Trumpet Records
Encyclopedia
Trumpet Records was a recording company started by Henry and Lillian McMurry
in Jackson, Mississippi
in 1951
.
region that were going unrecorded because they did not have access to recording studios in New York City
, Los Angeles
, or Oakland. The company was in competition with the Bihari brothers
of Modern Records
. Between the two companies, they recorded some of the era's best blues
music, from lively jump
boogie woogie
to slow blues ballads. The record company was only in existence from 1950 to 1955 but was nonetheless influential. Elmore James
recorded his original Dust My Broom
here. The company was also home to the first recordings of Sonny Boy Williamson
.
The label was founded by Lillian McMurry, whose husband owned a radio repair shop. Elmore James worked at the shop in 1949 fixing radios until Ms. McMurry started the label. Thereafter he was employed as a rhythm guitarist until he began his own solo career. In 1952 Elmore's song "Dust My Broom
" appeared on Billboard's "Best Seller
" R&B chart at #9. At the time Elmore was still working at Holston's radio repair shop. Talent scout Joe Bihari hunted him down there to alter record him at a local night club backing up Ike Turner.
The company was located on Farish Street, the black district of Jackson, and recorded a range of future R&B, gospel
and blues
artists including such future greats as Elmore James
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
, Little Milton
, Wynonie Harris
, Willie Love
, and James Waller. Arthur Crudup
recorded at the label under the name Elmer James.
Sonny Boy wrote about Lillian in two songs specifically. "Pontiac Blues" was about Lillian's Pontiac, and the song "309" was named for 309 Farish Street, Trumpet Records' street address. In the lyrics he actually gives out Lillian's home phone number. They couldn't have parted too sourly; in 1977 it was Ms. McMurry who paid to erect Williamson's headstone.
The company closed down in 1956
. Creditors sold the artists' recording contracts; Sonny Boy Williamson II was sold to Chess Records in Chicago where he released another 70 songs.
The site of the Trumpet Records recording studio is now commemorated by a Mississippi Blues Trail
historical marker.
Lillian McMurry
Lillian Shedd McMurry was an American record producer, influential in the development of blues music.Lillian Shedd was born in Purvis, Mississippi, and married furniture-store owner Willard McMurry in 1945, settling in Jackson, Mississippi...
in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
in 1951
1951 in music
-Events:*January 29 – Nilla Pizzi wins the first annual Sanremo Music Festival with "Grazie dei fiori".*February – The first complete performance of Charles Ives's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.*March – Alan...
.
History of Trumpet Records
The goal of Trumpet Records was to provide a means of recording some of the most popular combos in the Mississippi DeltaMississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
region that were going unrecorded because they did not have access to recording studios in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, or Oakland. The company was in competition with the Bihari brothers
Bihari brothers
The Bihari Brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American music entrepreneurs and the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.-Origins:...
of Modern Records
Modern Records
Modern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...
. Between the two companies, they recorded some of the era's best 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...
music, from lively jump
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
boogie woogie
Boogie-woogie (music)
Boogie-woogie is a style of piano-based blues that became popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but originated much earlier, and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, and country and western music, and even gospel. Whilst the blues traditionally depicts a variety...
to slow blues ballads. The record company was only in existence from 1950 to 1955 but was nonetheless influential. Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
recorded his original Dust My Broom
Dust My Broom
"Dust My Broom" is a blues standard originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"by Robert Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03475, ARC 7-04-81 and Conqueror 8871...
here. The company was also home to the first recordings of Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
.
The label was founded by Lillian McMurry, whose husband owned a radio repair shop. Elmore James worked at the shop in 1949 fixing radios until Ms. McMurry started the label. Thereafter he was employed as a rhythm guitarist until he began his own solo career. In 1952 Elmore's song "Dust My Broom
Dust My Broom
"Dust My Broom" is a blues standard originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"by Robert Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03475, ARC 7-04-81 and Conqueror 8871...
" appeared on Billboard's "Best Seller
Bestseller (music)
A bestseller in music is a song or album listed at or near the top of a hits list or chart such as the Billboard charts produced by Billboard magazine which published its first hit parade in 1940. As with most book bestseller lists, these lists are usually based on sales to the retail sites and...
" R&B chart at #9. At the time Elmore was still working at Holston's radio repair shop. Talent scout Joe Bihari hunted him down there to alter record him at a local night club backing up Ike Turner.
The company was located on Farish Street, the black district of Jackson, and recorded a range of future R&B, gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
and 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...
artists including such future greats as Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
, Little Milton
Little Milton
James Milton Campbell, Jr. , better known as Little Milton, was an American electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Gonna Make It."-Biography:Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi...
, Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, Willie Love
Willie Love
Willie Love was an American Delta blues pianist. He is best known for his association with, and accompaniment of Sonny Boy Williamson II.-Biography:...
, and James Waller. Arthur Crudup
Arthur Crudup
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.-Career:Arthur Crudup...
recorded at the label under the name Elmer James.
Sonny Boy wrote about Lillian in two songs specifically. "Pontiac Blues" was about Lillian's Pontiac, and the song "309" was named for 309 Farish Street, Trumpet Records' street address. In the lyrics he actually gives out Lillian's home phone number. They couldn't have parted too sourly; in 1977 it was Ms. McMurry who paid to erect Williamson's headstone.
The company closed down in 1956
1956 in music
-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...
. Creditors sold the artists' recording contracts; Sonny Boy Williamson II was sold to Chess Records in Chicago where he released another 70 songs.
The site of the Trumpet Records recording studio is now commemorated by a Mississippi Blues Trail
Mississippi Blues Trail
The Mississippi Blues Trail, created by the Mississippi Blues Commission, is a project to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the growth of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi. The trail extends from the border of Louisiana in southern Mississippi...
historical marker.