Music recorded in September 1921
September 1921 was a month of simultaneous restructuring of the postwar order and institutionalization of new technologies. On the 1st, the Bureau of Aeronautics began operations, and a new system of naval aviation administration started under William Adger Moffett (1869–1933). On the 7th, the Inter-City Beauty Contest was held in Atlantic City, with Margaret Gorman (1905–1995) winning, an event later considered the starting point for Miss America. In September, John James Rickard Macleod (1876–1935) returned to the University of Toronto, and research on pancreatic extracts by Frederick Grant Banting (1891–1941) and Charles Herbert Best (1899–1978) moved to the next stage. On the 21st, a chemical plant explosion occurred in Oppau, Germany, and on the 22nd, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania joined the League of Nations. On the 26th, the President's Conference on Unemployment was held in the United States, bringing to the forefront the response to recession and unemployment as a national issue.
Confirmed recordings this month: 0
Summary of information regarding the September 1921 recording.
In September 1921, the recording industry saw simultaneous announcements of new releases, the establishment of wholesale outlets, the signing of exclusive artists, and the expansion of sales agency networks, all appearing in monthly supplements, industry magazines, and newspaper advertisements. From what can be confirmed, the activities of Columbia Graphophone Co., Victor Talking Machine Co., Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Black Swan Records, and Sonora Phonograph Co. appear in September records.
Columbia
The Talking Machine World reported in September 1921 that Columbia Graphophone Co. had opened its wholesale headquarters in Toronto and moved its wholesale operations for Ontario to a directly managed system. This indicates that in September 1921, the company was not only focusing on new release sales but also strengthening its distribution control and branch functions in the Canadian market.
- https://www.capsnews.org/capp/columbia/columbia.html
- https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Talking-Machine/20s/Talking-Machine-1921-09.pdf
Victor
Victor Talking Machine Co. announced its September new releases on a release date basis in a newspaper advertisement dated September 1, 1921, and began selling the new releases for that month from the beginning of the month. Another contemporary advertisement indicates that the September releases went on sale nationwide in the United States from August 28, suggesting that the company was very systematically managing the distribution of its monthly supplemental releases in September 1921.
- https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DCDD19210901.1.4
- https://digital.hagley.org/2464001?page=%2C19
Brunswick
In September 1921, Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. prominently featured its exclusive recordings by Florence Easton (1882–1955) and Giuseppe Danise (1883–1963) in music magazine advertisements, promoting its new Brunswick releases. Newspaper advertisements later that month also confirmed the release of new September recordings, indicating that the company was simultaneously strengthening its exclusive singer roster and introducing new recordings.
- https://archive.org/stream/EtudeSeptember1921/EtudeSeptember1921_djvu.txt
- https://washingtondigitalnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=SUR19210902-02.1.18
Edison
According to records compiled by the National Park Service, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. recorded Edna White's (dates of birth and death unknown) "The debutante" as an Edison Diamond Disc release from September 1921. This confirms that in September 1921, the company continued to release previously recorded matrix discs while maintaining the supply of new Diamond Discs.
Black Swan
In its September 1921 advertisement for "The Crisis," Black Swan Records strongly promoted high-quality vocal recordings by Black singers, using the slogan "Caruoso's Voice." The wording of that month's advertisement clearly demonstrated Black Swan Records' stance of offering a different kind of repertoire in opposition to the stereotypes of Black singing left behind by white-owned companies, and clearly shows their sales strategy and cultural positioning as of September 1921.
- https://archive.oah.org/special-issues/teaching/2004_03/sources.html
- https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/civil-rights/crisis/0900-crisis-v22n05-w131.pdf
Sonora
Products from Sonora Phonograph Co. were still advertised in California newspapers in September 1921, indicating that at least their West Coast sales network was operational by that time. The September 9th issue of the Modesto Morning Herald featured a store advertisement that read "AGENCY SONORA PHONOGRAPH," and the September 19th issue of the Fresno Bee also shows advertisements for retailers carrying Sonora products.
