Brunswick - Biography

Biography - Brunswick

USA

U.S. record label, active 1920-1940 and, as a Decca sublabel, from 1943-1959 (end of 78 production).

Brunswick started producing phonographs in the 1910s. Starting in January 1920, they also made records.

Between mid-1928 and 1934, Brunswick marked its B sides with a line under the catalog number.

In April 1930, Brunswick sold its struggling record arm to Warner Brothers. Only in 1931, however, does the company name on the labels change from "The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company" to "Brunswick Radio Corporation / Subsidiary of Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc."

In December 1931, the American Record Corporation (ARC) leased the label from Warner Bros. Brunswick Radio Corp. labels, however, appear on releases until mid-1932. Then, the company name changes to Brunswick Record Corporation. In December 1938, ARC itself was bought by Columbia Broadcasting Systems (CBS). CBS discontinued the Brunswick label in April 1940 (last CBS issue: Brunswick 8520).

Since this decision violated the lease agreement, the Brunswick trademark returned to Warner Bros., who sold the Brunswick and Vocalion trademarks and all Brunswick masters recorded before December 1931 to U.S. Decca in 1941. During the musicians' strike, Decca reissued these masters as part of the Brunswick Collectors Series, which started in 1943.

From 1952-1959, Decca used Brunswick to issue new Rock 'n' Roll recordings.

More on this label's history here.

Series prefixes include:
100-607: 10" Country & Western a.k.a. Dixie (April 1927-1933)
2000-4999: 10" Popular (black label, 1920-1930)
5000: 10" Celebrity Series (purple label, June 1920-1922)
6000-6999: 10" Popular (1930-1934)
7000: 10" Race (1927-1932)
10000: 10" Classical (single-sided green label, 1920);
10100: 10" Classical (single-sided purple label, New Hall Of Fame Popular Series, 1924-)
13000: 10" Opera Singers (blue label, June 1920-1921)
15000-15207: 10" Classical Series (old gold label, March 1922-)
20000: 12" Popular (1921-1933)
50000: 12" Classical: New Hall Of Fame Classic Series (old gold scroll label, from Oct. 1924)
52000: 10" French/Cajun
55000: 10" Hall of Fame-International: Hawaiian (1935)
67000: 10" Jewish (1928)
80000: 10" Brunswick Collector Series (July 1943-1946)
(Full catalog number list at DAHR).

Incomplete Label Guide (NB: frequently erroneous info, including the claim that the underlined cat. numbers mark the "preferred side"; they actually indicate the B side).
• 1920-Aug. 1924: white frame label
• Sept. 1924-1936: scroll label
• 1920-Apr. 1923: white frame label without patent text under Brunswick logo
• May-Dec. 1923: white frame label with patent text under Brunswick logo "REG. U.S. PAT. OFFICE"
• Aug.-Dec. 1923: white frame label with patent text under Brunswick logo "REG. U.S. PAT. OFFICE / M. De F. MARCA INDUSTRIAL REGISTRADA" [variants pressed by a different pressing plant?]
• Jan-Sept. 1924: white frame label with patent text under Brunswick logo "REG. U.S. PAT. OFFICE"
• Sept. 1924-Jan. 1925: scroll label, patent text under Brunswick logo "REG. U.S. PAT. OFFICE / M. De F. MARCA INDUSTRIAL REGISTRADA"
• Feb. 1925-early 1928: scroll label, no patent text
• 1925: The Los Angeles pressing plant opens. Its labels feature genre descriptions like "For Dancing / Fox Trot" higher than the spindle hole and finally in the upper right corner of the label. East Coast pressings align "For Dancing" with the spindle hole and list "Fox Trot" etc. right after the song title.
• only mid- to late 1927: Light-Ray Elec. Rec. (only on Los Angeles pressings)
• mid-1928-1934: B sides were marked with a line under the catalog nr.
• ca. November 1928: "U.S. PAT. 1,637,544" (on East Coast pressings)
• 1930: "U.S. PAT. 1,637,544 / Panatrope with Radio - Radio - Records"
• Between 1930 and mid-1932, Brunswick marked labels with N, C, L. Songs recorded in New York had an N; C stood for Chicago, L for Los Angeles.
• 1931: Brunswick Radio Corporation, Subsidiary of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
• 1932: "MADE IN U.S.A. U.S. PAT. 1,637,544 / Radio with Panatrope, Radio, Records / Brunswick Record Corporation"
• ca. Oct. 1932: "Not Licensed for Radio Broadcast" added left of the spindle hole.
• ca. Dec. 1932: Matrix number added below "Not Licensed for Radio Broadcast" to the left of the spindle hole
• ca. March 1933: "Not Licensed for Radio Broadcast" moved above the spindle hole; matrix number remains on the left.
• 1936-mid 1938: "Full-Range Recording" label
• 1938: "Full-Range Recording" with patent text around the entire label rim.
• 1943- : reissues in the "Collectors' Series"
• 1949-1954: 80,000 series
• 1957-1959: 55,000 series (red label with star)
See also R.J. Wakeman, "Brunswick's "Light Ray" and Panatrope Era and Beyond"

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