Industry Profile: Bruce Iglauer

— By Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

Back in 1971, Bruce Iglauer, a 23-year-old blues fan, used a tiny inheritance to record and produce his favorite band, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers. Following his heart, he quit his day job with Delmark Records and began promoting Hound Dog Taylor and his new record company full-time. Thirty years later, that company, Alligator Records, is home to some of the world's premiere blues and roots rock talent and is regarded by fans and the media alike as the top contemporary blues record label in the world.

Iglauer, a native of Cincinnati, first fell in love with the blues in 1966. A live performance by the great Mississippi Fred McDowell struck him deep inside. "It was as if he reached out and grabbed me by the collar, shook me and spoke directly to me," Iglauer recalls. After that show, Iglauer, a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., immersed himself in the blues. He hosted the blues show on his college radio station and began making regular pilgrimages to Chicago to see Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Carey Bell and many other stars in the ghetto blues clubs. When the college activities committee was in need of a band, Iglauer convinced them to book blues legend Howlin' Wolf. Iglauer was disappointed with the promotional push given by the university. He knew he could do better, so he offered to guarantee the costs of bringing in Luther Allison -- out of his own pocket -- in exchange for full control over the promotion. Luther's two shows were completely sold out.

Bob Koester, founder of the prestigious blues and jazz label Delmark Records, was impressed with Iglauer's promotion of Luther Allison, a Delmark artist. When Iglauer moved to Chicago for good at the beginning of 1970 Koester hired him as a $30-per-week shipping clerk. At night, Iglauer hung out at the South and West Side clubs, soaking up live blues every chance he could get. He often accompanied Koester to the studio, where he watched blues greats such as Junior Wells turn their magical sounds into classic blues albums.

Now Iglauer wanted a hand in producing classic blues albums as well. He spent a good deal of time and energy trying to convince Koester to record Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers. Iglauer had been spending his Sundays hanging out at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side, where Taylor would jam all day long. Iglauer loved the band's raw, high-energy bottleneck blues sound, and was convinced that aggressive marketing -- much like his Luther Allison concert -- could bring Hound Dog's music to a whole new audience of younger record buyers like himself. When Koester declined, Iglauer resolved to record the band himself, and Alligator Records (named after the way Iglauer clicks out rhythm patterns with his teeth when he likes a song) was born.

Alligator Records was created to make one record, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers.

Recorded live in the studio in just two nights during the spring of 1971, the album captured the band at the height of their powers. Hound Dog and his band simply plugged in and played the same beat-up guitars through the same raggedy amps they used at Florence's. At a cost of $900, Iglauer produced a direct-to-two-track master tape -- no overdubs -- that he mixed as they went along. With the remainder of his inheritance money, he pressed 1,000 copies of the album.

That fall, Iglauer loaded his brand new albums into the back of his Chevy and hit the road, visiting progressive rock and college radio stations and record distributors between Chicago and New York. "FM rock radio was pretty loose back then," says Iglauer. "DJs were programming their own shows. As each DJ went on his or her shift, I would hand them a copy of the album and say something like, "This is a record I produced by my favorite band. Would you play it?" And instead of having to get the word from the music director or wait for national chart positions, the DJ usually said, 'Far out. Wow. Sure, man!' Then I'd go to a distributor and say, 'I've got two or three radio stations in your area playing this album. Want to sell it to the stores for me?' Which, of course, they did."

As response to the album grew, so did the amount of time Iglauer spent conducting Alligator business during working hours at Delmark. He became an all-in-one label, booking agent, road manager, business manager, driver, promotion man, and publicist for Hound Dog. Nine months after the release of the album, he left Delmark to run Alligator Records full time.

Full-time did not mean financial success during the early 1970s. The company was run out of Iglauer's tiny apartment, filled with stacks of record cartons and a shipping table next to the bed. Each record had to finance the next one, which meant Alligator released about one record a year. Luckily, those records continued to impress fans and critics and sell enough to keep the label going. Albums by Big Walter Horton, Son Seals and Fenton Robinson all contributed to getting the fledgling company off the ground.

