Gennett Records

Gennett Records
Company type	Record label
Industry	Music
Founded	1917
Founder	Starr Piano Company
Headquarters	Richmond, Indiana, United States
Area served	United States
Products	Records (Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, Van Speaking labels)
Parent	Starr Piano Company

Gennett Records was a prominent American record company located in Richmond, Indiana, that flourished during the 1920s. It issued records under labels such as Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking, while also manufacturing discs on behalf of other brands including Supertone, Silvertone, Challenge, Autograph, Rainbow, Hitch, Our Song, and Vaughn. The label is noted for capturing early performances by influential artists like Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Jelly Roll Morton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Gene Autry.

History

Established in 1917 in Richmond by the Starr Piano Company, Gennett had produced upwards of 16,000 masters by the late 1930s. Initial recordings appeared under the Starr Records name as early as 1915. The Gennett brand was named after the three Gennett brothers—Harry, Fred, and Clarence—who jointly managed the company and sought to broaden distribution beyond piano retailers. Although pressing was initially outsourced, Starr Valley soon developed a six-story facility dedicated to manufacturing and pressing records. The company transitioned from vertically cut to lateral cut grooves in 1919. Artist compensation was typically modest; most musicians received either flat fees or minimal royalties.

While Gennett maintained a recording studio in Manhattan early on, the Richmond facility became its primary location from 1921 under the supervision of Ezra C.A. Wickemeyer. Situated in the Midwest, this studio tapped into regional talent often neglected by New York-based labels. This advantageous position allowed Gennett to attract musicians popular among Black and rural audiences and earned it the reputation as the "cradle of recorded jazz."

The label documented key jazz figures such as Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver’s band featuring Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines with Lois Deppe’s Serenaders, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington among others. Chicago-based musicians were brought to Richmond for sessions thanks to talent scout Fred Wiggins. Remarkably progressive for its era, Gennett conducted racially integrated recording sessions despite local Ku Klux Klan presence.

During the 1920s, Gennett also produced private vanity records for the Ku Klux Klan; however, these were never publicly catalogued or distributed by the company. Some recordings included speeches delivered by Klan members.

The label diversified into blues and gospel genres with artists like Thomas A. Dorsey (known as Georgia Tom), Sam Collins, and Jaybird Coleman; hillbilly and country performers such as Vernon Dalhart and Gene Autry; while preserving Kentucky’s traditional music through scouts Dennis Taylor and Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts. Classical music was represented by ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra who recorded at Gennett.

Temporary studios operated in multiple locations including Cincinnati retail outlets and Birmingham—where Southern blues artists like Jaybird Coleman recorded—as well as St. Paul for ethnic folk music sessions. By the late 1920s Gennett was pressing records for over 25 labels worldwide including budget releases for Sears.

In 1926 Fred Gennett introduced Champion Records as an economical imprint that reissued earlier Gennett recordings often under alternate names. Electrical recording techniques were first employed in 1925 but initially proved unsatisfactory due to durability problems; improved RCA Photophone technology was adopted in 1927 alongside upgraded record materials marketed as "New Electrobeam."

Beyond musical content, Gennett also recorded speeches such as William Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold address during 1923-24. In the 1930s Harry Gennett Jr. expanded operations into sound effects production aimed at radio and film industries.

The Great Depression severely disrupted business; by 1934 recording activities had ceased except for budget Champion issues. In 1935 Starr Piano sold certain masters and trademarks to Decca Records. Decca made limited efforts to revive the catalog focusing on race records and old-time music but achieved little commercial success.

The Starr pressing plant continued contract manufacturing through the late 1930s including producing Decca discs until Decca established its own facility in 1938. Other clients included Joe Davis’s jazz and folk labels.

World War II shellac shortages further limited production; Joe Davis acquired Gennett’s shellac quota which he partly supplied to Capitol Records. After the war output dwindled mainly to specialty sound effects until operations ended around 1947–48.

Brunswick purchased the former pressing facility for Decca’s use; following Decca’s relocation in 1956 it was sold to Mercury Records which operated it until moving in 1969.

Gennett Walk of Fame

In September 2007, the Starr-Gennett Foundation established the Gennett Walk of Fame close to the original Gennett recording studio located in Richmond, Indiana, to celebrate influential artists associated with Gennett. Situated along South 1st Street at the site of the Starr Piano Company, this walk is integrated into the Whitewater Gorge Trail, which links to both the Cardinal Greenway Trail and the transcontinental American Discovery Trail.

The Foundation's National Advisory Board, created in 2006, is responsible for selecting honorees, focusing mainly on performers from traditional jazz, early country music, blues, gospel, and American popular song genres. Louis Armstrong was honored as the first inductee.

The initial group of ten honorees comprised:

Later additions to the Walk of Fame included prominent figures such as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Artie Shaw, Alberta Hunter, and Jimmy Durante. This initiative plays a vital role in safeguarding Gennett’s heritage while enhancing Richmond's reputation as a significant center in the history of the music industry.