Clarion Records

Clarion

Clarion Records (1930-1932)

Clarion Records was a budget label for Columbia records. Clarion was introduced in Aug. 1930 and was discontinued in June 1932 after only 477 releases. It appears the label started from 5000 and ended with 5477. The label focused mainly on children’s and novelty records. It sold for 35 cents.

Some Clarions are experimental “Longer Playing Disc” with thinner grooves to accompany a longer track (4:30-5:00 minutes). A special note about Clarion was the fact that two other different labels also called Clarion did exist. Below is the label for Columbia.

Clarion
1930-1932. Clarion for Columbia

Clarion Discography

A Complete Clarion Discography Clarion Extra Play, Double Track, and Children Discography

One popular Artist that was found on Clarion was Kate Smith.

Kate Smith
Kate Smith
Courtesy of Wikipedia

Below are two selections of hers both recorded on Clarion:

I’VE GOT RHYTHM – Clarion – 5123. This was a remake of George and Ira Gershwin’s I’ve Got Rhythm which came out in 1930.

DON’T LET ME HOLD YOU BABY MINE – Clarion – 5015. This was the first recorded on 7/8/30

God Bless America: Historical Note: Kate Smith’s rendering of God Bless America is often considered THE version of the song.


For more music by Kate Smith see: https://archive.org/details/KateSmithCollection1926-1934

Another well-known musician Duke Ellington and his Orchestra went by the Pseudonym Mills Ten Blackberries on the record. They released several recordings with the same record number. Note: Due to the difficulty of finding Clarion recordings I have substituted labels.


Black and Tan Fantasy -Clarion-5331. Recorded on 6/12/1930


Double Check Stomp-Clarion-5332. Recorded on 6/12/1930


Hot and Bothered-Clarion-5331. Recorded on 6/12/1930


Sweet Mama-Clarion-5332. Recorded on 6/12/1930

Sources
–Rust, Brian. “The American Record Label Book. Arlington House Publishers.” NY,1978.
–Sutton, Allan. “A Guide to Pseudonyms on American Records, 1892-1942.”Greenwood Press,  1993.
–Nauck, Kurt and Allan Sutton. “American Record Labels and Companies: An Encyclopedia (1891-1943)”. Mainspring Press, CO.2000.
For a Discography of Mills Ten Blackberries:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/millstbb.html
For a Discography of Label Recordings for Duke Ellington:
http://ellingtonweb.ca/Hostedpages/DoojiCollection/DoojiCollection-1930.html
Kate Smith Society
http://www.katesmith.org/