Pam Gadd "Long Road" (Vanguard Records, 1997)
A solo album from a member of the Wild Rose band...

Pam Gadd "The Time Of Our Lives" (OMS Records, 2001)

Pam Gadd & Porter Wagoner "Something To Brag About" (Gusto Records, 2004)
Hillbilly old-timer Porter Wagoner had a soft spot for singing duets with purty gals -- first he had Norma Jean as his partner, then Dolly Parton, and later Pam Gadd, of the band Wild Rose. Porter sounds pretty washed-up here, but Gadd puts in a good performance. Good songs, but you can easily find better records by both of these artists singing solo, and they never really click as duet partners. You could pass on this one, unless you're really a super-duper dedicated fan.

Pam Gadd & Porter Wagoner "22 Country And Gospel Duets" (Tee Vee Records, 2007)

Pam Gadd "Benefit Of Doubt" (Home Sweet Highway, 2009)

Gail And Denny (Secord) "Grand Ole Opry Dream" (Full Circle Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Van Barker & Bobby Bradley)
A middle-aged couple from the rural suburbs near Seattle, Washington, Denny and Gail Secord both came from musical families, with Ms. Secord's parents not only playing in local bands but also running a bar called the Wagon Wheel, while Mr. Secord's dad was a popular dancehall fiddler. The Secords led their own band for many years, with backing from locals such as fiddler Jerry Critchfield. They first formed a group called Country Express back in 1976 when they were living in Port Ludlow, with her fiddling prowess (and super-fab go-go boots!) as the main attraction. In 1981 they won a talent contest sponsored by the National Grange Association, and not long after that traveled to Nashville to record this album, with backing by guitarist Greg Gilbraith, Hal Rugg on steel guitar, pianist Mike Shrimpf, and others. They played some standards, with a hefty dose of tuneful heartsongs by Hank Snow and his generation -- "You're The Reason," "It Don't Hurt Anymore," "Bumming Around," "Time Changes Everything" -- as well as instrumental showcases such as "Chime Bells," "Draggin' The Bow" and "Orange Blossom Special." The title track, "Grand Ole Opry Dream," may have been an original. The Secords continued to perform locally for many, many years, with Ms. Secord retiring in 2009 (but Denny continuing to play) and their son, Denny Secord Jr., later forming his own group, the Luck of the Draw Band.

Patty Gallagher & The Showdowners "By Request" (Little Richie Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Hale)
Ms. Gallagher was identified with the Denver, Colorado country scene throughout the entire 1970s... I'm not sure when this album came out, though the boys in the band look pretty darn "Seventies" to me, so I'll go out on a limb and guess this was recorded around 1975-76... It includes some original material, notably "She Goes Runnin' Round" by bassist Wil Karl and "My World Is Sittin' Tipsy" by Gallagher. She gets top billing, though an awful lot of the spotlight gets shed on Gary Courtney, who's pictured with her on the cover; other band members include guitarist Gary Courtney and steel player Harley Brendal. To be sure, this is not a top-notch production, even for the indiebilly genre, but it is the kind of record you can get to love just for it's sheer authenticity and undisguised flaws. Also, when they burst into an uneven lounge-funk riff on their version of "Crawdad," it's a real hoot. The original songs are pretty charming, though like the rest of the record, they're a little clumsily laid out. It's fun stuff, though... definitely locals!

Kay Gallo & The Country Men "Yankee Go Home" (Big-E-Nuff Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Kay Gallo, Richard N. Gallo & Denny Hardesty)
Nicknamed "the sweetheart of the Ponderosa," Mrs. Gallo was born in West Virginia but moved out to California where she married and raised a family... (The liner notes inform us that she had four grandchildren by the time this album was recorded...) In 1967 she got a gig singing at a place in Pomona called the Ponderosa Club, though it's not clear when this album was recorded -- it could have been many years later. Anyway, this is definitely a "private" release, with backing by local musicians such as guitarist Warren Flock, Jess Owen on steel, bassist Lucky Shanon (sp?) and Carl Walden on keyboards and rhythm guitar.

Norma Gamble "Her Kind Of Country" (Pentagon Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Alan L. Dote)
Ms. Gamble was a singer from Santa Clara, California (near San Jose) who wrote most of the songs on this album, with one credited to producer Alan L. Dote, and a couple co-written by Anna Pierce. The liner notes say she played gigs in Vegas and Reno, though overall this seems like a pretty "private" private-press album.

Sue Garner & Angel Dean "Pot Liquor" (Diesel Only Records, 2004)
An interesting, modernized reworking of Carter Family-style harmonies and old-fashioned country murder ballads, along with some moody lo-fi introspection. Sounds a lot like Freakwater, with maybe less of a rough edge, and while the subject matter tends to be bleak, it suits the music well. Later in the album, they get into some uncommercial "pop" stuff with weird harmonies and aesthetic choices that reminded me quite a bit of the Roches. Nice stuff, though it might fit more into the "rock" side of the altie equation.

