In 1872, a number of prominent Richmond, Indiana businessmen, headed by James M. Starr, organized a company to manufacture pianos. The Starr Piano Company, as it came to be known, was the first piano company west of the Alleghany Mountains. The company grew steadily and incorporated in 1893 under the direction of Benjamin Starr, John Lumsden, and Lumsden's son-in-law Henry Gennett. Gennett served as president of the company, and over the years his three sons were officers: Harry as vice-president and general manager; Fred as secretary; and Clarence as treasurer. 

    1872年， 一群傑出的印第安那州裏士滿的商人，由詹姆斯 • 斯塔爾牽頭，成立了一個公司來生產鋼琴。斯塔爾鋼琴公司，正如大家所知，曾經是阿勒格尼山脈以西的首個鋼琴公司。公司穩定發展，在本傑明•斯塔爾、約翰• 盧姆斯登的領導下，幾個公司合併，約翰 • 盧姆斯登的女婿亨利 • 吉納特擔任公司的董事長，幾年後，他的三個兒子成為公司的高級職員，哈裏任副董事長和總經理，佛瑞德任秘書，克拉倫斯任財務主管。

By 1912, the company was said to be the largest manufacturer of pianos in the world. With all factory facilities in Richmond, outlet stores were located in Birmingham, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Portland, and San Francisco. The floor space in the factory covered more than twelve acres, and 600 employees were on the payroll. An average of forty pianos a day were built. All parts and cases were manufactured in-house for grand, upright and player pianos, and the instruments received numerous awards for tone quality, case design, and construction.    

    到1912年，據說公司成為世界上较大的鋼琴製造商。公司所有的設備全速運轉，批發商遍佈伯明罕、波士頓、芝加哥、辛辛那提、克利夫蘭、底特律、印第安那波利斯、堪薩斯、洛杉磯、納斯維爾、紐約、波特蘭和三藩市等。工廠占地12英畝，600多人出現在工資單上。平均每天生產40架鋼琴。所有的三角琴、立式琴和自動演奏鋼琴的部件和琴殼都是在公司內部生產。優美的音色、漂亮的外觀和有效的機構為公司贏得了數不清的獎項。 

In 1915, Starr entered the recording field with obsolete recording equipment and old master discs from a bankrupt firm in Boston. From 1915 to 1918, records were issued under the Starr label, but the company found that some independent dealers refused to carry the records because the name Starr was already strongly associated with pianos and phonographs. The label name was changed to Gennett in 1918 at the suggestion of Fred Gennett. 

    1915年，斯塔爾公司開始涉足唱片業，波斯頓一家破產公司的專有灌錄設備和舊光碟是斯塔爾公司開始的基礎。從1915年到1918年，使用斯塔爾標誌發行唱片。但是不久公司發現，有些獨立經銷商拒絕斯塔爾標誌，因為一提到斯塔爾，人們就會聯想到鋼琴和留聲機。1918年，在佛瑞德•吉納特的建議下，唱片的標誌改成了GENNETT(吉納特） 

The following year, 1919, was the most profitable in the history of the Starr Piano Company and its subsidiary, the Gennett Record Company. The Gennett catalog was expanded in both classical and popular music discs, and Fred Gennett signed recording contracts with concert artists, speakers and popular figures. These early acoustically recorded discs contained items as diverse as speeches by William Jennings Bryan and members of the Ku Klux Klan; symphonic, band and sacred music; and physical culture exercises.    

    第二年，也就是1919年，是斯塔爾鋼琴公司和它的子公司吉納特唱片公司很賺錢的一年。吉納特灌制音樂唱片的範圍擴大，古典和現代音樂都在吉納特的目錄當中。佛雷德 • 吉納特開始和音樂家、演講家和公眾人物簽訂錄製合同。這些早期的聽覺記錄包括形形色色的內容：威廉 • 詹寧斯 • 布萊恩和3K黨成員的演講、交響樂、樂隊和宗教音樂、體育鍛煉等等。 

By 1921, the company had recording studios in Richmond and New York City, and pressings were done at the Richmond plant and by H.S. Berliner in Montreal. During the early 1920s the entire line of Starr products increased to an annual production of 15,000 pianos, 35,000 spring-driven phonographs, and 3,000,000 records.

