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Principal Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities)
Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities)
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CY CMY
Encyclopedia of
Recorded Sound
RT835X_title page 8/25/04 10:11 AM Page 1
Frank Hoffmann, Editor
Howard Ferstler, Technical Editor
NEW YORK AND LONDON
Published in 2005 by
www.routledge-ny.com
Published in Great Britain by Routledge
2 Park Square
Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
www.routledge.co.uk
Copyright © 1993, 2005 by Routledge
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Encyclopedia of recorded sound / edited by Frank Hoffmann.– 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Encyclopedia of recorded sound in the United States. 1993.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-415-93835-X (hb: alk.paper)
1. Sound recordings–Dictionaries. 2 Sound recording industry
–Dictionaries. I. Hoffmann, Frank W., 1949– II. Encyclopedia
of recorded sound in the United States.
ML102.S67E5 2004
384–dc22
Bibliography and Key to Citations 1219
B. Lee Cooper is Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs at Newman University in Wichita,
Kansas. He is the author of Rock Music in American
Popular Culture (three volumes: 1995, 1997, 1999)
and ten other books on teaching with contemporary
sound recordings. Dr. Cooper received the ASCAPDeems Taylor Award for Music Research
Excellence in 1983. He is completing work on The
Popular Music Teaching Handbook, which is to be
published by the Greenwood Group.
Martin Elste, Curator, MusikinstrumentenMuseum, Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung
PK, Berlin, is the author of, among many other
books and articles, Kleines Tonträger-Lexikon,
Modern Harpsichord Music: A Discography, and
Meilensteine der Bach-Interpretation 1750–2000,
which won the ARSC Award for Excellence in
Historical Recorded Sound Research in 2001.
Having been a record reviewer for Die Zeit, Fono
Forum, Klassik heute, and Fanfare, he has served on
the panel of the German Record Critics' Award
since 1983 and was elected president in 2000.
Howard Ferstler, who received his electronic training courtesy of the USAF, is a retired Library
Technical Assistant for Florida State University. He
is the author of High Fidelity Audio-Video Systems,
High Definition Compact Disc Recordings, The
Home Theater Companion, and The Digital Audio
Music List. Over the years, Mr. Ferstler has contributed articles to High Fidelity, Stereo Review,
Audio, The Audiophile Voice, Consumer Guide, The
American Record Guide, and Fanfare and is currently
a columnist, product reviewer, and record reviewer for
the audio magazine The Sensible Sound.
Allen Koenigsberg teaches Ancient History and
Classics at Brooklyn College in New York City and is
the author of Edison Cylinder Records, 1889–1912
and The Patent History of the Phonograph. For many
years, he was the editor and publisher of The Antique
Phonograph Monthly. His research website is located at www.phonobooks.com.
Kurt Nauck is the owner of Nauck's Vintage
Records in Spring, Texas (www.78rpm.com) and
author of the American Record Label Image
William Schurk is a Professor and Sound
Recordings Archivist at Jerome Library, Bowling
Green State Univesity, Bowling Green, Ohio.
All of us involved with this work owe much to the
vision and execution of the first edition, published
by Garland Press in 1993. In addition, I greatly
appreciate the decision-making skills, encouragement, and subject expertise provided by Richard
Carlin, Executive Editor for Music and Dance at
Routledge. He really was the guiding hand behind
the overall project, moving it smoothly through
each stage of development. His fine in-house staff
were also indispensable, most notably Associate
Editor Shannon McLachlan.
Research assistance was provided by the competent Reference Department staff at the Newton
Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University.
Music Librarian Bruce Hall and Technology
Specialist Ed Loera were particularly helpful in
tracking down valuable information. Martin
Manning, a State Department Reference Librarian,
also contributed much useful documentation.
Manning utilized many research facilities in
Washington, D.C., particularly the Library of
Congress. He wishes to thank in particular Janet
McKee and Bryan Cornell, reference librarians,
Recorded Sound Reading Room, Library of
Congress who were especially helpful regarding recommendations for improving the second
edition.
A special thanks to all of the entry contributors.
Many individuals expressed an interest in writing
entries, but those scholars and specialists actually
supplying essays have ultimately had the greatest
impact on the complexion of the work.
The rich legacy of the recorded sound medium
belies the fact that it has only been a little more than
a century since Thomas Edison's famous recital of
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" onto a primitive tinfoil
cylinder in late 1877. Until Edison began utilizing
solid-wax cylinders—which enabled recordings to
survive multiple playbacks—their commercial
potential remained severely limited. As a result, the
first phonograph parlors—the earliest manifestation
of the modern-day jukebox—opened in San
Francisco in mid-1889. In early 1892, commercial
recordings—produced by Edison's North American
Phonograph Company and its regional affiliates, the
Columbia, New Jersey, and Ohio Phonograph
Companies—would be available for sale to the general public. Home sales picked up appreciably when
Columbia introduced the first modestly priced
phonograph, a spring-motored unit retailing for
forty dollars in 1894.
The next quarter century would witness the
recording industry developing into a major force
within the entertainment business against the backdrop of constant technological changes (e.g., the
appearance of the first commercial disc recordings
in 1895, the production of two-sided records beginning in 1908) and the shifting fortunes of both the
major record companies—Victor, Edison, and
Columbia—and smaller competitors such as
Brunswick, Emerson, Okeh, Pathé, and Vocalion,
which entered the fray once the exclusive patent
rights held by the "Big Three" expired in 1917. The
rise of radio in the early 1920s, however, would
cause a significant drop-off in record sales. The
implementation of electrical recording—made possible via the condenser microphone, the vacuum
tube amplifier, and the electromagnetically-powered
cutting stylus—revived the industry, with total
record sales peaking at 140 million in 1927.
However, the sensation created by "talking pictures," followed by the Great Depression, would
send the industry into another tailspin.
The repeal of Prohibition in December 1933
would lead to the establishment of countless bars
and lounges; these venues would feature jukeboxes,
thereby providing a major market for the financially strapped record companies. The spectacular
growth of the American economy during World War
II and the post-war years—combined with the
breakthroughs of rhythm and blues (and, by the
mid-1950s, rock 'n' roll) into the pop marketplace—enabled the industry to achieve new levels
of prosperity by the 1960s. Following another
downturn in record company fortunes beginning in
the late 1970s—the result of a nationwide recession
and imprudent business practices (e.g., overproduction of marquee releases, issuing extravagant contracts to over-the-hill "prestige" artists)—the
adoption of the compact disc, assisted by the promotional video phenomenon, revived the industry
once again. With the onset of the twenty-first century, the industry faces perhaps its greatest threat: the
appearance of computer-based applications making
it possible to circumvent payment for the copyrighted material produced and distributed by record
companies either by online file downloading or the
duplication of discs. Many experts have argued that
the labels have contributed to the problem by failing
to adapt to the new technologies as well as adhering
to unnecessarily exorbitant pricing policies.
The first edition of the Encyclopedia of Recorded
Sound in the United States (Garland, 1993) attempted to document the rich breadth of record sound history by means of alphabetically arranged topics
encompassing the key individuals, entities, and concepts of the field. Despite positive feedback from
many quarters—scholars, librarians, reviewers, and
recorded sound enthusiasts—the work was not
without its weaknesses; most notably, a coverage
bias for the pre-World War II period. For instance,
the inclusion of entries for virtually all known
recording artists for U.S. companies during the
acoustic era (roughly 1890–1925) set a precedent
that was virtually impossible to maintain given the
proliferation of recording activity and grassroots
independent labels following World War II.
Furthermore, the first edition tended to focus on
classical or European-derived art music, supplemented by a somewhat uneven coverage of jazz and
other pop styles.
This second edition has attempted to redress
these imbalances, presenting—in an objective
mode—important information from all time periods
and recorded sound genres and formats. New entries
comprise more than sixty percent of the text; in
addition, all entries retained from the first edition
have been revised in some manner, including correcting and updating data. The second edition also
includes illustrations; although not exhaustive in
scope (i.e., supplementing each entry), they have
been selected to provide a representative cross-section of images (e.g., record label art, album cover
art, photographs of key industry figures and artists,
etc.) pertinent to recorded sound history. Another
reflection of technological developments since the
mid-1990s has been the inclusion of web site
addresses for record companies and manufacturers;
however, URLs (both official and fan-based) for
performers have been omitted due both to the large
numbers (easily located via web browsers) and
rapid turnover of such sites.
The entries in this work are tied together by one
feature: they all relate, in some manner, to recorded
sound history in the United States. They include
industry figures and scientists, record companies,
manufacturers of audio equipment and software, relevant terms and issues, and notable recording artists
spanning all genres, not only art music and the full
spectrum of popular and ethnic styles, but spoken
word, novelty, and documentary material. While the
emphasis is on the recordings produced by these
artists, key biographical details and summaries of
their performing careers are also provided.
The time frame ranges from the earliest technological developments of the medium—including the
experiments of Edison, Berliner, and other nineteenth-century inventors—to recent recording
industry concerns such as the online transfer of
music files, digital piracy, censorship, and the
decline of brick-and-mortar retail outlets. Although
the focus is on the United States, the impact of international personalities, organizations, and trends
upon the domestic scene is also covered.
AACM (ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF CREATIVE
MUSICIANS)/ART ENSEMBLE OF
European jazz label, ECM. In the mid-1980s, they
signed with Disk Union (DIW), a Japanese progressive-music label. The group used avant-garde composition techniques, including silence, dissonance, and
nontraditional sounds in both their live performances
and on record. They remained together until 1993,
when Jarman left to pursue an interest in Buddhism.
The group soldiered on through Bowie's death due
to liver cancer in 1999, and then performed as a
trio. [Websites: http://aacmchicago.org/;artensembleofchicago.com.]
Long-lived, Chicago-based jazz collective specializing
in avant-garde music written by its members. The
group was founded as a musician's cooperative in
1965 by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams (b. 19 Sep
1930), who envisioned it as an outgrowth of the local
Black community; Abrams had previously spearheaded a rehearsal group to explore new music nicknamed
"The Experimental Band" that formed the core of the
original AACM ensembles. Open to a wide variety of
nontraditional sounds, Abrams introduced into the
group unusual musical instruments from toy whistles
to clattering kitchen utensils.
The AACM was more of a school than a specific
group; individuals who were influenced by Abrams
quickly took his ideas to their own recordings. The
AACM's first notable product was Roscoe Mitchell's
1966 album Sound, released by the Chicago jazz-blues
label Delmark (408). The album is a rich exploration
of sonic possibilities, created with very few preconceived ideas of what the individual musicians would
do. Several of the players on this record went on to
form the most famous group to grow out of the collective, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, initially featuring
reeds players Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, trumpeter
Lester Bowie, and bassist Mitch Favors; percussionist
Don Moye joined in 1970. The group performed and
recorded out of Paris from 1970 to 1972, and then
returned home to Chicago. They formed their own
label, AECO, in 1978, and also signed with the
CARL BENSON
A/B COMPARISON
Typically done between audio components as a way to
ascertain if one is superior to the other or if they are
both essentially identical or different sounding. A
refinement is the ABX testing device. The latter works
by allowing known A and B components to be compared to an unknown X, which may be either A or B;
depending on which listening trial is taking place, it
allows for an easy-to-enforce, double-blind protocol to
minimize participant prejudices.
See also Clark, David
HOWARD FERSTLER
A&B SWITCH
A control in a stereo amplifier that is used to channel
the signal from a monaural record into both speakers
for greater sound spread. It also removes one cause of
rumble and noise in the playback by cancelling the
vertical response of the cartridge.
