Crown Records (1930s label)
| Company type | Budget record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Defunct | 1933 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Key people | Adrian Schubert (recording director) |
| Products | Records (78 rpm) |
Crown Records was an American budget label based in New York City, active from 1930 until 1933. Its catalogue included artists such as Eubie Blake and Fletcher Henderson. Promoted with the tagline "Two Hits for Two Bits," Crown's records were priced at 25 cents each.
The label was established by the Plaza Music Company after it was excluded from the merger that created the American Record Corporation. Crown maintained its offices at 10 West 20th Street, while its recording studios were located at 330 West 42nd Street. Adrian Schubert held the position of recording director.
Discs
Most of Crown’s releases utilized basic stock arrangements provided by publishers, frequently performed by session bands led by Adrian Schubert, Milt Shaw, Jack Albin, Lou Gold, Buddy Blue (Smith Ballew), The High Steppers, and Frank Novak. Exceptions to this pattern included Ben Pollack (under the pseudonym "Gil Rodin") and Gene Kardos (credited as "Joel Shaw"). The label also recorded African American ensembles like those of Eubie Blake and Fletcher Henderson. Its country music selections featured artists such as Carson Robison, Frankie Marvin, and Frank and James McGravy. Crown relied on working orchestras based around New York, including Gus Steck's Chanticleer Orchestra, and released some extended-playing 78 rpm records offering nearly five minutes of music at the consistent price of 25 cents.
Although recordings were made internally, pressing duties were outsourced to Victor Records, making Crown the first label pressed by RCA Corporation as a client. Early Crown pressings can be distinguished from typical Victor releases. Victor's budget labels—Timely Tunes, Bluebird, and Electradisk—share characteristics with Crown’s products, indicating potential overlap in production processes during 1932.
Crown competed in the market alongside labels such as Hit of the Week, Columbia’s budget imprints Harmony, Velvet Tone, and Clarion, as well as ARC’s dime-store lines including Melotone, Perfect, Romeo, and Oriole. Distribution was more robust in the eastern United States but limited in Midwestern and Southern regions due to economic hardships during the Depression.
Several Crown recordings were leased to other labels including Broadway Records (U.S.), Imperial and Edison Bell Winner (UK), along with Angelus, Lyric, and Summit Records (Australia). The label also released a small number of Paramount masters and took over ARC’s Homestead Records mail-order catalog.
Following approximately 300 releases, Crown introduced the rare "Gem" label—featuring identical issues to those on Crown but with unknown retail outlets or pricing; most surviving copies are found in New York/New Jersey areas.
The final known master recorded for Crown dates to August 8, 1933, culminating in a total of 533 issued records (catalog number 3533).
During 1939–40, many jazz-oriented Crown tracks were reissued on Eli Oberstein's short-lived Varsity Records using dubbed masters.
Collectible records
Among Crown’s most sought-after collectible records are:
- Several issues by Ben Pollack under the alias "Gil Rodin" and one credited to Jack Teagarden
- Five releases by Fletcher Henderson along with recordings by Connie's Inn Orchestra
- Seven records issued featuring Eubie Blake
- Numerous tracks credited to Joel Shaw—actually recordings by Gene Kardos's orchestra led by his pianist
- Vocal performances by Sylvia Froos, Welcome Lewis, and Charlie Palloy highly valued by collectors focused on personalities
- A rare early recording under Benny Carter’s name
- A handful of scarce Paramount blues and gospel sides including those by Blind Blake and Harum Scarums