Gale Garnett "We'll Sing In The Sunshine" (Collectables, 1998)

Gale Garnett "My Kind Of Folk Songs" (RCA Victor, 1964) (LP)
I suppose as a "folk" artist, actress Gale Garnett deserves a mention here, although she always had a pop-vocals edge, and got into trippier, more rock-pop oriented material later in her career. I do like this album, though... There's some slickness and calculation, but also an innocence and lightness that I find appealing. Not a ton of twang, but she is a pleasant artist.

Gale Garnett "The Many Faces Of Gale Garnett" (RCA Victor, 1965) (LP)

Anna Garrott "Only Time Will Tell" (Blue Steel Records, 2010)
(Produced by Rick Holt)
An independently produced album by an artist who sometimes tilts towards more commercial country, but seems comfortable with showing her indiebilly side as well. Garrott has a mousy little voice (the kind of mousy voice I like) which is perhaps best suited to smaller-scale production, but is pretty appealing on most of this album. About half the tracks were written by guitarist-producer Rick Holt, so I suppose it's as much a songwriter's demo as an artist debut; it's sometimes uneven, but the good tracks are strong. The set includes a couple of songs about domestic violence and related issues, including "Pink Roses" and "Only Time Will Tell," both co-written by Holt. Worth checking out.

Nancy Jo Garton & Ken Holiday "Ken Holiday/Nancy Jo Garton" (G Bar Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Holiday)
This looks like a split LP - him headlining on one side, her on the other -- although it's all from the same recording session. Holiday and Garton were from Depew, Oklahoma, where they co-owned the G-Bar Ranch, a name they also used for their own short-lived indie label. Like many regional artists, they made the trek to Nashville to record, and cut this album at Jack Clements' studio, with a big cast of studio superpickers, including the Jordanaires on backup vocals. Nancy Jo Garton had apparently a regional radio hit with a cover of the country/R&B oldie, "Big Blue Diamonds," but her success was strictly local -- no Billboard action for these singing Sooners... Still, I like it. Mr. Holiday had one of those gangly voices that makes an unlikely match for a recording session but winds up sounding authentic and sincere -- I'm thinking of folks like Dick Feller and Deadly Ernest -- and he picked more novelty-oriented material to match his vocals. Ms. Garton was the stronger singer in the "normal" sense -- derivative, perhaps, but not bad. She starts out sounding like mainstream country-pop gals such as Lynn Anderson or Donna Fargo, but by the end of her side, she's solidly in a Dolly Parton mode, trilling her little heart out. One assumes it's her busting in on the end of Side One, to belt out a duet with Holiday on "I'm Mad In Love With You." In addition to this LP, they also released at least one single under Garton's name, distributed by the folks at NSD in Nashville.

Gary & Carol "Live" (Licorice Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Nieland)
A quintessential 'Seventies lounge act, featuring the duo of Gary Nieland (vocals, drums) and Carol Van Nordstrand (vocals, bass and organ) in a live set recorded April 17-18, 1975 at a Salem, Oregon venue called the Keg & Platter. The repertoire spans pop and soul songs such as "I Honestly Love You," "For Once In My Life" and "Mustang Sally," counterbalanced by a hefty chunk of country tunes, including Act Naturally," "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Stand By Your Man." None of it's really all that good -- Van Nordstrand is planted firmly in the spotlight, though Nieland was the better singer -- but it's also not all that awful. Just a couple of reasonably talented locals, living the dream.

Johnny Gatewood "The Johnny Gatewood Show" (Horse Shoe Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Frazier & Johnny Gatewood)
I kinda dig the country album covers that picture the artists in bars... Sometimes they tell you a lot about the musicians or their fans, and the kinds of places they called home. I'm not sure which (if any) of the gals posed with Johnny Gatewood were in his band, though it's possible they all were: the liner notes credit the band as Dell Daugherty on steel guitar, Roger Enns (steel), Maxine Gatewood (harmony vocals), Shirley Gatewood (bass), Diane Jackson (vocals), Allen Jones (banjo), Susie Schrag (drums), Tom Swofford (vocals) and Joe Wieneman on fiddle. It's cool that this was an all-local crew, as opposed to his previous pilgrimage to Nashville... The Jimmy Gatewood Show performed regularly in central Kansas throughout the mid-to-late '80s, as seen in numerous 1984-88 show notices in local papers from Hutchinson and Salina. On the back cover, Gatewood gives an address in Sterling, Kansas, which like Inman was a little north of Hutchinson. Alas, no mention of which bar they were in.

Gator Alley "It Takes Time" (Gator Alley, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Gator Alley & Leon Reeder)
This Midwestern band featured three sisters -- Dawna, Debbie and Dina Nelson -- who wrote most of the songs on the album, backed by Dwayne Nelson on bass, steel guitar by Don Kates and lead guitar by Jerry Fitzpatrick. The album was recorded at Creative Audio studios, Champaign, Illinois and features liner notes by radio deejay Jerry Brock of WCCR, 1540-AM.