A firm established in 1962 by Herb Alpert, leader and
trumpeter of the Tijuana Brass, with promoter Jerry
Moss. The debut Tijuana Brass release, "The Lonely
Bull," was the label's first notable hit, selling 700,000
copies. The group would go on to sell 13 million
records in 1966 (a total exceeded only by the Beatles
that year), thereby providing the needed capital to
expanded A&M's roster of artists.
Sergio Mendes was another prominent A&M artist,
beginning in 1966 with the album Sergio Mendes and
Brasil '66 (A&M 116 and #SP-4116). The label
remained a middle-of-the-road company until the
Monterey Pop Festival (1967), after which it signed
Joe Cocker, The Move, Procol Harum, and other rock
stars. During the 1970s, the label's major successes
included a combination of middle-of-the-road pop
acts, most notably the Carpenters and the Captain and
Tennille, and soft-rock singer/songwriters like Cat
Stevens. A&M also distributed Lou Adler's Ode label,
which enjoyed great success in the early 1970s with
Carole King, and Leon Russell's and Denny Cordell's
short-lived Shelter imprint. Pop rocker Bryan Adams
and British new-wavers the Police were the label's
biggest stars of the 1980s, while Sheryl Crow was its
major new signing of the mid-1990s. In 1989, Adler
and Moss sold out to Polygram. In 1998, Polygram
was purchased by Seagram, and its labels became part
of the Universal Music Group. In 1999, during a consolidation of Universal's businesses, the A&M label
was closed and its artists assigned to other labels within the group.
In 1995, Adler and Moss formed AlMo Sound to
once again pursue an independent course. Key signings for the new label included the alt-rock band
Garbage and alt-country singer/songwriter Gillian
Welch. However, in 2000, the firm had also been sold
to Universal Music Group, and Moss announced his
retirement. [Denisoff 1986.]
See also Alpert, Herb
A&R (ARTISTS AND REPERTOIRE)
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, founders of A&M Records,
at the gates of the Chaplin Studios shortly after they
purchased them for their corporate headquarters, July 15,
1970. © Bettmann/CORBIS
A major unit in contemporary record companies,
reaching greatest significance in the large popular
music firms of the 1950s. The A&R director is a talent
scout and also the person who determines what will be
recorded. In a small firm, this may be the label's
owner; in modern large corporations, the A&R department is extensive, with many junior staff members
assigned to cover different developing artists. Unlike
an independent producer, the A&R man works directly for the label, oversees contracting, establishes budgets, and often pairs a producer with an artist (and
sometimes produces the sessions).
As the record industry grew — and particularly as
labels began to record popular music in addition to
classical performers — certain executives in each firm
would become known for their work as talent scouts or
for supervising recording sessions. Ralph Peer was a
famous executive at Victor in the later 1920s and
1930s, responsible for its country and blues recordings; he also maintained an independent business as a
music publisher, and so worked in a quasi-independent
manner from the company itself. John Hammond, a
well-to-do jazz fan, worked as a semi-independent
A&R man for a number of labels through the 1930s,
primarily supervising sessions. After World War II,
this informal system was codified into the development of A&R departments, usually based on different
musical genres. For example, when RCA opened a
Nashville studio and office to record country artists,
company executive Steve Sholes was put in charge of
the operation.
The power of the A&R men grew during the 1950s.
Mitch Miller of Columbia may have been the most
successful, discovering and producing Frankie Laine,
Johnnie Ray, Tony Bennett, Jill Corey, and Rosemary
Clooney; Columbia sold 80,000,000 records by his
stars between 1950 and 1956. After working for a
series of smaller labels, John Hammond joined
Columbia in the late 1950s, and began a nearly twodecade run discovering and nurturing talent, including
Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen.
From the mid-1950s in Nashville, Chet Atkins was
instrumental in molding the so-called "Nashville
Sound," a more modern, pop-influenced style; this led
in turn to the development of countrypolitan under the
lead of A&R men like Billy Sherrill.
As the recording industry began to consolidate in
the 1970s, the A&R departments grew. In many cases
this led to a less hands-on approach to the recording
process, with more attention paid to bottom-line issues.
Often, independent producers served as talent scouts
for the companies, bringing new acts to the attention of
the A&R staff. Nonetheless, a number of labels have
continued to have a strong signing personality based on
the thrust of their A&R departments.
Clive Davis, originally at Columbia in the mid1960s and then at Arista from the early 1970s through
1999, and Mo Ostin, at Warner Bros. Records, were
other label heads who played a strong role in shaping
A&R policies, serving as de facto heads of new artist
development. Artists like the Beatles and the Rolling
Stones formed their own labels, primarily to manage
their own recorded output, but also (at least initially)
to help promote new artists who they felt were not
adequately presented by the major labels.
By the century's end, the strongest A&R departments were those associated with specific musical
genres beyond the general pop market. In country
music, label executives like Tony Brown and Scott
Hendricks; in rap, Sean "Puffy — Puff Daddy — P
Diddy" Combs; in pop, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds;
and in jazz, Michael Cuscuna, to name just a few,
played key roles in developing A&R in their areas
within the context of working for much larger music
conglomerates. [Denisoff 1986.]
A&R CAMBRIDGE
SEE ARCAM
A SIDE
The two sides of a double-sided disc are usually identified as A and B, with the A side being the featured
selection. This term was applied to 78s, 45s, and LPs,
but is no longer appropriate for CDs, which feature
digitally programmable selections on what is, in
essence, one playable side.
Parlaying catchy melodies, richly-textured four-part
harmonies, and slick production values to achieve
worldwide chart success, the group epitomized the
Euro-pop movement of the 1970s. Although widely
reviled by the rock press at the time, they achieved legendary status in the 1990s, fueled by countless reissues of their classic recordings.
The earlier configuration of Abba arose in
Stockholm, Sweden, when Bjorn Ulvaeus (guitar/
vocals), Benny Andersson (keyboards/synthesizers/
vocals), Agnetha Faltskog (vocals), and Norwegian
native Anni-Frid Lyngstad-Fredriksson (vocals) began
recording as Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha + Frida in 1971.
Following a string of Swedish hits, the foursome —
known as Abba by 1973 — set their sights on international stardom. "Waterloo" (Atlantic 3035; 1974; #6
US, #1 UK), winner of the prestigious Eurovision
Song Contest, provided the initial breakthrough.
Although the first two LPs, Waterloo (Atlantic 18101;
1974; #28 UK) and Abba (Atlantic 18146; #13 UK),
were limited to marginal sales, the group gradually
established momentum as a hit singles machine built
around the songwriting and production talents of
Ulvaeus and Andersson. Effervescent studio confections such as "S.O.S." (Atlantic 3265; 1975; #15 US,
#6 UK), "I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do" (Atlantic 3310;
1976; #15), "Fernando" (Atlantic 3346; 1976; #13),
"Dancing Queen" (Atlantic 3372; 1976; #1 US, #1
UK), "Knowing Me Knowing You" (Atlantic 3387;
1977; #14 US, #1 UK), "The Name of the Game"
(Atlantic 3449; 1977; #12 US, #1 UK), and "Take a
Chance on Me" (Atlantic 3457; 1978; #3 US, #1 UK)
— while somewhat formulaic and cloying in nature —
proved irresistible to a large contingency of pop music
enthusiasts. Beginning with Greatest Hits (Atlantic
18189; 1976; #48 US, #1 UK), album releases also
enjoyed greater commercial success, albeit to a considerably greater extent in Europe than in the United
By the late 1970s, Abba had become such a bankable commodity that they were listed on the Swedish
stock exchange. While changing musical trends (first
disco, then the punk revolution) diminished sales
somewhat, the hits — albeit in a sadder, more reflective mode, apparently the result of the breakdown of
ABBADO, CLAUDIO
the Ulvaeus-Faltskog (1979) and Andersson-Lyngstad
(1981) marriages — continued up to the dissolution of
the group in late 1982, most notably "Does Your
Mother Know" (Atlantic 3574; 1979; #19), "The
Winner Takes It All" (Atlantic 3776; 1980; #8 US,
#1 UK), and "When All Is Said and Done" (Atlantic
3889; 1982; #27). All members remained active within the music industry; Faltskog and Lyngstad
embarked on solo careers, while Ulvaeus and
Andersson went on to cowrite (with lyricist Tim Rice)
the 1980s musical, Chess.
Even long after the group's heyday, Abba's music
has fans, both for its kitsch value as well as those who
sincerely continue to enjoy it. In 1999, a new musical
called Mamma Mia opened in Britain, constructed
around Abba's classic songs. It subsequently moved to
Broadway, where it has had a long run.
FRANK HOFFMANN
ABBADO, CLAUDIO (26 JUNE 1933–)
Italian symphony and opera conductor, born in Milan.
He studied in Milan and Vienna, and conducted in several Italian cities. In 1965 he conducted the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra and became its principal conductor. He was also appointed artistic director at La
Scala, and principal conductor of the London
Philharmonic Orchestra from 1979 to 1983, and then
its music director through 1988. In 1981, he organized
the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and a year later
founded the La Filarmonica della Scala in Milan to
present concerts at La Scala. Other major appointments
included principal guest conductor for the Chicago
Symphony from 1982–1986 and chief conductor of the
Vienna State Opera from 1986–1991. On 8 Oct 1989
he succeeded Herbert von Karajan as music director of
the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he remained
through the 2001/2002 season. Abbado began to record
in 1967. Among his outstanding recordings are the
Mahler symphonies with the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic.
ABBAS RECORDS (LABEL)
Founded in 1995 by Simon Eadon in anticipation of
the demise of the recording department of the Decca
Record Co., Abbas was created in order to provide
continuing location recording facilities to people interested in maintaining the survival of the "Decca
Sound." No recording artists are contracted, but the
company's technical facilities are used by Decca,
EMI, BBC, Hyperion, Warner, Philips, Arte Nova,
Somm, Quilisma, and Classic FM. The company
boasts the only two currently working ex-Decca
recording engineers who can trace their history back to
the original Decca studios at Broadhurst Gardens,
West Hampstead, where they were trained by the legendary Kenneth Wilkinson and James Lock.
An EMI, Ltd., recording complex in London, inaugurated 12 November 1931 with Edward Elgar conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance
of his Falstaff. Although Fred Gaisberg was opposed
to the construction of the new facility, preferring to
remain at the Hayes studios, Alfred C. Clark prevailed.
That first studio (475 square meters) is still in use for
the recording of orchestras and other large groups. It
once held a Compton organ that was used by Fats
Waller and other distinguished artists. As in many
other older studios, it is constantly being updated and
remodeled; the latest remodel occurred in the late
1990s to bring it up to date, particularly in terms of
digital equipment. The remodeled studio was opened
in June 2001. Studio 2 is a smaller hall (200 square
meters) used for about 50 performers or fewer (it was
here that the Beatles made their 1969 Abbey Road
album; its control room was rebuilt in 1996). Studio 3
was for many years the smallest hall (105 square
meters), used for chamber music and soloists as well
as pop artists. Extensive upgrading of equipment in
Studio 3 was completed in 1988, offering state-of-theart technology for pop music; this studio was also used
in 1990 for small-scale classical recordings. The studio features a kitchen and lounge area for relaxing
between takes. In 2001, a new mixing console was
added to the studio, particularly for surround-sound
work, with 96 channels; it was the largest such console
in a London studio. A small penthouse studio was
added to the complex in 1980; it is currently used primarily as a control room, although it does have a small
studio for recording. The studio complex also features
two self-contained apartments for long-term stays by
recording artists, as well as a garden restaurant and
bar. [Southall 1982; technical details for the renovated
Studio 3 are in Gramophone, May 1989, p. 1817;
Website: www.abbeyroad.co.uk.]
