The Crosley legacy
Music

17 August 2021

The Crosley legacy

The Crosley legacy



For some months now, we've been giving you suggestions of vinyl records you must listen to. However, we never gave much emphasis to the device that makes it possible: the record player. Until today. At BZR-Street Style Culture you'll find Crosley players, one of the most respected American brands in the vintage music industry.


Crosley, headed by Bo LeMastus, is based in Louisville, USA, and brings with it a legacy dating back to the 1920s. At that time, Powel Crosley Jr. was starting a business that would revolutionise radio. It all started with Crosley's interest in buying a wireless radio. He thought the asking price of around 110€ was too expensive and decided to make his own.


In 1922, Crosley and his brother, Lewis, began selling the Harkos, a radio they had invented and named after the English word hark, which means to listen. After its launch, demand was such that the Crosley brothers became the country's largest radio producers within a year. Thus was born the Crosley Radio Corporation.





However, Powel Crosley Jr. did not want to stop there and the business expanded. They ran the largest American radio station, sponsored a baseball team and produced refrigerators, aeroplanes and cars. The latter being one of Powel's great passions and in order to be able to invest in these projects, the brothers sold Crosley Radio Corporation to AVCO, an aviation company, with the exception of the department in which they continued to work: automobiles.


AVCO bought Crosley Corporation at the end of the Second World War and continued production until 1956. After a 20-year hiatus, the brand changed hands again, this time to those of the Brown Rogers Dixson (BRD) company. This is where the Crosley and Bo LeMastus turntables come in.The current Crosley Radio brand is, in a way, a tribute to the legacy of Powel Crosley Jr..


This part of the story began in 1984 when Bo LeMastus went to work for Modern Marketing in Louisville and got into the business of antique table radios. In 1990, after one of his clients went out of business, he realised there was room to invest in this market, but he needed a strong brand to continue. He managed to negotiate with BRD for a licence to use the name Crosley Radio, which he subsequently bought, but on one condition: he could only do so with electronic products.





It may sound confusing, but we've simplified it. Crosley Radio is owned by Bo LeMastus and sells record players, radios, jukeboxes, telephones and vinyl records. On the other hand, Crosley Appliances is owned by the BRD group and produces kitchen and laundry appliances in conjunction with brands such as General Electric and Whirlpool.


Back to Crosley Radio. The first turntable was produced in 1992, when CDs were still in their heyday. Although the business seemed crazy at the time, the company name romanticised the brand and helped immensely with marketing.With an extra degree of authenticity, Crosley Radio has come into the 21st century with the clear aim of bringing vinyl to everyone.


Nostalgia is a key term in the Crosley philosophy. It is the basis of the whole business: the search for nostalgic objects such as vinyl players or entertainment centres with a vintage look. However, don't fall into the mistake of thinking that everything is old. When it comes to technology, Crosley couldn't be more modern, with bluetooth incorporated in the vinyl players to connect them to sound systems and to receive digital music you may want to listen to. Besides, with several models available, varying in size, colour and shape, record players are also, nowadays, a statement piece in interior decoration and look good anywhere, giving personality to the space.





Now that vinyl is fashionable again, Crosley knows how to make the most of the trend. Those who love it say that vinyl has a cleaner sound and there's no better way to enjoy music. If you're already a fan or if you haven't tried it yet, find your favourite record player on our site and don't forget to choose a good vinyl to listen to. Let's all put the needle down, watch the record spin, relax and enjoy the music.




Crosley Radio


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