Oh Boy Records
| Oh Boy Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | John Prine, Al Bunetta, Dan Einstein |
| Distributor(s) | Alternative Distribution Alliance (US), Fusion III (Canada), Proper Music Group (UK), I.R.D. (Italy), Shock Records (Europe), Elite Imports (NZ) |
| Genre | American folk, Americana, country |
| Country of origin | US |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Official website |
www |
Oh Boy Records is an independent American record label founded in 1981 by singer John Prine, his manager Al Bunetta and their friend Dan Einstein. The label has released more than 40 audio and video recordings by singer-songwriters Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel "Slick" Ballinger, Shawn Camp, Dan Reeder and Todd Snider, along with a dozen reissues of classic country music artists. Oh Boy Records also manages two subsidiary labels, Steve Goodman's Red Pajamas Records and speciality label Blue Plate Music. Oh Boy is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
Al Bunetta was a talent manager with Paul Anka's management company CMA, working with artists like Bette Midler, Al Green and The Manhattan Transfer. When Anka signed John Prine and Steve Goodman to management contracts in 1971, Bunetta became the manager for both of them.[1] In 1980, Prine finished his recording contract with Asylum and moved to Nashville. Rather than sign with another major label, he decided to start one of his own, and was joined by Bunetta and associate Dan Einstein.[2] The new Oh Boy label's first release was a red vinyl Christmas single with Prine singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" on the A-side and "Silver Bells" on the B-side.[3] The first full-length release was Prine's Aimless Love in 1984. Around 1989, Sony offered to buy Oh Boy Records, but Prine decided to keep the label independent and turned down the offer.[4]
Recent projects
In 2000, the label began reissuing a series of classic country music artists titled Oh Boy Classics Presents... These are remastered versions of the original recordings. The first three artists in this series were Roger Miller, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. In 2007 Oh Boy released Standard Songs for Average People, an album of classic country duets by Prine and bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman. 2010 saw the release of a new Prine live album, In Person & On Stage, followed by Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows, a tribute album of Prine songs performed by artists like Sara Watkins and Old Crow Medicine Show.[5] Both of the 2010 releases debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Folk Album charts.
Discography
| Year | Artist | Title | Number | Comments |
| 1981 | John Prine | Red Vinyl Christmas 45 | OBR-001 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"/"Silver Bells" |
| 1984 | John Prine | Aimless Love | OBR-002 | |
| 1986 | John Prine | German Afternoons | OBR-003 | |
| 1987 | John Prine | Green Vinyl 45 | OBR-004 | "Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian"/"Kokomo" |
| 1988 | John Prine | John Prine Live | OBR-005 | |
| 1989 | John Prine | Bruised Orange | OBR-006 | Originally released in 1978 as Asylum 139 |
| 1990? | John Prine | Pink Cadillac | OBR-007 | Originally released in 1979 as Asylum 222 |
| 1990? | John Prine | Storm Windows | OBR-008 | Originally released in 1980 as Asylum 286 |
| 1991 | John Prine | The Missing Years | OBR-009 | |
| 1993 | John Prine | A John Prine Christmas | OBR-011 | |
| The Bis-Quits | The Bis-Quits | OBR-012 | ||
| John Prine | Great Days: The John Prine Anthology | OBR-ANT | Originally released as Rhino R2 71400 | |
| 1995 | John Prine | Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings | OBR-013 | |
| Heather Eatman | Mascara Falls | OBR-014 | ||
| 1997 | John Prine | Live on Tour | OBR-015 | |