ABC-PARAMOUNT/ABC RECORDS
(LABEL)
An important pop/rock label of the 1950s and early
1960s, issued by the Am-Par Record Company. The
American Broadcasting Co. and Paramount Theaters,
Inc., were the parent firms. The label was founded in
ABDUL, PAULA
The Beatles rehearsing in Abbey Road Studios, c. 1964. © Norman Parkinson Limited/Fiona
Cowan/CORBIS
1955, and originally distributed children's recordings
under the Mickey Mouse Club label. Other smaller
labels were added to the mix, and finally, in 1958, the
ABC-Paramount name was launched as a teen-pop
label. The company's first major stars were teen popsters like Danny and the Juniors and Paul Anka, who
were heavily promoted through ABC TV's popular
"American Bandstand" show.
In 1960, the label introduced a jazz subsidiary,
Impulse!, which became known for recording young,
progressive players. By the mid-1960s, the label had
become simply ABC Records, and featured major acts
including Ray Charles and B.B. King. Other smaller
labels were added to the firm, beginning in 1966 with
the purchase of Dunhill Records from producer Lou
Adler, which had popular acts like the Mamas and the
Papas. Later 1960s acts included rock performers like
Steppenwolf and, in the early 1970s, Three Dog Night.
In 1974, the Gulf & Western family of labels —
including Dot and Blue Thumb — were purchased and
added to the ABC list. However, this last purchase
proved to be too much for the company to absorb, and
in 1978 ABC's record operation was sold to MCA
(now part of the Universal Music Group).
ABDUL, PAULA (19 JUNE 1962–)
Paula Abdul's career success had everything to do with
timing — and the MTV phenomenon. She studied
dance throughout her childhood, and — after attending college at California State, Northridge — became
a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader. Jackie Jackson
noticed Abdul's skills in planning dance routines, and
hired her to choreograph the Jacksons' "Torture"
video. She went on to work in television and films as
well as assisting many other artists in video production, most notably Janet Jackson, Duran Duran, the
Pointer Sisters, and ZZ Top.
Abdul joined the roster of Virgin Records artists in
the late 1980s. Her first album, Forever Your Girl
(Virgin 90943; 1988), became one of the decade's bestsellers — seven million copies in the U.S., topping the
Billboard Top 200 chart and producing four number one
singles: "Straight Up" (Virgin 7-98256; 1988), "Forever
Your Girl" (Virgin 7-98238; 1989), "Cold Hearted"
(Virgin 7-99196; 1989), and "Opposites Attract" (Virgin
7-99158; 1989). Despite widespread criticism of her
singing, the LP succeeded due to catchy funk arrangements and flashy videos that effectively captured her
stylish, energetic dance moves and girlish charm.
ABENDROTH, IRENE
To capitalize on Abdul's success, Virgin released an
album of dance remixes of her hit recordings entitled
Shut Up and Dance (Virgin 91362; 1990). The next
album, Spellbound (Virgin 91611; 1991), maintained
her upward career trajectory, reaching number one and
spawning five hit singles. Subsequent releases have
been less successful, but Abdul remains active both
as a performer and choreographer. [Romanowski and
George-Warren 1995.]
(14 JUNE 1872–1 SEP 1932)
Polish soprano, of Austrian parentage, born in
Wiedling (near Vienna). Her debut was in Vienna, in
1889. She recorded in Dresden (1902) for G & T
(black label), singing arias from Trovatore, Semiramis,
Mignon, Nozze di Figaro, and Barbiere di Siviglia (all
in German), as well as Mendelssohn's "Auf Flügeln
des Gesanges." The Trovatore aria, "Tacea la notte"
(sung as "Ein unnennbares Sehnen"), is a favorite with
collectors. [Riemens 1951.]
ABKCO RECORDS (LABEL)
SEE KLEIN, ALAN
In the early 1940s, Abramson started promoting
jazz concerts in New York and Washington, D.C. In
addition to financing the short-lived Jubilee and
Quality labels with Ahmet Ertegun and record retailer
Max Silverman. Between 1944–1947, he produced the
likes of Billy Eckstine, Joe Turner, and the Ravens for
National Records.
In 1947, Abramson and the Erteguns founded
Atlantic to record contemporary jazz. Although
Atlantic's initial releases focused on jazz, it soon
found commercial success with rhythm and blues
artists such as Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, Clyde
McPhatter and the Drifters, and Ray Charles. After a
military stint from 1953–1955, Abramson administered Atlantic's subsidiary label Atco, whose early roster included Wynonie Harris, the Coasters, and Bobby
Darin.
In 1957, he sold his Atlantic holdings for $300,000
and concentrated on developing his own record companies — Blaze, Festival, and Triumph — with limited success. He then worked as an independent
producer for Elmore James, Don Covey, Gene Pitney,
Louisiana Red, Titus Turner, and other pop/R&B performers. His biggest hit as a producer came with
Tommy Tucker's "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (Checker 1067;
1964; #11). The Rhythm and Blues Foundation gave
him its Pioneer Award in 1998 in recognition of his
achievements. He died in Henderson, Nevada.
ABOTT, BESSIE (1878–7 FEB 1919)
American soprano, born Bessie Pickens in Riverside,
New York. Her debut was in Paris, 1901. Her first
recordings were three duets with J. Abott made for
Bettini in 1897; the first of which was "I Want You My
Honey." She cut three Edison cylinders, beginning in
August 1906 with the "Jewel Song" from Faust
(#B23), followed by "The Last Rose of Summer"
(#B56), and "Caro nome" (#B37). She began recording for Victor in December 1906, with "Qui sola vergin rosa" from Martha (#87003), and made a number
of important Victor recordings, including the Rigoletto
Qquartet with Enrico Caruso, Louise Homer, and
Antonio Scotti (#96000; 1907), and the "Queen of the
Night Aria" from Die Zauberflöte (#88051; 1906). She
died in New York.
ABRAMSON, HERB
(16 NOV 1920–9 NOV 1999)
Brooklyn native Herb Abramson, along with Ahmet
and Nesuhi Ertegun, founded Atlantic Records in
1947. Their partnership was fueled by a shared love of
jazz, blues, and gospel recordings.
In an acoustic system, the process through which all or
part of the signal energy is transferred to an element of
the system that comes into contact with the signal.
Absorption is measured in "sabins"; one sabin represents one square foot of a perfectly absorptive surface.
AC-3
SEE DOLBY DIGITAL
ACADEMY CURVE
Formalized in 1938, it is the name of the standard
motionpicture optical-audio track that has been around
since sound first appeared in film. Not exactly high in
fidelity by modern standards, the response is only flat
between 100 Hz and 1,600 Hz. In the bass range the
response is down 7 dB at 40 Hz (making it utterly useless for killer-sound action movies), and in the treble
it is down 10 dB at 5 kHz and 18 dB at 8 kHz. The
extreme attenuation of the higher frequencies was
ACE (LABEL)
designed to hide the high-frequency artifacts in early
film sound production.
ACADEMY SOUND AND VISION
SEE ASV GROUP
ACCORDION RECORDINGS
Early recordings of the instrument were made by John
J. Kimmel on Zonophone (1904) and Edison (1906)
cylinders. Victor recorded Kimmel in August 1907,
and later engaged several other accordionists; in their
1917 catalog there were about 70 accordion items, by
Guido Deiro, Pietro Deiro ("Pietro"), and Pietro
Frosini, as well as Kimmel. Many of the early accordion recordings were made either by Italian or Irish
immigrants; Kimmel, who was actually of German
extraction, was famous for his performances of Irish
dance music.
In the later 78-rpm era the accordion was heard primarily in dance orchestras, particularly in tango and
polka numbers. It was also a typical member of
ensembles playing French popular music. Charles
Magnante was a soloist who recorded for Columbia
in the 1940s (set #C-53), performing arrangements
of pieces like the "Blue Danube Waltz" and "Two
Guitars." Anthony Galla-Rini was a Victor artist of the
time who performed a similar repertoire. Dick Contino
was a well-known soloist in the 1940s.
Novelty accordion LP from the late '50s/early '60s. Courtesy
In the post-World War II era, the accordion fell into
somewhat of an eclipse, associated with the kitschy
music of Lawrence Welk and other older-styled bands.
However, with the emergence of world music in the
1980s and 1990s, the accordion returned both in traditional settings and in more experimental bands. As in
earlier decades, Irish musicians have led the way,
including noted players like Joe Burke (recording for
Shanachie and Green Linnet labels). Scottish revivalist Phil Cunningham has helped repopularize the piano
accordion both in the folk-rock group Silly Wizard and
on his own. Eclectic performing groups like Brave
Combo include accordion in their mix of instruments
performing Mideastern, Eastern European, and other
musical styles.
The limited classical repertoire for the instrument
has been explored by a few artists, such as Yuri
Kazakov, Robert Young McMahana, Julia Haines, and
William Schimmel. Pauline Oliveros has composed
and performed several works for accordion. Her composition, "The Wanderer," was recorded for the Lovely
Music label (#1902) by the Springfield Accordion
Orchestra. [rev. Carl Benson; Walsh 1971/5.]
Jackson, Mississippi-based label founded in August
1955 by former record sales representative Johnny
Vincent, which did most of its recording in New
Orleans. The label is best-known for its mid-to-late
1950s hits, including Huey "Piano" Smith's "Rockin'
Pneumonia & Boogie Woogie Flu" and "Don't You
Just Know It" (#9, 1958; Ace 545), and Frankie Ford's
"Sea Cruise" (#14, 1959; Ace 554). The later song was
actually recorded by Smith's band with his vocal, but
then Vincent recut the vocal with the (white) singer
Ford, in a successful bid to get airplay for it on mainstream radio. Perhaps the label's biggest star was
Jimmy Clanton, who had Top 10 hits in 1958 with the
#4 pop/#1 R&B "Just A Dream" (Ace 546), 1959's
"Go, Jimmy, Go" (Ace 585), and his last major hit,
1962's #7 "Venus in Blue Jeans" (Ace 8001). In 1962,
finding it difficult to get its product to market, the label
signed a distribution deal with the larger Vee-Jay label,
but beset by its own problems, Vee-Jay was soon going
under and the deal fell apart by 1965. Vincent got out
of the record business until he revived it in 1971 to
reissue his earlier hits, licensing many of his masters
(and his label name) to Ace Records UK. He continued to issue reissues in the U.S. through the 1980s. In
1997, an ailing Vincent sold the label to the British
company Music Collection International. Vincent also
operated the Teem label for budget LP reissues during
the late 1950s through the early 1960s.
ACE RECORDS UK (LABEL)
Named for the legendary U.S. R&B/pop label of the
1950s and early 1960s, Ace was founded by ex-music
promoters/managers Roger Armstrong and Ted Carroll
in 1975 as a business selling records out of a street stall
in London's SoHo neighborhood. The label began by
licensing 1950s and 1960s rock, surf music, swamp
pop, and related styles for reissue on LP. It has grown
to be one of the biggest reissue companies in the world,
with several related labels, beginning in 1982 with the
opening of the subsidiary Kent label for R&B reissues,
as well as a distributor for Fantasy Records's group of
labels in the UK. [Website: www.acerecords.co.uk.]
ACERBI, GIUSEPPE (1871–?)
