About
US label Vee Jay was founded in 1953 in Gary, Indiana, USA by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken (Mr. & Mrs. Bracken), who used their first initials for the label’s name. The first song they ever recorded made it to the top ten of the US rhythm & blues charts. Within a short time, Vee Jay was the most successful black-owned record company in the U.S.A. It was the first American company to sign . In one month alone in early 1964, they sold 2.6 million Beatles singles. When Beatles’ sales skyrocketed. Capitol Records, who had earlier turned down the Beatles, started filing lawsuits against Vee Jay to get the group back, as reported by Mike Callahan in “The Vee Jay Story” in Goldmine (May 1981). The cost of defending the lawsuits, in addition to Ewart Abner’s poor financial management and gambling habit, wiped out Vee Jay’s money and credit, and put the company out of business. It reorganized as VJ International in 1967 after company executives Randy Wood and Betty Chiapetta bought the label from its bankruptcy trustee and operated it mainly to liquidate existing stock and lease the Vee-Jay masters to other companies; it released its own records (reissues and previously unreleased material) in 1975 but had trouble finding distributors to carry these albums. In 1990, Chameleon Music Group president Daniel Pritzker formed a limited liability partnership and bought VJ International from Chiapetta and began reissuing Vee-Jay material on CD until Chameleon became inactive in 1995. The company was reactivated in 1998 under the management of Michele Tayler, who cut an agreement with Rhino Records (2) for North American licensing of the catalog. Vee Jay's catalog is currently owned by the Concord Music Group, which also owns Fantasy Records among its holdings. 45 RPM Catalog Number, Date and Label Identification: 100 through 223 (1953–1956): Maroon label with thin outer silver circle. Does not have "Trademark Reg." or "Made In The U.S.A." on the label. 224 through 286 (1956–1958): Maroon label with thin outer silver circle. Does not have "Trademark Reg." but does have "Made In The U.S.A." on the label. 287 through 353 (1958–1960): Maroon label with thicker outer silver circle. Has "Trademark Reg." but does not have "Made In The U.S.A." on the label. 354 and higher (1960 forward): Black label. Vee Jay 280 had the thicker outer line, but was an exception to the rule. Red plastic exists in some numbers in the 100 series. When the Beatles became popular in January 1964, Vee Jay releases poured forth, using a wide assortment of label colors and designs.
Links
Connect
Sub-labels
Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz
Interphon Records
Defunct beat/pop/rock label; mid-1960's.
Tollie Records
Subsidiary label of Vee Jay Records known mainly for releasing two singles by The Beatles in 1964 at the start of Beatlemania ("Twist and Shout" and "Love Me Do") before Capitol Records eve...
Oldies 45
Oldies 45 was a reissue sub-label of Vee-Jay Records started in 1963 to distribute past 45 rpm singles from Vee-Jay and other independent labels. Whole Page Advert in Billboard # October 5th 1963 P...
Abner
1950s-1960s R&B label from Chicago, Illinois. Originally named before Vee-Jay's management found out that a Falcon label already existed in Texas.
VJ International
US record label and company. Also appears as V.J. International
Exodus Records (4)
1960s-1970s gospel label from Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1966 primarily as the gospel music subsidiary of Vee Jay Records, the imprint was also used as a reissue label for some of Vee-Jay's c...
Vivid Records (2)
1960s R&B label from Chicago, Illinois. ** Also shown on the label as: Vivid (without "Records").
Falcon (6)
1950s label from Chicago, Illinois. Renamed after Vee-Jay's management found out that a Falcon label already existed in Texas. For unofficial releases, see Falcon (15).
Vee-Jay Vintage Series
This is the record Series. For the record label see Vee Jay Records.
Vee Jay Jazz
This is the record Series. For the namesake record label please see Vee Jay Records.
Spiritual Series
Blues And Gospel Train
French serie of Vee Jay Records distributed by CBS, around 1968 to 1971.
Vee Jay Jazz 24 bit New Mastering
For the record label please see Vee Jay Records.
Discotheque Records (3)
American record label established May 1965 by Vee Jay Records, to capitalize on the "disk-dance" trend. National sales manager Bill Siegel (4).
Vee Jay Collectors Series
This is the record Series. For the record label please see Vee Jay Records.
Vee Jay Blues & Pops Series
Japanese LP and CD reissue series. This is a record Series. For the record label please see Vee Jay Records.
Contact Label
as VJ International: Vee Jay International Records 131 E. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank, CA 91502 (no longer active) Current Address: The Vee-Jay Limited Partnership 43 Chestnut Woods Road Redding, CT 06896 USA Phone: 203.938.2404 Fax: 203.938.5533 Email: info@vee-jay.net