The 35¢ record, through which Decca revolutionized the popular-record business seven years ago, was almost dead and buried. Columbia put its purple Okeh label into storage for the duration. Victor still clung to its Bluebird name, Decca to its standard blue label, but all three moved their top names (e.g., Victor's Glenn Miller, Columbia's Benny Goodman, Decca's Jimmy Dorsey) up to the 50¢ platters. Sole exception: Bing Crosby. This reshuffling was inevitable after the mid-April WPB order, cutting the use of all-important shellac in phonograph records by 70%. Another consequence: manufacturers...
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