   v-disc ("v" for victory) was a morale-boosting initiative involving the production of several series of recordings during the world war ii era by special arrangement between the united states government and various private u.s. record companies. the records were produced for the use of united states military personnel overseas. many popular singers, big bands and orchestras of the era recorded special v-disc records. these 12-inch, vinyl 78 rpm gramophone recordings were created for the army between october 1943 and may 1949. navy discs were released between july 1944 and september 1945. twelve-inch discs were used because, when 136 grooves per inch were used, they could hold up to six and a half minutes of music. army v-discs were issued in series a-z, aa-zz and aaa-fff. navy v-discs were issued in series a-n. the v-disc project actually began in june 1941, six months before the united states' involvement in world war ii, when captain howard bronson was assigned to the army's recreation and welfare section as a musical advisor. bronson suggested the troops might appreciate a series of records featuring military band music, inspirational records that could motivate soldiers and improve morale. by 1942, the armed forces radio service (afrs) sent 16-inch, 33 rpm vinyl transcription discs to the troops from eight sources: special recording sessions, concerts, recitals, radio broadcasts, film sound tracks and commercial records. meanwhile, the american federation of musicians, under the leadership of james caesar petrillo, were involved in a major recording strike against the four major record companies. this continued until the intervention of recording pioneer george robert vincent, who was at that point a lieutenant. on october 27, 1943, vincent convinced petrillo to allow his union musicians to record sides for the military, as long as the records were not offered for purchase in the united states. from that moment on, artists who wanted to record now had an outlet for their productivity â as well as a guaranteed, receptive, enthusiastic worldwide audience of soldiers, sailors and airmen. the v-discs were an instant hit overseas. soldiers who were tired of hearing the same old recordings were treated to new and special releases from the top bands of the day. and such a varied selection - big band hits, some swing music, classical performances from the top symphonies, a little jazz here and there, even some marching
American_Forces_Network American_record_labels Jazz_record_labels Record_labels_established_in_1941