Paramount

Paramount was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson. It was launched in late 1917 on a small scale with little fanfare by the of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Earliest releases were 9.5" vertically cut discs bearing black labels crediting the . Within a year, 10" discs were being produced. These bore blue labels and credited production to The Wisconsin Chair Company's newly formed division, . NYRL converted to lateral recording during the summer of 1919, and a redesigned label that shifted the eagle's perch from a phonograph to a globe was introduced in 1920.

Despite its later reputation as a race-record label, Paramount's early catalog was aimed at white middle-class consumers and featured ordinary popular and light classical material performed by New York area studio freelancers. Its first significant departure from the mainstream came with the pressing and release of several of 's masters in 1921. A new Race Series, numbered in a special block beginning at 12001, was introduced in August, 1922. A decisive shift toward this new market