[78-L] Mills Blue Rhythm Band on Royale in 1947

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

These so-called MBRB sides were recorded in two sessions in Los Angeles 
by a studio  band under the direction of Van Alexander. The MBRB name 
was reportedly licensed from Irving Mills for this specific use and 
have nothing to do with the earlier incarnations of the MBRB. Blue 
Rhythm Be-Bop and Blue Rhythm Jam were issued on M-G-M 10302. Blue 
Rhythm Jam, Blue Rhythm Be-Bop, Blue Rhythm Blues, Blue Rhythm Swing, 
Blue Rhythm Chant, and Blue Rhythm Ramble were all issued on (E) 
Parlophone. These compositions are credited to “Van Alexander-Irving 
Mills.” I have the M-G-M and Parlophone 78 issues. These performances 
were all reissued on LP. I have a copy but not at hand. I do not have 
these particular performances on lacquers but do have four sides on 
lacquers recorded by Chubby Jackson & His Orch. with matrix numbers ROY 
178 A, 178 B, !79 A, and 179 B. These four sides were also issued on 
both M-G-M and (E) Parlophone. The labels on all four sides of these 
10-inch lacquers reads “American Recording Artists.” I bought them June 
10, 1991 at The Music Exchange in Kansas City. I can’t say for certain 
that “American Recording Artists” refers to ARA.

Reportedly Maurice A. Rappaport and Boris Morros were involved with the 
ARA label. Rappaport owned a retail store called Rex Records at 5280 
Hollywood Blvd. near Vine. He also published Metro Records, Rex 
Hollywood, REM Hollywood, and Hollywood 78 label imprints. These were 
all basically the same label but with different names concocted to 
avoid getting sued. I have seen copies of the Teddy Edwards Rex 
Hollywood recordings with the “Rex” blacked out. Reportedly, the Rex 
English label threatened to sue Rappaport over the “Rex Hollywood” 
brand. An alternate take of a Wingy Manone-Kay Star recording 
originally issued on ARA 145 was also issued on Metro Hollywood 23005 
and REM Hollywood 23005. I have all three issues.

Boris Morros was involved in the film and recording industries and was 
reportedly a communist who worked under cover for the FBI. He may even 
have gotten financing from the FBI. The FBI later helped fund the 
survival of the American Communist Party so it would have something to 
use in getting money out of Congress to ferret out “reds under the 
bed.” Unless I am imagining things, I have a book somewhere entitled 
“American Communist in Spain” by Morros, which is about the Spanish 
Civil War (1936-1939). I can’t locate the book and I can find no 
mention of it on the Internet, so I can’t claim this as fact. I bought 
the book many years ago at a time when I was greatly interested in the 
Spanish Civil War. I even travelled to Spain to visit battle sites.