Music recorded in January 1924
January 1924 was a month in which the outlines of a new era became clear in the fields of politics, culture, broadcasting, and sports. On January 6, the British Broadcasting Company made its first religious service broadcast, marking the beginning of radio's entry into the core of public culture. On January 10, Columbia Pictures Corporation was established, and a new company to play a part in the film industry began to operate. From January 20 to 30, the First National Congress of the Kuomintang was held in Guangzhou, and the party under Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925) underwent further reorganization. On January 21, Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) died, and the following day, Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) became Prime Minister and led Britain's first Labour government. Furthermore, the International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix opened on January 25th, and this event was later recognized as the first Winter Olympics.
Confirmed recordings this month: 0
Summary of information regarding the recording from January 1924
In the recording industry in January 1924, while year-end sales promotions and advertising campaigns for exclusive artists continued, actual recording production was also underway at each company. The Discography of American Historical Recordings at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library lists recording dates for January 4, 11, 14, and 15, 1924, showing the activities of multiple companies, including Victor Talking Machine Company, Columbia Graphophone Co., The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., OKeh Records (General Phonograph Corporation), Gennett Records (Starr Piano Co.), and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Contemporary magazines also contain sales announcements at the beginning of the year and exclusive recording advertisements, indicating that recording production and promotion were proceeding in parallel.
Victor
The Victor Talking Machine Company demonstrated a strong promotional stance for the first month of the new year in the January 1924 issue of "The Voice of the Victor," as featured by the Library of Congress. In addition, recordings from January 4th and 15th, 1924, can be found in the Discography of American Historical Recordings, indicating that the company was simultaneously promoting its products and releasing new recordings from the beginning of the year.
- https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-jukebox/articles-and-essays/phonograph-advertising/
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse/1924-01-04
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse/1924-01-15
Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Co.'s recordings can be found in the Discography of American Historical Recordings, dated January 4, 1924. While we were unable to find sufficient primary sources directly showing nationwide advertisements or distributor promotions for January 1924 within the scope of publicly available documents we were able to access, we can at least confirm recording activities at the beginning of the month.
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse/1924-01-04
- https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102981611
Brunswick
Brunswick Records, part of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., placed an advertisement featuring its contracted artists in the January 3, 1924 issue of Variety magazine. Furthermore, the Discography of American Historical Recordings confirms a recording from January 11, indicating that promotional activities and recording production were proceeding simultaneously at the beginning of the year.
- https://archive.org/details/variety73-1924-01
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse?date=1924-01-11
OK
OKeh Records, a subsidiary of General Phonograph Corporation, has recordings that can be found in the Discography of American Historical Recordings, specifically in the January 4th and January 11th, 1924 lists. While we were unable to secure sufficient advertising materials for that month, it is certain that the company continued recording production in the first half of January.
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse/1924-01-04
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse?date=1924-01-11
- https://www.si.edu/object/archives/components/sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-phonographs-ref541
Jennette
Gennett Records, a division of Starr Piano Co., has recordings that can be found in the Discography of American Historical Recordings, specifically in the January 4th and January 14th, 1924 lists. Therefore, it is clear that the company was also actively recording in the first half of January 1924.
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse/1924-01-04
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse?Matrix_sort=Company&date=1924-01-14
- https://archives.libraries.rutgers.edu/repositories/6/resources/311
Edison
According to records from the United States National Park Service, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. released Edison Diamond Disc No. 51278-R in January 1924. In addition, the Discography of American Historical Recordings lists recordings from the company for January 11, 1924, confirming their activity in that month in terms of both releases and new recordings.
- https://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/photosmultimedia/country-and-anglo-american-folk-songs.htm
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/date/browse?date=1924-01-11
Vocalion
The Aeolian Company's Vocalion Records placed an advertisement in the January 3, 1924 issue of Variety magazine that prominently featured its exclusive recordings. This confirms that the company was already promoting its sales and marketing around its exclusive artists as of January 1924.
