Vanguard Records

Vanguard Records, originally known as Vanguard Recording Society, is an American record label founded in New York City in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon. The company began as a classical-music specialist and built an unusually substantial catalog of baroque, early music, orchestral repertoire, opera, choral works, and twentieth-century concert music. Its related Bach Guild imprint broadened the classical program, while recordings licensed from overseas companies helped bring performances by British and European ensembles to American listeners. The label's identity expanded decisively during the 1950s and 1960s. Vanguard signed folk performers who were central to the American folk revival, including the Weavers, Joan Baez, Hedy West, Eric Andersen, the Rooftop Singers, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ian and Sylvia, and Mimi and Richard Fariña. Its willingness to record Paul Robeson and other blacklisted performers gave the catalog an important political and cultural dimension. The label also explored mainstream jazz through the Jazz Showcase series, created under John Hammond, and later issued historically important recordings from the Spirituals to Swing concerts. Vanguard's blues reputation rests particularly on the Chicago/The Blues/Today! project. After Samuel Charters worked with tapes from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, Vanguard sent him to Chicago to document a broad group of electric blues musicians. The resulting three-album 1966 series featured artists and accompanists including Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Homesick James, Johnny Shines, Big Walter Horton, Charlie Musselwhite, Otis Spann, and James Cotton. The project helped introduce contemporary Chicago blues to a wider audience and became one of the label's defining popular-music achievements. The company also recorded orchestral and chamber repertoire at a high technical standard. Its catalog includes performances by the Utah Symphony under Maurice Abravanel, a major Mahler symphony cycle, music conducted by Leopold Stokowski and Sir John Barbirolli, and the Deller Consort's early-music recordings. Vanguard was an early American label to issue complete high-fidelity recordings of Richard Strauss conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, and it experimented with quadraphonic releases in the early 1970s. The Brooklyn Masonic Temple in New York served as an important recording location. Vanguard's attempt to establish a larger rock presence, including a 6500 series and releases by Country Joe and the Fish, was less successful. The departure of leading folk artists and weak sales for some budget classical programs reduced the label's industry prominence in the early 1970s. It remained intermittently active with specialty projects, novelty records, Indian classical music, comedy-oriented releases, late-1970s folk albums, and a small disco program. The label was sold to Welk Music Group in 1985. Welk revitalized the popular catalog through CD reissues and signed newer artists while also working with established performers such as Merle Haggard, John Fogerty, Chris Isaak, Robert Cray, Shawn Mullins, and Linda Ronstadt. Partnerships with artist-operated imprints, including projects associated with Levon Helm and the Indigo Girls, extended the brand's reach. This period produced Grammy recognition for Levon Helm and Robert Cray and an RIAA-platinum single for Matt Nathanson's "Come on Get Higher." Following later ownership changes involving Vanguard Classics and related catalog assets, Vanguard Music Group was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music in April 2015. Concord's Craft Recordings division now manages the Vanguard catalog.

