Ron Esposito spoke with Cincinnati native Bruce Iglauer by phone on April 1st about his journey into the world of the blues and how he founded Alligator Records in Chicago. Bruce Iglauer and Patrick A. Roberts wrote a book about the blues record label entitled, "Bitten By the Blues: The Alligator Records Story," which was published last fall.
During the hour-long special on The Blues, Saturday, May 11th beginning at 11pm, you'll hear not only Ron's conversation with Bruce Iglauer, but also music released by Alligator Records over the years.
During their conversation, they discussed the differences in the recording industry with digital downloads and streaming. Bruce talked about growing up in Cincinnati, moving to Chicago, and working for Delmark Records. He said that hearing Hound Dog Taylor in a Chicago club on a Sunday afternoon in 1970 changed his life.
Bruce Iglauer also shared his thoughts on learning to be a record producer and promoter, and that it took 8 hours to record his first Hound Dog Taylor album. For the first four years, he said that he was the whole company, started with $2,500, and the warehouse was a walk-in closet. He also talked about Lonnie Mack who, Bruce says, was the first rock and roll guitarist. There are many more stories about Chicago in this lengthy phone interview, too.
