|
|
This label guide covers album labels by Vee Jay Records from the release of the first Vee Jay LP in 1957 until the company declared bankruptcy in 1966. Vee Jay was revived during the 1970's, and some of the labels from that period are shown where they have been located. Every Vee Jay label style was a "classic," as you will see below.
  | The first of all Vee Jay labels is maroon-colored and featured
"Vee-Jay" in script across the middle of the label. There are two variations of the script label. This variation, which began with the first LP in 1957, has a thin band around the edge of the label. There is nothing written underneath the word "Vee-Jay." Albums 100, 101, and LP-1000 through LP-1016 occur on this label style. Stereo was introduced in 1958, and the corresponding stereo label was gold. During the early period, Vee-Jay albums were often manufactured by RCA. |
  | This maroon script label is slightly different from the
one above. The label has a thicker silver band around it.
Also, the abbreviation "TRADE MARK REG" appears under the
"Vee" of "Vee-Jay." This second album label corresponds to a similar label for singles. The singles label in this style began in 1957, and so both label styles appear to have been used on LP's at the same time, although it may be that some LP's were only issued on the "thin line" label (shown earlier). Only LP-1022, the last album issued on the script label in 1960, is known to exist only on the "trade mark" script label. Albums LP-1019, 1020, and 1021 actually came out after LP-1022 and are not known to exist on the script label. |
  
| In 1960, Vee Jay modernized to a more colorful label that allowed
more space for information. That label featured Vee-Jay's
new "oval logo" against a black background. Around the
perimeter of the label is a rainbow color band. Although the newer "brackets logo" was introduced in October, 1963 (see below), this label style continued to appear until all of the printed labels ran out, some time in Spring, 1964. On stereo labels, the word "stereo" may appear at the top of the label above the logo or on one side of the label. |
  
| After Randy Wood took over as president of Vee-Jay, the
brackets logo began to appear on Vee-Jay albums. Due to
financial problems, some front covers featuring oval logos
had been designed earlier and appear on albums that were
issued as late as January, 1964, but the brackets label was
intended to be "original" to all releases from October, 1963, on. Album VJS-1154, issued in 1965, was the last original album released by Vee Jay. After that time, further financial struggles forced the company to offer no new releases. |
   
| During the height of Vee-Jay's success in 1964, Vee Jay
contracted out to several other companies to produce labels.
Therefore, albums from this period can be found with labels
other than the "official" brackets label. These include:
|
 
| Vee-Jay was bought out of bankruptcy in 1967. Throughout
the 1970's, Vee-Jay reissued earlier material on solid-color
labels with a brackets logo on top. The company also issued
new Jazz and Gospel LP's beginning in 1974. The artist's name and title
appear together underneath the brackets logo. This label style
continued until Vee-Jay stopped pressing LP's in about 1979. Also in 1979, Vee Jay reissued their Beatles interview album on a nostalgic "rainbow label." These copies, however, have "STEREO" on the cover; 1964 pressings were in mono. That album, Hear the Beatles Tell All was also reissued onto a picture disc. |
© 2003 Frank Daniels