Alligator Records

Alligator Records is a Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

-based independent

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 founded by Bruce Iglauer

Bruce Iglauer

Bruce Iglauer is the American founder and head of the independent blues record label Alligator Records in Chicago.Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cincinnati, Ohio...

 in 1971.

Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester

Bob Koester

Robert Gregg "Bob" Koester is the American founder and owner of Delmark Records, one of the oldest independent record labels in the United States, and one of jazz's best-known imprints...

 of Delmark Records

Delmark Records

Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...

, declined to record. Nine months after the release of the first album, he stopped working at Delmark Records to concentrate fully on the band and his label. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the Living Blues

Living Blues

Living Blues is a bi-monthly magazine focused on covering the African American blues tradition, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van Singel. Alligator Records owner and founder Bruce Iglauer was also one of the...

magazine in Chicago in 1970 from eBay.

In 1982, the label won its first Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for the album, I'm Here, by Clifton Chenier

Clifton Chenier

Clifton Chenier , a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983...

. The second Grammy came in 1985 for Showdown! by Albert Collins

Albert Collins

Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...

, Johnny Copeland

Johnny Copeland

Johnny Copeland was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Born in Haynesville, Louisiana, United States, while Copeland was becoming interested in music, he also pursued boxing, mostly as an avocation, and it is from his days as a boxer that he got his nickname "Clyde." Also as a...

, and Robert Cray

Robert Cray

Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...

.

Since its founding, Alligator Records has released over 250 blues and blues/rock albums, as well as a now-defunct reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 series. Present and past Alligator artists include Marcia Ball

Marcia Ball

Marcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist.....

, Koko Taylor

Koko Taylor

Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings....

, Lonnie Brooks

Lonnie Brooks

Lonnie Brooks is an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born in Dubuisson, Louisiana, United States...

, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials

Lil' Ed Williams

Lil' Ed Williams is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, slide guitarist Williams has built up a loyal following.-Biography:...

, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Sam Lay

Sam Lay

Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:...

, Smokin' Joe Kubek

Smokin' Joe Kubek

Smokin' Joe Kubek is an American electric blues guitarist.-Biography:Although he was born in Pennsylvania, Kubek grew up in Texas and is associated with the Texas blues style. He played with Freddie King while still a teenager, and put together his own band to tour in the Dallas area...

 & Bnois King, Roomful of Blues

Roomful of Blues

Roomful Of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 40 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to The Chicago Sun-Times, “Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision...

, Eric Lindell

Eric Lindell

Eric Lindell is an American singer-songwriter, born in San Mateo, California, who came to national prominence after relocating to New Orleans. His recording career began in 1996 as a local/regional New Orleans-based artist. Beginning in 2006, when he was picked up by Alligator Records, he has...

, JJ Grey & MOFRO, Lee Rocker

Lee Rocker

Lee Rocker is an American rockabilly double bass player. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker and Naomi Drucker. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter...

, Cephas & Wiggins

Cephas & Wiggins

Cephas & Wiggins was an American acoustic blues duo, composed of guitarist John Cephas and harmonica player Phil Wiggins . They were known for playing Piedmont blues.- History :...

, and Michael Burks. Most recently, veteran blues artists Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...

 and James Cotton

James Cotton

James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...

 have re-signed to the label.

Current

JJ Grey & MOFRO Saffire Marcia Ball Marcia Ball Marcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist..... Tommy Castro Tommy Castro Tommy Castro is an American blues, R&B and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid 1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer Of The Year... James Cotton James Cotton James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:... Tinsley Ellis Tinsley Ellis Tinsley Ellis is an American blues and rock musician, who grew up in southern Florida.-Biography:... Anders Osborne Anders Osborne Anders Osborne is a songwriter and singer.Anders was born in 1966 in Uddevalla, Sweden, left home at age sixteen, and hitchhiked and played music throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the U.S... Scrapomatic Scrapomatic Scrapomatic is an American blues duo, consisting of two performers, Paul Olsen, and Mike Mattison. Backed by other musicians, they have performed together since the mid 1990s, and the duo often open for The Derek Trucks Band, of which Mattison is also a member, performing as their lead vocalist... Guitar Shorty Guitar Shorty Guitar Shorty is an American blues guitarist. He is well known for his explosive guitar style and wild stage antics. Billboard magazine said, “his galvanizing guitar work defines modern, top-of-the-line blues-rock. His vocals remain as forceful as ever... The Holmes Brothers The Holmes Brothers The Holmes Brothers are a vocal and instrumental trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, soul, gospel, and rhythm & blues, they have released nine original albums, with two reaching the top 5 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. They have gained a following by playing... Charlie Musselwhite Charlie Musselwhite Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage... Roomful Of Blues Roomful of Blues Roomful Of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 40 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to The Chicago Sun-Times, “Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision...

