| Company type | Incentive |
|---|---|
| Industry | record label |
| Founded | 1951 Jackson, Mississippi |
| Founder | Lillian McMurry |
| Headquarters | United States |
Trumpet Records was an American record company founded by Lillian McMurry in Jackson, Mississippi in 1951. [1] Although it existed for only four years, it was influential.
The goal of Trumpet Records was to record musicians from the Mississippi Delta that did not have access to recording studios in New York City or Los Angeles. Trumpet competed with the Bihari brothers of Modern Records. Both companies recorded some of the era's best blues music, from ballads to jump blues and boogie woogie. [2] Elmore James recorded his original "Dust My Broom" here, and the label was the first to record Sonny Boy Williamson II. [3]
Trumpet was founded by Lillian McMurry. Her husband Willard, was in the furniture sales business, and they purchased a hardware store which they were renovating to be a furniture store. The workers were playing some unsold records left behind and one caught Lillian's attention: Wynonie Harris's "All She Wants to Do is Rock". “'It was the most unusual, sincere and solid sound I'd ever heard,'' she said. ''I'd never heard a black record before. I'd never heard anything with such rhythm and freedom.'” [4] McMurray wanted to sell records in the store (which at the time were sold everywhere from grocery stores to beauty parlors) and had the workers make up a list of records to buy. When the store opened, she quickly sold out of all those records and asked Willard if they could turn part of the store into a record store (called Record Mart).
Trumpet was located on Farish Street, the black district of Jackson, and recorded R&B, gospel and blues artists including Little Milton, Wynonie Harris, Willie Love, and James Waller. [5] Arthur Crudup recorded at the label under the name Elmer James. [6] In 1952, James's song "Dust My Broom" appeared on Billboard's R&B chart at No. 9. Talent scout Joe Bihari found him at the radio shop to record him at a local night club backing up Ike Turner. McMurry and the Bihari brothers ended up in a multi-year legal dispute when the Biharis tried to sign artists who had exclusive agreements with Trumpet. The case made major publications and, in 1954, a judge ruled in favor of McMurray. [4]
Trumpet artists recorded at studios such as WRBC Radio's studio; Ivan Scott's Radio Service Studio in Jackson; and some historic studios of the day (such as Bill Holford's ACA Studios in Houston; Memphis Record Service with Sam Phillips; RCA Victor Studio in Chicago; and Universal Recording in Chicago). Record Mart was remodeled to be a recording studio, Diamond Recording Studio, designed by Bill Holford, in 1953. McMurray engineered based on what she learned by observing and listening to other engineers. [4]
Williamson wrote about McMurray in two songs: "Pontiac Blues", about her car, and "309", named for her address. In the lyrics he gave out her home phone number.
Trumpet closed in 1956. Creditors sold the artists' recording contracts. Sonny Boy Williamson II then recorded for Chess Records in Chicago, where he released another 70 songs.
The site of the Trumpet Records's studio is commemorated by a Mississippi Blues Trail historical marker. [7]
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. His slide guitar technique earned him the nickname "King of the Slide Guitar".
Alex or Aleck Miller, known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp stylist who recorded successfully in the 1950s and 1960s. Miller used various names, including Rice Miller and Little Boy Blue, before calling himself Sonny Boy Williamson, which was also the name of a popular Chicago blues singer and harmonica player. To distinguish the two, Miller has been referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II.
John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of recordings by many pre–World War II blues artists. Under his own name, he was one of the most recorded blues musicians of the 1930s and 1940s and is closely associated with Chicago producer Lester Melrose and Bluebird Records. His popular songs, original or adapted, include "Good Morning, School Girl", "Sugar Mama", "Early in the Morning", and "Stop Breaking Down".
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"Dust My Broom" is a blues song originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic guitar. As with many of his songs, it is based on earlier blues songs, the earliest of which has been identified as "I Believe I'll Make a Change", recorded by the Sparks brothers as "Pinetop and Lindberg" in 1932. Johnson's guitar work features an early use of a boogie rhythm pattern, which is seen as a major innovation, as well as a repeating triplets figure.
Lillian Shedd McMurry was one of the earliest American female record producers and owner of Trumpet Records. She was influential in the development of blues music, particularly through her recordings of Sonny Boy Williamson II and her discovery of the guitarist Elmore James.
The Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, headquartered in Clinton, Mississippi, honors Mississippi's famous musicians. It is a "Who's Who" of the blues, rock and roll, and jazz from their beginnings to present day. The organization's museum is located in the Jackson–Evers International Airport in Jackson, Mississippi.
Luke McDaniel, who also recorded under the stage name Jeff Daniels, was an American country and rockabilly music singer and songwriter. He was the grandfather of Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel.
Document Records is an independent record label, founded in Austria and now based in Scotland, that specializes in reissuing vintage blues and jazz. The company has been recognised by The Blues Foundation, being honoured with a Keeping the Blues Alive Award in 2018. Document Records is the only UK-based recipient of the award.
Eugene Floyd Phillips was an American jump blues guitarist and singer.
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Willie Love Jr. was an American Delta blues pianist. He is best known for his association with and accompaniment of Sonny Boy Williamson II.
"Sugar Mama" or "Sugar Mama Blues" is a blues standard. Called a "tautly powerful slow blues" by music journalist Charles Shaar Murray, it has been recorded by numerous artists, including early Chicago bluesmen Tampa Red, Sonny Boy Williamson I, and Tommy McClennan. John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf later adapted "Sugar Mama" for electric blues and rock group Led Zeppelin reworked it during early recording sessions.
William Dwight Holford, Sr. was an American recording engineer and record producer. For 44 of those years, from 1948 to 1982, he was the affiliated with ACA Studios in Houston as an owner, partner, and audio engineer. Holford also helped build studios for several labels, including Duke/Peacock, Starday, Sarg Records, and Trumpet Records.
Elmore James was an American blues slide guitarist and singer who recorded from 1951 until 1963. His most famous song, "Dust My Broom", an electrified adaptation of a Robert Johnson tune, was his first hit and features one of the most identifiable slide guitar figures in blues. James' composition "The Sky Is Crying" and his rendition of Tampa Red's "It Hurts Me Too" were among his most successful singles on the record charts. Other popular James songs, such as "I Can't Hold Out", ""Madison Blues", "Shake Your Moneymaker", "Bleeding Heart", and "One Way Out", have been recorded by several other artists, including Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, and the Allman Brothers Band.
Houston Davis was an American composer, arranger, teacher of music, dance band drummer, and later in his career, a justice of the peace in Hinds County, Mississippi.
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