I read this one several years ago (actually I pretty much lived with this book for a while) when I was doing research for a seminar paper. The author, Marc Ryan, and I worked from some of the same source materials and I have to say he did a much better job than I did.
Trumpet was a Jackson, Mississippi based a independent label that operated in the 1950's. Although not as well known as some contemporaries, Trumpet managed to release some of the most enduring records of the blues canon. Sonny Boy Williamson, Arthur Crudup, Elmore James and Jerry McCain all made their debuts on Trumpet.
Ryan explores the story of Trumpet's owner, operator, producer, A&R director and office manager Lillian McMurry and how she built Trumpet from a furniture store off-shoot into an innovative record company. Along the way he shows the human sides of McMurry, Sonny Boy, McCain and other artists. he also details the legal fights that arose between McMurry, Chess, and various and sundry Biharis.
Great read for anyone interested in more than just who the artists were but also in how the records made it from the artist to the turntable and how the independents were able to make inroads against the major labels.
Trumpet was a Jackson, Mississippi based a independent label that operated in the 1950's. Although not as well known as some contemporaries, Trumpet managed to release some of the most enduring records of the blues canon. Sonny Boy Williamson, Arthur Crudup, Elmore James and Jerry McCain all made their debuts on Trumpet.
Ryan explores the story of Trumpet's owner, operator, producer, A&R director and office manager Lillian McMurry and how she built Trumpet from a furniture store off-shoot into an innovative record company. Along the way he shows the human sides of McMurry, Sonny Boy, McCain and other artists. he also details the legal fights that arose between McMurry, Chess, and various and sundry Biharis.
Great read for anyone interested in more than just who the artists were but also in how the records made it from the artist to the turntable and how the independents were able to make inroads against the major labels.
