frank 70Barbecue Bob — see Hicks, Robert Barefoot Bill (pseudo) 250Barfe, Louis 16Barker, Blue Lu 289Barrel House Five 213Barrett, Edward 201Barron’s (Harlem) 24Bastin, Bruce, quoted on J. B. Long 295Bates, Deacon L. J. (pseudo) 148, 231Bauquet, Achille 110Baxter, Andrew and Jim 185, 247, 249Baxter, Helen 78–79Beacon (label): marketed primarily to

radio stations and jukebox operators 316, 318; race records 317, 318, 319–320; reissues on Gennett and Joe Davis labels 323

Beacon Music Company 316Beale Street Palace Theater (Memphis)

125Beale Street Sheiks 191Beaman, Lottie — see Kimbrough, Lottie

BeamanBechet, Sidney 118Beck, Blind James 207, 208Beck, Elder Charles 274Beiderbecke, Bix 167Bell (label): licenses Arto recordings 26;

race records 70, 80 (note 4)Bell, Ed 153, 155, 250Bell, James 189Belt Sacred Quartet 249Bennett, Eloise 208Bennett, Will 254Bentley, Gladys 313Berliner, Emile 83, 84Berliner, Herbert S. 83, 84; and Ajax

records 83–84; and Berliner Recording Laboratories 100 (note 20)

Berlin, Irving 65Berman, Bess and Isaac “Ike” 323Berman, Irving 321Berman, Isaac — see Berman, BessBernard, Al 24, 35, 70Bernard, Glory 258Bertrand, Jimmy 163, 181Bessemer Sunset Four. 254Bibb, Joe and Viola 36Biddleville Quartet 153Bigard, Barney 289Big Bethel Choir 179, 183Big Bill — see Broonzy, William Lee

Conley Big Bloke (pseudo) 311

341

Subject Index

Big Boy Ben (pseudo) 309Bigeou, Esther 31Big Joe and his Rhythm 287Big Town (label) 333Billboard magazine: negative race-record

reviews in 320Birmingham Blutette 215 (note 11)Birmingham Jubilee Singers 178Birmingham Quartet 178Black Ace (pseudo) 289Black and Blue Trio (pseudo) 92Black and White (label) 324, 328Black Billy Sunday — see Dixon, Calvin

P.; McPherson, GordonBlack Birds of Paradise 188, 189–190Black Ivory King (pseudo) 289Black Patti (label) 201–206, 207–210;

discontinued 210; distribution and marketing problems 210; first recording session 205–206; first releases on 202–203, 206, 207; Gennett recording fees for commissioned masters 203, 215 (note 21); last original recordings issued on 210; last recording sessions for 210; recording locations 208; named for Sissieretta Jones 202–203; recordings reissued on other labels 200, 207; reissued material on 203–204, 208, 209; State Street Music Company as publishing affiliate of 201–202; use of rejected Gennett masters on 205, 210; white performers on 208, 210; see also Chicago Record Company

Black Swan (label) 35–39, 40, 41, 42–54; alleged white conspiracy against 36–37, 38, 44, 49–50; as second black-owned record label 1; Bessie Smith audition (anecdotal) 43; classical material on 37–38, 45; deceptive advertising claims 46, 47; distribution map (1922) 44; distribution problems 43; final releases by 52; first blues record 38; first releases 38–39; implements separate race series 48–49; initial public reaction to 39; loss of artists by 51–52; masters licensed to Paramount 53–54; named for Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield 36; popular and miscellaneous material on 48–49; pressed by Bridgeport Die & Machine 50; pressed by New York Recording Laboratories 37, 50; pseudonyms used to disguise white artists 48; purchased by New York

Recording Laboratories 53; quantity of records produced 45; recording studio 37, 54 (note 13); Red Label Record 45; salesmen and agents 44; second-anniversary celebration 52; use of masters from outside sources 26, 48; see also Pace Phonograph Corporation

Black Swan Troubadours 41, 43, 52Blackwell, Scrapper 235–236, 287, 304,

311Blake, Arthur (“Blind Blake”) 153, 266,

274, 276; as accompanist to other artists 151; biography in Paramount Book of Blues 152; first recording session 151; signed by Mayo Williams for Paramount 151

Blake, Blind — see Blake, ArthurBlake, Eubie: and his “Shuffle Along”

Orchestra 24; Emerson records by 25; rejected by Victor 23; Victor records by 77

Blind Amos (pseudo) 232Blind Gary (pseudo) 297Blind Mack (pseudo) 297Blind Norris (pseudo) 289Blind Sammie (pseudo) 187, 250, 269Blind Texas Marlin (pseudo) 229–230Blu-Disc (label) 65–67; correct starting

date for 65; first recordings by Duke Ellington and Paul Robeson 65, 66, 67; suspected affiliation with Jo Trent 65

Bluebird (label): as Woolworth client label 282; catalog split by genre 303; changes implemented by Eli Oberstein 283–284, 285; competition with Decca 285; cost-reduction strategies 282; deleted Victor recordings reissued by 282; introduced 281–282; Montgomery Ward reissues 304; publisher royalties reduced for 282; trademark filing 290 (note 4)

Blue Bonnet Hotel (San Antonio) 302 (note 10)

Blue Flame Syncopators 26Blues contests 43“Blues” craze in early 1920s 23–34;

mistaken for passing fad 69; religious protests against 20

Blythe, Jimmy’s Blue Boys 289Boatner, Edward H. 4Boerner, Frederick W. 273, 275Bogan, Lucille 153, 154Boogie woogie 244–245, 246Bourne, C. H. 61

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

342

Bourne, Clifford S. 61Bouttle, Matthew V. 36Bowen, R. W. 197Bowers, Frederick V. 22 (note 28)Boy Scout Band of Springfield, Missouri

182Bracey, Caldwell 274Bracey, Ishmon 187, 260Bradford, Mary H. 114Bradford, Perry: and Victor records 23,

171; as talent broker 69; jailed for subornation of perjury 17; Jazz Hounds 12–13; manages Edith Wilson 17, 29; manages Mamie Smith 9, 17; quoted on decline of Mamie Smith’s record sales 20; quoted on Fred Hager 17; quoted on rejection of blues by Harlem society 37–38; sued over “Crazy Blues” 17

Bradley, Tommie 311Bradshaw, Tiny’s Orchestra 326Brager, Mrs. 69Bragg, Dobby (pseudo) 244Bragg, J. H. and his Rhythm Five 297Brasswell, Frank 241–242, 277Bridgeport Die & Machine Company

50, 67Broadway (label) 276; material reissued

on 214; revived by Decca 288Broadway revues: material on race

records 253Brockman, Polk 226, 274; and Blind

Lemon Jefferson’s defection to Okeh 192; as Okeh talent scout 159, 188, 250, 274, 337; as Rev. Gates’ manager 220, 221; as Victor talent scout 283–284, 337; shares supervision of Okeh recording sessions with H. C. Speir 274

Bronze (label) 312–313, 324–325; first releases 313; reasons for failure of 324

Brooks, Shelton 30, 58Brooks, Tim 1Broome, George W. 1–5; artists recorded

by 4; as first black record-company owner 1; as motion picture producer 1; Broome Exhibition Company 1; first recording sessions 4

Broome (label); as first black-owned record label 1; Booker T. Washington release 5; Broome Special Phonograph Records 4, 5–8; see also Broome, George W.

Broonzy, William Lee Conley (“Big Bill”) 243, 281, 293, 296, 304; quoted on hostility of Southern whites toward

“Yankees” 320; records for ARC 277; transferred to Columbia general catalog in 1940s 320

Brown, Ada 113, 114Brown, Gabriel 319–322, 323Brown, Henry 246Brown, Kid 210Brown, Lee 289Brown, Lil and Will 207Brown, Lillyn 30, 118–119Brown, Richard “Rabbit” 185Brown, Robert (“Washboard Sam”) 303Brown, Willie 232, 274Brunswick ( label) : acquired by

Consolidated Film Industries (ARC); first race releases on 77; recording expeditions — see Vocalion (label); rights revert to Warner Brothers 302; see also Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company

Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company 77, 143, 161; Atlanta studio (proposed) 213–214; Brunswick-Vocalion record division sold to Warner Brothers 262; forms race record division 161; “Light-Ray” recording system 167; record division sold to Consolidated Film Industries (ARC) 279; see also Brunswick (label); Vocalion (label)

Brunswick Record Corporation, as division within American Record Corporation–Consolidated Film Industries 278

Bryan, Fred M. 62Bryant, Edler Richard’s Sanctified

Singers 226Brymn, Tim’s Black Devil Orchestra 31Bull City Red — see Washington, GeorgeBumble Bee Slim — see Easton, AmosBunch, Frank and his Fuzzy Wuzzies 189Burleigh, Harry T. 4Burnett, Rev J. C. 222–223, 232; first

records by 65; Beacon and Joe Davis records 318, 319

Burris, James 57–58, 85Butler, Charlie 160Butterfield, Erskine 319

C

C & S Records (label) 63–64Cadillac, Bobbie 250Cajun music 254Calaway, W. R. 294Caldwell-Lyons Phonograph Co. 137

