Vocalion Records
Back to the Record LabelsVocalion Records was founded in 1916, but it's real life began in the twentys, when it first started releasing race records, which in those days meant Blues.
Local record store owners were enlisted to scout for talent for the labels, and when talent was found, the artists were either recorded in the field, or sent to a town to record. H.C. Speir was a record store owner on the once famous Farrish Street, in Jackson, Mississippi, and was enlisted as a talent scout. He was one of the most famous scouts, as he auditioned and sent many notable Bluesmen of the time to be recorded, including Son House, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, and, perhaps most famously, Robert Johnson. Vocalion recorded and released the complete Robert Johnson recordings. At the time, the recordings were only marginally successful. Over fifty years after his death, Sony/Columbia Records released a box set of Johnson's complete recordings, expecting it to sell modestly. It won a Grammy and has since sold over one million copies, making it, by current definition, Platinum.
Vocalion was bought out a number of times, beginning with the Warner Brothers, who purchased the label to release records that coincide with their movies. It was licensed out to ARC, which was folded into Columbia Records and finally, Vocalion was shelved in 1940. Vocalion was revived several times, beginning in the 1950s and 1960s.
Notable artists under Vocalion Records
Tampa Red
Robert Johnson
Furry Lewis
Bukka White
