BMG has announced a new multi-faceted global partnership with Dark Horse Records, the imprint led by Dhani Harrison and manager David Zonshine. The agreement initially brings releases from the catalog of George Harrison’s label Dark Horse Records and his Indian label imprint HariSongs, as well as Joe Strummer’s solo catalog, including his works alongside The Mescaleros.
Dark Horse Records will also release new recordings through BMG including the current Tom Petty estate charity single "For Real – For Tom" featuring Jakob Dylan, Dhani Harrison, Amos Lee, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson and Willie Nelson.
Available this Friday, Jan. 24 on all digital platforms, the first slate of releases includes the George Harrison-produced Ravi Shankar Chants of India, Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan In Concert 1972, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros’ albums Rock Art and The X-Ray Style, Global A Go-Go, and Streetcore, and Attitudes – Ain't Love Enough: The Best of the Attitudes. Upcoming releases in 2020 include compilations, live albums and box sets featuring rare and unreleased recordings from the Dark Horse label—many of which will be made available digitally for the first time ever.
Dark Horse Records joins BMG’s roster of recorded catalogs which includes The Kinks, Nick Cave and the solo works of Keith Richards and John Fogerty. BMG also publishes the catalogs of the estates of Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Jim Croce and Willie Dixon, alongside administering the publishing of Aerosmith, Roger Waters, Cat Stevens and Ringo Starr.
Dark Horse Records was founded by George Harrison in 1974 as a place for his solo work and a home for supporting other artists. The label’s roster features Indian Classical legend Ravi Shankar, the band Attitudes (featuring Jim Keltner, David Foster, Danny Kortchmar and Paul Stallworth), the duo Splinter (produced by Harrison), R&B vocal group The Stairsteps, American singer Keni Burke, and guitarist Henry McCullough (Paul McCartney and Wings, Joe Cocker and Spooky Tooth).
The HariSongs label was created by the George Harrison Estate to celebrate the Indian classical music he loved and believed would “help as a balance towards a peaceful daily life.” The label was launched in April 2018 in honor of both Ravi Shankar’s birthday (April 7, 1920) and Ali Akbar Khan’s birthday (April 14, 1922).
Joe Strummer was the British singer-songwriter and co-founder of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and punk icons The Clash. Strummer broke onto the scene in the mid-1970s with the proto-punk band The 101ers, which led to him being asked to front The Clash. After the seminal punk band split up in the mid-1980s Strummer pursued a career as a solo artist, scoring a number of movies as well as leading his band the Mescaleros.