    到1921年，公司在裏士滿和紐約都有錄音棚，唱片的灌錄則在裏士滿工廠，在蒙特利爾的灌制則由H.S Berliner來做。20世紀20年代早期，整個斯塔爾公司的生產包括年產15000架鋼琴，35000臺彈簧驅動的留聲機和300萬張唱片。 

The Gennett Record Company is acknowledged as a pioneer and leader in supplying records to chain stores and mail order houses. Sears and Roebuck carried the Silvertone, Supertone, Conqueror and Challenge labels, and Gennett supplied the Montgomery Ward chain as well. Gennett masters were released under more than 70 labels, including Bell, Black Patti, Champion, Decca, Gold Seal, Herwin, QRS, and Varsity. In 1916, Harry Gennett's business trip to England resulted in Gennett masters appearing on many English labels, including Winner, Guardsman, Coliseum, and Vocalion; Australian labels also used Gennett masters. Gennett masters also were leased or sold to Paramount, Vocalion, and OKeh.    

    吉納特唱片公司之所以眾所周知，是因為它是把唱片提供給連鎖店和郵購商行的先鋒和領導者。西爾斯和羅巴克經營的是銀聲、超聲、征服者和挑戰者商標。吉納特也給蒙特利爾沃德連鎖提供唱片。吉納特大師系列使用70多個牌子發行，包括貝爾、黑色佩蒂、冠軍、德卡、金封、荷文、QRS和大學等。1916年，亨利 • 吉納特前往英國，結果是，吉納特大師系列被貼上了很多英國牌子，包括勝利者、近衛兵、大劇場和沃卡利翁等；一些澳大利亞牌子也被用在了吉納特大師系列上。吉納特大師同時也租售給派拉蒙、沃卡利翁和沃凱。 

The company entered the jazz market largely due to the efforts of Fred Wiggins, the manager of a Starr music store in Chicago. He scouted for artists to record for Gennett, "discovering" musicians like Gene Autry and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. In 1923 jazz pioneers, including the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver and his Creole Band, and Jelly Roll Morton came to Richmond to record, and helped to establish Gennett as a major jazz label. Younger, and at that time less established, jazz artists who made acoustical recordings at the Richmond studio included Bix Beiderbecke, Tommy Dorsey, and Hoagy Carmichael. In the New York studio, Louis Armstrong and the Red Onion Jazz Babies and numerous blues musicians recorded, along with other popular dance bands of the day. 

    公司涉及爵士樂市場主要原因是佛瑞德• 維金斯，他是芝加哥斯塔爾音樂商店的經理。他搜索音樂家來公司錄製唱片。“發現”了許多音樂家，比如說吉恩• 奧特裏和新奧爾良節奏王等。1923年，爵士樂的先鋒們，包括新奧爾良節奏王、奧利弗王和他的克裏奧爾樂隊、傑利 • 羅 • 莫頓來到裏士滿錄製唱片，而這所有都給吉納特貼上了爵士樂牌子。那個時期，年輕而且還沒有大的建樹的爵士藝術家們很多在裏士滿錄音棚錄製過唱片，包括比克斯 • 拜德貝克、湯米 • 多爾西、霍奇 • 卡邁克爾。在紐約的錄音棚，則有路易士 • 阿姆斯壯、 雷德 • 奧尼恩爵士寶貝和數不清的布魯斯音樂家來錄製唱片，同時還有那個時代比較流行的舞蹈樂隊。 

Gennett was possibly the first commercial record company to release ethnic music discs. In 1926, Fred Gennett arranged with resort chain owner Fred Harvey to make records of the Hopi Indians for the tourist trade. Gennett arranged for Dr. J. Walter Fewkes to record the Hopi discs at the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon, where elders of the tribe were invited to come record their traditional songs. Fewkes, Chief of the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian, was the first ethnologist to make phonograph recordings in the field when he made cylinder recordings of the music of the Passamaquody Indians in 1889. Even though the Hopi discs were not commercially successful, the recordings did preserve valuable and rare music; they were the last known acoustic recordings made by the company. After the company switched to electrical recording techniques, Gennett maintained its interest in ethnic recordings, as shown by its Maloof (Middle-Eastern) and Rayo Electrico (Hispanic) labels, as well as discs in Hebrew. 

