Sundazed Music is 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 ...

based in

Coxsackie, New York Coxsackie ( ) is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population in the 2020 census was 8,382, a decrease from the 2010 census. The name of the town is said to be derived from a Native American term, but it has various transl ...

. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio equipment collection.

History

Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989. Irwin's skill at restoring old vinyl records for the (then new) CD format, attracted the attention of major labels, who increasingly solicited him to help them re-issue material from their back catalogs. He helped

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

release their archival Legacy Records label. Later, his restoration work included early material by the likes of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, Nancy Sinatra, and

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

. Irwin also worked at

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

for a time. The first Sundazed releases were 1960s recordings by the Knickerbockers and the Five Americans, and reflected Irwin's personal preference for

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

and surf music. Later releases included the albums of the Turtles, the Challengers, Liverpool Five, and Jan and Dean's long-lost album ''Save for a Rainy Day''. The company reissued the complete catalog of

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funk pioneers the Meters on vinyl and CD. The label later ventured into country music, including extensive reissues of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

albums by

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on t ...

and other acts including Jimmy Bryant. Sundazed also issued vintage jazz guitar albums through their Euphoria label.

Reissues

In 1995, Sundazed released a 20 track CD by The Pyramids, ''Penetration! The Best of the Pyramids''. Bob Irwin worked closely with John Hodge the manager and producer for the Pyramids. Hodge owned the masters for the original recordings which included the unissued music. Hodge also had a strong love of the music. Irwin was also planning a second release of their work. It was to be a "Lost Pyramids" album of unreleased material. He also did the same for The Revels, the Impact Records recording artists who had a hit with " Church Key. Working with The Revels' original

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

Tony Hilder and band members, Sam Eddy and

Norman Knowles Norman Knowles is a surf musician, band leader, and record producer from California. He is the composer of several classic surf songs, including as co-writer of the surf classic " Church Key", which was a hit for The Revels. He also has been inv ...

, he had their work which was recorded years before re-released. They also reissued '' Oar'' by Skip Spence in 1999. Sundazed also reissued the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

Moby Grape albums, but were immediately forced to withdraw the first three albums due to legal disputes involving the band's ex-manager Matthew Katz. In 2009, they signed

Morly Grey Morly Grey is an American psychedelic rock band that formed in the late 1960s. The group recorded their first album, '' The Only Truth'', which was released in 1972. Some discographies and music catalogs continue to list the album's release da ...

to reissue '' The Only Truth'' which came out on Sundazed SC 11216. Also that year, they released the long-lost Columbia sessions by the group

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

. On June 24, 2018, it was reported that Sundazed Records would be reissuing Mike Nesmith's recordings with

First National Band The First National Band or Michael Nesmith and The First National Band was a short-lived American collaborative band, led by Monkee Michael Nesmith. During the two active years, The First National Band released three albums in the country ro ...

, originally released after his band The Monkees'

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

was canceled in 1969. The band’s three albums, ''Magnetic South'', ''Loose Salute'', and ''Nevada Fighter'', were originally recorded and released between 1970 and 1971. It featured Nesmith on guitar and vocals, with John Ware on drums, John London on bass, and O.J. "Red" Rhodes on pedal steel guitar.

New releases

In 2015, after a conversation with former Kentucky Headhunters guitarist Greg Martin about Groovy Grubworm, an old instrumental record of which both were fond, Bob Irwin decided to create subsidiary label Sundazed RFD, a label exclusively for instrumental 45 RPM recordings. "Groovy Grubworm" by Harlow Wilcox And The Oakies, "Shark Country" by the SloBeats (a band composed of Kenny Vaughan, Dave Roe and Maxwell Schauf) and " The Lonely Bull" by The East Nashville Teens were among the first records to be released by the new label.'' Nashville Scene'', Jun 25, 2015
Instrumental music label Sundazed RFD brings the beat of Music City
Bulls, Sharks and Grubworms, Oh My!
By Randy Fox
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References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1989 Reissue record labels

History

Reissues

New releases

See also

References

External links