[78-L] Cosmo Records

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

Cosmo Records were 78s manufactured by Cosmopolitan Records Inc. of New 
York City in the mid-1940s. While the label featured a mix of artists, 
including a few vocalists, most of its recordings were by big bands at 
a time when big bands were fading. Among the bands on its roster were 
those of Hal McIntyre, Tony Pastor, Henry Busse, Larry Clinton, Bobby 
Byrne, Del Courtney,  and Enrico Madriguera in its 451 to around 555 
range, its 701 to 729 range (large number of Larry Clinton and Tony 
Pastor records), two records in its Cosmo 901-902 “Jazz Series” (Trummy 
Young and Frankie Socolow), and Charlie Barnet on Cosmo 513, a 
re-release of “New Redskin Rhumba” and “Cherokee” that were also issued 
on National 25001 and Cardinal 25001. As can be seen from the 
bandleader names, these were artists who had previously been on the 
Bluebird label (Hal McIntyre, Tony Pastor, Larry Clinton), Decca (Henry 
Busse, Bobby Byrne), Vocalion/Okeh (Del Courtney), and Victor (Enric 
Madriguera). McIntyre, Pastor, and Clinton were no longer on Bluebird 
because RCA Victor had ended the “popular” Bluebird range. In the case 
of the other artists, their respective labels had moved past them in 
terms of the types of music they wanted to offer. Unlike many of the 
artists issued on the Master Records label, who were products of the 
1920s, not the 1930s when they were recorded, the artists issued on 
Cosmo were still names familiar to current record buyers. For jazz 
listeners, Trummy Young Cosmo 901 comes up fairly often, but Frankie 
Socolow Cosmo 902 virtually not at all. Just like Socolow on Duke.