During this time, the face of radio changed considerably. "Free Form Progressive Rock" was replaced by "Album Oriented Rock" stations where owners found there was big money to be made by trimming play lists to include only those artists with mainstream name recognition. By the end of 1973, the new AOR format was firmly entrenched. Fortunately, many non-commercial stations (and a handful of commercial stations) continued to mix blues into their regular formats or featured dedicated blues programs. And, even without regular radio play, Alligator continued to be a favorite of print media everywhere. The small stable of Alligator artists toured heavily, enjoying more and more visibility outside of the Chicago area. Gradually, their schedules grew to between 150 and 200 shows a year, making live performance the primary means of exposure for Alligator artists and their music.

In 1975, Alligator got a shot in the arm when the label began its long association with the Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor. Taylor had been a sensation at Chess Records with her version of Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle." "Bruce helped me as much as I helped him," recalls Taylor. "It was a very small company at the time, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. My career didn't start until I got with Alligator." Her debut Alligator album, I Got What It Takes, won the label its first Grammy nomination.

Alligator hired its very first employee in 1975 and Iglauer moved himself and his label into an old three bedroom house on Chicago's North Side where he also lived. Records were warehoused in the basement and kitchen. In 1976, Alligator received another Grammy nomination, this time for Hound Dog Taylor's posthumously released Beware Of The Dog album.

1978 saw the release of the first three volumes of the critically acclaimed Living Chicago Blues series (the final three volumes appeared in 1980), albums that featured the cream of the crop of Chicago's under-recorded blues artists. Rolling Stone called the series, "the definitive modern blues collection...these albums should not be missed." Included artists were Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Shaw, Left Hand Frank, Carey Bell, Magic Slim, Pinetop Perkins, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, A.C. Reed, Scotty & The Rib Tips, Lovie Lee, Lacy Gibson, Billy Branch, Detroit Junior, Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, Queen Sylvia Embry, Big Leon Brooks, Andrew Brown, and also Lonnie Brooks, who would go on to record seven full albums for Alligator and become one of the label's shining stars.

Also in 1978, guitarist Albert Collins joined forces with Alligator. Collins was the first non-Chicago artist signed to Alligator and the first to come to the label with a big reputation and high visibility. Collins had been signed to major labels and profiled in Rolling Stone. "Because of Albert Collins," recalls Iglauer, "the media perceived Alligator had become a major blues label." Collins' label debut, Ice Pickin', earned yet another Grammy nomination for Alligator. In all, six Alligator recordings received nominations between 1975 and 1978, representing almost half the records the label released. Within the music community, Alligator had developed a reputation as an aggressive and businesslike independent label, but for the most part mainstream record buyers remained unaware of the label's existence.

As Alligator made its way into the new decade, more and more people were paying attention to the small blues label. In 1982, the label won its first Grammy award with zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier's release, I'm Here!. Then, two years later, Alligator signed legendary guitarist Johnny Winter. Winter was largely perceived as a rock star, but came to Alligator to get back to his blues roots. While Koko Taylor and Albert Collins were well-known among blues fans, Winter was the first Alligator artist with mainstream rock radio name recognition. His first album for Alligator, Guitar Slinger, won the label another Grammy nomination. The recording went on to become the first Alligator album to break into Billboard's "Top 200" chart.

Blues-rock guitar heroes Lonnie Mack (along with guest/producer Stevie Ray Vaughan) and Roy Buchanan joined Alligator's ranks soon after Winter came aboard. These big-name artists gave Alligator radio, press, and retail credibility that didn't exist before. For the first time, Alligator was a major player outside the hard-core blues market.

Alligator's upward trend continued when Albert Collins joined forces with guitarists Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray (who was almost unknown at the time). Together they recorded the now-classic Showdown!. The album earned Alligator its second Grammy award and remains one of the label's top-selling recordings ever.

By 1985, the time had come to move the label's headquarters out of Iglauer's house and into a nearby building. With only seven full-time employees, Alligator was exerting major label-scale promotion efforts, sending over 3,000 promotional copies of each album to radio stations, retail outlets and press contacts all over the world. The label maintained its own promotion, publicity and marketing departments. International manufacturing and distribution deals brought Alligator's releases to dozens of countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and throughout Europe. Alligator artists kept themselves in the international spotlight by playing at major festivals worldwide. Alligator had grown from releasing one or two albums a year to an average of about 10 a year, with a majority of the production duties handled by Iglauer personally.

