ABSTRACT
Guitar-oriented label founded in 1974 by promoter/ producer Ed Denson and guitarist/performer Stefan Grossman. The label originally had two separate offices, one in California where Denson worked and the other in London, where Grossman held forth. Originally, its recordings were pressed and distributed in Europe by the Swedish-based Sonet label. At first, Denson simply re-pressed albums here that were recorded in Europe; then he began signing his own artists. One selling point for the early records was that guitar tablature books were available for every record issued; in this way, listeners could learn the music more easily, reflecting Grossman’s orientation toward teaching as well as performing. The label was most active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Grossman’s interest in acoustic guitar playing led to issuing albums by diverse guitarists, ranging from blues legend (and Grossman teacher) Rev. Gary Davis to young players like “Duck” Baker and Bob Brozman, a master of the steel guitar. The label also issued banjo recordings, primarily by revivalist Art Rosenbaum, and also the influential anthology Melodic Clawhammer Banjo, produced by Bob Carlin. Sometime in the early 1980s, the European branch was closed and Denson moved the business to his rural home. He continued to maintain the catalog in print, but issued only a few new records. In 1998, the rights to Kicking Mule’s U.S. recordings were sold to Fantasy Records.
