Dave Godowsky, director of A&R at Rounder Records.
(BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF)
What do quirky rockers Ween, homegrown tween pop sprites Girl Authority, and Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant have in common? They all released music through Rounder Records this year.
While Ween and Plant, who recorded an album with Rounder mainstay Alison Krauss, are among the most recent high-profile signings, they are hardly the only offbeat names to find a home at the Burlington-based label this year.
Sprinkled in among the 200-plus releases are the dreamy second effort from actress Minnie Driver, a comeback for '80s pop star John Waite, and a solo debut from Heart singer Ann Wilson, which includes appearances by Wynonna Judd and Rufus Wainwright, among others.
That's one eclectic roster that would appear only tenuously tethered to Rounder's venerable 36-year history as purveyors of traditional roots music. This is the home of bluegrass, country, Americana, Cajun, blues, folk, and world music, right? How did Ween get in there?
"A bunch of people have brought this up lately, and I'm glad that the recent signings are calling attention to it, but I think it's really something that's been happening for almost 40 years," says Rounder's director of A&R, Dave Godowsky. He points to various times in the label's history when it would simultaneously release albums of Ethiopian music, Alan Lomax field recordings, and records by George Thorogood and Jonathan Richman. "I think it's really no different that we're putting stuff out like the Plant/Krauss thing or Ann Wilson or Ween. I think we're just getting more successful with them as time goes on."
Indeed, the Plant/Krauss collaboration, "Raising Sand," recently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. "That's the highest chart position that Rounder has ever had in its history," says Godowsky. Ween's "La Cucaracha," released the same day, scored a chart high for the band at No. 69.
The label's only criteria for signings, says Godowsky, is the passion someone at Rounder feels for the music.
"For an independent label, almost 40 years in - especially considering the industry is going down the toilet - it's a pretty exciting place to be right now."
SARAH RODMAN
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
