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Black Swan Records

April 13, 2024

This article is about the 1920s US record label. For the 1960s UK label, see Black Swan Records (UK).

Black Swan Records was an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1921 in Harlem, New York. It was the first widely distributed label to be owned, operated, and marketed to African Americans. Founded by Harry Pace with W.C. Handy, Black Swan Records was established to give African Americans more creative liberties.[1] Eighteen months earlier, in 1919, the Broome Special Phonograph Records was the earliest label owned and operated by African American George W. Broome in Medford, Massachusetts, featuring Black classical musicians including Harry T. Burleigh and Edward Boatner.[2][3][4] Black Swan was revived in the 1990s for CD reissues of its historic jazz and blues recordings.[citation needed]

Black Swan Records
Parent companyJazzology
Founded1921 (1921)
FounderHarry Pace
Defunct1924 (1924)
Distributor(s)George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation
GenreJazz, blues
Country of originU.S.
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
Official websitewww.jazzology.com

History edit

Black Swan's parent company, Pace Phonograph Corporation, was founded in March 1921 by Harry Pace and was based in Harlem.[5] The new production company was formed after Pace's music publishing partnership with W. C. Handy, Pace & Handy, had dissolved.[5] Black Swan, which sought to specialize in classical recordings, served as an investment opportunity for the Talented Tenth. As recognized by Thomas Brothers, "luminaries like Jack Nail and James Weldon Johnson served on the Black Swan board of directors", and The Crisis, the journal then edited by W.E.B. Du Bois, and published by the NAACP, invested its profits in the company.[6]

Bert Williams was an early investor in Pace Phonograph. Williams also promised to record for the company once his exclusive contract with Columbia Records ended, but he died before that could occur.

Pace Phonograph Corporation was renamed Black Swan Phonograph Company in the fall of 1922. Both the record label and production company were named after 19th century opera star Elizabeth Greenfield, who was known as the Black Swan.[7]

 
1921 record by Alberta Hunter

Former employees of Pace & Handy staffed the new company: Fletcher Henderson, who functioned as the recording manager, provided piano accompaniment for singers and led a small band for recording sessions. William Grant Still was named arranger and later musical director.[7] Ads for Black Swan often ran in The Crisis.[8]

Black Swan proved moderately successful. It recorded African American musicians, but as the label grew in popularity, Pace believed competing white-owned labels such as Columbia Records sought to "obstruct the progress and curtail the popularity of Black Swan Records".[9] Although advertising for Black Swan Records claimed all its musicians and employees were African American, it sometimes used white musicians to back some of its singers.

The production company declared bankruptcy in December 1923, and in March 1924 Paramount Records bought the Black Swan label. The Chicago Defender reported the event by detailing important accomplishments of Black Swan in a short career span, including: pointed out—to the major, all white-owned, record companies—the significant market demand for black artists; prompted several major companies to begin publishing music by these performers. In addition, the Defender credited Pace with showing the majors how to target black audiences and to advertise in black newspapers. Paramount discontinued the Black Swan label a short time later.

The Black Swan label was revived in the 1990s for a series of CD reissues of historic jazz and blues recordings originally issued on Black Swan and Paramount. These CDs were issued by George H. Buck Jr's Jazzology and GHB labels under the control of the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation, which gained rights to the Paramount back-catalogue but not the Paramount name. Rights to the name "Black Swan Records" were also transferred to GHB.

Artists edit

See also edit

Bibliography edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Suisman 2004.
  2. ^ Sutton & Nauck, 2000, pp. 21, 27.
  3. ^ Key, Jessica R (1 February 2013). "Significant Black accomplishments in business". The Indianapolis Recorder. pp. S14–S15. ProQuest 1288021302.
  4. ^ "Broome Special Phonograph Records". www.vialibri.net. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  5. ^ a b c d Weusi, 1996.
  6. ^ Brothers, 2014, pp. 127–129.
  7. ^ a b Brooks, 2004, pp. 168–169.
  8. ^ Crisis, November 1922, p. 44.
  9. ^ Dallas Express, January 14, 1922, p. 1.
  10. ^ a b Settlemier, "2000 Series".
  11. ^ Crisis, July 1922, p. 139.
  12. ^ Gibbs, December 12, 2012, p. 105.
  13. ^ Smith, 1996, pp. 130–133.
  14. ^ a b "White Performers," 2005.
  15. ^ Settlemier, "Miscellaneous Series".

