Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music

by David Menconi, Robert Plant (Foreword by)

Overview

What is American roots music? Any definition must account for a kaleidoscope of genres from bluegrass to blues, western swing to jazz, soul and gospel to rock and reggae, Cajun to Celtic. It must encompass the work of artists as diverse as Alice Gerard and Alison Krauss, George Thorogood and Sun Ra, Bela Fleck and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, the Blake Babies and Billy Strings. What do all these artists and music styles have in common? The answer is a record label born in the wake of the American folk revival and 1960s movement politics, formed around the eclectic tastes and audacious ideals of three recent college grads who lived, listened, and worked together. The answer is Rounder Records.

For more than fifty years, Rounder has been the world's leading label for folk music of all kinds. David Menconi's book is the label's definitive history, drawing on previously untapped archives and extensive interviews with artists, Rounder staff, and founders Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, and Bill Nowlin. Rounder's founders blended ingenuity and independence with serendipity and an unfailing belief in the small-d democratic power of music to connect and inspire people, forging creative partnerships that resulted in one of the most eclectic and creative catalogs in the history of recorded music. Placing Rounder in the company of similarly influential labels like Stax, Motown, and Blue Note, this story is destined to delight anyone who cares about the place of music in American culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469674995
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	10/17/2023
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	226,185
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

The 2019 North Carolina Piedmont Laureate, David Menconi was a staff writer at the Raleigh News & Observer for 28 years. He has also written for Rolling Stone, Billboard, Spin and New York Times.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The Rounders felt a calling to share what they loved and ended up making history while trying to preserve it. The sheltered sounds of traditional American roots music have been greatly amplified by Rounder's passion for sharing the good news. The story of Rounder Records has been well told in this fine book, revealing a mission of the heart."—Alison Krauss



As a man of few words, just let me say, Rounder Records made me, and vice-y verse-y."—George Thorogood



Long one of my favorite music writers, David Menconi has blessed us with a wonderful yarn about the most unlikely of success stories imaginable. Rounder Records has long been the tiny label that somehow could and did. It was ahead of its times in almost every imaginable way and succeeded by going against every grain and trend. An excellent book and a blast to read."—Patterson Hood



Balancing a determination to document the label's history, warts and all, with a loving appreciation of the music and the label's founders who facilitated it, Menconi charts the path Rounder followed from an 'anti-profit collective' to a cultural juggernaut. A masterful depiction of the indie label business and the roots music culture of the last fifty years."—Danny Goldberg, author of Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain

Editorial Reviews

An admiring tribute [and] well-researched celebration of Rounder's influence and accomplishments."—Kirkus Reviews



A richly detailed presentation of the facts [Menconi] uncovered through research and countless interviews. . . . Oh, Didn't They Ramble tells an important story in an entertaining and informative way. If you only read one book about music this year, this should be the one."—Bluegrass Today



With extensive access to Rounder artists, staff, and founders Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, and Bill Nowlin . . . David Menconi is able to tell Rounder's story, from its humble but audacious and idealistic beginnings to becoming one of the most influential record labels in the history of recorded music."—Bluegrass Situation



A terrific piece of writing. Oh, Didn't They Ramble isn't just a book. It's a guide to our essential musical past." —Greg Kot, Sound Opinions



David Menconi does a masterful job of documenting the impact of the roots music label that started as it's three founders sold records out of their van at bluegrass festivals and from the basement of their house."—Americana Highways



Filled with period photos of the founders and the acts and festivals they supported, Oh, Didn't They Ramble is essential reading for bluegrass fans hungry to learn the inside story on one of the most influential and impactful record labels ever in bluegrass music. Highly recommended."—Bluegrass Unlimited

From the Publisher

2023-07-26
A history of an independent record label that has left an indelible imprint on musical culture.

This admiring tribute to Rounder Records shows just what a remarkable achievement it has been for the label to last a half-century, release so many albums, and cover so much of the musical map, geographically and stylistically—especially considering that it began as a labor of love for three college students who had no business background nor interest in the commercial mainstream. Menconi provides interesting biographies of those three—Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, and Bill Nowlin—whose partnership itself seems like a remarkable fluke. The two men met as randomly assigned roommates when they entered college, and Irwin and Leighton Levy were a couple during a period when all three of them lived together. Their only real criterion for the music they would release was, “Do we like this?” Often their tastes were very similar, and the passion of one for a project could influence the others. “Rounder began as less a conventional record company,” writes the author, “than a quixotic quest that unexpectedly lasted for decades.” Early on, the label began releasing more albums than was financially viable and made significant inroads with bluegrass in particular, a genre in which Rounder’s leftist politics and female presence (in ownership and on the roster) made it a progressive anomaly. Though it amassed a well-respected catalog, the success of two artists proved transformative. The first was George Thorogood, whose aggressive, rock-oriented, bar-band blues was a contrast to the label’s folk approach. The second was Alison Krauss, discovered by the label when she was 13 and then nurtured into critical renown and commercial success. Much of the book is more about business than music, culminating in the sale of the label in 2010.

A well-researched celebration of Rounder’s influence and accomplishments.

Kirkus Reviews