The first United Records operated in the years before World War I. The label was owned by the United Talking Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois, which produced the double-sided lateral cut disc records with an unusually large spindle hole (just slightly smaller than that used by the 45rpm records that appeared after World War II), and wind-up phonographs with large spindles for playing the records.
Most of the masters for United Records were recorded by Columbia Records.
The second United Records operated in the 1950s, and issued records by such artists as the Staple Singers.