References edit

  • Dallas Express (The). "Black Swan Company to Sue Columbia Record Company – Pace Company Alleges That New Singer Under Contract Is Being Featured by Columbia Company as Its Exclusive Artist, Will Sue". Vol. 41, no. 18. p. 1 (cols. 6–7, top).
    1. Access option 1 (PDF) – via Fultonhistory.com  .
    2. Access option 2 – via The Portal to Texas History  .
    3. Access option 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Gibbs, Craig Martin (December 18, 2012). Black Recording Artists, 1877–1926: An Annotated Discography. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 105 – via Google Books (limited preview). LCCN 2012-44588; ISBN 978-1-4766-0085-7; OCLC 818293616 (all editions).
  • Settlemier, Tyrone (November 30, 2006). "Black Swan Miscellaneous Series". The Online Discographical Project (discography). Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  • Settlemier, Tyrone (September 19, 2008). "Black Swan 2000 Series Numerical Listing". The Online Discographical Project (discography). Retrieved February 2, 2010.
    1. Via Internet Archive.
    2. Via Google Books (limited preview).
    1. 1st ed.. 1971 – via Internet Archive. LCCN 77-98891; ISBN 0-3930-2156-4.
    2. Southern, Eileen; Southerland, William M. (1983). 2nd ed.. ISBN 9780393952797 – via Internet Archive (ARChive of Contemporary Music). LCCN 82-25960; ISBN 0-3939-5279-7.
  • Suisman, David (2004). "Co-Workers in the Kingdom of Culture: Black Swan Records and the Political Economy of African American Music". The Journal of American History. 90 (4): 1295–1324. doi:10.2307/3660349. JSTOR 3660349. OCLC 5322045005.
  • Sutton, Allan; Nauck, Kurt (2000). American Record Labels and Companies – An Encyclopedia (1891–1943) (1st ed.). Denver: Mainspring Press. p. 417. ISBN 0-9671819-0-9.
  • Sutton, Allan (August 29, 2007). . Mainspring Press. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2010 – via Wayback Machine.
  • Thygesen, Helge; Berresford, Mark; Shor, Russ (1996). Black Swan: The Record Label of the Harlem Renaissance – A History and Catalogue Listing Including Olympic Records and Associated Labels. Nottingham: VJM Publications – via Internet Archive (ARChive of Contemporary Music). LCCN 2001-537708; OCLC 36338791 (all editions).
  • (discography). Mainspring Press (blog). 2005. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2010.

