Arthur D "Rocky Mountain Water" (Tad Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Downs)
Not sure to tell you about this one... It says Mr. D was from "the north country," which I guess maybe means Canada, though this album was recorded in Nashville, although not entirely with the A-list usual suspects. Some players I recognize -- Willie Rainsford on piano, Leo Jackson guitar, Jim Baker playing steel -- but many of the pickers are more obscure, possibly from D's own band.

Johnny D. "Old Time Religion: A Country Gospel Program By Johnny D" (Alshire Records, 1972) (LP)
Kind of a kooky little record... I saw a totally thrashed copy in the quarter bin at my local Record Hut, and finally picked it up, since it looked so promising. "Johnny D." appears to be a pseudonym for the multiply-pseudonymous Johnny Doe, one of several made-up "artists" recording for the Los Angeles-based Alshire label. Originally the name was an alias for Johnny Cash imitator Stan Farlow, though in this case it was being used for a guy named Darryl Humphries, who got a songwriter's credit on the inner label. (The other songs were credited to E. L. Jefe -- ha-ha, I get it...) In keeping with Farlow's original Johnny Doe persona, Johnny D also was a crypto-Cash soundalike, though on this album he's almost comedically unable to stay in character, and doesn't seem to have been a particularly strong singer to begin with. Still, if you wanna hear someone mimicking Johny Cash's "Daddy Sang Bass" style of gospel, you might get a big kick out of this disc. Presumably the backing band were drawn from Alshire's anonymous stable of under-employed country-rockers... the music's decent, though the vocals are a bit wobbly.

Kenny Dace & The Downstate Ramblers "Blue Grass Remembrance" (Little Nashville Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Stuber, Don D. Sheets & Bill Schuler)
A straight-up truegrass band that was apparently associated with the Little Nashville Opry, near Bloomington, Indiana. However, their manager, Bob Stuber, provided an address in Iuka, Illinois, and it seems this was not actually a hoosier band. The Downstate Ramblers went on to record several other albums under just the band's name (using studios in Illinois), although Dace was still the group's primary guitar picker.

The Dady Brothers "Mind To Move" (Emanon Records, 1979) (LP)
A bluegrass/twang band from upstate New York, playing mostly originals written by John Dady, including "Elaine," "Minstrel Man," "Hitchhiker's Lament," "Mind To Move" and "Lonesome Ugly Me," which was co-written with Michael Pavone, who also wrote one called "Nogales." The cover tunes range from bluegrass oldies such as "Way Downtown" to a Nick Gravenites blues tune ("Theme From Steelyard Blues").

Ted Daigle & His Musicmen "Twelve Million Memories" (Excellent Recording Company, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Alex Sherman)
Best known as a Canadian rockabilly pioneer, Ted Daigle "went country" for this mid-'Sixties outing, covering a dozen classic country songs, picking one hit for each year from 1955-66, including oldies such as "White Sports Coat And A Pink Carnation," "Walk On By," "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" and "King Of The Road." The backing band includes Gilbert Glazier and Neil Flanz on guitars, Paul Rusachuk on bass and Byron Stever on drums. Daigle also covers "BJ the DJ," which was a hit for Stonewall Jackson in '64, writing how he could identify with the song since he was working as a deejay at radio station CKOY, Ottawa when he cut this album. Twang on!

Pat Dailey "Whiskey Morning" (Olympia Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Danny Sheridan & Boris Menart)
Midwesterner Pat Dailey moved from state to state for years, singing in bars and clubs in numerous cities throughout the 1960s and '70s, before landing a decades-long gig at a place called the Beer Barrel Saloon in Put-In-Bay, Ohio. In the early '80s he met Shel Silverstein, and together they collaborated on several songs. This was Dailey's first album, recorded around the time of his more or less permanent relocation to Ohio... The sessions were recorded in Hollywood with a studio crew packed with country-rock luminaries such as Danny Sheridan (bass), Al Perkins (pedal steel and dobro), Gib Gilbeau on fiddle and various others in the LA twang scene.

Pat Dailey "Island Fever" (Olympia Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Alex Bevan & Michael Bishop)

Pat Dailey "Live 'N' Kickin' " (Olympia Records, 1986) (LP)

Coy Daily "Country Fiddling" (Trac Records, 197-?) (LP)
Fiddler Coy Daily was an Okie who came out west in 1940, playing professionally in some western swing bands before settling down in Salida, California, right next to Modesto. In 1974, Daily and fellow fiddler Vern Keathly along with guitarist Nellie O'Neal won the music competition at the Auburn State Fair, giving them the impetus to record a lovely all-instrumental album for the Fresno-based Trac label. Daily followed up that success with this "solo" set, which featured backing by his son Ron Daily, on bass as well as guitar picker Les Davis and pianist Don Hyland (here spelled "Heiland") on piano. This record includes an original tune called "Kiowa Special," in honor of his childhood home in Kiowa County, Oklahoma.

Paige Daily "First Paige" (Benson Sound, 1983-?) (LP)
(Produced by Larry R. Benson & Gary Duggan)
A vanity album pressed for Laverne, Oklahoma's Paige Daily, sixteen year-old winner of the state's 1982 Teen Miss Talent pageant... Daily sings country standards like "Tennessee Waltz," "Song For The Common Man" and "Your Cheatin' Heart" as well as contemporary stuff such as "Lookin' For Love," "On The Road Again" and -- of course -- "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma." Plus, I was delighted to see her cover Dick Feller's "Some Days Are Diamonds," though I suppose that was because John Denver had just recorded his version of the song. No info on the musicians backing her, alas... Also, this seems to be her only recording; not sure if this came out in 1982 or '83, but it definitely was a souvenir of her pageant show victory.

