Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is an independent record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students. Rounder is now one of the biggest independent record labels in the United States, with several specialized subsidiary labels. It once served as a major distributor and central sales location for other i...
more
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is an independent record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students. Rounder is now one of the biggest independent record labels in the United States, with several specialized subsidiary labels. It once served as a major distributor and central sales location for other independent labels specializing in roots music, at one point representing as many as 450 other labels. In the 1990s, though, the company cut back on the distribution effort in order to focus on its own productions.
Starting with blues, blues-rock, string band, and bluegrass, Rounder has expanded to over 3,000 titles of folk, soul, soca, Cajun, and Celtic. The name was chosen partly because of its association with the band Holy Modal Rounders. The word rounder also means a hobo or tramp. One of their earliest successes was the blues-rock band...
less
