Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

. Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of a president of Zenith Electronics. He studied anthropology at the University of Chicago and became president of the school's folklore society. He began Flying Fish in 1974 to concentrate on traditional and contemporary folk music, though the catalog grew to include blues, bluegrass,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

, dancefloor and rock. When Kaplan started the label, most similarly oriented companies produced albums with decidedly "homemade" packaging (e.g. cover art, etc.) and marketed the albums to a relatively narrow audience of aficionados. Kaplan realized that music of this sort had the potential to reach a wider audience, but needed to be packaged in a professional manner; people not already devotees were unlikely to take a chance on something that did not look like it came from a "real" record company. Kaplan also invested in broader promotion of the music (wide provision of albums to radio; targeted advertising to back up tours). Essentially, he located a niche between the hit-based promotion model of the major labels and the faith of the small independents that the music would find its own audience. Flying Fish recording artists were able to find that audience at the local

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, Downtown Chicago, ...

, venue

Amazingrace Coffeehouse Amazingrace Coffeehouse (later known as Amazingrace) was an influential counterculture music and performance venue in Evanston, Illinois, during the 1970s. Run by a collective called the Amazingrace Family, it was known for its welcoming atmosphe ...

, which presented numerous artists off the roster, including

Vassar Clements Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and ...

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive k ...

, New Grass Revival, Norman Blake, and Claudia Schmidt. Starting with the ''Hillbilly Jazz'' double album featuring fiddler Vassar Clements, and following up with a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

winning album by

, Flying Fish Records's success with this niche approach led to similar changes by many other roots labels of the period. In December 1992, Kaplan developed an ear infection that did not respond to antibiotic treatment and he died unexpectedly. After a brief period under the direction of longtime employee Jim Netter, supported by Kaplan's widow Sandra Shifrin (a social worker), the label was sold to

, where Kaplan had worked as a producer for a brief period before founding Flying Fish. The label bought

Hogeye Music A Hog-Eye in Missouri is a small compact place sunk in a Valley, hollow. There were once several places in Missouri called ''Hog-Eye'': * Hog-Eye in Vernon County, Missouri, renamed Nevada, Missouri, Nevada in 1855 * Hog-Eye in Saint Francois Co ...

in the mid-1980s. Flying Fish distributed Blind Pig Records and Rooster Blues.

Roster

* Adam Rudolph *

Andrew Odom Andrew Odom (December 15, 1936 – December 23, 1991) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and songwriter. Born in Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States, he is best known for the close resemblance of his singing style to ...

* Anne Hills * Arlen Roth * Austin Lounge Lizards * Aztec Two-Step * Barry Mitterhoff * Benny Martin * Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows * Blue Riddim Band *

Bob Franke Bob Franke (born July 25, 1947, in Hamtramck, Michigan) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Biography He began his career in 1965, while a student at the University of Michigan, and performed at The Ark, a coffeehouse in Ann Arbor. After g ...

Bonnie Koloc Bonnie Koloc (born February 6, 1946) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, actress and artist. She was considered one of the three main Illinois-based folk singers in the 1970s, along with Steve Goodman and John Prine forming the "trinity o ...

* Boogie Bill Webb * Brave Old World * Bryan Bowers *

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

* Chubby Carrier * Cache Valley Drifters *

Cephas & Wiggins Cephas & Wiggins were an American acoustic blues duo, composed of the guitarist John Cephas (September 4, 1930 – March 4, 2009) and the harmonica player Phil Wiggins (born May 8, 1954). They were known for playing Piedmont blues. Hist ...

* Chris Daniels *

Chris Smither William Christopher Smither (born November 11, 1944) is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, and modern poets and philosophers. Early life, influences and educat ...

* Chubby Carrier * Chuck Suchy * Claudia Schmidt * Country Gazette * Critton Hollow String Band * David Amram *

David Mallett David Mallett (born April 21, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his authorship of the "folk standard" composition " Garden Song". He has recorded for independent record labels for most of his career. Biography A resident o ...

* David Massengill *

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ...

* Don Lange * Doug Dillard *

Doug Jernigan Doug Jernigan (born January 5, 1946) is an American pedal steel guitarist and Dobro player. He is known for his infusion of country music with jazz using fast single-note solos. He was one of the first steel guitarists to play solos at speeds riv ...

* Eddy Clearwater *

Erwin Helfer Erwin Helfer (born January 20, 1936) is an Americans, American boogie-woogie, blues and jazz pianist. Biography Born in 1936 and raised in Chicago, Erwin attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. Erwin Helfer is a Chicago boogie woogie an ...

* Eternal Wind *

Filé (band) Filé is a cajun music ensemble from Louisiana founded in 1983. The group is named after filé powder, a spice used in cajun food. The group was founded by Ward Lormand and Kevin Shearin, who had previously played together in the band Cush-Cu ...

