| David Freeman | |
| Birth Date: | May 22, 1939 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
David Freeman (May 22, 1939 – December 25, 2023) was an American collector, historian, and authority on old-time and bluegrass music. Freeman started the County Records label in 1963 in his native New York to focus on Southern string band music, and began the companion mail-order record retail company County Sales in 1965.[1] He moved both businesses to Floyd, Virginia, in 1974. In 1977, Freeman started the Record Depot wholesale distribution company in Roanoke, Virginia, specializing in bluegrass and old-time music. In 1978 he helped his graphic artist Barry Poss start a bluegrass music record label, Sugar Hill Records, in Durham, North Carolina.[2] In 1980, Freeman bought Charlottesville-based Rebel Records, a pioneering bluegrass label, from Charles Freeland, one of the label's founders.[3] Freeman was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 2002.[4] Freeman died on December 25, 2023, at the age of 84.[5]