The 1950-51
Mercer Records
Sessions
by
Steven Lasker
May 2026

supplement to
The Duke – Where and When
A Chronicle of Duke Ellington's Working Life and Travels

The 1950-51
Mercer Records
Sessions
Steven Lasker
May 2026

The sessions of 1950 02 11 and 1951 04 17 were recorded in Detroit, that of 1951 05 18 in Boston, all others in New York City.

Eleven Mercer Records masters kept at Apex Studios (noted below in italics) were lost in a fire there in the 1950s. No copies are known to exist in any format.

Titles and composer’s credits are as shown on the labels of the original releases.

Only original issues are listed below; unless otherwise noted, all records listed herein were released on the Mercer label, pressed and distributed in the U.S. by Prestige Records. These sides can be compiled onto two compact discs, with track numbers as shown.

Mercer Records session contract
Sept. 13, 1950
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Oscar Pettiford, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Lloyd Trotman, and Leonard Feather
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(click images
to enlarge)

Mercer Records
Sept. 21, 1950
session contract report

Mercer Records
Sept. 21, 1950
session pay report

The Billboard ad, first Mercer Records release

Mercer Records session contract
Oct. 3, 1950
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Mercer Records session contract
Oct. 21, 1950
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Mercer Records session contract
Nov. 1, 1950
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Mercer Records session contract
Apr. 28. 1951
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Leonard Feather, a partner and general manager of Mercer Records from 1950, became the New York editor of DOWN BEAT in January 1951, so new Mercer releases on Mercer were frequently reviewed in the magazine. While exact release dates of Mercer Records aren’t known to me, they were probably released about the time the records were reviewed in DOWN BEAT. Catalog numbers and their review dates follow:

Mercer Records releases from non-Mercer recording sessions
Steven Lasker
May 2026

Kennedy Records / Mercer Records
Backgrounder

• Kennedy Records' only recording session was 1950-02-11. The Billboard of the same date reported Duke took out a recording licence with the AF of M for his new disc venture, Kennedy Records. Given press deadlines, this would have been before the date of the session.
• That February 11 was a Kennedy Records session is consistent with the 1950 09 13 Local 802 A.F.of M. contract being marked Session 1 and with Leonard Feather's description of that session as Mercer Records' first.
• Duke may have been present for the Kennedy date, but that is not confirmed as yet. Mercer Ellington's band was playing in New York this week but Ellington's orchestra was in Michigan.
• While two of the masters from the first session were later destroyed, all four were dubbed and sent to a Mrs. Coleen [sic] Hoefer in Chicago. She appears to be the former Miss Colleen MacDonnell who married jazz record collector George Hoefer in 1945. Mr. Hoefer wrote The Hot Box column in DOWN BEAT and served on the staffs of Metronome, Jazz and The Melody Maker and later, was the DOWN BEAT's New York editor (source: obituary, The New York Times 1967-11-20) courtesy S.Lasker. Feather's covering letter to Mrs. Hoefer 1950 08 04 said:

  Dear Coleen,
    Enclosed is a set of dubs of four sides that were recorded in Detroit by Chubby Kemp, Duke's blues singer who will be with him at the Regal the week of August 17.
    These sides are cleared through the union, and will probably be released on a new label, Kennedy records...
    "Hello Little Boy" and "The Greatest There Is" are credited to Ellington and Kemp, and are both published by Tempo Music. You can consider this letter an authorization of clearance on the two tunes if necessary...

• SI-NMAH DEC 301 Series III F Box 106 Folder 26 has the first two pages of a 1950 09 12 exclusive recording contract between Mercer Records as employer and Duke Ellington and his orchestra. Subsequent pages are missing so it can't be determined if the contract was executed. It calls for a minimum of 12 record sides, a separate Form B contract for each recording session, and no recording was to be made by dubbing. Ellington was to be paid 5% of the retail list price in the country of manufacture of 90% of all records sold with Ellington on both sides, and half that for records with Ellington on just one side. For records sold in Europe, Mercer Records could elect to use the list price in the country of manufacure or England. Musicians were to be paid scale, within 14 days, and their pay was to be charged against Ellington's royalties when earned. Ellington was not to make records for any others during the term of the contract, and for five years after the contract expired, would not record compositions for others that had been recorded for Mercer.
• On 1951 07 26, Atlantic Recording Corporation wrote to Mercer Records, Inc. claiming Hibbler was under an exclusive recording contract with Atlantic and Atlantic had just learned Mercer Records had had a recording session with him. Atlantic threatened

  Unless we hear from you immediately to the effect that such recordings shall be destroyed and not distributed by you, we shall have no other alternative but to instruct our counsel to ask for an immedaite injunction and damages in this matter.

• By this time, Mercer Records had already recorded Hibbler three times. Feather wrote to lawyer Saul Pryor 1951 07 27, beginning:

  Enclosed is a copy of the letter we have received from Atlantic Records.
    Duke Ellington claims that Hibbler's contact with Atlantic was not valid, since it was signed without his knowledge or consent, in violation of his personal contract with Hibbler.
    This matter is of the utmost urgency, not only because Duke invested money in making these Hibbler records but also because they are the most valuable property we have, and we had planned to release them immediately...

