SIDEBAR - DECCA RECORDS

Decca Records label. Formed as an American division by its British parent company in 1934, Decca was the only major company to stand by its black roster during the 1940s, although most of its artistsincluding vocal groups (the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots) and big bands (led by Lionel Hampton and Buddy Johnson)worked in prewar idioms. Decca's black roster was supervised by Milt Gabler, a jazz fan who had previously run his own Commodore label. At Decca, Gabler formed a close relationship with Louis Jordan, whose hugely popular and influential jump-blues combo topped the black music market's best-seller chart for an unrivaled total of 118 weeks during the 1940s. When Jordan left Decca to join the independent Aladdin label in 1954, Gabler signed a white group with a comparable style: Bill Haley and His Comets. The first sessions with Haley, recorded at Manhattan's Pythian Temple, resulted in two extremely influential hitsa cover version of Joe Turner's recent rhythm-and-blues hit Shake Rattle and Roll and the record that was to become one of the best-selling rock-and-roll hits of all time, Rock Around the Clock. In an attempt to take advantage of the more flexible procedures of the independent sector (notably in radio promotion), Decca set up two independently distributed subsidiary labels, Brunswick and Coral, whose rosters included Buddy Holly, the Crickets, and Jackie Wilson. Charlie Gillett