The Imperial label will be the subject of this week’s Deeper Roots show. Founded in 1947 by Lew Chudd, it’s early years featured some of the very best rhythm and blues and early rock you could find. Their lineup included some of the big names of early rock, not least of which was Roy Brown, Fats Domino, Frankie Ford and Ricky Nelson. They would dabble in country and jazz but also looked to strike while the iron was hot when Elvis hit with a blend of country and rhythm and blues in the mid-50s. They did so by looking for new names with ducktails and driving combos in the rockabilly era. This episode focuses primarily on the 1950s with a future episode taking us further into the label’s sale to Liberty Records in 1963 but not before Lew Chudd purchased Aladdin and Minit Records, bringing over even more of the R&B talent that they would be known for. It’s another Deeper Roots Friday morning on KOWS.