Supreme Records (Los Angeles)

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Supreme Records

Albert Patrick CEO of Supreme Records in Los Angeles.jpeg

Paula Watson (left), Albert Patrick (right)
Cash Box magazine late 1940s
Founded 1947 (1947)
Founder Albert Patrick
Defunct 1950 (1950)
Status Defunct
Distributor(s) Black & White Records
Genre R&B
Country of origin United States
Location Los Angeles, California

Supreme Records was a small, independent record label based in Los Angeles that existed from 1947 to 1950. It was founded by dentist Albert Patrick and specialized in rhythm and blues. Its artists included Jimmy Witherspoon, Paula Watson, Buddy Tate, Eddie Williams and his Brown Buddies (with Floyd Dixon), Big Jim Wynn, and Percy Mayfield. [1] [2]

Rhythm and blues, commonly abbreviated as R&B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations.

Jimmy Witherspoon American jump blues singer

James Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.

Paula Watson

Paula Watson was an American jazz and R&B singer and pianist.

Contents

Hits

Supreme's two greatest hits were Paula Watson's "A Little Bird Told Me," which sold over a million copies, [3] and Jimmy Witherspoon's version of "Ain't Nobody's Business," recorded on Albert Patrick's request, which lasted 34 weeks on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues hit list. [4]

"A Little Bird Told Me" is a popular song. It was written by Harvey Oliver Brooks (1899–1968) and was published in 1947.

"Ain't Nobody's Business" is a 1920s blues song that became one of the first blues standards. It was published in 1922 by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins. The song features a lyrical theme of freedom of choice and a vaudeville jazz–style musical arrangement. It was first recorded, as "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do", in 1922 by Anna Meyers, backed by the Original Memphis Five.

<i>Billboard</i> (magazine) American music magazine

Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style, and is also known for its music charts, including the Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular songs and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows.

Lawsuits

Supreme got involved in a costly lawsuit against Decca for copyright infringement on the arrangement of Paula Watson's version of "A Little Bird Told Me," with their version of Evelyn Knight. The judge ruled in favor of Decca, stating that arrangements on an existing composition cannot be considered as property. He also stated that the arrangement on Watson's version lacked originality and the differences between the versions were evident. [3] [5]

Evelyn Knight (singer) American singer

Evelyn Knight was an American singer of the 1940s and 1950s. Damon Runyon, in one of his newspaper columns, described Knight as "a lissome blonde lassie with a gentle little voice and a face mother would not mind having brought home to her."

In another lawsuit, the label lost its pressing and distribution partner Black & White Records after settling a dispute over Black & White selling its pressing line to Monogram in Canada. [6]

Black & White Records was an American record company and label that was founded by Les Schreiber in 1943. It specialized in jazz and blues. When the label was sold to Paul and Lillian Reiner, it moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The catalogue included music by Art Hodes, Cliff Jackson, Lil Armstrong, Barney Bigard, Wilbert Baranco, Erroll Garner, Jack McVea, and Willie "The Lion" Smith.

Closing

Due to the financial duress from the lawsuits, Supreme shut down in 1950. Most of the masters were sold to Swing Time Records. "Two Years of Torture", recorded by Percy Mayfield was re-released by John Dolphin's label, Dolphin's of Hollywood. [1]

Audio mastering form of audio post-production

Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device, the source from which all copies will be produced. In recent years digital masters have become usual, although analog masters, such as audio tapes, are still being used by the manufacturing industry, notably by a few engineers who have chosen to specialize in analog mastering.

Swing Time Records US record label

Swing Time Records was a United States-based record label active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The label was founded by Jack Lauderdale in 1947 as Down Beat Records and was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. In approximately October 1949 the name was changed to Swing Beat Records, and around March 1950 the name was changed again to Swing Time. The company went bankrupt in 1953 but continued releasing singles as late as February 1954.

Percy Mayfield American singer and songwriter

Percy Mayfield was an American rhythm-and-blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He was also a songwriter, known for the songs "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack".

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"Ko Ko Mo " is a popular novelty song written in late 1954 by the rhythm and blues partnership of Forest Gene Wilson and Eunice Levy, and also credited to Jake Porter. One of the earliest rock and roll songs, it was probably "the most extensively recorded rock 'n' roll song of that time".

Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr., known as Maxwell Davis, was an American R&B saxophonist, arranger and record producer.

Ernest Aaron Freeman was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s.

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The Ray-O-Vacs were a New Jersey R&B vocal group of the 1940s and 50s which recorded for Jubilee Records and Decca, among others. The name was after a battery brand.

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Recorded In Hollywood

Recorded In Hollywood was an independent American record label specializing in rhythm and blues, active from the late 1940s to the end of the 1950s, which issued several sides by artists significant to the genre. John Dolphin operated the label out of his record shop, before selling it to Starday's Don Pierce. Pierce changed the name to Hollywood Records and began releasing re-issues.

References

  1. 1 2 "Forgotten Sessions" (Part 2), by J.C. Marion, Jamm Upp (The World of Marion-Net E-Zines; home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/ ), Issue 5 (1999) (retrieved June 7, 2016)
  2. ↑ "Supreme records 78rpm numerical listing discography," by Jack Black, Jr., & Tyrone Settlemier, The Online Discographical Project, updated thru August 13, 2010 (retrieved June 17, 2015)
  3. 1 2 I Don't Sound Like Nobody: Remaking Music in 1950s America, by Albin Zak, University of Michigan Press (2010), pg. 143; OCLC   671648362; ISBN   978-0-472-11637-9
  4. ↑ Blue Rhythms: Six Lives in Rhythm and Blues, by Chip Deffaa, University of Illinois Press (1996), pps. 148 & 225; OCLC   32627349; ISBN   9780252022036
  5. ↑ "Supreme Loses Case For 400G Against Decca," Billboard , May 13, 1950, pg. 12
  6. ↑ "Supreme, B&W Bury Hatchet Out of Court," Billboard , April 9, 1949, pg. 19
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