Label Guide: Bearsville

Bearsville Records was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman, a famous manager with popular clients including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Peter, Paul and Mary, and The Band. One year earlier, Grossman established the Bearsville Recording Studio near Woodstock, and the label originally came to life in a partnership with Ampex for Ampex Records. But this partnership broke apart quickly, and Bearsville Records became Grossman's own label.

The very early Bearsville albums were still Ampex-distributed before distribution was switched to Warner Bros. Soon after leaving his original group Nazz, Todd Rundgren signed a management contract with Grossman and became the most important artist on Bearsville. Other acts included Jesse Winchester, Foghat, Gil Evans, Paul Butterfield, Sparks, or NRBQ.

The Bearsville label continued into the late 1980s, folding two years after Grossman's death. Bearsville Studios became Rundgren's recording base through the late 1970s and 1980s and was used by a slew of top-line American and international acts.