I started the label back in 1980. I'm not a singer, musician or song writer, but I've always loved and been involved in music in different ways. I had a lot of friends that were musicians. At that time I was into 50's rock and roll, rockabilly and country music. I was working with this local country band who were doing real well and got a lot of attention and publicity. The name of the band was Bert Paquette and the New Gamblers. I decided to get them into a studio and record a record. I was really naive and really didn't know how to start. So I new the people at Rounder Records and asked them a lot of questions. They turned me onto a studio called Dimension Sound which was in Jamaca Plain. That's where George Thorogood recorded his hit record "Move It ON Over". The name of the engineer was Thom Foley. He was a great guy and taught me a lot. It was my first time in a recording studio and I was real excited.

I had no idea what to name my label. I started getting ideas from friends and one day I was talking to Bert Paquette's girlfriend and she said I should call it Black Rose Records. She knew I like Elvis Presley, especially being brought up in that era, and told me that Elvis loved black roses and he used to import them in and give them to his special lady friends. She said that they weren't really black but a real dark purple that looked like black. I really don't know how much of this story is true but I liked the idea and the name she picked.

A few months after I released my first album I was back in Dimension Sound with another band. They were the New Hawks. They were a blues band and at the time were touring with the late J.B. Hutto. I put out a few records through the years using these musicians with different front vocalists.

After the New Hawks I recorded B.R.M.C. (Boston Rockabilly Music Conspiracy) who were really playing around alot. They were around the same time that Memphis Rockabilly Band were and sometimes people would get the two bands confused. I put out a couple of EP's and an album with B.R.M.C. Later on Eagle Records out of Germany wanted to lease the tracks and they put out the two EP's and album on a CD.

Then I was approached by Cub Koda of Brownsville Station. He wanted to be on my label. I was real excited about this because he had a hit record called "Smoking In The Boy's Room" a few years before. He had an album on New Rose Records out of France with 6 songs and I added 2 more songs and released it on Black Rose Records. At the time his drummer was Tom Hambridge.Tom and I became real good friends. Tom started his own band called T.H. and the Wreckage and put out 2 albums on my label. Tom now is a well known producer, song writer, musician and vocalist and is still my friend who I do a lot of touring with.

There are alot more folks on my label through the years. We are all still really close and are always there for each other. I run the label single handed and I'm having fun. When I first started the label I was only doing it for fun and I never dreamed that I would be around 23 years and still going. I've seen a lot of changes in the music industry through the years. I really never made any money at it but I've made a lot of friends and met a lot of well known musicians and bands. I also have to add a good friend of mine into this story. His name is Ron Bartolucci. He introduced me to Cub Koda, Brewer Phillips and Ted Harvey of Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers, Jimmy D. Lane who is the son of the late Jimmy Rogers and Mr. Rhythm himself, Andre Williams, all of which have recorded on Black Rose Records. Ron has been real helpful in the past couple of years in getting me some major artists and getting me distribution. When I first started Rounder Records was distributing for me but as the years went by there's been a lot of changes with Rounder.

Thank you for reading my story and I'm looking forward to any letters you want to send. I do enjoy reading fan mail. I may not get right back to you since I'm on the road a lot, but sooner or later I will. Please check out the artists on my label and check out their web sites.

Keep on Rockin' Al