Editing Banner Records

{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = Banner Records
| image       = BannerRecords.jpg
| image_size  = 200px
| image_alt   = Banner Record Sleeve, 1920s.
| caption     = Banner Record Sleeve, 1920s.
| parent      = Plaza Music Company
| founded     = {{start date|1922}}
| founder     = <!-- name of founders, separate with commas or <br /> -->
| defunct     = {{end date|1938}}
| status      = Inactive
| distributor = <!-- distributors, separate with commas or <br /> -->
| genre       = [[Popular music]], [[jazz]], [[blues]]
| country     = U.S.
| location    = New York City
}}

'''Banner Records''' was an American record company and [[record label|label]] in the 1920s and 1930s. It was created primarily for the [[S.S. Kresge Company]], though it was employed as a budget label in other discount stores.

==History==
Banner was formed in January 1922 as the flagship label of the Plaza Music Company of New York City.<ref name="records1">{{cite web|url=http://www.78-records.com/78s-labels-banner.htm|title=78s-THE LABELS-BANNER|first=Peter|last=Stone|website=78-records.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> Plaza Music produced several cheap labels targeted at discount houses and hired bandleader Adrian Schubert as musical director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/adrian-schubert-mn0001261517|title=Adrian Schubert - Biography & History - AllMusic|website=AllMusic|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> At the beginning, Banner concentrated on popular dance hits, though it also recorded comedy, semi-classical music, and a small number of [[country music|country]] and [[blues]] records. In its first years Banner also leased masters from [[Paramount Records]] and [[Emerson Records]].<ref name="New Grove">{{cite book|last=Rye|first=Howard|title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, vol. 1|year=2002|publisher=Grove's Dictionaries Inc.|location=New York|isbn=1561592846|edition=2nd|editor=Barry Kernfeld|page=131}}</ref><ref name="discography1">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban1000.htm|title=BANNER (1920s) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 1000 - 1500|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban1500.htm|title=BANNER 78rpm numerical listing discography: 1500 - 2000|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="discography2000">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban2000.htm|title=BANNER (1920s) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 2000 - end of series|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref>

In July 1929 Plaza merged with Cameo-Pathé and the [[Scranton Button Company]] to form the ([[American Record Corporation|ARC]]). ARC dropped Pathé and Scranton Button's label Emerson but kept active all of the other labels belonging to the combined company, including Banner. After ARC acquired the rights to [[Brunswick Records]], Banner's product lines began to reflect the general ARC product, and this added more African-American and country music to its catalogue.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban32000.htm|title=BANNER (ARC) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 32000 - 32500|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> As part of the ARC-BRC combination, it no longer enjoyed a flagship status accorded to [[Melotone Records (US)|Melotone]] among the budget labels. Although ARC-BRC dropped some of the dime-store labels, it kept Banner until December 1938, when the CBS Broadcasting Network bought ARC-BRC and liquidated all of the dime-store labels.<ref name="records1"/>

In December 1946, entrepreneur Sam Selsman formed a new Banner Records label, devoted to Jewish music and Yiddish-language comedy routines;<ref>"Yiddish Waxery Formed," ''Billboard'' December 28, 1946</ref> although this later Banner Records no longer actively records, its catalogue continues.<ref>[http://www.jewishjukebox.com/products/klezmer_music/447.asp Jewish Jukebox Entry for a Banner Records release] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720064312/http://www.jewishjukebox.com/products/klezmer_music/447.asp |date=July 20, 2008 }}</ref> There is no relationship between the Hebrew Banner label and the earlier products of Plaza Music or ARC/BRC; nor is there is a relationship to a dime-store label put out by Leeds and Caitlin in the early 1900s, though the label's design is similar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://majesticrecord.com/labelsb.htm|title=78 rpm Record Labels|website=majesticrecord.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref>