343

Subject Index

Calicott, Joe 254California: as hospitable environment

for black entrepreneurs in 1940s 333; race-record labels based in 60, 333

California Ramblers 69 138Calloway, Blanche & her Joy Boys 281Cameo (label) 177, 222Campbell College Quartet 274Campbell, Floyd 180Campbell, Gene 254Campbell, Rev. E. D. 222Cannon, Gus 249; signed away from

Paramount by Victor 187Cannon’s Jug Stompers — see Cannon,

GusCapitol Roll and Record Company 56

(note 44)Cardinal (label) 39, 55 (note 22)Carolina Peanut Boys (pseudo) 184Carr, Dora 159Carr, Leroy 235–236, 237, 287, 304Carson, Fiddlin’ John 169Carter, Alice Leslie 30, 43Carter, Bo 274Carter Family 185Carter, Josephine 31Carter, Leroy 297Carter, Oscar 243Casey, Powell 206Celebrity (label) 321Celestin’s Original Tuxedo Orchestra

178Censorship of lyrics 186Champion (label) 190, 265; revived by

Decca 288Chappelle, Juanita Stinnette and

Thomas 31, 63–64Charles, Harry: and Paramount white

country-music series 191; artists signed by 153; as Paramount talent scout 152, 191; invited to join Q.R.S. staff 212; quoted on use of expense account 153

Charleston Trio (pseudo) 92Charlie’s Rhumboogie Cafe 326–327,

328–330; see also Rhumboogie (label)Chatmon, Harry 297Chatmon, Sam 261C. H. Bourne Recording Company 61Chicago Defender: artist solicitations in

72; jug bands mocked in 142; race record advertising campaigns in 134; slanted reporting by 36, 38, 45

Chicago (label) 329Chicago Music Company 308

Chicago Music Publishing Company 202Chicago Record Company 200–209;

incorporated 201–202; reasons for failure of 210; see also Black Patti

Childs, Virginia 178Choo Choo Jazzers (pseudo) 90, 92Church, Blind Clyde 249Churchill, Savannah 317, 321Clarion (label) 39Clark, Carroll C. 38Classical music: on race record 4–6, 38,

45, 57, 62; recordings of by white artists marketed to black buyers 3

Clayborn, Rev. Edward 181, 229, 232Clay, Sonny’s Plantation Orchestra 163Clef Club Orchestra 62Clifford (Australian label) 273Club Maurice Orchestra 48Cole, James 235, 289Cole, Nat “King” 333Cole-Talbert, Florence 4, 6, 45, 55 (note

33)Coleman, Burl C. “Jaybird” 190, 210Coleman, Ellen 78Coleman, Ruth 72Coliseum (Chicago) 157, 159Collins, Sam 209, 278Columbia (label): combines recording

expeditions with Okeh 249–250, 268–269; discontinues budget-label line 282; limits number of takes in early 1930s 268; Personal Records 6 (note 4); race series discontinued 271, 291; race series introduced 127 ; recording expeditions by 178–179, 180, 249–250, 268–269; see also Columbia Phonograph Company

Columbia Broadcasting System 301Columbia Phonograph Company:

purchased by Consolidated Film Industries 291; purchased by Grigsby-Grunow Co. 271; budget-priced labels produced by 173, 174; operated by American Record Corporation 291; purchases General Phonograph (Okeh) 174; see also Columbia (label)

Columbia Recording Corporation 301Commonwealth Casino (Harlem) 62Compo Company 80–81, 83; kept at

arm’s-length from Ajax 84; New York studio 87

Composer royalties— see Royalties, composer-publisher

Cone, Robert H. 197

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

344

Conqueror (label) 190, 300, 304Consolidated Film Industries 278–279,

291, 301; see also American Record Corporation

Consol idated Talking Machine Company 157, 174, 227; as Okeh distributor 107; Fearn, E. A. and 109, 157; history of 174 (note 5); Okeh race-record artists promoted by 109

Cook, J. Lawrence 70Cooper, Opal 1Copeland, Martha 177Copyrights: Copyright Act of 1911 169,

282; taken by music publishers and talent scouts 169, 202, 316

Cotton Pickers (pseudonym) 77Country music (white) on race records

185Cova Recording Corporation , 216Cox, H. C. 271Cox, Ida 105, 132, 177Craig, Sam 117Creole Cafe (Oakland, California) 60Crippen, Katie 38Criterion Laboratories 39, 69 (note 22)Critona (label) 39Crosby, Bing 286Crown (label) 265, 266, 278 (note 7)Curry, Ben 289Curry, Elder 274Custer, Clay 244–245

D

Dabney, Ford 1, 24Daddy Stovepipe — see Watson, Johnny Dalhart, Vernon 169–170, 205Dallas Jamboree Jug Band 297Dallas String Band 250Daniels, Julius 183, 187Darby, Teddy 276Davenport, Charles (“Cow Cow”) 153,

154, 159, 244Davenport, Jed 254Davis Bible Singers 250Davis, Deacon Leon 160Davis, George Howlett 24Davis, Joe: Ajax records and 83, 84,

85–96; artist contract provisions 70; artist royalties taken by 79; artists managed by 30, 126, 177; as music publisher 70; as talent broker 70–71; Beacon records 316–319; blurring of lines between pop and race material

by 323; Celebrity records 321; earliest involvement with recording industry 70; flat-rate purchase of songs by 70; freelance accompanists employed by 72; partnership with Harry Gennett 321, 323; Pathé records and 73; re-enters recording field (1942) 316; signs former Black Swan artists 52; solicits singers in African-American newspapers 72; Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and 78–79; Triangle Music Publishing Company 70; Varsity masters used by 312

Davis, Louis 254Davis, Rev. Gary 295, 297Davis, Walter 304Day, Ruth (pseudo) 269Day,Texas Bill 250Decca (label): as competitor to Bluebird

285–286; Broadway and Champion revived as subsidiary labels to 288; dispute over pricing levels 285; first race-record releases on 286; race material increasingly urbanized in later 1930s 289; Race Record catalog (1938) 306; recording expeditions 289; studio locations 286; sued for failure to pay artist royalties 305, 307–308

Decca Record Company, Ltd. (London) 285

Delta Twins (pseudo) 297Dempsey-Tunney fight, recorded by

Paramount 154Dennett, Fred 201Dennett, John R. 201Depression, 1930s — see Great DepressionDett, R. Nathaniel 4De Vant, Louise 258–259De Vry Corporation 214De Vry, Herman A. 214Devil’s Son-in-Law — see Wheatstraw,

PeetieDickenson, Rev. Emmett 278Dickerson, Aletha: and Hokum Boys

241; as Mayo Williams’ assistant 201–202; as Paramount recording manager 241; quoted on decline in NYRL’s business 273

Dickerson, Marion L. 17Discs, Inc. 308Dixieland Jug Blowers 172, 179, 183; see

also McDonald, EarlDixie Stomper (pseudo) 174Dixon Brothers Quartet 159Dixon, Calvin (“Black Billy Sunday”) 217

345

Subject Index

Dixon, Perry 250, 254, 293–294Dixon, Willie 285Dodds, Baby 104Dodds, Johnny 107, 172, 247Dolceola 228, 22Doolittle, Rev, Mose 222Dorsey, Thomas A. (“Georgia Tom”) 266;

and Famous Hokum Boys 241–242; ARC-group recordings 277; as “father of modern gospel music” 237; as Ma Rainey’s accompanist 237; quoted on source of word “hokum” 241

Dotson, Coley 254Douglass Theater (Macon, Georgia) 122Down South Boys (pseudo) 311Dranes, Arizona 227, 250Dream books, as adjunct to race-record

sale 182, 273Driggs, Frank, on location of Robert

Johnson sessions 302 (note 10)Droop’s Music House (Washington,

D.C.) 217DuBois, W. E. B. 36Duckett, Slim 274Dudley, Roberta 60, 61Dunn, Johnny 29, 127Dupree, Champion Jack 318, 319, 323Durante, Jimmy’s New Orleans Jazz

Band 110Dye, Ivory 183

E

Easton, Amos (“Bumble Bee Slim”) 304Ebony (label) 329–330Echo Records (phantom label) 58Eddie and Sugar Lou’s Hotel Tyler

Orchestra 254Edey, Mait 244Edison (label): blues records on 78–79,

79–80; last recordings by black artists on 257; race records 79; “red-star” labels 79, 81 (note 28); suspends commercial recording activities 257; see also Edison, Thomas A.