Past

Gaye Adegbalola Gaye Adegbalola Gaye Adegbalola is an American blues singer and guitarist, teacher, lecturer, activist, and photographer.-Biography:... Luther Allison Luther Allison Luther Allison was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family, at age twelve, to Chicago in 1951. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being... Carey Bell Carey Bell Carey Bell was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career... Elvin Bishop Elvin Bishop Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old... Billy Boy Arnold Billy Boy Arnold Billy Boy Arnold is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.-Biography:... Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks is an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born in Dubuisson, Louisiana, United States... Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence Gatemouth Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown was an American musician from Louisiana and Texas. He is best known for his work as a blues musician, but embraced other styles of music, having "spent his career fighting purism by synthesizing old blues, country, jazz, Cajun music and R&B styles"He was an acclaimed... Roy Buchanan Roy Buchanan Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still... Cephas & Wiggins Cephas & Wiggins Cephas & Wiggins was an American acoustic blues duo, composed of guitarist John Cephas and harmonica player Phil Wiggins . They were known for playing Piedmont blues.- History :... Little Charlie & the Nightcats Little Charlie & the Nightcats Little Charlie & the Nightcats is an American four-piece electric blues / jazz combo, consisting currently of guitarist Kid Andersen, harmonicist/lead vocalist Rick Estrin, bassist Lorenzo Farrell and drummer J... Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier , a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983... Albert Collins Albert Collins Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia... Johnny Copeland Johnny Copeland Johnny Copeland was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Born in Haynesville, Louisiana, United States, while Copeland was becoming interested in music, he also pursued boxing, mostly as an avocation, and it is from his days as a boxer that he got his nickname "Clyde." Also as a... Shemekia Copeland Shemekia Copeland Shemekia Copeland is an American electric blues vocalist.-Career:Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She is the daughter of Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland...

Robert Cray Robert Cray Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:... Buddy Guy Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation... Corey Harris Corey Harris Corey Harris is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic guitar blues in the mid 1990s... Joe Higgs Joe Higgs Joe Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson... Dave Hole Dave Hole Dave Hole is an Australian slide guitarist known for his style of playing rock and roll and blues music.-Biography:... Big Walter Horton Big Walter Horton Walter Horton, better known as Big Walter Horton or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming and essentially shy man, Horton is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the history of blues... Long John Hunter Long John Hunter Long John Hunter is an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has released seven albums in his own name, and in his later years found critical acknowledgement outside of his homeland... Smokin' Joe Kubek Smokin' Joe Kubek Smokin' Joe Kubek is an American electric blues guitarist.-Biography:Although he was born in Pennsylvania, Kubek grew up in Texas and is associated with the Texas blues style. He played with Freddie King while still a teenager, and put together his own band to tour in the Dallas area... Sam Lay Sam Lay Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:... Lazy Lester Lazy Lester Lazy Lester is an American blues harmonica player, whose career spans the 1950s to the 2000s.... Lonnie Mack Lonnie Mack Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist.... Kenny Neal Kenny Neal Kenny Neal , son of Raful Neal, is an american blues guitar player, singer and band member. Neal comes from a musical family and has often performed with his brothers in his band.-Career:...

Professor Longhair Professor Longhair Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist... Fenton Robinson Fenton Robinson Fenton Robinson was an American blues singer and exponent of the Chicago blues guitar.-Biography:Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, United States, Robinson left his home at the age of 18 to move to Memphis, Tennessee where he recorded his first single "Tennessee Woman" in 1957. He settled in Chicago... Otis Rush Otis Rush Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes... Son Seals Son Seals Frank "Son" Seals was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.-Career:He was born in Osceola, Arkansas where his father, Jim "Son" Seals, owned a small juke joint. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk, and later as a guitarist... The Siegel-Schwall Band Hound Dog Taylor Hound Dog Taylor Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 . He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20... Koko Taylor Koko Taylor Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings.... Sonny Terry Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia... Rufus Thomas Rufus Thomas Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the... Maurice John Vaughan Maurice John Vaughan Maurice John Vaughn is an American blues musician from Chicago, Illinois. He is a guitarist, saxophonist, keyboardist and singer.-Biography:... Johnny Winter Johnny Winter John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters... Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials Lil' Ed Williams Lil' Ed Williams is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, slide guitarist Williams has built up a loyal following.-Biography:...