==Label series==
Banner debuted with two concurrent label series in January 1922: a popular 1000 series side by side with a "Standard" 2000 series of semi-classical music, comedy, and some Jewish material.<ref name="discography1"/><ref name="discography2000"/> Reaching Banner 1999 in the main series in mid-1927, Banner skipped ahead to 6000 and terminated the Standard series at the end of the year at Banner 2183.<ref name="discography3">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban6000.htm|title=BANNER (1920s) 78rpm numerical listing discography - 6000 series|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> At this point, Banner also stopped the 6000 series at Banner 6167 and moved again to a 7000 series starting at Banner 7001.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban7000.htm|title=BANNER 78rpm numerical listing discography: 7000 series|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> This ended in early 1929 at Banner 7265 and then reverted to the old series, starting at Banner 6200.<ref name="discography3"/> The series survived the merger into ARC, but was ended at the start of 1930 at Banner 6566 and restarted at 0500 until it reached 0872 later in the year.<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban500.htm|title=BANNER 78rpm numerical listing discography: 500 - 1000|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref> The number series was then started again at 32001<ref name="auto1"/> and the price changed from 25 cents to 35 cents in order to bring Banner in line with other dime-store labels being sold 3 for a dollar. This lasted until 1935, when the dime-store labels were all married to a central numbering system. But releases were not necessarily unified; for example, [[Robert Johnson]], who did have some releases on Melotone, did not appear on Banner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vjm.biz/Robert%20Johnson.pdf |title=Melotone Mythology: Robert Johnson's Dime Store Issues |author=Roger Misiewicz |author2=Helge Thygesen  |publisher=Vjm.biz |accessdate=2014-05-29}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Banner discs are found throughout the United States, indicating their popularity as Plaza's flagship label. The audio fidelity of the records was average to slightly below average for the time, but as Banner was a cheap label they were pressed from cheaper materials that did not withstand repeated playing with the heavy [[phonograph]] players of the time. Most Banner discs found today exhibit considerable wear and [[surface noise]], but they are still valued by virtue of the selections.

In keeping with their low-price production, it is common for a current hit song on the A-side and a lesser-known song as the B side.  Many of these B side songs are eccentric tunes not recorded elsewhere (but, of course, found on the other Plaza/ARC labels). Also scattered around these B sides are tunes by [[Luis Russell]], [[Duke Ellington]], small groups from the [[Ben Pollack]] orchestra, among others.

==Roster: Plaza period==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Harold Arlen]]
* [[Sam Ash (actor)|Sam Ash]]
* [[Franklyn Baur]]
* [[Al Bernard]]
* [[May Singhi Breen]]
* [[California Ramblers]]
* Joe Candullo
* [[Myron Cohen]]
* [[Vernon Dalhart]]
* [[Vaughn DeLeath]]
* [[Cliff Edwards]]
* [[Leo Erdody]]
* [[Frank Ferera]]
* [[Arthur Fields]]
* [[The Four Aristocrats]]
* [[Miss Frankie]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vmauctions.com/items/item_details.php?id=25210|title=Jane Howard -- Peepin' Jim Blues / When You Get Tired Of Your New Sweetie|website=Vmauctions.com|accessdate=1 June 2018}}</ref>
* [[Bob Fuller]]
* Rev. [[J. M. Gates]]
* [[Nathan Glantz]]
* [[Porter Grainger]]
* Lou Gold
* [[Billy Golden]] via [[Emerson Records]]
* [[Wendell Hall]]
* [[W.C. Handy]]
* [[Charles W. Harrison]]
* Charles Hart
* [[Lucille Hegamin]]
* [[Fletcher Henderson]]
* [[Rosa Henderson]]
* [[Billy Jones (1930s singer)|Billy Jones]] & [[Ernie Hare]]
* [[Joe Jordan (musician)|Joe Jordan]]
* [[Irving Kaufman (singer)|Irving Kaufman]]
* Jack Kaufman
* Louis Katzman
* [[Hal Kemp]]
* [[Sam Lanin]]
* [[Scrappy Lambert]]
* Julius Lenzberg
* Jules Levy, Jr.
* [[Vincent Lopez]]
* [[Frank Luther]]
* [[Hazel Meyers]]
* [[Josie Miles]]
* [[Lizzie Miles]]
* Frank Munn
* [[Billy Murray (singer)|Billy Murray]]
* Original Indiana Five
* [[Original Memphis Five]]
* [[Eddie Peabody]]
* Jack Pettis
* [[Evelyn Preer]]
* The Radio Franks
* [[Harry Richman]]
* [[Carson Robison]]
* [[Walter B. Rogers]]
* [[Peter DeRose]]
* [[Domenico Savino]]
* Adrian Schubert
* [[Ben Selvin]]
* Boyd Senter
* Elliott Shaw
* [[Monroe Silver]]
* [[Paul Specht]]
* [[Elizabeth Spencer (soprano)|Elizabeth Spencer]]
* [[Aileen Stanley]]
* [[Cal Stewart]] via Emerson Records
* [[Ernest Stoneman]]
* Toots Paka Hawaiian Troupe
* [[Fred Van Eps]]
* [[Sam Ku West]]
* [[Harry Yerkes]]<ref name="discography2000"/><ref name="discography1"/><ref name="auto"/><ref name="discography3"/><ref name="auto2"/>
{{div col end}}

