by Pat Prince, Goldmine editor

In 2002 Gary Freiberg founded Vinyl Record Day, a nationally established day to celebrate as the organizations Mission Statement says:”The Preservation of the Cultural Influence, the Recordings and the Cover Art of the Vinyl Record” and to have August 12th as a day of Family, Friends and Music. The choice of the date, August 12, is significant. Reportedly, it is the day Thomas Alva Edison invented the phonograph in 1877.

So far, Vinyl Record Day has not gained the recognition that, say, Record Store Day has. But it is gaining momentum. Getting national publicity without a budget or a paid staff can be tough. To solve this difficulty Freiberg has written a proposal for a series of First Class postal stamps that commemorate the historical importance of the recordings on vinyl records. The Vinyl Record Stamp proposal has been accepted by the U.S. Postal System, the proposal’s current status is ‘Under Consideration,’ which, according to Freiberg, is a “notable big step toward issuance according to representatives of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee.” Unlike Record Store Day, a for profit group whose focus is to sell music on any format, the goal of the 501 (c) 3 non profit Vinyl Record Day (VRD) is to increase awareness of the importance to preserve our audio history recorded on vinyl and to encourage a day in the middle of summer when friends and family gather together with their favorite music to remember that regardless of world news or personal difficulties life always has its goodness.

Below is a recent interview with Gary Freiberg, founder of Vinyl Record Day:

How did this idea of Vinyl Record Day become a reality? read more

Another powerhouse label for quartet gospel during the 60’s and 70’s was H. O. B. Records. H. O. B. Records was formed in 1959, in Detroit, Michigan. The owner of the label was Carmen Murphy, who, by the way was a beautician. The acronym H.O.B. actually stands for House Of Beauty.

The early line up of quartet gospel artists on the label was virtually a ‘whose-who’ of gospel music during that era. The list included, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Swan Silvertones, The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Caravans, The Angelic Gospel Singers, The Blind Boys of Mississippi, The Harris Family, Shirley Caesar, The Harmonizing Four, and The Clefs of Calvary.

H. O. B. is another label that has released some of the most memorable gospel music by some of the legends of this genre. H. O. B. early recordings have become sought after collectibles for serious fans of this genre. Now, you can find many of H. O. B. early recordings on CD issued by Calvin Records.

When thinking about Checker Records, the one group that epitomized the powerhouse position of the label during its zenith was THE VIOLINAIRES. The albums that Checker released on The Violinaires are some of the best vintage quartet gospel recordings ever.

Checker Records was actually owned by Chess Records. In 1947, brothers “Leonard and Philip Chess . . . entered into a partnership with Charles and Evelyn Aron in Aristocrat Records. The Arons had just formed Aristocrat Records to record blues, jazz and rhythm & blues.”

“In late 1949, Leonard and Phil Chess purchased the interests of the Arons and became the sole owners of Aristocrat Records. On June 3, 1950, they reorganized the company and changed its name to Chess Records.”

During the 1960’s, Checker released some of the most memorable gospel music by some of the legends of this genre. Some of the groups they recorded were The Bells Of Joy, The Original Five Blind Boys Of Mississippi, The Christland Singers, The Norfleet Brothers, The Harmonizing Four, Aretha Franklin, The Violinaires, The Soul Stirrers, The Meditation Singers, The Cleveland Golden Echos, Alex Bradford, The Salem Travelers and Ernest Franklin.

Checker’s contribution to this genre is immeasurable. Maybe all the gospel artists of Checker would have recorded even if there was not Checker. However, one cannot imagine that the ‘sound’ would have been as rich and lasting without Checker.