Sleeping Bag Records

Sleeping Bag Records is a defunct New York City-based old school hip hop and dance music independent record label that operated from 1981 to 1992. The label's artist roster included acts such as old school hip hop groups Mantronix, Just-Ice, Nice & Smooth, T La Rock, EPMD and Stezo; freestyle vocalist Nocera and Kariya; and R&B singer-songwriter Joyce Sims.

Founders

Sleeping Bag Records was founded by avant-garde cellist, composer, and underground disco artist Arthur Russell, William Socolov, and Juggy Gales. The label's corporate logo was a drawing of a koala.

Sub-label Fresh Records was founded in 1985.^[1]

Re-releases

After closing its doors in 1992, the catalog sat in limbo for several years. In 1996, the label and its catalog were purchased by Warlock Records, which has been rereleasing its titles with the Sleeping Bag and Fresh logos alongside the Warlock Records logo since. The building in Manhattan where the label had its headquarters was torn down in the 1990s and a luxury apartment building stands in its place.

In 2006, the label became one of many imprints’ catalogs that became Traffic Entertainment Group, which has been releasing new versions of the classic albums in Sleeping Bag’s catalog with their original artwork intact.

In popular culture

• Kurtis Mantronik, in addition to being the musician of the hip-hop duo Mantronix, did A&R for the label.
• EPMD rhymed about its record-signing experience with sub-label Fresh Records in the song "Please Listen to My Demo" from its 1989 Unfinished Business album.^[2]
• Label founder Juggy Gales was prank-called by the Jerky Boys on "The Hucklebuck" track from 1999's Stop Staring at Me! album.^[2]

External links

• Discogs.com Profile of Sleeping Bag Records

See also

• List of record labels

References

1. ↑ "Fresh Records Profile". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2006-12-10. 
2. 1 2 "Juggy Gayles, 86, Promoter Who Turned Songs Into Hits". The New York Times. 2000-01-21. Retrieved 2011-05-16.