QRS Records

Releases on this page encompass two distinct ventures. The first label was produced between 1919-1923 and the second label was produced between 1928-1930. The original Q-R-S label was produced by the Emerson Phonograph Company Inc. for the Q-R-S Company of Chicago, a major manufacturer of piano rolls. The initials stood for "Quality & Real Service". Emerson-produced records were 9" pressings from its own masters and cite a universal-cut patent. In the early 1920s, production shifted to Starr Piano Company and these were standard 10" lateral pressings that duplicated couplings and catalog numbers of Starr's Gennett Records. The label was discontinued in 1923. A second Starr/Q-R-S label was launched in 1928. This record division was directed by Art Satherley, the former recording manager of The New York Recording Laboratories. Satherly recorded masters for Q-R-S's exclusive use at the new Gennett Records studio in Long Island City, New York. Although some Gennett Records material was issued on the Q-R-S label, most releases featured original material. Satherly's Q-R-S label was primarily a race- and country music record label. Artists of great merit recorded for Q-R-S in the late 1920s, including Clifford Gibson, Earl Hines, King Oliver and Clarence Williams. However, sales of both race (R-7000 series) and country (R-9000 series) records were poor and the records are quite rare today.