The record changer (Feb-Dec 1948)

of the collecting fraternity. Meaning, among others, you. Our task is not made any easier by the fact that a great many mistaken notions about these Mills sides have been prevalent for a long time among most of the standard discographers, resulting in some strange confusions. In order to see what caused these miscues, and to understand the reasoning upon which my own theories are based, you will have to follow me through the tortuous mazes of the Mills Company history, selling practices, book-keeping systems and brainstorms, or as much of them as we are able to figure out. Since much of the record data which 1 will quote is based on information taken from reference books, collectors' columns and other printed material rather than from records which I have actually seen or played, don't be surprised if you come across an occasional suggestion or figure which you know to be incorrect, perhaps because of having the record in your own possession. Enough of my data is from actual knowledge of the sides to keep us from getting too far off base. And now to work. To begin with, let's get back into history. It seems that at one time or another the Mills Music Company owned or controlled the following labels : Emerson, Pathe, Perfect, Regal, Banner, Domino, Oriole, Jewel, Cameo, Romeo, Lincoln, and possibly Puritan. They also supplied records to other distributing companies under the Conqueror, Challenge, Silvcrtone, and perhaps Champion labels; and either pressed for or rented masters to companies using the labels, Ajax, Apex, Imperial, Broadivay, Famous, Davega, Clover, National Music Lovers and heaven knows what others. Mills did not, however, take control of or supply masters for all of these labels at one time; and since several were acquired through purchase after some independent life of their own, not only do the serial numbers differ on each label, but in many cases the master numbers as well. We must therefore attempt to establish some working relationship between all of the numbers involved, if we are to be even partially successful in identifying groups of sides made at a single session, so that the presence of sidemen of some interest to collectors can be established with a degree of assurance. In order to understand the basic plan followed in producing the great bulk of these sides, we must examine the essential character of the Mills business. Mills specialized in mass distribution at a price, largely through syndicate stores such as the Woolworth and Kresge chains, and through the mail order houses. The public, then as now, could most easily he induced to buy the "hit parade" material of the moment, with the melody played in a straightforward manner, and set in the tempo best adapted to the current dance styles. Since the polite fox-trot of that day showed a good deal of jerky two-step influence, and since Mills' heyday coincided with the birth of first the Charleston and then the Black Bottom, with their requirements for heavily stressed beats, nine sides out of ten are extremely hard listening for modern ears. During a large part of the Mills regime, the man responsible for seeing that the records met the market requirements was Sam Lanin, and he discharged his duties with considerable success if we may judge from the incredible quantities of discs made by groups under his guidance which rolled across the record counters of the twenties. And let no one hoist a disdainful proboscis at Sam's accomplishment ; for while he completely satisfied the commercial needs with the almost foolproof pattern he devised for ten-inch treatment of Tin Pan Alley master pieces, he understood Jazz. Hardly a white horn, reed, or rhythm man who ever took an honest lick or improvised a sound chorus but who picked up one or a dozen doublefins (or perhaps only a single on occasion — this was A. P., meaning Ante Petrillo) for sitting in on a Lanin session. And many of the leading colored bands and soloists made regular appearances on the Mills lists. What's more, Lanin very frequently gave the boys a chance to show a little of their own stuff, even if it was often only for a few bars at a time. On record after record, four or five strictly canned ensemble and solo choruses are followed abruptly by eight bars of fine Teagarden tram or Nichols trumpet ; the elusive Bix side issued under the name of Willard Rob ison's Orchestra is perhaps the most familiar example to many collectors, but there are hundreds more worth having. Once in a while, the boys even had a whole side to themselves; Nichols' Red Heads, the Pollack gang under Rodin, Rollini groups with the Dorseys, Chelsea Quealey and others, the Memphis Five, Henderson and Ellington made many a waxing now eagerly sought for by the discophile. The vast majority of Mills sides, though, are at least ninety percent uninteresting or worse. Usually, the places to listen for possible worthwhile solos are the introduction, and the last couple of choruses ; if there is a hot man on the job, he is likely to show up with a few bars at one of those points. This system is by no means fool-proof, of course, but it works out often enough for general purposes, and it has saved me a lot of waste listening without letting me miss too many bets, I am sure. To return to the Mills-Lanin merchandising approach, one of its most prominent characteristics was the wide use of house band names. This little habit of coining fictitious cognomens to cover recording groups' (as distinct from actual performing bands) has of course been more or less widely used by nearly every disc producing company; but with Mills it was the rule rather than the exception. This was a natural consequence of the factors which loomed largest in the Mills distribution pattern. One of these was the low level of selling prices required to obtain syndicate store and mail order volume in the twenties. 10 THE RECORD CHANGER