Vanguard Recording Society was created in New York in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon. Its first release was a recording of Bach's cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, conducted by Jonathan Sternberg with tenor Hugues Cuénod and accompanying performers. The label's early catalog established a classical focus, with Bach cantatas, Renaissance and English madrigal repertoire, French and Italian works, baroque concertos, opera, orchestral music, and performances by specialist ensembles such as the Deller Consort. The Bach Guild operated as a related classical imprint. During the 1950s Vanguard broadened its cultural role. Art director Jules Halfant brought critic Sidney Finkelstein onto the staff in 1951, where Finkelstein worked primarily on classical liner notes until 1973. In the middle of the decade Vanguard recorded Paul Robeson and the Weavers, artists whose political associations had affected their access to the commercial recording industry. The label subsequently became one of the central outlets for the American folk revival, releasing records by Joan Baez, Hedy West, Eric Andersen, the Rooftop Singers, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ian and Sylvia, and Mimi and Richard Fariña. Vanguard's jazz activity included the Jazz Showcase series, initiated in 1953 under John Hammond and continued until 1958. The label later issued recordings from the 1938 and 1939 Spirituals to Swing concerts. Its most influential blues undertaking came after Samuel Charters edited material from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. In 1965 Vanguard sent Charters to Chicago, where he recorded a broad cross-section of blues performers. The three-volume Chicago/The Blues/Today! set, released in 1966, presented musicians including Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Homesick James, Johnny Shines, Big Walter Horton, Charlie Musselwhite, Otis Spann, and James Cotton. Classical recording remained central throughout the label's peak years. Vanguard issued domestic sessions and licensed European recordings, including performances by the Halle Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli. Its catalog included a substantial Utah Symphony series under Maurice Abravanel, including an important Mahler cycle, and releases conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Vanguard also issued early high-fidelity recordings of Richard Strauss conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and experimented with quadraphonic sound in the early 1970s. The Brooklyn Masonic Temple became one of the label's notable recording venues. Vanguard's move into rock included Country Joe and the Fish and a dedicated 6500 series, but the expansion did not reproduce the label's classical and folk success. By the early 1970s, important artists such as Joan Baez and Ian and Sylvia had moved elsewhere, and sales of the Everyman budget classical series disappointed. The company continued with occasional specialty releases, including Indian classical music, comedy and novelty material, late-1970s folk albums, and disco recordings. In 1985 Vanguard was sold to Welk Music Group. Welk reissued much of the folk and popular catalog on compact disc and recruited newer performers such as Matt Nathanson, Mindy Smith, Greg Laswell, and Trevor Hall, alongside established artists including Merle Haggard, John Fogerty, Chris Isaak, Robert Cray, Shawn Mullins, and Linda Ronstadt. The label developed arrangements with artist-run imprints associated with Levon Helm, the Indigo Girls, and Chely Wright. The period produced Grammy awards connected with Levon Helm and Robert Cray and an RIAA-platinum Matt Nathanson single. Vanguard Classics passed through additional ownership and licensing arrangements after Seymour Solomon's death. Artemis Records reactivated the classical imprint with releases by Leon Fleisher and Gil Shaham, and after Artemis closed, the Vanguard Classics catalog moved through Sheridan Square Entertainment and its successor, IndieBlu, which was acquired by Entertainment One in 2010. Concord Bicycle Music acquired Vanguard Music Group in April 2015. The catalog is now managed by Concord's Craft Recordings division, preserving Vanguard's classical, folk, blues, jazz, and popular-music holdings through reissues and archival releases.

• 2015

  Concord Bicycle Music acquires Vanguard Music Group

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition placed Vanguard's broader catalog within Concord, with Craft Recordings responsible for catalog management.

• 2010

  IndieBlu acquired by Entertainment One

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Entertainment One acquired IndieBlu, the successor to Sheridan Square Entertainment, which had been licensing Vanguard Classics material.

• 2004

  Artemis Records folds

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  After Artemis closed, the Vanguard Classics catalog was sold to Sheridan Square Entertainment for licensing.

• 1985

  Welk Music Group acquires Vanguard

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Welk Music Group purchased the label and later revitalized its popular catalog and artist roster.

• 1966

  Chicago/The Blues/Today! released

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  The label released Samuel Charters's three-album survey of Chicago blues.

• 1959

  Spirituals to Swing recordings released

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Vanguard issued recordings made at the 1938 and 1939 Spirituals to Swing concerts.

• 1953

  Jazz Showcase series begins

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Under John Hammond's direction, Vanguard began a mainstream-jazz series that continued until 1958.

• 1951

  Sidney Finkelstein joins the label

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Critic Sidney Finkelstein joined the staff and contributed liner notes and editorial work for many classical releases.

• 1950

  Vanguard Recording Society founded

  [1]Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Maynard and Seymour Solomon established the label in New York City as a classical-focused recording company.

An artistically oriented independent label whose heritage combines audiophile-minded classical recording with historically significant American folk, blues, jazz, and roots-music releases.

• Classical recordings · 1950

  Vanguard classical catalog

  The original core of the business, this catalog covers Bach cantatas, Renaissance and baroque repertoire, opera, orchestral music, choral works, and twentieth-century performances. It includes recordings by the Utah Symphony under Maurice Abravanel, the Deller Consort, the Halle Orchestra, and other domestic and European performers. Vanguard also issued technically ambitious high-fidelity and quadraphonic recordings.

