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| Bear Family Records | |
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| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder | Richard Weize |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Location | 27729 Holste-Oldendorf |
| Official website | www |
Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.
The label has been in existence since 1975, founded by collector Richard Weize, [1] started with the double LP Going Back to Dixie by Bill Clifton. It has become known for its extravagant (and expensive) box sets. The company describes itself as "a collector's record label" due to its primary business, which is reissuing rare recordings in CD format in small amounts. Historically, their material has had only limited availability in the U.S, stocked at Ernest Tubb Record Shop, [2] and through mail order sources. Many of their box sets are available through Amazon Marketplace.
Among the many artists who have been the subject of extensive box set releases by Bear Family are Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Hank Snow, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dean Martin, Bill Haley & His Comets, the Kingston Trio, Louis Jordan, the Everly Brothers, Chet Atkins, Ann-Margret, Pat Boone, Frankie Laine, Petula Clark, Burl Ives, the Carter Family, Fats Domino, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Ricky Nelson, Nat King Cole, Gene Autry, Johnny Sea, Joe Dowell, the Treniers, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Vipers Skiffle Group and Weldon Rogers.
Bear Family has also made a habit of producing thorough compilations of artists with a more limited fanbase, such as two separate five-CD Johnnie Ray collections, six-CD box sets of Slim Whitman and the Orioles, a seven-CD Rod McKuen set, eight-CD collections of Lonnie Donegan, Del Shannon, Neil Sedaka and Gene Vincent, a nine-CD omnibus of Johnny Burnette, a 16 CD omnibus of Jim Reeves, or a set of five boxed sets with a total of 26 CDs covering Doris Day's complete recording history for Columbia Records
The company has also released several hundred 'Various Artists' compilations, organized by theme or genre. These include such eclectic projects as a ten-CD political protest song box set, an eleven-CD set of the Jewish and Yiddish performers of the mid-1930s, a seven-CD box featuring 195 different versions of the song "Lili Marleen," compilations of music based on and from the TV series Bonanza , a four-CD collection of British music hall songs of the early 20th century, a ten-CD set of late-1930s calypso music, [3] a 52-CD "History of Pop Music" set and a 26-CD compilation detailing the country hit parade from 1945 to 1970.
In 1982, RCA combined song sung independently by Reeves and Patsy Cline into duets using three-track mastering recorders onto a 24-track tape. New orchestration and new backing tracks were added, and the tracks were then remixed for stereo. RCA's similar album was, Greatest Hits of Jim Reeves & Patsy Cline. These duets appeared on the Remembering Patsy Cline & Jim Reeves LP.
In 1996, the label released a 16 CD compilation titled Welcome to my World, by Jim Reeves, including more than 75 unissued titles [4] and many demo recordings. [5] [6]
Patsy Cline was an American singer. She is considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and was one of the first country music artists to cross over into pop music. Cline had several major hits during her eight-year recording career, including two number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides chart.
Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 American biographical musical film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay written by Tom Rickman. It follows the story of country music singer Loretta Lynn from her early teen years in a poor family and getting married at 15 to her rise as one of the most influential country musicians. Based on Lynn's 1976 biography of the same name by George Vecsey, the film stars Sissy Spacek as Lynn. Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm are featured in supporting roles. Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Minnie Pearl make cameo appearances as themselves.
James Travis Reeves was an American country and popular music singer and songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death in a plane crash. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
Connie Smith is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity has been noted between her vocal style and the stylings of country vocalist Patsy Cline. Other performers have cited Smith as influence on their own singing styles, which has been reflected in quotes and interviews over the years.
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists. West's career started in the 1960s, with her top-10 hit "Here Comes My Baby Back Again", which won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1965, the first woman in country music to receive a Grammy.
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocalion Records, Stop Records, and many other smaller independent labels.
Country USA was a 23-volume series issued by Time-Life Music during the late 1980s and early 1990s, spotlighting country music of the 1950s through early 1970s.
"The Old Rugged Cross" is a popular hymn written in 1912 by American evangelist and song-leader George Bennard (1873–1958).