Mary Gauthier - see artist discography

Abbie Gaye, Ken And Mel "Country Music Jubilee" (Trac Records, 196--?) (LP)
(Produced by Stan Anderson)
The bluegrass-y trio of Abbie Gaye, Ken Stephens and Mel Johnson are perhaps best known for their stringband parody of the Buck Owens song, "Tiger By The Tail," which they recorded for Starday Records in 1965 as "I've Got A Polecat By The Tail." This album is less novelty-oriented, filled with earnest covers of bluegrass classics by Jim Eanes, Flatt & Scruggs and Bill Monroe, along with a few gospel tunes and a zippy rendition of "Ruby Are You Mad." There are also several songs credited to "M. Johnson," who I think was Mel, and these seem to be originals or his adaptations of traditional material. This may have been the first LP issued by Trac Records, a label based in Fresno, California -- I could find very little info out about these folks online, so I'm not sure if they were a California-based band or not... At any rate, it's nice stuff. Resolutely old-fashioned, these plainspoken performances harken back to the heartfelt, no-frills styles of artists such as Molly O'Day or Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper.

Abbie-Gaye & Ken Stephens "Country Gospel Jubilee" (Calvary Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Stan Anderson)
The liner notes inform us that Ken Stephens was originally part of a country music brother act, The Stephens Brothers, out of Hamilton, Ohio. The group broke up, though, when his kid brother got drafted, and Stephens soon moved out West with his wife, singer Abbie-Gaye sometime in 1961. (Her name is hyphenated here, but not on their previous album a few years earlier.) They first tried their luck in LA, then landed a job hosting a TV show in Fresno, called Country Music Jubilee, which hit the air in 1964. Their old trio partner Mel Johnson also chimes in, as well as steel player Densel Perry, who we're informed joined the act in November, 1970, making this maybe more of a '71 kind of record?

Crystal Gayle "The Best Of Crystal Gayle" (Curb Records, 1993)
Think how scary it must have been to be Crystal Gayle... You're Loretta Lynn's kid sister, and in the mid-1970s ya emerge out of the lower rungs of the Country Top 40 to become a super-duper superstar in your own right, epitomizing the height of 70's pop-country cheesiness... Then, when you make a few sad little stabs at sounding country again (as heard here on songs like "Heart Mender" and "River Road"), you're brutally punished in the sales charts... This disc is an interesting collection, which hopscotches back and forth between her pre- and post-"Brown Eyes Blue" recordings, including a few less well-known tracks from the early '70s that show a slightly rootsier side to her work than we normally hear... In a sense -- a very limited sense -- I guess this could be considered her "true" country record... At any rate, it was thoughtfully assembled with an ear for material that Gayle's regular fan base might not know that well. The sci-fi-ish "We Must Believe In Magic," which closes off the disc, is a real disaster, though... But other that that, this disc has some interesting surprises.

Crystal Gayle "The Best Of Crystal Gayle" (Rhino Records, 2002)
The ultimate, horrible conclusion of the whole super-posh, pretentious torch song tendencies of the countrypolitan scene. Yeesh. If you've heard "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (which, I hate to admit, I still sort of like, in a pit-of-my-stomach sick kinda way...) well, then you've heard the best she can do. The rest of her hits follow the same formula, but they aren't as good. I am horrified to find out how many of ther other songs I actually dimly recall hearing at one time or another. And they called this stuff "country"? Brrrrrrr. Scary.

Patsy Gayle & Jimmy Doyle "...And The Arkansas River Bottom Band" (Music City Records, 19--?) (LP)
Jimmy Doyle Brewer was an Arkansas native who ran his own nightclub in North Little Rock for several decades. In the early 1950's, after a hitch in the Navy, Brewer headed out to the West Coast and landed a gig at the Corral Club in San Jose, California, where he stayed for several years. He later worked in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, eventually coming home to Arkansas where he opened his bar and hosted a local-access TV show. He met his wife, Patsy Gayle, in 1974 when she started singing at his club. I'm not sure how many records they made -- there are also a fair number of singles floating around -- but they played together and hosted live shows through many years and phases of country styles.

Ashley Gearing "Maybe It's Time" (Squeeze Records, 2006)
The lone record by this youthful performer... Sort of a "lost album" of early 21st Century top-country, this came out on an indie label but has all the hallmarks of the major label chart-toppers in an era when Sara Evans and Martina McBride still reigned supreme: plenty of gooey romantic ballads slathered with bombastic pop arrangements, sounding more influenced by contemporary R&B than by old-school C&W. Even the twangy numbers go overboard, with American Idol-style soul vocalese and really bad electric guitar solos. I'm sure for some super-fans of the style this is a real gem, but for me it was real torture. Terrible music combined with no sense of restraint or self-editing, although Gearing does seem like a very earnest performer.

