William Penn Life, 2017 (52. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2017-02-01 / 2. szám
Tibor s Take volume. For a small family-run outfit, B&F was a major player when it came to archiving Hungarian music. Their records featured not only cigány (gypsy) but also classical, opera, popular/modern and even comedy. B&F even went to Hungary and recorded many of the top bands there. In the early 1950s, B&F Records ruffled the feathers of the Communists who perceived American recording of Communist Hungarian music as a violation of dozens of totalitarian laws. But B&F served as a business model for the newly-formed, Communist-controlled labels, such as Qualiton, Apon and Hungaroton. Eventually, Szappanos was barred from recording in Hungary. The Cold War and the 1956 Magyar Revolution created an overabundance of talented Magyar artists who escaped their homeland and made new homes in America. These immigrants needed someone to record their music. B&F filled that need and lasted well into the late 1970s. My family has 78, 45 and 33 rpm records, as well as cassette tapes and 8-tracks, that were produced by this family of legendary entrepreneurs. The emergence of post-WWII Hungarian record labels was not limited to just Cleveland. Several topquality companies sprouted up in and around New York City. Odeon, Radiola, Paprika, Globe, Csárdás, Bar-Tone and Continental were just some of the newlyformed record producers catering to the large American- Hungarian populace along the Northeastern seaboard. The post-war boom that lifted the nation was felt in this community as well, and with it came unprecedented growth in industry and housing...along with a greater appetite for Hungarian records. Here are a few of the record labels and some artists that recorded on 10-inch, 78 rpm discs: • Bar-Tone - Radies Gábor, Falvey Radies, Nagykovácsi Ilona, Veres Károly and Zsigmond Mezei. • Columbia- Király Ernő and Berkes Béla. • Odeon- Király Miklós. • Korona - Kulcsár Endre and Lovász Paul. • Globe - Alajos András, Miklós Teghze-Gerber and Mate Jenő. • Radiola - Kiss Lajos, Farkas Béla, Harmory Imre, Cselényi József, Szabó Miklós and Fellegi Teri. • Csárdás - Károly Vajda, Bortis Pauli, Bartal Jenő, Bura Sándor and Zsolt Ferenc. • RCA - Magyar Imre, Svéd Alexander, Semsay László, Sebő Miklós and Sarai Elemer. This list is, obviously, an incomplete one as the intention is to pique your interest to these significant time capsules of our beloved culture. If you have in your possession other labels or recording artists on 78 rpm records*, please send me an email along with a few photos (if possible) as I would love to hear/ see your recollections about them. My email is SilverKingl937@gmail.com. (*Note: I have written primarily about 78 rpm records because 33/45 rpm records are still readily available, by contrast.) Boldog Új Évet 2017, Tibor II Tibor Check, Jr., is a member of Branch 28 and an attorney working in Washington, D.C. Let's hear your take If you have any questions or comments about me or my column, please email me at: silverkingl937@ gmail.com, or drop me a letter in care of the William Penn Association, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. WILLIAM PENN LIFE 0 February 2017 0 7
