An American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Paramount Records was founded in the 1910s as a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Chair Company, which had made some wooden phonograph cabinets by contract for Edison Records and decided to start making its own line of phonographs.

The label did not do well initially, offering recordings of standard pop-music fare on below average pressings.

In the early 1920s, Paramount bought out Black Swan Records and thereby got into making 'race music' recordings by and for African-Americans, which became a lucrative business. However, problems with low audio fidelity and poor pressings continued.

The Great Depression drove many record companies out of business and the initial incarnation of Paramount closed down in 1935.

In 1942 the then-inactive Paramount Records company was purchased by John Steiner, who revived the label for reissues of important historical Paramount recordings as well as new recordings of jazz and blues.

The rights to the portion of Paramount's back catalogue not yet in the public domain were acquired by George H. Buck in 1970. Buck continues to reissue Paramount recordings as part of his Jazzology Records group, but use of the Paramount Records name was purchased from Buck by Paramount Pictures, a previously unconnected company.