A Blues Christmas with Alligator Records

Bruce Iglauer didn’t plan to celebrate Alligator Records’ 50th
anniversary the way he has. Iglauer started the blues label in
Chicago in 1972 and intended to load up a bus with musicians from
the label’s past, present and future and play around the country.
Unfortunately, the Delta variant made that unsafe, so instead he
has had to celebrate with an anniversary compilation, 50 Years of
Genuine Houserockin’ Music, and talking about the label and the
stars who defined it on shows like this one.


Iglauer’s here because Alligator has released two albums of new
Christmas music, 1992’s The Alligator Records Christmas
Compilation, and 1996’ Genuine Houserockin’ Christmas. He tells
stories about some of the artists who cut Christmas music
including Koko Taylor and Gatemouth Brown, and talks about the
world that led him to form Alligator in the first place. Iglauer
starts, though, by talking about how the COVID that forced
Alligator to change its plans is affecting musicians. 


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