[78-L] TOPS artists (was Bud Roman..Who he?.. )

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

David Van Landingham says: “I even had some Black and White 78s of
some country and western band and all I can remember is the name Ralph 
Bass and I believe he was an
A & R man there. It seemed to me that Bob Shad started the label though 
I've read differently by way of
Arnold Shaw.The Dizzy stuff was on LP.”

Black & White was started in 1943 by Les Schriber and based in New 
York. Schriber (or “Schreiber,” as his name is sometimes spelled) was 
known in the New York City area as a collector. On Friday, July 17, 
1942, and on another unknown date that same month, he recorded a total 
of nine sides featuring piano solos by Art Hodes that were intended 
only for his private collection. The first mention the author has come 
across that identifies Black and White [sic] Record Company as a 
business entity is a “compliments” ad that appears on page 7 of the 
February 15, 1943 issue of The Jazz Record, the “little” magazine 
edited by Art Hodes and Dave Curran. This is followed by a second ad on 
page 6 of the March 1, 1943 issue that advertises: “Wanted for Cash, 
scrap records 6 cents a pound. Send parcel post to Les Schriber, Black 
and White Record Co., 157 Belmont Blvd., Elmont, L.I.” A fractional ad 
on page 7 of the April 1, 1943 issue announces: “Black & White Record 
Co. Watch next issue for special announcement. Box 947, Church St. 
Annex, New York.” An ad on page 2 of the April 15, 1943 issue says: 
“Special Announcement. B&W No. 1 presenting Art Hodes at the piano: 
Snowy Morning, Four or Five Times. Approximate release date June 1. 
Price $1.25 plus postage. Mail orders accepted now. Les Schriber, Black 
& White Record Co., Box 947 Church St. Annex, New York.” Since Hodes 
was the first artist to record for Black & White, it is probably not 
surprising he was the first to announce its commercial debut as a 
record company.

An ad on page 3 of the May 1, 1943 issue provides more information 
about the forthcoming record release: “B&W No. 1. Presenting Art Hodes 
at the piano—Snowy Morning Blues, Four or Five Times. Approximate 
release date June 1. Price $1.25 plus postage. Cash reservations 
accepted now. Shipping weight about 2 lbs. Better hurry—supply is 
limited.” During the War years, when shellac was scarce, especially for 
a small, start-up record company like Black & White, a typical press 
run might be 100 copies. Normally, pressing companies would not want to 
be bothered with such small runs, but some would accommodate small 
independent companies by fitting short runs in on a “stand by” basis 
between two larger runs or whenever there was downtime on the presses. 
In this sense, record-pressing companies operated like printing 
companies that would typically fit in small job lots on “stand by” when 
it was convenient. Entrepreneurs like Les Schriber gladly accepted the 
“stand by” accommodation because it saved them a lot of money over the 
premium prices charged for a scheduled run and a few cents extra in the 
pressing cost per copy could mean the difference between break even or 
loss.

Black & White ‘West.’ In 1946, Schreiber sold the company to a 
distributor in Ohio which then moved the operation to the West Coast 
where it was located at 4910 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. 
Officers of this company were: Paul Reiner, president; Lillian Reiner, 
vice president; Samuel Maldman, secretary/treasurer; Al Sack, musical 
director; and Ralph Bass, recording director. Bass’s initials RHB 
appear as part of matrix numbers for recordings made by Mike LoScalzo. 
The company’s slogan printed on record sleeves was “Contrasts in Music 
from Hollywood.” Once the company had moved to California, it continued 
to expand its line of 10-inch 78 recordings beyond the 1 to 42 range   
recorded under Les Schriber’s ownership. Once the company had been 
moved to Hollywood, it continued to record a variety of artists. In 
addition to its expanded line that now included 1-42, 100-127, 150-151, 
500, 750-875, and the 12-inch 1201 to 1224 ranges devoted to jazz, 
blues, R&B, and pop, Catalog numbers 1201 to 1216 were pressed in vinyl 
by RCA and originally sold in groups of four by mail-order only. These 
were produced by Schriber. B&W 1217-1224 were produced by Paul Reiner 
and pressed in a kind of breakable ersatz shellac under the trade name 
“Buffalama,” which consisted of buffalo and lama droppings mixed with 
Hamburger Helper as recently demonstrated on TV by Rachel Ray with 
guest Ann Coulter.

Black & White also produced a variety of other ranges. All issued as 
10-inch 78 R.P.M. recordings, these included: a 2000-2011 range 
featuring semi-classical music by Al Sack and His Orchestra; a 3000 to 
3017 range of organ music by Gaylord Carter; a 3500 to 3506 range of 
organ music, also by Gaylord Carter; a 4000 to 4006 range by The McNeil 
Choir; a 5000 to 5014 range of Children’s Stories narrated by Jerry 
Marlowe and Earle Ross; a 6000 to 6003 range devoted to Square Dance by 
Cactus Andy & The Texas Dandies; a 7501-7515 range of Latin music by 
Chino Ortiz and His Orchestra, Eduardo Abreau and His Orchestra and 
Henry King and His Orchestra; the 7601 to 7602 range devoted to  Polka 
and waltzes by J. Kusar and His Slovene Orchestra; an 8000 to 8003 
range featuring The Original Hurtado Brothers and Their Royal Marimba 
Band; and lastly, the 10000 to 10024 range of Hillbilly featuring The 
Six Westernaires, Oklahoma Ed Moody and The Six Westernaires, Cactus 
Andy and The Texas Dandies, Rudy Sooter and His Californians, and Rudy 
Erickson and His Dude Ranchboys.

A second label also launched by Schriber was Comet, which showcased 
more “modern” players like Red Norvo (with Gillespie and Parker), Art 
Tatum, and pianist Cyril Haynes with tenor saxophonist, Don Byas. These 
were more likely to appeal to a different market.. Since vinyl was 
still a relatively new and more expensive material to use in pressing 
commercial records, cost was probably a big factor in Schriber’s 
decision not to press Comet issues in vinyl. Ross Russell of Dial 
Records later purchased the 12-inch Comet masters for Norvo and Tatum 
and issued some on 10-inch Dial vinyl microgroove 78s and then on LP. 
Not included in the buy were the four Cyril Haynes sides. When asked, 
Russell said he did not know who Cyril Haynes was and was unaware of 
recordings for Comet. Not included in the deal were any of the 10-inch 
78 blues recordings