Edison, Charles 257Edison, Thomas A.: ignores blues craze

23; quoted on blues singers auditioned by 78–79; racist comments by 78–79; see also Edison (label)

Edmond’s Cellar (Harlem) 39–42Edwards, Flo (pseudo) 206E. E. Forbes Company (Birmingham)

191Electradisk (label) 282

Electric and Musical Industries 271Elgar’s Creole Orchestra 166Ellington, Duke 163–164, 181; first

records by 65; pseudonyms used by 266; releases split between general and race series 164; transferred to Victor race series 247

Elliott, Ernest 90Emerson (label) 24–25, 30, 118–119;

masters used by Blu-Disc 65; race record series 73; recordings used by Black Swan 48

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (organist) 205, 208

Emerson Recording Laboratories 67; see also Emerson (label)

Erickson, Janet 261Estes, Sleepy John 249, 289Europe, James Reese 2–3, 85Evans, Merle 315Excelsior (label) 324, 333Exclusive (label) 324, 333Ezell, Will 153, 246

F

F. W. Boerner Company 273, 275, 279Fairview Jubilee Quartet 278Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham

266, 276–277, 288Famous Hokum Boys 243, 277Fearn, E. A.: as promoter of Okeh race

artists 109, 157; public recording demonstrations staged by 159

Feather, Leonard, quoted on Varsity race records 309

Ferguson, Troy 250Fertington 258Fields, Arthur 69, 72Fifteenth Regiment Blues Contest 43Finnell, Douglas and his Royal Stompers

254Five Harmaniacs 183Five Harmoniques 62Five Red Caps 318, 319Five Soul Stirrers 313Fletcher, John 556 (note 44); and

Fletcher Record Company 45; and Olympic Disc Record Corporation 45; and Operaphone plant 37; files for bankruptcy 50; partnership with Harry Pace 45, 48, 50

Fletcher Record Company: manufactures Black Swan records 45, 48

Flowers, Tiger 220

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

346

Forest, Rev. J. F. 190, 227Four Blackbirds 313Four Toppers 318Four Tunes 321Fowler, Lemuel 70, 78Framer, Eli 249Frazier, Jake 72, 88,91Frederick V. Bowers, Inc. 17Friars Inn (Chicago) 101Frye, Ed — see Moss, Arthur and Ed FryeFuller, Blind Boy — see Allen, Fulton Fuller, Bob 22 (note 32), 72, 89, 91

G

Gant, Cecil 324–325Garland, Hattie 206–207, 207Garnes, Antoinette 4, 45, 55 (note 33)Garnett, Blind Leroy 246Garvey, Marcus 61–62Gate, Rev. James M. 160, 179, 187, 200,

207, 217–221, 232, 250, 284, 304Gaumet Auditorium (Los Angeles) 61G.-B. Record Company 57, 58Gee, Jack 120–121General Electric recording equipment

189–190; see also PallophotophoneGeneral Phonograph Corporation:

history of 9; purchased by Columbia 174; see also Okeh (label)

Gennett (label): artist royalties 189, 194 (note 16), 227; client and subsidiary labels 189, 190, 197–213; closure of commercial recording division 290 (note 15); fees charged for master production 203; first race records 105; Ku Klux Klan records produced by 79, 101; label discontinued 265; ledger sheets 204; masters licensed to other labels 199, 210, 288, 311; Q.R.S. records and 211–212; race records catalogs 188; race records 134–135, 188–189, 189–190; recording expeditions 189–190, 190; rejected masters used by Black Patti 210; revived by Harry Gennett and Joe Davis 321, 322–323; specials 136, 137; studio leased for Paramount sessions 259; studio locations 213, 216 (note 35) ; talent scouts used by 101

Gennett, Fred 103; and Black Patti 201, 210

Gennett, Harry: licenses Gennett masters to Decca 289; partnership with Joe Davis 321–324

Georgia Bill (pseudo) 187, 269Georgia Tom — see Dorsey, Thomas A.Georgia Yellow Hammers 185Gerun, Tom’s Orchestra 254Gibbs, Arthur & his Gang 77Gibson’s New Standard Theater

(Philadelphia) 117Gillum, Bill “Jazz” 281, 303Gilpin, Charles S. 57–58Gilt Edge (label) 324Gitfiddle Jim (pseudo) 287Glenn, Charlie 326Glinn, Lillian 250Glover, Mae 311Gold, Lou & his Orchestra 240Goodman, Benny 281Gover, Emma 70Grainger, Porter 90; and Rainbow

Music Company 65; suspected Grey Gull records by 258–259

Grainger, Sister Ethel 222Gramercy Studio (RCA) 256Grand Theater (Chicago) 129Grant, Willy M. (pseudonym) 51Graves, Roosevelt & Uaroy 266Gray, Charles and his Rhumboogie Five

328Gray, Christina 250Gray, Eddie 49Gray Geneva 160Great Britain, American race recordings

issued in 32, 143Great Depression (1930s): diminished

recording opportunities during 266; effect of on record sales 262, 265; new labels launched during 265; reduced migration of Southern blacks to Northern cities during 265; references to in blues lyrics 270; stock market crash and 262; unemployment rate during 274–275, 304

Greenfield, Elizabeth Taylor 36Grey Gull (label): Handy Music

Company masters possibly used by 59; race series 257–258; suspends recording operations 258, 265

Griffin, John 136Griffin, Tommy 267Grigsby-Grunow Company: purchases

Columbia Phonograph Company 271Gross, Helen 74, 93Grunow, W. C. 271Guardsman (British label) 143Guitar Evangelist, The — see Clayborn,

Edward W.

347

Subject Index

Gundy, Rev, A. A. 250Gunter Hotel (San Antonio) 298Gutshall, Jack 333

H

Hadley, Elder J. J. (pseudo) 232Hager, Fred 10, 16Hall, Arthur 69Halligan, Edward 154Hammond, John 244, 281Hampton, Lionel 334Handy Brothers Music Company 58Handy, L. M. 58–59Handy, W. C.; as source of questionable

Bessie Smith “spit” anecdote 43, 118–119; as talent broker 69–70; attitude toward white performers performing his songs 35; Handy Record Company and 59–60; not involved with Black Swan records 35; quoted on racial prejudice in recording industry 9; record production by 58–59

Hannah, George 183Hardge, Johnny (pseudo) 249Hardin, Lil 104; see also Armstrong, Lil

HardinHare, Ernest 70“Harlem Hit Parade” charts (Variety)

318; inclusion of pop white artists in 316; reflect increasing demand for more commercially oriented race records 316; “Rhythm and Blues” replaces “Race Records” in 334

Harlem (label) 329Harlem Hot Chocolates (pseudo) 266Harlem Serenaders (pseudo) 311Harlem Wildcats (pseudo) 311Harmony (label) 173, 174, 282Harreld, Kemper 55 (note 34)Harrington, Ham Tree 77Harris, Alfoncy 294–295Harris, Bethenea 249Harris’ Blues and Jazz Seven 26Harrison, Charles 69Harris, Sister 69, 70Hart, Hattie 249Harvard Radio and Television Shop

(Harlem) 316Hawkins, Coleman 319Hawkins, Erskine 329Hawkins, Walter “Buddy Boy” 154, 192Hayes, Clifford 172; and Louisville Jug

Band 140–141, 142–143, 183Hayes, Roland 3, 8 (note 4)

Haynes, Gace 254Haynes’ Harlem Syncopators 48Heavenly Gospel Singers 304Hegamin, Lucille 24–27, 43, 177; decline

in record sales 27; first records 26; rejected by Victor 23

Hegamin, William 24, 26Heidemann, George H. 197Heineman, Otto 157, 174Heller, Sig 260Henderson, Fletcher 36, 77, 165, 252; and

Triangle Music Publishing Company 70; as accompanist 36, 38, 90; as Black Swan’s musical director 36, 51; auditions Ethel Waters 40–41; first recording session 25; name used to disguise white bands on Black Swan 48; pseudonymous Varsity reissues 309

Henderson, Rosa 72, 74, 77, 79Henderson, Slim 72Henry, Waymon “Sloppy” 159Henton, Laura 254Herwin (label) 197–199; correct starting

date 199; discontinued 200; lack of original recordings on 200; race series 200; master sources 199, 207; trademark revived for LPs 215 (note 14); trademark sold to Wisconsin Chair Company 200

Heywood, Eddie 123Hibbard, Charles 12Hicks, Edna 77, 86 Hicks, Robert (“Barbecue Bob”) 178,

180, 270; use of real name on religious recordings 232

Higgins, Billie 72Hightower, Lottie’s Eudora Night

Hawks 206Hightower, Willie 206Hill, King Solomon 266, 311Hill, Sammy 249Hines, Earl 213, 333Hinton, Jimmy “Skeeter” — see Wilson,

George “ChickenHip-hop 334Hite, Mattie 23, 70, 80–81 (note 4)Hit of the Week (label) 265, 266Hodges, Johnny 249Hogg, Andrew 289Hokum 240–241, 275, 277Hokum Boys 240–241, 275Holland, T. V. 43Holmes, Mrs. Winston, quoted on

decline of race record sales in early 1930s 265

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

348

Holmes, Winston 64–65, 222; see also Meritt (label)

Holy Ghost Sanctified Singers 226Homestead (label) 277Honey Dripper, The — see Sykes,

