Bruce Iglauer
Encyclopedia
Bruce Iglauer is the American
founder and head of the independent
blues
record label
Alligator Records
in Chicago
.
Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan
and Cincinnati, Ohio
. He became interested in the blues during the mid-1960s while attending Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin
, and began hosting a college radio show, then moving on to promoting concerts by Howlin' Wolf
and Luther Allison
. He came to the attention of Bob Koester
, and joined the staff of Delmark Records
in Chicago as a shipping clerk. When Iglauer's advice to sign Hound Dog Taylor & The House Rockers
was declined, he recorded the group himself, and in so doing created Alligator Records in 1971.
Nine months after the release of the first album, he left Delmark and continued at Alligator, making acclaimed recordings from Big Walter Horton
, Son Seals
, Fenton Robinson, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks and many others. A breakthrough came in 1975 with Koko Taylor
's "I Got What It Takes", which earned Alligator its first Grammy nomination. In 1978, he signed Albert Collins
, and in 1982 Clifton Chenier
's "I'm Here!" won a Grammy. In 1984, Iglauer signed Blues-rock
master Lonnie Mack
, who recorded three albums on the Alligator label. Mack's 1985 album, Strike Like Lightning (produced by Stevie Ray Vaughan) remains one of Alligator's biggest-selling titles.
The Alligator catalog contains over 250 CDs, ranging from electric Chicago blues and blues/rock to acoustic Piedmont blues and West Coast jump blues. By the 1990s, Alligator was established one of the top contemporary blues
labels in the world.
The Chicago
magazine honored Iglauer with the 2002 Chicagoan of the Year award. In addition, Iglauer was a founder of the National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD, later the Association For Independent Music (AFIM). He sits on the Board of the Blues Foundation, the Blues Community Foundation and the American Association For Independent Music (A2IM), which replaced AFIM as the main organization of the U.S. independent music industry.
Iglauer is married to Jo Kolanda of Mequon, Wisconsin. They have a daughter, Rachel Beaudry of Glencoe, Illinois, and he has a stepdaughter, Rebekah Beaudry of Mequon, Wisconsin.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
founder and head of the independent
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Alligator Records
Alligator Records
Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. He became interested in the blues during the mid-1960s while attending Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
, and began hosting a college radio show, then moving on to promoting concerts by Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
and Luther Allison
Luther Allison
Luther Allison was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family, at age twelve, to Chicago in 1951. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being...
. He came to the attention of Bob Koester
Bob Koester
Robert Gregg "Bob" Koester is the American founder and owner of Delmark Records, one of the oldest independent record labels in the United States, and one of jazz's best-known imprints...
, and joined the staff of Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
in Chicago as a shipping clerk. When Iglauer's advice to sign Hound Dog Taylor & The House Rockers
Hound Dog Taylor
Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 . He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20...
was declined, he recorded the group himself, and in so doing created Alligator Records in 1971.
Nine months after the release of the first album, he left Delmark and continued at Alligator, making acclaimed recordings from Big Walter Horton
Big Walter Horton
Walter Horton, better known as Big Walter Horton or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming and essentially shy man, Horton is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the history of blues...
, Son Seals
Son Seals
Frank "Son" Seals was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.-Career:He was born in Osceola, Arkansas where his father, Jim "Son" Seals, owned a small juke joint. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk, and later as a guitarist...
, Fenton Robinson, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks and many others. A breakthrough came in 1975 with Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings....
's "I Got What It Takes", which earned Alligator its first Grammy nomination. In 1978, he signed Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, and in 1982 Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier , a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983...
's "I'm Here!" won a Grammy. In 1984, Iglauer signed Blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
master Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
, who recorded three albums on the Alligator label. Mack's 1985 album, Strike Like Lightning (produced by Stevie Ray Vaughan) remains one of Alligator's biggest-selling titles.
The Alligator catalog contains over 250 CDs, ranging from electric Chicago blues and blues/rock to acoustic Piedmont blues and West Coast jump blues. By the 1990s, Alligator was established one of the top contemporary blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
labels in the world.
The Chicago
Chicago (magazine)
Chicago is a monthly magazine published by the Tribune Company. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, larger than People in its market...
magazine honored Iglauer with the 2002 Chicagoan of the Year award. In addition, Iglauer was a founder of the National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD, later the Association For Independent Music (AFIM). He sits on the Board of the Blues Foundation, the Blues Community Foundation and the American Association For Independent Music (A2IM), which replaced AFIM as the main organization of the U.S. independent music industry.
Iglauer is married to Jo Kolanda of Mequon, Wisconsin. They have a daughter, Rachel Beaudry of Glencoe, Illinois, and he has a stepdaughter, Rebekah Beaudry of Mequon, Wisconsin.
External links
- The Alligator story - History of the label at the Alligator site