Lyric Records

Lyric Records was an American phonograph record label operating during the late 1910s and early 1920s. It was associated with the Lyraphone Company of America, whose labels initially identified the company with New York City even though the business was actually headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. The label appears to have been designed to compete in the expanding market for affordable shellac gramophone records, offering popular songs, dance music, operatic selections, and orchestral performances to American consumers. Lyric's early records used a vertical-cut recording system with an unusually narrow groove. Company publicity claimed that the format provided extended playing times of approximately four and a half minutes per side on a 10-inch record and seven minutes per side on a 12-inch record. The discs required steel needles, and the technology was related to the system used by British Marathon records. Although the label promoted its records as durable, its distinctive artwork showed a white cat sitting on a phonograph record above the slogan “Never Scratches.” Contemporary and later evidence indicates that Lyric shellac discs were not demonstrably less prone to scratching than comparable records of the period. The label built a substantial catalogue quickly. More than 1,000 titles were reportedly available by September 1917, covering vocal, dance, operatic, and orchestral repertory. Its recording organization was notable for the scale of some of its sessions. Conductor J. Louis von der Mehden served as the company's chief conductor and maintained diaries describing sessions involving an orchestra of about 40 players, a comparatively large ensemble for American recording work of the era. Surviving assessments of Lyric's vertical-cut discs generally regard their sound as better than that of many other contemporary American hill-and-dale records. From 1919, Lyric shifted to double-sided, lateral-cut 10-inch discs. These later records had sound quality considered slightly above average for their period and represented a move toward the recording format that became dominant in the consumer market. Lyric's catalogue included performances by soprano Regina Vicarino, violinist Vera Barstow, tenor Mario Rodolfi—an early stage name used by opera singer Mario Chamlee—vaudeville performer and recording star Billy Murray, and Harry Yerkes's band, which featured the early jazz trombonist Tom Brown. Polish pianist and composer Sigismund Stojowski also recorded for Lyric; these sessions are particularly notable because they represented his only known commercial records, including works by Anton Rubinstein and Frédéric Chopin. The company entered receivership in the autumn of 1921 and ceased operations sometime in 1922. No evidence in the supplied sources identifies a continuing corporate successor or a modern operating label. Lyric Records should therefore be treated as a historical American label rather than confused with later or unrelated businesses using the Lyric name, including Lyric Records entities outside the United States, Lyric Street Records, LyricWiki, and Lyric Capital Group.

Lyric Records emerged in the United States during the rapid expansion of the commercial phonograph industry in the late 1910s. The label was connected with the Lyraphone Company of America. Its early labels named New York City as the company location, but the business was in fact headquartered in Newark, New Jersey; later label issues reflected the Newark location more accurately. The company's initial technical approach distinguished Lyric from many competing American labels. Its first records were vertical-cut, or hill-and-dale, discs with a narrow groove that required steel needles. The format was related to the system used by British Marathon records. Lyraphone publicity promoted the design as a long-playing format for its time, claiming approximately four and a half minutes of music on each side of a 10-inch record and seven minutes on each side of a 12-inch record. By September 1917, the catalogue reportedly exceeded 1,000 titles, an indication that the company was pursuing a broad consumer market rather than a narrowly specialized repertory. The catalogue included popular vocal numbers, dance selections, opera, orchestral music, and instrumental performances. Lyric also invested in relatively substantial recording ensembles. J. Louis von der Mehden was the company's chief conductor, and his surviving diaries describe recording sessions with an orchestra of approximately 40 musicians whom he recruited personally. Such an ensemble was larger than the groups used by many American recording companies at the time. Later evaluations of surviving Lyric vertical-cut records have generally found their acoustic sound comparatively strong among contemporary American hill-and-dale issues. The label's marketing was visually distinctive. Its record labels featured a white cat seated on a phonograph record, accompanied by the slogan “Never Scratches.” The image may have been conceived in relation to the much better-known dog-and-phonograph imagery associated with Victor, although the two designs were not identical. The durability claim was not fully borne out: Lyric records appear to have been about as vulnerable to scratching as other shellac records of the period. Around 1919, Lyric changed direction technically by issuing double-sided, lateral-cut 10-inch records. Lateral recording ultimately became the standard approach for much of the record industry, and Lyric's later discs are described as having slightly above-average sound quality for their era. The label continued to draw on performers from several parts of the entertainment business. Its artists included soprano Regina Vicarino, violinist Vera Barstow, tenor Mario Rodolfi, vaudeville comedian Billy Murray, and Harry Yerkes's band, which featured trombonist Tom Brown, an important early jazz figure. Sigismund Stojowski's Lyric recordings are especially notable because they were reportedly his only commercial records; the repertoire included Anton Rubinstein's “Valse caprice in E-flat” and Frédéric Chopin's “Waltz in A-flat major,” Op. 42. Lyric's commercial life was brief. The company entered receivership in the autumn of 1921 and ceased operations sometime during the following year. The available reference material does not establish the exact causes of the receivership, the precise closing date, or a successor organization. Lyric Records is therefore principally significant as a historical independent label whose early catalogue documents both the technical experimentation and the varied performance culture of the American acoustic-recording industry.