The late 1980s and 1990s marked a period of enormous growth for the label. With a steady stream of recordings by world-class blues veterans like Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Luther Allison, Charlie Musselwhite, Lonnie Brooks, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Albert Collins, Carey Bell, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Elvin Bishop, Katie Webster, Billy Boy Arnold, Long John Hunter, John Jackson, and Cephas & Wiggins, Alligator's roster read (and still reads) like a Who's Who of traditional and contemporary blues. By 1991, with 125 releases in the catalog, one thing was clear: Alligator Records was the biggest and most successful blues label in the world.

Alligator turned 20 years old in 1991, and commemorated its anniversary by releasing the best-selling compilation, The Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Collection. The celebration continued when Iglauer loaded Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Katie Webster and Elvin Bishop into a bus and hit the road for a cross-country tour. The Grammy-nominated live album, The Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Tour, documented the all-star caravan. Noted filmmaker Robert Mugge (Deep Blues) produced a film about Alligator and the tour, the critically acclaimed Pride & Joy: The Story Of Alligator Records.

Since 1991, Alligator has continued to grow and produce some of today's finest contemporary blues albums, as well as reissuing a few gems from the past. In 1993 and 1994, the label released a series of reissues of vintage material from the Jackson, Mississippi-based Trumpet label, including sides by Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Willie Love and Jerry McCain, as well as deep gospel sides by The Southern Sons and other harmony groups. New releases by younger artists like Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials, C.J. Chenier, Maurice John Vaughn, Sugar Blue, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Dave Hole, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, William Clarke, Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, and The Kinsey Report continued to break new ground and attract new fans.

Meanwhile, Koko Taylor's 1993 release, Force of Nature, earned another Grammy nomination and widespread critical and public acceptance. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, recognizing Koko's contribution to the music world, declared March 3, 1993 "Koko Taylor Day" and presented the Queen of the Blues with a coveted "Legend Of The Year Award." In 1994, harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite recorded his strongest and most critically acclaimed album, the Grammy-nominated In My Time. During the decade, Tinsley Ellis, Kenny Neal, Lonnie Brooks and Little Charlie and the Nightcats were reaching larger and larger audiences, as were William Clarke, Dave Hole, Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women and the rest of the roster.

In 1994, Alligator signed Luther Allison, whose label debut, Soul Fixin' Man, marked the reemergence of this blues legend (who was originally a vital factor in Iglauer's decision to pursue the blues). Allison quickly rose to national prominence, appearing on National Public Radio's All Things Considered as well as on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Allison made two more albums before his untimely death in 1997, earning a Grammy nomination for Reckless. His posthumously released Live In Chicago earned another Grammy nomination in 1999.

Marking its 25th anniversary in 1996, Alligator released the two-CD set, The Alligator Records 25th Anniversary Collection, that featured 38 songs (over 146 minutes of music) from throughout the label's history, including previously unreleased songs from Hound Dog Taylor, Roy Buchanan, and Albert Collins & Johnny Copeland (from the famous Showdown! sessions). From the hard rocking Texas swing of Long John Hunter to the Piedmont blues of acoustic duo Cephas & Wiggins to the solo acoustic Delta blues of Corey Harris, Alligator has continued to take chances as well as release albums by established stars.

With the company's 30th anniversary at hand, Iglauer and his staff are still growing, still pushing the blues envelope. In the late '90s, new artists were emerging -- young singing sensation Shemekia Copeland, the groundbreaking, visionary work of Corey Harris, the addition of blues rocker Coco Montoya and first-generation blues songster John Jackson kept Alligator Records at the top of the blues world. Soul/gospel greats The Holmes Brothers (with multi-million selling artist Joan Osborne producing), kicked off Alligator's 30th anniversary year with their label debut, Speaking In Tongues. Almost immediately upon release, Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot labeled the album, "The first great release of 2001." The addition of singer/pianist Marcia Ball to the Alligator roster brought even more attention the label's way.

To mark its 30 years, Alligator is releasing The Alligator Records 30th Anniversary Collection, another stellar two-disc set, but this time with a twist. The first disc contains studio material from the label's archives, while the second disc features all live tracks -- including some previously unreleased barn-burners from Albert Collins, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, C.J. Chenier, Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials and Son Seals. As an extra bonus, the second disc also features a CD-ROM section containing over three minutes of the only known live footage of the great Hound Dog Taylor.

