These links about the founder of Dana Records might answer some of your
questions:

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/13/arts/walter-dana-polka-promoter-dies-at-96.html

http://www.internationalpolka.com/walter-dana.html

Randy

On Sun, Dec 14, 2014 at 1:05 AM, Paul Stamler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi folks:
>
> I just finished digitizing an LP by Emil Bruh & his Ensemble called
> "Jewish Melodies". The label says they were located in New York, but I've
> associated them with Chicago; certainly most of the 78s I've seen on the
> label are of Chicago-style polka music.
>
> The LP label says "Copyright 1946", but I suspect that's not correct.
> First off, LPs hadn't been invented in 1946, so this might have been a
> reissue of a 78 album. But the aural evidence suggests otherwise; the
> freq2uency response sounds pretty wide for 1946, and there's no surface
> noise evident. Could it have been a tape? Bit early for that, though it's
> not impossible. But it sounds like an early 1950s recording -- the peaky,
> shrieky high frequencies say that.
>
> A couple more data points: of course recordings weren't copyrightable in
> 1946. Could the copyright be for the label design? Unlikely, since this was
> before LPs existed.
>
> There are absolutely no liner notes; some assiduous Googling came up with
> the fact that this record's been reissued a couple of times, including a
> cassette from Global Village. Descriptions of the reissues indicate that
> none of them included any information other than titles.
>
> I did find an entry in the 1940 Census for an Emil Bruh living on 180th
> St. in New York City. He was born about 1898 in Rumania; he sounds like a
> likely candidate.
>
> Anyhow, does anyone know about Dana's recordings in the LP era? Did they
> have a very early tape recorder? Or was this, as my ears suggest, a 1950s
> recording?
>
> Any and all information is welcome.
>
> Peace,
> Paul
>
> PS The Online Discographical Project doesn't include Dana. Neither does
> Barr.
>