Some of the best music has come from independent sources. Just take a look at some independent record labels
From the USA:
- Sun Records – Sam Phillips’ Memphis label that brought to our ears the sounds of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison among others.
- Chess Records – Started by the Chess brothers Leonard and Phil in Chicago in 1950 bringing to our notice Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy along with many others
- Motown – Berry Gordy started Tamla Record in 1959 in Detroit and the list of successful artists recording on that label is full of household names. The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, and on and on it goes.
In the UK:
- Island – Yes Island Records did start as an independent when Chris Blackwell back in 1959 when he joined with Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica and introduced the UK and the world to Ska, Reggae, Bob Marley, Free, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Spence Davis Group, Traffic and many more.
- Stiff – Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera formed Stiff in 1976 and signed up just about anyone they thought could make music and thanks to them we got to hear Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, and Madness.
Other independent sources were producers like Joe Meek in the UK and Phil Spector in the USA both of whom recorded some amazing records during the 1960s.
The point I am trying to make is that without these independent sources free from the pressure of “The Bottom Line” innovations in music would probably never have been heard by the general public.
It was the Punk explosion in the 1970s that encouraged anyone to make a record in their bedroom, and release it on their own record label. This lead to an explosion of independent record labels allowing us to hear the music of bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain and Oasis on Creation, Blur on Food, and so many others.
The lads at Cherry Red have released a 4 CD collection of music from British independent labels released between 1985 and 1989 called Cut Me Deep - A Story of Indie Pop 1985-1989. It features artists such as The Stone Roses, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Edwyn Collins, The Housemartins, The Sugarcubes, The Wonder Stuff, The La’s, Inspiral Carpets, The Darling Buds, The Lightning Seeds, and many more on the 99 tracks.
There is so much good music on this compilation that I can not enthuse about it enough. The good sounds start right from track 1 on the first CD, that is Lloyd Cole and The Commotions and Lost Weekend right through to Lush and Baby Talk the last track on the last CD.
You can hear some tracks from the collection in The Groove Yard visit 137
For a full track listing and other information go to the Cherry Red Records website.