Yellow Dog Records
Encyclopedia
Yellow Dog Records is an American
independent record label
based in Memphis, Tennessee
that features authentic American music - blues
, jazz
, soul
and Americana
. It was founded in 2002 to support independent musicians on its roster with recording, production, promotion and distribution.
Artists on the label have received numerous awards and played with notable musicians, including Eden Brent
- Blues Music Awards recipient for 2009 Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Album of the Year for “Mississippi Number One” , plus the winner of the Blues Foundation
’s 2006 International Blues Challenge ; Fiona Boyes
- the first Australian and the first woman to win the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge and three time Blues Award Nominee ; Mary Flower
- 2008 Blues Music Award Nominee for Acoustic Artist of the Year ; and Terry Robb - 16 time “Muddy Award” winner from the Cascade Blues Association.
The label name is inspired by the Yellow Dog Railroad and its role in American music history. The Yazoo Delta railroad, known as the “Yellow Dog”, was a renowned rail line running through the heart of the Mississippi delta in the early 1900s. References to the Yellow Dog appear in early blues songs by W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith
, Charlie Patton
, Lucille Bogan
and Big Bill Broonzy
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
based in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
that features authentic American music - blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
. It was founded in 2002 to support independent musicians on its roster with recording, production, promotion and distribution.
Artists on the label have received numerous awards and played with notable musicians, including Eden Brent
Eden Brent
Eden Brent is an award-winning American musician on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues pianist and vocalist, she combines boogie-woogie with elements of blues, jazz, soul, gospel and pop...
- Blues Music Awards recipient for 2009 Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Album of the Year for “Mississippi Number One” , plus the winner of the Blues Foundation
Blues Foundation
The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 Blues organizations from various parts of the world....
’s 2006 International Blues Challenge ; Fiona Boyes
Fiona Boyes
Fiona Boyes is an Australian blues musician. She has been recording for more than 17 years and has toured in Australia, the United States, and Europe. Boyes' debut US release Lucky 13 was officially nominated by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN for the 2007 Blues Music Awards, 'Contemporary...
- the first Australian and the first woman to win the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge and three time Blues Award Nominee ; Mary Flower
Mary Flower
Mary Flower is an award-winning American musician and music educator on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues and ragtime fingerstyle guitarist and vocalist, she combines intricate syncopated Piedmont style fingerpicking with lap-slide guitar....
- 2008 Blues Music Award Nominee for Acoustic Artist of the Year ; and Terry Robb - 16 time “Muddy Award” winner from the Cascade Blues Association.
The label name is inspired by the Yellow Dog Railroad and its role in American music history. The Yazoo Delta railroad, known as the “Yellow Dog”, was a renowned rail line running through the heart of the Mississippi delta in the early 1900s. References to the Yellow Dog appear in early blues songs by W.C. Handy, Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
, Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...
, Lucille Bogan
Lucille Bogan
Lucille Bogan was an American blues singer, among the first to be recorded. She also recorded under the pseudonym Bessie Jackson...
and Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
.
Artists (past and present)
- Asylum Street SpankersAsylum Street SpankersThe Asylum Street Spankers, formed in Austin, Texas in 1994, was a band whose music was rooted in early 20th century American musical forms. In fall 2006, the band's anti-war satire video "Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV", directed by Morgan Higby Night garnered 1,054,743 views on YouTube within...
- The Soul of John BlackThe Soul of John BlackThe Soul of John Black is an American alternative soul,blues,rock duo formed by John Bigham and Christopher Thomas.-History:John Bigham was previously a member of the band Fishbone and also worked with Miles Davis and Everlast, while Christopher Thomas had played with Joshua Redman and Betty...
- Bluff City Backsliders
- The Bo-KeysThe Bo-KeysThe Bo-Keys are a soul/jazz band from Memphis, Tennessee, formed as an homage to the city's rich musical tradition.-History:In 1998, Scott Bomar was asked to assemble a backing band for former Stax artist and songwriter Sir Mack Rice...
- Fiona BoyesFiona BoyesFiona Boyes is an Australian blues musician. She has been recording for more than 17 years and has toured in Australia, the United States, and Europe. Boyes' debut US release Lucky 13 was officially nominated by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN for the 2007 Blues Music Awards, 'Contemporary...
- Eden BrentEden BrentEden Brent is an award-winning American musician on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues pianist and vocalist, she combines boogie-woogie with elements of blues, jazz, soul, gospel and pop...
- Chris Cotton
- Big Joe DuskinBig Joe DuskinBig Joe Duskin was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist. He is best known for his debut album, Cincinnati Stomp , and the tracks "Well, Well Baby" and "I Met a Girl Named Martha".-Biography:...
- William Lee Ellis
- Mary FlowerMary FlowerMary Flower is an award-winning American musician and music educator on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues and ragtime fingerstyle guitarist and vocalist, she combines intricate syncopated Piedmont style fingerpicking with lap-slide guitar....
- Mark LemhouseMark Lemhouse-Music career:Getting his professional start in Memphis, Tennessee playing in Blues, Rockabilly, and American Roots bands, he released two solo albums on the Yellow Dog Records label...
- Calvin NewbornCalvin NewbornCalvin Newborn is an American jazz guitarist.-Career:He is the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. , with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with their father Phineas Newborn Sr. on drums and Tuff Green on bass...
- Terry Robb
- Woodbrain