Italian tenor, born in Codogno. He studied in Milan
with Marziani, Blasco and Rossi. He made his debut in
1899 at the Gaffurio in Lodi in Rigoletto and Traviata.
He was not satisfied with his performances and decided to resume his studies. In 1901, he made his new
debut at the Municipale in Piacenza in Lucia di
Lammermoor with Isabella Svicher and Giuseppe
Pacini. This time the result was remarkable; in spite of
the presence of famous singers he was object of true
fanatismo. In 1905, he signed his first important contract with the Comunale in Bologna where he sang in
Madama Butterfly with Salomea Krusceninski. He
recorded many operatic records of roles he never sang
on stage. He made 30 records for G & T in Milan during 1905 and 1906. They were arias from the popular
Italian repertoire of the time.
FRANCOIS NOUVION AND GUY MARCO
ACETATE DISC
SEE LACQUER DISC
Acid jazz represents a synthesis of jazz fusion, funk,
hip-hop, and urban dance music. Its improvisational,
percussion-heavy, and predominantly live orientation
came largely from jazz, whereas its dedication to an
ongoing rhythmic groove was derived from funk, hiphop, and other popular genres.
The term entered the vernacular in 1988 when
adopted as the name of a U.S.-based independent
record company, and, at the same time, employed as
the title of an English-compilation series consisting of
reissued 1970s jazz-funk material. The evolution of
the form is closely aligned with the continuing crossfertilization of a wide range of related styles, most
notably alternative dance, ambient house, bass and
drums, club/dance music, house, jazz-rap, soul-jazz,
trip-hop, and trip jazz.
Due to this ongoing cross-pollenization, acid jazz
artists bring many differing perspectives to their
recorded work. One of the most popular bands within
the genre, the Stereo MC's, moved from the British
hip-hop style in the late 1980s to a more organic, jazzinflected amalgam of hip-hop and soul-funk with the
release of their most popular LP, Connected (4th &
Broadway 514061; 1992; #2 UK, #92 US). Courtney
Pine came from the opposite side of the fence, bringing his hardcore jazz sensibilities directly into AfricanAmerican dance culture; his Underground (Talkin'
Loud; 1997) melded steamy live grooves with a battery of technological effects.
ACKERMAN, WILLIAM (16 NOV 1949–)
Acoustic guitarist and founder of Windham Hill
Records; pioneer of "new age" music. Although an
accomplished acoustic guitarist whose solo albums
incorporate elements of folk, jazz, and European classicism, Ackerman's greatest impact has come from
founding Windham Hill Productions. The company —
which includes Lost Lake Arts Records, Magenta
Records, Open Air Records, Rabbit Ears Productions,
and Windham Wind Records — has dominated the
new age genre since the late 1970s.
Born in Germany, Ackerman started out as a carpenter, forming Windham Hill Builders in the early
1970s in Palo Alto, California. He also found time to
compose guitar music for theatrical productions at
nearby Stanford University. As a result, friends
encouraged him to record his material. The resulting
album, The Search for the Turtle's Navel (Windham
Hill 1001; 1976), was originally distributed privately
in the Palo Alto area as a cassette. Anne Robinson,
then Ackerman's girlfriend and later his wife, was his
partner in the venture. After the couple divorced,
Robinson remained active with the label.
Ackerman soon expanded his base of operations,
handling business matters as well as producing other
artists, including Alex de Grassi, Liz Story, and
George Winston, whose Winter (Windham Hill 1025;
1983; #54) was the label's first big seller, spending
178 weeks on the Billboard album charts through
1990. Although Ackerman would relinquish CEO
duties in 1986, he has remained active with the company as artist and repertoire head. In 1992, he sold his
share of the company to the Bertelsmann Music Group
ACOUSTIC RECORDING
(BMG) conglomerate. Shortly thereafter, BMG purchased the remaining shares in the label, and closed its
separate offices in 1996.
Although Ackerman's own LPs have not hit the
mainstream pop charts, they have continued to sell
moderately well over the years. His work often features only subdued steel-string guitar instrumentals;
however, it is sometimes accompanied by spare violin,
cello, piano, and English horn parts.
ACKTÉ, AINO (23 APR 1876–8 AUG 1944)
Finnish soprano, born in Helsinki. She studied at the
Paris Conservatory, and made her debut with the Paris
Opéra as Marguerite on 8 Oct 1897. Her Metropolitan
Opera debut was also in Faust, on 20 Feb 1904. She
had a great success in Covent Garden as Salomé — in
the first English performance of the opera (1910) —
attracting praise from the composer. Her other major
roles were as Gilda, Nedda, and the Wagnerian heroines. Ackté recorded first for Zonophone in Paris in
1902, singing "Le baiser" (#1998) and the "Jewel
Song" from Faust (#1999). A year later she made five
discs for G & T, and in 1904–1905 she did four others
for the same label. She also recorded for Fonotipia in
1905, and made an Edison Diamond Disc in London,
"Salce, salce" (#83014; 1913, reissued by IRCC), but
did not work for any other American labels. Most of
her later career was spent in Finland, where she helped
to found the national opera company in 1911. She died
in Nummela, Finland.
ACME CABINET CO.
A New York firm, maker of the Eufonola disc player.
ACO (LABEL)
One of the labels issued by the Vocalion Gramophone
Co., Ltd., of London, between November 1922 and
August 1927. The material was dance, comedy, and
popular songs. Many of the early matrices came from
the Guardsman label. [Badrock 1965 (label list); Rust
1978.]
The name given to a recording made without electrical
technology. As extensive electrical recording began in
1925, the period up to that time is usually identified as
the acoustic era.
See also Acoustic Recording
ACOUSTIC COMPENSATOR
A device in a binaural sound system that adjusts the
signal path lengths so that they are properly matched.
ACOUSTIC FEEDBACK
A recording situation where the sound from a speaker
system is picked up by the microphone feeding it, reamplified to the same loudspeaker, picked up by the
microphone again, and so forth. With each complete
cycle, the signal becomes larger until the loop rapidly
runs wild and produces the squeal often accidentally
heard during programs that feature sound reinforcement.
ACOUSTIC GENERATOR
A transducer that converts electrical, mechanical, or
other energy into sound.
ACOUSTIC HORN
SEE HORN
ACOUSTIC RECORDING (ALSO
KNOWN AS MECHANICAL
RECORDING)
The method of recording in which all energy comes
from the sound waves themselves; it was used from
the earliest days of Edison and Berliner until the onset
of electrical recording in 1925. Sounds to be recorded
were sung, played, or spoken into a horn, which activated a diaphragm attached to a stylus. The stylus
transferred the vibration patterns to the surface of a
cylinder or a disc. To concentrate this acoustic energy
sufficiently for the stylus to etch a usable pattern it was
necessary for singers and performers to direct their
vibrations into a large collecting horn; this requirement favored strong sound producers, and worked
against inclusion of weaker vessels like string instruments. Great ingenuity was applied in the acoustic
recording studio to overcome these inherent obstacles.
Horns were varied in diameter for different sound
sources; they were wrapped with tapes to counter their
own resonance; they might be used in clusters, running
to a single tube which moved the diaphragm. For a few
recordings, Edison used one brass recording horn 125
feet long and five feet in diameter at the bell. Different
thicknesses of diaphragm were used depending on the
volume of sound being handled — thinner for weak
sounds, thicker for heavy sounds.
ACOUSTIC RESEARCH (AR)
As there was no volume control device to regulate
acoustic recording, artists had to be positioned in the
studio in ways that would bring their contributions to
the diaphragm in proper balance. Brasses were placed
at some distance from the recording horns, and French
hornists had to play with their backs to the conductor
to put their tones on the right track to the horn. Bass
drums did not record well, and were usually omitted;
tubas typically played the parts written for double
basses. (However the string bass can be heard on early
jazz recordings, such as Victors of 1917, and dance
band discs.
A recording orchestra in the acoustic studio had to
squeeze into a tight formation around one or more
horns, a requirement that mitigated against large
ensembles; thus an orchestra of 60 musicians might be
reduced to 30 for the recording session. Military bands
often recorded with a group of about 15 of their membership. Problems of blend and balance were dealt
with by moving the musicians here and there, now
closer and now farther from the sound collector. Cellos
were mounted on movable platforms.
For an experienced musical listener, the resulting
reproduction of a familiar work could be embellished
by memory and imagination — techniques used even
in later sophisticated eras of recording to achieve
"concert hall realism." For the many persons who listened to orchestras only on cylinder or disc, the
impression gained of the symphonic world of music
must have been as imprecise as that of Queen
Victoria's appearance derived from a pioneer postage
stamp.
sites in Bedfordshire, England, and in Amorsfort,
Holland. In the early 1990s AR was sold to
International Jensen, Inc., of Chicago, and finally to
Recoton, Inc., of Florida.
See also Loudspeaker
ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION
The principle was developed by Edgar Villchur in
1953 (patented in 1956) in his effort to reduce the
most common problem with speakers of the day:
excessive bass distortion. The first commercial product to use this system was the Acoustic Research
model AR-1, introduced in October 1954. In
simplest terms, the acoustic-suspension speaker uses
the elastic body of air in a sealed speaker enclosure
as the primary "restoring force" for the speaker
cone, rather than the mechanical suspension of the
speaker itself. It resembles the principle of a vacuum, where the outward movement of the cone
reduces pressure and the inward movement increases pressure against the speaker cone. The entrapped
air is linear for this small change in pressure, and the
result is greatly improved linearity and reduced
harmonic distortion. A secondary dividend is that the
enclosure must be relatively small to work properly,
and this made the small acoustic-suspension bookshelf speaker commercially acceptable for most
households.
See also Bass Reflex System; Loudspeaker
Founded in 1954, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by
Edgar Villchur and Henry Kloss. The company's first
product was the AR-1, the first acoustic suspension
loudspeaker. It was followed shortly later by the
AR-2, a lower-priced version. These relatively small,
"bookshelf" loudspeakers helped to make stereo a
popular reality by the late 1950s. They had superb
bass-frequency performance at a time when other
speakers with deep-bass capability were refrigeratorsized behemoths. AR also developed and patented the
dome direct-radiator tweeter, and the highly acclaimed
AR turntable appeared a bit later on. AR products
became extremely popular, and by 1966 AR held a 32
percent market share in the domestic loudspeaker market. By the 1970s AR products were incorporated into
well over a million hi-fi systems, recording studios,
opera houses, and concert halls the world over.
In 1967 the company was sold to Teledyne, Inc., a
Fortune-500 aerospace company headquartered in
California. AR subsequently opened manufacturing
ACOUSTICAL ELEMENTS
Parameters in an acoustical system that are analogous
to electrical elements.
See also Mechanical Electrical Analogies
ACOUSTICAL LABYRINTH
A kind of loudspeaker enclosure in which a maze-like
folded passage is added behind the speaker to improve
its bass response without promoting unwanted resonance of the enclosure.
The science or physics of sound. Often the term is
used in a narrow sense, to describe the sound qualities
of a room or auditorium.
See also Acoustic; Audio Frequency; Hearing; Pitch
ADAMI (CORRADETTI), BICE
ACTUELLE (LABEL)
A lateral-cut disc marketed in Britain and the U.S.
from 1921 to 1930 by the Pathé Frères Compagnie
(London) and the Pathé Frères Phonograph Co., Inc.
(New York). Material was classical, dance music, race,
and jazz. Among the New York recordings were numbers by Red Nichols, Duke Ellington, and the Original
Memphis Five. The California Ramblers appeared
under the pseudonym of Golden Gate Orchestra.
