American. Owned by Stefan Grossman and Ed Denson, Kicking Mule was devoted to the art of guitar playing. Over the decade or so of its existence it released dozens of LPs of various styles of (mainly) solo guitar, which have been a source of inspiration for students of the instrument ever since. In Britain at least, singles were rarer - much rarer. They were numbered in the SOK-00s; the lowest catalogue number I have happened upon is SOK-37, the highest SOK-44, and it seems that for some reason the series began and ended with those numbers. Kicking Mule had close ties with Sonet, and, as was the case with Sonet, its records were manufactured and distributed by Pye in the British Isles. It started up in 1973 and lasted until the mid '80s.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.