Vocalion Records
| Company type | Record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Founder | Aeolian Company |
| Fate | Purchased by Brunswick in 1924; brand discontinued in 1940; revived in late 1950s by American Decca; ended in 1973 |
| Successor | Okeh (after 1940), Coral Records (budget label successor) |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Records, phonographs (Vocalion brand) |
Vocalion Records is a U.S.-based record label initially established by the Aeolian Company, known for manufacturing pianos and organs, before being purchased by Brunswick in 1924.
History
The label was created in 1916 by the Aeolian Company under the name Aeolian-Vocalion and also sold phonographs bearing the Vocalion brand. Eventually, the "Aeolian" part of the name was removed. In late 1924, Brunswick Records took ownership of Vocalion. Throughout the 1920s, Vocalion introduced the 1000 race series, which featured recordings made by and aimed at African American listeners. Notably, Jim Jackson recorded "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues" for Vocalion in 1927; this track achieved significant sales and became a blues classic among musicians from Memphis and Mississippi. The label also released Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues".
During the late 1930s, Vocalion stood as one of the leading record labels. Nevertheless, after Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) acquired the American Record Corporation, which managed Vocalion, in 1938, CBS discontinued the Vocalion brand in July 1940 and replaced it with Okeh.
The City of London Phonograph & Gramophone Society (CLPGS) compiled an extensive catalog of British and Australian releases from Vocalion, including those under Broadcast, World Records, and other associated labels utilized by the company throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Mid-20th century resurrection
In the late 1950s, American Decca revived the Vocalion name as a budget imprint focused on reissuing older recordings from its archives. This incarnation of Vocalion ended operations in 1973; its successor as MCA's budget label, Coral Records, continued to keep many former Vocalion releases available. Additionally, MCA reissued five albums under the Vocalion banner in 1975.