Meritt Records (1925)
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Meritt Records was a small record label of the 1920s, known for its recordings of African American performers.
Meritt was manufactured by the Winston Holmes Music Company of Kansas City, Missouri, a music store and publisher who set up their own recording studio (probably using outdated recording equipment previously used and discarded by a larger record company). They produced about 20 double-sided acoustically recorded gramophone records in the mid and late 1920s. Most of the sides are of locally based jazz and blues performers, plus some gospel music and sermons. The audio fidelity is significantly below average for the time, but Meritt Records are sought after by record collectors because of the interesting Kansas City jazz and blues performances preserved on the label as well as the rarity of original Meritt Records.