Publishing and Recording Industry

Record company and label. The company was established in 1957 by Doug Dobell (b London, 1918; d Nice, France, 10 July 1987), the owner of a record store in London. The first discs to be released were 10-inch EPs, which were put out in limited quantities. Later the catalogue was expanded to include 12-inch LPs; by the mid-1970s the company had issued more than 50 albums, mostly of traditional and mainstream jazz. The catalogue included recordings made by such English musicians as Tubby Hayes, Bruce Turner, Dick Morrissey, Keith Smith, Kenny Baker, and Tony Coe and items by visiting Americans, among them Bud Freeman, Eddie Miller, Buck Clayton, Albert Nicholas, and George Lewis (i). In 1962 the company sponsored and issued the results of Jack McVea’s first session as a leader in 15 years. Much of the repertory was produced by Dobell, who, as a pianist himself, was responsible for recording albums by Dick Wellstood, Dill Jones, Brian Lemon, Don Ewell, Dick Katz, Joe Turner (i), and Ralph Sutton. In addition 77 issued some albums first put out by Delmark and other small American labels....

Record company and label. It was established in 1975 by Trevor Watts and John Stevens and released only three recordings, two by the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and one by the group Amalgam.

A mathematical term meaning ‘contained in another a certain number of times without leaving any remainder’ (OED); for example, 2 is an aliquot part of 6. The wavelengths of the harmonic partials of a tone are thus aliquot parts of the fundamental wavelength. Aliquot strings are Sympathetic strings...

[all'8va] (It.: ‘at the octave’).

An instruction to play an octave above the written pitch if the sign is placed above the notes (sometimes specified as ottava alta, or sopra); if an octave lower is intended, this is indicated by placing the sign below the notes or by specifying with ottava bassa or sotta...

(It.: ‘at the unison’).

An instruction that any parts thus shown are to be taken as one part, either at the same pitch or (where the range of the voice or instrument implies it) at the octave (or double octave) above or below. It is frequently abbreviated to ‘unis.’. In orchestral scores the term is used to show that two or more instruments whose parts are written on the same staff are to play in unison; in the later 19th century the words ...

(It.).

In the system of Proportional notation of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, another name for proportio dupla (time signature 2/1 or more commonly 𝇍), where note shapes diminish in relative value in the ratio 2:1. The tactus thus shifts from its normal place on the semibreve (alla semibreve...

(It.: ‘broadening’, ‘spreading’; gerund of allargare, ‘to spread’)

An instruction to slow down the tempo and often to develop a fuller and more majestic performing style. But this is not always intended. Verdi, for example, almost invariably accompanied allargando with a decrease in texture or volume; thus the very end of the prelude to La traviata has the successive markings ...

(It., diminutive of allegro)

A tempo (and mood) designation, normally indicating something a little less fast, and perhaps a little more lighthearted, than Allegro. But there is some evidence that in Paris around 1800 it was understood to be faster than allegro, most specifically in J.B. Cartier's L'art du violon (Paris, 1798) and in Renaudin's Plexichronomètre readings (see B. Brook La symphonie française, Paris, 1962, i, 318). It is found occasionally in Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti, but hardly at all in their precursors, even though Brossard mentioned the word in his Dictionaire of 1703. During the second half of the 18th century it came into special popularity, for the idea of a fastish tempo that should on no account show any sign of hurry was peculiarly appropriate to the galant style. Leopold Mozart (1756) said it should be performed ‘prettily, frivolously and jokily’ (‘artig, tändelend und scherzhaft’). When included in graduated lists of tempo marks it was normally placed between ...

(b Los Angeles, CA, March 31, 1935). American trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and record company executive. He studied trumpet as a child and left college to play in the army for a two-year period. After three years of producing records on his own, he launched A&M Records with Jerry Moss in 1962. A&M’s first issue was also Alpert’s first recording as a trumpeter and bandleader, The Lonely Bull (A&M, 1962). The title track included sounds from the bullring in Tijuana, Mexico, so Alpert dubbed his band the Tijuana Brass. His music exploited a distinctive combination of Mexican mariachi-style brass with jazz rhythms, which was dubbed Ameriachi. A string of hits including “Mexican Shuffle” (A&M, 1964) and “Tijuana Taxi” (A&M, 1965) followed. In 1966 Alpert had five recordings simultaneously listed on the Billboard Top 20. His cover of “This guy’s in love with you” reached no.1 in ...

