The first Vee-Jay mono album labels were maroon colored (from 1957-1961). There were two varieties
(see label guide), and it's unclear
whether one preceded the other or perhaps there were two pressing plants that used slightly different label blanks. Most of these albums
were later reissued with the oval and/or the brackets logo, but collectors crave the first pressing maroon labels. Even rarer but not as
desirable, are the stereo counterparts of these albums that have silver or gold labels
(see label guide).
You may notice that there's a big numerical gap before # 1022 Jimmy Reed. This late number seems to be an anomaly, as I've never seen any maroon labels
after 1016 other than that one. However, with Vee-Jay, anything is possible. Thanks to Bill Schweitzer for contributing some album photos.
LP 1001 - The El Dorados
LP 1002 - The Spaniels
LP 1003 - Sarah McLawler & Richard Otto
LP 1004 - Jimmy Reed
LP 1005 - Benny Green
LP 1006 - Sarah McLawler & Richard Otto
LP 1007 - John Lee Hooker
LP 1008 - Jimmy Reed
LP 1009 - Gene Allison
LP 1010 - The Dells
LP 1011 - Wade Flemons
LP 1012 - Memphis Slim
LP 1013 - Walter Perkins
LP 1014 - Paul Chambers
LP 1015 - Bill Henderson
LP 1016 - Wynton Kelley
LP 1022 - Jimmy Reed
LP 3006 - Wayne Shorter
LP 3008 - MJT+3
LP 5000 - The Staple Singers
LP 5001 - Maceo Wood
LP 5002 - The Harmonizing Four
LP 5003 - The Swan Silvertones
LP 5004 - The Five Blind Boys
LP 5005 - The Highway QC's
Missing are #101 Dave Remington,
#3005 Frank Strozier and possibly #3007 Lee Morgan.