• Mercer Records registered with the state of New York as a partnership between Mercer Ellington and Leonard Feather 1950 08 08. On 1951 07 27, Feather's letter to lawyer Pryor concerning Hibbler's Mercer Records sessions also instructed him to incorporate Mercer Records with 30 shares to Duke Ellington, 20 to Strayhorn, 25 to Mercer Ellington and 25 shares to himself.
• Mercer Ellington letters to James C. Petrillo and to Music Performance Trust Fund 1950 09 07 said

  Since the establishing of Kennedy Records we are now prepared to make our first release which will appear under the label of MERCER RECORDS...
     These sessions were recorded by Billy Strayhorn with vocal accompaniment in Detroit, and were handled through the American Federation of Musicians...
     Furthermore I would like to register our business address and commercial title with you as follows: MERCER RECORDS, Room 431, 1775 Broadway, New York 10, N.Y. Bob Weinstock, of Prestige and New Jazz Records, is handling our national distribution; also a certificate of doing business has been registered with the city of New York...and a bank account has been established with the Chemical Bank & Trust Co...

• Music Publishers Holding Corporation wrote to Mercer Records 1951 08 29 with mechanical licenses for Bei Mir Bist Du Schon [sic] and Indian Summer in accordance with a telephone conversation between its W. EVans and Mercer's Miss Dixon [Mildred Dixon]. These had been recorded in Mercer's April and May, 1951 sessions.
• Mercer Records, Inc. had a cash flow deficiency in late 1951:
  • Scientific Plastic Company wrote a dunning letter 1951
     11 05 to Leonard Feather and "Mercer Record Co." The next day (1951
     11 06), Mercer Records Inc. replied :

    Dear Mr. Harnett:
       You are absolutely right, and believe me, if we had money in the bank we would certainly have paid you. All I can say is that we have no intention of letting our debt go any higher, and are stopping all reorders even if it means turning down orders from distributors, until we can gradually payoff our debt to you.
      Weinstock says we should get some fairly substantial amounts in within [sic] the next couple of weeks, so I hope and believe that the worst is over and things will improve between now and Christmas.
      Meanwhile, I want to thank you for your patience. We will send you a check -- I can't say hiw [sic] large or how soon -- but as soon as as [sic] big as economically possible...

  • On 1951 12 13 a lawyer for AA1 Products Co. wrote to Mercer Records demanding payment within 5 days of $187.65 for merchandise, or be sued.
• Mercer Records, Inc. rescinded the Mercer Records partnership exclusive distributorship agreement with Prestige Record Company, effective 1951 11 30. (Letter 1951 12 03, Jaffe & Jaffe, Counselors at Law, to Prestige Record Company)
• In a letter dated 1953 07 02, Universal Recording Corporation of Chicago sent Duke Ellington a list of 22 masters it recorded 1952 08 13 for Mercer Records:
  • 6110 Deacon Blues
  • 6111 You Made a Fool of Me
  • 6112 Deep Purple
  • 6113 Don't You Know I Care
  • 6114 Love Of Mine
  • 6115 Fast Bop
  • 6116 How Deep Is The Ocean
  • 6117 Pennies From Heaven
  • 6118 Love For Sale
  • 6119 I'll Remember You
  • 6120 Solitude
  • 6121 Londontown
  • 6122 A Train
  • 6123 Stranded with Blues
  • 6124 Magic
  • 6125 Moon Mist
  • 6126 Sentimental Mood
  • 6127 Supposin'
  • 6128 Solitude
  • 6129 If I Loved You
  • 6130 Mood Indigo
  • 6131 Someone to Watch Over Me
  Performers' names shown for each title included Cat Anderson, Jimmy [sic] Gissom[sic], Debbie Andrews and, on 12 titles, Les Strand. Masters 6122 to 6131 are listed in Universal's three page Pre-Production Report dated "8-14-1952 3:30 AM"
• On 1956 09 10, Columbia Records sent Mercer Records, Inc. a standard form Columbia LP Record Club Modification for signature, which was then to be signed on behalf of Columbia with a copy returned to Mercer Records, Inc. together with a check [sic] for royalties due for sales through the club.
• Feather sold his 25% interest in Mercer Records Inc. to Mercer Ellington for $100 in May, 1957. The agreement provided he would also be paid $300 from the sale of certain Mercer Records, Inc. recordings to Coral Records, Inc. and would receive residuals if MRI received more from Coral when it sold those recordings.
• Steven Lasker (May 2026):
  • Mercer Records sold 12 titles to Coral Records. Stormy Weather/ Stardust was released in 1957 on Brunswick 9-55027: https://www.discogs.com/release/3708362-Al-Hibbler-With-The-Ellingtonians-Star-Dust-Stormy-Weather-Keeps-Rainin-All-The-Time
  • All 12 titles were released in 1958 on Brunswick BL 54036: https://www.discogs.com/release/14771786-Al-Hibbler-With-The-Ellingtonians-Al-Hibbler-With-The-Ellingtonians
  • In the 1950s and 60s, Brunswick and Coral were both subsidiaries of Decca Records, Inc.
  • Note that none of the 12 titles released on Brunswick have ever appeared on a Fantasy/Prestige issue, or on a post-1956 Vogue LP. These masters are today owned by the Universal Music Group.
• Mercer discusses Mercer Records at pages 102 and 103 of Duke Ellington in Person: An Intimate Memoir. He describes it as basically a two man operation, himself and Feather, Oscar Pettiford was the chief artist and Al Hibbler's records moved well. When Pettiford and a small band were based at Birdland "guys like [disc jockey] Symphony Sid promoted his records." Symphony Sid promotion ended when Birdland fired Pettiford. Mercer Records was trying to issue 4 records a month, but stores didn't have space for records that didn't move,and without someone to encourage disc jockeys to promote the records, they didn't get the push they needed.
• This backgrounder is primarily derived from Mercer Records business records copied in 2016 at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History ("SI-NMAH") Archive Center in its Duke Ellington Collection 301, Series III, Subseries F, Boxes 106, 107 and 108 and brief comments in Duke Ellington in person. No attempt has been made to search the massive Ellington collection for additional records related to Kennedy Records, Mercer Records or Mercer Records, Inc.