• 1922

  Operations end

  [1]Lyric Records (US)en.wikipedia.org

  Lyric Records ceased operations sometime after the 1921 receivership, apparently during 1922.

• 1921

  Company enters receivership

  [1]Lyric Records (US)en.wikipedia.org

  The Lyraphone Company of America reportedly went into receivership in the autumn of 1921.

• 1919

  Transition to lateral-cut records

  [1]Lyric Records (US)en.wikipedia.org

  Lyric began issuing double-sided lateral-cut 10-inch discs, moving away from its original vertical-cut format.

• 1917

  Lyric Records begins issuing records

  [1]Lyric Records (US)en.wikipedia.org

  The label was active by approximately 1917 under the Lyraphone Company of America, issuing vertical-cut records from its Newark-based operation.

• 1917

  Catalogue exceeds 1,000 titles

  [1]Lyric Records (US)en.wikipedia.org

  By September 1917, Lyric reportedly offered more than 1,000 titles across vocal, dance, operatic, and orchestral categories.

An affordable American phonograph-record label emphasizing broad popular and classical repertory, extended playing time in its early vertical-cut format, and distinctive consumer-facing branding.

• 78-rpm shellac records · 1917

  Early vertical-cut Lyric records

  Lyric's initial issues used a narrow-groove vertical-cut process and required steel needles. The company promoted the format for its comparatively long playing times, advertising roughly four and a half minutes per side on 10-inch records and seven minutes per side on 12-inch records. The catalogue covered popular vocal, dance, operatic, and orchestral material.

• Double-sided 10-inch shellac records · 1919

  Later lateral-cut Lyric records

  Beginning around 1919, Lyric issued double-sided 10-inch lateral-cut discs. These records followed the format that was becoming dominant in the industry and are generally regarded as having slightly above-average acoustic sound quality for their period.

• 1921

  Receivership and winding downOther

  Background

  The record label and its associated company faced financial or operational difficulties by the autumn of 1921.

  Action taken

  The company entered receivership and subsequently discontinued the Lyric operation.

  Aftermath

  Operations ended sometime in 1922. The available sources do not document the precise cause or terms of the receivership.

  Source

• 1919

  Adoption of double-sided lateral-cut recordsGeneration change

  Background

  Lyric's original vertical-cut system was technically distinctive, but lateral recording was becoming the more established direction in the record industry.

  Action taken

  The label began issuing double-sided lateral-cut 10-inch records while moving away from its original vertical-cut format.

  Aftermath

  The later discs remained in the catalogue until the label's collapse and are described as having slightly above-average sound quality for the era.

  Source

1. 1Lyric Records (US)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Lyraphone Company of America and related record-label referencesbookrags.com
3. 3Record label reference listmajesticrecord.com