Most record company executives search for hits. Chris Strachwitz, a German immigrant who founded Arhoolie Records in 1960, recorded whatever he liked. ...Mr. Strachwitz derided most of the slick popular tunes of his day as “mouse music.” His Arhoolie label, named after a term for field hollers, favored the most obscure country blues, Tex-Mex, Cajun, zydeco and other regional or local artists snubbed by bigger record companies. He liked his recordings raw, unrehearsed and unadorned. “My stuff isn’t produced,” he said. “I just catch it as it is.” “He was the last of the great musical gold miners,” said Ry...