RooseveltHooper, Louis 72, 89–90Hornsby, Dan, as Columbia talent scout

178, 180Horsley, Gus 58House, Son: declines Paramount

recording offer 274; quoted on Charley Patton 261; quoted on recording religious song with Charley Patton 232

Houston, Ruby 187Howard, Paul 268Howard, Rosetta 289Howell, Joshua Barnes (“Peg Leg”) 178,

180Huey, Richard and the Jubileers 319Hughes, Chief Justice Charles Evan 115

(note 24)Hughes, Revella 38–39Hull, Papa Harvey 207Hunter, Alberta: dissatisfaction with

Black Swan marketing 51; first records by 38; popularity with white audiences 177; recommends King Oliver to Columbia records 102

Hunter, Eddie 78Hurte, Leroy: and Bronze Records 313,

324–325; as record manufacturer 324; see also Bronze (label)

Hyde, Hattie 249I

Imperial (label) 333Imperial Quintet 187Independent Quartet 250Independent Recording Laboratories

86

J

J. & W. Seligman 172Jackson, Bo Weavil 153Jackson, Clayton 101Jackson, Cliff 72; Krazy Kats 258Jackson, Dewey’s Peacock Orchestra

161, 167, 180, 182Jackson, Frankie — see Jaxon, Frankie

“Half Pint”Jackson, Jim 183–184, 187, 247, 254Jackson, Little Joe and his Boys 189

Jackson, Lulu 235Jackson, Mary 70Jackson, Mike 171Jackson [Mississippi] Chamber of

Commerce 273Jackson, Mose (pseudo) 279Jackson, Papa Charlie 137–139, 281, 291Jackson, Sister Odette 222Jackson, Willie 178Jacobs, Sara 297Jaffa, Lewis A. 308James, Corky and his Black Birds

(pseudo) 189James, Skip 275– 276, 289Jaxon, Frankie “Half Pint” 160, 208Jazz Hounds 12, 18–19, 21 (note 9), 29Jazz Information magazine 309, 311, 313,

314Jefferson, Blind Lemon 146, 192, 235;

biography in Paramount Book of Blues 147 ; birthday record 190 ; first recording session 145; religious material recorded by 145, 231; signed by Okeh 192–193; s igned by Paramount 145

Jim Jam (pseudo) 311Joe Brown’s Alabama Band (pseudo) 48Joe Davis (label) 319, 323Johns, Irving 123Johnson, Bert 254Johnson, Bessie 249Johnson, Bessie (pseudo) 48Johnson, Bill 104Johnson, Billiken 250Johnson, Blind Willie 229–230, 231–232,

250Johnson Brothers 185Johnson, Charlie 24, 32 (note 7);

Paradise Orchestra 251–252Johnson, Easy Papa (pseudo) 244Johnson, Edith North 213, 261Johnson, Edmond “Mule” 39–42Johnson, Eldridge R. 167, 172Johnson, J. C. 258–259Johnson, Jack 96Johnson, James P. 30, 78Johnson, James “Stump” 213, 261Johnson, Jesse 243; artists recruited for

Paramount by 261; as first black Paramount talent scout since Mayo Williams’ departure 261

Johnson, Joe “Ziggy” 326Johnson, Lil 304Johnson, Lonnie 160, 235Johnson, Margaret 33 (note 27), 171

349

Subject Index

Johnson, Mary 287Johnson, Robert 298–299, 300; death of

300; jailed for vagrancy after first recording session 298; place in musical history 300; questionable anecdotes concerning 298; record sales 298–299; recordings reissued on ARC budget labels 299–300, 304

Johnson, Tommy 187, 260Jones, Alberta 200Jones & Collins Astoria Hot Eight 249Jones, Bo 254Jones, Clarence 106Jones, Coley 250Jones, Duke (pseudonym) 70Jones, Jake 254Jones, Maggie 70, 74Jones, Rev. Sam Hall (pseudo) 222Jones, Richard M. 107; as Okeh race-

series manager 114, 157; as Okeh talent scout 227, 250

Jones, Samuel (Stovepipe No. 1) 137Jones, Sissieretta (nee Matilda Sissieretta

Joyner) 202Jones, Willie 235Jordan, Charlie 268Jordan, Genevieve 78Jordan, Luke 185–186Joseph, Edmond 297Jug bands 141, 172, 179, 183, 226, 239,

244, 281, 291, 297Jukeboxes 283, 309, 316, 317

K

Kansas City Blues Strummers 182Kansas City Five 90Kansas Joe — see McCoy, JoeKapp, David 279Kapp, Jack: and creation of Decca

Records 285–286; and Decca recording expeditions 305; as manager of Brunswick-Vocalion race division 161, 167; attempts take-over of Paramount 279; attempts to purchase Columbia Phonograph Company 285; licenses Paramount masters and trademark 279, 288; moves to American Record Corporation 279; resigns from American Record Corporation 291; resigns from Brunswick 286; revives Broadway and Champion labels 288; revives Paramount label 279; signs Brunswick artists for Decca 286

Kapp Music Company 122

Kastel, Phillip 308Kaufman Brothers (Irving and Jack) 72Keith vaudeville circuit 30Kelly, Willie (pseudo) 242, 243, 244Keppard, Freddie 114Kid Stormy Weather (pseudo) 297Kimbrough, Lottie Beaman 64, 254Kimbrough, Sylvester 64, 254King, Edward (“Eddie”) 9–10, 20–21

(note 5), 167, 168King Edward Hotel (Jackson, Mississippi)

274King, Maynard 206King (label) 329Kirk, Andy and his Twelve Clouds of

Joy 254Kirkeby, Wallace Theodore (“Ed”): as

Bluebird manager 283–284; as talent broker 69; discographical data in logs 68 (note 22), 70; first booking of a black singer by 69; studio information in recording logs 54

Klatzko, Bernard 215 (note 14)Kleist, Ed, quoted on 1930s decline of

Paramount production 273Klopp, Walter 258Kramer, Jesse G. 197–199Krueger, Bennie 48Kuehn, Clara 263 (note 15)Ku Klux Klan 235; records produced

for 79, 101

L

Lacey, Rubin 145, 147Ladnier, Tommy 106, 107La France, Paul (pseudo) 279Laibly, Arthur: and alcohol use at

Paramount recording sessions 260; and Paramount country music series 154; as Paramount talent scout and manager,150–151, 273; harassment of Mayo Williams by 151

Landry, Bob, quoted on decline of race record sales in early 1930s 265

Law, Don: and Robert Johnson sessions 300–301; as ARC talent scout 294; confirms Gunter Hotel as site of Robert Johnson sessions 301; takes over supervision of Vocalion-ARC recording expeditions 298

Lawlers, Ernest 297Layer, Clarence and Raymond 197–199Leadbelly —see Ledbetter, Huddie Ledbetter, Huddie (“Leadbelly”) 279

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

350

Lee, Bertha 294Leeds Music: sues Oberstein for unpaid

royalties 312Lee, George E.’s Orchestra 65, 254Lee, Julia 254Lee, Ruth 60, 61Leland Hotel (Aurora, Illinois) 305Lenley, Rev. Joe 250Lester, Rev. W. M. 250Levee Syncopators (pseudo) 258Levy, John 313Lewis, Edward R. 285Lewis, Furry 254Lewis, Meade Lux 244Lewis, Noah 249Lewis, Sammie 135“Light Ray” recordings (Brunswick) —

see PallophotophoneLill’s Hot Shots (pseudo) 163Lily, James 107Lincoln Gardens (Chicago) 102Little Georgie Porgie Breakfast Food

Baby of the Air 276Lone Wolf, The — see Woods, Oscar Long, James Baxter: artists discovered

by 295; as Vocalion-ARC talent scout 294–295, 296–297, 338

Louis, Joe 326, 328Lubinsky, Herman 324Lunceford, Jimmie: hired for product

endorsements 307; sues Decca for unpaid royalties 305, 307

Lyles, Aubrey — see Miller, Flournoy and Aubrey Lyles

Lynch Sisters 297Lyon & Healy Building (Chicago) 205Lyric (Australian label) 273

M

Macdonald, Cliff 324, 326Macdonald, John S. 167, 168Macdonough, Harrry (pseudo) 167Maceo, Big 285Mack, Cecil 85magnetic tape recording 334Manhattan Casino 25Manning, Leola B. 254Manor (label) 321Marketing of race records: advertising,

racia l s tereotypes in 16 , 19 ; promotional merchandise 142, 182; contests 129–130, 131, 260, 262, 296; promotional stage shows 109, 157–158; public recording demonstrations 159;

live recording demonstrations 159; stage shows 157

Marne, Geoffrey (pseudo) 309Marsh Laboratories 112, 154, 155Martin, Carl 281Martin, Daisy 30, 31, 43, 70–71, 197Martin, Sara: decline in record sales 177;

first records 31–32; in motion pictures 257–258; Jug Band 140–141; Q.R.S. records 213; use of unconventional accompaniments by 136–138

