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Paramount Sings The

ACK IN 1915, in a small town in the Midwest, a chair B manufacturer making wooden phonograph cabinets for , decided to create its own line of phonographs and records. Confident in its ability to succeed, Bluesthe company slowly gained recognition and during its peak recording years in the 1920s and early ’30s, produced a large number of and records that eventually became recognized as some of the greatest blues hits by black artists of that time. Included among them were such names as , , , , and others. True blues fans today might know some of the details behind that company’s well-known recording label, but few probably know where those records were produced. That surprising location was Grafton, right here in the area, and the company was the Wisconsin Chair Company, producer of the popular . E_504 FOR WEBSITE 8/3/06 3:38 PM Page 2

Painting of Paramount Records plant in Grafton, photo by Judy Jepson. Photos of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Paramount Record with Port Washington and Grafton on the label, by Lee Wickersheimer. A diver for PBS searches the Milwaukee River By Judy Jepson for Paramount recordings.

Grafton resident, Patrick Mack, who, along with his wife, artists originally sang into a large horn,” Angela added. “The Angela, have become well-known local historians on the horn would vibrate and there was a string at the end with a subject of Paramount Records, explained that the Wisconsin needle attached and it would etch into the wax. Chair Company was started in Port Washington, in 1888, to “Pat and I aren’t really the experts on the subject,” Angela make chairs and other furniture. When they began pointed out, “we received all of our information from Alex van manufacturing phonographs, they needed records to give out der Tuuk, author of the book Paramount’s Rise and Fall— and decided to produce those records in Grafton. A History of the Wisconsin Chair Company and its Recording The company established a pressing plant in Grafton, Activities. He spent 10 years of his life researching this book alongside the Milwaukee River, that eventually produced over and made several trips here from his home in the Netherlands. 25 percent of the nation’s early African-American blues and He is also co-owner of the ParamountsHome.Org website.” jazz records, “the type of music that American music is (The Mack’s are the other co-owners.) Angela noted there’s founded on,” Angela noted. And the recording studio was set very little hard, historical information available about this up in a building across the street from the pressing plant, subject, other than what Alex has provided. with a viaduct that connected the two buildings. “Alex is also finishing up another book called Out of the Patrick explained that the sound or the music for a record Anonymity, about Wisconsin dance bands that recorded was first recorded on wax, and from that a metal master was here—their music was also pressed here,” Angela explained, pressed which was then used to make the records. “The then proudly added, “Lawrence Welk was one of the E_504 FOR WEBSITE 8/3/06 3:38 PM Page 3

really understood what Paramount Records meant to the village until Angela got him involved. “As I started looking at what had actually happened here in the village and what it meant to the music industry, it was starting to look like we could tie-in Paramount Records with what we were doing with our downtown redevelopment effort.” He felt it could give a real identity to the community. So Brunnquell organized a orchestras that recorded in Grafton.” dumped into the river next to the meeting of area representatives and Although the records were factory. Curious about these village officials to talk about the pressed and recorded in Grafton, “rumors/stories”, Angela wrote a letter importance of this to the community. they were mailed from the Port to the popular PBS show “History “Out of that meeting, Paramount Washington home office. After a Detectives”, suggesting they do a GIG (Grooves In Grafton) was number of years of success, the segment on Paramount Records and formed as a nonprofit organization Depression and other circumstances whether these master recordings still with a mission statement directed at forced the closing of the Grafton exist on the bottom of the river. This the education and preservation of the facility, in 1932, but not until over nationally syndicated show features a Paramount music industry,” he said. 1,630 recordings had been produced. group of researchers who help people Since the redevelopment that was Besides African-American blues and find answers to historical questions going on had nothing to do with jazz, other music recorded there usually centering on an old house, music—Brunnquell sent the plans for included local dance bands, German family heirloom, or other historic the downtown redevelopment “back music and country music. Black object or structure. to the drawing board.” Swan Records were also pressed at Of the approximately 1,000 story And the result is that the new Grafton, as were a number of other ideas received by the show annually, “Paramount Plaza”, in the heart of labels. At one time over 600 people only 27 are made into segments for Grafton, will include a “Keyboard” were employed at the Grafton plant. airing each season—and Grafton is Walk-Of-Fame, a timeline and kiosk When the Grafton facility closed, one of them. A number of weeks ago, that will feature history about much of the equipment, including a PBS film crew visited Grafton, Paramount and possibly more ideas. metal masters, thousands of records, complete with a dive team to search a Angela pointed out, “Now that people record sleeves and recording ledgers, segment of the Milwaukee River for know about this, it’s like it has started was moved to the Port Washington master recordings. And what were the a Paramount Revival.” facility, Plant #2—a building that is results after a day of diving? No one Part of that revival includes an still in existence and is currently around here knows. PBS has been Inaugural Paramount Blues Festival, owned by Simplicity Manufacturing tight-lipped and would only confirm sponsored by the newly formed Company. The items remained that the Grafton segment will air this Grafton Blues Association, to be held dormant there for almost a decade. month. (“History Detectives” can be September 23rd at Grafton’s Lime Some people today remember that as seen in the Milwaukee area Monday Kiln Park, with Alex van der Tuuk in kids they “found their way into the nights at 8:00—watch the local attendance to autograph his book facility” and used the records as listings for the date it will run.) (which will be on sale). And—also Frisbees, often sailing them off the After Paramount closed, the taking part in the festival will be the roof of the building and sometimes Penning Corporation bought the last surviving Paramount blues shooting at them with shotguns. facility and began producing Bakelite recording artist, Henry James After World War II started and scrap (plastic) products. In 1939, Townsend, who will return to Grafton metal and paper drives were formed, Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. took over the after 76 years to perform once again. the story goes that most of the stored old pressing plant and by November Mr. Townsend’s return is made inventory was sold to scrap dealers. 1939, the building housing the possible thanks to Grafton State Bank Another story that has circulated recording studio and the viaduct were and Alex van der Tuuk. For complete around Grafton for decades is that torn down. The pressing factory was details on the Blues Festival, log onto when Paramount went out of taken down a few years later. www.graftonblues.org. business, some of the master Grafton Village president James Reprinted with permission from recordings and 78 rpm records were Brunnquell explained that he hadn’t Exclusively Yours Magazine © August 2006