Oh Boy Records, the label started by John Prine and Al Bunetta in 1981, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Among the festivities is a documentary about the label which features rare archival footage, new interviews and more. You can watch a five-minute teaser trailer below.
In addition to the documentary, Oh Boy is celebrating with new reissues, new music from their roster, special 40th anniversary merch, pop-up events and more. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of Prine's debut album which will be reissued later in 2021.
The label will also be highlighting a different Oh Boy artist or album every week, and first up is Nashville's Bis-Quits. You can watch a short documentary on them below.
Prine, who died from COVID last year, had said of starting the label, “Every time I’d go to a little concert hall or a club, I was filling it up. So I thought, ‘Why not make music just for those people.’ And that’s when I talked to Al about starting Oh Boy. I’m really proud of it. As time’s gone by and people starting independent record companies has kind of become the thing, it’s great that we've stayed afloat for this many years.”