“Masked Marvel” contest (Paramount) 260, 262

Mason, Rev. Moses 192McCall Building (Memphis) 183McCall, William 326McClennan, Tommy 320McCoy, Charlie 254, 274McCoy, Joe (“Kansas Joe”) 287McCoy, Viola 74, 79, 177McDaniel, Hattie 65McDonald, Earl 266; Original Louisville

Jug Band 179; see also Dixieland Jug Blowers

McGee, Rev. F. W. 222, 247McGhee, Brownie 295McGill, Ella 131McHenry, Norris 289McKee, Margaret 48McKinney’s Cotton Pickers 240, 247,

268McPherson, J. Gordon (“Black Billy

Sunday”) 311McTell, Blind Willie 187, 247, 249–250,

269Mechanical-reproduction rights, control

of by artists’ managers 70, 169; see also Copyrights

Medicine-show entertainers 136–137, 183

Melrose, Lester; and Gennett records 102; as RCA talent scout 283–284, 303; cheating on artist contracts 304; difficulties on Southern scouting trips 320; quoted on obtaining race-record talent 283

Melrose Music Company 110Melrose, Walter; and Gennett records

102; and Jelly Roll Morton 110, 115 (note 23), 171–172

Memphis Auditorium 249Memphis Jazzers (pseudo) 258Memphis Jug Band 183, 187, 249, 268,

281, 291Memphis Minnie 268, 287, 304

351

Subject Index

Memphis Sanctified Singers 249Memphis Sheiks (pseudo) 184Memphis Strutters (pseudo) 189Meritt (label) 64–65; correct starting

date for 64; loses Rev. Burnett to Columbia 222

Meyers, Hazel 86M-G-M (label) 320Michall, Ernest 210Miles, Josie 41, 43, 51, 79, 90; managed

by Joe Davis 72; replaces Ethel Waters in Black Swan Troubdours 52

Miles, Lizzie 77Miley, Bubber 22 (note 32), 70, 72, 91Miller, Flournoy, and Aubrey Lyles 24Miller, Luella 181, 183Miller, Polk and Old South Quartet 250Miller, Walter 79Mills Brothers 286Mills, Maude 257–258Milton, Rev. J. M. 250Mississippi Jook Band 292Mississippi Moaner (pseudo) 297Mississippi Mudder (pseudo) 287Mississippi Mud Steppers (pseudo) 274Mississippi Sheiks 266, 272, 276, 311;

Champion reissues from Paramount masters 289; dropped by Okeh 276; records issued in white country music series 274; signed by Paramount 276

Mitchell’s Christian Singers 296Mitchell’s Four New Singers 296Modern (label) 333Modern Music Sales 316Moeser, Otto 201, 216; proposes sale of

Paramount to H. C. Speir 273Monogram Theater (Chicago) 106, 129Montgomery, Little Brother 129Montgomery Ward (label) 276, 285, 303;

replaces Broadway as house brand; race records on 303; recordings issued exclusively on 304; regional sales of selected records 304

Moody, Julia 43, 52Moonlight Revelers (pseudo) 258Moore, Alex 289Moore, Johnny’s Three Blazers 329Moore, Kid Prince 289Moore, Monette 72, 87, 93Moore, Philip “Jazz Baby” 183Moore, Whistlin’ Alex 250Moore, William 192Morrison, George 10, 21 (note 7)Morris, Thomas & his Seven Hot Babies

171

Morton, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll”: and Walter Melrose 110, 115 (note 23), 171–172; dropped by Victor 268; early band and solo recordings 110–112; first records by 110; Gennett records 110, 112; Victor records 170, 171–172; Vocalion records 165

Mosley, Rev. W. M. 179, 222, 250Moss, Arthur, and Ed Frye 77Moss, Buddy 297, 304Moten, Bennie’s Kansas City Orchestra

113–114, 177, 268Mount Calvary Church (Atlanta) 217Motion pictures: produced by George

W. Broome 1; race-record artists starring in 255–257

Mud Dauber Joe (pseudo) 287Murphy, Dudley 256Murray, J. W., quoted on broadening

appeal of race records in 1940s 320–321

Music publishers 169, 202, 316; Chicago Music Company 308; Chicago Music Publishing Company 202; Rainbow Music Company 65; Southern Music Publishing Company 169; State Street Music Publishing Company 201, 308; Triangle Music Publishing Company 71

N

Nail, John E. 36Nash, Thomas 83, 84Nathan, Syd 329National Baptist Convention (Chicago)

223National Vaudeville Association 30Naughton, M. 45Negro Musician, The 36–37Nelson, Dave’s Harlem Shots 281Nelson, Richard A. 324Nelson, Romeo 244Nettles, Isaiah 297New Orleans Blues Band (pseudo) New Orleans Jazz Band (pseudo) 309New Orleans Rhythm Kings 101–102New Orleans Strutters (pseudo) 189New York Age, slanted reporting in 43New York Recording Laboratories

(Paramount): closes New York studio 155; decline in production in early 1930s 276; employees terminated 276; first Chicago recording session 105; Grafton, Wisconsin, studio 258–260,

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

352

276; purchases Black Swan 52–54; see also Paramount (label)

Nichols, Nick 250Nix, Rev. A W. 223, 232Nolan, Dixie (pseudo) 249Noonan, Justice Thomas 307Noone, Jimmie 106, 240Nordskog (label) 59–60Nordskog, Andrae 60Norfolk Jazz Quartet / Norfolk Jubilee

Four 31, 231, 289, 311Norris, Blind 254North, Hattie 254Norwood, Pig 274Nubian Five 69–70Nugrape Twins 179

O

Oak Cliff T-Bone (pseudo) 250Oakley, Giles, quoted on T-Bone Walker

328–329Oberstein, Elliot Everett (Eli): abuse of

artist management contracts by 303; alleged links to jukebox syndicate 309; as Bluebird manager 282–283, 303; denies using Paramount material on Varsity 310–313; publisher royalties not paid by 309; Varsity and Royale records 308–309

O’Bryant, Jimmy 107Oden, Jimmy 311Odessa 254Oertle, Ernie 298–299Okeh (label): as Columbia subsidiary

174; as early leader in race-record field 30–32; combines recording expeditions with Columbia 249–250, 268–269; demoted to budget label 281; discontinued by ARC 291; early history of 9; final race series issues 281; first Chicago recordings 133; first country blues recording 140–142; limits number of takes in early 1930s 268; markets race records across racial lines 134; Okeh Cabaret and Style Show 157; Okeh Race Record Artists Night 158; promotional stage shows 157; race series discontinued 271; recording expeditions 249–250, 268, 269 ; Twelve Room House for the Blues (album) 142

Old Pal Smoke Shop Four 183Old Southern Jug Band (pseudo) 143Oliver, Joe (“King”): and Clarence

Williams 213; Creole Jazz Band 102–103, 108–109; discrepancies in reported Creole Jazz Band recording dates 114 (note 9), 115 (note 19); Dixie Syncopators 161, 174; first records by 102; Gennett recording session described 104; musician salaries skimmed by 109; public appearance described 109; recommended to Columbia by Alberta Hunter 102;

Oliver, Paul 16Olympic (label): recordings by white

artists issued on Black Swan 48; revived by Fletcher Record Company 48

Olympic Disc Record Corporation: plant and studio purchased for Black Swan 45

Operaphone studio and pressing plant 37

Original Dixieland Jazz Band 23–24Original Memphis Five 29–30, 69, 77Ory, Edward “Kid” 60–61, 107, 171–172Otto Heineman Phonograph Supply

Company 9; see also General Phonograph Corporation; Okeh (label)

Oxley, Harold 326

P

Pace & Handy Music Company 35, 70Pace, Harry: 35–53, 54; licenses Black

Swan masters to New York Recording Laboratories 53–54; partnership with John Fletcher 45, 48, 50; pledges to use only black artists 35; terminates Paramount licensing agreement 54; see also Black Swan (label); Pace Phonograph Corporation

Pace Jubilee Singers 206, 207Pace Phonograph Corporation (Black

Swan): alleged white conspiracy against 36–37, 38, 44–45, 49–50; as second black-owned record company 1; bomb scare at pressing plant 49–50; deceptive advertising claims by 42, 46, 47, 50; difficulties in securing manufacturing 37; early investors in 36–37; initial capitalization of 35–36; purchased by New York Recording Laboratories 53–54; reorganized as Black Swan Record Co. 50; sales and profits 45; stock offerings 50; Swanola phonographs 54 (note 3); see also Black Swan (label)

Page, Walter’s Blue Devils 254

353

Subject Index

Pallophotophone (“Light-Ray”) recording equipment 180, 194 (note 7)