Repositories for the permanent retention, preservation, and access of sound recordings (e.g., CDs, LPs, audio cassettes, cylinders, digital audio files) and moving image media (e.g., motion-picture film, kinescope, videotape, digital video files); often included along side of these collections are the mechanical playback devices for such media. The history of archives of this kind in the United States reveals trends towards the amalgamation of sound and moving image materials into single units based either on format (e.g., Library of Congress’ Motion Picture Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division) or academic discipline (UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive). Traditionally the distinction between a library and an archive is essentially one of purpose and a material’s publication status: whereas libraries collect published materials for use by general patrons within and outside the library, archives generally accession and preserve unpublished materials, allowing restricted access for research purposes. However, with the development of the Internet, digitization technologies, and online modes of distribution, the distinction between library and archive hosted sound recording and moving image collections has become more fluid with both kinds of institutions posting published and unpublished audio and video files online with varying degrees of accessibility. Parallel advances in preservation technologies have also enabled archivists to digitize analog sound recordings and moving image recordings that is thought to ensure long-term, if not permanent, access to the content housed on the original analog carriers....

[music management]

This article addresses the history of individuals and organizations devoted to the management of musical artists and their careers in the United States.

Musicians who toured the United States during the first half of the 19th century relied on individuals to manage their tours. Some of the most important early impresarios included William Brough, max Maretzek , bernard Ullman , and maurice Strakosch . These men travelled the musicians’ routes, sometimes with the performers and sometimes a week or two ahead, and were responsible for renting a performance venue, arranging publicity, and engaging supporting musicians and needed instruments. Managers also made travel arrangements, secured lodging, and negotiated terms with the managers of local theaters or halls. Some of these managers were themselves performers; the pianist Strakosch frequently toured with singers, and Maretzek was the conductor for his opera companies. This style of management essentially replicated the modus operandi of itinerant theatrical stars. (...

[Chester Burton ]

(b nr Luttrell, TN, June 20, 1924, d Nashville, TN, June 30, 2001). American country-music guitarist and recording company executive. Although the first instrument he played professionally was the fiddle, he became internationally famous as a guitarist. Developed while he was in high school, his guitar style was influenced by Merle Travis, Les Paul, Django Reinhardt, and George Barnes and was characterized by the use of the thumb to establish a rhythm on the lower strings and multiple fingers to play melodic or improvisational passages on the higher strings, sometimes with complex voicings. In the early 1940s Atkins toured with Archie Campbell and Bill Carlisle playing both fiddle and guitar, and appeared with them on WNOX radio in Knoxville. He then toured with the second generation Carter Family as a sideman and in 1946 joined Red Foley. After beginning his association with the “Grand Ole Opry” he settled in Nashville in ...

A single sheet, cheaply printed on one side, sold or handed out on the street or in public places, or posted on walls, containing anything from political messages to advertisements to announcements of the coming end of the world to song texts. In the context of American music it is the latter type that is relevant, and the term “broadside” is often used as shorthand for a song text printed on such a sheet. (See also Sheet music.)

They were also called song sheet, penny ballad, ballet, stall ballad, vulgar ballad, or “come-all-ye,” the latter because of the common incipit. These song sheets consisted of one or several song texts arranged in one or two columns on the page, often with decorative woodcut illustrations and/or borders, publisher’s name and address, and perhaps a price. Only occasionally was an author or copyright acknowledged. Rarely was music included, because of expense; more usual was a brief notation, “To the tune of … .” The editing and assembly (and certainly the printing) of broadsides often took place at well-established print shops, but many sheets were printed at the request of a song’s author or performer, and sold by him (very few, if any, were by identifiable women) on the street, in taverns, at markets, and similar locations; or, especially after the Civil War, by mail. Most broadside printers were not well-known sheet music publishers, but many identified themselves as booksellers....

Publishing company. It was founded in 1953 by Grand Ole Opry manager Jim Denny and performer Webb Pierce. It was one of the original Nashville music publishing companies, competing with Acuff-Rose and Tree. Along with the Grand Ole Opry, these companies contributed to the initial consolidation of the country music industry. Its building was located on 7th Avenue across the street from the studio of Owen Bradley, a legendary local producer. With Bradley and an association with Decca Records, Cedarwood quickly surpassed Acuff-Rose as the premiere Nashville publishing house. Songs published under the Cedarwood name formed the repertoire of the Nashville country music industry; significant recorded works included “The Long Black Veil” by Lefty Frizzell, “So Wrong” by Patsy Cline, “Detroit City” by Bobby Bare, “Daddy Sang Bass” by Johnny Cash, and “The Comeback” by Faron Young. Other notable songwriters whose work was published by Cedarwood include Marijohn Wilkin, Buddy Holly, Danny Dill, Cindy Walker, Ronnie Self, and John D. Loudermilk. In the mid-1960s, Cedarwood began to develop its religious music catalog. Co-founder Denny died in ...

