Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still University students. Starting with blues, blues-rock, string band, and bluegrass, Rounder expanded to over 3,000 titles of folk, soul, soca, Cajun, and Celtic. The name was chosen partly because of its association with the band Holy Modal Rounders. One of their earliest successes was the blues-rock band George Thorogood and the Destroyers. As Rounder grew as a company, it demonstrated a rare ability to do what few labels - major or independent - can do: nurture and develop artists\' careers over the course of a series of albums.It is a vision shared, respected, and appreciated by music lovers around the globe, and doubtlessly a vital influence on the vast independent music community that has sprung up since Rounder\'s founding almost forty years ago. "The lasting inspiration from Rounder," summarizes Marian Leighton Levy, "lies in its commitment to good music and doing the best job we can for the artists we represent." On October 12, 2009 Rounder Records celebrated 40 years of making music with a special event to benefit NARAS\' Grammy® in the Schools Programs. Grammy® winning Rounder artists Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bela Fleck and Irma Thomas will join in this momentous celebration along with musical host, Minnie Driver and other special guests at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN. jor label deals following her commercial breakthrough in the late 1990s, but Krauss opted to remain with Rounder. Rounder was one of the very first labels to become involved with compact discs, in 1985. In 2004, the company launched a book division known as Rounder Books.In 2010, Rounder was purchased by the Concord Music Group. It will continue to be distributed by Universal, as all of Concord has a distribution deal with UMG.