Shout! Factory has acquired the catalog of HighTone Records, the California-based roots music imprint whose roster of Robert Cray, Joe Louis Walker, Dave Alvin and Joe Ely made it crucial player in the Americana movement during its nascent years.
Co-owners Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg formed HighTone in Oakland, Calif., in 1983 and would go on to record nearly 300 albums. Their first release was Cray's "Bad Influence." Indie label, which would move to Southern California in the 1990s, was also home to Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Buddy and Julie Miller, Big Sandy, Dale Watson, Tom Russell, Hank Thompson and Chris Smither.
Shout! Factory's founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos said they will releasing favorites from the catalog beginning in August and make titles more widely available digitally.
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