Roughshod Records * established 13 June 1987
257 videos • 515 views • by Mike Johnson Black Yodel No.1 Roughshod Records was created on 13 June 1987 by Mike Johnson, Country Music's No.1 Black Yodeler, for his country songs. However, it should be noted that before Roughshod Records existed, Mike had released one 45rpm (1981) and one cassette album (1983) under his MAJJ Productions literary banner and one 45rpm (1986) and two cassette albums (1986 & 1987) under his Pata del Lobo Music publishing banner. Roughshod’s very first release was in September 1993, a 12-song cassette album titled "Black Yodel No.1 the Song the Songwriter." It was followed by 4 cassette singles and 3 cassette albums released from November 1994 to August 1996. Roughshod Records very first CD “Black Yodel No.1 the Song, the Songwriter” (June 1999) was the result of digitizing some of those earlier analog recordings. The same was done for its second CD “Did You Hug Your Mother Today?” released in July 1999. In the summer of 2012 Mike signed talented multi-instrumentalist, James Adelsberger as a studio engineer to lay tracks for a couple of his songs, and thoroughly impressed with the session musician quality he quickly signed James as a Roughshod Records artist. August 2012 saw the release of Mike’s 2-song CD single “Livin’ Lost Love on the Jukebox Again” and November 2012 saw the release of James’ 2-song CD single “Back Home Again.” James had his own studio where he played & recorded each instrument live, sent the files to Mike and they their vocals at Mike’s studio, after which Mike did the final mixing, mastering, encoding, and productions. Together they would produce a total of 16 CDs; singles, albums, samplers, and pre-releases. Mike would also solo produce 4 CDs and in 2022 re-master his 2007 Yodel Song Archives containing 114 yodel songs written by him, and acquired by the Recorded Sound Reference Center at the Library of Congress for their permanent music collection. They’ve continued to acquire Mike & James music over the years. James also wrote some songs for the label and he and Mike also collaborated on some. Finally in 2014, Mike Johnson’s songs finally won an award! James Adelsberger's "Old Time Country Songs Are They Really Dead and Gone?" was awarded "Pure Country” CD of the Year by the Rural Roots Music Commission on 31 August 2015 at the 40th Annual Old Time Country Music Festival in LeMars, Iowa. In August 2016 Mike Johnson received a “Lifetime Achievement” Award, and James received an Instrumental CD of the Year Award for "Country Sounds" at the 41st annual Old Time Country Music Festival. On a solo trip in 2017 Mike Johnson received a “Legendary Honky Tonk” CD of the Year Award for "Let Me Die In a Honky Tonk!" Unfortunately, some personal, professional, and scholastic priorities compelled James to resign from the label in January 2017. All total, including the pre-Roughshod releases and the You and Me Records releases, since April 1981 Mike Johnson has produced two 45rpms, 11 cassettes, and 66 CDs, the last CD a 20-song album “Best of the Mike Johnson James Adelsberger Years” released on 13 June 2024. All CDs displayed here may be purchased from the Roughshod Records Web Store or directly from our physical address. Roughshod Records, P.O. Box 100933, Arlington, Va. 22210 http://roughshodrecords.org/web-store http://youandmerecords.weebly.com