Black Swan Records
Black Swan Records, established in 1921 in Harlem, holds the distinction of being the first music company owned and operated by African Americans, focusing on recording and distributing music by African American artists. Founded by music publisher Harry Pace, the label was named in tribute to Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, a celebrated African American concert singer known as the "Black Swan." Initially, Black Swan concentrated on classical and concert music but later diversified its offerings to include popular genres like blues, inspired by the commercial success of similar records from other labels.
The label's first major hit was Ethel Waters's "Down Home Blues," which marked a significant shift toward vernacular music. Notable artists such as Alberta Hunter and Fletcher Henderson were associated with Black Swan, with Henderson playing a key role in both talent scouting and backing band assembly. Despite its early promise, the company struggled financially and declared bankruptcy in December 1923, subsequently selling to Paramount Records. Although the Black Swan label was retired in 1924, its contributions helped pave the way for the emergence of African American music in the mainstream, demonstrating a growing public interest in jazz and blues.
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Black Swan Records
Identification: Recording company
Date: January 1921–March, 1924
Black Swan was the first music company owned by African Americans and dedicated to recording and nationally distributing music by African American artists.
The first black-owned and -operated record company, Black Swan Records was founded in Harlem in 1921 and named in honor of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, a legendary African American concert singer known as the “Black Swan.” The founder of the label was music publisher Harry Pace, who had established its parent company, the Pace Phonograph Corporation (later the Black Swan Phonograph Company), earlier that same year, with a board of directors that included Bert Williams, Lester Walton, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Black Swan advertised its records with the slogan “The only genuine colored record—others are only passing for colored.”
Though Pace initially devoted his label to more refined classical and concert music, in keeping with his artistic sensibilities, he soon expanded Black Swan’s repertoire after seeing how well vernacular blues and popular songs sold on other labels. While numerous concert artists (including baritone C. Carroll Clark, violinist Kemper Harreld, and sopranos Florence Cole Talbert and Revella Hughes) continued to record on Black Swan, its first hit recording was Ethel Waters’s “Down Home Blues,” released in May 1921. This opened the gates to numerous black singers and jazz musicians, such as Alberta Hunter, Trixie Smith, and James P. Johnson, although Pace declined to sign the great blues singer Bessie Smith.
Of all the musicians who worked for Black Swan, few contributed more than Fletcher Henderson. A trained pianist, he was invaluable to Black Swan as both an accompanist and a talent scout, and soon became responsible for assembling the vocalists’ backing bands for recordings. After a year with the company, Henderson left New York to tour with Ethel Waters and their band, the Black Swan Troubadours, in order to promote the label.
Black Swan was beginning to teeter financially by the time Henderson returned in July 1922, although he recorded the first instrumental music under his own name for them that fall. Pace declared bankruptcy in December 1923, and sold the label to Paramount Records the following March. Paramount released its series of “race records” (recordings made by and for African Americans) under the Black Swan label until December 1924, at which point it retired the name.
Impact
The year that Pace declared bankruptcy was the same year that African American music truly came into its own. Legendary groups such as King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band would make their first recordings in 1923, and jazz and blues records would sell in unprecedented numbers. Although Black Swan ultimately failed, it had paved the way for these developments, helping numerous black musicians and singers break into the recording industry and proving that the public was eager to hear them.
Bibliography
Allen, Walter C. Hendersonia: The Music of Fletcher Henderson and His Musicians. Highland Park, N.J.: Author, 1973.
Magee, Jeffrey.The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.