V-Disc
| Company type | Record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1943 |
| Founder | Captain Robert Vincent |
| Defunct | 1949 |
| Fate | Program ended; masters and pressing plates destroyed |
Key people | Captain Robert Vincent |
| Products | Records for United States armed forces |
V-Disc (associated with the "V" for Victory symbol) was a record label created in 1943 specifically to provide recordings to members of the United States armed forces. The label was managed by Captain Robert Vincent under the direction of the Special Services branch.
A wide array of leading vocalists, big bands, and orchestras contributed recordings to the V-Disc collection.
History
The 1942–44 musicians' strike, orchestrated by James Caesar Petrillo of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), imposed a recording embargo on the four dominant record companies. On October 27, 1943, George Robert Vincent successfully negotiated with Petrillo to allow union musicians to produce recordings exclusively for military use, under the conditions that these records would not be sold commercially and that master recordings would be destroyed afterward. This charitable effort facilitated collaboration among artists signed to various labels. Significant sessions included performances by Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, and Art Tatum. Captain Vincent administered the initiative, while repertoire selection and artist coordination were managed by industry veterans from RCA Victor, Decca Records, and Columbia Records. Initially intended for Army personnel, the program was later extended to serve Navy and Marine forces.
V-Discs frequently opened with spoken introductions from bandleaders offering greetings to troops. For instance, in December 1943, Glenn Miller presented a record as "Captain Glenn Miller speaking for the Army Air Force's Training Command Orchestra." The Jubilee series, hosted by comedian Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman, was designed for African American servicemen and featured informal dialogue that reflected the racial perspectives of the era. This collection captured pivotal developments in swing music’s progression toward bebop and preserved performances by ensembles such as the Billy Eckstine Orchestra and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Although "V" officially signified "Victory," Vincent remarked that it also symbolized his own surname.
The V-Disc program ended in 1949. Subsequently, audio masters and pressing plates were destroyed, and leftover discs stored at military facilities were discarded. Military authorities sometimes seized and destroyed V-Discs that service members attempted to take home; notably, a Los Angeles record company employee received a prison sentence for illegally possessing more than 2,500 discs.
See also
- The Columbia Years 1943–1952: The V-Discs – Collection featuring Frank Sinatra
- The Real Complete Columbia Years V-Discs – Another Sinatra anthology
- V-Disc Recordings, Jo Stafford
Further reading
- Sears, Richard S. V-Discs: A History and Discography. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 1980.
- Sears, Richard S. V-Discs: The First Supplement. Greenwood Press, 1986.
External links
- American Music Research Center, University of Colorado
- Recorded Sound Archives, Florida Atlantic University
- V-Disc Daddy, Database for collectors
- Audio files at Internet Archive