Maurice Chevalier was heard on masters cut in Paris.
The disc label itself was hexagonally shaped, brown
and tan, with the red Pathé rooster. Much of the
Actuelle list was issued also on the Perfect label.
ACUFF, ROY (15 SEP 1903–23 NOV 1992)
American country music singer, fiddler, songwriter, and
publisher; born in Maynardsville, Tennessee. Originally
planning to be a professional baseball player, he was
obstructed by a tendency to sunstroke, and turned to
music. He was fiddler in a touring group during 1932,
then in 1933 appeared on Knoxville (Tennessee) radio
and in 1936 made his first records, for the Conqueror
label: "Weary River" (Conqueror #9434) and his composition "The Precious Jewel" coupled with "Broken
Heart" (Conqueror #9741). He moved to the major
labels, Vocalion, Okeh — "Great Speckle Bird" (his
composition; Okeh #04252), "Wreck on the Highway"
(Okeh #06685), and "Night Train to Memphis" (Okeh
#06693) — and Columbia. "Wabash Cannon Ball" was
probably his greatest hit. Acuff's total record sales have
been estimated at over 30 million discs.
After 1940 he was a regular artist on Grand Ole
Opry, helping to make that program the principal
country music forum. He went into publishing in
1942, with Fred Rose, forming Acuff-Rose, which
became one of the largest music publishers in the U.S.
Acuff was also part owner of Hickory Records, which
issued many of his own performances. Columbia,
Capitol, Hilltop, and Hickory issued LP albums of his
songs in the 1960s.
Acuff and his group remained a traditional mountain string band until the end of the 1950s, when he
began to use some electronic instruments. But he kept
his country style of singing. In 1962 he was elected to
the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 1991 he was
a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. He died in
Nashville.
ACZEL, PETER (30 MAY 1926–)
Born in Budapest, Hungary, and immigrating to the
United States in 1939, Aczel is a graduate of Columbia
College of Columbia University, where he studied
physics and mathematics as well as the liberal arts. He
also did some postgraduate work at Middlebury
College in Vermont and the Sorbonne in Paris. He
came to the world of audio via Madison Avenue,
where he had been a copywriter and creative director
for two decades, with at least 25 percent of his
accounts in audio at all times (Fisher, Garrard,
Pioneer, among others). At the end of 1976 he left the
advertising business to start The Audio Critic, a strictly objectivist audio journal devoted to measurements
in depth and blind listening tests. Between 1981 and
1987 he put The Audi Critic on a back burner to start
Fourier Systems, the first loudspeaker manufacturing
operation to use fully computerized protocols for the
design of crossover networks and bass enclosures. The
company was ahead of its time in many ways, but still
went out of business after 5½ years. Having resumed
publication of The Audio Critic at the end of 1987,
Aczel continues to publish it to this day, albeit somewhat irregularly. He is a life member of the Audio
Engineering Society.
(16 MAR 1875–1969)
Roy Acuff reissue album. Courtesy Frank Hoffmann
Italian soprano who made records for the Gramophone
Co. in 1899–01, and for G & T in Milan in 1901.
Recent research shows that she made the first recording for the Gramophone Company's Italian subsidiary,
which opened in 1899, a record of "Voi lo sapete."
Bauer 1947 lists 23 arias from the Italian repertoire.
ADAMINI, ARTURO B.
Her husband was the noted tenor, Ferruccio Corradetti
(1864–1934), and their daughter, (Iris) Adami
Corradetti (1903–June 26, 1998), became, in turn, a
well-known opera star.
Tenor, one of the first to record operatic material; he
made Edison cylinder #4276 in 1898, "La donna è
mobile." His other Edisons were Spanish and Italian
songs. They are listed in Koenigsberg 1987.
ADAMS, SUZANNE
(28 NOV 1872–5 FEB 1953)
American soprano, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She studied in Paris and made her debut at the Opéra as
Juliette on 9 Jan 1895, staying with the company for
three seasons. She was Juliette again for her first
appearance at Covent Garden in 1898, and also in her
Metropolitan Opera debut on 4 Jan 1899. Her other
famous roles were Marguerite, Nedda, Gilda, and
Micaela. She gave two command performances for
King Edward VII. Ill health forced an early retirement
in 1904. Her death came in London.
Adams made five Bettini cylinders in 1898, four
solos (the first being the "Jewel Song") and a Traviata
duet with Giuseppe Campanari. She then recorded for
G & T Red Label in London, 1902 (the discs were
issued a year later in the U.S. on Victor Red Seal),
doing the "Jewel Song" (#3291), the "Waltz" from
Romeo et Juliette (#3293), and three songs. She performed the same numbers plus two others for
Columbia in 1903.
A California-based computer software company,
Adaptec is best known for its compact disc burning
programs, most notably Easy CD Creator. Due to its
user friendly features and the decision of leading CDRW drive manufacturers such as Hewlett Packard and
Ricoh to bundle OEM versions of Easy CD Creator
with their various models, Adaptec enjoyed considerable success from the mid-1990s into the first decade
of the 21st century.
ADD-A-PART RECORDS
A type of recording in which a vocal or instrumental
part of the score is omitted, to enable the listener to
participate in the ensemble. It seems that the earliest
specimens were practice discs issued by the
Tilophane Co. in Austria in 1935. Parlophone made
aria records without the voice parts in 1938.
Columbia issued such records under the name Add-aPart, covering an extensive repertoire in the mid1940s. The missing parts were graded as easy,
medium, or difficult to play. Add-A-Parts were no
longer carried in the 1947 catalog. In the LP era, a
label named Music Minus One offered a series of
rhythm accompaniments for singers or soloists to
complete. There was a similar German series, Spiel
Mit (DGG, 1948). Recent practice discs concentrate
on the popular music field, providing rhythm backups
in various genres (e.g., releases by the Ventures in the
1960s on the Dolton label). The Music Minus One
label is perhaps the leader in the field of this type of
recording.
ADLER, LOU (13 DEC 1933–)
As a talent manager, concert promoter, songwriter,
producer, record-label executive, and motion-picture
entrepreneur, Lou Adler was a notable tastemaker in
popular music during the 1960s and 1970s. He
remains best known as a major instigator of the West
Coast Sound, a soft-rock style that cuts across folkrock, surf, and car songs, and the singer/songwriter
Born in Chicago, Adler grew up in the hard-scrabble Boyle Heights District of East Los Angeles. He
broke into the music business as comanager (with
trumpeter Herb Alpert) of the surf-pop duo, Jan and
Dean. He and Alpert formed a songwriting/studio production team, working for such labels as Colpix and
Dimension. Their compositions included "Only
Sixteen," a hit for Sam Cooke in 1961 (Keen 2022;
1959; #28).
On his own, Adler formed Dunhill Records in 1964.
The controversial protest song, Barry McGuire's "Eve
of Destruction" (Dunhill 4009; 1965; #1) — penned
by in-house songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri —
was the label's first hit. Dunhill's long-term success
was assured when the Mamas and the Papas placed a
string of singles high on the charts, including
"California Dreamin" (Dunhill 4020; 1966; #4),
"Monday Monday" (Dunhill 4026; 1966; #1), "I Saw
Her Again" (Dunhill 4031; 1966; #5), "Words of
Love" (Dunhill 4057; 1966; #5), "Dedicated to the
One I Love" (Dunhill 4077; 1967; #2), and "Creeque
Alley" (Dunhill 4083; 1967; #5). He also continued
work as an independent producer; his biggest success
in the mid-1960s was with Johnny Rivers. Adler
cowrote the number one hit, "Poor Side of Town"
(Imperial 66205; 1966) with Rivers.
Selling the Dunhill label to ABC-Paramount for a
substantial profit in 1966, Adler was a prime mover in
AEOLIAN CO.
arranging the Monterey Pop Festival. Considered perhaps the greatest rock festival ever, from the musical
standpoint, it launched the careers of Jimi Hendrix,
Janis Joplin, and the Who stateside, and spurred planning for future extravaganzas. Adler showed considerable business acumen in securing film and
recording rights for the event; the profits derived from
these avenues exceeded all expectations.
In the meantime, Adler founded Ode Records,
which clicked immediately with Scott McKenzie's
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your
Hair)" (Ode 103; 1967; #4). Later successes included
progressive rock group Spirit and Brill Building
songwriter Carole King. King's Tapestry (Ode
77009; 1971; #1 15 weeks), produced by Adler,
became one of the top-selling albums of all time,
while elevating the singer/songwriter trend to a major
genre.
Beginning in the 1970s, Adler shifted his emphasis
to filmmaking, helping the British production, Rocky
Horror Picture Show, become an American cult staple
in the mid-1970s. He also signed Cheech and Chong
to a series of comedy films. As with the Monterey Pop
Festival, he placed considerable emphasis on the production of soundtrack LPs.
Adler's activities in the pop music world have been
limited since the mid-1970s, although he has continued to work with children's and gospel music artists.
ADLER (MAX) PHONOGRAPH CO.
A German manufacturer of cylinder and disc players
in the early 20th century, located in Berlin. Its cylinders were on the market as early as June 1901. The
firm was still active until 1916, after which no information is available. Among the model names were
Adler, Baby, Monarch, and Luxus. The Exhibition
soundbox was used. One portable was in folding boxcamera style: the tone arm fit into an opening in the
cover, and there was a drawer in the cover that
opened out on one side to form a horn; the turntable
was composed of three spokes that opened out to
hold the record. This odd model was only seven inches by four inches by seven inches in size. TMR #27
and #28 (1974) reprinted some of the Adler 1905/06
A term developed by radio consultants in the 1970s to
describe a playlist format that consists of "softer" rock
and pop music to appeal to an older, largely female listening audience. Artists in this category would include
James Taylor, Carole King, Celine Dion, Faith Hill,
Barry White, and others who specialize in ballads and
midtempo rock songs. Specialized charts were developed to track sales for this genre. Radio stations in the
1990s began to promote this format using call letters
featuring "EZ" (such as "EZ 101" in the New York
area), a play on the earlier term, "easy listening" originally used to refer to recordings of pop tunes by
instrumental ensembles in lush arrangements. Socalled "lite" stations also tend to feature this style of
SEE AUTOMATIC DOUBLE TRACKING (ADT)
A firm established in 1878 in New York by William B.
Tremaine, originally known as the Mechanical
Orguinette Co. From this company there developed the
Orchestrelle Co. of Westfield, New Jersey (also headed by Tremaine), and then the Aeolian Organ and
Music Co, in New York, ca. 1888. The company advertised itself at one time as the "largest manufacturer of
musical instruments in the world." A London branch
opened on Regent Street in 1899; the Aeolian Co.,
Ltd., was registered in November 1903, which became
the Orchestrelle Co., Ltd., on 1 July 1912.
After a period of making automatic organs and
piano rolls, the Aeolian Co. moved into the player
piano market, specializing in the Duo-Art instrument,
an inner player and reproducing piano. Mergers and
acquisitions were numerous after 1903, when the
Aeolian Weber Piano and Pianola Co. was founded.
Among the other firms controlled by Aeolian were
Chilton Piano Co., Mason and Hamlin, George Steck
and Co., Stroud Piano Co., Technola Piano Co., Votey
Organ Co., Weber Piano Co., and Wheelock Piano Co.
in the U.S.; in addition there were the Aeolian Co.,
Ltd., in Britain and Aeolian Co., Ltd., in Australia. The
Pianola player was among the most popular of its time,
lending its name in generic fashion to other makes of
player piano. It was used in Steinway pianos, as well
as in the instruments of other makers cited in this article. Piano rolls were sold under the name of Melodee.
