Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924.
History
The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was later dropped from the label's name. In late 1924, the label was acquired by Brunswick Records. During the 1920s, Vocalion also began the 1000 race series, records recorded by and marketed to African Americans.[1] Jim Jackson recorded "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues" for Vocalion in 1927.[2] It sold exceptionally well, and the song became a blues standard for musicians from Memphis and Mississippi.[2] The label issued Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues"