Manor Records
Encyclopedia
Manor Records was a United States
based record label
of the 1940s.
A small label founded in NYC by Irving Berman, Manor Records later moved its headquarters to New Jersey.
The label featured such artists on its roster as Savannah Churchill
, The Sentimentalists—later famous as The Four Tunes
, Luis Russell
,
Deek Watson and His Brown Dots
, Boy Green, Skoodle-Dum-Doo (Seth Richard) and Sheffield, as well as a number of other artists.
Also of interest were the occasional recordings by Dizzy Gillespie
of the Be-Bop genre. Performances on the label were generally not bad, all things considered. Savannah Churchill and The 4 Tunes would be considered "lounge acts" today, but they scored impressively for record sales, and kept Manor afloat for most of the late 1940s.
Berman later changed the name to ARCO Records. But after 1950, tastes in the record buying public began to change and the hits were very few...consequently Berman shut down operations, and his stars went to other labels. The quality of Manor pressings was not very good, but one could probably attribute that to the war time shellac shortage, which adversely affected even the major labels during WWII.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
based 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 1940s.
A small label founded in NYC by Irving Berman, Manor Records later moved its headquarters to New Jersey.
The label featured such artists on its roster as Savannah Churchill
Savannah Churchill
Savannah Churchill was a successful American singer of pop, jazz, and blues music in the 1940s and 1950s.-Career:...
, The Sentimentalists—later famous as The Four Tunes
The Four Tunes
The Four Tunes were a leading black pop vocal quartet during the 1950s. The members at the peak of their fame were William "Pat" Best, Jimmy Gordon, Jimmie Nabbie, and Danny Owens.-Career:...
, Luis Russell
Luis Russell
Luis Russell was a jazz pianist and bandleader.Luis Carl Russell was born on Careening Cay, near Bocas del Toro, Panama, in a family of Afro-Caribbean ancestry. His father was a music teacher, and young Luis learned to play violin, guitar, trombone, and piano...
,
Deek Watson and His Brown Dots
The Brown Dots
The Brown Dots were initially formed in late 1944, when second tenor Ivory "Deek" Watson left the Ink Spots. He immediately put together a competing Ink Spots group consisting of lead tenor Joe King, bass Jimmy Gordon, and an unknown baritone...
, Boy Green, Skoodle-Dum-Doo (Seth Richard) and Sheffield, as well as a number of other artists.
Also of interest were the occasional recordings by Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
of the Be-Bop genre. Performances on the label were generally not bad, all things considered. Savannah Churchill and The 4 Tunes would be considered "lounge acts" today, but they scored impressively for record sales, and kept Manor afloat for most of the late 1940s.
Berman later changed the name to ARCO Records. But after 1950, tastes in the record buying public began to change and the hits were very few...consequently Berman shut down operations, and his stars went to other labels. The quality of Manor pressings was not very good, but one could probably attribute that to the war time shellac shortage, which adversely affected even the major labels during WWII.