| RB Morris | Take That Ride | OBR-016 | ||
| Donnie Fritts | Everybody's Got a Song | OBR-017 | ||
| 1998 | Various Artists | Lucky 13 | OBR-018 | |
| 1999 | John Prine | In Spite of Ourselves | OBR-019 | |
| 2000 | Todd Snider | Happy To Be Here | OBR-020 | |
| John Prine | Souvenirs | OBR-021 | Number may be OBR-010, sources disagree | |
| Roger Miller | Oh Boy Records Classics Presents Roger Miller | OBR-400 | ||
| Willie Nelson | Oh Boy Records Classics Presents Willie Nelson | OBR-401 | ||
| Merle Haggard | Oh Boy Classics Presents Merle Haggard | OBR-402 | ||
| 2001 | Joe Tex | Oh Boy Classics Presents Joe Tex | OBR-403 | |
| Conway Twitty | Oh Boy Classics Presents Conway Twitty | OBR-404 | ||
| Bill Anderson | Oh Boy Classics Presents Bill Anderson | OBR-405 | ||
| The Kendalls | Oh Boy Classics Presents The Kendalls | OBR-406 | ||
| Merle Haggard | Oh Boy Classics Presents Merle Haggard...Again | OBR-407 | ||
| John Prine | Sessions at West 54th | OBR-500DVD | DVD | |
| 2002 | Riders in the Sky | A Pair of Kings | OBR-022 | |
| Todd Snider | New Connection | OBR-023 | ||
| Don Gibson | Oh Boy Classics Presents Don Gibson | OBR-408 | ||
| Roy Acuff | Oh Boy Classics Presents Roy Acuff | OBR-409 | ||
| Rusty & Doug Kershaw | Oh Boy Classics Presents Rusty & Doug Kershaw | OBR-410 | ||
| Lorrie Morgan | Oh Boy Classics Presents Lorrie Morgan | OBR-411 | ||
| Don Everly | Oh Boy Classics Presents Don Everly | OBR-412 | ||
| 2003 | Todd Snider | Near Truths and Hotel Rooms | OBR-024 | |
| Kris Kristofferson | Broken Freedom Song: Live from San Francisco | OBR-025 | ||
| Janis Ian | Live: Working Without a Net | OBR-026 | Double CD | |
| 2004 | Dan Reeder | Dan Reeder | OBR-027 | |
| Kris Kristofferson | Repossessed/Third World Warrior | OBR-028 | Double reissue of 1986/1990 Mercury albums | |
| Janis Ian | Billie's Bones | OBR-029 | Also released as Rude Girl Records RGR0019 | |
| Slick Ballinger | Mississippi Soul | OBR-030 | EP | |
| Todd Snider | East Nashville Skyline | OBR-031 | ||
| Shawn Camp | Live at the Station Inn | OBR-032 | ||
| Kris Kristofferson | Breakthrough | OBR-501 | DVD | |
| 2005 | John Prine | Fair & Square | OBR-034 | |
| John Prine | Fair & Square | OBR-034-1 | Vinyl with 4 Bonus Tracks | |
| John Prine | Fair & Square | OBR-034-EP | EP on CD with 4 Bonus Tracks | |
| 2006 | Slick Ballinger | Mississippi Soul | OBR-035 | Full Length |
| Dan Reeder | Sweetheart | OBR-036 | ||
| 2007 | Todd Snider | Peace, Love and Anarchy | OBR-037 | Rarities, B-Sides and Demos, Vol.1 |
| John Prine with Mac Wiseman | Standard Songs for Average People | OBR-038 | ||
| 2010 | John Prine | In Person & On Stage | OBR-039 | Live. Includes duets with Iris DeMent, Sara Watkins, Emmylou Harris, Josh Ritter, Kane Welch Kaplin |
| Various Artists | Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine | OBR-042 | Tribute CD. Also vinyl as OBR-042-1 | |
| 2011 | John Prine | The Singing Mailman Delivers | OBR-040 | Double CD, live + studio, recorded in 1970 |
| 2016 | John Prine | For Better, or Worse | OBR-044 |
See also
- Shawn Camp (musician)
- Steve Goodman
- Kris Kristofferson
- List of record labels
- Red Pajamas Records
- John Prine
- Todd Snider
References
- ↑ Bunetta, Al (2006-08-02). "Episode #9". Music Business Radio (Interview). Interview with David Hooper. Nashville, Tennessee: WRLP. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ "Question & Answer with John Prine". Oh Boy Records. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ Bunetta, Al; Einstein, Dan. "A John Prine Christmas Liner Notes". Oh Boy Records. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ Baker, Brian (June 2005). "John Prine does it "Fair & Square"". Country Standard Time. Archived from the original on 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ↑ "Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine". Oh Boy Records. Retrieved August 8, 2010.