‘Boss Croc’ gives record label its blues bite for four decades

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‘Boss Croc’ gives record label its blues bite for four decades
February 6, 2011
By Jon Poses
Columbia Daily Tribune

I met Bruce Iglauer, the founder of Alligator Records, in 1987. In the name of disclosure, I should say we have since become friends, periodically spending time in his adopted hometown, Chicago. At the time I met Iglauer, I was writing for High Fidelity as a freelancer and spending a day in a recording studio with the subject as he was recording the late guitarist Roy Buchanan. I was attracted to the Alligator story, which is essentially the Iglauer story — his personal odyssey from his own standing as a music fan to that of successful entrepreneur of what would become the country’s, if not the world’s, cornerstone blues label.

As Alligator readies to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the record industry Iglauer jumped into in 1971 — actually, drove into as he went from one “underground” FM radio station to the next, dropping off copies of his first Hound Dog Taylor recording — has changed so much it’s barely recognizable and hardly functional. Iglauer has always run Alligator as a low-key, modest business; personal relationships have been the dominant philosophy, first and foremost with the musicians and, secondarily, though not far behind, with his loyal staff, many of whom have been there 20 years or more.

Iglauer, like everyone in the industry, has been forced to make adjustments. Still, the “little label with the big bite” that has issued nearly 300 titles of “Genuine Houserockin’ Music” continues to prevail. Iglauer helped forge renewed and new careers for the likes of Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Luther Allison, Big Walter Horton, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Fenton Robinson, James Cotton, Johnny Winter, Shemekia Copeland, Anders Osborne, JJ Grey & Mofro and others too numerous to list. Alligator continues to have a presence, continues to deliver material and continues to be, along with a scant few other labels, the primary keeper of the blues flame.

As the 40th year approaches, Alligator has announced a series of releases due out Feb. 22, the start of what the label promises to be a yearlong celebration. Among the six titles is “The Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection,” a 38-track, two-disc set remastered by Iglauer. The selections were voted on by fans through an online poll and hand-picked by Iglauer. In addition, the label will reissue, on vinyl as well as CD, “Showdown!” — the seminal release and 1985 Grammy winner that brought together Collins, Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray — and vinyl reissues of “Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers,” the label’s first LP, and “Alone & Acoustic,” from Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. I recently e-mailed Iglauer and asked him to reflect a bit on his life and his label.

Poses: Did you ever think you would be in this for 40 years when you started driving around delivering records in your car in 1971?

Iglauer: I thought that I’d be lucky to sell enough copies to make a second album by another artist. Same after the second album and the third album. It took about 10 to 12 years before I became confident we wouldn’t self destruct in the next weeks or months. … As it is, I’m thrilled with each new release and each year. To run a business for 40 years living out your dream is the greatest. Now I’m shooting for 50, then 60.

Poses: What’s the first thing that comes to mind with the following artists?

Iglauer: Hound Dog Taylor: More fun than any music I’ve ever heard before or since. Koko Taylor: The essence of the blues. She lived it every day, not only in her music but in her life. One of the most honest human beings I ever met. Albert Collins: I loved his wry sense of humor that was in so many of his lyrics and singing and the straight-from-the-toes-on-up power of his playing.

Poses: Which Alligator recordings (I know you hate to choose — give me three) still wow you to this day and why? I’m assuming, for instance that “Showdown” — for the sheer magnitude of the participating artists — would be one. Correct?

Iglauer: Yes. And others that come to mind are, of course, the first Hound Dog Taylor release, “Midnight Son,” Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials’ “Roughhousin,’ ” and “Harp Attack!” with Carey Bell, Billy Branch, James Cotton and Junior Wells.

Poses: Obviously, the bricks-and-mortar record business is basically no more. Have you been able to adjust fast enough to the quicksand-like changes that have and continue to take place?

Iglauer: We’re constantly adjusting. The answer is threefold: keep on the cutting edge of the new technologies as much as possible, find artists who are carrying the concept of Alligator’s “Genuine Houserockin’ Music” without repeating what’s been done already and, of course, record musical performances that will stand the test of time.

Poses: Does being the “Boss Croc” still excite you?

Iglauer: The music, yes, for sure. The business? Well, I learned to be good at business so that I could work with those who create the music.

Poses: How long do you plan on being the “Big Croc” and continuing to run the business you created 40 years ago?

Iglauer: Until I’m not doing it well enough to meet my own standards. Until then, I’m thinking about what Alligator can/will be in the future.