Banner Records was an American 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 ...

in the 1920s and 1930s. It was created primarily for the S.S. Kresge Company, though it was employed as a budget label in other discount stores.

History

Banner was formed in January 1922 as the flagship label of the Plaza Music Company of New York City. Plaza Music produced several cheap labels targeted at discount houses and hired bandleader Adrian Schubert as musical director. At the beginning, Banner concentrated on popular dance hits, though it also recorded comedy, semi-classical music, and a small number of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

records. In its first years Banner also leased masters from

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

and Emerson Records. In July 1929 Plaza merged with Cameo-Pathé and the

Scranton Button Company The Scranton Button Company was a U.S. corporation that was founded in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1885. History For much of its early history, this company was controlled by Canadian immigrant William Connell (September 10, 1827 – March 21, 19 ...

to form the ( ARC). ARC dropped Pathé and Scranton Button's label Emerson but kept active all of the other labels belonging to the combined company, including Banner. After ARC acquired the rights to

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

, Banner's product lines began to reflect the general ARC product, and this added more African-American and country music to its catalogue. As part of the ARC-BRC combination, it no longer enjoyed a flagship status accorded to Melotone among the budget labels. Although ARC-BRC dropped some of the dime-store labels, it kept Banner until December 1938, when the CBS Broadcasting Network bought ARC-BRC and liquidated all of the dime-store labels. In December 1946, entrepreneur Sam Selsman formed a new Banner Records label, devoted to Jewish music and Yiddish-language comedy routines; although this later Banner Records no longer actively records, its catalogue continues. There is no relationship between the Hebrew Banner label and the earlier products of Plaza Music or ARC/BRC; nor is there is a relationship to a dime-store label put out by Leeds and Caitlin in the early 1900s, though the label's design is similar.

Label series

Banner debuted with two concurrent label series in January 1922: a popular 1000 series side by side with a "Standard" 2000 series of semi-classical music, comedy, and some Jewish material. Reaching Banner 1999 in the main series in mid-1927, Banner skipped ahead to 6000 and terminated the Standard series at the end of the year at Banner 2183. At this point, Banner also stopped the 6000 series at Banner 6167 and moved again to a 7000 series starting at Banner 7001. This ended in early 1929 at Banner 7265 and then reverted to the old series, starting at Banner 6200. The series survived the merger into ARC, but was ended at the start of 1930 at Banner 6566 and restarted at 0500 until it reached 0872 later in the year. The number series was then started again at 32001 and the price changed from 25 cents to 35 cents in order to bring Banner in line with other dime-store labels being sold 3 for a dollar. This lasted until 1935, when the dime-store labels were all married to a central numbering system. But releases were not necessarily unified; for example,

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

, who did have some releases on Melotone, did not appear on Banner.

Legacy

Banner discs are found throughout the United States, indicating their popularity as Plaza's flagship label. The audio fidelity of the records was average to slightly below average for the time, but as Banner was a cheap label they were pressed from cheaper materials that did not withstand repeated playing with the heavy

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

players of the time. Most Banner discs found today exhibit considerable wear and

surface noise In sound and music production, sonic artifact, or simply artifact, refers to sonic material that is accidental or unwanted, resulting from the editing or manipulation of a sound. Types Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a ...

, but they are still valued by virtue of the selections. In keeping with their low-price production, it is common for a current hit song on the A-side and a lesser-known song as the B side. Many of these B side songs are eccentric tunes not recorded elsewhere (but, of course, found on the other Plaza/ARC labels). Also scattered around these B sides are tunes by Luis Russell,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, small groups from the

Ben Pollack Benjamin "Ben" Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing music, swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Mil ...

orchestra, among others.

Roster: Plaza period

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

* Sam Ash * Franklyn Baur * Al Bernard * May Singhi Breen * California Ramblers * Joe Candullo * Myron Cohen * Vernon Dalhart * Vaughn DeLeath *

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...

* Leo Erdody * Frank Ferera *

Arthur Fields Arthur Fields (né Abraham Finkelstein; August 6, 1888—March 29, 1953) was an American baritone and songwriter. Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Abraham Finkelstein, Fields grew up mainly in Utica, New York. He became a ...

* The Four Aristocrats * Miss Frankie * Bob Fuller * Rev. J. M. Gates *

Nathan Glantz Nathan Glantz was an early 20th-century American jazz bandleader. Nathan Glantz and His Orchestra Nathan Glantz and His Orchestra had a number of aliases. The orchestra produced many recordings, including the following compositions: * ''June Nig ...

Porter Grainger Porter Grainger ( Granger; October 22, 1891 − October 30, 1948) was an African American pianist, songwriter, playwright, and music publisher. Early life When Grainger was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Granger family name did not include ...

* Lou Gold * Billy Golden via Emerson Records * Wendell Hall * W.C. Handy * Charles W. Harrison * Charles Hart *

Lucille Hegamin Lucille Nelson Hegamin (November 29, 1894 – March 1, 1970) was an American singer and entertainer and an early African-American blues recording artist. Life and career Lucille Nelson was born in Macon, Georgia, the daughter of John and Minnie ...

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical ...