The Daisy Dillman Band "The Daisy Dillman Band" (United Artists, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by John Pete)
An exemplary hippie twang album by one of the handful of regional DIY bands to score a nationwide, major label contract in the late '70s. Formed in 1976, this Minnesota-based band named jokingly themselves after their bassist's great-grandmother, Daisy Ellen Dillman -- the name stuck and they built up a solid regional following which led to this album, as well as various gigs opening for folks such as Jerry Jeff Walker, Asleep At The Wheel and The Amazing Rhythm Aces (who all get shout-outs on the liner notes...) This album is a very strong recording, blending Poco-delic longhair twang with Marshall Tucker-esque Southern-pop, made even more impressive for the wealth of original material and the fact that the band really played all the music itself -- no Nashville superpickers called into the studio for this one! I remember hearing these guys, or at least hearing their name a lot, on the late, lamented, legendary KFAT radio station in the late '70s, though listening back to the album, I have to say none of the tracks stand out as "the hit" -- some of those KFAT classics stick with you, but I guess some don't. Still, it's a pretty solid record, and if you're looking into '70s longhair country and Southern rock, you don't want to miss this one!

The (Daisy) Dillman Band "Lovin' The Night Away" (RCA, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Hall)
Oh, dear. Well, whatever country twang they started out with in the '70s had completely evaporated by the time this record came out. The Dillman Band went pop, or at least tried to, with this glossy set of eclectic soft rock, which ranged from moderately rockin' bar-band type stuff, to tunes with mild Latin and Caribbean influences. The only song that really seems at all country-flavored is "Roll Like A Stone," which sounds like a Poco outtake, but otherwise, this was a fairly bland rock-pop outing, and one that sounded several years out of date, more suited to '77-'79 AOR rather than the post-punk, pre-MTV landscape of the early '80s. I guess this album yielded a Top 50 single, though a second album recorded for RCA got shelved. Oh, well.

Dakota "The Captain And The Outlaw" (Front Range Records, 1982) (LP)
There were several bands that called themselves "Dakota," including a few that weren't from the Dakotas at all... The guys on this record were apparently from Colorado, and are not to be confused with the soft-rock group from Pennsylvania that was led by Jerry Hludzik and Bill Kelly that put out an album a couple of years earlier. Anyway, this album includes some interesting folk-oriented country-rock covers, including three John Stewart songs, a version of Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon," and a version of "Greenback Dollar."

Dakota "All Kinds Of Country" (1984) (LP)
(Produced by Don Garvin & Joe Bougher)
Led by singer and keyboardist Joe Bougher, this band named Dakota was from New Brighton, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, near the Ohio border. All the songs were Joe Bougher originals, though for the life of me I couldn't find any more information abut this band, other than the record itself.

Johnny Dakota "In Nashville" (Rodeo Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Mills & Bill Eldridge)
A solo album by Jon E. Severson, aka Johnny Dakota, a stalwart member of the Western Gentlemen, the longtime house band at the Reata Pass Steakhouse near Scottsdale, Arizona... Usually he recorded locally with his bandmates, bass player Buck Coghlan and fiddler Slim Forbes, but for this disc the trio went whole hog and booked time at Bradley's Barn playing with a bunch of Nashville pros, including Willie Ackerman, David Briggs, Jerry Byrd, Walter Haynes, Junior Huskey, Pete Wade and others. Most of the tracks are covers of classics, tunes like "Almost Persuaded," "Release Me," "For The Good Times" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down," though there's also one original, "The Night Wind," credited to Mr. Dakota, which was also released as a single on the Rodeo label.

Dakota Outlaws/Bob Marty "Southern Comfort" (Self-released) (LP)
Singer Bob Marty couldn't quite decide who should be listed as the artist on this one... Should it be under his name, or under the "band" name Dakota Outlaws, with the distinction being that's what he called the act when he was performing with his wife, Dee, who also plays bass. As it turned out, he lists it both ways, with "Dakota Outlaws" emblazoned on the front cover, and "Bob Marty" persisting on the back and inner label. According to the liner notes, Marty worked as a traveling performer doing the "supper club trail" in the upper plains states, where he met Dee, who was a native North Dakotan. They settled down in Minot, ND and played together as a duo, cutting this album at some point in the late '70s. The repertoire is all cover songs, tilting heavily towards the contemporary 'Seventies "outlaw" sound -- songs like "Whiskey River," "Put Another Log On The Fire," "I Don't Think Hank Done It This Way" and "I Can Get Off On You." Your basic Waylon & Willie stuff...

Dakota Sid "Dakota Sid" (Lost Dog, 1977) (LP)
Although originally from North Dakota, Sid Clifford headed for out west in the 'Sixties, making the scene in Haight Ashbury for a few years before moving to the calmer, more relaxed rural confines of Grass Valley, California. This album is mostly-solo acoustic folkie singer-songwriter stuff, with a blues-ish, Woody Guthrie-esque tinge. Nothing spectacular here, though there are some mildly intriguing mementos of hippiedom in some of the lyrics, including a song memorializing a housecat ("Flowers For Moses") lost on a cross-country trip, and some less sympathetic portrayals, such as "Sad Situation," a judgmental portrait of a woman in distress... I guess Sid Clifford was representative of a bazillion longhaired, whiteboy folkies still pickin' and singing in the '70s... just he managed to make a few records. Worth checking out if you're super-into obscuro stuff, though honestly I didn't find it that distinctive or compelling -- also, more of a straight folk record than what I normally prefer.

The Dakota Strings "The Dakota Strings" (UA Recordings, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Gunderson)
A hyper-local trio from central South Dakota, made up of drummer Jene Carroll (from Huron, SD), bassist Dick Linneman (of Bryant), and singer-guitarist Russ Madsen (of Carpenter). We are talking really, truly rural, small-town America here, with the biggest city nearby being Huron, where they played the state fair at one point, and recorded this live set at the American Legion Club. The repertoire is a mix of country tunes ("Okie From Muskogee," "Orange Blossom Special," a bunch of Hank Williams songs) and rock'n'roll oldies.

