Aeolian Vocalion

Note: The official color of the reddish-brown records is 'Red', as listed in catalogs during that time. The Aeolian Company was a major producer of organs, player pianos and other musical instruments. It entered the phonograph market in early 1915 and launched its flagship record label in 1917. In that year, Aeolian purchased rights to a patented recording process that was being used by its British affiliate, The Orchestrelle Company. This process involved producing a fine-groove vertical cut, which was initially employed on English Marathon Record discs. Orchestrelle was later reorganized as The Aeolian Company Ltd., London, which released records bearing the Aeolian Vocalion name for the British market in the early 1920s. Records bearing the Aeolian Vocalion label were produced for the US market only between May 1918 and August 1921. The 1916 copyright date on early labels refers to the brand name, not to the year in which the label was launched. Aeolian probably began recording masters in late 1917, and from the outset the company attracted an impressive roster of talent. The studio suite, located in Aeolian Hall in New York, was said to be the most lavishly furnished in the United States. Early releases include a group of recordings by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, and the label offered recordings by a distinguished assortment of classical artists, including Giulio Crimi, Marguerite D'Alvarez and many others of equal stature. Popular fare included selections by the usual studio freelancers, as well as several by Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker and various groups under the direction of Ford Dabney. Despite the diversity and quality of the catalog, Aeolian's vertical cut records did not sell well, and in late 1919 the company began to produce standard lateral-cut discs. The first of these was announced in January 1920, and by March of that year the company discontinued production of its vertically cut line. Distinctive reddish-orange pressings were introduced in the August 1920 list, and a year later the label name was shortened to Vocalion (2). The first UK Vocalion records also use the Aeolian Vocalion label and are credited to The Aeolian Company Ltd., London. These records appeared during 1920-1922, after which the label named changed to Vocalion. All UK releases are in various series with an alpha prefix: A, B, C, D, J, K, L, M, R & X were used. The U.S. releases show no alpha prefix (note that the A & B letters shown before the catalog number on U.S. releases are NOT alpha prefixes, they are just the A & B side designations which Vocalion shows before the catalog # instead of following the catalog # as is more usual).