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Ray Maxwell

Rene Jan van Hoogten, the owner of Moonglow Records, was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on 1 November 1919. His brother Alfred owned a record company in Belgium and Rene went to America to set up Moonglow as a subsidiary of the Belgian label, but it soon took on a life of its own with releases by Little Richard and others. He changed his name to Ray Maxwell so it would be easier to say.  

Rene had served in World War II in the merchant marines but became stranded in the USA, where he became interested in the rhythm and blues and jazz music he was hearing. He began exporting US singles to Belgium for use in juke boxes there. He quickly became the largest exporter of US recordings to Europe. 

He became a US Citizen. His date of death is currently unavailable. No reliable image of Mr Maxwell has been identified.

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