Rayna Gellert & The Lonesome Sisters "Follow Me Down" (Tin Halo Records, 2006)

Rayna Gellert & Friends "Ways Of The World" (Yodel-Ay-Hee Records, 2008)

Gene & Debbe "Hear And Now" (TRX Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Gant)
The Nashville duo of Gene Thomas and Debbe Neville had their biggest success as '60s pop artists, although they dabbled with country and there's definitely an element of twang in the mix as well. They seem to have been pals of songwriter Mickey Newberry -- in addition to several songs written by Thomas, they recorded a couple of Newberry's early tunes, as well as one by John D. Loudermilk and a few others. Thomas had some commercial successes as a songwriter, and remains a cult fave for some retro-pop fans. There's also a generously programmed reissue CD on the Sundazed label that gives a pretty full picture of their career.

General Store "Off The Shelf" (Ripcord Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Blaine Allen & Ellis Miller)
This band from Seattle, Washington looks kind of rock-oriented, but twangy. The lineup featured Carlos J. Dominguez on bass, Brian Dunn (synthesizer and mellotron), Allan T. Flaa (lead guitar and steel), David Philip Haynes (drums), and Judy Walker on piano and vocals.

Gentle Ben - Featuring Sonja "Barroom Stories" (Jewel Recordings, 1981-?) (LP)
(Produced by Junior Bennett)
These folks were from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by the main songwriter Ben Nielsen, his wife Sonja and fiddler Junior Bennett, who produced the album. Their sound is fleshed out with help from steel player Dale Wagner, and the Jewel label's Rusty York, who sits in on banjo and dobro. Overall, this one didn't wow me... The band is pretty clunky and clompy, aiming for an outlaw country/boogie rock sound... real-deal bar-band stuff, but not the best I've heard. The cover songs include a belabored version of Tompall Glaser's infamous "Put Another Log On The Fire," recast as a "Tramp"-style bickering couple song, with the Nielsen's dishing out jabs at one another in what I guess was a chance to, ahem, liberate the song from its agitprop male chauvinist origins. Worth a spin, but not as much fun as I'd hoped.

Bobbie Gentry - see artist discography

The (Swingin') Gentry Singers "Pop Goes The Country" (Hickory Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Wesley Rose)
I think this was a "band" album by the Gentry Singers, a Nashville studio group modeled on the Anita Kerr Singers, and led by Sharon Gentry. They did a lot of session work, particularly for the Hickory label, and a few singles also came out under Sharon Gentry's name. The repertoire is typical cheapo-label, fake-band fare, mostly oldies by Hank Williams, Don Gibson, Marvin Rainwater, etc., including a version of the Everly Brothers classic, "All I Have To Do Is Dream." Not sure who produced this, but the sessions were conducted by John Cacavas, with an eye towards the same pop-country crossover market that had been tapped by Ray Charles and Patti Page.

Geraldine Fibbers - see artist discography

Terri Gibbs "The Best Of Terri Gibbs" (MCA Records, 1985)
Amazingly, even though she was a pretty huge star in the early 1980s radioscape, singer-pianist Terri Gibbs has all but dropped off the face of the planet, as far as the availability of her music goes. This best-of set is the only CD that any of her hits ever came out on (!) I'm guessing that either she ruffled some major feathers when she turned to Christian pop, or maybe that after she left the pop world, she put a block on her old hits staying in print. Or, maybe the public tastes just changed, and her brand of slick, synthy country-pop isn't of interest anymore. At any rate, Gibbs' music is mysteriously hard to find these days... I don't expect that'll last forever, though.

Terri Gibbs "Somebody's Knockin' " (MCA Records, 1981) (LP)

Terri Gibbs "I'm A Lady" (MCA Records, 1981) (LP)

Terri Gibbs "Some Days It Rains All Night Long" (MCA Records, 1982) (LP)

Terri Gibbs "Over Easy" (MCA Records, 1983) (LP)

Terri Gibbs "Old Friends" (Warner Brothers, 1985) (LP)

Terri Gibbs "Turnaround" (Canaan Records, 1987) (LP)

Terri Gibbs "Comfort The People" (Canaan Records, 1988)

Terri Gibbs "What A Great Day" (Morning Gate Records, 1990)

Records Susan Gibson "Tightrope" (ForTheRecords, 2011)
(Produced by Susan Gibson & Gabe Rhodes)
A nice acoustic album from country-confessional songwriter Susan Gibson, who is best known for composing "Wide Open Spaces," one of the biggest hits for the Dixie Chicks, back in the day. This is a stripped-down set, with just Gibson and Gabe Rhodes on second guitar... The vibe is pretty mellow, and there's a variety of styles, ranging from coffeehouse folk to the wordy, freeform folk-twang which these days can mysteriously become a Nashville hit, if it falls into the right hands. Gibson comes off as an appealing figure, an unpretentious, straightforward songsmith with some interesting topics and twists of phrase. Interestingly, though, she doesn't jump out with a passle of anthemic blockbusters ala "Wide Open Spaces," sticking instead to a more introspective, reserved feel. If you like folk-ish fillies such as Pam Rose, Holly Dunn and, of course, the Dixie Chicks themselves, you might want to give this a spin. Nice to hear an independent voice once in a while!

