Earwig Music Company
| Earwig Music Company | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Michael Frank |
| Distributor(s) | Burnside Distribution Corporation (US), Parsifal bvba, Belgium (Europe) |
| Genre | Blues, jazz |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Official website | Earwigmusic.com |
Earwig Music Company is an American blues and jazz independent record label, founded October 1978 in Chicago by Michael Frank.[1][2]
Before setting up his label Michael Frank from 1975 until 1977 had been - like Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records and Jim O'Neal of Living Blues magazine - employed in Bob Koester's Chicagoan 'Jazz Record Mart'.[3][4]
Since its foundation Earwig Music has issued sixty-six albums, of which fifty-one were produced by its CEO, Frank,[5] among them the last recordings of Louis Myers,[6] Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis, and early Howlin’ Wolf Band's guitarist Willie Johnson.
Other artists among the label's roster were blues musicians:[4] The Jelly Roll Kings (with Frank Frost), Honeyboy Edwards, Johnny Drummer, Big Jack Johnson, Jimmy Dawkins, Louisiana Red, Willie Kent, H-Bomb Ferguson, Sunnyland Slim, Little Brother Montgomery, Jim Brewer, Homesick James, John Primer, Lil' Ed Williams, Lester Davenport, Kansas City Red,[7] and Liz Mandeville; jazz musicians: Carl Arter and Tiny Irvin, a gospel group; the Gospel Trumpets, and renowned folk storytellers: Jackie Torrence, Alice McGill, Bobby Norfolk and Laura Simms.
Those storytellers' Earwig recordings won American Library Association[8] Parents′ Choice, and NAIRD Awards.[9][10] In 1998, Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones won a W.C. Handy Award – Best New Artist – for his Earwig album, Ain't Gonna Worry.[11]
In 2008, Frank received the Blues Foundation's Keeping the Blues Alive Award - category "Manager".[12]
Earwig have released four albums by the Chicago blues duo, Chris James and Patrick Rynn.[13]
References
- ↑ Hoffman 2006, p. 294
- ↑ Penchansky 1979
- ↑ Vabres 1995, p. 7
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- ↑ [1][dead link]
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- ↑ [2][dead link]
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Sources
- Hoffman, Steve: Earwig.- in Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Vabres, Jean-Luc: Entretien avec Michael Frank.- Soul Bag no. 140 (Fall 1995), pp. 6-8
- Penchansky, Alan: Interest in Blues Spawns 2 Labels.- Billboard 91 (24 November 1979), p. 70, at Google Books
- Stephenson, Mike & Les Irvine: Recording the Blues. Blues & Rhythm 178 (April 2003), pp. 10–11
