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

[David Lennick]

From: dlennick dlennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020, 05:56:27 p.m. EDT
Subject: Re: [78-L] Seeking background information, history of Mezzotone Record Company Inc.

Just confirming that ONE of the songs on the second lp was not Mae West. Jack Raymond had no idea who the performer was or if it was even by a female (can't find the transfer he made of that second lp).

dl

---------- Original Message ----------
From: Donna Halper <dlh at donnahalper.com.invalid>
Date: April 24, 2020 at 5:33 PM



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

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