Green Linnet Records was an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

that specialized in Celtic music. Founded by Lisa Null and Patrick Sky as Innisfree Records in 1973, the label was initially based in Null's house in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

. In 1975, the label became Innisfree/Green Linnet and Wendy Newton joined Null and Sky as operating officer. In 1976, Newton took over control of the now Green Linnet label and moved it to Danbury, Connecticut in 1985. Newton became sole owner in 1978. Newton's love of Irish music had been sparked during a visit to Ireland where she heard traditional music for the first time in a small pub in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

Artists and imprints

Green Linnet signed Altan,

Capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Taxonomy The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...

The Tannahill Weavers The Tannahill Weavers are a band which performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976, they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble ...

and many other significant bands and musicians. From its founding until its sale in 2006 Green Linnet was one of the most influential

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...

labels, releasing hundreds of albums by a wide range of Irish, Scottish, Breton, Galician and

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

musicians. In 1992 a subsidiary called Xenophile Records was added to feature world music from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and other countries. In 1997 Green Linnet launched

Celtophile Records Celtophile Records was a Danbury, Connecticut-based sublabel of Green Linnet Records that specialized in budget compilations of Celtic music. The label was started in 1997 in Danbury, Connecticut by Green Linnet owner Wendy Newton. It operated u ...

to offer budget-priced compilations. There was also a Green Linnet/Redbird series that featured singer-songwriters.

Artist lawsuit and legacy

In 2002, Green Linnet was sued for unpaid royalties by bands Cherish the Ladies and Altan and artists Mick Moloney,

Joanie Madden Joanie Madden is an Irish-American flute and whistle player of Irish traditional music. She is best known as leader of the all-female group Cherish the Ladies, but has also recorded and performed with numerous other musicians, and as a solo a ...

and Eileen Ivers. Most artists were paid and most claims were settled in 2006. There remain, however, a number of outstanding claims that have yet to be resolved, clouding the legacy left behind by Green Linnet and its then-owner Wendy Newton. Bands have been known to leave the label because of poor management from the label, including Wolfstone and Lúnasa. In May 2006 Newton sold the label to the Digital Music Group, an aggregator of downloadable music. DMG in turn sold the rights to manufacture and distribute Green Linnet and Xenophile physical compact discs to

Compass Records Compass Records is an independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown that specializes in folk, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and acoustic music. In 2006, Compass purchased the Green Linnet and Xenophile catalogs, ...

. Both the Green Linnet and Xenophile catalogs remain available through Compass.

Label name

A linnet is a red-breasted song bird known for its twills and twitters. However, in the Irish rebel song tradition, the name "Green Linnet" has a specific meaning. It was the code name for

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

who they hoped would break the chains of British rule. Indeed in the early 19th century the

Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform ...

(the Irish independence organization led by Theobald Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet), allied themselves with France against Britain, but as history would prove, to no effect. The songs, however, were passed down to latter generations.

Roster

3 Way Street 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

* Ad Vielle Que Pourra * Altan * Joe Burke *

Kevin Burke Kevin Burke may refer to: *Kevin Burke (musician) (born 1950), Irish fiddler *Kevin Burke (CEO), chairman, president, and CEO of Consolidated Edison *Kevin Burke (judge) (born 1950), district judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota *Kevin Burke (quarter ...

* Buttons & Bows * Dennis Cahill *

* Liz Carroll * Celtic Fiddle Festival *

Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces (of ...

* Cherish the Ladies *

Jack Coen Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Johnny B. Connolly Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varia ...

Seamus Connolly Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus Mc ...

Brian Conway Brian Conway is a contemporary Irish fiddler. Brian Conway is an American born Irish Fiddler. Born in 1961 to parents from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, Brian Conway first studied with Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a wes ...

* Michael Cooney *

Terry Corcoran Terence "Terry" Dollard Corcoran (born November 6, 1942) is columnist and comment editor for the Financial Post section of the Toronto-based ''National Post''. Biography and works Born in Montreal, Quebec, Corcoran received a Bachelor of Jour ...

* Kevin Crawford * Johnny Cunningham *

Marty Cutler Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

* Deanta * Tony DeMarco * Joe Derrane * Oisín Mac Diarmada * Tom Doherty *

Seamus Ennis Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus ...

* Ensemble Choral Du Bout Du Monde *

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started ...

* John Faulkner * Ffynnon * Green Fields of America * Martin Hayes *

The House Band The House Band was a musical group formed in Edinburgh in 1984 by musicians Ged Foley (vocals, guitar), Jimmy Young ( smallpipes, flute, whistle), Iain Macleod (guitar, mandolin) and Chris Parkinson (melodeon, keyboards, piano accordion and harmo ...

Irish Tradition Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe *** Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent u ...

* Andy Irvine * Eileen Ivers *

Ron Kavana Ron Kavana (born 25 December 1950) is an Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader. Born in the County Cork town of Fermoy, he is the son of an Irish father and an American mother from Chicago with Cajun roots. Performing with a ...

* Brian Keane * James Keane *

Jimmy Keane Jimmy Keane is a London-born English musician of Irish origin and a specialist piano accordion player. In addition to his solo career, in the 1980s he was part of the folk trio Moloney, O'Connell & Keane, then in ensemble Green Fields of America ...

* Pat Kilbride * Kips Bay * Kornog *

Donna Long Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...

* Lunasa * Manus Lunny *

Debby McClatchy Debbie (or Debby or Deb) is a feminine given name, commonly but not always short for Deborah (or Debra and related variants). Notable people *Debbie Allen, American actress, choreographer and film director *Debbie Armstrong, American athlete *De ...

Billy McComiskey Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

* Manus McGuire *

Susan McKeown Susan McKeown (born February 6, 1967) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. Early years Susan McKeown was born on February 6, 1967 in Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. She briefly attended the Municipal College of Music, Chatha ...

* Matt Molloy * Mick Moloney * Pan Morrigan *

Moving Cloud Moving or Movin' may refer to: Moving of goods * Relocation (personal), the process of leaving one dwelling and settling in another * Relocation of professional sports teams * Relocation (computer science) * Structure relocation Music Al ...

Martin Mulhaire Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

Brendan Mulvihill Brendan may refer to: People * Saint Brendan the Navigator (c. 484 – c. 577) was an Irish monastic saint. * Saint Brendan of Birr (died 573), Abbot of Birr in Co. Offaly, contemporaneous with the above * Brendan (given name), a masculine given na ...

* Paddy O'Brien * Robbie O'Connell * Eugene O'Donnell * Jerry O'Sullivan * Old Blind Dogs * Orealis * Niamh Parsons * Rare Air * Red Clay Ramblers *

Reeltime Reeltime may refer to: * Reeltime.tv, Australian broadband television operator * Reeltime Pictures, British multimedia film and video production company * ReelTime, a QuickTime-based video editing software Video editing software, or a video ed ...

* Relativity * Tommy Sands * Sileas * Daithi Sproule *

Andy M. Stewart Andrew McGregor "Andy" Stewart (8 September 1952 – 27 December 2015) was a Scottish singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard. He was born in Alyth, Perthshire. With Silly Wizard he not only sang, but also ...

* Patrick Street *

* Teada *

Touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

* Trian * The Tulla Céilí Band *

Brooks Williams Brooks Williams (born November 10, 1958) is an American acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter. His style combines roots, jazz, blues, classical, and folk. He has released albums of contemporary folk music, blues music, and of instrumental g ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

* Wolfstone

References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1976 Record labels disestablished in 2006 American independent record labels 1976 establishments in Connecticut

Artists and imprints

Artist lawsuit and legacy

Label name

Roster

See also

References