V-Discs

V-Discs, Volume II

      V-Disc was a record label produced during the World War II era by special arrangement between the United States government and various private U.S. record companies. The records were produced for use of United States military personnel overseas. 

Many popular singers, big bands and orchestra of the era recorded special V-Disc records. These 12-inch, 78 rpm gramophone recordings were created between 1943 and 1949. The "V" stands for "Victory."

The V-Disc project actually began in June 1941, as a way to improve moral. By 1942, the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) sent 16-inch, 33 rpm shellac transcription discs to troops. Meanwhile, the American Federation of Musicians, under the leadership of James Caesar Petrillo, were involved in a major recording strike against the four major record companies.

Thanks to the efforts of Lieutenant George Robert Vincent, on Oct. 27, 1943, Vincent convinced Petrillo to allow his union musicians to record sides for the military, as long as the records were not offered for purchase in the United States. From that moment on, artists who wanted to record now had an outlet for their productivity  -  as well as a guaranteed, receptive, enthusiastic worldwide audience of soldiers and sailors.

The collected V-Disc recordings on Volume II feature selections by the bands of Les Brown, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Lionel Hampton, Louis Prima, Bob Crosby, Hal McIntyre, Don Redman, Frankie Carle, Roy Eldridge, Yank Lawson, and "Hot Lips" Page.

Also featured is a V-Disc All-Star Jam Session with Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, and an offering by songstress Martha Tilton, who is backed up by a small group led by trumpeter Billy Butterfield.

V-Disc recordings are rare and offer a unique musical retrospective of the American home front during World War II.

Track  selections:  Love Is Just Around The Corner, Jack-Armstrong Blues, Screamin' Boogie, Pistol Packin' Mama, Billy Bauer's Tune, Time Waits For No One, Moonglow, Just A Gigolo, When I Grow Too Old To Dream, Four Or Five Times, Beyond The Blue Horizon, The Sheik Of Araby, I Found A New Baby, Singing In The Rain, I Cried For You, Carle Boogie, Twilight On The Trail, Davenport Blues.

V-Discs, Volume II is $10 plus $2.50 shipping and handling. To order, send e-mail to jazzconnection@hotmail.com  

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