There were 15,308 selections available on these rolls
A gramophone was produced in 1912 under the
name of Aeolian-Vocalion; it played both vertical-cut
and lateral-cut discs. It had a "tone control" system
called the Graduola invented by an Australian, F.J
Empson. Discs were made as well, from 1918, under
several names: Aeolian, Aeolian Vocalion, Broadcast,
and Aco.
Aeolian Hall, located at 29 W. 42nd St., New York,
was a famous concert hall, venue of the premiere (by
Paul Whiteman) of "Rhapsody in Blue" on 12 Feb
There were factories in Worcester, Massachusetts;
Meriden, Connecticut; New York City; and Garwood,
New Jersey. In 1932 a merger with American Piano
Co. resulted in the Aeolian American Corp.; this
became the Aeolian Corp. in 1964. [Andrews 1980/10;
Cole 1970; Hoover 1980.]
AEOLIAN CO., LTD.
The London branch of the Orchestrelle Co., of New
Jersey (later the Aeolian Co. of New York), registered
in November 1903. Aeolian organs were the principal
product offered. Concerts were staged at Aeolian Hall,
131–137 New Bond Street. Aeolian Co., Ltd. was
taken over by the newly registered Orchestrelle Co.,
Ltd. in July 1912, but the Aeolian firm continued to
trade under its own name. In October 1915 the
Vocalion gramophone with its novel Graduola "tone
control" was put on the market in six different models,
and a special salon was installed in Aeolian Hall to
demonstrate it. In 1917 the Aeolian Co., Ltd.,
absorbed the Orchestrelle Co., Ltd. The Aeolian
Vocalion record was introduced in Britain in 1920; and
the Guardsman record, formerly pressed by Aeolian
for the Invicta Record Co., Ltd., was acquired from
Invicta and marketed in 1922. Another label issued
from 1922 was Aco, a low-cost record.
With the purchase by Brunswick-Balke-Collender
Co. of American Vocalion records from the Aeolian
Co. in November 1924, the British firm sold its record
business to a newly established entity, the Vocalion
Gramophone Co., Ltd. The new firm continued to sell
records — Vocalion label and Aco label — into 1927.
[Andrews 1980/10.]
AEOLIAN VOCALION (LABEL)
This was the name given by the Aeolian Co. to its vertical-cut discs, first announced in the U.S. in May 1918,
and in U.K. in December 1920. Aeolian was dropped
from the title in 1920, and Vocalion was sold to
Brunswick in 1924. After March 1920 all production
was lateral cut. Because Aeolian entered late
into the disc field, the firm had difficulty signing classical artists and produced much dance music and popular
instrumental items. There were many series, identified
by brown, pink, red, green, and red disc labels.
See also ACO (label); Broadcast (label)
Aeolian-Vocalion label issued c. mid-teens by the Aeolian
Company. Courtesy Kurt Nauck/Nauck's Vintage Records
AEROPHONE DISQUE (LABEL)
A French record, also sold in Britain from September
1911. It was a 10-inch double-sided disc, vertical cut.
SEE AUDIO FREQUENCY
AFRICAN–AMERICAN OWNED LABELS
Although African-American artists have contributed
immeasurably to the history of sound recording, few
were actually able to participate in the business themselves as label owners. Nonetheless, a few pioneering
executives were able to establish unique labels that
came to define entire genres of music, and since the
rap explosion of the 1980s, more Black-owned labels
(or at least labels managed by Blacks that are marketed through the major media companies) have arisen
than were previously known.
The market for Black music was discovered in the
early 1920s with Mamie Smith's recording of "Crazy
Blues," released in August 1920 on the Okeh label.
Soon, Victor, Columbia, and smaller competitors like
Paramount established "race" divisions to record Black
entertainers for the Black record-buying market. Many
middle-class Blacks who could afford record players
were dismayed that their people were being represented
by this often bawdy popular musical form. So a group
of investors (including Black composers and writers)
gathered behind music publisher Harry Pace — who
had partnered with famed blues songwriter W.?. Handy
to form one of the first Black music publishers, Pace &
Handy — in January 1921 to found a record label,
Black Swan. It was named for the 19th century Black
opera singer, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield. Fletcher
Henderson was the label's first A&R man, and composer William Grant Still its music director.
Although originally formed with the high-minded
idea of recording classical music, Black Swan soon
discovered that it had to enter the blues market to survive. Henderson brought a young nightclub singer to
the label named Ethel Waters, and she became a cash
cow for the label from her first recording, "Down
Home Blues" in 1921. Henderson led her backup band
"The Black Swan Troubadours," on a successful tour
that fall. The label took the motto "The Only Genuine
Colored Record — Others Only Passing for Colored."
However, while Pace enjoyed some success with
Waters and other blues singers like Alberta Hunter, he
could not compete with the major labels who were
also focusing on the blues market, and he sold his masters to Paramount in 1924.
Black musicians continued to work as A&R men in
the recording industry through the 1920s, 1930s,
1940s, and 1950s. After World War II, with the advent
of the LP and independent pressing plants, it was possible once again for smaller labels to proliferate, and
thus for Black-owned labels to come to the fore. One
of the first was the Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records,
founded in 1953 by deejay Vivian Carter and her husband, Jimmy Bracken. The label became known for its
roster of R&B vocal groups and blues musicians, and
by 1960 had its own lavish headquarters and a wellknown studio band. However, the great success of
their white vocal act the Four Seasons in the early
through mid-1960s led to the label's downfall when
the group sued over nonpayment of royalties.
Perhaps the most famous Black-owned label is
Motown. Founded by ex-boxing promoter/sometime
songwriter Berry Gordy, the little label from Detroit
was founded in 1959. Gordy developed a strong house
band, a stable of songwriters, and nurtured his acts,
teaching them how to perform, selecting their material,
and grooming them for pop acceptability. Motown's
sound was so identifiable during the 1960s that it gave
its name to an entire musical style, combining upbeat
rhythms, catching songs, and vocal group harmonies
with just enough of a funky edge to give the music a
presence on both R&B and pop charts.
The other major purveyor of 1960s soul was Stax
Records out of Memphis, Tennessee. Although founded by a white business woman, Estelle Axton, and her
brother, Jim Stewart, the label was coowned from the
mid-1960s by ex-deejay Al Bell, who did much to
broaden its base as a Black-owned business. Key producer/songwriter Isaac Hayes, and many members of
the label's house band, were also Black, as were most
of its hit-making artists.
In the mid-1950s, New York R&B singer Sylvia
Robinson founded a string of labels with her
entrepreneur-husband, Joe, under the "All Platinum"
corporate umbrella. Their most famous label, however,
came in the early 1970s, named for the Sugar Hill
neighborhood of Harlem. Clued in to the success of rap
by their son, they recorded the song "Rapper's Delight"
in 1979, which helped launch the new style. They would
later add hip-hop to the label's offerings, and even purchase the Chess catalog, but by the mid-1980s the small
label was overextended, and it went bust in 1985.
In 1983, Black rap entrepreneur Russell Simmons
founded Def Jam Records with white producer Rick
Rubin. The company quickly became very successful,
with a roster of key mid-1980s rap stars, notably
"gangsta" rappers Public Enemy. Rubin and Simmons
split by the early 1990s, and Def Jam eventually
became part of the Polygram conglomerate (now
Universal Music Group).
While it was common for small entrepreneurs to
found their own labels in the past, nowadays it is more
likely for producers to have production deals with
major labels that enable them to have their own "labelwithin-a-label." For example, In 1989, popular producer Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds formed a
production company called LaFace Records with his
partner, L.A. Reid (Mark Rooney). The duo produced
popular artists like Janet Jackson through their company, and the recordings were then released on a major
label. Similarly, Sean "Puffy/Puff Daddy" Combs
founded Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993 in a partnership with Clive Davis's Arista label. This trend continues to today, with other major Black producers
forming their own production companies and then
marketing their output through either their own
"labels" or directly to the majors.
AFRIKA BAMBAATAA (10 APR 1960–)
Pioneer hip-hop artist, born Kevin Donovan in the
Bronx, New York. He took the name of a 19th-century
Zulu chief meaning "affectionate leader." While the
deejay Kool Herc is widely credited with creating
hip-hop, Afrika Bambaataa led the way in disseminating it worldwide. His vision incorporated deejays, rappers, singers, studio producers, break-dancers, and
graffiti artists into one youth culture movement.
Known as the "Master of Records," due to his unrivaled
disc collection, he experimented with recorded musical
elements such as Latin rock, European disco, funk,
punk, and the German electro bands such as Kraftwerk
in order to create the ultimate dance environment.
Although his primary creative medium was the club
and street dances, he produced many important 12-inch
singles and albums during the 1980s, most notably
"Planet Rock" with Soulsonic Force (Tommy Boy 823;
1982), "Renegades of Funk" with Soulsonic Force
(Tommy Boy 839, 1983), "Unity" with James Brown
(Tommy Boy 847; 1984), Planet Rock: The Album
(Tommy Boy; 1986), and Warlock and Witches,
Computer Chips, Microchips and You (Profile; 1996).
While no longer in hip-hop's innovative vanguard, he
has remained in high demand as an elder statesman of
the genre, working parties and raves and often making
radio station appearances.
AGUILERA, CHRISTINA (18 DEC 1980–)
Christina Aguilera came along at the perfect time in
pop music history; with preteens possessing more disposable income than ever before, teen-idol recording
stars became a hot commodity in the 1990s.
Furthermore, Hispanic performers captured an
increasing share of music industry revenue during this
decade. Add Aguilera's striking good looks, exuberant
singing style, accomplished stage skills, and a majorlabel promotional budget, and chart success would
seem to have been a foregone conclusion.
Although born in Staten Island, New York, due
largely to her father's military career, Aguilera traveled widely as a youth until the family settled in
Wexford, Pennsylvania. After starting out in
Pittsburgh area talent shows, she appeared on the TV
series Star Search at age eight and garnered a cast slot
on The New Mickey Mouse Club four years later. Her
recording career commenced with a hit single in
Japan, "All I Wanna Do," a duet with Keizo Nakanishi.
She next recorded "Reflection" for inclusion on the
soundtrack of the animated feature, Mulan (1998).
Signing a recording contract with RCA in 1998, her
debut album — Christina Aguilera (RCA 67690;
1999; #1) — would sell more than 10 million copies
over the next year, propelled by two number one singles, "Genie in a Bottle" (RCA 65692; 1999) and
"What a Girl Wants" (RCA 65960; 1999). Aguilera's
superstar status was affirmed by an invitation to
perform at the Super Bowl XXXIII Halftime Show
and a 1999 Grammy award for best new artist.
Aguilera was widely compared to Brittany Spears,
another Mickey Mouse Club alumnus and teen-pop
phenomenon. Aguilera's vocal skills were generally
conceded to be far superior to Spears, but many found
her reliance on tricks (such as extended melismas and
full-throated belting) to mar her style. The two ran
neck-and-neck in the sex-symbol contest, both projecting a combination of adolescenct innocence packaged
in eye-grabbing, revealing costumes. While insisting
on wholesome values, both persistently sold sex as the
main ingredient of their stage (and video) image.
