Ruf Records is a German

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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in Lindewerra,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. As of 2008, Ruf had produced 120 releases, sold over one million

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s, received two

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations and ten

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

nominations. Past and present artists include Luther Allison, his son Bernard Allison, Louisiana Red, Eric Bibb,

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

, Joanna Connor,]

Kevin Coyne Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. He was critically acclaimed for his unorthodox style of blues-influenced guitar composition, the ...

, Sue Foley, Friend 'n Fellow, Larry Garner, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Candye Kane, Omar & The Howlers,

Aynsley Lister Aynsley Lister (born 14 November 1976 in Leicester, England) is a British blues-rock guitarist/singer and songwriter. Biography Lister started playing guitar at 8 and played his first concert in a bar band at the age of 13. He had learned gu ...

, Laurence Jones, Skinny Molly, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Dani Wilde, Oli Brown,

Ana Popović Ana Popović ( sr-Cyrl, Ана Поповић, born May 13, 1976) is a blues singer and guitarist from Serbia who currently resides in the United States. Biography Early life Popović was born in 1976 in Belgrade. Her father (Milton Popović) in ...

Shakura S'Aida Shakura S'Aida is a Canadian blues vocalist, songwriter and actress. She is sometimes credited Shakura. History Shakura S'Aida was born in Brooklyn and lived in Switzerland before moving to Canada. S'Aida was lead singer of the 13-piece world ...

Spooky Tooth Spooky Tooth was a rock band originally formed in Carlisle, England, in 1967. The band was principally active between 1967 and 1974, and re-formed several times in later years. History Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding ...

, Samantha Fish, Walter Trout, Bette Smith, Big Daddy Wilson, and Erja Lyytinen. In 2007, Ruf Records received the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs t ...

of Memphis, Tennessee. Since 2005, each year a group of musicians tours in the course of the 'Blues Caravan' project. In 2011, these were Cassie Taylor, Dani Wilde and Samantha Fish as 'Girls With Guitars' supported by drummer Denis Palatin. For the re-edition in 2012, Cassie Taylor was replaced by Victoria Smith. In 2012, Ruf Records signed the Royal Southern Brotherhood, a supergroup which featured the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans–based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...

Devon Allman Devon Allman (born August 10, 1972) is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the son of musician and singer-songwriter Gregg Allman and has appeared occasionally as a guest musician for Gregg Allman and The All ...

, Mike Zito, Charlie Wooton and

Yonrico Scott Yonrico Scott (October 6, 1955 – September 19, 2019) was an American drummer and percussionist. He was a longtime member of the Grammy winning The Derek Trucks Band, became a bandleader of his own ensemble, the Yonrico Scott Band, and later w ...

. The band was based from New Orleans, and released their first recording ''Royal Southern Brotherhood'' in the summer of 2012. John Wirt of the

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

newspaper ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'', wrote "Zito and Allman also play twin guitar leads that recall, of course, the dual guitar leads played by his uncle, Duane, and Dickey Betts in the Allman Brothers Band." In March 2014, Albert Castiglia signed a recording contract with Ruf. In 2015 Eliana Cargnelutti released two albums with Ruf. In 2017, Vanessa Collier released her second album, ''Meeting My Shadow'', on Ruf Records. In February 2020, Whitney Shay released her third album, ''Stand Up'', on the label. In 2021, Ghalia Volt released her third album, ''One Woman Band'', on Ruf Records. Katie Henry's, ''On My Way'', was released on January 28, 2022, on Ruf Records.

References

External links

Official site
German independent record labels Record labels established in 1994 Blues record labels {{Independent-record-label-stub

See also

References

External links