Eliza Gilkyson - see artist discography

Joanie Gilmore & The Cascades "Joanie Gilmore And The Cascades " (Gil-Key Records, 1965-?) (LP)
(Produced by R. M. Caskey)
An ultra-DIY set from 1960's Topeka, Kansas, with cool, Wanda Jackson-ish vocals by Ms. Gilmore. By the way... Anyone out there have a copy they could lend me?

Girls Next Door "The Girls Next Door" (MTM Records, 1986) (LP)

Girls Next Door "What A Girl Next Door Could Do" (MTM Records, 1987)

Girls Next Door "How 'Bout Us?" (Atlantic Records, 1990)

The Girls Of The Golden West "Home Sweet Home In Texas" (BACM, 2002)
One of the finest western music acts ever, the Good Sisters -- Dolly and Millie Good -- got their start in border radio and on regional radio in the Midwest. Then in the early 1930s, they became early stars on Chicago powerhouse WLS's "National Barn Dance" program, which made them national celebrities. This disc collects about two dozen prime tracks from their tenure on the Bluebird label -- it's all great stuff! The Girls are said to have been the first country music act to feature double yodeling melodies -- the rest of their harmonies are gorgeous as well.

The Girls Of The Golden West "Roll Along Prairie Moon" (BACM, 2004)

Dawn Glass "Sunshine And Lollypops" (R. C. Records, 1976) (LP)
A perennial second-stringer, Louisiana's Dawn Glass was a regional performer, doing concerts and TV shows in the Shreveport area while trying to make it on the national level. She recorded a few singles on a variety of labels, including ABC-Paramount, and Chart Records, and was signed by Columbia Nashville in the 1967, but as far as I know this was her only album. It was released on the Waco, Texas RC label, though perhaps the most interesting thing about this album is that all but two of the songs were written by Ann J. Morton, who was herself at the time an aspiring country musician. (I wrote to Ms. Morton to ask about the connection, and she said she had pitched some songs, including "Sunshine And Lollypops," to Glass and she wound up recording several others... One of these, "Kentucky Boy," was previously recorded as a single on Chart Records in 1973.) Even better, this is a nice record. Ms. Glass was an appealing vocalist, with a bright rural twang that strongly resembled that of Loretta Lynn, and while a couple of tracks on here sound less well-rehearsed than they could have been, mostly this is pretty solid musically speaking. A strong song selection as well, with a lot of stuff that should be of interest to any of Ann Morton's fans -- there's also a swell version of Ray Griff's "Pour A Little Water On The Flowers" that kicks off Side Two. All in all, definitely worth a spin!

Glenda & Timm "On Stage" (Shiloh Productions, 1981) (LP)
This duo from Colorado Springs, Colorado wore their musical hearts on their sleeves... but they sure did have good taste in stuff to play. There are a bunch of cover songs, with a heavy, heavy debt to the Emmylou Harris repertoire, including songs such as "Feelin' Single, Seein' Double," "Too Far Gone," "Leavin' Louisiana In The Broad Daylight," "Two More Bottles Of Wine" and "One Of These Days..." (*whew!*) There are also some some classic Patsy Cline material and a few interesting late '70s countrypolitican/country-pop songs, such as "Somebody's Knockin'," "Wildfire" and "Waiting For The Time To Get Better."

Glendale Train "Glendale Train" (Point Five Art & Design, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Glendale Train)
Presumably this Wisconsin-based band took its name from the song by the New Riders Of The Purple Sage... They had an unusual, far-flung mix of country, rock and bluegrass, ranging from hippie twang of "This Ole Cowboy" to the new wave-ish power-pop of "What Will It Take." They had two lead singers, and while the dude, J. D. Cunningham, was fine for the genre, I have to confess that singer Theresa Sanders kind of got on my nerves -- the timbre of her voice, along with the folkie, Joan Baez-ian phrasing doesn't fit in with what the rest of the band sounds like. At best, I found it distracting... Regardless, this is an interesting, ambitious set of all-original indie-twang, and certainly worth a spin if you're digging deep into the crates.

Gloriana "Gloriana" (Emblem Records, 2009)
Hyper-poppy -- and hyper-popular -- Top-40 country featuring four-part harmonies (two guys, two gals) that are carefully sculpted to sound like a mildly twangier Fleetwood Mac. Aside from the strummy-acoustic '70s-style tunes, there are also plenty of bombastic, wall-of-sound Nashville moments, with wailing vocals atop oceanic orchestrations. Not my cup of tea? Gee, how'd you guess? The sleek sounding Fleetwood-izations are okay, but I think I'd rather just dig out an old copy of Rumors instead: this is like getting into EMF when what you really wanted was a New Order album. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that reality show gal Cheyenne Kimball is a bandmember, for what that's worth.

Roxanne Goldade "20 More Miles To Go" (Track Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Peter Bentley)
A teenaged pop-country hopeful from Alberta, Canada, starting at age seven, Roxanne Goldade was a child performer on a TV show based in Calgary, and cut this album when she was fourteen years old. The record has "big" sounding production, matched by Roxanne's forceful, emotive vocals, and although she undeniably sounds very young, there's still a confident, Anne Murray-esque feel to her singing, a brash, cheerful wholesomeness. Most of the songs are originals, credited to either Roxanne Goldade or Agnes Goldade -- the song "Mama Take My Hand" was also released as a single... Some of the tracks were recorded in 1975, others in '77, and on the earlier songs she sounds much, much younger. I wonder if she made more recordings... Anybody out there know more about this gal?

