[78-L] Seeking background information, history of Mezzotone Record Company Inc.

[Donna Halper]

On 4/24/2020 5:02 PM, mark desjardins wrote:
>     However, I have  come to a  brick wall  finding  any  background  information  on   Mezzotone Records Inc., except that  according  to  printing  on the label, they  were  located  in  New York  City.   An earlier  post  on this site  indicated that  the  Mae West  recordings  were  released  circa 1948.  Even  obtaining  a  street  address  would  be   start.  If  anyone  is  able  to  offer  any  information, I  would  be most  grateful.  Thank  you for  any information   you  may be able to provide.

According to at least one music historian, Mae West began recording for 
Mezzotone  during the period of time in the late 40s when she was 
performing in a revival of "Diamond Lil." She recorded twelve songs for 
the label, which were issued as two 10" long-playing albums. But six of 
the songs were issued as 78s... and even then, they didn't seem to be 
widely distributed (I assume they are quite rare today).  I also found 
that the owner was a guy named Sam L. Manning, who also owned Cyclone 
Records. The labels seemed to have opened in NY in 1947. His labels 
released blues, calypso, pop, and other kinds of music. Hope this helps!


-- 
Donna L. Halper, PhD
Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies
Lesley University, Cambridge MA
media historian