by Richard Skelly » Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:40 am
Jon and I missed each other at CYVR by mere months. Between ‘72–76, I saw the UBC student-run station become CITR. But only grabbing records for my weekly show from the library, I had no idea that record promo reps dropped by from any labels, let alone True North. Impressive, though, that the indie firm took an interest.
I do remember, a few years after graduating summa cum Rock, giving a lift to Murray McLauchlan after interviewing him for his stellar Whispering Rain album. (Still think it’s criminal that Whispering Rain didn’t propel Murray to the stature of, say, Jackson Browne.) I remember joking that, by giving him a ride, I was leaving True North more money for PR.
A fine label from its inception, True North was created by Bernie Finkelstein. Initially home to primarily Murray and Bruce Cockburn, it expanded to include actual punk-rock artists like Rough Trade. In more recent times, the label has been home to Blackie And The Rodeo Kings, Buffy Sainte-Marie and even, for a time, Randy Bachman. As a British Columbian, I appreciated their investing in the late John Bottomley.
If I had to bet on True North reaping a windfall from a newer artist, I’d lay the money down on Matt Andersen. But you never know...Gordon Lightfoot is on the roster and may surprise by bringing out one last-hurrah recording. Surprise us, Gord.
A few years back, True North was absorbed into Linus Entertainment. But Bernie Finkelstein is apparently still involved in a senior-executive capacity. The label also reportedly continues to distribute recordings by such legacy artists as Richard Thompson and has a division to stage and promote concerts. To survive in Internet times, labels big and small need to keep fingers in many pies.