BOB THIELE JR.

It’s 1969. I am 14 years old. An amazing time to be a young man coming of age. We’re growing out our hair, making bold fashion statements and pushing the spiritual boundaries with mind-expanding drugs. Tuning in, turning on and dropping out. The music of our fathers and mothers has nothing to say to us. We want CHANGE and we are finding much of our need to express ourselves in OUR music. Revolution is in the air…

My father started Flying Dutchman Records in 1969 because he felt a need to establish an independent record label that was in step with the times. My great fortune was and still is being his only son. And whether at concerts at the Fillmores East & West, recording sessions with Gil Scott Heron and Lonnie Liston Smith or dinners at the legendary JIM & ANDY’S on west 55th street, the home base of New York’s jazz elite, I had a front row seat as my dad’s erstwhile sidekick!

It’s 2020 and our times bear more than a passing similarity to my teenage years. And while I had all these incredible experiences with my father, it is only now, viewing our world through the lens of COVID, #BlackLivesMatter and systematic racism across the board, that I am able to fully grasp the obstacles that he faced. He was so cool, the envy of my friends, but none of us could see, let alone understand, just how heroic his pursuit was. His accomplishments were many, even historic, but they came at a cost to his personal and professional life. As a businessman, looking at the balance sheet, he was not a success. But following the courage of his convictions, crossing racial lines, risking financial bankruptcy more than once, my father never backed down. The wish I have to continue his legacy has only come upon me during these pandemic times. And because of that I feel compelled to bring Flying Dutchman back into the fray so it may once again be a part of the voice of this generation.