Alligator President Bruce Iglauer To Discuss "Bitten By The Blues" On CHICAGO TONIGHT

Alligator Records president and founder Bruce Iglauer will appear on WTTW-TV's Chicago Tonight on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 to discuss his new book, Bitten by the Blues, The Alligator Records Story. The program airs locally at 7:00pm Central time. Co-authored by Patrick A. Roberts, the book was released on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 by The University of Chicago Press. The book is a memoir of a life immersed in the blues -- and the business of running an independent blues label. Bitten By The Blues takes readers behind the scenes, offering larger than life stories of musicians, recording sessions, and what it's like to work with the legends of the genre.

From first hearing Hound Dog Taylor at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side to building Alligator Records one release at a time to running the biggest blues label in the world, Iglauer and Roberts take readers on a 50-year journey through the blues from local Chicago bars to festival stages across the globe.

According to Iglauer, "We wanted to paint vivid pictures of the charismatic blues immortals that I knew so well, like Hound Dog Taylor, Son Seals, Koko Taylor and Albert Collins, as well as to give insight into the creative process of planning and recording some of their classic albums. And we wanted to give the readers a close-up look at the exciting and visionary artists who are carrying the Alligator tradition into the future, like Marcia Ball, Shemekia Copeland, Selwyn Birchwood and Toronzo Cannon. It's also an insider's look at how the independent record business has changed over the last 50 years, and how those changes have impacted the artists who create the music."

The Chicago Tribune says, "Apart from the musicians themselves, few Chicagoans have done more for the genre – or witnessed more of its history from the inside – than Iglauer."

Bruce Iglauer is president and founder of Alligator Records, the largest contemporary blues label in the world. He is also a cofounder of Living Blues magazine and a founder of the Chicago Blues Festival.

Patrick A. Roberts is associate professor in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. He is the coauthor of Give 'Em Soul, Richard! Race, Radio, and Rhythm and Blues in Chicago.

 

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