Fat Possum was founded in 1991 by Living Blues editor Peter Redvers-Lee, who went to the University of Mississippi for his MA studies in Journalism.[10][11] He planned on starting a record label and picked the name with another student, Billy "Pup" Cochrane.[12][verification needed] Co-founder Matthew Johnson, who grew up in the state, was also a student at the University of Mississippi.[13] By 1994 or so[14] Lee left, and freelance recording engineer Bruce Watson assumed his managerial role.[13] An early investor was John Hermann of Widespread Panic, who also pitched Robert Palmer's name as producer.[2][15]
The label initially specialised in discovering blues players from the North Mississippi region, many of whom had never recorded before.[citation needed] At Fat Possum's behest some artists, particularly R. L. Burnside, released both standard blues albums and more techno albums,[16] done in the style that would later be made famous by Moby's album Play.[citation needed] This led to a fair amount of controversy among blues purists, a group in which Johnson was largely uninterested.[17] Many of the early artists for Fat Possum were picked[18] with the aid of Palmer (previously a teacher of Johnson at the University of Mississippi), who also produced a number of records for the label.
Fat Possum’s early releases were critically acclaimed, particularly Junior Kimbrough's album All Night Long, which received 4 stars from Rolling Stone and the loud approval of Iggy Pop. In 1995, they added Arkansas bluesman John "So Blue" Weston to their roster, with So Doggone Blue (FP 1003) produced by Grammy nominee and Living Blues writer Larry Hoffman.[19] Disputes between the artist and label resulted in Hoffman buying back the master and selling it to Evidence Records (UPC: 730182609226).[20] Fat Possum was perennially strapped for cash. Word of mouth and artist compilations, such as Not the Same Old Blues Crap 3 (with a cover illustration by Joe Sacco)[21] and All Men Are Liars, gradually pulled Fat Possum out of the red, even if only for brief periods of time. A legal fight with Capricorn Records, who were to be their distributor, drained Fat Possum's funds and left a number of projects on the shelf.[22]
Burnside proved early on to be the label's biggest money maker. Having released two albums, he teamed with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion for a tour, and then recorded with the band A Ass Pocket of Whiskey, which helped Burnside and Fat Possum gain wider recognition. A remix of the R. L. Burnside song, "It's Bad You Know", was also featured prominently on The Sopranos.
In 2017 Fat Possum partnered with founding Gorilla vs. Bear blogger Chris Cantalini to start new label Luminelle Recordings. Canadian singer-songwriter Helena Deland was the label's first signing.[29] Following Deland's signing, Fat Possum and Luminelle signed new acts such as Magdalena Bay, MUNYA, and Enumclaw.
↑ McInerney, Jay. "White Man at the Door: One Man's Mission to Record the 'Dirty Blues' - before Everyone Dies." The New Yorker (February 4, 2002): page 55
↑ Grant, Richard (2003-11-16). "Delta Force". Observer Music Monthly. Retrieved 2010-02-26. One last question: how does he (R. L. Burnside) like the remixes of his music that Fat Possum has put out? 'At first I didn't like them too much,' he says. 'Then I saw how much money they were making and I got to liking them pretty well.'
↑ The liner notes for Not the Same Old Blues Crap 3 and several other blues compilations contain essays by Matthew Johnson regarding his feelings for blues archivalists. He is against them.
↑ "HOME". Larry Hoffman Music. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
R. L. Burnside was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He played music for much of his life but received little recognition before the early 1990s. In the latter half of that decade, Burnside recorded and toured with Jon Spencer, garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fan base in the punk and garage rock scenes.
Thickfreakness is the second studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys, released in 2003. It is their debut release for the Fat Possum record label, although in the UK and Europe it was co-released by Epitaph Records.
Asie Reed Payton was an American blues musician, who lived most of his life in Holly Ridge, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta. Born in Washington County, Mississippi, he sang and played the guitar, but made his living as a farmer.
David "Junior" Kimbrough was an American blues musician. His best-known works are "Keep Your Hands off Her" and "All Night Long". In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.
