Domino Records was an American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, in existence from 1924 to 1933. Domino Records, a United States–based label, was in business from 1924 to 1933, producing standard 10-inch lateral cut 78s. The label was formed as Domino Record Company, a subsidiary of Plaza Music Company, headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The first issues appeared on the market in April or May 1924, and were announced to the trade press June of that year. Initially the records were pressed on red shellac, as an alternative to Regal and

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

which were standard black. For its first year Domino was priced more cheaply than either Banner or Regal, but in 1925 the prices of the latter two was dropped to 35 cents in order to be equal to Domino. In 1927 Domino records were switched to black shellac towards the latter part of the year. At Plaza's takeover by the

American Record Corporation American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or ARC Records, was an American record company in operation from 1929 to 1938, and again from 1978 to 1982. Overview ARC was crea ...

, its trademarks passed to that company, and Domino was one of the labels that were weeded out at the time, production ceasing in 1930. ARC reconstituted the Domino label in 1932 – this time with the same label style, but in black ink on gold – for an exclusive 100 series sold only through juke box manufacturers the John Gabel Company. This format lasted until 1933. This gold label series is fairly rare; it's possible that this special series was started as Regal's short-lived final 100 series. Artists Plaza recorded included the standard pool of New York studio orchestras led by Sam Lanin, Fred Rich, and others, as well as a handful of name bands like

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 ...

and

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 ...

, who also appeared on other Plaza labels such as Banner and Perfect. Recordings by the Original New Orleans Jazz Band appear on Domino. Initial recordings were mainly sourced from Plaza, and some were sourced from New York Recording Laboratories. Early research had indicated that some recordings were made for Domino's exclusive use, but subsequent investigation revealed that Regal's matrices had merely been re-numbered for Domino.

References

{{Authority control American jazz record labels

See also

References