Radiex Records
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
of the 1920s. It was manufactured by Grey Gull Records
Grey Gull Records
Grey Gull Records was a record label based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America from 1919 through 1930. According to the Massachusetts Department of Corporation and Taxation, Grey Gull was officially incorporated on 31 December 1919. It was dissolved on 31 March 1934 Grey Gull...
of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1921
1921 in music
-Events:* Clarence Williams makes his first recordings* The Harvard Glee Club takes its first trip to Europe, garnering international press attention.* Amelita Galli-Curci marries her accompanist, Homer Samuels....
until the demise of Grey Gull in late 1930
1930 in music
-Events:*February 16 - al which opens to rave reviews. Of the film's song, "When The Little Red Roses Get The Blues For You", becomes a hit. Al Jolson records this song from the picture for Brunswick Records....
; it was then pressed for a few more months into 1931 by the successor firm which continued the Radiex, Van Dyke and Madison labels. Radiex records were sold in Montgomery Ward catalogs although they were not manufactured specifically for that firm. In some cases, records have been found which had the labels of other Grey Gull products over Radiex labels...or vice versa.
Radiex Records were standard lateral-cut double sided 78 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
disc records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
pressed in various colours of shellac
Shellac
Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes , which are dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish...
which generally stood up to wear poorly. The earliest paper sleeves in which Radiex records were sold described them as "The Record of Beauty." The issues are popular vocal and dance numbers of the era, from masters recorded by Grey Gull
Grey Gull Records
Grey Gull Records was a record label based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America from 1919 through 1930. According to the Massachusetts Department of Corporation and Taxation, Grey Gull was officially incorporated on 31 December 1919. It was dissolved on 31 March 1934 Grey Gull...
, Plaza Music, 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...
, and sometimes Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. Radiex discs bore the same catalog numbers, and contained the same material, as Grey Gull and other products of that company. There are however examples of Radiex issues using other takes of the same tunes as the corresponding Grey Gull issues (for example Sweethearts On Parade on Radiex 1587, which uses a faster take -A with partly different solos than on the slower take -B used on Grey Gull 1587).
Radiex Records were numbered in a 1000 series (dance music), a 2000 series (vocal), a 4000 series (standards) and a seldom-found 7000 race series, along with a mysterious 8000/8100 series whose function is not currently known.
When the Grey Gull firm ceased business in late 1930, a successor firm continued pressing Radiex, Van Dyke and Madison records until some point in the spring of 1931. These records carried Madison numbers (5000s followed by 6000s) and also had an 800/900 series which paired older Grey Gull "B" sides; a few country records have been seen with 51xx numbers. These records are visibly slightly different from the earlier Boston-pressed Grey Gull products.
Noted record collector and reissue specialist David Lennick, of Toronto, Ontario, has revived the use of the Radiex name on CDs.
The Radiex label was discontinued (on 78 r.p.m. discs)in 1931
1931 in music
-Events:*May 21 - RCA Victor's first commercially issued 33⅓ rpm record, "Salon Suite, No. 1" by The Victor Salon Orchestra, directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, was recorded*Roy Rogers' musical career begins*Mary Garden retires from the Chicago Opera...
. A fairly large number of label designs and colour variations were used on Radiex records over its short lifespan. Little is known about the source of the "Radiex" name, which may have been used to suggest some connection with radio.