The Country Shindig "In The Barn" (Riviera Records, 1971-?) (LP)
This may have been the Shindig's first album, recorded during a trip to the Bradley's Barn studio in Nashville... The liner notes mention the group being formed in 1969, and the material they record is pretty strictly early '70s, with a cover of Connie Smith's 1971 hit, "Where Is My Castle" being about the latest song I could place. Hilton was still calling himself "Dennis," and the say the bandmembers ages ranged from 19 to 23, so they were all still pretty young. Mostly -- maybe all -- cover songs, with a couple that may have been originals.
Denny Hilton's Country Shindig Opry Show "Our Second Album" (History Records, 1974) (LP)
This early '70s countrypolitan lovefest includes covers of "Let Me Be There," "Bad Bad Leroy Brown," "Behind Closed Doors" and the Carpenters' "On Top Of The World," with solo vocals by Denny Hilton, Steve West, Sarah Farrell, Sandy DeRouse and Thom Gumm.
The Country Shindig Gang "Legacy" (History Records, 1978) (LP)
This one features some high-powered hired guns backing them up in the studio, notably Johnny Gimble on fiddle and Hal Rugg playing multiple instruments, along with Sarah Farrell playing piano and mandolin, and Steve West on banjo and guitar. The set list hews towards older stuff from the early 'Seventies, tunes like "City Of New Orleans," "Misty," "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends and "Tie A Yellow Ribbon." A few tunes of slightly newer vintage, such as Tanya Tucker's 1975 hit, "San Antonio Stroll," and "Rhinestone Cowboy." I guess this was sort of a best-of set for the Shindig?
Denny Hilton "You're My Favorite Thing" (Rose Bridge Records, 1980) (LP)
This disc may have been the only album Hilton released as a "solo" artist, though there were quite a few souvenir albums released under the Country Shindig name. This record includes several originals written by Wayne Carson for Shot Glass Music. But it's a nice change of pace from all the cover tunes that the Shindig gang would perform...
Denny Hilton's Country Shindig Opry Show "Recorded Live At Lake Of The Ozarks" (History Records, 1981-?) (LP)
Two album-side long tracks recorded directly in concert at the Shindig venue on an unspecified date. The performers were in fine fettle, and the crowd sure seems to have enjoyed themselves. Plenty of corny stage patter, and a wide range of material, perhaps a bit surprisingly strong on pop-rock numbers such as "Take It Easy" from the Eagles, Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again" and "You Light Up My Life," a terrible song that makes an even worse cover tune. There's also yet another version of "You Gave Me A Mountain," which I could have lived without, but no biggie. The cast is notable for several female singers, including Sandy Gumm and Sarah West, as well as "Gabrielle Andrews," who I believe was the troupe's comedian Thom "Gabby" Gumm performing in drag as part of the Shindig Sisters, their Andrews-esque vocal group. Naturally, much hooting and wolf-whistling ensues, but the emcee's comments are remarkably restrained. Anyway, this is a good snapshot of a prominent mini-opry; nothing too fancy, but a reasonably talented crew.
Denny Hilton's Country Shindig Opry Show "Something To Write Home About" (History Records, 1983) (LP)
A similar set with a familiar cast: this lineup included Denny Hilton (of course) along with Sandy Gumm playing bass, Thom Gumm, Kelly Jones (fiddle), Shelly Reeves, Sarah West (piano) and Steve West on guitar, with various members singing lead. Among the newer tunes they cover is Steve West singing a version of Guy Clark's "Heartbroke," which gives them some cool points in my book. The children's clown on the cover looks scary, though.
Denny Hilton's Country Shindig Opry "A World Class Show" (History Records, 1985) (LP)
The Shindig cast remained remarkable stable throughout the 'Eighties, with mostly the same folks on this album: Denny Hilton, Sandy Gumm, Thom Gumm, Kelly Jones, Shelly Reeves, Sarah West and Steve West all taking solo spots on a track or two. This set is refreshingly heavy on newer material, songs like the Judds hit, "Mama, He's Crazy," "If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band)" (a hit for Alabama), Mel McDaniel's "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," and, perhaps less glamorously, Anne Murray's "Just Another Woman In Love." It also includes a few chestnuts, like "Everyday," a version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," a gospel oldie called "Jesus Is You Ticket To Heaven" (which Ronnie Milsap covered in '81) and, alas, yet another version of Mickey Newberry's dreary patriotic medley, "American Trilogy." A strong example of indie-opry country, with a distinctly early '80s feel.
The Country Shindig Gang "Sing The Hits" (History Records, 1987) (LP)
Denny Hilton's Country Shindig Opry Show "Your Gospel Favorites" (History Records, 1988) (LP)
The various Ozark oprys tended to pepper their souvenir albums with a gospel tune or two... and every once in a while would record an entire album of country gospel and southern gospel material.
In 1969, Ozarks showman Denny Hilton created the Country Shindig Opry, a Branson-esque variety show based in Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri, which by the early '80s had grown to a 1200-seat venue. In 1982, Hilton was sued by WSM's Grand Ole Opry for copyright infringement, but won the case when it was ruled that "opry" was commonly used by hundreds of shows across the country, and had become a generic phrase though common usage, dating back many years before 1927, when WSM first used the term to market its country-themed radio broadcasts. The decision was upheld on appeal to a Federal District Court in 1984. I do feel a little silly dedicating a whole page to one of these tourist-trap bands, but since they had so many records released with slight variations of the band's name, I figured it was best just to lump them all together... Besides, the Opry lawsuit is a pretty good story. So, here we go...
