Richard Weize, Bear Family Records Founder, Dies at 81

Richard Weize, founder of Bear Family Records, died November 13 at 81. He built the world's most respected reissue label from a mail-order business he started in 1975, typing the first catalogues himself.

To collectors, historians and musicians, a Bear Family box set became the gold standard. Its hallmarks were impeccable sound, rare recordings and thick, beautifully researched books — a reputation built entirely on Weize's devotion to the music. The label's landmark releases included Chuck Berry's 'Rock and Roll Music Any Old Way You Choose It,' a box spanning some 21 hours of music, alongside exhaustive collections devoted to Johnny Cash and countless other country, rockabilly, blues and pop artists.

Where did the label come from?

Weize was born August 4, 1945, in Bad Gandersheim, Germany, into a family that had worked in bookbinding since 1845 and ran a book and stationery shop. His love of pop music took hold in the 1950s, when the first American and British 45s arrived in Germany, fuelled by the American Forces Network, Elvis Presley and the rock 'n' roll explosion at Hamburg's Star-Club. By 1960 he was importing hard-to-find American country and rock 'n' roll albums and selling them to friends — the beginnings of both his collection and his future company.

Along the way, Weize gathered a circle of producers, writers and historians, including Colin Escott, Hank Davis, Martin Hawkins, Hugo Keesing, Rainer E. Lotz, Tony Russell and Bill Geerhart. Many contributed to the label for decades. The takeaway: Bear Family's standards rested on a small, loyal roster of specialists.

What did he do after retiring?

Weize retired from running Bear Family in 2015 but never stopped working. He:

• Continued compiling releases for the label
• Launched the imprint 'and more bears'
• Operated the Richard Weize Archives
• Served on the board of the Klaus Kuhnke Archives

He also wrote '1000 Nadelstiche,' a study of American and British artists singing in German from 1955 to 1975; compiled 'Creole Music of the French West Indies,' a discography covering 1900 to 1959; co-wrote the 'LONDON Label Lexikon'; and wrote the foreword for 'The TELDEC Story.'

Which honours did he receive?

His work earned recognition on both sides of the Atlantic: W.C. Handy and Blues Music Awards, multiple Grammy nominations for Bear Family releases, a special lifetime achievement award from the Association of German Music Critics in 2003, and an Echo award in 2009 for outstanding contributions to music. In 2021, on the proposal of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, he received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In his tribute for that occasion, entertainer and musicologist Götz Alsmann wrote: "Richard Weize's work is one big recovery of cultural treasures, purely and simply the preservation of the world's musical heritage." Alsmann compared Weize's contribution to that of the scholars who catalogued the works of Mozart and Schubert.

Weize made his home in Vollersode near Bremen with his wife, Birgit. He is survived by his five children: Ricky, Rene, Tobias, Sarah and Philipp.

From a teenager selling imported records to friends in Bad Gandersheim to the man who gave the world's music its most beautiful archive, Weize never stopped sharing the songs he loved. Thanks to him, recordings that might have been lost forever will keep spinning for generations of listeners still to come.