Born in lower Silesia, Germany, Chris Strachwitz came to the United States to attend the University of California at Berkeley. In the summer of 1959 he met Lightning Hopkins in Houston, Texas, where the Texas guitarist was performing in beer joints around town. Strachwitz had hoped to record him, but due to lack of money and equipment, the plan never materialized.
An ardent collector of 78 rpm records, Strachwitz soon felt the itch to make his own records, and in 1960 Chris Strachwitz started Arhoolie Records. The name of the label, a derivative of a word meaning a field holler, seemed very appropriate to the kind of music Chris wanted to record. Now forty years later, the Arhoolie catalogue contains some of the most significant field recordings of American indigenous music ever made, and Strachwitz is often mentioned by music historians in the same breath as archivist Alan Lomax in terms of the importance of their work on the American musical pantheon. Strachwitz’ nonprofit Arhoolie Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of this remarkable collection of American musical art.
Under Strachwitz’ guidance, Arhoolie released music from Lightning Hopkins, Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Big Mama Thorton. Not confined to the Blues genre, the label has also documented Cajun, Zydeco, regional Country music, Jazz, Gospel and Mexican-American Norteno Music. Chris himself has hosted Blues radio programs, produced several documentaries and operated a record store and mail order house. Chris’ own words best sum up his career: ‘My involvement with the musics I love is not only from a business point, but it’s my life passion.’
— (Blues Foundation press release, 1999.)