[78-L] Bessie Smith album

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Philip Fukuda" <pfukuda at att.net>
> So, do any of you have Columbia catalogs or supplements for 1937 to '39, 
> pre-CBS ownership? That might shed some light on the matter. Though, I 
> have a feeling that ARC considered Columbia an afterthought by this point 
> (for popular stuff anyway), and spent more time and money on Brunswick & 
> Vocalion.
>
ARC acquired Columbia VERY cheaply in 1934. I'm guessing that their 
ownership
of the labe; was one of the main reasons why CBS took over ARC late in 1938?
ARC mainly used Couimbia to issue classical recordings while they owned the
operation; they had issued some classical material (mostly from Europe) on
Brunswick before 1934.

ARC gradually dropped a number of its labels from mid-1936 on, as records
quit selling; all their "cheap" labels end in mid-1937 (Vocalion continued, 
but
had to change to Okeh in 1940 when CBS lost the rights to the Brunswick
and Vocalion names).

Steven C. Barr