Old Homestead Records

Old Homestead Records is an American record label associated with the preservation, documentation, and reissue of traditional country, old-time, and bluegrass music. The label was launched in Michigan in 1971 by John W. Morris, initially with a particular focus on new and archival recordings by country singer and banjoist Wade Mainer. Its catalog subsequently expanded into a broad historical survey of rural American popular music, covering performers and ensembles whose work represented early country, string-band, gospel, hillbilly, and bluegrass traditions. Rather than operating primarily as a contemporary commercial imprint, Old Homestead developed as an archival and specialist label. Its releases helped keep recordings by important early performers available to collectors, historians, musicians, and listeners interested in the roots of country and bluegrass. The artists associated with its catalog include major historical names such as the Carter Family, the Delmore Brothers, the Stanley Brothers, Uncle Dave Macon, Vernon Dalhart, Ernest Stoneman, Bradley Kincaid, Patsy Montana, Molly O'Day, the Bailes Brothers, and Wade Mainer. The catalog also includes numerous regional and lesser-known groups, reflecting the label's emphasis on breadth and preservation rather than only mainstream recognition. Old Homestead's repertoire spans several generations of American traditional music. Its artists include early commercial country singers, banjo players, fiddlers, family groups, string bands, and bluegrass performers. Among the bluegrass-related acts represented are the Osborne Brothers, Larry Sparks, Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys, the Original Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, the Sunrise Bluegrass Boys, and groups connected with Frank Wakefield, Tony Rice, Richard Greene, and other influential musicians. The catalog therefore links prewar country and old-time recordings with the later bluegrass tradition. The label also operated associated imprints, including Broadway Intermission, Collectors Series, and Rutabaga Records. Broadway Intermission broadened the organization’s historical scope beyond country and bluegrass. One notable release brought Bing Crosby’s 1945 “Seventh Air Force Tribute,” drawn from transcripts of a World War II Armed Forces Radio broadcast, to vinyl. The imprint also issued material connected with Tommy Dorsey, Bix Beiderbecke, the Mills Brothers, and other performers. These releases indicate an interest in rescuing historically significant broadcast and popular-music material as well as rural American recordings. Old Homestead Records occupies a specialist position in the American roots-music record business. Its significance lies less in a mass-market brand identity than in the scale and historical range of its catalog. By issuing archival material alongside recordings by traditional performers, the label contributed to the circulation of music that might otherwise have remained difficult to access. Public reference material identifies the company as a Michigan-based label and describes its historical role, but does not provide sufficient information to establish its present ownership, current operating status, complete discography, or distribution arrangements.

Old Homestead Records began in Michigan in 1971, when John W. Morris established the company to issue new and archival recordings by Wade Mainer, a country singer and banjoist associated with the development of early American string-band and country music. From this initial focus, the label grew into a preservation-oriented catalog covering traditional country, old-time, and bluegrass artists. The label’s repertoire included both prominent historical figures and regional performers. Its catalog represented artists such as the Carter Family, the Delmore Brothers, the Stanley Brothers, Uncle Dave Macon, Vernon Dalhart, Ernest Stoneman, Patsy Montana, Molly O’Day, the Bailes Brothers, and many others. Bluegrass and related releases included work by the Osborne Brothers, Larry Sparks, Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys, the Original Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, and performers associated with Tony Rice, Frank Wakefield, and Richard Greene. This mixture of foundational names and more specialized acts gave the label a broad documentary role within roots music. Old Homestead also used several sublabels, including Broadway Intermission, Collectors Series, and Rutabaga Records. These imprints allowed the business to organize material by repertoire or release concept. Broadway Intermission in particular extended beyond the label’s country and bluegrass emphasis. It issued a vinyl version of Bing Crosby’s 1945 “Seventh Air Force Tribute,” sourced from transcripts of a World War II Armed Forces Radio broadcast, and released music connected with Tommy Dorsey, Bix Beiderbecke, the Mills Brothers, and other performers. The company’s historical importance derives from its archival function. Many of the performers in its catalog belonged to earlier eras of American music and were not necessarily served by the contemporary mainstream recording industry. By reissuing older material and documenting traditional performers, Old Homestead helped make recordings available to collectors and researchers while also connecting later audiences with the musical foundations of country and bluegrass. Available reference material identifies the label’s founding and catalog scope but does not document a complete chronology of ownership, distribution, later management, or closure. The label’s current status is therefore recorded as unknown rather than definitively active or defunct.

• 1971

  Label founded in Michigan

  [1]Old Homestead Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  John W. Morris launched Old Homestead Records to release new and archival recordings by Wade Mainer.

A specialist American roots-music label focused on preserving and reissuing traditional country, old-time, and bluegrass recordings, with related archival releases in other areas of historic popular music.

• Traditional country and banjo music · 1971

  Wade Mainer recordings

  The label was established around the release of new and archival material by Wade Mainer, a country singer and banjoist. These recordings formed the initial foundation of Old Homestead’s preservation-oriented catalog and connected the company with early string-band and country traditions.

• Country music reissues

  Traditional country archival catalog

  Old Homestead issued and reissued recordings by a wide range of traditional country performers, including the Carter Family, the Delmore Brothers, Vernon Dalhart, Patsy Montana, Molly O’Day, the Bailes Brothers, and Uncle Dave Macon. The catalog emphasizes historical availability and preservation.

• Bluegrass and roots music

  Bluegrass and old-time catalog

  The label’s roots-music releases include bluegrass groups and musicians such as the Osborne Brothers, Larry Sparks, Don Stover and the White Oak Mountain Boys, the Original Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, and artists associated with Frank Wakefield, Tony Rice, and Richard Greene.

• Archival popular music

  Broadway Intermission releases

  Broadway Intermission was an associated imprint that released historically oriented material outside the core country and bluegrass catalog. Its output included Bing Crosby’s 1945 “Seventh Air Force Tribute,” derived from an Armed Forces Radio broadcast transcript, as well as music by Tommy Dorsey, Bix Beiderbecke, and the Mills Brothers.

1. 1Old Homestead Recordsen.wikipedia.org