National Records (2)

National Records was a record label that was started in New York by Al Green (3) in 1945 and lasted till early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the outset and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as were The Ravens. Eileen Barton had a massive hit with "If I Knew You Were Coming I'd've Baked a Cake." Working as A&R men were Lee Magid, Bob Shad, Jesse Stone and Herb Abramson. Abramson moved on to Jubilee then co-founded Atlantic with Ahmet Ertegün. From the beginning Dick Thomas (Singer) was their foremost country and western artist, best remembered for his "Sioux City Sue" (1945). In 1951 National ceased recording and Mercury bought the label. Running Mercury at that time was Irving Green, Albert's son. National's masters ended up in the possession of Savoy, which later reissued many of them. (Wikipedia) For unofficial releases, see National Records (25).