Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label, founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.
Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record. Nine months after the release of the first album, he stopped working at Delmark Records to concentrate fully on the band and his label. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the Living Blues magazine in Chicago in 1970 from eBay.
In 1982, the label won its first Grammy Award for the album, I'm Here, by Clifton Chenier. The second Grammy came in 1985 for Showdown! by Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, and Robert Cray.
Since its founding, Alligator Records has released over 250 blues and blues/rock albums, as well as a now-defunct reggae series. Present and past Alligator artists include Marcia Ball, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Sam Lay, Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Roomful of Blues, Eric Lindell, JJ Grey & MOFRO, Lee Rocker, Cephas & Wiggins, and Michael Burks. More recently, veterans Charlie Musselwhite and James Cotton have re-signed to the label.
CD1
01. I'm A Woman – Koko Taylor
02. I Ain't Drunk – Albert Collins
03. Strange Feeling - Michael Burks
04. Backup Plan – Tommy Castro
05. Icicles In My Meatloaf – Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials
06. We The People – Guitar Shorty
07. U B U – Rick Estrin & The Nightcats
08. The Party's Still Going On – Marcia Ball
09. That's A Pretty Good Love – Roomful of Blues
10. Have Blues, Will Travell – Smokin' Joe Kubek & Benois King
11. Goin Home ( Where Women Got Meat On Their Bones) - Son Seals
12. Give Me Me Coat And Shoes – Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
13. Slipped, Tripped And Fell In Love - Janiva Magness
14. Mojo Boogie – Johnny Winter
15. Last Dirty Deal – Coco Montoya
16. Fish Ain't Bitin'- Corey Harris
17. All The King's Horses – Luther Allison
18. Echoes Of My Sins – Anders Osborne
19. Double Whammy – Lonnie Mack with Stevie Ray Vaughan
CD2
01. T-Bone Shuffle - Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland
02. Don't Take Advatage Of Me – Lonnie Brooks
03. A Good Leavin' Alone – Eddy 'The Chief' Clearwater
04. Sitting At Home Alone – Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers
05. Roll Your Moneymaker – Elvin Bishop & Little Smokey Smothers
06. With The Quickness – James Cotton
07. It's My Own Tears – Shemekia Copeland
08. Red Beans – Professor Longhair
09. Where Hwy 61 Runs – Charlie Musselwhite
10. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover – Roy Buchanan with Delbert McClinton
11. Step Into The Light – Mavis Staples
12. Speak No Evil – Tinsley Ellis
13. It's A Drag – Eric Lindell
14. Going Down To The River – Saffire The Uppity Blues Women
15. Feed My Soul – The Holmes Brothers
16. Two- Fisted Mama – Katie Webster
17. Daddy Pinocchio – William Clarke
18. When The Levee Breaks – Buckwheat Zydeco
19. The Sun Is Shining Down –JJ Grey & MOFRO
