Shanachie

The story of Shanachie Entertainment is a surprising tale of an independent label growing from an upstart purveyor of traditional Irish music to a sizable corporation that has scored commercial radio hits while expanding to include a wide variety of music including jazz, reggae, blues, folk, World music, jam bands, Latin music, rock, funk and much more. A video division boasts over 150 titles including acclaimed documentaries and concert videos. With nearly 50 employees, Shanachie is poised to grow as one of a handful of entertainment companies occupying the middle ground between the blockbuster-oriented majors and the more limited grassroots independents. <P> It began, as all good things do, with a genuine enthusiasm. Working from an apartment in the Bronx in 1975, musicologist Richard Nevins and musician Dan Collins set out to release a few records of traditional Irish music, not because it was necessarily a good business decision, but because they loved it, and thought other people should, too. They named their fledgling company Shanachie, a simplified spelling of the Irish word for "traveling bard." For a quarter century, the pair's enthusiasm has not only survived, but thrived, and expanded to embrace music from all over the world. Shanachie has thrived, too, becoming one of the longest-lived and most acclaimed independent labels extant, with numerous awards and an international reputation in World and Celtic music, reggae, contemporary jazz, blues, and other genres. <P> What does Shanachie (SHA-nuh-kee) mean? <BR> Shanachie is a Gaelic term for "storyteller"--or more specifically--someone who may pass on traditions and historical anecdotes from one generation to another.