Annie Golightly "The Many Faces Of Annie Golightly" (Injun Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Smokey Montgomery)
Texas native Anna Mack Milford Smith, aka Annie Golightly (1931-2012) was a singer, author, club owner and real-deal cowgal who was famous for taking part in the six-month long Great American Cattle Drive, riding from Fort Worth Texas to Montana, back in 1995. Born in ultra-rural Dial, Texas -- north of Pecan Gap -- she migrated to Fort Worth where she became part of the local country scene, eventually opening a music club that she ran up until 1988, when she largely retired from the music business. Though I'm not entirely sure of her first nations heritage, Ms. Golightly had a Native American image, and was unfortunately nicknamed "the singing savage," in keeping with her equally uncomfortable label name. She worked with Texas twang old-timer Smokey Montgomery for many years, cutting at least one single with his help, 1971's "The Vanishing Breed," which also came out on Injun Records. She joined here by several Fort Worth country stalwarts -- steel player Maurice Anderson, Billy Grammer on harmonica, bassist Marc Jaco, with producer Smokey Montgomery chiming in on banjo. Though the album kicks off with a cover of "Grandma's Feather Bed," most of the songs are her own originals.

Holly Golightly "Medicine County" (Transdreamer Records, 2010)
British garage rocker Holly Golightly has been on a twang kick for a few years, with her band The Brokeoffs showing a curious mix of styles -- raspy garage-blues with hints of cranky bluegrass and honkytonk country. The songs don't grab me the same way as her classic garage-pop gems, but if you enjoy noisy Brits-do-billy stuff such as Jon Langford and the Waco Brothers, you might want to give this a whirl as well.

The Good Old Persons "The Good Old Persons" (Bay Records, 1977)
A landmark early album from the SF Bay Area bluegrass scene, featuring future solo artists Kathy Kallick and Laurie Lewis... A fun mix of bluegrass and old-timey music, along with a touch of jazzy swing.

The Good Old Persons "I Can't Stand To Ramble" (Kaleidoscope Records, 1983) (LP)

The Good Old Persons "Anywhere The Wind Blows" (Kaleidoscope Records)

The Good Old Persons "Part Of A Story" (Flat Rock Records)

The Good Old Persons "Good 'N' Live" (Sugar Hill Records, 1995)

Joy Goodnow "The Joy Of Country" (Major Record Company, 1974-?) (LP)
New England's Joy Goodnow was a longtime fixture on Boston's 1970s country scene, singing with the John Penny Band and others, before recording a handful of singles and two LPs over the course of the decade. Her career is a little hard to map out very clearly, though she seems to been on the scene in Massachusetts and Vermont at least through the mid-1980s, and sang lead for a series of groups. She later married and moved to Oklahoma, then to Texas, where she performed at some local events.

Joy Goodnow "Joy Goodnow" (TNT Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Dishaw)

Ric Gorden & Lady "Oklahoma Country Boy" (Prosodia Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Larry Benson & Gary Duggan)
Dunno much about this Norman, Oklahoma trio, although I guess they were going for kind of a Tony Orlando & Dawn/Dave & Sugar kinda look here, with "Lady" being Gorden's wife Cherie and her sister, Marilyn Woodard... They could just as easily named the band Ric Gorden & Larry, though, since the studio band included lead guitar by Larry Kent and keyboards by studio owner Larry Benson... Anyway, Ric Gorden had been a modestly successful song and jingle writer before recording this album, and really made a go of it, getting local airplay on KOMA and other stations, and even heading out to LA to try and rustle up some major label interest. This is a very commercially-oriented album, with plenty of 'Eighties-style tinkly keyboards, strings and slightly saccharine vocals. The Gordens eventually decamped to Guthrie, Oklahoma where in 1997 they opened an antique store and crafts gallery, which remained open well into the 2010s. Not sure if they still play music or not...

Tammy Graham "Rock 'N' Country" (Twin Cities Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Harold Bradley & Bobby Bradley)
In the early 1980's Tammy Wynette Graham, a teenaged piano-player from Little Rock, Arkansas went to Nashville, where she cut this private-press LP as a demo set. She was working with a top producer of the classic Nashville Sound era -- in addition to producing, Harold Bradley plays lead guitar, rhythm, mandolin, banjo and synths(!), with an A-list crew including fellas like David Briggs and Buddy Harman, steel players Lloyd Green, Sonny Garrish and Hal Rugg, as well as Hank Strzelecki on bass... As the title implies, it's mostly a set of country and rock oldies, stuff like "Johnny B. Goode" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," as well as Jambalaya" and "Blue Kentucky Girl" on the country side of things. There's one short track credited to Graham at the end of Side One, "Tammy's Boogie," and a couple of tracks by other composers that may have been original to this album. Graham made it to the majors, eventually, recording a self-titled album for Arista in 1997.

