Little Labels -Big Sound: Small Record Companies and the Rise of American Music

by Rick Kennedy, Randy McNutt

Now in paperback!

Little Labels --Big Sound
Small Record Companies and the Rise of American Music

Rick Kennedy and Randy McNutt
Foreword by Al Kooper

A wild ride through American popular music.

Genres: Music, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 1999

Reviews

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me far longer to read than it should have, due mostly to a court case & assorted work-related bullshit. Although relatively short, it was an enjoyable and informative read. The stories around the many independent record labels that once participated in the music industry here in the U.S. are many and fascinating, full of colorful characters and strange sequences of events. This book only provides a small taste, but it is well worth reading for anyone interested in the history of popular music during the 20th century...

Now if I could just figure out why the "e" on my keyboard has quit working, I'd be a happy man...

[Rupert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little introduction to the early world of small labels, most of which were mainly furniture store operators or some other form of sales business. Nice photos, good lucid writing. Sad how so much music was lost during the second World War and depression.

[Bob Entwistle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors chronicle the history of small record companies that promoted blues, R & B, jazz, country, rockabilly and more.

Starting with the lesser known Gennett and Paramount that covered the 1920s and into the Depression years of the 30s up to the more recent Delmark which still exists today. The big hitter they cover is Sun Records, a story told in more detail elsewhere.

While coverage of a few of the labels amounts mostly to a cavalcade of artist names that you may want to sample from a listening perspective, the coverage of others such as the Dial label that is famous for bringing Charlie Parker's jazz to a larger world actually gives more insight into the founder's life and struggles.

Overall the book could have benefited from more interviews with the owners, people that knew them or artists involved, but in many cases these people just aren't around anymore. I do think that some of the owners got off rather easily image wise here as they all recorded this music on the cheap, often took a large cut of publishing and song writing royalties and in some cases (Don Robey?) generally behaved like thugs.

Still a good insight into what it took to bring out music for rural and largely Black listeners in a world where there was not much incentive to do that.

[emily ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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