Early years The foundation of the company was established in 1985, when Surfdog Records' owner
Dave Kaplan began Dave Kaplan Management Inc. Dave Kaplan and his staff have managed the careers of artists including
UB40,
Brian Setzer,
Dave Stewart (co-founder of
Eurythmics),
Glen Campbell,
Stray Cats,
Sublime,
Ryan Adams,
Gary Hoey,
Butthole Surfers and
BulletBoys. Iconic American musician
Brian Setzer (formerly of
Stray Cats), also managed by Dave Kaplan Management Inc., has released over 16 albums through Surfdog Records. Since 2000, Setzer has won three
Grammy Awards, as well as receiving his seventh
Grammy nomination (out of twelve nominations in total) in 2007 for his album ''
Wolfgang's Big Night Out released on Surfdog Records. In 2003, Slightly Stoopid released the album Everything You Need'' on Surfdog Records, which included some of the band’s biggest hits such as “Collie Man”, “Officer”, and “Sweet Honey”.
Dave Stewart, best known for his work as co-founder of the British pop-rock duo
Eurythmics, joined Surfdog's roster in 2007, and shortly thereafter released his album
The Dave Stewart Songbook Vol. 1. Followed by his 2011 release through Surfdog Records
The Blackbird Diaries. British soul singer
Joss Stone released her fifth studio album
LP1 through Surfdog Records in partnership with her own
Stone'd Records in 2011. Stone co-wrote and co-produced the album with
Dave Stewart. In 2011, Surfdog Records signed
Glen Campbell releasing his album
Ghost On The Canvas, an album intended to be Campbell's farewell to studio recording following being diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease. Campbell in 2012 received a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to music throughout his 50 years plus career.
2013–2015 In 2013, Surfdog announced the signing of a collaboration with rock and roll legend
Eric Clapton for Clapton's new record
Old Sock, released on March 12, 2013, followed by 3 more studio Clapton records:
The Breeze,
I Still Do, and
Happy Xmas. On April 22, 2014,
Drake Bell released his first studio album since 2006's ''It's Only Time
with Universal Motown Records, Ready Steady Go!, after signing on with Surfdog in 2012. The record debuted at #182 on the Billboard 200, #50 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums, and #32 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums charts. It sold 2,000 copies in its first week of release. The record contains songs originally by Billy Joel, Queen, The Kinks, Stray Cats, and more. Brian Setzer, frontman of Stray Cats and also on the Surfdog roster, produced the album. "Bull", a song on Ready Steady Go!'', was on the top 10 charts in Mexico for several weeks. On May 19, 2014, The Burning of Rome's
Year of The Ox was released by Surfdog Records. On July 29, 2014,
Eric Clapton & Friends released
The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale.
The Breeze is full of covers of songs originally by
J.J. Cale and contains vocals by Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Tom Petty, and Don White. The album received much attention, achieving a #2 debut on the Billboard Top 200 album charts. On August 12, 2014,
Brian Setzer released
Rockabilly Riot! All Original, through Surfdog. The record contains new music from Setzer and was widely accepted by music critics. “Let's Shake” was the first single of the record. On October 21, 2014,
Brian Setzer's 1959 Gretsch 6120 was inducted into the world-renowned
Smithsonian Institution in
Washington D.C. Setzer's guitar joined a large and diverse collection of musical instruments at the museum that include
John Coltrane's saxophone,
Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet, and
Eddie Van Halen's guitar. On August 11, 2015,
Sublime announced a deal with Dave Kaplan Management/Surfdog Records, managing the branding, merchandising, licensing, music catalog and new ventures. On October 16, 2015,
Brian Setzer was joined with an 18-piece orchestra for the release of his newest Christmas record,
Rockin’ Rudolph.
2016–present On May 20, 2016,
Eric Clapton released his twenty-third studio solo album,
I Still Do on Surfdog Records/Bushbranch Records. Clapton reunited with record producer
Glyn Johns and had the album's artwork painted by
Sir Peter Blake who also previously worked with Clapton. On February 24, 2017, Surfdog Records released
Greatest Licks – I Feel Like Singin’, an album that honored
Dan Hicks on the first anniversary of his passing. On October 12, 2018, Eric Clapton released his first-ever Christmas album,
Happy Xmas on Surfdog Records/Bushbranch Records.
Happy Xmas is Clapton's 24th studio album and features cover art illustration by Clapton himself. November 2018,
The Brian Setzer Orchestra celebrated their 15th Anniversary Christmas Rocks! Tour presented by
SiriusXM. In 2019,
Stray Cats celebrated their 40th anniversary with a new album and tour. The album, titled
40 was released via Surfdog Records on May 24, 2019. This marked the band's first new music in 26 years. ==Surfdog Music Publishing and Licensing==