Supreme Records was a small, independent record label based in Los Angeles that existed from 1947 to 1950. It was founded by dentist Albert Patrick and specialized in

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 ...

. Its artists included

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

Paula Watson Paula Watson ( Pauline Mazeppa Henry; September 9, 1927 – October 19, 2003) was an American jazz and R&B singer and pianist. Biography Watson was born in Mobile, Alabama. After moving to California, she recorded for the Supreme label in ...

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

, Eddie Williams and his Brown Buddies (with

Floyd Dixon Floyd Dixon (February 8, 1929 – July 26, 2006) was an American rhythm-and-blues pianist and singer. Life and career Dixon was born in Marshall, Texas. Some sources give his birth name as Jay Riggins, Jr., although Dixon himself stated that F ...

Big Jim Wynn James A. Wynn Jr. (June 21, 1908 – July 19, 1977), known as Big Jim Wynn, was an American jump blues saxophonist, pianist and bandleader. Life and career Born in El Paso, Texas, he moved with his parents to Los Angeles when he was a baby. He ...

, and

Percy Mayfield Percy Mayfield (August 12, 1920August 11, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He also was a songwriter, known for the songs " Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack", the latter being a song ...

Hits

Supreme's two greatest hits were Paula Watson's " A Little Bird Told Me," which sold over a million copies, and Jimmy Witherspoon's version of "

Ain't Nobody's Business "Ain't Nobody's Business" (originally "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do") is a 1920s blues song that became one of the first blues standards. It was published in 1922 by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins. The song features a lyrical theme of fr ...

," recorded on Albert Patrick's request, which lasted 34 weeks on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's'' Rhythm & Blues hit list.

Lawsuits

Supreme got involved in a costly lawsuit against

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

for copyright infringement on the arrangement of Paula Watson's version of " A Little Bird Told Me," with their version of

Evelyn Knight Evelyn Dawn Knight (born 5 November 1942) is an English woman known for her involvement in the Abscam sting operation of the 1970s, with her ex-husband Mel Weinberg. A character inspired by her was portrayed on film by Amy Adams in '' American ...

. The judge ruled in favor of Decca, stating that arrangements on an existing composition cannot be considered as property. He also stated that the arrangement on Watson's version lacked originality and the differences between the versions were evident. In another lawsuit, the label lost its pressing and distribution partner

Black & White Records Black & White Records was an American record company and label founded by Les Schreiber in 1943. It specialized in jazz and blues. When the label was sold to Paul and Lillian Reiner, it moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The catalog includ ...

after settling a dispute over Black & White selling its pressing line to Monogram in Canada.

Closing

Due to the financial duress from the lawsuits, Supreme shut down in 1950. Most of the masters were sold to

Swing Time Records Swing Time Records was a United States-based record label active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The label was founded by Jack Lauderdale in 1947 as Down Beat Records and was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. In approximately October ...

. "Two Years of Torture", recorded by

was re-released by

John Dolphin John Robert Vernon Dolphin (1 October 19052 May 1973) was a British engineer and inventor, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service and then became the Commanding Officer of the top-secret Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE) " ...

's label, Dolphin's of Hollywood.

References

External links

Supreme Records at The Online Discographical Project
{{Authority control Record labels based in California American independent record labels