==Roster: ARC period==
Although some of the artists from the previous incarnation of Banner survived into this second period, particularly in 1929-1931, none of these artists appeared on the first label.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban32500.htm|title=BANNER (ARC) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 32500 - 33000|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/Ban33000.htm|title=BANNER 78rpm numerical listing discography: 33000 - end of series|website=78discography.com|accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Henry "Red" Allen]]
* [[Clarence Ashley]]
* [[Gene Austin]]
* [[Gene Autry]]
* [[Baby Rose Marie]]
* [[Smith Ballew]]
* [[Charlie Barnet]]
* [[Lucille Bogan]]
* [[Big Bill Broonzy]]
* [[Smiley Burnette]]
* [[Chick Bullock]]
* [[Henry Busse]]
* [[Blanche Calloway]]
* [[Cab Calloway]]
* The Canova Family
* [[Eddie Cantor]]
* [[Bill Carlisle]]
* [[Cliff Carlisle]]
* [[Carter Family]]
* [[Sam Collins (musician)|Sam Collins]]
* Bill Cox
* [[Bing Crosby]]
* Charlie Davis
* [[Walter Davis (blues)|Walter Davis]]
* [[Eddie Dean (singer)|Eddie Dean]]
* [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]]
* [[Morton Downey, Sr.]]
* [[Duke Ellington]]
* [[Ruth Etting]]
* [[Alice Faye]]
* [[Red Foley]]
* [[George Hamilton Green]]
* Joe Green
* [[Mal Hallett]]
* Mike Hanapi
* [[Annette Hanshaw]]
* [[Joe Haymes]]
* Hokum Boys
* [[Hoosier Hot Shots]]
* [[Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon]]
* [[Gene Kardos]]
* [[Ed Kirkeby]]
* [[Lead Belly]]
* [[Guy Lombardo]]
* [[Nick Lucas]]
* [[Charles Magnante]]
* [[Wingy Manone]]
* Frankie Marvin
* Johnny Marvin
* [[Memphis Minnie]]
* [[Mills Blue Rhythm Band]]
* [[Mills Brothers]]
* Mitchell Christian Singers
* [[Russ Morgan]]
* [[Buddy Moss]]
* Will Osborne
* [[Ben Pollack]]
* [[Dick Powell]]
* [[Prairie Ramblers]]
* [[Yank Rachell]]
* Joe Reichman
* [[Harry Reser]]
* [[Fred Rich]]
* [[Tex Ritter]]
* [[Fiddlin' Doc Roberts]]
* [[Dick Robertson (singer)|Dick Robertson]]
* [[Adrian Rollini]]
* [[Luis Russell]]
* Andy Sanella
* [[Singin' Sam]]
* [[Roy Smeck]]
* [[Phil Spitalny]]
* [[Eva Taylor]]
* Varsity Eight
* [[Joe Venuti]]
* [[Donald Voorhees (conductor)|Don Voorhees]]
* [[Jay Wilbur]]
* [[Josh White]]
* [[Clarence Williams (musician)|Clarence Williams]]
* [[Victor Young]]
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[List of record labels]]
* [[ARC (record company)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.vjm.biz/Robert%20Johnson.pdf Roger Misiewicz & Helge Thygesen -- Melotone Mythology: Robert Johnson's Dime Store Issues]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120512193609/http://www.mainspringpress.com/book_plaza.html Bille W. Thomas & Allen Sutton -- The Plaza-ARC Discography]
*[http://www.78-records.com/78s-labels-banner.htm The Stone Collection -- 78s The Labels Banner]
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16543.html Jewish Virtual Library -- Records, Phonograph]
*[https://archive.org/details/georgeblood?and%5B%5D=publisher:banner Banner Records] on the Internet Archive's [http://great78.archive.org/ Great 78 Project]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American jazz record labels]]
[[Category:Record labels established in 1922]]
[[Category:Record labels disestablished in 1938]]
[[Category:Defunct record labels of the United States]]