With import singles and albums flooding the market, two more albums were issued domestically in
2000, Mi Reflejo (RCA), a Spanish-language collection geared to her huge Hispanic following, and My
Kind of Christmas (RCA). The following year she collaborated with Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink in the charttopping single, "Lady Marmalade" (Twentieth
Century-Fox 497 561–2; 2001; from the film soundtrack to Moulin Rouge), formerly a number one hit for
Labelle in 1975. In fall 2002, Aguilera continued to
change her image from adolescent seductress with the
release of her album, Stripped (RCA 68037), featuring
a topless cover shot emphasizing her new body piercings. A sensitive ballad, "Beauitful" (RCA 60687),
was a major hit from the record in early 2003.
SEE ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION
AIRPLANE RECORDINGS
SEE AVIATION RECORDINGS
AIX RECORDS (LABEL)
A division of the AIX Media group and located in West
Hollywood, California, AIX Records specializes in
recording and mastering high-resolution digital, and
mixing in both 2-channel stereo and 5.1-surround sound
for DVD-Audio. Begun by Mark Waldrep in 1987,
primarily as an authoring, mastering, and production
facility, and expanded into a full-service record company in 2000, AIX pioneered the release of DVD-Video
titles produced and released in the USA. The current
AIX catalog includes jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, and
classical artists. [Website: www. aixrecords.com.]
AJAX (LABEL)
A record produced by the Compo Co., Ltd., a Berliner
office in Lachine, Quebec, from about 1923. The
ALBANI, EMMA, DAME
headquarters office for Ajax was in Chicago; recording
was done in New York. Masters and files of Compo
were later in New York, then in Montreal. Material
recorded was jazz, country, blues, and "race," and the
roster included some important artists such as Mamie
Smith, Rosa Henderson, and Fletcher Henderson.
Masters from various Plaza labels were used for some
issues. There was no recording after July 1925.
[Kendziora 1966 gives a complete label list; Rust
1978; Rust 1980.]
In business for over five decades, and part of Harman
International since 1993, AKG is one of the world's
leading manufacturers of high-quality microphones,
headphones, and accessories as well as of OEM and
telecom products. With over 1,400 international
patents to its credit, the company has accumulated
special know-how in designing electroacoustic transducers. Products for the optimum recording and reproduction of sound, both of the human voice and musical
instruments, are designed and manufactured in close
cooperation with professional users.
ALABAMA PHONOGRAPH CO.
One of the affiliated firms of the North American
Phonograph Co., located in Anniston, Alabama, operating in 1890. Charles A. Cheever was president.
ALADDIN RECORDS (LABEL)
Aladdin Records was established in late 1944 by the
Mesner brothers, Eddie and Leo. The Los Angelesbased label was initially named Philo; however, a lawsuit forced a name change in 1946.
Although releases spanned jazz (on the Jazz West
and Intro subsidiaries), gospel, and classical (on
Orefeo), Aladdin focused on rhythm and blues. Its
artist roster included Amos Milburn, Charles Brown,
Joe Turner, Shirley & Lee, and the Five Keys. The
label's album and singles releases are among some of
the most highly valued with record collectors.
The scarcity of many Aladdin, Jazz West, and Intro
LPs is due in part to the Mesner's formation of budget
subsidiary Score in 1957. Many jazz and R&B recordings remained in print for a relatively short time prior
to being deleted and reissued on Score with a retail
price of $1.98. It is likely that a number of albums
intended for Aladdin instead debuted on Score.
Although the Aladdin name has remained in use,
the company ceased to exist as a business entity when
the Mesners sold their catalog to Imperial in 1962. The
rights to these recordings now belong to the EMI
Records Group; in fact, many LP compilations have
featured material culled from Aladdin, Imperial, and
Capitol.
ALBANESE, LICIA (22 JULY 1913–)
Italian soprano, born in Bari. She made her debut as a
last-minute substitute in Milan's Teatro Lirico, then
made a formal debut in Parma on 10 Dec 1935. In both
appearances she sang Cio-Cio-San, a role that she made
her own throughout her career at the San Carlo Opera,
La Scala, and the Metropolitan Opera (where she sang
first on 9 Feb 1940, and remained for 26 years). Her
other great roles were Mimi, Violetta, Marguerite,
Desdemona, and Tosca. She last appeared at a Town
Hall (New York) benefit concert on 5 Feb 1975.
Her Mimi was recorded in Victor's complete
Boheme (#VM-518-519) with Beniamino Gigli ("O
soave fanciulla" receives a particularly brilliant performance, with both singers holding high Cs at the
end); she sang another complete Boheme with Jan
Peerce, under Toscanini, on LP (Victor #LM6006).
"Un bel di" from Madama Butterfly was recorded on
Victor #11-9254, and on LP she recorded excerpts
from the opera with Jan Peerce; but she did not take
part in a complete recording of the work. Tosca was not
recorded complete with Albanese, but her "Vissi
d'arte" is on Victor #11-9115. "Ave Maria" and "Salce"
from Otello represent her Desdemona role (Victor #119957). Albanese recorded the complete Traviata with
Jan Peerce and Toscanini (Victor LP #6003), and the
"Sempre libera" aria (Victor #11-9331).
(1 NOV 1847–3 APR 1930)
Canadian soprano, born Marie Louise Cécile Emma
Lajeunesse near Montreal. She studied in Italy and
took an Italian stage name, making her debut in
Messina in 1870 as Amina in Sonnambula. In the same
role she had debuts in Covent Garden (1872) and the
New York Academy of Music (1874); then she was
heard at the Metropolitan Opera on 23 Dec 1891 as
Gilda. She sang opera only until 1896, thereafter
devoting herself to concertizing. She was named
Dame of the British Empire in 1925. Albani died in
London.
Among her special roles were Elsa and Elisabeth,
which she was first to sing for London performances; as
well as Lucia, Desdemona, and Elvira in Puritani.
Unfortunately, she made only a few recordings. Her
ALBANY (LABEL)
first, probably lost, was an attempt by Edison's representative, Colonel George Gouraud, to record at the
1888 Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace. (Some white
wax cylinders from the Handel Festival survive, at the
Edison National Historical Site; they are not yet fully
identified.) Her extant material — only seven titles —
was made for G & T (1904) and Pathé (1907). "Ombra
mai fu" from Serse was the earliest and perhaps the
finest of these (G & T #53325; reissued on IRCC #182,
1941; and HRS LP #3008, 1950). [Ridley 1959.]
Albany Records was formed in the 1990s with a particular emphasis on direct marketing via the Internet.
The label's catalog — which consists exclusively of
compact disc titles — focuses on classical music, particularly in these genres: chamber, choral, instrumental, opera, orchestral, organ, and vocal. Albany
specializes in American art music composers, including titles featuring the works of Amy Beach, William
Bolcom, Stephen Foster, Morton Gould, Roy Harris,
Charles Ives, George Perle, Tobias Picker, and Walter
Piston. [Website: www.albanyrecords.com.]
A term loosely applied to all packaging for discs,
whether singles or parts of album sets, with particular
reference to the graphic art involved. Most 78 rpm singles were offered in plain wrappers, possibly with
advertising of the label's other records; 78 rpm albums
often had portraits of the performers or composers, or
reproductions of art works. LP popular and jazz albums
began to show livelier scenes, including psychedelic art
on rock covers, and eventually there emerged the notion
of the cover as an "artistic statement." With the Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album by the
Beatles (1967) the cover was said to be "as important as
the recorded material itself. The Beatles extended the
theme of the album to the cover, and the 'total-package'
idea was born." [Denisoff 1986, p.189] On popular
albums this idea often led to controversy, with nudity or
representations of violence bringing organized opposition. In the 1980s offensive graphics became scarcer. In
the classical field, album art has remained limited to
artist portraits, evocative photographs, pictures of the
instruments, and representations of paintings. An exhibition of the album cover as art, said to be the first of its
kind, was presented at the Galerie Beaumont,
Luxembourg, in 1989. [Denisoff 1986; Garlick 1977.]
ALBUM NUMBER
Originally the name of the holder for two or more 78s,
or by extension for the discs themselves. Later the
term was applied to a single 45 rpm or 33 1/3 rpm LP
in a sleeve, or to a disc with more than one piece on a
side. The modern compact disc, DVD-A disc, DVD
music disc, and SACD disc, as installed in a jewel or
snap case, would not normally be called an album, and
multi-disc compendiums are usually called "sets," so
the term is rapidly becoming archaic. It has not been
established when the earliest albums appeared on the
market. In April 1909 English Odeon marketed an
album with four double-sided records, for 16 shillings.
The content was a performance of the Nutcracker
Suite by the London Palace Orchestra under Hermann
Finck. In 1910 Odeon offered another four-disc album,
Midsummer Night's Dream. The Bubble Books (copyrighted 1917) may have been the earliest U.S. albums.
Victor issued boxed language sets during World War I.
Classical music album sets were sold widely after the
war. There were numerous albums on the American
market by 1924, nearly all of them European imports.
It appears that the Roycroft Album, by the English
Singers, was the first nonclassical multi-disc issue;
this was a 12-record set sold in 1928.
The number assigned to an album (set) of discs by the
manufacturer. In the 78 rpm era individual disc numbers
bore no relation to the album numbers (e.g., Decca's
1946 Ink Spots album is #A-477, while the discs themselves are numbered 23632 to 23635). Closer relationship between album and disc numbers can be found in
LP issues (e.g., Columbia's Dave Brubeck Quartet —
Jazz Impressions of New York has album number CS
9075, and the disc within has the same number; a monophonic version, however, carried the album number CL
2275.) Album numbers can vary with the country of
issue: for example, CBS #D2 37852, Rondine, was
made in Holland and issued in Europe in 1983; the
USA–Canadian release has a different prefix, #12M
37852. The single disc carries the same number as the
album. Angel's three-disc album of the Mozart string
quartets, issued under their Seraphim label, is #SIC
6028, while the discs are numbered consecutively by
side: #YRX-X-1405 to #YRX-X-1410.
See also Automatic Sequence; Manual Sequence
ALBUM ORIENTED ROCK (RADIO)/AOR
AOR arose in the early 1970s as part of a concerted
effort by radio executives — in collusion with the
major record labels — to standardize FM playlists.
ALIASING (DIGITAL)
Taking the Top 40 format dominating AM radio, AOR
consisted of tight, scaled-down song rotations, usually
one or two selections preferred by the artists themselves (or the listening audience, if the street-level verdict was unanimous in nature) from the best-selling
rock albums of the day. It was geared to album, rather
than 45 rpm single, sales; many of the playlist selections were never released as singles.
AOR has never constituted a stylistic grouping;
playlist inclusions have always been defined by radio
programmer decisions. The artists enjoying heavy
AOR rotation representing a wide range of musical
genres. Nevertheless, some general characteristics of
AOR have been discerned by industry observers. J.D.
Considine termed it "hard pop"; that is, "hard, because
its sound derives from the contours of hard rock and
heavy metal; pop, because its formal structure is oriented toward popsong melodicism, not the sprawling,
riff-based jamming of traditional heavy metal." He
adds that critics of the category dismiss it as entertainment (as opposed to "music"), whereas supporters
have pointed to its propensity for selling records. AOR
was also widely criticized for its tendency to bar Black
artists from playlists.
The genre peaked in popularity during the mid1970s. The emergence of other commercially viable
radio formats in the late 1970s and early 1980s — most
notably disco, country pop, rock 'n' roll oldies, adult
contemporary, and college radio/alternative — severely
compromised its front-running status. AOR's appeal
was also diminished by the decline of mainstream rock
acts such as Bad Company and the Doobie Brothers.
The format remains a radio fixture, albeit in a secondary role — both within radio and in relation to other
media broadcast outlets — as a hit-making entity.
