Editing Vee-Jay Records (section)

{{Short description|American record label}}
{{Redirect|Vee-Jay|other uses|Veejay (disambiguation){{!}}Veejay}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name          = Vee-Jay Records
| image         = VeeJayRecord.jpg|
| image_size  = <!-- size -->
| caption  = Single by [[Jimmy Reed]], 1956
| parent      = [[Concord (entertainment company)|Concord]]
| founded      = {{start date|1953}}
| founder       = Vivian Carter, James C. Bracken
| fate            = <!-- explain the reason of the closing-->
| defunct       = <!-- year the label dissolved, such as {{end date|1990}} -->
| status         = <!-- leave blank unless "Inactive" -->
| distributor   = <!-- distributors, separate with commas or <br /> -->
| genre         = [[Jazz]], [[blues]], [[rock and roll|rock]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[disco]]
| country       = U.S.
| location      = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
}}

'''Vee-Jay Records''' is an American [[record label]] founded in the 1950s, located in [[Chicago]] and specializing in [[blues]], [[jazz]], [[rhythm and blues]] and [[rock and roll]].

The label was founded in [[Gary, Indiana]], in 1953 by [[Vivian Carter]] and [[James Bracken|James C. Bracken]], a husband-and-wife team who used their initials for the label's name.<ref name=thompson>Thompson, Dave (2002). ''A Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting'', pp. 286-89. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. {{ISBN|0-87930-713-7}}.</ref> Vivian's brother, [[Calvin Carter]], was the label's A&R man. [[Ewart Abner]], formerly of [[Chance Records]], joined the label in 1955, first as manager, then as vice president, and ultimately as president.<ref name="SI"/>  One of the earliest [[African American]]-owned record companies,<ref name="Wickham">{{cite news|last=Wickman|first=Forrest|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/01/10/the_beatles_and_vee_jay_records_how_it_took_a_black_owned_label_to_bring.html|title=How a Black Label Brought the Beatles to America|work=Slate|date=January 10, 2013|access-date=April 7, 2016}}</ref> Vee-Jay quickly became a major R&B label, with the first song recorded, [[the Spaniels]]' "Baby It's You,"  making it to the top ten on the national R&B charts.<ref name="SI">{{cite web |last1=Greene |first1=Bryan |title=The Black Record Label That Introduced the Beatles to America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-black-record-label-that-introduced-the-beatles-to-america-180979606/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=14 April 2022 |date=23 February 2022}}</ref>