* Flor de Caña * Foday Musa Suso * Frankie Armstrong * Frankie Lee * Fred Holstein * Fred Small * Freeman & Lange * Gamble Rogers *

Gary Primich Gary Primich (April 20, 1958 – September 23, 2007) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for his 1995 album, ''Mr. Freeze''. Biography Gary Alan Primich was born in Chicago, Illinois, b ...

* Geoff Muldaur * Gillman Deaville * Guy Carawan *

Gove Scrivenor Richard Gove Scrivenor (b. September 18, 1945 New Haven, Connecticut) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Scrivenor is an autoharp and guitar player, and includes the instrument in many of his songs. He plays predominantly country an ...

* Hassan Hakmoun * Hickory Wind * Hot Rize *

Hotmud Family __NOTOC__ The Hotmud Family was a U.S. folk and bluegrass band based in Dayton, Ohio. They were active from 1970 to 1984, holding a brief reunion in 2010. They recorded six LP records, four of which were re-released in a two-CD set in 2010. Hist ...

* James Sapp *

Jan A. P. Kaczmarek Jan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek (; born 29 April 1953) is a Polish composer. He has written scores for more than 70 feature films and documentaries, including '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), for which score he won an Oscar and a National Board of ...

* Jason Eklund *

Jean Ritchie Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way (orally, ...

* Jim Post *

Joel Rubin Joel Rubin is an American clarinetist, Klezmer musician, ethnomusicologist, and scholar of Jewish music. Since becoming involved in the Klezmer revival in the late 1970s, he has been researching, teaching and performing Klezmer music and related g ...

* John Kruth *

John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...

* Keith Mansfield * Kenny Sultan & Tom Ball *

Killbilly Killbilly was a Dallas, Texas-based band active from 1987 to 1994, which described its music as being a mixture of bluegrass and punk. Critics have variously described the band's style as a "fusion of bluegrass and shred metal", and as "a genuin ...

* The Klezmatics * Larry Long * Larry McNeely * Laurie Lewis *

Lester Flatt Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades ...

Linda Waterfall Linda Waterfall (1949 – January 8, 2019) was an American folk musician and singer-songwriter. She was active for 38 years, from 1977 to 2015, when she released her 14th album, ''Hometown Girl'' (Franklin Point Music). Career Waterfall grew ...

* Little Mike and the Tornadoes * Mary McCaslin * Merle Watson * Michael Peter Smith * Morrigan * New Grass Revival * Norman Blake * Northern Lights * Pat Burton * Patent Pending *

Paul Geremia Paul Geremia (born April 21, 1944) is an American blues singer and acoustic guitarist. Geremia was born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. He recorded his first album in 1968, having been significantly influenced by both the rural blu ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

* Peter Rowan *

Preston Reed Preston Reed (born April 13, 1955) is an American fingerstyle guitarist. He is noted for a two-handed playing style and compositional approach that uses the guitar's body as a percussion instrument. Biography Reed learned guitar as a child o ...

* Priscilla Herdman * Randy Sabien * Rare Air *

Robin Petrie Robin Petrie is an American santur and hammered dulcimer player. Petrie has been performing popular and seldom-heard hammered dulcimer music since 1980. She is heard regularly on National Public Radio. Though focusing initially on British Isles and ...

* Roy Book Binder *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Reviva ...

* Satan and Adam *

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before ...

* Shinobu Sato * Si Kahn * Simon & Bard * The Smith Sisters * Sparky and Rhonda Rucker *

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fir ...

* Steve Lyon * Sweet Honey in the Rock *

T. Michael Coleman Thomas Michael Coleman (born January 3, 1951) is an American bass player of bluegrass and folk music. He is best known for work with Doc Watson and the Seldom Scene. Biography Doc Watson Coleman grew up in Mayodan, North Carolina, graduating fr ...

* Terry Garthwaite * Those Darn Accordions * Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan *

Tom Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song "Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a son ...

* Tom Dreesen *

Tom Juravich Tom Juravich is a professor of Labor Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Juravich is also a musician and labor movement activist. Education and career Juravich, a former mechanic, received a Ph.D. in sociology in 1983 from the Uni ...

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

Toshi Reagon Toshi Reagon (born January 27, 1964) is an American musician of folk, blues, gospel, rock and funk, as well as a composer, curator, and producer. Early life Born January 27, 1964 in Atlanta, Georgia, Reagon grew up in Washington, D.C. She ...

* Tracy Nelson * Trian * Tut Taylor * Valerie Wellington *

Yasmeen Williams Yasmeen Williams (Also known as Betty J. Williams, Bheti Yasmeen Williams, and Yasmeen Bheti Williams-Johnson) is an American gospel singer and former member of the African American a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. Early life Yasme ...

References

{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1974 Blues record labels American country music record labels Folk record labels Defunct companies based in Chicago

Roster

See also

References