V-Disc
| V-Disc | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder | U.S. government |
| Defunct | 1949 |
| Genre | Jazz, big band, pop |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
V-Disc ("V" for Victory) was a morale-boosting initiative involving the production of several series of recordings during the World War II era by special arrangement between the United States government and various private U.S. record companies. The records were produced for the use of United States military personnel overseas. Many popular singers, big bands and orchestras of the era recorded special V-Disc records. These 12-inch, vinyl 78 rpm gramophone recordings were created for the Army between October 1943 and May 1949. Navy discs were released between July 1944 and September 1945. Twelve-inch discs were used because, when 136 grooves per inch were cut, they could hold up to six and a half minutes of music. Not all releases were pressed on vinyl; many were of the much less durable shellac compound used for standard 78 RPM records of the day.
Army V-discs were issued in series A-Z, AA-ZZ and AAA-FFF. Navy V-discs were issued in series A-N.
The V-Disc project began in June 1941, six months before the United States' involvement in World War II, when Captain Howard Bronson was assigned to the Army's Recreation and Welfare Section as a musical advisor. Bronson suggested the troops might appreciate a series of records featuring military band music, inspirational records that could motivate soldiers and improve morale. By 1942, the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) sent 16-inch, 33 rpm vinyl transcription discs to the troops from eight sources: special recording sessions, concerts, recitals, radio broadcasts, film sound tracks and commercial records.
Meanwhile, the American Federation of Musicians, under the leadership of James Caesar Petrillo, were involved in a major recording ban against the four major record companies. This continued until the intervention of recording pioneer George Robert Vincent, who was at that point a lieutenant. On October 27, 1943, Vincent convinced Petrillo to allow his union musicians to record sides for the military, as long as the records were not offered for purchase in the United States. From that moment on, artists who wanted to record now had an outlet for their productivity – as well as a guaranteed, receptive, enthusiastic worldwide audience of soldiers, sailors and airmen.
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