Rounder Records facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rounder Records |
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| Parent company | Concord |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Ken Irwin Bill Nowlin Marian Leighton Levy |
| Distributor(s) | Decca Records |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
Rounder Records is a music company that started in 1970. It was founded by three friends: Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin in Somerville, Massachusetts. They focused on American roots music, like bluegrass, folk, and blues. Rounder has released over 3000 albums! Some famous artists on their label include Alison Krauss, George Thorogood, and Béla Fleck. They also re-released classic albums from music legends like the Carter Family and Woody Guthrie.
Rounder Records is known for supporting music that isn't always popular. Their albums have won an amazing 54 Grammy Awards! These awards cover many different music styles, such as bluegrass, folk, reggae, pop, and rock. In 2010, a company called Concord bought Rounder. Today, Rounder Records is based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2016, the three founders were honored in the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Contents
The Story of Rounder Records
How It All Began
Rounder Records was started by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin, and Marian Leighton Levy. Ken and Bill first met in 1962 at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. They loved bluegrass and old-time music. They often saw musicians play live but couldn't find their records in stores. The records simply didn't exist.
They met Marian in 1967. She also loved folk music. The three friends shared an apartment and a big idea. They wanted to share roots music with more people. They felt it was important to support music that wasn't mainstream.
Early Years: 1970s Music
Rounder Records officially began in 1970. It started in their Somerville apartment. Ken Irwin used his savings of $1500 to get it going. They chose the name "Rounder" for a few reasons. It sounded like a vinyl record. It was also a nickname for a traveler or hobo. The name also came from a folk band called The Holy Modal Rounders.
Their first album, Rounder 0001, was by a banjo player named George Pegram. They bought the rights to his music for $125. Their second album was by a local band called the Spark Gap Wonder Boys. Both albums were released on October 20, 1970. To help their new company, they also started selling albums from other small folk labels. They sold records at music festivals too.
In 1971, Rounder released its first bluegrass album. It was called One Morning in May by Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys. Over the next few years, they released many bluegrass albums. They featured both old-time artists and new, progressive bluegrass musicians.
The founders believed that "music doesn't discriminate." They wanted to feature female artists, which was rare in bluegrass then. In the early 1970s, they released albums by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard. By 1974, Rounder had released 22 records. One big success was Norman Blake's album, Home in Sulphur Springs. At this point, running Rounder became a full-time job for the founders.
In 1975, Rounder released the album J. D. Crowe and The New South. This album was very important for bluegrass music. It helped shape the sound of bluegrass for many years to come. Rounder also re-released old 78 rpm records from the 1920s and 1930s.
By the mid-1970s, Rounder had about 200 albums. They expanded beyond bluegrass to include folk, blues, and other styles. They signed artists like NRBQ and George Thorogood and the Destroyers. George Thorogood's first album was released in 1977. It was more of a rock album than their usual releases. It sold over 75,000 copies in a year. This was a huge success for an independent label.
George Thorogood's second album, Move it on Over, came out in 1978. The song "Move It on Over" was played a lot on the radio. This album and his first one both sold over 500,000 copies. This was a big moment for Rounder. It showed them they needed more staff and better ways to sell their music. Rounder later released Thorogood's fourth record, Bad to the Bone. By the end of the 1970s, Rounder moved to a bigger office in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Growth in the 1980s
After George Thorogood's success, Rounder signed more artists. They added blues musicians like Johnny Copeland and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Clarence Brown's album, Alright Again!, won a Grammy Award in 1982. It was Rounder's very first Grammy!
In the early 1980s, Rounder kept growing. They started a reggae music label called Heartbeat. They also added musicians who played Klezmer, Cajun, Zydeco, and Tex-Mex Conjunto music. They released albums by unique artists like Ted Hawkins and Jonathan Richman.
In 1984, Rounder bought another music label called Philo Records. This brought artists like Utah Phillips and Nanci Griffith to Rounder. Nanci Griffith's album, Once in a Very Blue Moon, was a big step in her career.
