Sold Date: November 3, 2022
Start Date: November 2, 2022
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World War II V-Disc 78 #383 Cottoneyed Joe & One Meat Ball by Josh White / Hong Kong Blues & Baltimore  Oriole by Hoagy Carmichael

V-Disc () was a record label that was formed in 1943 to provide records for U.S. military personnel. Captain  supervised the label from the  division.

Many popular singers, big bands, and orchestras recorded V-discs.

History

Under the leadership of , the American Federation of Musicians () was involved in the  in which there was a recording ban on four companies. On October 27, 1943   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 , , and  recorded concerts that were released as V-Discs. Captain Vincent ran the program from the Special Services Division.  responsibilities were handled by Steve Scholes and Walt Heebner, both of , Morty Palitz of , and Tony Janak of . 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.  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 , 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 "" 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  Orchestra and the . The "V" stands for "Victory" although Vincent said the "V" stood for "Vincent".

The V-Disc program ended in 1949. Audio masters and  were destroyed. Leftover V-Discs at bases and on ships were discarded. On some occasions, the FBI and the 's Office confiscated and destroyed V-Discs that servicemen had smuggled home. An employee at a Los Angeles record company served a prison sentence for the illegal possession of over 2,500 V-Discs.