Brunswick Records
| Company type | Record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music industry |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Records, phonographs |
Brunswick Records is a United States-based record label established in 1916.
1916–1929
The origins of Brunswick Records trace back to the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, located in Dubuque, Iowa, which had been producing a range of goods from pianos to sports equipment since 1845. In 1916, the company ventured into manufacturing phonographs and shortly thereafter began issuing its own records. Initially, Brunswick records employed the vertical cut technique, were produced domestically, but were distributed exclusively in Canada.
By January 1920, Brunswick launched a new record series in both the U.S. and Canadian markets featuring the lateral cut method, positioning itself against leading American record companies such as Edison Records, Victor, and Columbia Records. The label promoted its records widely, with a popular catalog numbering from 2000 to 8517 by 1940, including a specialized numbering system for its Race series.
Brunswick's home phonographs achieved commercial success, particularly the Ultona model capable of playing various record formats. In late 1924, Brunswick expanded its portfolio by acquiring the Vocalion Records label.
During the early 1920s, Brunswick discs were known for superior audio quality and were pressed on high-grade shellac. Music director Walter B. Rogers along with associate Gus Haenschen attracted renowned classical and popular musicians such as Sigrid Onegin, Mario Chamlee, Al Bernard, and pianists Leopold Godowsky and Josef Hofmann.
In 1925, the company introduced an electrical recording technology named "Light-Ray," derived from the Pallophotophone and licensed through General Electric. Initial recordings faced technical challenges that limited their release; only discs produced at Brunswick’s West Coast facility carried the "Light-Ray Process" designation.
After overcoming early technical difficulties, Brunswick broadened its popular music catalog to include dance orchestras led by figures like Bob Haring and Isham Jones, as well as prominent entertainer Al Jolson. Operating primarily out of Chicago with offices in New York, Brunswick signed leading jazz musicians including Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and King Oliver. The label also introduced race record series aimed at jazz, blues, and gospel audiences.
Brunswick developed a domestic classical instrumental program adapted to the electrical recording era, capturing performances by violinist Bronislaw Huberman and pianists Hofmann and Godowsky. The company collaborated with ensembles such as the New York String Quartet, Minneapolis Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera orchestra, and briefly the New York Philharmonic under conductors like Willem Mengelberg and Arturo Toscanini. Nevertheless, orchestral recordings often suffered from suboptimal sound quality due to limitations inherent in the "Light-Ray" system.
To improve this aspect, Brunswick arranged to import higher-quality European recordings through partnerships with firms like Polydor (the export division of Deutsche Grammophon), releasing historic performances conducted by maestros including Richard Strauss.
In 1927, Brunswick adopted a recording process utilizing Western Electric condenser microphones that delivered enhanced audio fidelity. The company also debuted the Brunswick Panatrope phonograph—an all-electric model equipped with amplification—that received critical praise; notably, composer Ottorino Respighi employed it for The Pines of Rome. In 1930, Jack Kapp assumed leadership as executive of Brunswick's record division.
1930–1944
In April 1930, Brunswick-Balke-Collender transferred ownership of Brunswick Records to Warner Bros., relocating the company’s main office to New York City. Warner Bros. intended to produce soundtracks compatible with their Vitaphone technology, recording performers such as Noah Beery, Charles King, and J. Harold Murray. During this era, Brunswick signed prominent musicians including Bing Crosby, the Mills Brothers, Adelaide Hall, the Boswell Sisters, Cab Calloway, the Casa Loma Orchestra, and Ozzie Nelson.
By November 1930, Brunswick introduced the Melotone label as a budget option, entering a competitive market alongside Columbia’s Clarion and Velvet Tone labels and Plaza Music Company’s Perfect, Banner, and Romeo brands. Following Warner Bros.' decision to abandon Vitaphone in favor of sound-on-film technology and facing record sales declines caused by the Great Depression, they leased Brunswick to Consolidated Film Industries (the parent company of the ARC) in December 1931. Meanwhile, British Decca acquired Brunswick's UK operations in 1932.
Between 1932 and 1939, Brunswick served as ARC's premier label, with records priced at 75 cents compared to ARC’s other labels at 35 cents. Leading artists during this period included Bing Crosby, the Boswell Sisters, the Mills Brothers, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Abe Lyman, Casa Loma Orchestra, Leo Reisman, Ben Bernie, Red Norvo, Teddy Wilson, and Anson Weeks. After many artists migrated to Decca in late 1934, Brunswick responded by reissuing popular tracks on ARC’s budget-friendly dime-store labels to compete with Decca’s lower price points.