    吉納特可能是首個發行少數民族音樂唱片的商業公司。1926年，根據娛樂連鎖所有人佛瑞德 • 哈維的安排，佛瑞德 • 吉納特做了霍皮印第安人以旅遊業為目的的錄音。應沃特博士的安排，在位於大峽穀的EI 托瓦爾酒店，吉納特為那些被邀請來的部落老人們錄製了他們傳統的歌曲。福克斯，這位美國國立博物館的民族學局主管，是一位錄製留聲機唱片民族學者，而在1889年他還在為帕薩馬科迪印第安人錄製蠟筒唱片音樂。即使霍皮唱片在商業上不是很成功，但是它確實在特殊音樂方面是相當有保存價值的。它們是吉納特公司給予人類在聽覺上的之後保留。在吉納特公司採用電聲錄製技術後，吉納特公司還是在民族音樂上堅持著，比如說中東的馬盧夫唱片和拉丁美洲的拉約電聲唱片，還有猶太唱片。

In 1926, all the major phonograph producers, including Starr, introduced a new line with improved speakers and electric motors; improvements in sound recording soon followed. Microphones, invented by Emile Berliner, replaced the old acoustic horns. Gennett's first electrically processed record was released early in 1926, and a few months later the Electrobeam label was introduced. Most jazz Electrobeams were recorded at the Richmond studio, as was Gennett's "Race Series," which drew black musicians from the Chicago area. Very little jazz and very few black artists were recorded at the New York City studio after 1926.     

    1926年，美國所有主要的留聲機製造商，包括斯塔爾公司，採用了新的生產線來改進揚聲器和電馬達的生產，隨之而來的就是在聲音錄製上的提高。埃米爾柏林發明的麥克風代替了老的號角。吉納特首張電聲工藝唱片在1926年初發行，幾個月後，電子束商標推出。大多數爵士樂電子束在裏士滿的錄音棚被錄製，作為吉納特的“種族系列”，這吸引了來自芝加哥的黑人音樂家。1926年後，紐約的錄音棚很少錄製爵士樂和為黑人藝術家錄製唱片。

Gennett Electrobeams were also recorded in Chicago, Birmingham, and St. Paul. The Birmingham Starr music store housed a temporary recording studio in August and September of 1927, where Southern blues and jazz musicians were recorded. Swedish, German and Polish folk music was recorded in St. Paul in September-November of the same year. Two recording trips were made to Chicago in November and December, 1927, and in February-April, 1928.  

    吉納特電子束在芝加哥、伯明罕和聖保羅也有錄製。1927年的8月和9月，伯明罕斯塔爾音樂商店臨時使用了一個地方作為錄音棚，南方的布魯斯和爵士音樂家們在這裏錄製唱片。同年的9月和10月，來自德國，瑞典和波蘭的民間音樂在聖保羅錄製。1927年的11月和12月，1928年的2月-4月，芝加哥那邊有兩波錄製在進行。 

Even though Gennett released an extensive and varied catalog of musical genres on a variety of labels, sales declined from 1926 on. The Starr Piano Company operated the Gennett Record Company at a loss for a number of years. In December 1930, the Gennett Electrobeam label was withdrawn due to the financial pressures of the Depression. However, the Champion and Superior labels were continued. These were made from Gennett masters with pseudonyms replacing the artists' names, and were sold at three-for-a-dollar in chain stores. In 1932, Starr was forced to drop the Superior label, with the Champion label continuing until 1934, its catalog largely made up of hillbilly, old time, and Tin Pan Alley tunes. In 1935, Starr sold the Champion trademark to Decca, and terminated its active studio recording. Decca continued to press the old Champion masters, selling them in the U.S., and in England on the Brunswick label. 

    儘管吉納特公司使用了大量的牌子發行了形形色色的題材和風格的音樂作品，銷售從1926年開始滑落，隨後幾年一直在虧損。1930年12月，因為大蕭條的壓力，吉納特電子束牌子不得不放棄。然而，冠軍和優勝者牌子一直在延續使用。它們由吉納特大師們灌制，用一些假的名字來代替藝術家的名字，在連鎖店的銷售價格是1美元3張。1932年，斯塔爾被迫放棄優勝者品牌，繼續冠軍這個品牌，直到1934年，這時它的曲目大部分是鄉村歌曲、流行歌曲和傳統音樂。1935年，斯塔爾把冠軍這個品牌賣給了德卡，終止了它的錄音棚現場錄製。德卡繼續出版老的冠軍大師系列，在美國銷售，而在英國銷售使用布倫瑞克標籤。   

Even though the Gennett Company had left the recording field, it continued to press records through the late 1940s. Joe Davis attempted to revive the Gennett label in 1944, but failed financially due to the poor quality of jazz that was released.