* Rosa Henderson * Billy Jones & Ernie Hare * Joe Jordan *

Irving Kaufman Irving Robert Kaufman (June 24, 1910 – February 1, 1992) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States Distri ...

* Jack Kaufman * Louis Katzman *

Hal Kemp James Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. Biography Hal Kemp was born in Marion, Alabama. He formed his first band in high school, and by the ...

* Sam Lanin * Scrappy Lambert * Julius Lenzberg * Jules Levy, Jr. *

Vincent Lopez Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist. Early life and education Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Distinguished Americ ...

* Frank Luther * Hazel Meyers * Josie Miles * Lizzie Miles * Frank Munn * Billy Murray * Original Indiana Five * Original Memphis Five * Eddie Peabody * Jack Pettis * Evelyn Preer * The Radio Franks *

Harry Richman Harry Richman (born Henry Reichman Jr.; August 10, 1895 – November 3, 1972) was an American singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and nightclub performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. In his peak yea ...

* Carson Robison * Walter B. Rogers *

Peter DeRose Peter DeRose (or De Rose) (March 10, 1896 – April 23, 1953) was an American composer of jazz and pop music during the era of Tin Pan Alley. In 1970, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography A native of New York City, a s ...

* Domenico Savino * Adrian Schubert *

Ben Selvin Benjamin Bernard Selvin (March 5, 1898 – July 15, 1980) was an American musician, bandleader, and record producer. He was known as the Dean of Recorded Music. According to ''The Guinness Book of World Records,'' Selvin recorded more musical si ...

* Boyd Senter * Elliott Shaw *

Monroe Silver Monroe Silver (December 21, 1875 – May 3, 1947) was an American actor and singer who was also a comedian and monologist using a Jewish dialect-accent in his performances. Career For various record labels, he recorded 78rpm discs of parodies ...

* Paul Specht * Elizabeth Spencer * Aileen Stanley * Cal Stewart via Emerson Records * Ernest Stoneman * Toots Paka Hawaiian Troupe * Fred Van Eps * Sam Ku West * Harry Yerkes

Roster: ARC period

Although some of the artists from the previous incarnation of Banner survived into this second period, particularly in 1929-1931, none of these artists appeared on the first label. *

Henry "Red" Allen Henry James "Red" Allen Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been described by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

* Clarence Ashley *

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

* Baby Rose Marie * Smith Ballew *

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...

* Lucille Bogan *

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and ...

* Chick Bullock * Henry Busse * Blanche Calloway *

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

* The Canova Family *

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

* Bill Carlisle * Cliff Carlisle *

Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...

* Sam Collins * Bill Cox *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

* Charlie Davis * Walter Davis * Eddie Dean * Georgia Tom Dorsey * Morton Downey, Sr. *

Ruth Etting Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress during the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tu ...

* Alice Faye *

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

George Hamilton Green George Hamilton Green Jr. (May 23, 1893 – September 11, 1970) was a Xylophone, xylophonist, composer, and cartoonist born in Omaha, Nebraska. He was born into a musical family, both his grandfather and his father being composers, arrangers, and ...

* Joe Green * Mal Hallett * Mike Hanapi * Annette Hanshaw * Joe Haymes * Hokum Boys * Hoosier Hot Shots * Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon * Gene Kardos * Ed Kirkeby *

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter ( ; January 1888 or 1889 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the ...

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racing, hydroplane racer whose unique "sweet jazz" style remained popular with audiences for nearly five decade ...

Nick Lucas Dominic Antonio Nicholas Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Nick Lucas, was an American jazz singer and guitarist. He was the first jazz guitarist to record as a soloist. His popularity during his life ...

* Charles Magnante * Wingy Manone * Frankie Marvin * Johnny Marvin *

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being " ...

* Mills Blue Rhythm Band *

Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed The Four Mills Brothers and originally known as Four Boys and a Guitar, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and g ...

* Mitchell Christian Singers *

Russ Morgan Russell Morgan (April 29, 1904 – August 7, 1969) was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known for being one of the composers of the song " You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", with Larry Stock an ...

* Buddy Moss * Will Osborne *

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transform ...

* Prairie Ramblers *

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* Joe Reichman * Harry Reser * Fred Rich *

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

* Fiddlin' Doc Roberts * Dick Robertson *

Adrian Rollini Adrian Francis Rollini (June 28, 1903 – May 15, 1956) was an Americans, American jazz instrumentalist, multi-instrumentalist who primarily played the bass saxophone, piano, and vibraphone. He is also known for playing novelty instruments such ...

* Luis Russell * Andy Sanella * Singin' Sam *

Roy Smeck Leroy George Alfred "Roy" Smeck (6 February 1900 – 5 April 1994) was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, and ukulele earned him the nickname "The Wizard of the Strings". Background Smeck was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. ...

* Phil Spitalny * Eva Taylor * Varsity Eight * Joe Venuti * Don Voorhees * Jay Wilbur *

Josh White Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the Sou ...

* Clarence Williams *

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Young was posthumously awarded the ...

References

External links

Roger Misiewicz & Helge Thygesen -- Melotone Mythology: Robert Johnson's Dime Store IssuesBanner Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American jazz record labels Record labels established in 1922 Record labels disestablished in 1938 Defunct record labels of the United States