In 1939, CBS acquired ARC for $750,000 and discontinued the Brunswick label in 1940 to focus on revitalizing Columbia and OKeh labels. This action violated Warner’s lease agreement, causing the Brunswick trademark rights to revert back to Warner Bros. In 1941, Warner sold Brunswick along with Vocalion (including masters recorded before December 1931) to American Decca—where Warner maintained financial stakes—while CBS retained ownership of recordings made after December 1931.
Decca revived the Brunswick brand in 1943 primarily for reissuing earlier successful recordings, notably Bing Crosby’s early-1930s work and jazz recordings from the 1920s. From that point onward, Decca and its successors have maintained control over the historic Brunswick Records catalog from this timeframe.
1945–1956
Following World War II, American Decca releases were distributed under the Brunswick label in the UK until MCA Records was launched in 1968. During the war years, British Decca divested its American branch. By 1952, management of Brunswick had shifted to Decca's Coral Records subsidiary, which resumed issuing new releases—initially focusing on rhythm and blues before expanding to pop music in 1957. Later in the decade, American Decca positioned Brunswick as its primary rock and roll imprint, featuring artists such as Buddy Holly & the Crickets. Holly’s Brunswick recordings included backing vocals and were credited solely under the group name without mentioning him individually. In contrast, his Coral Records releases generally lacked backup vocals except for "Rave On" and "Early In The Morning." In 1957, Brunswick became a Coral subsidiary. Nick Massi—who would later join The Four Seasons—made his first recordings with Brunswick in 1959.
1957–1979/R&B
From the late 1950s through the 1970s, Brunswick concentrated primarily on R&B and soul music, initially led by Jackie Wilson during the late 1950s into the mid-1960s, followed by the emergence of the Chi-Lites. In 1957, Nat Tarnopol, who managed Jackie Wilson, took on the role of head of A&R at Brunswick. By 1960, Brunswick had become an independent entity and a division of Decca, with Tarnopol serving as executive vice-president. He secured a 50% stake in Brunswick from Decca in 1964 and achieved full ownership by 1969 after resolving conflicts with Decca’s management.
A pivotal figure in Brunswick’s R&B achievements from the mid-1960s through the 1970s was producer Carl Davis, who notably revitalized Jackie Wilson’s career with major hits such as "Whispers" (1966) and "Higher And Higher" (1967), the latter exceeding two million in sales. The Chi-Lites delivered two number one R&B singles—"Have You Seen Her" and "Oh Girl," with "Oh Girl" also reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1969, Davis launched Dakar Records as a sister label, featuring Tyrone Davis as its principal artist. Initially distributed by Atlantic Records, Dakar shifted to Brunswick’s distribution in 1972 following Brunswick’s independence from Decca.
Artists associated with Brunswick and Dakar included the Chi-Lites, Hamilton Bohannon, Tyrone Davis, Jackie Wilson, Barbara Acklin, Young-Holt Unlimited, Gene Chandler, Otis Leavill, the Lost Generation, Walter Jackson, Erma Franklin, Willie Henderson & the Soul, Maryann Farra & Satin Soul, Sunni Nash, and Little Richard. Leading producers encompassed Carl Davis, Eugene Record, Willie Henderson, and Leo Graham; arrangements were crafted by Sonny Sanders and Tony Moulton.
While only the Chi-Lites’ "Oh Girl" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after 1957, Brunswick and Dakar achieved ten number one positions on the R&B chart—six credited to Jackie Wilson and two each to Tyrone Davis and the Chi-Lites.
Following legal complications that surfaced after 1982, Brunswick entered a period of inactivity; Tarnopol licensed recordings dating from 1957 onward to Columbia Records’ special products division. Although he was eventually exonerated from these charges, the legal battles inflicted financial strain on both Tarnopol and Brunswick. By this time, Carl Davis and most of the label’s artists had departed. Tarnopol attributed his legal difficulties to a vendetta orchestrated by Lew Wasserman of MCA Inc., Decca’s parent company. Tarnopol passed away in 1987 at age 56.
Ownership
The Tarnopol family asserts ownership solely over Brunswick recordings produced from 1957 onward—the period beginning with Nat Tarnopol’s involvement at the label. Universal Music, which owns Decca’s parent company, controls Brunswick’s pre-Tarnopol catalog from the Decca era except for recordings from late 1931 to 1939; these remain under Columbia Records’ parent company, Sony Music Entertainment. The jazz catalog from Brunswick’s Decca years is administered by Universal’s Verve Music Group.
In 1995, Tarnopol’s descendants revived Brunswick Records with an emphasis on reissuing Chicago soul material. Currently, Spy Music Group manages distribution of its catalog.