Heritage Records was a British independent record label located in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. It was founded in 1960 by Tony Standish, specialising in blues and early

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

recordings. Only nine completed LPs are known to exist on this label - as well as one unfinished album by Smith Casey in 1963 which did not reach the release stage. The rarity of this label is compounded by the fact that most LPs on the label were only issued as limited editions (99 copies), which makes it difficult to locate any of them. The label was catalogued from HLP 1001 through to HLP 1011 - though as yet, HLP 1009, and HLP 1010 remain undiscovered. In 1963, Standish returned to his native Australia and opened his Heritage Records shop above

Frank Traynor Frank Traynor (8 August 192722 February 1985) was an Australian jazz musician, trombonist and entrepreneur based in Melbourne. He led Australia’s longest continuously running jazz band, the Jazz Preachers, from 1956 until his death in 1985. ...

's Folk Club in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Because of this the Heritage label is often mistakenly thought of as an Australian label, despite the label and its releases all being based in London, England. Besides re-issuing pre

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

blues recordings of

Blind Blake Arthur Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934), known as Blind Blake, was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for recordings he made for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932. Early life Little is known of Blake's life. ...

Papa Charlie Jackson Papa Charlie Jackson (November 10, 1887 – May 7, 1938) was an early American bluesman and songster who accompanied himself with a banjo guitar, a guitar, or a ukulele. His recording career began in 1924. Much of his life remains a mystery ...

, Blind Lemon Jefferson,

Ramblin' Thomas Willard "Ramblin'" Thomas (1901 or 1902 – 1944 or 1945) was an American country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best remembered for his slide guitar playing and for several recordings he made in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ...

and others; it released contemporary recordings of

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

with his brother Joel,

Snooks Eaglin Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, ...

Buster Pickens Buster Pickens (June 3, 1916 – November 24, 1964) was an American blues pianist. Pickens is best known for his work accompanying Alger "Texas" Alexander and Lightnin' Hopkins. He also recorded a solo album in 1960. Life and career He was ...

Black Ace Black Ace was the most frequently used stage name of the American Texas blues musician born Babe Kyro Lemon Turner (December 21, 1905 – November 7, 1972), who was also known as B. K. Turner, Black Ace Turner, Babe Turner and Buck Turner. ...

, and Maxwell Street blues artists such as Blind Jim Brewer and

Arvella Gray Blind Arvella Gray (January 28, 1906 - September 7, 1980) was an American blues, folk and gospel singer and guitarist. Gray was born James Dixon, in Somerville, Texas. He spent the latter part of his life performing and busking folk, blues and ...

External links

Illustrated Heritage Records discography
{{Authority control Blues record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom Reissue record labels

See also

External links