Aladdin Records was a record company and

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

founded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946.

Philo Records

Philo's releases included 78 RPM singles of Illinois Jacquet,

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter best remembered as a singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...

, Helen Humes with the Bill Doggett Octet,

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

, and an album (set of two 78 RPM records) of Lester Young,

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

and Red Callender. When the U.S. Patent Office refused to register the label because of the similarity in name with the Philco radio corporation, which produced blanks for the record industry, the dispute was settled when the owners agreed to continue the name as Medlee. On March 2, 1946, the company placed an advertisement in ''Billboard'' magazine, announcing the new trade name. The next week, though, they placed a new ad "correcting their mistake", announcing Aladdin Records. The numbering of the releases was continued, and older Philo releases were reprinted as Aladdin.

Aladdin Records

Aladdin was known for

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

, and

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

. Some albums were released on the company's short-lived Jazz: West imprint. Aladdin Records launched several subsidiary labels such as Score (1948), Intro (1950), 7-11 (1952), Ultra (1955), Jazz: West (1955), and Lamp (1956). In addition to recording in Los Angeles, many Aladdin recordings were produced by Cosimo Matassa in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Aladdin's first album was by

. Other musicians on the roster included Ernie Andrews, Charles Brown,

Thurston Harris Thurston Harris (July 11, 1931 – April 14, 1990) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 hit "Little Bitty Pretty One". Career Harris first appeared on record in 1953. He was the vocalist for South Central Los Angel ...

Maxwell Davis Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arrangement, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, h ...

, Al Hibbler,

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Lynn Hope Lynn Hope, also known as El Hajj Abdullah Rasheed Ahmad, (September 26, 1926 – February 24, 1993) was an American jazz and blues tenor saxophonist. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Hope was noted for his instrumental remakes ...

, Jimmy Liggins,

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 li ...

, Red Nelson (" Mother Fuyer"), and Illinois Jacquet. In 1961, Aladdin was sold to Imperial Records, which was acquired by

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

bought Liberty in 1979 and reissues appeared on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

References

External links

Aladdin Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American jazz record labels Rhythm and blues record labels Rock and roll record labels Soul music record labels Record labels based in California Defunct record labels of the United States Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Record labels established in 1945 Record labels disestablished in 1961 1945 establishments in California 1961 disestablishments in California

Philo Records

Aladdin Records

See also

References

External links