Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''

seanchaí A seanchaí ( or – plural: ) is a traditional Gaelic storyteller/historian. In Scottish Gaelic the word is (; plural ). The word is often anglicised as shanachie ( ). The word ''seanchaí'', which was spelled ''seanchaidhe'' (plural '' ...

'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distributed by

Entertainment One Distribution Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

groups such as

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

and

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

. Other genres on the label include

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

. In 1989 they acquired

Yazoo Records Yazoo Records is an American record label founded in the mid-1960s by Nick Perls. It specializes in early American blues, country, jazz, and other rural American genres collectively known as roots music. History The first five releases (L 1001 ...

from

Nick Perls J. Nicholas Perls (4 April 1942 – 22 July 1987)jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

recordings. Today, they have another imprint, Shanachie Jazz. In 1992 Shanachie began releasing CDs by folk singer-songwriters, including

Richard Shindell Richard Shindell (born August 3, 1960) is an American folk singer, songwriter, producer, and musician. Shindell grew up in Port Washington, New York, and now lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with his wife, Lila Caimari, a university profess ...

Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and has since embarked on a solo career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...

, John Stewart,

Rod MacDonald Rod MacDonald (born August 17, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, novelist, and educator. He was a "big part of the 1980s folk revival in Greenwich Village clubs", performing at the Speakeasy, The Bottom Line, Folk City, and the "Songwr ...

, Richard Meyer,

Karan Casey Karan Casey (born 1969) is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas. She resides in Cork, Ireland. Early years Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to si ...

, Sue Foley, Four Bitchin' Babes,

Kevin Gordon Kevin Sysu Gordon (born 26 December 1989) is a former Philippines international rugby league footballer. A New South Wales Country and Prime Minister's XIII representative, he played as a er and for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Ru ...

, and others. In 1980 Shanachie released its first

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

album, ''King Tubbys Meets Rockers In a Firehouse'' by Augustus Pablo, and soon after released albums from many reggae artists, including

Rita Marley Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

Judy Mowatt Judith Veronica Mowatt, (born 1952) is a Jamaican reggae artist. As well as being a solo artist, from 1974 she was also a member of the I Threes, the trio of backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Early life Mowatt was born in Gord ...

Alpha Blondy Seydou Koné (; born January 1, 1953 in Dimbokro), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in hi ...

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

and others. Shanachie was the U.S. liaison for the UK-based reggae label,

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to ''Greensleeves Records'', is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records sta ...

, until about 1987. Shanachie also issued material for Augustus Pablo under the Message imprint of his company, Rockers International. The Grammy Award-winning

Soweto Gospel Choir The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group. History The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30- ...

releases albums on Shanachie Records, as has Grammy nominated

Liquid Soul Liquid Soul is a jazz, hip-hop, funk, Freestyle rap, freestyle fusion ensemble formed in 1993 from Chicago, Illinois which helped pioneer the acid jazz movement in the United States in the 90s. Coined ''"Beyond Acid Jazz"'' by founder Mars Willia ...

. The Latin acts on the label include

Los Jovenes del Barrio Jillian Armsbury was a singer, performer, songwriter and occasional activist, originally from Washington state. She was a pioneer in the Charanga R&B music genre. She was the lead singer of the Latin group Los Jovenes del Barrio. She had worked ...

.''CMJ New Music Report'', April 10, 2000
Paged 36 UPCOMING RELEASES
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1976 establishments in the United States American country music record labels American independent record labels Folk record labels Jazz record labels Latin American music record labels Record labels established in 1976 Reggae record labels Ska record labels Smooth jazz record labels Soul music record labels World music record labels

See also

References

External links