Jimmie Dale & The Western Trailsmen "Songs Of The Old West" (Palace Records, 1961-?) (LP)
An East Coast cowpoke from Newark, New Jersey, singer Jimmie Dale recorded prolifically through the late 1940s and early '50s, and more sporadically into the 'Sixties and 'Seventies. This super-cheapo album apparently draws all its tracks from recording sessions held in 1947, and seems to overlap with the Canadian super-cheapo below, encompassing hillbilly boogie-era songs such as "Guitar Boogie," "Divorce Me COD," and even older sentimental numbers like "Wreck Of The Old 97" and "Wabash Cannonball." Alas, the musicians backing him are not listed on this disc, but I'm sure some more efficient scholars than myself have already figured that stuff out... Of course, the audio fidelity on these old fly-by-night truck stop LPs isn't all that great (even if the music is) so you might be better off tracking down the later reissues on the German collector label, Binge Disc/Cattle Records, which are listed below.

Jimmie Dale & The Trailsmen "Authentic Golden Country And Western Sounds" (Countryville Records, 196-?) (LP)
This appears to be the same album as above, repackaged for release in the Canadian market...

Jimmie Dale "Eastern Country and Western Of Days Gone" (Cattle Records, 1984) (LP)
A sampling of Dale's vintage hillbilly recordings, including some hillbilly boogie, one called "Got To Get To Nashville," and a topical tune about the war, "Goodbye Maria (I'm Off To Korea)," which I suppose was a bridge between "So Long Mama, I'm Off To Yokahama" and Tom Lehrer's cold war answer song, "So Long Mom (I'm Off To Drop The Bomb)." Sounds like a great little mini-set; good thing for you I don't have a radio show anymore! Anyway, I am a huge fan of the Binge Disc label, which typically pairs great curation with superior sound quality... So if you're looking to delve into the Jimmie Dale story, this would be a great place to start.

Jimmie Dale "Country Songs Never Grow Old" (Cattle Records, 1985) (LP)
More vintage recordings from the late 1940s to mid-1950s... This disc tilts towards the sentimental side, though he also does a bunch of uptempo novelty numbers, as well as one called "Hello Maria," apparently an answer to his own song (heard above.) Some real good, old-fashioned hillbilly twang!

Dallas County "Dallas County" (Stax/Enterprise Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Don Nix)
Meh. Just consider this one a warning. Yeah, yeah, I know: you see the words "Dallas County" and you figure it's just gotta be some cool major-label country-rock missing link... But, no. It's just excruciatingly mediocre white soul-horn band stuff, with an underlay of early '70s sunshine pop. The whole thing seems pretty uninspired: the horn charts are bland and repetitive, the vocals by Sammy Jaramillo are emotive, but unmoving. It's sort of like a Three Dog Night outtakes album straight outta Texas... Maybe some fans of the genre will find this rewarding, but most twangfans can safely steer clear of this disc. Nothing to see here.

Dean Dallas & The Doughboys "Golden County Hits" (Mercury/Cumberland Records, 1964-?) (LP)
A set of pedal steel instrumentals cut by an anonymous band on one of Mercury Records' budget label imprints. Apparently "Dean Dallas" was an alias used by pedal steel great Pete Drake, though the rest of the musicians remain unidentified. Plenty of covers of country classics and standards.

Jimmy Dallas "Jimmy Dallas" (Kansa Records, 1978) (LP)
A pretty solid set by a Midwestern honkytonker whose career stretched back a few decades. Back in the early 1950s Jimmy Dallas (1927-2004) recorded for the legendary Westport Records label, based in Kansas City, and notably cut a few duets with KC cowgal Cathy Justice. He later worked as a radio deejay and hosted his own country music TV show on the city's KMBC, Channel-9, and also performed on a local mini-opry called The Cowtown Jubilee. This album seems to be a compilation of a string of singles he released in the 'Seventies, on indie labels such as Graceland, Lee Mac and Triune Records, tracks that came out over a five- or six-year period, and not surprisingly have slightly different feels. (Unfortunately, there's no information about the backing musicians, but there were probably a few different sets of session bands.) As a vocalist, Dallas fell inside a long tradition of fragile masculine figures, calling to mind Bill Anderson, John Conlee, and Lefty Frizzell. One of his best performances is on his cover of Bill Mack's "Drinking Champagne," though perhaps of greater interest are some of the album's more "flawed" songs, including a couple of Jimmy Dallas originals that may be of interest to women's studies scholars interested in the depiction of the male psyche in country music: the protagonist of "I'll Be A Better Man" sullenly snaps back at a gal who tells him he's a bad lover by telling her he'd do better if she "were a better woman," while good sex seems to quell the wanderlust of some typically self-centered dude in "My Woman Loves The Leaving Out Of Me." There were some other singles from this era that got left off this album; a later CD best-of included some of those tunes, while dropping others that were on the vinyl version.

Jimmy Dallas "The Best Of Me" (Kansa Records, 1987-?) (LP)

Lenny Dallas "Just Too Hot To Handle" (K-Ark Records, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced by John Capps & Jack Logan)
I'm not sure where this fella was from, but he had a strong band backing him in the studio, including guitar picker Gene Breeden, Doug Jernigan playing pedal steel, bassist Roy Huskey Jr., and Vassar Clements on fiddle... Not bad! This early '80s offering includes a cover of John Anderson's 1982 hit, "Swingin'," along with Onie Wheeler's "Might As Well Hang My Britches Up," and some original material, with one tune written by Dallas, "Crazy Me."

