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- African Americans
- music recording
race records
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What were race records in music?
Race records were sound recordings in the early 20th century made by and for African Americans, especially from the 1920s to 1940s. The term may have been coined by Ralph S. Peer of OKeh Records to indicate the audience for the recordings.
Black musicians began to be recorded with regularity in 1920. That year, Perry Bradford championed Mamie Smith, whose recording of "Crazy Blues" (1920) led OKeh to launch the "Original Race Records" series, which was advertised to African Americans in Black-owned newspapers. Other white-owned record companies then targeted the Black market with their own "race record" lines.
Annual sales of race records reached five million copies during the 1920s. The success of the race records market helped facilitate the rise of Black-owned record companies, including the Black Swan label of Harry Pace.
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When and why did the term 'race records' start being used?
The term "race records" emerged in the early 20th century to categorize sound recordings made by and for African Americans. Ralph S. Peer, working for OKeh Records, is often credited with coining the term.
From the 1920s to the 1940s, "race records" identified the intended audience for these recordings. Black composer and pianist Perry Bradford championed Mamie Smith, whose 1920 recording "Crazy Blues" led OKeh to launch the "Original Race Records" series, marketed exclusively to African Americans. Other labels like Columbia, Vocalion, and Paramount followed suit, targeting the Black market. The success of race records also paved the way for Black-owned record companies like Harry Pace's Black Swan.
The term faded as white audiences grew to appreciate Black performers, and the market for Black music crossed ethnic lines. After World War II, "race records" was abandoned.
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What types of music were included in race records?
Race records, which were marketed to African Americans from the 1920s to the 1940s, included various types of music by Black performers.
Recordings of blues and jazz became popular through the "race records" industry, starting with Mamie Smith’s "Crazy Blues" in 1920. Other styles included gospel music, Black spirituals, and sermons from Black Pentecostal preachers. Black artists like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Louis Armstrong, and many more became famous through race records.
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How did race records impact African American musicians?
Race records, emerging in the early 20th century, were sound recordings made by and for African Americans. These recordings played a pivotal role in introducing blues and jazz to a wider audience, as white audiences began to appreciate Black performers.
The success of race records facilitated the rise of Black-owned record companies like Harry Pace’s Black Swan label, which aimed to provide authentic representation. According to the Chicago Defender, Pace forced white-owned record companies to acknowledge Black performers. Despite this, most white Americans were initially exposed to blues and jazz through white musicians. The popularity of radio changed perceptions, and by the 1940s, the market for Black music crossed ethnic lines, leading to the abandonment of the term "race records".
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Why did the term 'race records' eventually change, and what replaced it?
The term "race records" faded because white audiences were exposed to blues and jazz and began to appreciate and purchase recordings by Black performers. Additionally, jazz and blues evolved through the influence of both Black and white musicians. By the 1940s, it was apparent that the market for music by Black performers crossed ethnic lines, leading to the abandonment of the terms "race records" and "race music" after World War II.
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How did race records influence American music and culture overall?
Race records, emerging in the early 20th century, were sound recordings made by and for African Americans, significantly influencing American music and culture. Pioneered by labels like OKeh with Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" in 1920, these recordings, marketed directly to the Black community, introduced blues and jazz to a broader audience.
The success of race records facilitated the rise of Black-owned record companies like Black Swan, compelling white-owned companies to acknowledge Black performers. Black music, especially blues and jazz, became a worldwide sensation, influencing the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age. The popularity of jazz among white fans sparked a "Negro Vogue" in cities like New York and Paris.
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race records, sound recordings of the early 20th century that were made exclusively by and for African Americans. The term is sometimes said to have been coined by Ralph S. Peer, who was then working for OKeh Records. It was used especially from the 1920s to the 1940s to indicate the audience for whom the recordings were intended. Use of the term faded as white audiences were also exposed to blues and jazz and began to appreciate Black performers and to seek out and purchase their recordings.
Although the first phonograph recordings were made as early as 1901, few were made by African Americans, and many of those were novelty acts. Early Black recording artists included George W. Johnson, a former slave; The Unique Quartette; Louis (“Bebe”) Vasnier; and the team of George Walker and Bert Williams. It was not until 1920 that Black musicians and singers began to be recorded with any regularity. That was the year in which Black composer and pianist Perry Bradford championed a young Black female entertainer named Mamie Smith. Her first recording—a version of Bradford’s “Crazy Blues” (1920)—was so successful that the General Phonograph Company’s OKeh label launched a series called “Original Race Records.” The series was advertised exclusively to African Americans in Black-owned newspapers. Over the next several years, Black musical director Clarence Williams signed and recorded for OKeh many leading blues, jazz, and gospel artists, including Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, and Lonnie Johnson.
Other white-owned record companies were quick to target the Black market with their own “race record” lines. Blues singers Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, and Clara Smith recorded for Columbia; Leroy Carr, Henry Thomas, and Robert Johnson recorded for Vocalion; and Alberta Hunter, Charley Patton, and Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded for Paramount, which billed itself as the “Premier Race Label.” In the 1930s Decca Records produced a “Sepia Series.”
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Annual sales of race records during the 1920s reached five million copies. The success of the race records market helped to facilitate the rise of Black-owned record companies, among which the short-lived Black Swan label of Harry Pace is recognized as the first. Pace’s motto was “The only genuine colored record. Others are only passing for colored.” African American artists who recorded for Black Swan included Alberta Hunter, Ethel Waters, and pianist and bandleader Fletcher Henderson. When Pace sold the label to Paramount in 1924, the Chicago Defender, a newspaper for African Americans, credited him with having forced white-owned record companies to acknowledge the demand for Black performers, to publish race music catalogs, and to advertise in Black newspapers.
Because race records had been marketed directly to the Black community, most white Americans of the era were initially introduced to the musical styles of blues and jazz through the recordings of white jazz musicians such as Paul Whiteman, who could take no credit for the styles’ origins. The popularity of radio soon changed perceptions. Already in the 1930s race records no longer formed a discrete commercial category, and by the 1940s it had long been apparent that the market for music by Black performers crossed ethnic lines. Furthermore, jazz and blues styles were developing under the influence of both Black and white musicians. After World War II the terms race records and race music were abandoned.