Founded in Berkeley, California in 1971 by Ed Denson (formerly of Takoma Records) and guitarist/educator Stefan Grossman. Kicking Mule served as a major impetus in expanding the limits of steel-string guitar playing through its release of numerous albums that featured complex solo fingerpicking arrangements of such diverse types of music as Scott Joplin rags, Beatles hits, big-band tunes and harp compositions. Added to the mix were a few similarly styled banjo records.

When Grossman left the company in the 1980s, Denson also began recording Appalachian and hammered dulcimer albums.

Among the many artists who recorded for Kicking Mule, which was acquired in 1995 by Fantasy Records, were guitarists Grossman, Duck Baker, Bob Brozman, Dale Miller, Chris Proctor and Dave Van Ronk.