Little Wonder Records
Little Wonder Records was a United States budget record label from 1914 through 1923. The label was known for producing one-sided records with abbreviated versions of songs at a very low price.
History
Little Wonders were manufactured by the
Little Wonders were lateral-cut single sided 5+1⁄2 inch
The records retailed for ten
All known Little Wonders were made by artists who also recorded for Columbia.[4] One account says that recording artists would visit the Little Wonder recording studio on one floor of the Woolworth Building before or after making records at the Columbia studio on a higher floor of the same building. There has been some speculation that the masters for Little Wonders were actually warm-up balance checks recorded as tests at the beginning of Columbia recording sessions; if such tests happened to record a usable performance, they would be leased to Little Wonder.[5] However, court papers from an early lawsuit between Waterson and Victor Emerson indicate that performers were paid separately and specifically to record for Little Wonder records.
Little Wonder #1 was "Ben Bolt", sung by
Beginning in 1916 Columbia took full control of Little Wonder, and in 1917 it began issuing small illustrated children's books called "Bubble Books", and were also best sellers.[10] Much later Columbia also issued various promotional discs in the same "small disc" numerical series, but these should not be confused with the Little Wonder label.
Little Wonder #339, "The Camp Meeting Jubilee" by a male vocal "quartette", issued in 1916, contains the lyrics "We've been rockin' an' rolling in your arms / Rockin' and rolling in your arms / In the arms of Moses." This is believed to be one of the earliest uses in an audio recording of the phrase "
See also
- List of record labels
Notes
- Victor recording that is unlikely to have had an audience comparable to the inexpensive Little Wonder version.[11]
References
- Brooks, Tim, with Merle Sprinzen, Little Wonder Records and Bubble Books, An Illustrated History and Discography, p. 8, Denver: Mainspring Press, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-252-02850-2.
- ^ Brooks and Sprinzen, p. 27.
- ^ Brooks and Sprinzen, p. 55.
- ^ Brooks and Sprinzen, p. 56.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-136-59229-4.
- ISBN 978-1-135-94950-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87972-162-6.
- ISBN 978-0-307-37989-4.
- ^ Brooks and Sprinzen, p. 31-48.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-39348-8.
Further reading
- Brooks, Tim, with Merle Sprinzen, Little Wonder Records and Bubble Books, An Illustrated History and Discography, Denver: Mainspring Press, 2011. A comprehensive history and discography.