Race record

Race records were 78 rpm gramophone records made by and for African Americans during the early 20th century, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. They primarily contained "race music," which comprised a variety of African American genres music such as blues, jazz, and gospel music, but many also contained comedy. Race records were marketed by Okeh Records, ^{[http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/teaching/2004_03/sources/ex2_okehracerecords.shtml photo]} Emerson Records, ^{[http://www.mainspringpress.com/blues_emerson.html photo]} Vocalion Records, ^{[http://www.mainspringpress.com/blues_vocalion.html photo]} Victor Talking Machine Company, ^{[http://www.pbs.org/jazz/images/exchange/victor-records.jpgphoto]} and several other companies.

Such records were labeled "race records" in reference to their marketing to African Americans, but white Americans gradually began to purchase such records as well. The term first appeared in an advertisement in a 1922 issue of the "Chicago Defender", an African American newspaper. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419101005 Race Music | St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ]

Billboard magazine published "Race Records" charts between 1945 and 1949, initially covering juke box plays and from 1948 also covering sales. These were revised versions of the "Harlem Hit Parade" chart which it had introduced in 1942. In June 1949, at the suggestion of Billboard journalist Jerry Wexler, the magazine renamed its chart again to "Rhythm & Blues Records". Wexler wrote : "Race" was a common term then, a self-referral used by blacks...On the other hand, "Race Records" didn't sit well...I came up with a handle I thought suited the music well - 'rhythm and blues'... a label more appropriate to more enlightened times." [Jerry Wexler, "Rhythm and the Blues: a life in American music", 1993, ISBN 0-224-03963-6]

Although in hindsight the term "race record" may seem to be a derogatory one, in the early 20th century the African American press routinely used the term "the Race" to refer to African Americans as a whole, and used the terms "race man" or "race woman" to refer to African American individuals who showed pride and support for his or her people and culture. [ [http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9758/9758.ch01.html Race Music: CHAPTER ONE ] ]

ee also

*Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - for history of the Billboard R&B record chart, known as the "Race Records" chart from February 1945 to June 1949.
*African American music

References

*Ramsey, Guthrie P., Jr. (2003). "Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop". Music of the African Diaspora, 7. Berkeley, California; London, England: University of California Press; Chicago, Illinois: Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College. ISBN 0520210484.

External links

* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419101005 Race music article]
* [http://www.pbs.org/jazz/exchange/exchange_race_records.htm Race records page]
* [http://www.honkytonks.org/showpages/blackandwhite.htm Race records page]

Listening

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6473116 NPR story about race records]