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258:, 10 September 1922, p. 6). He introduced a method of selling records that became standard in the music industry. Grey Gull placed display racks offering their latest product in newsstands, cigar stores, drug stores, and other businesses, returning on a regular basis to restock the racks and settle accounts with the merchant, a system known today as
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on such discs had expired in 1919. The lateral discs bore catalog numbers prefixed with "L" (for lateral) and sold for the same high price. These records were recorded in Boston, where the company and Shaw were located ("Local Studio," C7). In 1926 Grey Gull's recording operations were moved to New
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sold at premium prices. Their small grooves were to be played with a needle or stylus, giving about twice the playing time of the standard 10-inch 78 rpm. Most offered more than one selection per side. These records bore catalog numbers prefixed with an "H," probably because vertical-cut discs were
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During this period, Grey Gull typically put one "hit" song on the top side and original composition by one of the company's "staff composers" on the flip side. Mike
Mosiello contributed instrumentals (many often released on several issues with varying titles) which, apart from solo work by himself
220:, 15 October 1920, p. 192), but city directories show that by 1923 the company's offices were in South Boston at 135 Dorchester Avenue. In the early 1920s, Grey Gull discs were recorded and manufactured at a plant at 81 Wareham Street in Boston ("Local Studio," C7;
289:, 21 September 1924, p. B26). Grey Gull also pressed client labels, such as Oriole for the McCrory chain, and later pressed by the Plaza Music Company, and Amco, Nadsco, and Globe, the latter possibly a continuation of an earlier label of that name.
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By 1922, Grey Gull records were priced at 55 cents each. Shaw placed a series of newspaper ads, publicizing this price and asserting that his Grey Gull
Records were "Better than 75-cent records...much better" (ad in
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mention on 24 April 1926, p. 31 said Grey Gull had leased offices on the fifth floor of 20 East 42nd Street in
Manhattan. An announcement of the move also appeared in the trade publication
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These unusual records sold poorly at a rather high price for the time of one dollar each. They were phased out by 1920 to be replaced by the more common lateral-cut records. The
266:, 12 November 1923, p. 7). A good example of Shaw's strategy of placing the racks in a wide variety of locations can be seen in an ad for Ruth's Drug Store in
196:, 575). According to the Massachusetts Department of Corporation and Taxation, Grey Gull was incorporated on December 31, 1919 and dissolved on March 31, 1934. (
262:. The racks are mentioned in some of the ads Shaw placed, and Grey Gull Records became associated with them (see for example "This Famous Rack is Everywhere,"
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label, and it too offered low-priced records. Raymond's department store in Boston advertised Radiex records for 40 cents each, or two for 75 cents, in a
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301:. This unusual line-up, combined with Grey Gull's over-modulated sound, give these records a particular sound of their own. Vocalists included
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320:, and the New York Recording Laboratories. The label did more of its own recording after 1926 with a house band that included trumpeter
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ad (30 July 1922, p. 10). In 1924, a Los
Angeles department store advertised Radiex records at 47 cents each, or three for $ 1.35 (
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Grey Gull used primarily their own recordings during 1922 and 1923, although some were leased from other companies such as Plaza,
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Shaw was involved in a number of business projects, including the Marcus Lucius Quinn School of Music in
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founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1919. The company was started by
Theodore Lyman Shaw, a member of an
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sides of 1929–1930. Grey Gull went out of business at the end of
September 1930.
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With the drop in price came a drop in quality. Grey Gull had also introduced its
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Grey Gull
Records began at 295 Huntington Avenue in Boston (advertisement in
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381:. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries. p. 94.
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192:. He operated an advertising business (Harvard University Class of 1905,
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Directory of
American Disc Record Brands and Manufacturers, 1891-1943
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16:
Record company and label founded in Boston, Massachusetts
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Encyclopedia of
Recorded Sound in the United States.
293:and Andy Sannella, often featured the accordionist
227:The first issues of Grey Gull were high-quality,
212:Red label design from the later half of the 1920s
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309:. Elmer Feldkamp was often heard as vocalist on
377:Rye, Howard (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.).
482:Defunct record labels of the United States
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224:classified ad, 21 August 1920, p. 9)
69:Learn how and when to remove this message
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232:called "Hill and Dale" (Marco, 302-303)
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32:This article includes a list of general
412:"Robert Gould Shaw Dies in Brookline".
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379:The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz
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405:"Local Studio Solves Problem".
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437:(Westport & London, 1994)
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297:and xylophone virtuoso
194:25th Anniversary Report
53:more precise citations.
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358:List of record labels
299:George Hamilton Green
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477:Jazz record labels
419:Marco, Guy A. ed.
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448:Grey Gull Records
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352:See also
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161:Location
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338:Madison
318:Emerson
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