April 13, 2024
black, swan, records, this, article, about, 1920s, record, label, 1960s, label, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, fin. This article is about the 1920s US record label For the 1960s UK label see Black Swan Records UK This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Black Swan Records news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Black Swan Records was an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1921 in Harlem New York It was the first widely distributed label to be owned operated and marketed to African Americans Founded by Harry Pace with W C Handy Black Swan Records was established to give African Americans more creative liberties 1 Eighteen months earlier in 1919 the Broome Special Phonograph Records was the earliest label owned and operated by African American George W Broome in Medford Massachusetts featuring Black classical musicians including Harry T Burleigh and Edward Boatner 2 3 4 Black Swan was revived in the 1990s for CD reissues of its historic jazz and blues recordings citation needed Black Swan RecordsParent companyJazzologyFounded1921 1921 FounderHarry PaceDefunct1924 1924 Distributor s George H Buck Jr Jazz FoundationGenreJazz bluesCountry of originU S LocationNew Orleans LouisianaOfficial websitewww wbr jazzology wbr com Contents 1 History 2 Artists 3 See also 4 Bibliography 4 1 Notes 4 2 ReferencesHistory editBlack Swan s parent company Pace Phonograph Corporation was founded in March 1921 by Harry Pace and was based in Harlem 5 The new production company was formed after Pace s music publishing partnership with W C Handy Pace amp Handy had dissolved 5 Black Swan which sought to specialize in classical recordings served as an investment opportunity for the Talented Tenth As recognized by Thomas Brothers luminaries like Jack Nail and James Weldon Johnson served on the Black Swan board of directors and The Crisis the journal then edited by W E B Du Bois and published by the NAACP invested its profits in the company 6 Bert Williams was an early investor in Pace Phonograph Williams also promised to record for the company once his exclusive contract with Columbia Records ended but he died before that could occur Pace Phonograph Corporation was renamed Black Swan Phonograph Company in the fall of 1922 Both the record label and production company were named after 19th century opera star Elizabeth Greenfield who was known as the Black Swan 7 nbsp 1921 record by Alberta HunterFormer employees of Pace amp Handy staffed the new company Fletcher Henderson who functioned as the recording manager provided piano accompaniment for singers and led a small band for recording sessions William Grant Still was named arranger and later musical director 7 Ads for Black Swan often ran in The Crisis 8 Black Swan proved moderately successful It recorded African American musicians but as the label grew in popularity Pace believed competing white owned labels such as Columbia Records sought to obstruct the progress and curtail the popularity of Black Swan Records 9 Although advertising for Black Swan Records claimed all its musicians and employees were African American it sometimes used white musicians to back some of its singers The production company declared bankruptcy in December 1923 and in March 1924 Paramount Records bought the Black Swan label The Chicago Defender reported the event by detailing important accomplishments of Black Swan in a short career span including pointed out to the major all white owned record companies the significant market demand for black artists prompted several major companies to begin publishing music by these performers In addition the Defender credited Pace with showing the majors how to target black audiences and to advertise in black newspapers Paramount discontinued the Black Swan label a short time later The Black Swan label was revived in the 1990s for a series of CD reissues of historic jazz and blues recordings originally issued on Black Swan and Paramount These CDs were issued by George H Buck Jr s Jazzology and GHB labels under the control of the George H Buck Jr Jazz Foundation which gained rights to the Paramount back catalogue but not the Paramount name Rights to the name Black Swan Records were also transferred to GHB Artists editBessie Allison original member of the Shuffle Along cast C Carroll Clark baritone who was the first artist recorded by the label 10 Four Harmony Kings vocal quartet Henry Creamer and J Turner Layton vaudeville duo Katie Crippen vaudeville singer Kemper Harreld violinist Lucille Hegamin jazz and blues singer Revella Hughes soprano featured on one of the label s first releases 5 Alberta Hunter blues singer James P Johnson jazz pianist Nettie Moore was a singer who recorded 11 Deep River 1922 Song of India 1922 and Christmas Chimes with Ethel Waters on Black Swan 12 Hattie King Reavis soprano singer Trixie Smith blues singer second only to Ethel Waters in Black Swan sales Florence Cole Talbert first classical artist to record with