Labelled with Love: A History of the World in Your Record Collection

'.. an instant classic and a required part of the library of anyone fascinated with the record business.' - Danny Goldberg, bestselling author of Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain

Chess Records famously tested their acquisitions on people waiting at a nearby bus stop: if the crowd were bopping, they had a hit. Sub Pop's rejection letters began with the harsh, yet undeniably funny, 'Dear Loser'. Atlantic Records signed Led Zeppelin on Dusty Springfield's recommendation.

Labelled with Love is an odyssey through your record collection and the vibrant world beyond it. It spans from the Jazz Age to punk, the civil rights movement to Thatcherism, The Beatles to Britpop, and Ella Fitzgerald to The Ramones. Long-time music obsessive Andy Bollen meticulously tracks popular music through the influential labels that have shaped the last eighty years, chronicling each company with the passion of a devoted fan but the keen eye of a satirist. This is an informative and revealing look at the leading labels, the iconic bands, and the timeless music that rocked our worlds and shaped our lives.