Since its inception, Alligator has always been committed to new technologies. In the 1970s, the company produced LPs, cassettes and 8-track tapes. In the 1980s, Alligator was the first blues company to produce CDs, and in the 1990s, Alligator was among the first blues labels to market its catalog over the Internet through its website (www.alligator.com). At its web site, Alligator fans can read the latest news, check artist bios and tour dates as well as listen to a streaming Alligator radio station and purchase CDs and other items.

Even now, after 30 years, Alligator Records is still fueled by the same principles that established the label in 1971. Although the staff size has increased to 19 full-time employees, the focus hasn't changed. Iglauer is as driven as he ever was. "I just want to keep bringing the blues to new fans and getting them as excited about the music as I am," says Iglauer. "Alligator should be the label that's exposing the next generation of blues artists and bringing their music to the next generation of blues fans. I want the future of the blues and the future of Alligator Records to be one and the same." If the last three decades are any indication, the future for Alligator and for the blues looks very bright indeed.

What is the current state of the blues vs. five years ago, 10 years ago? This is a crucial time for the blues. For the last 30 years, the audience for blues has generally been growing, except for a fallow period from the late '70s though the mid-80's (when synth-dance rock was popular), blues had attracted a stead stream of fans, crossing over from the rock market. Artists like [Paul] Butterfield and [John] Mayall started this off in the '60s. George Thorogood carried the torch in the dark '70s, and Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughan were the crossover artists of the '80s into the early '90's.

Since then, Blues hasn't attracted a lot of new fans from the rock world. This is because AAA radio (which carries the spirit of the old free-form format of the '70s) got tighter and less bluesy. Blues has become a bit passe. Plus, the "first generation artists" like Muddy [Waters], [Howlin'] Wolf, Albert and Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, and many more, have died.

Right now, two things need to happen to revitalize the blues market and bring new fans - someone needs to emerge as a new, young blues hero (or heroine); with the loss of so many first generation artists, the hardcore blues world (the converted fans) need to find a new "star," not necessarily someone young or rockish, just some charismatic. Luther Allison was set to inherit this mantle when he died at 57. Right now, probably Shemekia Copeland is in the best position to do this. Other good candidates are Bernard Allison, Michael Burks (my guy), maybe Deborah Coleman. But right now, there is not a true blues festival headliner except old schoolers like Koko Taylor, B.B. [King] or Keb' Mo' (very crossover, but really more of a singer-songwriter with a blues touch.)

Where are the main blues markets for touring in the United States and internationally?
Typically, the strongest U.S. blues markets have been Chicago and the upper Midwest, Northern California, the Northeast corridor and Colorado. There are strong local scenes in Texas and the Southeast, but less touring clubs and venues. Overseas, France, Benelux and Spain are good markets. It's hard to tour in England as they don't have a lot of clubs.

Why did you get into management?
I really didn't want to be a manager. When I started, there were so few booking agents interested in this kind of music that I began booking. When some decent agents emerged, my artists needed help in tour coordination, making media opportunities, etc. When this began costing too much time and phone bill money, I began charging commissions. Thus, I became a manager out of necessity. There is still very little professional level management in blues probably because the top grossing handful of blues artists makes about as much money as middle-level rock bands, and most touring blues bands are at the van level. Therefore, commissions aren't big, and blues artists aren't very tempting to managers who want to make a decent living!

Are there any conflicts being a record company owner and managing acts on the label?
Only in the case of recording contracts. And as I offer my only two managed acts (Koko Taylor and Lonnie Brooks) the best deals that I give anyone else, isn't a big conflict. Also, our management deals are handshakes, so the artists can walk away at any time. At various times we've managed other artists, like Son Seals, Albert Collins, etc. But I see management as a service, not a profit center.

What kind of acts do you look for to sign to Alligator Records?
Good ones! Seriously, we're a blues and blues-based label. I look for artists who have their own statement to make, who are true to the blues tradition without copying what's been done before, and who have onstage charisma. I need artists who can take care of their own business, lead a band, and don't have significant drug or alcohol problems. I found you can't make a good musician into a good bandleader. They are two separate skills. Mostly, I follow my gut. I have to be personally excited about an artist, and feel who fits the Alligator "family."

How do you feel about Napster being shut down?
Pissed that it didn't happen earlier. Stealing a recording and a composition is just like stealing a car. Theft is theft. If people who own both a master recording and the songwriting rights want to give it away promotionally, great! But stealing is something, and then "trading" it for other stolen goods is still theft. If someone stole my desk chair, I don't think that anyone would be saying "desk chairs ought to be free." Why say that about music?

