Let’s talk about the Main Line label. Operated by Barry S Goldner and radio legend Douglas “Jocko” Henderson from 1510 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, in 1957-58, it had an unassuming logo and managed seven 45rpm releases, one of which, Lee Andrews & The Hearts’ Long Lonely Nights, was picked up by Chess and hit the Hot 100. It’s not to be confused (as if you would) with Main Line of Winston-Salem, Carolina, or the 80s Mainline out of Washington, DC.
This is just a snippet of the vast amount of information in this greatly expanded second edition of Bob McGrath’s epic labelography. In four 10”x8” volumes of over 600 pages each, McGrath lists the output of an incredible 11,000 US labels which issued R&B singles – “R&B” being defined as any black musical style prevalent between the end of WWII and about 1990: blues, R&B, soul, gospel and more. McGrath’s definition of “indies” is equally catholic, and tiny one-shot backroom operations (Fabulous Soul Records, Indianapolis, 1969, anyone?) jostle for page space with well-respected labels such as Mirwood, Sue and Prestige, and powerful concerns ABC, Chess and Mercury.
Every known release from each label is listed, along with the label logo (or logos, if the company changed its label design), the owners and addresses, dates of operation and associated labels (we learn that veteran New York entrepreneur Bobby Robinson has operated 10 labels in his long career, but that Miami’s Henry Stone easily beat him with his family of 36 logos).
This work, 13 years in the making, is of monumental proportions. If there’s one criticism, it’s the fairly flimsy soft covers, for this set will be thumbed through endlessly by anyone with an interest in American labels and their output. It’s also the ultimate loo-side book, as long as no one else is waiting to use the bathroom.
