Biography

Label Contact:
Toni Swann-Pardigno
promotions@cmhlabelgroup.com
+1 323 663 8073

In 1975, Martin Haerle founded CMH Records in Los Angeles with renowned guitarist Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith. They set about signing the greatest names in bluegrass and established a roster unparalleled in the field. Lester Flatt, The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, Mac Wiseman, Carl Story, Don Reno, The Bluegrass Cardinals, The Stonemans, Josh Graves, Eddie Adcock, and many others recorded some of their finest work for CMH during the 1970s and 1980s. CMH was home to Country Music Hall-of-Famers Merle Travis and Grandpa Jones, honky-tonkers Carl & Pearl Butler, guitar giant Joe Maphis, and fiddle masters Johnny Gimble, Buddy Spicher, and Benny Martin.

Martin Haerle unexpectedly passed away in 1990. His youngest son David left his job as talent agent to head the label. A child of rock ‘n’ roll, David combined his musical passions with the label’s bluegrass roots, and the Pickin’ On Series was born. Featuring bluegrass tributes to artists like Metallica, Green Day, and Modest Mouse, the Pickin’ On Series has proved to be enduringly popular. CMH continued to record new and familiar voices, with releases showcasing the legendary talents of artists such as Wanda Jackson, Raul Malo, and David Lee Roth.

As CMH expanded its musical reach, new labels were formed to house its diverse offerings. In 1999, Vitamin Records began with a string quartet album series that would evolve into the Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ), a top-selling collective of classical musicians creating cutting-edge string renditions of modern and classic rock songs. VSQ’s virtuoso takes on artists such as Muse, Coldplay, and Adele have helped them amass a large fanbase, sell millions of recordings, and garner numerous placements and appearances on hit TV shows.

In 2006, the award-winning Rockabye Baby series was launched, featuring lullaby renditions of rock, pop, and hip-hop favorites. The series has been seen in the pages of The New York Times, People, and Entertainment Weekly, on episodes of Ellen and The Talk as well as numerous music publications such as Spin, NME, Rolling Stone and Billboard, Rockabye Baby makes rock music baby-friendly and kids music adult-friendly.

Along the way, CMH imprints became a home for many other unique stylings: from the progressive heavy metal of Dwell and the rap and punk of Crosscheck and OCD to Hushabye Baby’s lullaby renditions of country favorites. The Secret Life of Records has made indie rock waves with releases from Violent Femmes, members of Black Flag, and more.

There are many more exciting and innovative labels and artists to be found under the CMH Label Group banner. The following is a list of some of our most popular. Please note that a complete listing of CMH artists/albums on APD can be found at the end of this section. Please keep scrolling!

CMH RECORDS is proud to announce it's newest label and artist:

Edendale Records featuring David Haerle

Click here to go to Edendale Records
Click here to go to David Haerle's NEW single "California Here We Come"
Click here to go to David Haerle's album Death Valley
Click here to go to David Haerle's album Garden of Edendale


CMH RECORDS ARTISTS/RELEASES:

The Bass Mountain Boys
Click here to go to The Bass Mountain Boys 18 Wheels

Benny Martin And His Electric Turkeys
Click here to go to Benny Martin - Turkey In The Grass

Bobby Smith & the Boys from Shiloh
Click here to go to Bobby Smith Smokin' Bluegrass

The Bluegrass Cardinals:
Click here to go to Essential Bluegrass Cardinals
Click here to go to Sunday Mornin' Singin'

Carl Story & His Rambling Mountaineers
Click here to go to The Bluegrass Gospel Collection
Click here to go to Mountain Music

Curly Seckler & The Nashville Grass
Click here to go to Take A Little Time with Special Guest Johnny Cash

Don Reno:
Click here to go to Don Reno 30th Anniversary Album
Click here to go to Founding Father of Bluegrass
Click here to go to The Don Reno Story Part 1
Click here to go to The Don Reno Story Part 2

Eddie Adcock
Click here to go to Eddie Adcock Band "Dixie Fried"
Click here to go to Eddie Adcock & Talk of the Town's self-titled album
Click here to go to Eddie Adcock & Talk of the Town "The Acoustic Collection"
Click here to go to Eddie Adcock Band "Talk To Your Heart"

Felice & Boudleaux Bryant
Click here to go to Touch of Bryant

Grandpa Jones
Click here to go to An American Original

Heights of Grass:
Click here to go to Heights of Grass - Encore!

Jim and Jessie:
Click here to go to Jim and Jesse Story
Click here to go to Jim and Jesse Today

Jimmy Gaudreau:
Click here to go to In Good Company

Joe Maphis
Click here to go to Flat-Picking Spectacular Pt 1
Click here to go to Flat-Picking Spectacular Pt 2

Joe Maphis with Rose Lee and Dale:
Click here to go to Dim Lights, Thick Smoke

Johnny Gimble
Click here to go to Johnny Gimble Celebrating With Friends
Click here to go to The Texas Fiddle Collection

Josh Graves
Click here to go to Sing the Pain Away
Click here to go to Same Old Blues

Larry Cordle & Lonseome Standard Time
Click here to go to Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time Lonesome Skynyrd Time

Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass:
Click here to go to Essential Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass
Click here to go to Essential Bluegrass Gospel
Click here to go to Heaven's Bluegrass Band
Click here to go to Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass Pickin' Time