Maria Dallas -- see artist profile

Bob Dalton "...And The Dalton Gang" (RPM Records, 1969) (LP)
A lesser-known country singer from Downington, Pennsylvania, Bob Dalton landed one song hit the charts -- barely. "Mama, Call Me Home" came out in 1970 on Mega Records, and peaked at #73... and I think that was about all she wrote for these fellas. This album has a lot of contemporary cover songs -- "Act Naturally," "The Auctioneer," "Mama Tried," etc.

Dave Dalton "Maine-ly Country" (NRS Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Col. Dave Mathes, Early Williams & Robbie Williams)

The Dalton Gang "Family And Friends, v. II" (Harvest Records, 1984) (LP)
I'm not sure if this is the same group as Bob Dalton's band from over a decade earlier... it's possible, although there were several bands using that name over the years. The Harvest label was apparently from somewhere in Ohio.

Johnny Dalton "Johnny Dalton's Lonesome Ride" (Natural Sound Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dusty Burnett, Steve Hulse & Johnny Dalton)
A mostly-covers set from country crooner Johnny Dalton, who lived in Oakham, Massachusetts, near Worcester... Two of the five original tracks off this album were also released as a single, possibly before this LP came out; the single is dated on some discographies as being from 1968, though Dalton's version of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night" places this LP as an early 'Seventies offering. The rest of the record is a set covering hits such as "Born To Lose," "Green, Green Grass Of Home," and others by Johnny Cash, Wayne Kemp, and Jim Reeves... Unfortunately the musicians backing him aren't named, though they were pretty capable pickers, particularly the steel player whose confident licks help start this disc out on a strong foot. Later on, things get a little wobbly -- Dalton looks young and vigorous on the cover pictures, but he sounds more like a middle-aged man, and his phrasing sometimes drifts a bit. I'm not sure if this was the same Johnny Dalton who was in the '50s Boston doo-wop group The Three Ds, though the liner notes mention that he used to be in a "roadhouse trio" where he was called "JD," and that he'd been playing music for over fifteen years before making this album. So who knows? Could be!

Kathy Dalton "Amazing" (Discreet Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Greg Dempsey & Kerry McNabb)
A fairly funky singer with a background in LA's late-'Sixties folk-rock scene, Kathy Dalton was in the obscuro-psych bands Gas Company and The Daughters Of Albion (which both included this album's producer, Greg Dempsey) then set out as a solo artist in the full flush of LA's country-rock/singer-songwriter era. This album is most notorious for the backing band, a SoCal studio crew that included the full lineup of Little Feat, who give the tracks a very distinctive, very recognizable sound. The entire album, minus one track, was reissued the following year, with a more rootsy look, but basically it's the same set.

Kathy Dalton "Boogie Bands And One Night Stands" (Discreet Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Greg Dempsey & Kerry McNabb)
This is basically the same album as above, with the title track, "Boogie Bands And One Night Stands" replacing "Long Gone Charlie, Hit And Run" as the album's opener. Everything else is the same.

Joel Daly & The Sundowners "Thank God I'm An Anchorman" (Flying Anchor Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Joel Daly & Vince Ippolito)
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, broadcaster Joel Daly made his way to Chicago where he worked at WLS-TV starting in 1967 until 2004, retiring after nearly two decades as one of the station's top news anchors. He moonlighted as a country singer, playing with the city's fabled honkytonk band, The Sundowners. This live album was recorded at the then newly-opened Rosemont Horizon arena, with backing by Bob Boyd (rhythm guitar), Curt Delaney (bass), Vince Ippolito (drums), Roger Pauly (piano) and Don Walls playing lead guitar... A fair amount to novelty material here, including the title track, along with tunes such as "City Canyon Yodel," "Older Women," "I'm Going To Teach You To Yodel" and "Son Of A Beeper" (about that amazing, revolutionary high-tech 1980's device, the paging beeper. I wouldn't say that Mr. Daly was the world's most dazzling singer, but this is a lively album and he exudes a pretty jovial presence. And he sure could yodel! The Sundowners also released a few albums under the band's name, as well as backing several other local singers.

Joel Daly & The Sundowners "Above And Beyond" (Joel Daly Records, 1993) (LP)

Allen Wayne Damron "Live At The Kerrville Folk Festival" (Kerrville Records, 1973)
(Produced by Rod Kennedy & Pedro Gutierrez)
One of the twenty or so albums by Texas folk elder/cowboy poet Allen Wayne Damron (1939-2005) who co-owned the Chequered Flag, one of Austin's first folk clubs, and who was instrumental in starting the Kerrville Folk Festival. Damron co-founded the Chequered Flag in 1967, and on the opening night of the club he sang a version of "Mr. Bojangles," becoming the first artist -- ever -- to record the future classic by Jerry Jeff Walker. This set is, I admit, ironically just a bit too "folkie" for me, although Damron does cover a couple of Michael Murphey songs, including a rambling rendition of "Fort Worth, I Love You," which is peppered with Texas in-jokes, and a worst-song-ever contest -- stuff that went over big with the crowd of a thousand eager folk fans.

Allen Wayne Damron "The Old Campaigner" (BF Deal, 1976) (LP)
This album includes the songs "Kansas Legend" and "Berkeley Woman," a combo that was enough to get my attention...

Allen Wayne Damron "Texas In His Ways" (PSG Records, 1981) (LP)
Mostly recorded live at the Lock, Stock And Barrell, in Austin, Texas...

