Morrison Records (Seattle)
Encyclopedia
Morrison Records was an independent record label, based in Seattle, Washington, United States
. It was founded in the 1940s by Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison
(1888-1984) and his wife, Alice Nadine Morrison
(1892-1978), and appears to have gone out of business around the time of its founders' deaths. Much of their catalogue consisted of vanity recordings by local amateur talent, but Paul Tutmarc
and his wife Bonnie Guitar
were among those who released records on Morrison. According to Peter Blecha, the label "generally leaned towards the old-fashioned strains preferred by ballroom dancers."
Morrison began in a space in downtown Seattle at Second and Pike. In the 1950s they negotiated a national distribution deal with Vega Records and set up a warehouse and shipping center on Queen Anne Hill, a studio near Green Lake and a pressing plant in Belltown. Master tapes
were sent to California to be turned into stamps to press vinyl records. Each record was hand-pressed on colored vinyl, and because of their hand-pressing process, they could put any two songs in their catalog on opposite sides of a single disc.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in the 1940s by Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison
Howell Oakdeane Morrison
Howell Oakdeane Morrison , also known as "Morrie" Morrison, was an American musician, dance instructor, impresario and entrepreneur, founder of Seattle-based Morrison Records. From 1912, he was married to songwriter and musician Alice Nadine Morrison .-Life:Born in Alabama, Morrison moved with his...
(1888-1984) and his wife, Alice Nadine Morrison
Alice Nadine Morrison
Alice Nadine Morrison , birth name Alice Nadine Lanterman, was an American songwriter and musician. With her husband Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison she was involved in numerous music-related business ventures, including Morrison Records.-Life:Born in Anacortes, Washington, while still in her...
(1892-1978), and appears to have gone out of business around the time of its founders' deaths. Much of their catalogue consisted of vanity recordings by local amateur talent, but Paul Tutmarc
Paul Tutmarc
Paul Tutmarc was a Seattle musician and musical instrument inventor. He was a tenor singer and a performer and teacher of the lap steel guitar and the ukulele. He developed a number of variant types of stringed musical instruments, such as electrically amplified double basses, electric basses, and...
and his wife Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar is an American Country-Pop Singer. She is best remembered for her 1957 Country-Pop crossover hit "Dark Moon"...
were among those who released records on Morrison. According to Peter Blecha, the label "generally leaned towards the old-fashioned strains preferred by ballroom dancers."
Morrison began in a space in downtown Seattle at Second and Pike. In the 1950s they negotiated a national distribution deal with Vega Records and set up a warehouse and shipping center on Queen Anne Hill, a studio near Green Lake and a pressing plant in Belltown. Master tapes
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
were sent to California to be turned into stamps to press vinyl records. Each record was hand-pressed on colored vinyl, and because of their hand-pressing process, they could put any two songs in their catalog on opposite sides of a single disc.