Race record
Encyclopedia
Race records were 78 rpm phonograph records marketed to African American
s during the early 20th century, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. They primarily contained race music, comprising a variety of African American musical genres including blues
, jazz
, and gospel music
, though comedy
recordings were also produced. These records were, at the time, the majority of commercial recordings of African American artists in the US (very few African American artists were marketed to the "general audience"). Race records were marketed by Okeh Records
,photo Emerson Records
,photo Vocalion Records
,photo Victor Talking Machine Company
,photo and several other companies.
s gradually began to purchase such records as well. In the 16 October 1920 issue of the Chicago Defender
, an African American newspaper
, an advertisement for Okeh records identified Mamie Smith as "Our Race Artist". Most of the major recording companies issued special "race" series of records between the mid 1920s and the 1940s.
Although in hindsight the term "race record" may seem to be a derogatory one, in the early 20th century the African American press routinely used the term "the Race" to refer to African Americans as a whole, and used the terms "race man" or "race woman" to refer to African American individuals who showed pride and support for their people and culture; compare the cognate term "La Raza
" for Latin American cultural identity.
In June 1949, at the suggestion of Billboard journalist Jerry Wexler
, the magazine renamed its chart again to "Rhythm & Blues Records". Wexler wrote : "Race" was a common term then, a self-referral used by blacks...On the other hand, "Race Records" didn't sit well...I came up with a handle I thought suited the music well - 'rhythm and blues'... a label more appropriate to more enlightened times." The chart has since undergone further name changes, becoming the "Soul" chart in August 1969, then "Black" in June 1982. It has been the "R&B" chart since October 1990.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s during the early 20th century, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. They primarily contained race music, comprising a variety of African American musical genres including blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, though comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
recordings were also produced. These records were, at the time, the majority of commercial recordings of African American artists in the US (very few African American artists were marketed to the "general audience"). Race records were marketed by Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
,photo Emerson Records
Emerson Records
Emerson Records was a record label active in the United States between 1916 to 1928. Emerson Records produced between the 1910s and early 1920s offered generally above average audio fidelity for the era, pressed in high quality shellac. The fidelity of the later issues compares less...
,photo Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
,photo Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
,photo and several other companies.
Terminology
Such records were labeled "race records" in reference to their marketing to African Americans, but white AmericanWhite American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
s gradually began to purchase such records as well. In the 16 October 1920 issue of the Chicago Defender
Chicago Defender
The Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
, an African American newspaper
African American newspapers
African American newspapers are those newspapers in the United States that seek readers primarily of African American descent. These newspapers came into existence in 1827 when Samuel Cornish and John Brown Russwurm started the first African-American periodical called Freedom's Journal...
, an advertisement for Okeh records identified Mamie Smith as "Our Race Artist". Most of the major recording companies issued special "race" series of records between the mid 1920s and the 1940s.
Although in hindsight the term "race record" may seem to be a derogatory one, in the early 20th century the African American press routinely used the term "the Race" to refer to African Americans as a whole, and used the terms "race man" or "race woman" to refer to African American individuals who showed pride and support for their people and culture; compare the cognate term "La Raza
La Raza
In the Spanish language the term Raza translates to "race". Its meaning varies amongst various Spanish-speaking peoples. For instance, in Spain, "Raza" may denote specifically Spanish and often of a something or someone of a European Christian heritage. The Francoist film Raza, from 1944, which...
" for Latin American cultural identity.
Transition to rhythm and blues
Billboard magazine published "Race Records" charts between 1945 and 1949, initially covering juke box plays and from 1948 also covering sales. These were revised versions of the "Harlem Hit Parade" chart which it had introduced in 1942.In June 1949, at the suggestion of Billboard journalist Jerry Wexler
Jerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
, the magazine renamed its chart again to "Rhythm & Blues Records". Wexler wrote : "Race" was a common term then, a self-referral used by blacks...On the other hand, "Race Records" didn't sit well...I came up with a handle I thought suited the music well - 'rhythm and blues'... a label more appropriate to more enlightened times." The chart has since undergone further name changes, becoming the "Soul" chart in August 1969, then "Black" in June 1982. It has been the "R&B" chart since October 1990.
See also
- Hot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
- for history of the BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B record chart, known as the "Race Records" chart from February 1945 to June 1949. - African American musicAfrican American musicAfrican-American music is an umbrella term given to a range of musics and musical genres emerging from or influenced by the culture of African Americans, who have long constituted a large and significant ethnic minority of the population of the United States...
- List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States) (Billboard, 1942–1959)
- Cover versions