Tammy Graham "Tammy Graham" (Career Records, 1997)
(Produced by Barry Beckett)

Great Speckled Bird "Great Speckled Bird" (Bearsville Records, 1970)
(Produced by Todd Rundgren)
Canadian folk-pop icons Ian & Sylvia Tyson "went country" on this experimental album, which featured musical assistance by blues-roots guitarist Amos Garrett and steel player Buddy Cage, as well as the Bearsville label's own "wrecking crew" of guitarist Jim Colegrove, piano player Jeff Gutcheon and drummer N.D. Smart, who formed the band Hungry Chuck in 1971, just as Great Speckled Bird was running out of steam... Only briefly in print, this is considered by many to be a landmark album from the early years of the country-rock genre. It's eclectic, to be sure, but if we're being completely honest, it's also kinda rough going, particularly in the vocals. It's admirable that they were pushing their own creative boundaries, but while Ian & Sylvia may have had it going on as far as the coffeehouse scene went, they come off kind of screechy on a lot of this album. Let's call it "challenging," and leave it at that.

Great Speckled Bird "You Were On My Mind" (Columbia Records, 1972) (LP)

Janet Greene "Country And Spanish Flavors" (CAM Records, 1980-?) (LP)
This is not strictly a country album, but it does have a great back story... Formerly a TV entertainer and lounge singer in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Janet Greene moved to Long Beach, California after being recruited by John Birch conservatives to become "the right wing Joan Baez," a far-right guitar-strumming siren for the nascent New Right. From 1964-67 Greene (nee Janet Marcum) appeared at press events with her political mentor, Dr. Frederick C. Schwarz and recorded several faux-folk singles with caustic satirical lyrics. She sang at Goldwater rallies, anti-Communist lectures and pro-war demonstrations throughout Southern California, hobnobbing with the Orange County hyper-conservatives who helped propel Ronald Reagan into the governor's mansion and onto the national stage. By the time she cut this album, Green had abandoned her political persona and was doing supper club gigs in Southern California and Vegas... The liner notes mention painter Jose Nieto, who translated one of the songs into Spanish, and who was also Green's companion for several years before his death in 1984. This album is mostly covers of country classics such as "Crazy" and "Easy Lovin'," as well as Spanish-language standards such as "Amapola" and "Cucuru Paloma." Several originals are credited to Greene and her collaborators: she wrote "I Am Only One" and "Just For A Little While," while Long Beach country crooner Clarke C. Rohn contributes one called "Secretly," and quite likely backs her on this album. (Thanks once again to the Conelrad website for their informative profile of Ms. Greene's career!)

Terry Gregory "The Handshake Years Anthology" (Renaissance Records, 2005)
Pretty much the complete works of this Top Forty back-bencher... Her biggest single, "Just Like Me," hit #15 on the charts, but even with numerous follow-ups, she never quite clicked with the big time... This collection reveals her as a pretty modest talent, alternately yearning and sincere or a bit overconfident and lofty (as on her cover of "Stand By Your Man," a song that requires a real belter, and not a Maureen McGovern wannabee...) A couple of tunes, like "I Need Another Lover (Like A Hole In The Heart)" have a perky lightness that's in keeping with some of the funner, sillier side of '70s country, but mostly this is pretty stuffy material, more geared towards the sappiest Top 40 AOR of the time, and a few dips into the nascent synth-country sound of the early '80s. Not my cup of tea, but I'm sure there are some devoted fans out there who will be psyched to find these old, hard-to-find indie recordings all in one place.

Terry Gregory "Terry Gregory" (Handshake Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)

Terry Gregory "Just Like Me" (Handshake Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)

Terry Gregory "From The Heart" (Handshake Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)

Bill Gress & Country Blue "Live At Rex's Nite Club" (Glacier Records, 1974) (LP)
High plains country-pop bandleader Bill Gress led the house band at Rex's Nite Club, a watering hole in Kalispell, Montana (in the West end of the state's Flathead Valley, just north of Missoula...) This album has a lot going for it, starting with the tinny, fake-live applause, which sounds like it was stripped from an old Beatles concert. The music is perky, with bouncy guitar riffs and charmingly uneven vocals... Bassist-emcee Gress has a sort of optimistic, can-do style, reminiscent perhaps of Del Reeves, while his sister, "girl" singer Betty Lou Armstrong -- pictured on the cover in provocative though hopelessly outdated go-go boots and midi skirt -- had a slightly folkish sound, equal parts Judy Collins and Donna Fargo. Some groovy chicken-pickin' guitar and really nice pedal steel... All in all, a swell example of a real-live, working country-lounge band in the upper plains states during the "Me Decade" early '70s. Fun stuff!

