Under the leadership of
James Caesar Petrillo, the American Federation of Musicians (
AFM) was involved in the
1942–44 musicians' strike in which there was a recording ban on four recording companies. On October 27, 1943
George Robert Vincent convinced Petrillo to allow the union's musicians to make records for the military as long as the discs were not sold and the masters were disposed of. Musicians who had contracts with different record labels were now able to record together for this nonprofit enterprise. A group consisting of
Louis Armstrong,
Coleman Hawkins, and
Art Tatum recorded concerts that were released as V-Discs. Captain Vincent ran the program from the Special Services Division.
Artists and repertoire responsibilities were handled by
Steve Sholes and Walt Heebner, both of
RCA Victor, Morty Palitz of
Decca Records, and Tony Janak of
Columbia Records. The program started for the Army, but soon music was provided for the Navy and Marines. Many V-Discs contained spoken-word introductions by bandleaders and musicians wishing good luck and prayers for the soldiers.
Glenn Miller in December 1943, introduced a record by saying, "This is Captain Glenn Miller speaking for the Army Air Force's Training Command Orchestra and we hope that you soldiers of the Allied forces enjoy these V-Discs that we're making just for you." The
Jubilee series, hosted by comedian
Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman, was provided for black servicemen. The banter between Whitman and guests sometimes ventured into risque and racial humor, including the use of the ethnic slur "
ofay" to refer to whites. In addition to a window into black entertainment styles, the Jubilee series chronicled the development of swing music on the cusp of bebop. V-disc recordings provide important archives of the
Billy Eckstine Orchestra and the
International Sweethearts of Rhythm. The "V" stands for "Victory" although Vincent said the "V" stood for "Vincent". The V-Disc program ended in 1949. Audio masters and
stampers were destroyed. Leftover V-Discs at bases and on ships were discarded. On some occasions, the FBI and the
Provost Marshal's Office confiscated and destroyed V-Discs that servicemen had smuggled home. An employee at a Los Angeles record company served a short prison sentence for the illegal possession of over 2,500 V-Discs. == See also ==