Dax David Riggs is an American musician, best known for fronting the sludge metal band Acid Bath in the 1990s. He has been a part of many projects since then, including Agents of Oblivion and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. In 2007 he began releasing material under his own name.
Robert "Wolfman" Belfour was an American blues musician. He was born in Red Banks, Mississippi. When he was a child, his father, Grant Belfour, taught him to play the guitar, and he continued his tutelage in the blues from the musicians Otha Turner, R. L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough. Kimbrough, in particular, had a profound influence on him. His music was rooted in Mississippi hill country traditions, in contrast to Delta blues. His playing was characterized by a percussive attack and alternate tunings.
Kenny Brown is an American blues slide guitarist skilled in the North Mississippi Hill Country blues style.
Deadboy & the Elephantmen was an American indie rock band active from 2000 to 2007. Based in Houma, Louisiana, the band was fronted by Dax Riggs.
Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough is an EP by American rock duo The Black Keys. Essentially a tribute album, it is a collection of the band's cover versions of songs by Fat Possum Records bluesman Junior Kimbrough, who died in 1998. The title is a Choctaw word for red fox and is a reference to Chulahoma, Mississippi, location of "Junior's Place", a juke joint bought by Kimbrough around 1992 and operated after his death by his sons until it burned down on April 6, 2000.
"Mississippi" Joe Callicott was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist.
Ian Siegal is a British blues singer and guitarist.
Paul "Wine" Jones was an American contemporary blues guitarist and singer.
Hill country blues is a regional style of country blues. It is characterized by a strong emphasis on rhythm and percussion, steady guitar riffs, few chord changes, unconventional song structures, and heavy emphasis on the "groove", which has been characterized as the "hypnotic boogie".
Tess Brunet is an American musician and producer, who has recorded and performed under the band names The Black Orchids, Au Ras Au Ras, Animal Electric, Generationals, and Deadboy & the Elephantmen. She began working in the lo-fi genre of underground rock, recording on portable cassette tape machines while living in New York City. Brunet has worked with various artists including Daniel Johnston, Lady Bo of Bo Diddley, Floating Action and Twin Tigers, to name a few. Brunet released her first solo albums under Animal Electric in 2008 and Au Ras Au Ras in 2011 and 2012. Tess currently performs and records with her band The Black Orchids. She has toured extensively in various bands since 2003 playing mostly drums and guitar. Tess owns and operates an independent record shop and DIY record label with her husband in south Louisiana.
The Neckbones were a garage punk band from Oxford, Mississippi. The band was distinguished by having three vocalists each with a distinct style and for their high energy live performances. They released three albums: Pay the Rent, self release (1995) and Souls on Fire (1997) and The Lights Are Getting Dim (1999), both on Fat Possum Records. They also released the 10" vinyl-only release Gentleman, which was their final release, on Misprint Records in 1999.
Calvin Jackson was an American drummer from north Mississippi. He is considered an innovator in the Hill country blues style of drumming, having incorporated elements of the regional Fife and drum bands style in the blues band setting.
God Knows I Tried is an album by the American blues musician Junior Kimbrough, released in 1998. It was his first posthumous album. Buddy Guy covered "I Gotta Try You Girl" on his Sweet Tea album.
Helena Deland McCullagh is a Canadian singer-songwriter. To date she has released five EPs: Drawing Room (2016) and From the Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied" Vol. I, II, III & IV (2018) that she has written and composed. Her first full-length album Someone New was released on 15 October 2020. Her second full-length album Goodnight Summerland was released on 13 October 2023. Deland is currently signed to Luminelle Recordings for the world as well as Chivi Chivi for Canada. She has toured consistently since the beginning of her career in Canada, United States and Europe.
Come On In is a remix album by Delta blues guitarist R. L. Burnside, released by the label Fat Possum in 1998. Largely produced by Tom Rothrock, the album was a departure for Burnside in that it fuses his blues guitar work with dance and electronic music, incorporating sampling and looping techniques. Burnside was originally skeptical of the idea, but enjoyed the finished product. Although the album's fusion of styles was deemed unusual by critics, it received acclaim from music journalists and showed respectable sales, becoming the best-selling album distributed by Epitaph Records in early 1999. The album's sound was explored by Burnside in his later works.
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