Vinyl Ventures

Reviews

What a fabulous read. So much of my young life in the folk community echoes in the early days of this story.

It's a wonderful and informative read. Everyone who loves folk music should join the Rounder journey.

Betsy Siggins, Past Director of Club 47 and Passim Founder, Folk New England Archives

A detailed and engaging account of one of the most impactful independent record companies of all time. Drawing upon his keen memory and plying a brisk, emphatic prose style, Bill Nowlin provides herein the ultimate insider's perspective on the rise to prominence of Rounder Records, achieved through the aspiration, persistence, curiosity, serendipity, and teamwork of three lifelong friends: Nowlin, Ken Irwin, and Marian Leighton Levy. These three "Rounder Founders" contributed their individual skills and musical passions to their collective project: a DIY record company that forever changed the ways people perform and appreciate American and international roots music. Rounder's legacy - thousands of albums released over the past half-century featuring stellar amateur and professional musicians and showcasing the full spectrum of vernacular music genres and traditions - reverberates in beloved soundwaves that continue to entertain and transform people nationwide and worldwide. This book - written by Nowlin yet incorporating insights from Irwin and Leighton and others - tells the full story behind that remarkable legacy.

Ted Olson, Professor, Appalachian Studies, East Tennessee State University and seven-time Grammy nominee

This trio really deserves congratulations for a job well done and enormous credit for being a successful family. They not only learned but knew how to execute all the ins and outs of the record biz without sacrificing the best interests of their adopted charges. They kept their ears and eyes on their original goals of being good stewards of the world's ever-evolving regional or natural folk musics!

Chris Strachwitz, Arhoolie Records