Papa, Frank 70Paramount (label): advertising artwork

recycled by 275–276; alcohol served at recording sessions 260–261; Black Swan reissues on 53–54; decline in production and sales during early 1930s 274, 276; difficulties acquiring and retaining artists in early 1930s 274; distribution problems 271, 273; final race-series recordings 276; first Chicago recording sessions 105; loss of artist to competing labels 187; masters licensed to other labels 26, 200, 212, 266, 273, 288–289, 311; production and sales decline in early 1930s 273; race-record (12000) series introduced 134; recordings issued on Black Swan 48; revived by Jack Kapp and American Record Corporation in 1930s 279; shifts focus from New York to Chicago 133; solicits blues lyrics 189, 190; studio locations — see New York Recording Laboratories; suspends advertising in Chicago Defender 273; trademark and masters licensed by Jack Kapp 279; use of masters from outside sources by 59, 65, 207; Varsity reissues of Paramount recordings 310–313; white country-music series 154, 191, 195 (note 18); see a l so New York Recording Laboratories

Paramount–Black Swan (label) 53–54Paramount Book of Blues 131, 137–138,

147 152Parham, Hartzell Strathdede (“Tiny”)

268Parker, Mel 249Parker, Shorty Bob 289Parlophone (British label), American

blues recordings on 32Pasternack, Josef 78Pathé (label) 1, 69, 70, 73, 219, 222Patton, Charley 259, 261–262; death of

301 (note 1); declines Paramount recording offer 274; discovered by H. C. Speir 261; final recording sessions 294–295; jailed in Mississippi 294; religious material recorded by 232; slurred diction 261

Paul, Les 289Peabody Hotel (Memphis) 254Pearson, William 206

Pebbles, The 180Peer, Ralph 168; and Artophone

Corporation 197; and disagreements with Otto Heineman 157; as Okeh employee 107, 114, 157, 197; as Bluebird artists and repertoire manager 282–283; as music publisher 169; as Victor talent scout 167–168, 169–170, 183; control of copyrights and mechanical-reproduction rights by 169; Okeh sessions supervised by 107; recording expeditions supervised by 185; resigns from RCA Victor 283–284

Pennsylvania Standard Theater (Philadelphia) 43

Perfect (label) 219, 278, 296Perfection piano rolls 24Perkins, Betty 254Perkins, Cora 160Perryman, Rufus (Speckled Red) 246,

303Petrillo, James Caesar, and American

Federation of Musicians’ recording ban 315–318, 321

Phillips, Washington 228–229, 232, 250Phonola (Canadian label) 12; Pinewood Tom (pseudo) 279Pittsburgh Courier 43Plantation Room (New York Winter

Garden) 63Plastics, as replacement for shellac

pressings after World War II 334Plaza Music Company — see Plaza

Music Company–Scranton Record Company labels

Plaza Music Company–Scranton Record Company labels: “control” numbers assigned to masters recorded by 232; masters licensed to other labels 65, 200, 212; race records 221, 222

Pope, Jenny 254Popular and miscellaneous (non-

classical) material on race records 49, 65–66, 77, 143

Portable recording machines 333Powell’s Jazz Monarchs, 160Powers, Ollie 106Price of race records (retail) 281–282;

budget labels 282, 285Price, Sammy and his Four Quarters

254Prigett. L C. 187Prime, Alberta (sic) — see Pryme, AlbertaPrimitive Baptist Choir 278

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

354

Prohibition, repeal of 283Pruitt Brothers (Miles and Milas) 136Pryme, Alberta 65, 68 (note 26)Pseudonyms — see Artist pseudonyms

on race recordsPuckett, Riley 178Pullum, Joe 304

Q

Q.R.S (label): revived by Cova Recording Corporation in 1930 216 (note 41), 266; original vs. reissued material on 200, 207, 212, 213; discontinued 214; earlier versions of label 211; marketing and distribution problems 214; masters purchased by Paramount 214; produced by Starr Piano Co. (Gennett) 211–213; white country-music series 212; reasons for failure of 214

Queen (label) 329, 331 (note 35)

R

Race-record series, annotated list of 335–336

Race records marketed to white buyers 12–13, 77

“Race Records,” replaced as marketing term by “Rhythm and Blues” 334

Rachel, James (“Yank”) 249Racial integration: in record-company

management 45; during recording sessions 30, 110

Racial prejudice: alleged in relation to Black Swan record 36–37, 43, 44–45; among record dealers 16; Edison, Thomas A., and 78–79; Ku Klux Klan and 79, 101, 235

Racial stereotypes: in race record advertising 16, 19, 93, 94, 120, 160; on records in early 1920s 35, 70; stereotyping of white businessmen by black newspapers 36–37

Racially segregated record catalogs, first use of 30

Radio: broadcasts by race artists 123–124, 254, 266, 321; role in promoting race record artists 321; station WCB (Atlanta, Georgia) 123; station WHAS (Louisville, Kentucky) 266; station WHOM (Jersey City, New Jersey) 321; station WMC (Memphis, Tennessee) 124; station WNOX (Knoxville, Tennessee) 254; station WPAT

(Patterson, New Jersey) 321Radio Corporation of America: early

budget labels produced by 276, 281–282; purchases Victor Talking Machine Company 247; see also Bluebird (label), Victor ( label) ; moves Chicago recording operation to avoid paying union scale 305; Photophone equipment 213, 261 (note 35)

Rainbow Music Company 65Rainbow Record Shop (Harlem) 323;Rainey, Gertrude Pridgett (“Ma”)

129–132; decline in record sales in later 1920s 177; influence on Bessie Smith 117; “Mystery Record” contest 131; signed by Paramount 129; touring by 129, 136

Ramey, Ben 183Ransom, Rev. William 183Reavis, Hattie King 45Record Artists Music Company 308Record catalogs, first racial segregation

in 30Record sales and pressing statistics:

anecdotal reports 16, 21–22 (note 24); decline in during early Depression years 265, 268; inflation of by modern writers 16; “million-seller” myths in pop-culture writing 22 (note 24); quantities pressed 180; sales rebound in late 1930s 303; Victor records 185, 187, 262, 265, 268, 280 (note 9)

Record Syndicate Trust 312Recording expeditions: as strategy to

avoid paying union scale 305; decrease in frequency of during early 1940s 305; during early Depression years 268; to Atlanta, Georgia 159–160, 178, 179–180, 183, 187, 249, 268, 269; to Augusta, Georgia 298; to Birmingham, Alabama 189–190, 190; to Charlotte, North Carolina 185, 187, 268, 289; to Cincinnati, Ohio 268; to Dallas, Texas 249, 250, 254, 268, 289, 297, 300; to Fort Worth, Texas 293–294, 298; to Hattiesburg, Mississippi 298; to Indianapolis, Indiana 235; to Jackson, Mississippi 268, 269, 274, 297; to Johnson City, Tennessee 250, 268; to Kansas City, Missouri 254, 268; to Knoxville, Tennessee 254, 268; to Louisville, Kentucky 268; to Memphis, Tennessee 183, 187, 249, 254, 268; to New Orleans, Louisiana 178, 184, 249, 250, 254, 289; to Richmond, Virginia

355

Subject Index

249–250, 268; to San Antonio, Texas 249, 250, 254, 268, 293–294, 297, 298; to Savannah, Georgia 187; to Shreveport, Louisiana 268; to St. Louis, Missouri 159, 167, 180, 182–183, 293–294; see also by label name

Red Hot Old Mose (pseudo) 192Red Star Films 257–258Reed, Long Cleve and his Down Home

Boys 207Reed, Willie 250Reeves, Reuben & his River Boys 253Rega, H. Wallace (pseudo) 21 (note 9)Rega, Milo (pseudo) 21 (note 9)Rega Orchestra 10, 11–12Regis (label) 321Reiner, Paul and Lillian 323Religious material on race records

217–232; first issued recording by black preacher 217; recorded by blues artists 145, 231, 232; secular material recorded by religious artists 229–230, 231, 232

Remington, Philo 37Reneau, George 78Rene, Leon 324, 333Rene, Otis 324, 333Rey, Charles 250Reynolds, Alberta 244Reynolds, Patrick “Flash” 313Rhinehart, Mack 297Rhumboogie (label) 326–328; see also

Charlie’s Rhumboogie Café“Rhythm and Blues” substituted as

marketing term for “Race Records” 334Rialto Music Shop (Chicago) 111, 273Richardson, Mabel 171Ricketts, Robert 65Rico Phonograph Company 57Rico, Pureza 57Ringling Brothers–Barnum and Bailey

Circus Band 315Robbins, Robert 136Robechaux, Joseph’s New Orleans

Rhythm Boys 289Roberts, Elder Tarleton 249Roberts, H. T. 258Robeson, Paul: as Black Swan salesman

44; first records by 66–67; records promoted to counter Rev. Gates 217

Robinson, Alex 241Robinson, Banjo Ikey 253Rock ’n’ roll 334Rockwell, Tommy 188Rodeheaver Laboratories 147

Rodemich, Gene’s Orchestra 180Rodgers, Gene 319Rodgers, Jimmie 185, 249Roger William Baptist Church

(Birmingham, Alabama) 190Roland, Walter 279, 294Roosevelt, James 115 (note 24)Rose, Herman 69–70Rosenman, Justice Samuel 308Ross De Luxe Syncopators 187Royale (label) 308Royalties, artist: failure of record

companies to pay 189, 305, 308; flat-rate payments in lieu of 70; raised in response to introduction of Varsity 309; taken by music publishers and talent brokers 70, 79

