A TRIBUTE TO GENE ROSENTHAL 1/3 : ADELPHI RECORDS - A SHORT HISTORY
Eric LeBlanc-CISTI
Founder of Adelphi Records, GENE ROSENTHAL, was born Saturday, January 16, 1943,
Kansas City, MO. By the way, The Rev. Robert Wilkins was also born on a
January 16 (in 1896)!
"In 1964, Gene Rosenthal began distributing small West Coast folk labels like
Arhoolie and Takoma (which owner John Fahey named after his hometown of
Takoma Park). Four years later, Adelphi released its first album,
Backwards Sam Firk's "True Blues and Gospel," and its initial focus was on
contemporary folk (Patrick Sky, Holy Modal Rounders) and blues (Rev. Gary Davis,
Furry Lewis). "But early on, we decided to be a broad-based label," says
Rosenthal, and a look at the back catalogue of 120 releases indicates that
plan coming to fruition.
There was always a strong local flavor, from Roy Buchanan's 1972 debut, "Buch
& the Snake Stretchers" (released with a burlap cover) to 1996's "Psycho Rodeo"
by Arlington's VanDangos. Other locals who have passed through Adelphi
include Bill Holland, the Nighthawks, the Rosslyn Mountain Boys, Catfish Hodge,
Coup de Grass, John Gurnsey and the Mystery Band, Richmond's Bill Blue Band
and the Charlottesville Allstars.
Jazz was represented by Richie Cole and Reuben Brown, as well as national acts
like guitar legend Lenny Breau. In the early '80s, Adelphi purchased the
recording rights to the annual Reggae Sunsplash festival in Jamaica and its
Adelphi/Sunsplash titles now number more than a dozen, with albums by Yellowman,
Big Youth and Toots & the Maytals. More recently, Rosenthal has begun the
Adelphi/Genes Blues Vault Series with albums from Mississippi John Hurt,
Skip James, Otis Rush and Bukka White already out, and more to come from
Big Joe Williams, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sleepy John Estes and Little
Brother Montgomery.
Coming up: the all female Peyote Circus and a commemorative album from the
closing of the old 9:30 club featuring such temporarily reunited Washington
bands as the Urban Verbs, Insect Surfers, Tru Fax and the Insaniacs, Tiny Desk
Unit and Black Market Baby."
~ Richard Harrington, "Local Record Labels Still Making An Impact",
Washington Post, Aug/2/1996