Battle Records was an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, founded as J.V.B. Records in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, United States, by the record shop owner

Joe Von Battle Joe Von Battle (born Joseph Battle, April 3, 1915 – March 27, 1973) was an American record store owner and pioneer black record producer in Detroit, Michigan, between the 1940s and 1960s. He set up the J.V.B. and Battle record labels, was ...

in 1948. The label specialized in

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

. J.C. Marion, "JVB Records", ''JammUp''
. Retrieved 21 August 2016 In 1962, the J.V.B. label was replaced by the Battle label which was taken over by Bill Grauer Productions, which also owned

Riverside Records Riverside Records was an American jazz record company and label. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riverside ...

. Among the artists who recorded for J.V.B./Battle were Rev. C. L. Franklin, his daughter

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

and

Mongo Santamaria Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo (Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction) * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River), Guinea and Sierra Leone, a tributa ...

, who recorded the label's biggest hit, " Watermelon Man". The label operated into 1966.

Discography

*6101 - John's Vision of a New Heaven - Rev. C.L. Franklin

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

Reissue of J.V.B. 101. *6102 - Except I Shall See in His Hands the Print of the Nails - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6103 - All Things Work Together for the Good to Them That Love God - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6104 - Rock My Soul - Loftonaires

*6105 - Spirituals - Various Artists

] Reissue of J.V.B. 100, the cover graphics are the same as the J.V.B. album. Recorded During Service at New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit Michigan. There is a Fountain Filled With Blood - Aretha Franklin/Precious Lord, Parts 1 & 2 - Aretha Franklin/You Grow Closer - Aretha Franklin/Never Grow Old - Aretha Franklin/The Angels Keep Watching Over Me - Sammie Bryant/The Last Mile - Sammie Bryant/The Lord Will Make A Way, Parts 1 & 2 - Rev. C.L. Franklin/Trying To Get Home, Parts 1 & 2 - Rev. C.L. Franklin *6106 - I Hear the Voice - J. Robert Bradley & Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6107 - Highest Ground - Loftonaires

*6108 - Why Are Ye Afraid, O Ye of So Little Faith - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6109 - I Will Trust In The Lord - Rev. C.L. Franklin, Aretha Franklin, and Sammie Bryant

*6110 - Did Not Our Hearts Burn While He Talked By the Wayside - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6111 - How Long Halt Ye Between Two Opinions - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6112 - Hannah the Ideal Mother - Rev. C.L. Franklin

Reissue of J.V.B. 105. *6113 - Blues Man - John Lee Hooker

963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably o ...

*6114 - How Long Blues - John Lee Hooker

Black Snake/How Long Blues/Wobblin' Baby/She's Long, She's Tall, She Weeps Like A Willow Tree/Pea Vine Special/Tupelo Blues/I'm PrisonBound//I Rowed A Little Boat/Water Boy/Church Bell Tone/Bundle Up And Go/Good Mornin', Lil' School Girl/Behind The Plow *6115 - Paul's Meditation on Immorality - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6116 - Grace Made a Change - Rev.

Cleophus Robinson The Reverend Cleophus Robinson (March 18, 1932, Canton, MississippiJuly 2, 1998, Saint Louis, Missouri) was an American gospel singer and preacher. He hosted a gospel television series which ran for over 20 years. He was often referred to as "Th ...

*6117 - Eternity of the Church - Rev. C.L. Franklin

*6118/BS 96118 - '' Alone with My Friends'' - Memphis Slim

Rockin' Chair/I Feel So Good/Plowhand Blues/7 others *6119 - Jesus Met a Woman at the Well - Rev. C.L. Franklin

Reissue of J.V.B. 106. *6120/BS 96120 - Watermelon Man - Mongo Santamaria & His Orchestra

(5- 63, #42) Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York; produced by Bill Grauer Productions. Watermelon Man (S)/Funny Money (S)/Cut That Cane (S)/Get The Money (S)/The Boogie Cha Cha Blues (S)/Don't Bother Me No More (S)//Love Oh Love (S)/Yeh-Yeh (S)/The Peanut Vendor (S)/Go Git It (S)/Bayou Roots (S)/Suavito (S) *6121/BS 96121 - April in Paris - Don Byas

*6122/BS 96122 - Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon in Paris - Memphis Slim & Willie Dixon

Rock And Rolling The House/Baby Please Come Home/How Come You Do Me Like You Do/The Way She Loves A Man/New Way To Love/African Hunch With A Boogie Beat//Shame Pretty Girls/Baby, Baby, Baby/Do De Do/Cool Blooded/Just You And I/Pigalle Love/All By Myself *6123/BS 96123 - Cool Samba - Joao Meirelles & His Bossa Kings

13 Selections. *6124/BS 96124 - You've Got to Love Everybody! - Rev. Cleophus Robinson

*6125/BS 96125 - Everybody Wants Freedom - Carolina Freedom Fighters

Everybody Wants Freedom/We Shall Not Be Moved/Woke Up This Morning/others *6126/BS 96126 - Teenage Hootenanny - Millburnaires '63

Blowing In The Wind/What Have They Done To The Rain?/The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy/Plaisir d'Amour/Take Her Out Of Pity/Passin' Through//Shenandoah/500 Miles/Our Hands Were Strong/Dona Dona/Joan, Joan/When She Cries *6127/BS 96127 - One Step Closer - Duncanaires

964 Year 964 ( CMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatoli ...

*6128/BS 96128 - Bluegrass Hootenanny - Lonesome River Boys

*6129/BS 96129 - Mongo at the Village Gate - Mongo Santamaria

*6130/BS 96130 - Hot Rod Caravan - Sound Effects

* 6131/BS 96131 - Hot Rods U.S.A - Sound Effects .

*6132/BS 96132 - Cement Roaster - Sound Effects

*6133/BS 96133 - Hot Stuff on Asphalt - Sound Effects

*6134/BS 96134 - Rods and Drags Forever - Sound Effects

* 6135/BS 96135 - Chrome on the Range - Sound Effects

* 6136/BS 96136 - Dig Out - Sound Effects

* 6137/BS 96137 - Sport Car Caravan - Sound Effects

*6138/BS 96138 - Grand Prix-USA - Sound Effects

*6139/BS 96139 - Road Racing America - Sound Effects

*6140/BS 96140 - Cycles Galore - Sound Effects

* 6141/BS 96141 - I'm Saved and I Know It - Gable-Airs

*6142/BS 96142 - Someone to Care - Rev. Cleophus Robinson

References

External links

J.V.B./Battle Records discography from BSN Pubs
{{authority control American record labels