Step One Records

Step One Records
Founded1984 (1984)
FounderRay Pennington
StatusDefunct
GenreCountry
Country of originUnited States
LocationNashville, Tennessee

Step One Records was an independent American record label established in February 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded by singer-songwriter and producer Ray Pennington with Curtis Potter, the former of whom had produced for Waylon Jennings. At the time of the label's foundation, it was one of the few independent country music labels to have significant chart success, most notably in 1991, when the label released Clinton Gregory's "(If It Weren't for Country Music) I'd Go Crazy", the only independently released single on the Billboard country charts at the time of its release. The label lasted into the mid 1990s, having more visibility with Western Flyer's "Cherokee Highway"[1] and "What Will You Do With M-E?". Other artists signed to the label included Ashley Evans, The Geezinslaws, Ray Price, Faron Young, and Pennington himself.[2] The label closed in 1998 and the catalog is owned by Gusto Music.[3]

  1. ^ "Country song dares to tackle racism head-on". Deseret News. February 18, 1995. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  2. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1995-03-11. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. ^ Michael McCall; John Rumble; Paul Kingsbury; Vince Gill (2012). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 9780199920839.