Delmark Record's 70th Anniversary Blues Anthology

Description

Seventy years before the late Bob Koester founded Delmar (which later became Delmark) Records while he was a student in St. Louis, Buffalo Bill's traveling show made its debut, Chester A. Arthur was president, Thomas Edison brought electric light to Roselle, New Jersey for the first time, and "Black Bart" was making headlines for a new stagecoach robbery. When Koester released his first record in 1953, many now-iconic figures of blues and jazz were still active musicians, Ike was at the White House, and the United States was engaged in the Korean War. Seventy years later, Delmark has become the oldest independent jazz and blues label in the world, with a rich catalog of over twelve thousand recordings featuring a true "who's who" of both genres. Since Koester's retirement in 2018, CEO Julia A. Miller and artistic director Elbio Barilari have continued the label's mission: over thirty albums released in five years, more than twelve thousand tracks made available digitally, and a continued commitment to discovering and documenting new talent. To celebrate this 70th anniversary, here is a selection of the finest tracks from Delmark's blues archives.