Allen Wayne Damron "Country" (Bright Side Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Hugh Sparks)

Allen Wayne Damron "Sweeping Up Dreams" (Canadian River, 1985) (LP)

Dan & Dave "Recorded Live At The Back Room" (D-Bar-D Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Peter Butcher)
A primitively recorded live show from an Austin outlaw duo, running through a bunch of country classics, hippiebilly anthems and current hits, including covers of "London Homesick Blues," Guy Clark's "Texas, 1947," "On The Road Again," a pre-George Strait version of the regional hit, "Amarillo By Morning," some Johnny Cash and Hank Williams tunes, and even a version of "Looking For Love." The group included lead singer/guitarists Dan Burke and Dave Henry, along with Kim Hayley on bass and steel guitarist Artie Passes, performing live at a venue called The Back Room. The sound quality's not great, and the stage patter tries to be provocative (sometimes in the wrong ways, as when the emcee jokes around about one of the bandmembers being a "Jewboy" -- maybe Kinky Friedman could get away with that, but not every random Bubba...) Overall, though, this is a nice snapshot of a local Austin-area band, plugging away in the pre-Americana era, hitting a lot of the right notes, culturally speaking, with a particularly strong song selection, decent picking, and sorta-okay vocals. Worth a spin, for sure.

Dan & Judy "Dan And Judy" (Preferred Stock Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Stewart, Judy Joynes & Elden Stielstra)
This brother/sister duo from Ludington, Michigan certainly had an affinity for country material, though the instruments used on this album are hardly what you'd expect to hear on Hee-Haw. Dan Stewart's lead guitar is framed by saxophone, synthesizer, trumpet and tambourine, with nary a fiddle, banjo or pedal steel to be seen. Still, they are country-oriented if not all that twangy in sound... The country covers include "Amanda," "Silver Wings" and "Your Cheatin' Heart," while there's also a dip into oldies rock, heard on their versions of "Sixteen Candles" and Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock'n'Roll." (There's no date on this album, but the Seger track places it at least around 1979; if pressed, I'd guess 1980-81.) While the siblings are listed as co-producers, Elden Stielstra was the actual engineer/producer, operating out of Wild Honey Studios, in Scottsville, Michigan... Beyond that, this record remains a resolute mystery, with nary a smidge of information to be gleaned from the vast interwebs archives; the only mention I found of them playing live was at her sister's Ludington wedding in 1984.

Daniel "Winning The West" (Ministry Resource Center, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Al Perkins & Joe Bellamy)
One of the many "Jesus freak" country gospel albums produced by erstwhile Flying Burrito Brother steel guitarist Al Perkins, along with Byrds co-founder Chris Hillman. They both play on this lively, bluegrass-flavored album, backing born-again evangelist Daniel McClenaghan (1947-2015) along with a slew of talented Southern California pickers. The music is solid and well-produced, though the more secular-minded among us may find some of Daniel's religious doctrine puzzling, notably on the anti-Darwin, there's-no-such-thing-as-evolution anthem, "Disputation Waltz." Other songs, such as "Carnal Pleasures?" are a little more in the standard Christian country ouvre, describing how a life spent seeking self-gratification can leave you feeling hollow and unsatisfied. Also in the studio, though taking a more minor role, is Hillman protege Dan McCorison, who sings backup, as well as bassist Bill Bryson, banjo plunker Don Gerber, and David Mansfield on fiddle. McClenaghan comes off as a little too intense, but the musical end is pretty nice. McClenaghan recorded at least a couple of other albums, and re-released this one as a CD, using his full name. McClenaghan grew up in Anaheim, and recorded this album in the Los Angeles suburb of Arleta, CA, though he later moved up to Bishop, CA, in the high Sierras, where he worked as a local pastor until passing away in 2015.

Jay Daniel & Jo Ann Daniel "Who Am I?" (Vision Records, 197--?) (LP)
A truly dreary gospel album from a husband-wife evangelical team from Sacramento, California. This disc is primarily of interest because it came out on the Vision Records label, a Central Valley indie that issued dozens of mostly-twangy albums by local Christian artists. This album is unusual among Vision releases for its slick sounding production, the plodding musicianship, and the absence of traditional country instruments such as mandolin, electric guitar, etc. Also, it's a very sluggish album, with almost all the songs delivered at a glacial pace, which just makes the churchy but rough vocals that much more agonizing (neither of the Daniels were compelling singers). Although there is a good steel guitar player in the mix, my guess would be the backing musicians were drawn from the Daniel's own circle, rather than the more rural-sounding Vision studio players; only on the last couple of tracks do they try to pick up the tempo and introduce a little bit of hillbilly guitar, but by then it's way too late. The musicians sounded bored with the sessions, too. Anyway, you can skip this one.

Charlie Daniels Band -- see artist profile

Stephen Daniels "Never The Less" (Safari Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Fields & Johnny Howard)
As the liner notes helpfully explain, "Stephen Daniels is Dan Schoon," though why he went through all the bother of making a pseudonym then explaining it away is a little mysterious. Anyway, Mr. Schoon/Daniels lived in several different states, but seems primarily to have been an Iowan. This album is a collection of tracks that were recorded over a series of years, between 1971-76, and several were released earlier as singles. It's possible that all the tracks are originals; eight of them are credited or co-credited to Dan Schoon. Safari Records was a Nashville label, and there are some well-known Music City studio players listed in the liner notes, along with others more obscure musicians. Mr. School also recorded under his real name as well, and seems to have had a pretty active career during the late '70s.

Danny & Smootchy "Creamed Country Corn" (SSS International/Shelby Singleton Productions, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Venneri)
A custom-pressed souvenir album for the cornpone comedy duo of Danny & Smootchy, aka drummer Danny Taylor and pianist Jerry Lee ("Smootchy") Smith, who were being sponsored by the Holiday Inn corporation, which had them on its tour schedule at the time. The album lists two continuous tracks, each taking up a full album side: "Uninterrupted Mirth, Laughter, Hysteria, Giggles And Chuckles" and "Uninterrupted Guffaws, Howls, Fun, Hilarity And Screams." Yeah, sure... if you say so.