Enrico Caruso in Rigoletto. At La Scala in 1908 she
sang the premiere of Louise. She began with the
Metropolitan Opera in the 1908/1909 season, and
remained with company to 1929, missing only one
season. Alda married the Metropolitan's director,
Giulio Gatti-Casazza, in 1910 (divorced 1929). She
died in Venice.
Her recording career began in 1910 with Victor; she
made all her records for that label. By 1917 there were
35 solo items by Alda in the Victor catalog, plus a
notable duet with Enrico Caruso ("Miserere" from
Trovatore, #89030, #8042), a trio and four quartets.
Among her finest recordings are "O mio babbino
caro" from Gianni Schicchi; "Ah! dunque ei m'amerà"
from Loreley; "L'altra notte in fondo al mare" from
Mefistofele; "Sul fil d'un soffio etesio" from Falstaff;
and "Un bel di" from Madama Butterfly. These were
included in LP transfer issued by Court Opera Classics
(CO 383) in 1979. [Favia-Artsay 1951.]
ALDRIDGE, SALMON & CO., LTD.
A firm registered in Britain in 1902, but originally established in Bombay, India, in the 1840s as general merchants. The U.K. offices were in London. In July and
August 1907 agreements with E.?. Sabine and Thomas
Frederick Bragg led to the opening of a record department which they named the Universal Talking Machine
Co. It sold Columbia, Pathé, and Favorite labels.
ALEXANDER, GEORGE
(9 JULY 1867–2 MAR 1913)
American baritone, born Clifford Alexander Wiley in
Baltimore. His repertoire was primarily light opera and
concert songs. He made his first recordings for
Zonophone in 1902, and then made his first Columbia
record 1903; the song was "Three Roses Red"
(Columbia 1098). Although he made a few Victor discs
in 1903 (all out of the catalog by 1908), he worked
almost exclusively for Columbia, making more than 50
cylinders and 75 discs by 1907; some of his records were
still marketed in 1927. Alexander died in New York.
ALDA, FRANCES (31 MAY 1883 [SOME
SOURCES GIVE 1879]–18 SEP 1952)
New Zealand soprano, born Frances Davies in
Christchurch. Alda played both piano and violin as a
child, and in her teens was singing with a light opera
company. Taken to England to study, she sang for King
Edward VII. Her debut was at the Opéra Comique,
Paris, in Manon on 15 Apr 1904, under her new stage
name, Frances Alda. Jules Massenet, composer of
Manon, taught her the role. She went on to perform in
Brussels and then made her Covent Garden debut with
In digital-audio recording systems, this phenomenon
involves the problem of unwanted frequencies created when sampling a signal of a frequency higher
than half the sampling rate. When the sample interval is too large, the spectrum copies overlap, the
signals are mis-recognized, and a low-pass filter
cannot recover the signal exactly. In other words,
aliasing will occur when the sample rate is smaller
than twice the signal bandwidth. Consequently,
aliasing is a form of distortion.
See also Oversampling
In a tape recorder, the position of the tape head with
respect to the tape. If alignment is imprecise there will
be distortion and/or reduced output; this is more critical
with cassette decks than with reel-to-reel recorders
because of the cassette tape's narrow recording tracks.
Some cassette decks have built-in alignment equipment.
Test tapes are used to check accuracy of alignment.
ALL-AMERICAN MOHAWK CORP.
A Chicago manufacturer of radios and phonographs,
selling combination radio-phonographs from $245 to
$425. The product trade name was MohawkAmerican. The company was active in the later 1920s.
ALLEN, WALTER C.
(2 NOV 1920–23 DEC 1974)
Ceramic engineer, member of the engineering faculty
at Rutgers University, New Jersey; also a jazz
researcher, discographer, and member of the executive
committee of the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies. He
was the author of books on King Joe Oliver (written
with Brian Rust) and Fletcher Henderson. At the time
of his death in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, he was
preparing a revised edition of the Oliver book. Allen
was a tireless advocate of high standards in biographical and discographical research in the jazz field.
ALLGEMEINE ELEKTRIZITÄTS
GESELLSCHAFT (AEG)
A German firm responsible for early work on tape
recorders. In 1931, pursuing an interest in Pfleumer's
tape machine, AEG developed the Magnetophon,
which solved the old problems of slip-free constant
speed tape transport and of recording head design.
Among researchers at the firm were Erwin Meyer,
Emil Mechau, Richard Keller, Theo Volk, and
Veronika Oexmann.
Urban blues label based in Chicago founded by Bruce
Iglauer in 1971, then just 23 years old. Iglauer was a
rabid blues fan who moved to Chicago after finishing
college to pursue his favorite band, Hound Dog Taylor
Alligator Records's logo. Courtesy Alligator Records
and the House Rockers. He worked briefly as a shipping clerk at Delmark Records, and tried to convince
label owner Bob Koester to record the band. Koester
declined, so Alligator released its first album, a live
album recorded for $900. He continued to release about
an album a year, promoting and selling the records out
of his car. In 1975, the label signed Koko Taylor, one of
the great female blues singers, and her first record garnered the company its first Grammy nomination. Three
years later, guitarist Albert Collins, who had previously recorded for ABC/Bluesville and other major labels,
was signed. His first Alligator album was reviewed in
Rolling Stone, greatly enhancing the label's visibility
as a major player in the blues scene. The 1980s saw the
label branch out into Cajun music, signing Clifton
Chenier, and, in 1984, blues rock, with the signing of
Johnny Winter and Roy Buchanan. The label continued
to grow, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 1991 with an
all-star tour headlined by Taylor that was the subject of
a documentary film and 2-CD set; a 25th anniversary
record set followed in 1996. By the turn of the century,
Alligator boasted of being "the largest independent
contemporary blues label in the world," with a back
catalog of over 170 releases. It continues to sign young
rising players as well as working with its stable of legendary performers. [Website: www.alligator.com.]
ALLISON, ROY (6 MAY 1927–)
Noted speaker designer, writer, and researcher. He
became involved with electronic matters during U.S.
Navy service and later at the University of Connecticut's
school of electrical engineering. Early in his audio
career, Allison was editor of Radio Communication,
TV and Radio Engineering, and Communication
Engineering magazines, audio editor of High Fidelity
magazine and editor of Audiocraft magazine.
ALPERT, HERB
In 1959 he joined Acoustic Research, Inc. He
became chief engineer in 1962 and became plant manager in 1964. In 1967 he became vice president in
charge of research and development. In 1974, after
leaving AR, he helped to found Allison Acoustics,
RDL, and RA Labs. He has published numerous professional-level and hobby-related articles and wrote a
book, High Fidelity Systems. He has been a fellow of
the Audio Engineering Society since 1973.
His most important later articles, published in both
technical and consumer-oriented journals, deal with
speaker/room interactions. He is responsible for defining the "Allison Effect," which involves mid-bass cancellation artifacts between loudspeaker systems and
room boundaries, and is also responsible for some
highly regarded speaker driver and loudspeaker system designs.
See also Boundary Effects; Loudspeaker; Room
performances. Their shows have been documented on
many recordings, both official releases — Wipe the
Windows – Check the Oil – Dollar Gas (Capricorn
0177; 1976; #75), Live at Ludlow Garage 1970
(Polydor 843260; 1990), An Evening With the Allman
Brothers Band (Epic 48998; 1992; #80), 2nd Set (Epic
66795; 1995; #88), Fillmore East 2/70 (Grateful Dead;
1997), and Peakin' at the Beacon (Epic; 2000) — and
countless bootlegs.
By the 1990s the band had caught on with alternative rock fans who were aware of their influence on
modern-day improvisational groups such as the Phish,
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Widespread Panic, and
the Dave Matthews Band. Although no longer an innovative force on recordings, the Allmans have received
many industry awards in recent years, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1995)
and their first Grammy award (1996 Best Rock
Instrumental Performance) for "Jessica."
THE ALLMAN BROTHERS (BAND)
ALPERT, HERB (31 MAR 1935–)
Built around a twin lead guitar framework featuring
Duane Allman's bluesy slide work and Dicky Betts's
lyrical country-inflected stylings, as well as a doubledrummer lineup — both relatively new to rock at the
time — the Allman Brothers Band, along with San
Francisco groups such as the Grateful Dead and
Quicksilver Messenger Service, helped create the jamband phenomenon. Formed in Macon, Georgia, the
Allmans also anticipated the 1970s southern rock genre.
Comprised of veteran group and session players
(Duane Allman was particularly in demand, making
substantial contributions to Derek and the Dominoes's
Layla in addition to many hits by Muscle Shoals artists
such as Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin), the
band — also consisting of keyboardist/guitarist Gregg
Allman (considered to be a premier soul singer),
bassist Berry Oakley, and drummers Butch Trucks and
Jai Johanny Johanson — steadily built up a following
through recordings. Early LPs included The Allman
Brothers Band (Atco 308; 1969; #188), Idlewild South
(Atco 342; 1970; #38), At Fillmore East (Capricorn
802; 1971; 13), Eat a Peach (Capricorn 0102; 1972;
#4;), and Brothers and Sisters (Capricorn 0156; 1972;
#1), featuring virtuoso performing and a deft blend of
country and blues-based material.
Despite the motorcycle deaths of Duane Allman
(1971) and Oakley (1972) and internal disagreements
between Betts and Gregg Allman (which resulted in
several breakups during the 1970s and 1980s in which
members pursued side projects), the band has survived
into the 21st century, primarily on the strength of live
For a time in the mid-1960s, Herb Alpert's records
were outselling those of the Beatles; during the week
of May 21, 1966, he had five albums in the Top 20 of
the Billboard Top LP's chart (including three of the top
eight positions). However, he also made a significant
impact with the record industry as a businessman,
writing and producing many hits as well as forming
A&M Records — one of the most successful artistowned labels ever established — with Jerry Moss.
Born in Los Angeles, Alpert began his recording
career with RCA as Dore Alpert shortly after a stint in
the army. He would then sign with Dot Records in 1959,
again with no real success. Teaming up with future
music business mogul Lou Adler, he help write such
best-selling recordings as Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen"
(1959) "Wonderful World" (1960). The duo adopted the
moniker Dante and the Evergreens to record a cover of
the Hollywood Argyles's "Alley Oop" (1960). He
would produce tracks for the likes of Jan and Dean.
In 1962, Alpert combined with Moss to found A&M
Records; his group, the Tijuana Brass, recorded the
firm's first hit for only $65, "The Lonely Bull" (A&M
703; 1962). A&M would go on to be recognized as the
largest independent label worldwide. By the early 1970s
its roster would include such artists as Joe Cocker, the
Carpenters, Free, Spooky Tooth, and Sergio Mendes.
It took a few years for Alpert's own recordings with
the TJB to peak commercially. His debut release, The
Lonely Bull (A&M 101; 1962; #24), established the
group's trademark sound, a light, punchy blend of
mariachi music, mainstream easy listening pop, and
After aborting a try at recording TJB hits disco style,
he used the remaining studio time to explore a jazzpop mode more suited to his personal tastes. One of
these takes, a slow-down dance song cowritten by his
cousin, "Rise" (A&M 2151; 1979), reached number
one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Alpert's subsequent releases have met with mixed
success, his biggest success coming with "Diamonds"
(A&M 2929; 1987; #5), which featured a guest vocal by
then-emerging star Janet Jackson. Since selling A&M to
PolyGram in 1990 for more than $500 million, he has
turned his attention to a wide range of projects. In addition to forming a new l

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl