- Broadway Records
Broadway Records was a
United States basedrecord label of the 1920s.Broadway Records were first manufactured about 1921 ("?") by the Bridgeport Die and Machine Company of
Bridgeport, Connecticut . Most of the early issues were from masters recorded byParamount Records . Starting in 1924, masters from the Emerson and Banner appeared on Broadway.When Bridgeport Die and Machine went bankrupt in 1925, the Broadway label was acquired by "The New York Recording Laboratories" (NYRL), which (despite what the name might suggest) were located in
Port Washington, Wisconsin . The New York Recording Laboratories were owned by the Wisconsin Chair Company, also the parent ofParamount Records . Broadway Records must've been popular, since copies are often found, especially in the midwest. The vast majority of these 1925-1930 records were Plaza masters. Starting in 1930,Crown Records masters were used, as well as NYRL's own L- maxtrix series of sides recorded in Grafton, WI. NYRL went out of business in 1932 and the Broadway label was picked up byARC for a short-lived series of Broadway's (in the 4000 seriies) in 1933. Amazingly, when Decca started up in late 1934/early 1935, among the early (unsuccessful) labels they produced was Champion and Broadway. The few Broadway/Decca records were an L-1200 series and masters came from Champion (Gennett )! The series certainly didn't last beyond 1935.So, the dime store Broadway label - always a cheap label - went from company to company during its 10-15 year life. It's probable that there were some specific (unknown at this time) stores that carried Broadway straight through the period and that that was the reason why it was reintroduced in 1933 and then again in 1935.
The Bridgeport era Broadway's were excellently pressed and recorded, but starting with the NYRL (Paramount) era, the pressing quality and audio fidelty was somewhat below average for the era. The ARC Broadway quality were the same as Melotone, Perfect or Oriole and the Decca Broadway quality was the same as Decca.----In 1947 a new Label was named Broadway Records and was not related to the former Company.Vincent Puccio Sr. founded the new label in
Los Angeles Ca. His brother Gasper played a key role in the early years and went on to found Houston Records in 1958.The Broadway label was maroon in color with silver script,sometimes "Value" appeared under the cursive "Broadway"."Value Hit Parade Tunes" was another label owned by Vince.
Both labels were found on millions of 78's, 45's, and LPs.By 1989, with the emergence of the
Compact Disc Broadway Records was out of business.Later, both Music Catalogs were sold to 108th Street Records.From the late '70s until the mid-'80s, another unrelated Broadway Records was in operation, signing artists such as
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts ,Ringo Starr , andHarry Chapin .See also
*
List of record labels
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