Danny & The Starlighters "The Starlite Club Proudly Presents..." (Cyberteknic Creative Recording, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by Phil McHaffey & Tim Norris)
An oddly off-kilter bar band from Dayton, Ohio (and environs), this group took some interesting musical twists and turns, with an almost-proggish approach to its mix of southern rock and countrypolitan; as the from cover proclaims: "Its not all country... but it ain't bad." The Starlighters included several guys who had been to Nashville and worked backing various country stars. The band's leader, Danny O'Boyle seems to have had the most experience, though some of the other guys also claimed time on the road -- Mike Harris (drums), Danny Meade (lead guitar), Bill Taylor (organ and saxophone) and Ronnie Truett on bass. According to the liner notes by nightclub owner Edward Gelia, O'Boyle formed the Starlighters in March 1974, presumably in commemoration of their gig as the house band at the Starlite Club, in Springfield. The album art proclaims, "it's not all country, but it's not bad," and sure enough, along with their covers of "Ramblin' Man" and "Sweet Becky Walker," and the ever-dreadful patriotic medley, "American Trilogy." They also played stuff like Santana's "Samba Pa Ti," so there was definitely some ambition there... Not sure about the other guys, but Danny O'Boyle also seems to have done a fair amount of studio work for QCA and other gospel labels in the area. An unusual sounding album, definitely worth a spin.

Danny Boy "...Sings With North Of Nashville" (Jeree Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Betty Swartz & John Swartz)

Bill & Taffy Danoff - see artist discography

The Danville Junction Boys "Layin' Tracks" (Clockwerke Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Russell J. Peotter & Tom Rowe)
Recorded in Auburn, Maine, this album features bluegrass and old-timey music with a New England flair... The group included fiddler Fred Carpenter, who later moved to Nashville to open his own music shop and found work as an in-demand session player for a wide variety of musicians. The other guys in the band included Ron Gallant, Gregory Hanson, Bruce Hobart and Mark Larlee, playing a diverse, lively repertoire.

Ray Darby & Ella Darby "Soul" (Superior Sound Studios, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Duane Allen)

Ray Darby & Ella Darby "Ray Darby" (Skylite Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Joel Gentry)
If your curiosity was piqued by the front cover, which features Mr. Darby in full Native American headdress, his wife Ella draped on one arm, and his electric guitar out front and center, well, don't worry about any "cultural appropriation": according to the back cover, Ray Darby was a full-blooded Kiowa, so he gets to wear whatever he wants. You might, however, be a little disturbed by the patronizing liner notes, which opine: "A new breed of Indian is thundering out of the west... This Indian brings joy rather than terror... brings happiness rather than apprehension... Ray and Ella Darby are world changers because they are personally acquainted with the Lord of Lords..." Yeesh. Well, setting aside all the John Wayne stuff, this is a decent gospel set by a couple from Lawton, Oklahoma. Indeed, it's perhaps a bit more vigorous than your average southern gospel offering -- the liners refer obliquely to "I'm A World Changer," one of two tracks credited to the Darbys, and a real zinger of 'Seventies gospel kitsch. The amped-up rock-pop arrangement showcases his guitar work (okay) and his robust, manly vocals, which land solidly in the Tom Jones/Mac Davis-y, chest-hair-and-gold-chain style of me-decade pop-soul emoting. It's not bad! Speaking of Mac Davis, they also cover his "Stop And Smell The Roses," another one of those crypto-religious pop tunes that were designed to sneak a little inspiration into the pop charts, as well as Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me Lord," and the high-concept, egalitarian "What Color Is A Soul," which closes the album out. There's mention of the Darby's "soon" getting their own TV show... dunno if that happened, but their records were actually kinda fun.

The Ray Darby Affair "America's Standing Tall Again" (Skylite Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joel Gentry)
A partly semi-secular gospel album, with most tracks co-written by Ray Darby and Ella Darby; also one by Ray Hildebrand... Great album art, too, with a groovy "band" name that reflects the same hip swagger as their matching salmon-colored, sequin-spangled outfits, and that rad turquoise necklace. Indeed, the Skylite gospel label even felt the need to distinguish this disc from their usual southern gospel/contemporary Christian fare by creating a "Skylight Country" imprint. Alas, no info on the backing musicians here, either.

Ward Darby "(Meet Ward Darby With Nicky, Steve And Gene As They Go) Up Country" (Lemco Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Cecil Jones)
Electric guitar picker Ward Darby (1939-2019) was a real twangtune Zelig, playing country and gospel as a kid, then plugging in and going rockabilly as the pop music landscape changed during his teens. Way back in 1959, he was playing gigs in Pennsylvania when his band The Raves recorded a crude, earthy rock-instrumental single ("Safari"/"Wham-O") that got picked up by Dot Records and distributed nationally... He tried a few other permutations of the garage rock gig, including one band called The Jaguars, where he backed a young Charlie Daniels, but nothing really clicked and gradually he moved back into playing country music. Although he was born in West Virginia, he worked and lived all across the Rust Belt, the Midwest and the South, perhaps most notably when he owned a music venue called the Nightlife, in Lexington, Kentucky around the time he made this album. As the 'Seventies closed, Darby moved down the Florida and eventually settled down in Branson, Missouri, where he played country music, oldies and gospel, and self-released at least two albums during the digital era. As far as I know this was his first full album, a mix of original material and covers of contemporary hits like Freddie Hart's "Easy Lovin'."

Ward Darby "World Of The Night People" (1978) (LP)
(Produced by Ward Darby, Bobby Ernspiker & Cecil Jones)
A weird amalgam of Southern rock and disco-y AOR, with kind of a hopeful nod towards the world of Lynyrd Skynyrd. This is actually more of a 6-song EP, with two versions of the song, "Gunslinger," which is kind of a straightforward (if somewhat sluggish) boogie-rock/southern booze tune. There's also some outright disco-pop ("World Of The Night People") and an odd jazz-ish instrumental ("Midnight Mystery.") Mostly, this kind of seems like a misfire, though maybe it felt different if you were there back then. Didn't really wow me, but you can see what he was aiming for...

