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Bluesway

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Record label founded December, 1966 by jazz producer [a=Bob Thiele] under the direction of ABC Records president [a=Larry Newton], who wished to expand the company's reach into new genres of music. Bluesway debuted in 1967 with a who's who of blues artists, including Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker and Otis Spann, but their biggest success was B.B. King, who broke out of the R&B market into mainstream success on Bluesway. The label also issued The James Gang's first recordings in 1969.. In 1970 ABC A&R man [l=Ed Michel] took over, after which ABC deactivated it as an active label. It remained dormant until 1973, when ABC's entry into quadraphonic sound prompted reactivation; select catalog items were released in quad, as well as new releases from Hooker and Reed. The last new album of material on Bluesway was issued in February, 1974. ABC's acquisition of many small labels in the early '70s prompted a company-wide rebranding in 1974, with all labels placed under a joint ABC banner. Bluesway became [l=ABC Bluesway] in 1974. US Lp prefixes are "BL" for mono, "BLS" for stereo, and "BLQ" for quadraphonic releases.