Royalties, composer-publisher: failure of record companies to pay 312; mandated by Copyright Act of 1911 169, 282; reduced by publishers for Bluebird 282; taken by music publishers 70, 79, 169, 202, 316; taken by talent brokers 79

Rural influences in “classic” blues recordings 136–138

Russell, Luis 165, 165, 240

S

Sack Amusement Enterprises 256Sally Sad (pseudo) 311Salty Dog Sam (pseudo) 278Sampson, Deryck 319Sampson, Sammy (pseudo) 277Samuels, Joseph 19–20, 31Sanders, Elder Oscar 293–294Sanders, Sister Sallie 179Sane, Dan 191Sarah and her Milk Bull (pseudo) 297Satherley, Arthur: and Q.R.S. records

212–213; as American Record Corporation manager 214, 241–242, 276, 294, 298; and Paramount race record advertising 134; as CBS race- and country-music division manager 301; quoted on failure of Q.R.S. records 214; quoted on preparing congregations for recording 226; resigns from Paramount 212

Saunders, Gertrude 24, 78Savoy (label) 323–324Savoy Bearcats 171, 172Schiele, Herbert and Edwin 197–199Schneider, Sam 323

Race Records and the American Recording Industry

356

Schriber, Les, Sr. 323Schuller, Gunther 16, 172Schultz, Alfred 261Scott, Effie 254Scott, James 114Scranton Button Company 309; see also

Plaza Music Company–Scranton Button Company labels

Scruggs, Irene 249Sear, Roebuck & Company: budget

labels marketed by 190, 300, 304; commissioned recordings reissued on Black Patti 208

Secular material recorded by religious artists 229–230, 231, 232

See Bee (label) 61–62Selvin, Ben’s Orchestra 22 (note 24)Senior Chapel Quartette 254Senter, Boyd 112, 115 (note 28)Settles, Rosetta 244Seventh Day Adventists’ Choir 179Sexually suggestive lyrics on race

records 237, 241, 321Shade, Will 183Shanks, Charlie 79Shapiro, Bernstein & Company 17Shavers, Charlie 289Shaw, Joel & his Orchestra 311Shelby Gospel Four 289Shepard, Ollie 308Sherman Club Orchestra (pseudo) 189Shilkret, Nathaniel 92, 167, 168–169Shumaker, Edward E. 168Siegel, Herman “Hy” 323Silver Echo Quartet 321Silvertone (label) 143, 190, 205Simeon, Omar 171Singing evangelists 227–228Sissle, Noble 23–24, 25, 77, 78Skiffle bands 183, 213Skillet Dick and his Frying Pans

(pseudo) 289Skylight Singers 321Smith, Bessie 117–125, 255, 256; early

recording company audit ions (anecdotal) 43, 117–118; broadcasting by 123–124; Edison’s opinion of 79; first issued recordings 118–119; last recordings by 281; personality 117; revival of interest in following movie appearance 257; questionable “spitting” anecdote 118; touring by 121–122

Smith, Chris 85, 87Smith, Cladys “Jabbo” 251, 253

Smith, Clara (Black Patti artist) 208Smith, Clara (Columbia artist) 124, 125;

decline in record sales in later 1920s 177, 257; not same singer as Black Patti’s Clara Smith 208; recording contract secured by Joe Davis 72

Smith, Clarence “Pine Top” 244–245, 247

Smith, Ellis 250Smith, Ethel 311Smith, Ivy 311Smith, Leroy & his Orchestra 65Smith, Mamie 9–20; Ajax records 93–94,

96, 99 (note 18); and her All Star Revue 17; and Perry Bradford 9–10, 12, 17–18; decline in record sales 20, 29; first recording session 10; motion pictures featuring 257–258; Okeh records 10–20; Victor records 23, 177; rejected by Victor 23

Smith, Rev. Utah 321Smith, Susie (pseudo) 87, 93Smith, Trixie 43, 52, 177Smolev, Marvin 258Snapp, Troy Calvin 210Snapps’ Ginger Snaps 210Snowden, Elmer 72, 88–89, 91Snow, Hattie 311Son Joe (pseudo) 297Sooy, Raymond 268Soul music 334Soule, Gordon 189, 213Southern Music Publishing Company

169Southern Records (label) 329–330Southern Wonder Quartet 312Spand, Charlie 246Spartanburg Famous Four 289Spears, Blossom (pseudo) 206Specialty (label) 333Speckled Red — see Perryman, RufusSpeir, Henry C. 274; and difficulties

obtaining Paramount records 271; artists referred to record companies by 187, 298–299; as American Record Corporation talent scout 294; as consultant on Paramount’s Grafton studio 259; as Okeh talent scout 188, 250, 274; as Paramount talent scout 151, 191, 261; as Victor talent scout 187; as Vocalion-ARC talent scout 297; commissions received by 261; quoted on Arthur Laibly 151; proposed sale of Paramount to 273; shares supervision of Jackson,

357

Subject Index

Mississippi, session with Polk Brockman 274

Speyer & Company 172Spikes Brothers & Carter 59Spikes Brothers (John & Benjamin

“Reb”) 59–60Spivey, Victoria 30, 160, 200, 257, 269Spottswood, Dick 280 (note 9)Spring, Jimmy 318Stafford, Mary 24Standard Amusement Company 17Standard Music Roll Company 24Starr Piano Company — see Gennett

(label)State Street Boys 281State Street Music Publishing Company

201, 308State Street Ramblers 288–289St. Cyr, Johnny 171Steele, Blue and his Orchestra 187Steiner, John 279Stevens, E. F. , 285Stewart, Rex 72Stewart, Sammy 106Still, William Grant: as arranger for

Black Swan 36; as Black Swan house conductor 51; pseudonym use by 51

St. James Hotel (Knoxville, Tennesse) 254

St. Louis Johnny (pseudo) 288St. Louis Levee Band 160St. Louis Music (Publishing) Company

197, 200, 271St. Mark’s Chanters 178Stokes, Frank 187, 191, 249Stoneman, Ernest 185Stovepipe No. 1 — see Jones, SamuelStreet entertainers 185, 229–230Street-vendor shouts 192Sullivan, Maxine 319Summit (Australian label) 273Summit-Cherry Markets 16–19Sun (Canadian label) 13, 83Sunrise (label) 282Sunshine (label) 59–60, 61Superior (label) 265Supertone (label) 236Supper, M. A., negotiates sale of Black

Swan to Paramount 53–54Swanola phonographs 54 (note 3)Sweatman, Wilbur 1, 70, 258–259Swift, Sammy’s Jazz Band (pseudo) 48Sykes, Roosevelt 242–243; as part-time

Decca talent scout 288Synco Jazz Band 20

T

Taggart, Blind Joe 181, 229, 232, 287Talent scouts and brokers: annotated list

of 337–338; packaging of singers, accompanists, and songs by 70–71; control of copyrights and mechanical-reproduction rights by 169; expense accounts 169; see also Allen, Fulton; Ashford, R. T.; Bradford, Perry; Brockman, Polk; Calaway, W. R.; Charles, Harry; Davis, Joe; Hornsby, Dan; Johnson, Jessee; Jones, Richard M.; Kapp, David; Kapp, Jack; Laibly, Arthur; Law, Don; Long, James Baxter; Melrose, Lester; Peer, Ralph; Rey, Charles; Satherley, Arthur; Speir, Henry C.; Sykes, Roosevelt; Walker, Frank; Wiggins, Fred; Williams, Clarence; Williams, Mayo

Tampa Blue Jazz Band 20Tampa Red — see Whittaker [Woodbridge],

HudsonTanner, Gid’s Skillet Lickers 178Tapp, Ferman 210Tarpley, Sam 311Taskiana Four 171, 304Tate, Erskine 26, 107, 113, 108–109,

112–113, 162, 165Taylor, Eva 257Taylor, Montana 245Taylor, Walter 311Temple, Johnnie 289, 304Temple, William H. 201Tenneva Ramblers 185Terry, Sonny 295Texas Blues Destroyers 91Texas Jubilee Singers 233 (note 13)Theater Owners’ Booking Association

31, 105, 139, 255Them Birmingham Night Owls (pseudo) Thomas, Walter 319Three Black Diamonds (pseudo) 92Three Gospel Tones 313Three Happy Darkies (pseudo) 92Three Hot Eskimos (pseudo) 92Three Jolly Miners (pseudo) 92Threlkeld, Bruford (“Whistler”) 142–144Thurston, Zora Neale 319Timely Tunes (label) 281–282T.O.B.A. — see Theater Owners’ Booking

AssociationTomlin, Rev. H. R. 222Tremblay & Germain 84Trent, Jo 65

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Triangle Harmony Boys 189Triangle Music Publishing Company

70–71Troy, Henry 85Tucker, Bessie 249Tucker, Ragtime Billy 61Turner, B. K. 289Turner, Lavinia 24, 30Turpin, C. Udell 44Tuskegee Institute 189Tyndall, Kline 215 (note 11)