Glenda Griffith "Glenda Griffith" (Ariola Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Don Henley & Jim Ed Norman)
A very, very, very LA in-crowd album with backing by a sizeable portion of The Eagles (Don Henley on drums, Don Felder and Joe Walsh playing guitar and Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk mixing the tracks...) as well as Carole King playing piano on a couple of songs and contributing a song called "Eagle," as well as a whole slew of folks from the Southern California soft-rock/country-rock studio scene in tow: Karla Bonoff, Valerie Carter, Danny Korchmar, J.D. Souther, Waddy Wachtel, et. al. Griffith seems to have been a particular protegee of Danny O'Keefe, recording four of his songs and getting him to back her on one track; she herself contributes two originals to the repertoire. This is mostly a '70 pop record, in a lush, sometimes overripe Carole King/Carly Simon-esque mode, though with enough hints of twang to qualify it for mention here... The songs featuring the Eagles dudes sound very Eagles-y, with specific riffs and production touches that are lifted straight from the Hotel California playbook, just with a gal singing rather than Henley and his peeps. Really, though, I guess this is more of a buyer-beware review: I kept seeing this popping up in country bins and finally had to check it out, but there isn't really much twang on it. Her cover of Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry About Me" spotlights Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel and has a nice, plinky honky-tonk vibe, though her vocals are underwhelming; some nice steel work on O'Keefe's "Quits," which appropriately enough closes the album out.

Nanci Griffith - see artist discography

Bonnie Guitar "Dark Moon" (Bear Family Records, 1991)
In her way, Bonnie Guitar was an iconic, groundbreaking female performer and musical entrepreneur... As a guitarist, she cracked into the Nashville and Los Angeles studio scenes, and is featured on numerous pop and pop-vocals albums; she also had considerable success as a solo artist in her own right. In addition, she was a pioneering DIY-er, starting her own record label (Dolphin/Dolton records, which she sold after a few years), all of which was pretty remarkable for a gal in the Eisenhower/Kennedy era. As a musician, however, particularly as a country musician, I find her pretty underwhelming, pretty much epitomizing the snoozy, lethargic pop sound of the time. This collection showcases a bunch of her early stuff (though not necessarily her biggest hits...) Doesn't do much for me. There are also a bunch of original albums, but they strike me as too "pop" to list here... Even though she charted as a country artist, there's precious little twang to be heard in her work.

Randy Gurley "Let Me Be The One" (ABC Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Harold Bradley)

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion "Entirely Live" (Route 8 Records, 2004)

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion "Exploration" (New West Records, 2005)
This earnest folkie duo cranks up the volume on a surprisingly sizzling, electrified album, with some for-real, heavy, funky rock grooves capturing center stage on most tracks. This disc is an amazing leap from their previous work, which I had classed in the I'm-rootin'-for-ya, even-though-this-is-kinda-choppy department... The lulls and gaps they showed before are almost entirely absent here, and most of these songs will really pull you in. They do go overboard on the loud lead guitar riffs and banging drums, but for the most part, this is a very solid record. If you like Buddy & Julie Miller, Gillian Welch, or the revamped Flatlanders, you might want to check this out! (And, yes, she is Arlo's daughter... If I was her daddy, I'd be pretty proud...)

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion "Folksong" (Route 8 Records, 2009)

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion "Bright Examples" (Rocket Science Records, 2011)

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion "Wassaic Way" (Route 8 Records, 2013)

Guy & Ralna "Country Songs We Love To Sing" (Ranwood Records, 1973) (LP)
The husband-and-wife duo of Guy Hovis and Ralna English were regulars on "The Lawrence Welk Show" and had a built-in audience to help with their modest success on the charts. Most of their albums were gospel-oriented, a few were secular... I'm not sure how "country" the religious records were...

Guy & Ralna "Guy & Ralna Country" (Ranwood Records, 1974) (LP)

Gwen's Country Jubilee "Gwen's Country Jubilee" (Starr Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Casey & Marvin Jones)
Although her group's "jubilee" band name made it sound like Gwen Turner was running her own mini-opry, this was actually an informal, self-contained group that made live appearances at the Mountaineer Opry House in Milton, West Virginia, just on the state line about fifty miles from Cincinnati. The Mountaineer Opry opened in 1972, and Turner's band recorded this album the following year. The liner notes say that Mrs. Turner "gave up a career" to start this band, apparently corralling several friends and acquaintances to start a band, ranging from thirteen-year old singer Sandy Powers to guitarist and aspiring songwriter Bill Wurts, as well as Sue Conley (vocals), Jim Lyons (rhythm guitar), Larry Lyons (bass), and Jim Reed (drums), and Jerry Van Hoose on steel guitar. Around the same time Gwen and her husband "Doc" Turner started something called the Appalachian Country Jubilee, Inc., in their home state of Kentucky, and may have been hoping to create a local venue of their own. The liner notes say that Gwen Turner mostly sang harmony and was reluctant to sing lead; as far as I can tell she didn't have an earlier career as a solo performer, and hadn't recorded anything before this album. Steel player Jerry Van Hoose recorded an album called Steel Memories," and seems to have moved down to Florida. Other than that, this record is a bit of a mystery.

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Hick Music Index
Sisters Who Swung: Women In Jazz & Blues

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