[John Henderson ]

(b Whitehaven, TN, April 8, 1931). American singer-songwriter, producer, publisher, and entrepreneur. He began playing bluegrass while in the military and after his discharge in 1952, played at radio stations in Wheeling, West Virginia, and Boston. While enrolled in Memphis State University (from 1954), he worked nights and weekends at the Eagle’s Nest club. After working briefly for Fernwood Records, he was hired by Sun Records, where he recorded Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, among others. He wrote hits for several of Sun’s artists, including Johnny Cash’s singles “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” and “Guess things happen that way” (both Sun, 1958).

Clement left Sun in 1960 to became a staff producer for RCA in Nashville. In 1963 he moved to Texas, started a publishing company, and produced Dickey Lee’s hit “Patches” (Smash, 1963). After returning to Nashville in 1965, he discovered and produced Charlie Pride and wrote songs for a variety of country artists, including Pride (“Just between you and me,” RCA Victor, ...

Record company. Formed in 1958 by Columbia Pictures, Colpix originally aimed to market soundtracks and spin-off recordings of Columbia’s movies and Screen Gems’ (another Columbia subsidiary) television shows. Colpix’s catalog featured scores by such illustrious film composers as Bernard Herrmann and a young John Williams, although the company’s biggest movie-derived success came in 1962 with Maurice Jarre’s Oscar-winning score for Lawrence of Arabia. On the television side, the company’s focus was split between animated characters (the Flintstones, Huckleberry Hound), comedians (George Burns, Woody Allen), and comely young actors-turned-singers (Paul Petersen, Shelley Fabares, both from The Donna Reed Show). Other notable acts included the celebrated singer Nina Simone (at Colpix from 1959 to 1964) and the Marcels (“Blue Moon”). In late 1962 Colpix began to shift more attention toward the pop market, acquiring Aldon Music and, with it, the recording label Dimension and its crop of successful Brill Building pop songwriters. Yet this new direction did not yield much commercial interest, and Colpix folded in ...

American record company. It was established in 1969 by businessman and concert promoter Carl E. Jefferson. Named for the California city in which Jefferson once promoted a jazz festival, Concord first came to prominence as a jazz label, releasing mainstream recordings by the likes of Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, later attracting such artists as Rosemary Clooney and Dave Brubeck, and in later years broadening their horizons to include Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Kenny G, and Michael Feinstein, among many others. Label imprints include Concord Records, Concord Jazz, and Concord Picante. They have operated the Hear Music label as a joint venture with the coffee conglomerate Starbucks, and they distribute a number of small labels.

In 2004 the Concord Music Group was formed when the firm merged with Fantasy Records (which, at that time, also controlled the Contemporary, Good Time Jazz, Milestone, Pablo, Prestige, Riverside, Specialty, and Takoma imprints as well as a portion of the Stax/Volt Records catalog). Subsequent label acquisitions include Telarc in ...

Firm of music and book publishers. Concordia Publishing House was founded in St. Louis in 1869 by immigrant German Lutherans for the purpose of printing their hymnals and other church literature, and takes its name from the Lutheran Book of Concord (1580). Its catalog, which has included music since ...

Record label. Active from 1967 to 1976, Dakar specialized in dance music and ballads performed by African American artists. Based in Chicago, Dakar was independently owned and operated by songwriter and producer Carl Davis, who was at the same time vice president of Brunswick Records, which recently had become independent. Between 1967 and 1970, while Brunswick was still part of Decca Records, Davis worked as a producer, and Dakar releases were distributed by Atlantic Records. In late 1971, Dakar became a subsidiary of Brunswick, which began to distribute Dakar’s recordings. The company is known for its releases of Chicago-based soul music. Balladeer Tyrone Davis, whose “Can I change my mind” rose to peak popularity in early 1969, was Dakar’s most notable artist; R&B artist Hamilton Bohannon was another mainstay for the label in the mid-1970s. Dakar and Brunswick were embroiled in a public payola trial in 1975 and 1976 that led to the company’s creative demise....