Grey Gull Records
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Grey Gull Records was a record label based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America from 1919 through 1930.
Early issues of Grey Gulls were disc records using an unusual system of small grooves to be played with a small needle or stylus, giving about twice the playing time of the standard 10 inch 78 rpm record of the time, perhaps somewhat anticipating later Extended Play records. These unusual records sold poorly (at a rather high price for the time of one dollar each), and were phased out by 1921. After this, Grey Gull produced discs using the standard spaced lateral grooves of the era.
For the rest of the 1920s, Grey Gull concentrated on producing inexpensive records of pop songs and dance numbers of the era. Most of Grey Gull's own recordings are by groups of studio musicians; the company also pressed records from masters leased from Emerson Records and Paramount Records. In addition to their Grey Gull label, the company also produced Madison Records, Radiex Records, Supreme Records, and Van Dyke Records.
In 1926 the company opened a recording studio in New York City equipt with the new electric microphones. Grey Gull's New York studio band often included trumpeter Mike Mosiello and clarinetist Andy Sannella, who were sometimes able to add some good jazz licks to Grey Gull's otherwise generally undistinguished fare. Tommy Dorsey also graces a few issues as an uncredited sideman. A few interesting sides on the label were recorded by such musicians as Clarence Williams and Wilber Sweatman, as well as two sessions by Cliff Jackson's Krazy Kats, a good Harlem band of the era otherwise neglected by the recording industry.
Grey Gull's audio fidelity is generally slightly below average for the era, but pressings are often in cheap shellac which gives them more surface noise and stood up to repeated playing poorly, further degrading the sound quality.