Philo Records (rhythm & blues)

{{Short description|American record company and label}}

{{Infobox record label

| name = Philo Records

| image =

| image_size =

| image_alt =

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| parent =

| founded = {{start date|1945}}

| founder = Eddie Mesner
Leo Messner

| defunct = {{end date|1946}}

| status = Inactive

| distributor =

| genre = Jazz

| country = U.S.

| location = Los Angeles, California

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}}

Philo Records was a short-lived record company and label founded in 1945 by the brothers Eddie and Leo Messner.{{cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=David|last2=Callahan|first2=Mike|title=Aladdin Records Story|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/aladdin/aladdinstory.html|website=www.bsnpubs.com|date=10 April 2007}} Soon after it was founded, the name was changed to Aladdin.{{cite book|editor1-last=Kernfeld|editor1-first=Barry|title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz|date=2002|publisher=Grove's Dictionaries Inc.|location=New York|isbn=1-56159-284-6|page=280|volume=3|edition=2nd}}

Philo's releases included 78 RPM singles of Illinois Jacquet, Wynonie Harris, Helen Humes with the Bill Doggett Octet, Jay McShann and Lester Young, and an album (set of two 78 RPM records) of Lester Young, Nat King Cole and Red Callender.{{cite web|last1=Edwards|first1=David|last2=Callahan|first2=Mike|title=Philo/Aladdin Singles Discography|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/aladdin/aladdinsingles.html|website=www.bsnpubs.com|date=17 April 2007}}

When the U.S. Patent Office refused to register the label because of the similarity in name with the Philco radio corporation, which produced blanks for the record industry, the dispute was settled when the owners agreed to continue the name as Medlee.The Billboard, February 9, 1946, p. 27

On March 2, the company placed an advertisement in Billboard magazine, announcing the new trade name.The Billboard, March 2, 1946, p. 23 The next week, though, they placed a new ad "correcting their mistake", announcing Aladdin Records.The Billboard, March 9, 1946, p. 24. The numbering of the releases was continued, and older Philo releases were reprinted as Aladdin.

This label should not be confused with the folk-music label Philo Records, founded by Bill Schubart and Michael Couture in Vermont, which is owned by Rounder Records.