Westbound

Westbound was a Detroit label with a sharp ear for funk and soul, closely associated with key releases by Funkadelic and Ohio Players. Founded around 1970, it built its name on a run of records that linked Motor City grit to the looser, psychedelic edge of early 70s Black music.

Its catalogue reaches beyond those headline names, with artists including Denise LaSalle, Junie, Dennis Coffey, Melvin Sparks and The Clark Sisters. Westbound also worked through a series of distribution deals, including periods with Chess/Janus, 20th Century-Fox and Atlantic, before disappearing at the end of the 70s through financial trouble. Later reissues helped keep the label's catalogue in circulation.