Ken Irwin listened to every demo tape sent to Rounder. In 1984, he heard a young girl named Alison Krauss. She was only 13 or 14 at the time. He loved her voice and signed her as a solo artist. Her first album, Too Late to Cry, came out in 1987 when she was 16. She then released an album with her band, Union Station, called Two Highways in 1989.
New Sounds in the 1990s
Alison Krauss's second solo album, I've Got That Old Feeling, came out in 1990. It was her first album to appear on the Billboard music charts. It also won her first Grammy Award in 1991. She won many more Grammys throughout the 1990s. Her albums Forget About It and So Long So Wrong sold over 500,000 copies each.
In 1994, Rounder bought a children's music label called Music for Little People. They renamed it Rounder Kids. It released music by artists like Raffi. Rounder Kids distributed music from 250 different labels.
In 1995, Rounder bought Flying Fish Records. This label had over 500 albums by artists like Pete Seeger and Doc Watson. That same year, Alison Krauss released a collection of her best songs, Now That I've Found You. This album was very popular. It sold two million copies and won two Grammy Awards.
In 1997, Rounder got its first president and CEO, John Virant. He helped create a new pop music label called Zoë. Artists like Juliana Hatfield released music on the Zoë label. Rounder also made a deal with Mercury Records in 1998 to help sell more of their albums. By 1999, Rounder started offering its music for digital download online.
The 2000s: More Hits and Books
In 2001, Rounder helped bring polka music to a wider audience. They released Jimmy Sturr's Gone Polka album. Even Willie Nelson sang on some of the songs!
In 2004, Rounder started a book publishing division called Rounder Books. They released books about baseball, children's stories, and even a book by Rush drummer Neil Peart.
In 2006, Mary Chapin Carpenter signed with Rounder. She released some of her most praised albums with them. In 2007, Rounder released Crowd Favorites by Claire Lynch. This album won many awards for bluegrass music.
One of Rounder's biggest successes was the 2007 album Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. It won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year! Alison Krauss became one of the few female artists to win five Grammys in one night. Raising Sand sold over one million copies.
In 2009, Rounder reissued classic recordings by the Carter Family. They also started a big project to re-release 100 albums collected by music expert Alan Lomax. These recordings included music from Jelly Roll Morton, Lead Belly, and Muddy Waters. Also in 2009, actor and comedian Steve Martin released his first Rounder album, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo.
By the end of the 2000s, Rounder was releasing about 100 albums each year. Their catalog included many famous artists from different music styles.
Recent Years: 2010s and Beyond
In April 2010, Concord Music Group bought Rounder Records. Concord is based in Los Angeles, California. Rounder's founders stayed on to help with creative ideas. They felt this was the best way for Rounder to keep making great music.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Rounder held a special concert at the Grand Ole Opry. It was shown on PBS in March 2010. The concert featured many Rounder artists like Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Steve Martin.
In 2014, Rounder moved its main office from Cambridge to Nashville. Nashville is where Concord, its parent company, is based. In 2015, Concord merged another music label, Sugar Hill, with Rounder. Sugar Hill had artists like Ricky Skaggs and Lee Ann Womack.
In 2017, John Strohm became the president of Rounder. He is a musician and a lawyer. He had helped many famous bands like Alabama Shakes and Bon Iver. John Strohm also played in bands like the Blake Babies and the Lemonheads.
Artists and Labels
Rounder Records has worked with many amazing artists over the years. They also have several smaller labels that focus on different types of music.
Subsidiary Labels
- Bullseye Blues
- Easydisc
- Flying Fish Records
- Greenhays
- Heartbeat Records
- Henry Street
- Music for Little People
- Philo Records
- Rounder Select
- Rounder Specials
- Sugar Hill Records
- Upstart
- Varrick
- Zoë Records
See also
In Spanish: Rounder Records para niños
- List of record labels