即使是吉納特離開了唱片領域，在40年代後期，它還繼續壓制唱片。喬 • 戴維斯在1944年曾經嘗試著重新恢復吉納特商標，但是因為發行的爵士樂品質太糟糕了，不得不宣佈失敗。

In 1928, the company entered the sound effects field; it proved to be its longest-lived line of recordings. Recorded on the Gennett, Speedy Q and Syncro labels, the sound effects discs were first purchased by the Hollywood film industry for the early non-synchronous "talking" pictures. When the film industry moved to synchronous sound on film, Gennett survived many of its rival sound effects companies by supplying sound effects for radio. Fred and Harry Gennett recorded many of the effects themselves, and Harry Jr. was still conducting a mail order sound effects business in 1952. Along with sound effects, Gennett produced specialized discs for skating rinks, and the Chapel series provided music for funeral homes.

    1928年，吉納特公司進入了音效錄製領域，結果證明，它選擇對了，它是吉納特公司唱片壽命较長的一個業務，使用吉納特、幸運的Q和同步標籤，音效錄製唱片很早是由好萊塢的電影公司來購買，用於那些非同步的“有聲”電影。當好萊塢的電影公司開始使用同步音效時，不同於它的競爭對手，吉納特則通過給電臺提供音效而生存了下來。佛瑞德和哈利 • 吉納特自己也錄製了許多的音效唱片，而且哈利 JR(譯注，美國有名的爵士樂手）直到1952年還在訂制音效唱片。在發展音效錄製唱片的同時，吉納特還為溜冰場灌制一些特別的唱片，還有為葬禮準備的查普爾系列唱片。

In 1952 the long association between the Gennett family and the Starr Piano Company came to an end. The pressing equipment was sold to Decca, and continued to be used for a number of years by Decca and Mercury. Harry Gennett, Sr., long president and general manager, died in 1952, as did Clarence, the treasurer. In 1981 many of the Starr and Gennett buildings were either torn down or gutted. Jazz buffs still visit the site, and a brick from the building where many early jazz greats recorded is highly prized.

    1952年，吉納特家族和斯塔爾鋼琴公司長久的關係走到了盡頭。壓制設備賣給了德卡，德卡和水星又繼續使用這些設備很多年。做了很長時間董事長和總經理的哈裏 • 吉納特於1952年去世，同年，財務總監克拉倫斯的生命也走到了盡頭。1981年，許多斯塔爾和吉納特的建築被推倒或者毀壞。爵士愛好者們仍舊參觀這個舊址，瞻仰吉納特的標誌——這個早期有名爵士音樂家引以為豪的標誌。

The Gennett Record Company is important in the history of recorded sound in that many early jazz records were made by the company. Gennett was among the first to actively seek out and record black musicians and groups at a time when most studios still had a policy of "whites only," and to record "hillbilly" and "old time" music. The company is also important in the variety of genres it recorded and pressed, including jazz, blues, gospel, "old time," "hillbilly," "race," ethnic, classical, band, comedy, spoken word, skating and funeral music, and sound effects.    

    在早期的爵士樂錄製過程中，吉納特的歷史地位沒有誰可以代替。吉納特公司還是较早幾個積極尋找和錄製黑人音樂家和音樂團體的公司之一，而那時，大多數的錄音棚仍舊抱著“白人至上”的觀念，吉納特卻錄製了大量的“鄉村音樂”和“傳統音樂”。同時，該公司也因錄製不同風格的音樂而在歷史上特別重要，比如說爵士樂、布魯斯、讚美詩、“傳統音樂”、“鄉村音樂”、“民族音樂”、非主流音樂、古典音樂、合成音樂、喜劇、口述、運動音樂盒葬禮音樂，還有音效錄製等等。

以上內容出自：Source: Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1899.

Fox, Henry Clay, Ed. Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond, Indiana, Vols. 1 and 2. Madison, WI: Western Historical Association, 1912.

Joslin, Gene(?). "Gennett Records: Two Impressions." Joslin's Jazz Journal, February 1982: 2; 8.

Kay, George W. "Those Fabulous Gennetts! The Life Story of a Remarkable Label." The Record Changer, June 1953: 4-13.

Kennedy, Rick. "Memories Fade as Starr Goes Down." Joslin's Jazz Journal, November 1984: 4.