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How
did a Midwestern chair manufacturer become a leader in the 1920s
“race record” market? After all, their decision to launch
Paramount Records in 1917 was little more than an after-thought,
a ploy to increase sales of Wisconsin Chair’s new line of
phonographs.
When Paramount failed to thrive with middle-of-the road fare in
the early 1920s, a bold decision was made to plunge into a new and
largely untested market — records by black performers, marketed
to black buyers.
For
a decade, Paramount would lead the industry in discovering and recording
pioneer blues artists — among them, Blind Lemon Jefferson,
Ma Rainey, Blind Blake, Skip James, and Charley Patton — despite
questionable business practices and the notoriously poor sound quality
of its records.
Never able to compete with the larger companies, Paramount was subsidized
largely by Wisconsin Chair’s more profitable furniture business.
The label died in 1932, but the parent company carried on for 22
more years.
Paramount's Rise and Fall examines not only Paramount and
its recording artists, but the parent company's colorful history.
The book features 120 illustrations, including previously unpublished
photos and rare advertising artwork.
6 x 9" hardcover with dustjacket
264
page • 120 illustrations
ISBN 0-9671819-4-1
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