# Nighthawk Records

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nighthawk_Records
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nighthawk_Records.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawk_Records
> Source revision: 1355857727
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American record label}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = Nighthawk Records
| image       = Nighthawk Records Label.jpg
| image_size  = 430 x 236
| image_alt   = The nighthawk label is a gold-yellow rectangle (long side horizontal). On it is the silhouette of a red songbird in flight. Written in green across the bird is the word "Nighthawk"
| caption     = Nighthawk Records
| parent      = 
| founded     = 1976
| founder     = Robert Schoenfeld
| defunct     = {{End date|2017}}
| status      = acquired by [Omnivore Recordings](/source/Omnivore_Recordings)
| distributor = 
| genre       = 
| country     = United States
| location    = 
| website     = [https://web.archive.org/web/20160308072947/http://www.nghthwk.com/ www.nghthwk.com]
}}
'''Nighthawk Records''' was an American [independent record label](/source/independent_record_label), founded by Robert Schoenfeld who began operations in 1976 with the release of four vintage post-war blues reissue albums. This series consists of nine volumes of post-war blues recordings from [Chicago](/source/Chicago), [Detroit](/source/Detroit), Memphis and the Delta, [New Orleans](/source/New_Orleans) and the Southwest.

In 1979, Nighthawk expanded by launching the 200 series of blues productions with ''Mule'', an [album](/source/album) by [Henry Townsend](/source/Henry_Townsend_(musician)). Townsend made his first recordings for [Columbia Records](/source/Columbia_Records) in 1929. Since then he recorded and performed on a variety of labels including RCA/Bluebird, as well as Paramount, Bullet and Prestige/Bluesville. In the 1980s, Nighthawk became a predominantly conscious [roots reggae](/source/roots_reggae) label before going out of business in the late 1990s.

The 300 series began in 1980 with ''Wiser Dread'', an anthology of [Rastafari](/source/Rastafari)an roots music recorded between 1972 and 1978. Steven Davis, author of ''Reggae Bloodlines'', has called ''Wiser Dread'' the "...best reggae anthology since ''The Harder They Come'' ten years ago."{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Since then Nighthawk released a self-produced album by [The Morwells](/source/The_Morwells) of some of their singles and three volumes of Nighthawk's own Jamaican productions: ''Brutal Out Deh'' by the Itals, ''Symbol of Reality'' by [the Gladiators](/source/The_Gladiators_(band)) and ''Calling Rastafari'' featuring [Culture](/source/Culture), the [Itals](/source/Itals), the Gladiators, [Wailing Souls](/source/Wailing_Souls) and [Mighty Diamonds](/source/Mighty_Diamonds).

In October 2017, [Omnivore Recordings](/source/Omnivore_Recordings) acquired the back catalogue of Nighthawk Records.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2017/10/omnivore-acquires-reggae-label.html|title=Omnivore Acquires Reggae Label Nighthawk and Soul Label Ru-Jac|website=Vintagevinylnews.com|accessdate=5 June 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
*[List of record labels](/source/List_of_record_labels)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20001204162400/http://www.nghthwk.com/ Nighthawk Records homepage]
*[https://www.wirz.de/music/nighthaw.htm Illustrated Nighthawk Records Discography]

{{Authority control}}

Category:American independent record labels
Category:Record labels established in 1976
Category:Blues record labels
Category:Reggae record labels
Category:1976 establishments in the United States

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nighthawk Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawk_Records) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawk_Records?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.