Canaan Records

Canaan Records was a Southern Gospel label, mainly active from the mid 1960's through 1980's and based in Waco, Texas. Canaan Records was established in 1964 by Word, Inc. executive Marvin Norcross as the Southern Gospel subsidiary for Word, Inc.. For the rest of the 1960s and 1970s, the names Canaan Records and Marvin Norcross were synonymous. An LP titled Wonderful Time Up There by Plainsmen Quartet marked the beginning of the label in 1965. A CD/cassette titled Thanks by The Nelons released in 1987 was, for a number of years, the final Canaan Records recording. Some of the other artists who appeared on the historic Canaan label from 1965 to 1987 include The Blue Ridge Quartet, Wendy Bagwell, The Florida Boys, The Happy Goodmans and The Inspirations (2). Aside from one The Cathedrals recording (A Reunion) issued in 1995, the label name lay dormant for the next 20 years. In April 2007, Word announced the revival of the Canaan label. The first release on the revived Canaan label came the following fall, a re-issue of a 2006 independent Hoppers release titled The Ride. In 2009 Word closed the doors on Canaan Records; Word continues to release "The Canaan Vault" collection on iTunes; remastered past recordings from the 1960s, '70s and '80s strictly for digital download.