Wilma Burgess was an American country music singer. She rose to fame in the mid-1960s and charted fifteen singles on the Billboard C&W charts between 1965 and 1975.
"Have You Ever Been Lonely? " is a popular song with music by Peter De Rose and lyrics by Billy Hill, published in 1932. It has been recorded by many singers, becoming a standard.
Waylon and Company is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Records in 1983.
Here Comes My Baby is a studio album by American country music artist Dottie West. It was released in June 1965 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Chet Atkins. It was West's debut studio album as a recording artist and was issued following the success of the title track in 1964. The latter song won a Grammy Award in early 1965 which prompted the issue of the album. Here Comes My Baby would start a series of studio recordings West would release for RCA.
The posthumous discography of American singer Patsy Cline consists of recordings released after March 5, 1963. Since her death, Cline's record label and other labels have released numerous studio albums, compilation albums and singles. Decca Records planned to release Cline's fourth studio album at the time of her death. Instead, a compilation was released in June 1963 titled The Patsy Cline Story. The album reached number 9 on the Billboard country albums list and number 74 on the pop albums chart. Two singles posthumously released in 1963 became top 10 hits on the Billboard country songs chart: "Sweet Dreams " and "Faded Love". Following the release of two posthumous studio albums, Decca issued Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits in 1967. It was the highest-selling female country album for 28 years until Shania Twain surpassed her record in 1995. Greatest Hits was reissued multiple times and eventually was certified diamond in sales in the United States.
Remembering Patsy Cline & Jim Reeves is a tribute album released in 1982 remembering the music of country stars Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves who were both killed in plane crashes in the early 1960s. It was released by MCA Records. A similar album called Greatest Hits of Jim Reeves & Patsy Cline had been released the previous year by RCA Records.
The Last Sessions is a compilation album by American country music artist, Patsy Cline. The album was released in 1988 under MCA Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album was a collection material Cline had recorded during her last recording sessions for Decca Records in early 1963.
Vernon Oxford is an American country music singer and guitarist.
Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith is the second collaborative studio album by American country artists Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith. It was released in January 1970 via RCA Victor and contained 11 tracks. The disc was a collection of country gospel songs performed as duets by both artists. It was the pair's first album of religious music. Among the album's recording was the song "If God Is Dead ". Released as a single, the song charted in the top 60 of the American country chart in 1970. The album received a positive review from Billboard magazine following its release. In 2002, the album was re-released under the title God Will and included a twelfth track.
Charline Arthur was an American singer of boogie-woogie, blues, and early rockabilly. In 1950, Arthur began work as a singer and a disc jockey at the Texas radio station KERB. She left three years later after the impresario Colonel Tom Parker discovered her, signing her with RCA Records. She was a regular performer on the Big D Jamboree radio program throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Arthur also performed and toured with Elvis Presley and others, but in 1956 RCA dropped her from the label and her career declined. Described as a "flash in the pan" and a "woman before her time", Arthur was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and has, since the 1980s, found favor with critics who praise her vocal style, her stage presence, and her influence on artists such as Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline.
The discography of American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn includes 50 studio albums, 36 compilation albums, two live albums, seven video albums, two box sets and 27 additional album appearances. Briefly recording with the Zero label, she signed an official recording contract with Decca Records in 1961, remaining there for over 20 years The first under the label was her debut studio album Loretta Lynn Sings (1963). It peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Country Albums survey. Lynn would issue several albums a year with her growing success, including a duet album with Ernest Tubb (1965), a gospel album (1965), and a holiday album (1966). Her seventh studio album You Ain't Woman Enough (1966) was her first release to top the country albums chart and to chart within the Billboard 200. Other albums to reach number one during this period were Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (1967) and Fist City. Don't Come A'Drinkin would also become Lynn's first album to certify gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Stop, Look and Listen" is a song by American country music singer Patsy Cline. It was composed by George London and W.S. Stevenson. It was released as a single in 1956 via Decca Records. The song has since received a positive response from critics and music writers.
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