Ward Darby "Old Gospel Guitar" (2012)
(Produced by Ward Darby)

Ward Darby "Electric Country" (2019)
(Produced by Ward Darby)
This twangy epitaph closes out Darby's early country career... It's an odds-and-ends collection of four tracks recorded with a professional Nashville crew, back in 1982, when he was living in Florida, and a couple of other tracks he cut in 1988, while back in Kentucky, and two more tunes that came out as a single in 1974. Two songs, "Truck Drivin' Women" and "Melinda," were released as a single.

Dargo "Dargo Country" (Tad Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Downs & Jack Eubanks)
For some reason, for a while, rodeo rider Philip Charles Dargo (1936-2021) only wanted to go by one name -- ala Cher -- but he still left his initials in the songwriting credits... And copious credits they were, with this set of all-original material... as well as the charming, self-deprecating side note that Dargo "admits he is not a Caruso or a Jim Reeves" but that he can still "hold your attention." Then again, I bet Jim Reeves couldn't have gone eight seconds on a bronco, so maybe we'll call it even. Anyway, this is a pretty weird record. Hailing from Muncie, Indiana, Mr. Dargo has a Johnny Cash-style vibe, vocally, though the Nashville band behind him provides some variety, even though they clearly sound like they're just punching the clock on these sessions... What stands out the most are Dargo's songs, which are weirdly structured and a bit hard to focus on, partly because of his distractingly underwhelming vocals, though also because of the oblique subject matter. What the heck is he trying to say?? Oh, yeah... that one's about the Apollo moon program, and this other one is about... um... uh... Well, anyway, if you're looking for kooky, outsider-art country stuff to marvel at, this disc is a doozy.

Phil Dargo "Shadows" (Tad Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Downs)
Dargo went whole-hog on this one, booking an A-list Nashville band, and even using his complete name... The Nashville crew includes three different steel players -- Jim Baker, Stu Basore and Bobby Seymore, as well as session leader Jack Eubanks on lead guitar, D. J. Fontana on drums and Johnny Gimble adding his usual sweet fiddle licks, Dave Kirby and many other top-flight pickers.

Phil Dargo "California Road" (Guinness Records, 1977) (LP)
Once again, these songs are mostly originals, with a two tracks written by Billy Rufus, a froggy voiced dude who also had an album out on the Guinness label around the same time. Some of these songs appeared on earlier Dargo albums, though I'm not sure if they are the exact same versions, or re-recordings.

Dark Town Poker Club "Fairwell" (Jeree Records, 1976-?) (LP)
An eclectic longhair band from around Findlay Lake, in the farthest reaches of western New York state, right along the Pennsylvania border. The music isn't strictly country, but does encompass twang, with dips into pop, rock and blues... Alas, though the guys are listed by name -- Scott Anderson, Dan Bachmaier, Tom Baker, Steve Bodie, Paul Matthews, and Gary Olson -- the album doesn't tell us who played which instruments. The album is packed with original material, with Steve Bodie and Tom Mathews as the main songwriters, though others also contribute a tune or two.

Donna Darlene -- see artist profile

Darrell "Darrell" (D & J Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Truski)
Just a man, a guitar, a very simple drum machine, and a whole lot of pop and country cover songs. There's no indication on this album when this came out, or what Darrell's last name was -- there's no original material on here, so no publishing info to help out. "D & J" stands for Darrell and Jean Enterprises, and this was recorded at a place called Pro Sound Studios, in East Detroit, Michigan, but that's about it. This seems to be pretty strictly a vanity pressing, even moreso than most of the records in this survey; he really wasn't a very polished performer, and it's hard to imagine this guy actually played any live gigs, but you never know. This was a Rite Records pressing, with a matrix number that indicates a release date around 1974, or '75. (I always think of drum machines as an 'Eighties kinda thing, but they had some commercially available models floating around since the late 'Sixties... so consider me schooled.)

Johnny Darrell -- see artist profile

Bobby Darren & The Drifters "Country Classics" (Sentry Records, 1976-?) (LP)
Not to be confused with the pop crooner Bobby Darin, this fella was a straight-up country picker from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, near Green Bay. He's backed on this album by his pals Ed Vanderhoot (rhythm guitar) and John Gottschalk (bass) on a set of country standards peppered with a few newer tunes such as Moe Bandy's 1975 hit, "Bandy The Rodeo Clown" and "Bed Of Roses," by the Statler Brothers. Apparently he made his way to Nashville in the late '70s, though I'm not sure how long he stayed there or what kind of gigs he landed.

Bobby Darren "Breakthrough From The Heart" (Sungold Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Howard)

Joel Darren "A Touch Of Country" (Cal-Cap Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by David L. Rogers & Ron McMaster)
A middle-aged guy from Sacramento, California, backed by local musicians, including Tiny Moore on fiddle, and Chris Iven playing steel. He covers some country oldies such as Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" and Jimmy Dean's "Just Bummin' Around"; all the other songs are his own compositions.

Chris Darrow -- see artist profile

Bruce Darty "Right Back Where I've Always Been" (Ripcord Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden)
A nice one! Robust honkytonk music in a set that's mostly cover tunes -- songs by Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Horton and Waylon Jennings, done in an updated but still rootsy 'Seventies country style. Darty (his name is really spelled "Daugherty") is a good singer, with a deep voice and a major Merle Haggard influence... There are also two originals on here, the lovelorn title track, "Right Back Where I've Always Been," which sounds like a demo for a Merle Haggard album, and on Side Two the more novelty-oriented "You're The Only Weed (In The Garden Of My Heart)", which is a less successful song, but still nice to have original material on an album like this. As far as I know, this album and the single which accompanied it are the only records that Darty recorded... Anyone know for sure? Strong, uptempo accompaniment by Gene Breeden and his crew, which included Danny Breeden and Ripcord Records VP Ellis Miller on bass and guitar. Fun stuff! (BTW - I'm only guessing at the release date: Darty covers "It's All In The Movies," which was a Merle Haggard hit in '76, so the album could have come out later than that... As always, any additional info would be welcome.)

