Black Swan Records was a United States record label in the 1920s; it was the first to be owned and operated by, and marketed to, African Americans. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

The name was briefly revived in the early 1970s for some reggae records, and since the 1990s for compact disc reissue of historic jazz and blues recordings. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A Compact Disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ...

Label of a 1921 "Black Swan" record by Alberta Hunter.

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 - October 17, 1984), was a celebrated African-American jazz singer, songwriter and nurse. ...

Origins

Black Swan was founded in May of 1921 by Harry Pace and was based in Harlem. The parent company of the record label was originally named the Pace Phonograph Company. The company was formed after the prior partnership with W.C. Handy, the Pace-Handy Music Publishing Company, dissolved. Some historians previously thought W.C. Handy had a stake in the business, but Handy's own words contradict their assumptions: "To add to my woes, my partner withdrew from the business. He disagreed with some of my business methods, but no harsh words were involved. He simply chose this time to sever connection with our firm in order that he might organized Pace Phonograph Company, issuing Black Swan Records and making a serious bid for the Negro market. ... With Pace went a large number of our employees. ... Still more confusion and anguish grew out of the fact that people did not generally know that I had no stake in the Black Swan Record Company." See also: 1920 in music, other events of 1921, 1922 in music and the list of years in music. // Events Clarence Williams makes his first recordings Published popular music Aint We Got Fun? w. ... Harry Herbert Pace (January 6, 1884, in Covington, Georgia to 1943, in Chicago, Illinois) was an African-American music publisher and insurance executive, and the founder of Black Swan Records. ... For other uses, see Harlem (disambiguation). ... W.C. Handy photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1941 William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 - March 28, 1958) was an African American blues composer, often known as The Father of the Blues. ...

Originally the company producing Black Swan was called the Pace Phonograph Corporation, but in 1923 it was renamed the Black Swan Company. The firm was named after 19th century opera star Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who was known as the Black Swan. Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (ca. ...

Notable employees

Former employees of the Pace-Handy Company comprised the staff: Fletcher Henderson was recording manager, provided piano accompaniment for many of the singers, and led a small band for the recordings. William Grant Still was arranger and later musical director. Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... William Grant Still William Grant Still (May 11, 1895 - December 3, 1978) was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. ...

Artists recorded

• C. Carroll Clark, baritone, made the label's first record.
• Four Harmony Kings, vocal quartet
• Henry Creamer and J. Turner Layton, vaudeville duo
• Katie Crippen, vaudeville singer
• Kemper Harreld, violinist
• Revella Hughes, soprano
• Alberta Hunter, blues singer
• "Mamie Jones" was actually a pseudonym on Black Swan for singer Aileen Stanley, perhaps the only Caucasian artist to record for the label (she was "passing for colored" on these records).
• Trixie Smith, blues singer, was second only to Ethel Waters in Black Swan sales.
• Florence Cole Talbert soprano
• Ethel Waters, blues and pop song singer. She had the label's first commercially successful records, and remained their best seller.
• Essie Whitman, vaudeville singer

Baritone (French: baryton; Deutsch: Bariton; Italian: baritono) is most commonly the type of male voice that lies between bass and tenor. ... A quartet is a group of four identical or similar objects, or a grouping of four persons for a common purpose. ... Henry Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an American popular song lyricist. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Kemper Harreld (1885–1971) was a African American concert violinist. ... A violinist is an instrumentalist who plays the violin. ... Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 - October 17, 1984), was a celebrated African-American jazz singer, songwriter and nurse. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ... Aileen Stanley (1897 - 24 March 1982) was a United States popular singer. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Trixie Smith (1895 - 21 September 1943) was a Blues singer and recording artist. ... Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an Oscar-nominated American blues vocalist and actress. ...

Purchase by Paramount

The company declared bankruptcy in December 1923. As a result, in March 1924 Paramount Records bought the Black Swan label. This led to the Chicago Defender publishing an article noting the accomplishments that the company had made: White owned record companies began to recognize the demand for black artists to the point that major companies began publishing music by these performers. In addition, the Defender credited Pace with the major companies to begin targeting the black audience and advertising in black newspapers. Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration - see text) in the UK. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organizations to pay their... See also: 1922 in music, other events of 1923, 1924 in music and the list of years in music. Events November 19 - At a concert celebrating the 50th anniversery of the union of Buda and Pest (thus creating Budapest), Béla Bartóks Dance Suite and Zoltán Kod... Paramount Records was a United States based record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues. ... The Chicago Defender announces President Harry S. Trumans order in 1948 desegregating the United States Armed Forces. ...

Paramount discontinued the Black Swan label short time later.

Black Swan label by Island Records

The Black Swan label by Island Records, 1960's

From 1963 to 1965 and in 1976/1977 Island Records released Jamaican music in England on singles with a Black Swan label. This same label was used from 1970 to 1971 by Trojan Records to release a handful of early reggae tracks. This had no connection to the historic Black Swan Records. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Island Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group and is operated through The Island Def Jam Music Group. ... Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea, known as the birthplace of many popular musical genres, including reggae, dub, raggamuffin and ska. ... Trojan Records Trojan Records is a label specialising in ska,rocksteady,reggae and dub music. ...

Later incarnation of the Black Swan label

The Black Swan label was revived in the 1990s for a series of reissue compact discs of historic jazz and blues recordings originally issued on Black Swan and Paramount. These CDs were issued by George H. Buck's Jazzology/GHB Record group, which has rights to the Paramount back-catalogue, but not the Paramount brand name; the rights to the name "Black Swan Records" were inherited by GHB from Paramount. A Compact Disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Jazzology Records is a United States based record label specializing in traditional jazz. ...

See also

• List of record labels
• Island Records discography

This is a list of record labels. ... // It is supposed that Blackwell released 28 singles and three LPs in the period. ...

References

• The Music of Black Americans: A History. Eileen Southern. W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition. ISBN 0-393-97141-4

Eileen Jackson Southern (born 1920 in Minneapolis - died October 13, 2002 in Port Charlotte, Florida) was an African American musicologist, reasearcher, author and teacher. ...

External links

• The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records
• Tapir's Reggae Discography