American label founded by William Russell in 1944.
The label specialized in traditional New Orleans jazz, both reissues and new recordings of elderly New Orleans pioneers such as Bunk Johnson and George Lewis. First releases were 12″ vinylite discs that appeared in early 1945. Starting in 1946, the label released standard 10″ shellacs.
Later address appearing on mid-century releases from Chicago.
1637 N. Ashland
Chicago, 22 Illinois
Damon was an American record label headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Damon used musicians and singers who were not members of the American Federation of Musicians labor union to make recordings during the ban on Union recordings ordered by James Petrillo.
In May 1948, the singing duo of Jon and Sondra Steele released “My Happiness” on Damon Records, a fact that was acknowledged on sheet music promoting the song. One of the better known artists with Damon was big band bandleader Al Trace. The Al Trace Orchestra recorded for major labels in the 1940s in addition to Damon. Trace was a writer on several popular songs, including “If I’d Known You Were Coming I’d Have Baked a Cake.”
The label was still in existence up to at least 1960, when a rock ‘n’ roll group from Pittsburg, Kan., Conny and the Bellhops, had a regional hit with a 45 titled “Shot Rod,” an instrumental on the Damon label.
Herwin Records was an American independent record label founded and run by brothers Herbert and Edwin Schiele, the trademark name being formed from their first names (HERbert and EdWIN).
Herwin Records was based in St. Louis, Missouri, and produced records starting in 1924. Most of the material released on the label was from master discs leased from Gennett Records and Paramount Records. In 1930 Herwin was sold to the Wisconsin Chair Company, the parent of Paramount Records, which discontinued the Herwin label.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Herwin label was revived by record collector Bernard Klatzko, who first used the label to issue old Library of Congress and new own recordings of rediscovered blues musicians like Bukka White, Son House and Skip James in a “78 rpm look”, from 1971 on to release vinyl record LP re-issues of historic jazz, blues and ragtime recordings.
