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301:(adjacent to a significant reservation) responded with, "Indian music...who wants it?" and thus ignoring the potential customers passing his door. Despite this resistance, the Boleys succeeded in building a distribution network throughout the western United States and Canada to sell Canyon titles as well those of other Native American music producers.
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flute music was instantly attractive, and for non-Native listeners, his recordings quickly defined Native
American music. Nakai's music would lead the expansion of Native American music into mainstream retailing in the 1990s and Nakai would release more than thirty-five albums and publish a book with Canyon.
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and academics. The Boleys saw their Native
American neighbors as customers, tailoring their releases to fit the needs and requests of the Native community. In an era when Native Americans were a little-understood, often ignored, and frequently oppressed minority, Canyon Records served as an important
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Canyon began to place this recording in gift shops, art galleries, and new age oriented retailers. As it became clear that Nakai's music had significant cross-over potential in the gift/tourist and new age markets, Canyon began to build new distribution. The soothing, transporting quality of Nakai's
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In 1992, Boley sold Canyon to his long-time executive assistant, Robert Doyle and retired (Mary died in 1991, Ray would die in 2002). Canyon continued to develop its relationship with Nakai and both traditional and contemporary artists. In 2000, Canyon, needing more warehouse space, purchased its
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operation in
Phoenix, and began building a distribution network. This development was laborious, and involved extensive travel by motor home across the country. Many store owners didn't see the potential of selling Native American music. One shopkeeper in
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The Boleys took the idea to heart and soon began recording music from tribes throughout the southwest. Their new label, Canyon
Records, was a sister company to Canyon Films, a company also founded in 1951 specializing in documentaries and commercial work.
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In 1984, in an attempt to semi-retire, the Boleys sold their store and distribution company (which still operates under the name
Drumbeat Indian Arts) to focus solely on production. At this time, Boley made contact with a Native American flutist named
340:(rock, rap, new age) as the Native American community increased in population and acculturation. The non-Native community began to share greater interest in Native American culture, fueled by major media productions like
309:(Boley had known Nakai's father, Raymond Nakai, who played Canyon music on his Navajo language radio program before becoming Navajo tribal chairman). R. Carlos Nakai had produced a recording of solo flute music called
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present location and acquired a commercial recording studio (Jack Miller
Productions) while adding a website management and graphic design company (Nile Graphics).
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of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be
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In 1971, the Boleys sold Canyon Films and expanded the efforts of Canyon
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Canyon has also developed new forms of Native
American music by such artists as Louie Gonnie;
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Prior to the Boleys' efforts, most recordings were produced and released for the benefit of
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The 1980s and 1990s also saw the growth of other styles of Native
American music such as
482:"Linda Ronstadt is among the artists with Arizona ties nominated for 2021 Grammy Awards"
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in
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Canyon was founded in 1951 by Ray and Mary Boley, who had opened the first
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jeweler at a booth next to the Boleys suggested they record Hopi music.
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This article is about the American label. For the Japanese label, see
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began when Ray was asked by the Phoenix Little Theater to record a
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Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing
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To promote the album, the Boleys took a booth at the 1951
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notability guidelines for companies and organizations
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538:"Canyon Records label is more than 'empty words'"
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510:"11 Best Record Labels in Metro Phoenix"
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