Signature Records
US record label
Signature Records was a jazz record company and label founded in 1939 by Bob Thiele when he was 17 years old. Its roster included Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, Erroll Garner, and Lester Young.
At age 14, Thiele was a disc jockey for his own jazz radio show, edited his own jazz magazine, and played clarinet with bands in New York City. He started Signature at age 17. Thiele was head producer and president of the label. Its musical director was orchestra leader Ray Bloch.
Some sources recite that Signature closed in 1948. However, other sources indicate that the label continued to release records into the 50s, but that by the late 50s it was moribund.
Having freelanced and produced for Decca Records and its Coral and Brunswick labels, and served as vice president for A&R for Dot Records, Thiele announced in May 1959 that he was reactivating the Signature label. The venture appears to have been in partnership with Steve Allen, one of the co-owners of Hanover Records, who brought the label into the arrangement.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Signature Records” is uS record label. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Signature, Records and label, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “uS record label” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q837242. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1939, 1948 and 1959.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Signature Records”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Signature Records primary sources, Signature Records archive and Signature research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Signature Records”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Signature Records” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.