U

Ultraphon (German label) 309Underwood, Sugar 187Unemployment — see Great DepressionU.N.I.A. — see Universal Negro

Improvement AssociationUnited States Record Corporation:

bankruptcy 312; chartered 308; sued for unpaid publisher royalties 312; see also Oberstein, Eli; Varsity (label)

Universal Negro Improvement Association 61–62

University of Louisville 333University of Wisconsin at Madison 258Up-to-Date (label) 67U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f C o m m e rc e

publication board 334U.S. War Production Board 315Utica Jubilee Singers 297

V

Valentine, Syd’s Patent Leather Kids 289

Van Eps, Fred’s Quartet 48Variety, negative reviews of race records

in 320, 321Varsity (label) 308–311; discontinued

312; dubbed masters used on 309, 311, 314 (note 22); masters acquired by Record Syndicate Trust 312; promoted for jukebox use 309; prospectus 309–310; pseudonymous reissues of Gennett and Paramount material on 309; remaindered 312

Vassar, Callie 135Vendome Music Shop (Chicago) 26Vendome Theater (Chicago) 26Victor (label): advertising in black

periodicals 78; auditions and rejects black performers in early 1920s 9–10, 23–24; Blues and Rhythm” series 334;

early race-record issues (1923) 76, 77–78; first country-blues record 183, 194 (note 8); ignores blues craze 23; limits number of takes in early 1930s 268; race-record series 247–248, 267–268, 282; record sales 167, 172, 265, 303, 304; recording expeditions 187, 249, 268, 305; recordings reissued on budget labels 282; signs artists away from competing labels 187, 222; see also Bluebird (label); Radio Corporation of America; Victor Talking Machine Company

Victor Talking Machine Company: recording expeditions by 183; assigns mechanical-reproduction royalties to Ralph Peer 169; management changes in 1920s 167, 168; purchased by Radio Corporation of America 247; purchased by Speyer & Company and J. & W. Seligman 172; see also Victor (label)

Vincent, Walter (sic) — see Vinson, WalterVincson, Walter (sic) — see Vinson, WalterVinson, Walter 254, 274, 289, 297Vitaphone films — see Warner BrothersVocalion (label): as American Record

Corporation’s primary race label 291; as Brunswick race-series label 143, 161; celebrates race series’ first anniversary 181; first race series (1923) 74; first recording sessions 7–8 (note 6); masters reissued on ARC labels 235; masters transferred to Brunswick 167; recording expeditions 180, 182–183, 254, 268; rights revert to Warner Brothers 302; suspends recording expeditions (1930) 267; see also Brunswick (label)

Voynow, Richard, as Brunswick-Vocalion recording manager 254

W

Walker, Frank 126–127; as Bessie Smith’s manager 119–121; as Columbia race-series manager 127; as RCA race-series manager 320; quoted on Columbia recording expeditions 177; quoted on preparing artists to record 177; rejects King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band for Columbia 102

Walker, T-Bone 326, 327; first records by 250; performance style 328–329

Wallace, Minnie 249, 297

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Subject Index

Wallace, Wesley 246Waller, Thomas (“Fats”) 172, 247, 268,

317Walsh, Arthur, quoted on Edison blues

records 79Walton, Lester 43Ward, H. E. 271Wardlow, Gayle Dean 155; quoted on

Robert Johnson 298Warner Brothers Pictures: Brunswick

and Vocalion rights revert to 302; purchases Brunswick-Vocalion division 262, 268; sells Brunswick-Vocalion division to American Record Corporation 278; race-record artists used in motion pictures by 257

Washboard Sam — see Brown, Robert Washington, Booker T. 4–5, 7 (note 11)Washington, E. Davidson 5Washington, George (“Bull City Red”)

295, 297Washingtonians (pseudo) 65Washington, Lizzie 200Washington, Sister Ernestine 321Waters, Ethel 39–42, 50, 51–52; Black

Swan recording contract provisions 41; Columbia releases split between general and race catalogs 127, 257; Edison’s opinion of 79; first records by 39; performance of “legitimate” material by 41; popularity with white audiences 177; recording pay rates 40–41; tours for Black Swan 43, 51; motion pictures by 257–258

Waters, Ethel’s Jazz Masters, as pseudonym for white bands 48

Watson, El 185Watson, Johnny (“Daddy Stovepipe”)

137, 190Watson, Sarah 137Weaver, Fred 67Weaver, Sylvester 136–138Webster Hotel (Chicago) 172–173Weems, Rev. T. E. 222Weiss, Irving’s Ritz-Carlton Orchestra

48Weldon, Will 183Welk, Lawrence 276Wells, Tudie 73Western Electric recording equipment

174Wheatstraw, Peetie 287–288Wheat Street Female Quartet 160Whistler’s Jug Band 143Whistlin’ Pete (pseudo) 190

White, Baxter 180White, Bob’s Syncopators 123White, Booker T. Washington (“Bukka”)

(pseudo) 262, 297White, Clarence Cameon 4, 6White country music: Victor V-40000

series 247; on race records 137; race records issued in white country-music series 235

White, Georgia 289White, Joshua 278–279, 292Whiteman, Paul 22 (note 24), 77White performers and pop material on

race records 65; 77, 210; race material covered by 138, 240

White, Walter T. 62Whitman Sisters 210, 212Whittaker [Woodbridge], Hudson

(“Tampa Red”): and American Record Corporation 283; and Hokum Boys 241; and Thomas Dorsey (“Georgia Tom”) 240–241; expands repertoire in 1930s 283; hosts musicians at his home in Chicago 285

Whitter, Henry 169Wholesale Musical Supply Company 197Whyte, Zack’s Chocolate Beau

Brummels 311Wickemeyer, E. C. A. (“Eck”) 101, 104Wiedeoft, Rudy’s Californians 48Wiedoeft, Herb’s Orchestra 180Wiggins, Fred 101, 103Wilkins, Robert 254, 297Wilkins, Tim (pseudo) 297Williams, Aleta 201Williams, Bert 1, 36, 42–43, 85, 217Williams, Clarence 70, 257, 258–259,

268, 286; as Bessie Smith’s manager 118–119; as Okeh race-record division manager 31, 107; as Okeh race-series manager and talent scout 30–31; as Okeh talent scout 30, 31

Williams, Cordy’s Jazz Masters 41Williams, Douglas’ Orchestra 249Williams, Fess 163, 165, 181, 268Williams, J. Mayo: and Chicago Music

Publishing Company 202; and Chicago Record Company (Black Patti) 201–202, 210, 212; and Ebony records 329; and New York Recording Laboratories (Paramount) 151, 155, 190–191, 211; and State Street Music Publishing Company 201; artist management contracts used by 202, 287, 308; as Brunswick-Vocalion race

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division manager 211, 237, 287; as Decca race-division manager 286, 287, 289, 329; as independent producer (1945) 329–330; death of 330; opinion of country-blues singers 191–192, 201–202; quoted on Arthur Laibly 151; quoted on Black Patti records 201, 205; quoted on Monogram Theater 106

Williams, Jabo , 276Williams, Joe 254Williams, John’s Memphis Stompers

206, 254Williams, Len 31, 231Williams, Leona 29Williams, Mayo — see Williams, J. MayoWilliams’ Memphis Sanctified Singers

226Williams, Millie 201Williamson, Charlie 183Williams, Spencer 26, 70Willing Four, The 321Willis, Mary (pseudo) 269Willis, Ruth 269Wilson, Edith 17–19, 28–29, 127Wilson, George “Chicken,” and Jimmy

“Skeeter” Hinton 213Wilson, Lena 43, 52, 58, 69–70, 77Wilson, Leola B. , 151Wilson’s Broadway Orchestra 62Wilson, Sunny 207

Winters, Katie 206Wisconsin Chair Company — see New

York Recording LaboratoriesWisconsin Roof (Milwaukee) 166Wiseman’s Bethel Jubilee Quartet 78Woods, Oscar 289Woolworth dime-stores 282Works Progress Administration’s

Federal Theater project 320World War II: increase in independent

producers following 334; record scrap drives 315; shellac rationing during 315; shellac substitutes developed following 334; transitions in recording industry following 333

Worrell, Rev. S. J. (“Steamboat Bill”) 181, 223–224

W. T. Grant dime-stores 24

Y

Yates, Blind Richard 207Yates, Harold 278, 291Yerkes, Harry 48Young, Bernie 106

Z

Ziegfeld’s “Midnight Frolic” 1Zion, Illinois: campaign to abolish jazz

records in 20

361

Subject Index

About the Author

Allan Sutton is the recipient of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections’ 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award, and is the author of numerous books on the historic American recording industry, including American Record Labels and Companies: An Encyclopedia, 1891–1943; A Phonograph in Every Home; Recording the ’Twenties; Recording the ’Thirties; and multiple editions of Pseudonyms on American Records. A native of Baltimore and graduate of Towson University, he lives in Colorado with his wife Jill and golden retrievers Carrie and Rocky.

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