The biggest victims are not only the labels and artists, but also the songwriters and their representatives, the publishers. I'm very concerned about various marketers of stolen goods springing up all over the world, and also about the amount of CD burning that goes on. It's ever increasing. If labels, big and small, can't generate enough money to promote and market new artists, then we will live in a world of oldies, where no one new can get in the stores or on the radio because their pockets aren't deep enough.

Many artists can make records on their own now' it's gotten cheaper to record (not necessarily to record with quality, but to record something). But it's gotten much, much more expensive to buy your way into the record stores and onto the radio. This is where the labels come in. We provide the much-needed dollars that take an artist from being talented to being known, and the know-how about how to make that happen.

If the profit margins of the labels are eliminated, no new artists will become known. It's a very, very scary time for the future of recorded music.

Greatest challenge
I guess just surviving. Alligator has had so many close calls. In 30 years, we've lost key artists like Hound Dog Taylor, Albert Collins, Luther Allison, Roy Buchanan and so many more. We've had over 50 distributors fold up or go bankrupt. We've had hundreds of supportive radio stations change format. I never wanted to be a businessman, but I've had to learn to be a good one just to survive. And I'm working harder now than I did 30 years ago, even though I have 18 other people to help me.

Do you foresee any industry trends?
As I said, I think the blues needs a messiah to jump start the next blues boom. Right now blues is 1.5% of the record market. It would be great to be 2.5% of the record market. I think that we need a new format of recording to replace CDs (maybe DVD audio) to get people excited about buying music again. Music sales overall are flat. This is true for blues too. There are too many other forms of entertainment and less and less hours to be entertained.

I'm a bit glum about the immediate future of the record business. I think we'll see a lot of cutbacks at the majors and some bankruptcies among the independents. A lot of people who are music people but not business people will leave the industry.

Career highlight(s)
Man, so many. Mostly I think of live performances that have been thrilling - our 20th anniversary tour, Hound Dog Taylor at Ann Arbor, Son Seals in Toronto (when he truly found his own style), Albert Collins in Chicago at the Tiny Wise Fools Pub in his early gigs with the Icebreakers, Luther Allison at the Chicago Blues Festival (and elsewhere), Shemekia Copeland's Chicago Debut at Legends, and dozens more.

And in the studio, my first Hound Dog albums, of course; recording Professor Longhair's last album (God, what a thrill); Lil' Ed making his debut album in three hours; Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland creating "Black Cat Bone" for the Showdown album that won a Grammy; Lonnie Brooks lying on the floor of the studio playing a thrilling solo on "Voodoo Daddy" for his first album, etc. Receiving the Grammy for Showdown with Albert, Johnny and Robert getting a lifetime achievement award from the Blues Foundation (a festival I helped found); talking the parole board into releasing Fenton Robinson after only nine months in jail for a manslaughter conviction for which he had already paid a terrible price; and choosing the talent for the Midwest Blues Festival in South Bend., Ind. for a lot of year.

Career disappointment
Not a lot. The people I could have signed if I thought they were ready - Robert Cray, Stevie, Susan Tedeschi, Keb' Mo' (all in their younger years); not getting a Grammy for the Professor Longhair album; going to too many funerals.

Best business advice
Learn what you're doing before you set out to do it. Don't learn on the job like I did. There isn't time any more to make mistakes in this industry. Commit to only a few musicians, and commit to them for life. Don't record any music you don't love or don't understand. Don't be in it for the money, there's never enough money. Be in it for the music. Music will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no music.

Best business advice received
Don't spend money you don't already have.

Worst business advice
I've gotten way too much of it to pick a highlight. Probably "trust me."

Best business advice to share
Same as best business advice received.

Something people would be surprised to learn about you
I grew up on Rogers and Hammerstein and can sing (badly) almost every song from "Oklahoma," "South Pacific" and "The King and I."

Office paraphernalia
Lots of alligator toys, hand puppets, masks, hats, planters, etc. Mounds of audition tapes.

Industry pet peeve
I got in it for the music. Now it's being run by lawyers and accountants. Oh, and records that don't have real drummers.

Bruce can be reached at 773-973-7736 Extension 17; e-mail: info@allig.com Alligator Records Home Page