Gems

Based out of Guyana from around 1954 until the early 60s, the label was owned by jazz musician Al Seales and originally formed to release jazz before becoming better known for calypso music. Originally formed as Caribbean GEMS, the label quickly renamed itself to GEMS, as well as using a handful of sub-labels such as Pirates Records and Trinidad Carnival Records. Seales' band typically played backing on the label's releases and in some cases, wrote the songs. The label had something of a rivalry with another Guyanese label, 'Vee-Jay's', with a number of artists also recording for them. However, unlike GEMS, Vee-Jay did not release music outside the Caribbean, rendering their releases more obscure. In the late 50s, some of GEMS master tapes were reissued on Melodisc in the UK, though the masters were never returned to Seales and are believed lost. In the 1970s, some of the remaining master tapes were sent to Europe for Request's Calypso Cavalcade series. These tapes also disappeared, despite Seales' efforts to find them. The label was reestablished by Al's son Ray Seales during the 90s and 2000s, with a handful of reissues, before Ray's untimely death in the 2010s.