Rounder Records

Rounder Records began in 1970 as an independent, locally-owned label based in Somerville, Massachusetts. Initially founded with a focus on country and bluegrass by Bill Nowlin, Ken Irwin and Marian Leighton (later Marian Leighton Levy), three friends who met during their college years, the company has also released music by artists performing blues, Cajun, folk, jazz, boogie woogie and various subgenres of Americana.

The label quickly became known for its rather quirky and unique selection of recordings; the first two albums it released were from the Cambridge-based Spark Gap Wonder Boys and a 76-year old banjo player from North Carolina, George Pegram. While some of Rounder’s initial artists, notably bluegrass and folk singer-songwriter Norman Blake, had passionate cult followings, few were major commercial successes but the label’s founders took their commitment to preserve the best of blues and old-timey music extremely seriously, whether the records they released were big sellers or not. In fact, sometimes having an artist who sold only several thousand copies was considered a plus.

Move into rock, Relocation to Cambridge, Expansion

Everything changed in 1977, however, with Rounder’s first venture into rock ‘n’ roll. The label signed a blues-rock outfit from Delaware, George Thorogood and The Destroyers, whose self-titled debut album saw significant airplay on rock radio and eventually went gold by selling 500,000 copies. The group’s next Rounder release, 1978’s Move It On Over, did even better, going gold and reaching #33 in the Billboard 200, a rarity for any blues-rock album. In 1979, Thorogood introduced Boston-based boogie-woogie pianist Preacher Jack to the Rounder team, resulting in his debut LP Rock ‘N’ Roll Preacher, which the label issued in 1980 and featured members of The Destroyers along with contributions from Sleepy LaBeef and Duke Robillard,

The label’s newfound success enabled it to move to larger quarters in Cambridge and further expand its staff. By the early 1980s, Rounder was one of the top three independent record companies in the US. Not only was the label selling more albums, but it was able to acquire other companies such as Philo Records, a Vermont-based folk-music label with established singer-songwriters such as Rosalie Sorrels, Jean Redpath and Nancy Griffith.

Signing Alison Krauss

In the mid-1980s, Rounder signed Alison Krauss, a bluegrass-country vocalist who would become one of the label’s most popular (and among the biggest-selling artists of her genre in history). Recording solo albums as well as ones with her band, Union Station, she was soon being nominated for Grammy Awards and her music was well-received by bluegrass and country stations nationwide.

And while Thorogood left Rounder for a larger label, MCA, Krauss stayed on, continuing to release hits; one of her biggest was a 1995 version of Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All,” which went to #2 in the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Krauss showed her versatility by collaborating with former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant in 2007 on the LP Raising Sand – released by Rounder – which won five Grammys.

Concord Music Group acquisition, Relocation to Nashville

After four decades of independence, the Concord Music Group purchased Rounder in 2010, acquiring Rounder’s far-ranging catalog which, in addition to Krauss, included children’s star Raffi, singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, banjo legend Béla Fleck and numerous performers from the bluegrass and roots categories.

Rounder’s founders remained as hands-on as ever, though, and the label retained offices in Burlington, Massachusetts (where it had moved in 2007). As the industry continued to change, however, the new owners decided to move all the label’s operations to Nashville in 2013. Given how many bluegrass and country artists had been part of the label – and how many of them came from Southern states – the relocation made commercial sense despite the risk of Rounder losing its ties to the greater Boston area, where it had spent over 40 years.

Still “True to its Goal”

The label’s founders have remained in the Boston area and are still involved with what Rounder is doing even though the new headquarters are about 950 miles south. Co-founder Bill Nowlin says he believes Rounder has remained “true to its goal” over the years: “to present good and even important music, and to try to spread the word about the music to the broadest audience we can.”

(by Donna Halper)

Former deejay, music director and radio consultant Donna Halper is a Boston-based historian who has spent over three decades as a professor, teaching media-related courses at Emerson College, the University of Massachusetts and Lesley University. She’s the author of six books including Boston Radio: 1920-2010 (Arcadia Publishing, 2011) and has written articles for a variety of publications. Dr. Halper was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2023.