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Ridge Runner Records

{{short description|Former record label}}

{{Infobox record label

| name = Ridge Runner Records

| parent = Richey Records

| founded = {{start date|1976}}

| founder = Slim Richey

| genre = Bluegrass, country

| country = U.S.

| location = Fort Worth, Texas

}}

Ridge Runner Records was a record label based in Fort Worth, Texas, specializing in acoustic music from Texas and Oklahoma. Ridge Runner was one of the first labels to release and market bluegrass music in the southwestern U.S.{{cite book |last=Hartman|first=Gary|date=March 8, 2008|title=The History of Texas Music |isbn=9781603440028 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d3vlqWvTDfgC|access-date=July 15, 2017}}

History

While operating Warehouse Music in Fort Worth in the mid-1970s, selling guitars and musical equipment, Slim Richey began making records on his Ridge Runner label.{{cite news|last1=Francis|first1=Robert|title=Slim Richey 1938-2015: Texas guitarist crossed the borders of jazz, bluegrass, country and more|url=http://www.fortworthbusiness.com/news/arts_and_culture/slim-richey---texas-guitarist-crossed-the-borders-of/article_1b033d0a-086a-11e5-871a-9bc50799ae1d.html|access-date=July 15, 2017|work=Fort Worth Business Press|date=June 1, 2015}}

One of the first goals of Ridge Runner was to record and release albums by the banjo player Alan Munde, but the label branched out to other bluegrass and country musicians and groups.{{cite book|last=Jasinsk|first=Laurie E.|author2=Casey J. Monahan|author3=Gary Hartman|author4=Ann T. Smith|date=2012|title=The Handbook of Texas Music|isbn=9780876112533 |edition=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dg_opwAACAAJ|access-date=July 15, 2017}}

Ridger Runner released Jazz Grass which featured bluegrass musicians playing jazz standards. The album had Richey and Sumter Bruton on guitar, Dan Huckabee on Dobro, Richard Greene, Ricky Skaggs and Sam Bush on fiddle, Joe Carr and Kerby Stewart on mandolin and Bill Keith, Gerald Jones and Alan Munde on banjo.{{cite news|last1=Lawless|first1=John|title=Slim Richey passes|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/slim-richey-passes/|access-date=July 5, 2017|work=Bluegrass Today|date=June 1, 2015}}

Other significant albums released by Ridge Runner include:

  • Pre-Sequel by Alison Brown and Stuart Duncan was recorded when Alison had just graduated from high school.{{cite web |url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/12/2/289587/CSO-Presents-Annual-Home-For-The.aspx|title=CSO Presents Annual Home For The Holidays With Alison Brown On Banjo|work=The Chattanoogan|access-date=July 17, 2017|date=December 2, 2014}}
  • With A Little Help From My Friends by Marty Stuart was his first solo album, released in 1978 when he was 19 years old.{{cite news|last1=Rhodes|first1=Don|title=Marty Stuart's wonderful life to include stop in Augusta|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/things-do-music-ramblin-rhodes-applause/2011-09-07/marty-stuarts-wonderful-life-include-stop-augusta|access-date=July 5, 2017|work=The Augusta Chronicle|date=September 8, 2011}}

Ridge Runner also published Richey's bluegrass songbooks and music instruction videos.{{cite web |url=http://www.playbetterbluegrass.com/slim_richey_117_mnf.htm|title=Slim Richey|work=PlayBetterBluegrass.com

|access-date=July 15, 2017}}

Ridge Runner and its sister label Flying High Records were under the umbrella of Richey Records.{{cite news|last1=Patoski|first1=Joe Nick|title=Wax Works|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCoEAAAAMBAJ|access-date=July 15, 2017|work=Texas Monthly|date=June 1, 1980}}

Artists

Here is a partial list of artists who have released recordings on the Ridge Runner label:

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See also

References

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Category:American independent record labels