On the Record: They Also Sold Records ... (Early Canadian Independent Labels)
by Steven C. Barr
A few independent operations sold records in Canada prior to 1942.
All of these firms
drew their material from U.S. sources, and some were more closely involved with foreign firms.
VITAPHONE:
The first Canadian label after Berliner and Columbia was, in fact, a phonograph firm who apparently
wanted records under their
own name.
About 150 records were issued, primarily standard items although a few dated popular songs appeared;
the latest
master used appears to be from late 1915, which suggests
1916 as an issue date.
Oddly
enough,
most of the material seems to be from the 1912-13 era,
suggesting that Columbia,
who pressed the records,
may have been less than enthusiastic about duplicating their own
popular catalog.
Most of the artists appear under pseudonyms,
although those most easily
recognizable appear under their
own
name.
The label is of interest primarily to U.S. label
collectors,
since the material is eminently forgettable.
PATHE:
Inasmuch as my own collection
includes very few vertically-cut records, most
of my knowledge of this label is second-hand.
Pathe records were imported into Canada (as
well as the U.S.)
from 1914 onward, with the first being the odd-sized center-start records
that sold poorly.
In 1918, quite possibly due to the difficulties in importing engendered
by World
War I, Pathe began manufacturing records in Canada as well as distributing
them,
and until evidence indicates otherwise, it can be assumed that the handful of Canadian
records in an 800 series date from this time.
This operation
was apparently
short-lived,
as Pathe/Perfect masters appear on
Compo from 1923 on.
YORK:
This very scarce label was pressed c. 1918;
numbers appearing in the shellac
suggest that,
although Pathe masters were used, they may have been acquired through a connection
with the very short-lived Crescent label in the U.S.
Like Crescent,
the labels
are Pathe-type vertical-cut.
Further details regarding this label are not
known.
PHONOLA:
Phonographs
under this name (the predecessor of today's
Electrohome
firm)
appeared c.
1914,
and the
company distributed what are known as the
Lindstrom labels
(Fonotipia,
Odeon,
Jumbo etc.).
In 1918, as the Okeh line was launched in the U.S.,
the
same records appeared in
Canada under the Phonola
name, with the same catalog
numbers.
In 1919, a 4000 lateral-cut series
was
launched and from 1920 onward the records were
pressed
by Compo.
The label disappeared in 1922, shortly after
Compo
launched their
own
line of records.
GENNETT:
This U.S. label sold records in Canada as The Gennett Company of Canada in
1920 and 1921.
The Starr (later Gennett)
phonographs
and records had, from 1917 until this
date, been imported and sold by a Canadian distributor.
In late 1921, the Gennett of Canada disappeared,
and the label became more closely tied to Compo.
In 1925, the use of
Gennett masters ceased and the label name changed from Starr-Gennett to Starr;
the latter
was used until well into the postwar years for Quebecois material.
HIT-OF-THE-WEEK:
Although
these plastic-coated cardboard records were almost certainly
never manufactured in Canada, I have seen one imprinted
on the reverse with advertising
for a
Quebec
news firm, indicating they were distributed in Canada.
OPERAPHONE:
Edward Moogk's book Roll Back the Years credits the existence of a line
of 8-inch vertical-cut records under this
name.
A similar U.S. label is
known,
however,
and it is most likely that these were in fact imported.
A Compo label under this name
appeared later.
ONTARIO:
One source credits an early label of this
name;
however, I have not seen
one nor do I know anyone else
who has.
This list appears to cover the extent of the record industry in Canada prior to the
flood of independent labels after World War II. It is almost certain that other U.S.
labels were distributed here.
Famous, for example,
an obscure and scarce label in the
U.S. shows up often enough to indicate it may well have been
remaindered here after its
demise.
There also may have been private labels made for special purposes.
I
own one
record
on the Ambassador label, featuring a religious vocal group of similar
name,
which
appears to date from the mid-1930s and is custom-pressed by
RCA Victor,
and there
may well
have been others.
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