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Trumpet Records History

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Trumpet records was started in 1951 in Jackson, Mississippi. It lasted only five short years, but it's brief existence made a lasting impact on music history. It all started with some loose records in the back of a furniture store. Lillian and Henry McMurry set up shop at 309 Farish Street, where she found a box leftover records in the back. It didn't take long for her to discover that stocking records could be profitable, and they began selling Tampa Red and Big Boy Crudup records out of the store. In 1951, Lillian, whose musical experience was limited to her newly discovered record selling, became a record producer when her and her husband officially opened Trumpet, sharing space with their newly opened furniture store. It was a time of one of the most intense periods of racial segregation in United States history, in one of the most staunchly segregated states in America. Through a period where blacks were forced give up their seats simply because of the color of their skin, a humble white woman coordinated with a handfull of the most talented black Bluesmen in Mississippi to create a sound and style that would resonate to this day.

It didn't take long for Trumpet to find major talent. Blues harmonica great Sonny Boy Williamson (II) started recording with Trumpet. Future Bluesman Elmore James, working nearby as a repairman, was brought on to play rhythm for Williamson until he recorded his iconic "Dust My Broom", which became Trumpet's biggest hit, reaching number 9 on the charts. Trumpet attracted other notable Bluesmen such as Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, who would later be well known as the writer and original performer of "That's All Right (Mama)", Elvis Presley's first hit.

Unfortunately, Trumpet ran across financial problems in the mid fiftys, and after only five years of operation, it succumbed to it's debts. Trumpet's two biggest stars, Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson, moved on to Chicago. Sonny Boy's record contract was purchased by the most famous Blues Label to have existed, Chess Records. At Chess Records, Sonny Boy gained widespread popularity for much of his remaining life. James continued playing, but never achieved the popularity he enjoyed from "Dust My Broom". In 1963, he died at 45 from a heart attack.

Trumpet recorded some of the most influential Blues in the South from some of the Blues' biggest stars, and left it's mark on the development of Rock n' Roll and Blues. They helped give artists in the south a voice. At the time, there wasn't a recording studio in the American South, or even nearby. Trumpet had briefly filled that gap by constructing a studio in the back of the store, where the artists made their prolific recordings. There is now a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in front of 309 Farrish St. where Trumpet Records used to reside. Unfortunately, while there are plans to revitalize Farrish, the street, as well as the building are in extreme disrepair, and the street is generally unsafe.

Notable artists under Trumpet Records
Sonny Boy Williamson (II)
Elmore James
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
Little Milton
Wynonie Harris
Ike Turner

Notable books on Trumpet Records
Trumpet Records: Diamonds on Farish Street By Marc W. Ryan