Signature Records was a jazz record company and label founded in 1939 by

Bob Thiele Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

when he was 17 years old. Its roster included

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

, Earl Hines,

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad " Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first r ...

, and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

. At age 14, Thiele was a disc jockey for his own jazz radio show, edited his own jazz magazine, and played clarinet with bands in New York City. He started Signature at age 17. Thiele was head producer and president of the label. Its musical director was orchestra leader Ray Bloch. Some sources recite that Signature closed in 1948. However, other sources indicate that the label continued to release records into the 50s, but that by the late 50s it was moribund. Having freelanced and produced for Decca Records and its

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

and Brunswick labels, and served as vice president for A&R for

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

, Thiele announced in May 1959 that he was reactivating the Signature label. The venture appears to have been in partnership with Steve Allen, one of the co-owners of Hanover Records, who brought the label into the arrangement. The new company was known as Hanover-Signature Records. Orchestra leader Milton DeLugg, who had worked with Thiele at Dot and Coral, was named musical director. The company continued to release records on both labels. Thiele produced records for his then-wife, singer Teresa Brewer, as late as 1983. Hanover releases continued into 1961. Thiele reissued Signature recordings on his later

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Du ...

and Doctor Jazz record labels.

References

External links

Signature Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American record labels Jazz record labels

See also

References

External links