• Classical imprint · 1950

  Bach Guild

  Bach Guild was Vanguard's subsidiary classical label. Its output formed part of a broader Solomon family program devoted to Bach and related early and baroque repertoire, alongside works by composers such as Purcell, Vivaldi, Haydn, Gluck, and Vaughan Williams.

• Folk music · 1955

  Folk revival catalog

  Vanguard became a major home for American folk music during the 1950s and 1960s. The catalog includes Joan Baez, the Weavers, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ian and Sylvia, Hedy West, Eric Andersen, the Rooftop Singers, and Mimi and Richard Fariña. These releases connect the label with both traditional repertoire and the contemporary folk revival.

• Blues recordings · 1966

  Chicago/The Blues/Today!

  This 1966 three-album series documented a wide range of Chicago blues performers and ensembles. Produced from sessions organized by Samuel Charters, it featured musicians including Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Homesick James, Johnny Shines, Big Walter Horton, Charlie Musselwhite, Otis Spann, and James Cotton.

• Jazz recordings · 1953

  Jazz Showcase

  The Jazz Showcase was Vanguard's concentrated mainstream-jazz series, launched under John Hammond in 1953. It produced roughly two dozen recordings before ending in 1958, after which the label pursued jazz only intermittently.

• Popular and roots music · 1985

  Vanguard popular catalog

  The later catalog includes releases by performers such as Merle Haggard, John Fogerty, Chris Isaak, Robert Cray, Shawn Mullins, Linda Ronstadt, Matt Nathanson, Mindy Smith, Greg Laswell, and Trevor Hall. Welk-era reissues also returned many previously unavailable folk and popular recordings to the market.

• 2012Ace Vanguard Masters retrospective

  International

  Ace Records assembled a four-CD box set and accompanying book surveying Vanguard's contribution to the 1960s musical transformation.

  Outcome. Reframed the label's historical importance for collectors and archival audiences.

  Source
• 1985Catalog reissue and CD revival

  United States · International

  Following the Welk Music Group acquisition, Vanguard reissued substantial portions of its folk and popular back catalog on compact disc and expanded its contemporary roster.

  Outcome. Returned out-of-print material to circulation and modernized the label's commercial presence.

  Source
• 1966Chicago blues documentation project

  United States

  Vanguard used Samuel Charters's field-recording work to present a broad, connected portrait of Chicago blues rather than focusing on a single star. The resulting Chicago/The Blues/Today! series became a central statement of the label's roots-music identity.

  Outcome. Established one of Vanguard's most influential blues catalog properties.

  Source

• 2015

  Join Concord's recorded-music portfolioM&A

  Background

  Vanguard Music Group was offered for acquisition after successive periods of catalog-focused ownership and licensing.

  Action taken

  Concord Bicycle Music acquired the group and assigned catalog administration to Craft Recordings.

  Aftermath

  Vanguard became part of Concord's catalog and reissue infrastructure.

  Source

• 1985

  Sell the label to Welk Music GroupM&A

  Background

  After a period of reduced activity and diminished industry stature, Vanguard changed ownership.

  Action taken

  Welk Music Group acquired Vanguard and revitalized its popular catalog through reissues, new signings, and artist-imprint partnerships.

  Aftermath

  The label regained activity and earned later recognition through artists including Levon Helm, Robert Cray, and Matt Nathanson.

  Source

• 1965

  Document contemporary Chicago bluesStrategy

  Background

  After working with Newport Folk Festival material, Vanguard sought to record a wider range of living blues performers in Chicago.

  Action taken

  The company assigned Samuel Charters to organize sessions that became Chicago/The Blues/Today!

  Aftermath

  The 1966 series became a landmark release in Vanguard's blues catalog.

  Source

• 1955

  Expand from classical music into folkStrategy

  Background

  The label's original classical specialization was broadened during the mid-1950s as the American folk revival gathered momentum.

  Action taken

  Vanguard signed performers including Paul Robeson, the Weavers, and later Joan Baez and other leading folk artists.

  Aftermath

  Folk became one of the label's defining commercial and cultural identities.

  Source

1. 1Vanguard Recordsen.wikipedia.org