Black Swan 13 soprano music educator Mamie Jones pseudonym for singer Aileen Stanley who was one of many white artists to record for Black Swan These artists were passing for colored since the label was advertised as featuring only black artists 14 Eva Taylor blues singer Ethel Waters jazz gospel blues singer She had the label s first commercially successful records and remained their best seller Essie Whitman vaudeville singer 5 10 14 15 See also editList of record labelsBibliography editNotes edit Suisman 2004 Sutton amp Nauck 2000 pp 21 27 Key Jessica R 1 February 2013 Significant Black accomplishments in business The Indianapolis Recorder pp S14 S15 ProQuest 1288021302 Broome Special Phonograph Records www vialibri net Retrieved 2023 04 10 a b c d Weusi 1996 Brothers 2014 pp 127 129 a b Brooks 2004 pp 168 169 Crisis November 1922 p 44 Dallas Express January 14 1922 p 1 a b Settlemier 2000 Series Crisis July 1922 p 139 Gibbs December 12 2012 p 105 Smith 1996 pp 130 133 a b White Performers 2005 Settlemier Miscellaneous Series References edit Brooks Tim 2004 Lost Sounds Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry 1890 1919 Urbana University of Illinois Press p 168 ISBN 0 252 02850 3 via Internet Archive ARChive of Contemporary Music Crisis The July 1921 Black Swan Records July Releases advertisement 24 3 whole no 141 New York 139 ISSN 0011 1422 via Google Books Harvard nbsp a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Crisis The Pace Harry Herbert 1884 1943 November 1922 To the Investing Public advertisement 25 1 whole no 145 New York 44 ISSN 0011 1422 Retrieved January 27 2010 via Google Books nbsp a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Brothers Thomas David PhD 2014 Louis Armstrong Master of Modernism W W Norton amp Company pp 127 129 via Internet Archive a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link LCCN 2013 37726 ISBN 978 0 3930 6582 4 OCLC 858940268 all editions Dallas Express The Black Swan Company to Sue Columbia Record Company Pace Company Alleges That New Singer Under Contract Is Being Featured by Columbia Company as Its Exclusive Artist Will Sue Vol 41 no 18 p 1 cols 6 7 top Access option 1 PDF via Fultonhistory com nbsp Access option 2 via The Portal to Texas History nbsp Access option 3 via Newspapers com Gibbs Craig Martin December 18 2012 Black Recording Artists 1877 1926 An Annotated Discography McFarland amp Company Inc p 105 via Google Books limited preview LCCN 2012 44588 ISBN 978 1 4766 0085 7 OCLC 818293616 all editions Settlemier Tyrone November 30 2006 Black Swan Miscellaneous Series The Online Discographical Project discography Retrieved February 2 2010 Settlemier Tyrone September 19 2008 Black Swan 2000 Series Numerical Listing The Online Discographical Project discography Retrieved February 2 2010 Smith Jessie Carney ed 1996 1992 Notable Black American Women re Florence Cole Talbert Vol 2 of 3 Detroit Gale Research LCCN 91 35074 ISBN 0 8103 9177 5 Vol 2 OCLC 24468213 all editions Via Internet Archive Via Google Books limited preview Southern Eileen 1997 1971 The Music of Black Americans A History 3rd ed New York W W Norton amp Company LCCN 96 28811 ISBN 0 393 97141 4 OCLC 125122 all editions 1st ed 1971 via Internet Archive LCCN 77 98891 ISBN 0 3930 2156 4 Southern Eileen Southerland William M 1983 2nd ed ISBN 9780393952797 via Internet Archive ARChive of Contemporary Music LCCN 82 25960 ISBN 0 3939 5279 7 Suisman David 2004 Co Workers in the Kingdom of Culture Black Swan Records and the Political Economy of African American Music The Journal of American History 90 4 1295 1324 doi 10 2307 3660349 JSTOR 3660349 OCLC 5322045005 Sutton Allan Nauck Kurt 2000 American Record Labels and Companies An Encyclopedia 1891 1943 1st ed Denver Mainspring Press p 417 ISBN 0 9671819 0 9 Sutton Allan August 29 2007 Black Swan s Other Stars Mainspring Press Archived from the original on May 9 2008 Retrieved February 2 2010 via Wayback Machine Thygesen Helge Berresford Mark Shor Russ 1996 Black Swan The Record Label of the Harlem Renaissance A History and Catalogue Listing Including Olympic Records and Associated Labels Nottingham VJM Publications via Internet Archive ARChive of Contemporary Music LCCN 2001 537708 OCLC 36338791 all editions Weusi Jitu K ne Leslie R Campbell 1939 2013 1996 The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records A History of Jazz Before 1930 Spring 1996 term paper for a graduate course in music Black Music in New York City 1900 1935 Brooklyn College unpublished The Red Hot Jazz Archive Archived from the original on April 27 2016 Retrieved February 2 2010 via Wayback Machine a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link White Performers on Black Swan discography Mainspring Press blog 2005 Archived from the original on September 24 2010 Retrieved February 3 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black Swan Records amp oldid 1196228723, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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