Mac Wiseman:
Click here to go to the Mac Wiseman - Most Requested
Click here to go to the Mac Wiseman - Story
Click here to go to the Mac Wiseman - Songs That Made the Juke Box Play Part 1
Click here to go to the Mac Wiseman - Songs That Made the Juke Box Play Part 2

The Masters:
Click here to go to The Masters
Click here to go to Saturday Night Fish Fry

Merle Travis:
Click here to go to Merle Travis Guitar Retrospective
Click here to go to Merle Travis Rough, Rowdy, & Blue
Click here to go to the Merle Travis Story

Merle Travis & Joe Maphis:
Click here to go to Country Guitar Giants

The Osborne Brothers:
Click here to go to From Rocky Top to Muddy Bottom
Click here to go to Hillbilly Fever
Click here to go to Osborne Brothers Bluegrass Collection
Click here to go to The Essential Osborne Brothers Collection
Click here to go to Greatest Bluegrass Hits Volume 1

The Osborne Brothers and Mac Wiseman:
Click here to go to the Osborne Brothers and Mac Wiseman

The Stanley Family:
Click here to go to Baby Girl: A Tribute to Carter Stanley

The Stonemans:
Click here to go to Family Tradition - The Stoneman Legacy

Paul Warren:
Click here to go to The World's Greatest Breakdown Fiddle Player

Wanda Jackson:
Click here to go to Heart Trouble

CMH RECORDS COMPILATIONS:
Click here to go to American Gothic: Bluegrass Songs of Death and Sorrow
Click here to go to Country Music Heritage - The Legacy of CMH Records
Click here to go to Definitive Bluegrass Collection
Click here to go to Country Valentine's Day
Click here to go to The Jam Band Tribute to the Allman Brothers
Click here to go to The Jam Band Tribute to The Talking Heads
Click here to go to The Jam Band Tribute to Frank Zappa
Click here to go to Hats off Patsy Cline
Click here to go to High Lonesome - The Story of Bluegrass Music
Click here to go to Hotel Honolulu - The Hawaiian Tribute to The Eagles
Click here to go to Margarita Island - Hawaiian Tribute to Jimmy Buffett
Click here to go to The Hawaiian Tribute to Rascall Flatts
Click here to go to Oh Brother Can you Spare a Dime
Click here to go to Orange Blossom Special
Click here to go to Stars & Stripes Forever
Click here to go to Train of Love - A Tribute to Johnny Cash
Click here to go to World's Greatest Country Fiddlers

CMH RECORDS CHRISTMAS MUSIC:

Click here to go to CMH Christmas Music


PICKIN' ON SERIES:

Born out of a love of rock music and for the virtuosity of bluegrass musicians, the Pickin' On Series features the best in bluegrass, paying tribute to the biggest and brightest artists in rock and pop. Though it started modestly in 1993 with the release of Pickin' On the Movies, tributes to The Beatles and Eagles soon followed and by 1997 the Pickin' On Series was on fire. The Pickin' On Series continues to thrive with one hand in traditional bluegrass and the other in popular music, ready for the next chance to create innovative bluegrass music.

Click here to go to the Pickin' On Series Main Page


VITAMIN STRING QUARTET:

Vitamin String Quartet, or VSQ, is not a string quartet in the traditional sense. Rather, VSQ is a series of string quartet projects comprised of an ever-evolving cast of arrangers, producers, string players and other creatives that bring each project to life.

Since its inception, the series has amassed sales of over 3.8 million downloads and 1 million CDs, while maintaining almost half a million monthly listeners on Spotify. It has garnered multiple Billboard chartings and has been regularly featured in numerous hit TV shows.

VSQ has grown to include signature sheet music, video and instructional content, TV appearances, and exclusive live performances.

Click here to go to Vitamin String Quartet's Main Page


ROCKABYE BABY:

Rockabye Baby is staffed by music lovers from all corners of the world. Headquartered in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake, the label takes the rock music parents love and transforms it into soothing instrumental lullabies. In short, Rockabye Baby makes rock music baby-friendly and kids music adult-friendly. Our award-winning rock lullaby series consists of more than 76 releases to date, including lullaby renditions of Bob Marley, The Beatles, Coldplay, and Adele.

Click here to go to Rockabye Baby's Main Page


HUSHABYE BABY:

Hushabye Baby reimagine's country's best-loved songs as blanket-soft instrumental lullabies. So when it's sleepy time but your little Punkin' or Peanut won't hit the hay, try counting sheep with Hushabye Baby. The familiar melodies of these chart-topping hits are plucked on a well-worn guitar, while gentle percussion and warm pedal steel lull baby to sweet slumber. Mom and Dad will also love these dreamy versions of their favorite songs not to mention the blissfully quiet moments they inspire.

Click here to go to Hushabye Baby's Main Page


SCUFFLIN' RECORDS:

Scufflin’ Records works with some of the biggest talents in the world of jazz and soul to reimagine some of the most beloved hits of all time. The results put a little wiggle in your hips and a bit of funk in your heart. Our Boogaloo series (which has featured the likes of Dr. Lonnie Smith and “Fathead” Newman) dims the lights on rock, pop, and hip-hop and reinterprets them to fit right in at a smoky, glamorous lounge after dark, while our Burlesque records add a little old-school bomp-she-bomp-she-bomp to the tunes of modern pop divas. Scufflin’ even put out Standards, one of the last records by Parliament-Funkadelic founding member Bernie Worrell, which found the legendary keys man taking on tunes from the Great American Songbook.

Click here to go to Scufflin Record's Main Page