Junior Daugherty "Just Fiddlin' " (Goldust Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)
New Mexico fiddler Forest Alton ("Junior") Daugherty was a prolific studio sideman and recording artist, often working with Emmit Brooks' independent Goldust label. At the time he cut this album, Daugherty had recently placed seventh in the National Old-Time Fiddling contest held in Weiser, Idaho, his first national competition. I think this was his first album, performed with backing from brothers Bob Jones (on drums) and Elbo Jones on guitar.

Junior Daugherty "Just Fiddlin', Volume II" (Goldust Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)
More zippy instrumentals, with the Jones brothers joined by Ruby Willis on bass.

Junior Daugherty "Just Waltzin', Volume II" (Goldust Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)
At the time he cut this album, Daugherty had been nationally ranked in the several fiddling contests, and was striving to become #1. On this set he goes all-in on waltzes and Schottisches, with backing from Ruby Daugherty (Junior's sister) on bass, with Bob Jones playing drums and Elbo Jones on guitar.

Junior Daugherty "Fun Fiddlin' " (Goldust Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)

Junior Daugherty & The Country Rebels "Junior Daugherty Presents The Country Rebels" (Goldust Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)
Here, Mr. Daugherty fronts a full-on country band, with Jake Brooks on lead guitar, Daugherty's daughter Penny on vocals, Steve Hutchins (steel), Diane Miller (bass), Randy Miller (drums), Robin Miller (vocals), and Doug Niece on rhythm guitar and vocals. Other thanBrooks and the Daughertys, all the musicians were from Clovis, New Mexico, with 22-year old Doug Niece the oldest member, while the Millers were all teens. Jake Brooks was a professional rodeo rider who had also been in the band The Aggie Ramblers, along with Daugherty and his brother, Goldust label owner Emmit Brooks. Doug Niece was a Clovis local who worked as a firefighter and performed locally; later on in 1977 he had a new band called the runaways, although I think this was his only record. The album includes four original songs by Doug Niece, and three from Junior Daugherty.

Junior Daugherty "Fiddlin' Around" (Goldust Records, 1979) (LP)

Junior Daugherty & Tammi Daugherty "Twin Fiddlin' " (Goldust Records, 19--?) (LP)
A little bit of a mystery disc... Saw it at my local Record Hut and made note of it... and then discovered there's no record of it anywhere online! Oh well. Presumably a very fine collaboration between Mr. Daugherty and his daughter Tammi, herself a championship fiddler of some renown.

Junior Daugherty & Bob Harmon "Mr. Fiddle, Mr. Banjo, And A Piano Named Sue" (Mesquite Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Emmitt Brooks)
This looks like an earlier album from fiddler-guitarist Junior Daugherty, sharing top billing with banjo plunker Bob Harmon, along with album producer Emmitt Brooks on bass, Jake Brooks (drums), Sue Hooser (piano), Travis Hooser (mandolin), and Vicki Hooser (twin piano), playing a selection of mostly older, traditional tunes (as well as a cover of the Beverley Hillbillies theme, "Ballad Of Jed Clampett.) No date on the album, but I'd guess it was from around 1972 or thereabouts.

Ray Daves "Country Music...The Way You Like It!" (Moon Records, 1973) (LP)
Mr. Daves was a singer from Dubuque, Iowa who used to play at a club in Ames called the Mark II Lounge... Or at least he played there a few weeks in the fall of 1973, according to some old newspaper stories. Other than that, I got absolutely nothing on this guy.

Chris David "The Singing Cowboy" (Circle Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Chris David)

Merle David "Zak-Tone Records Presents..." (Zak-Tone Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Taylor)
Texas fiddler Merle David played with numerous honkytonk and western swing bands from the early 1950s onward, recording at least two solo albums and one with the Fort Worth-area locals band, The Country Drifters. On this early 'Seventies offering he overdubs the fiddle parts, but gets backing from a few pals, including Jerry Abbott on piano, Bobby Green on dobro and Bruce Whitaker on bass.

Merle David "The Country-Jazz Moods Of Merle David" (Priority Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Case, David Hearne & Gary Carpenter)
A jazzy solo set, with backing from John Case (piano), Jerry Case (bass) and Ron Thayer (drums). According to the liner notes, David was working in Tommy Allsup's band at the time he recorded this jazzy solo set...

Nathan David "...Sings Prairie Tales" (True Recordings, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Nathan David & Larry Hetland)

Debbie Lynn Davidson "I Want To Be A Country Singer" (Cornucopia Records, 1978-?) (LP)
All freckles and bangs, young Ms. Davidson looks to have been about ten years old when she recorded this album... She was a kid from from Columbia Crossroads, Pennsylvania who was recruited to sing an album that was half gospel, half secular, including songs such as "I Want To Be A Country Singer," "Country Fever," "Everybody's Looking For Love" and "I'm Just A Little Girl Looking For A Big Boy." Apparently this album was recorded following an appearance on the Hee Haw TV show, although I couldn't quite track down when that episode aired, nor when this album came out. According to the local papers, she did some local shows and took place in a few regional talent shows between from 1976-77, under the name Debbie Davidson, and was apparently a cast member of the Bob and Dean McNett country music show.

Dianne Davidson "Baby" (Janus Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Charles Neese)
A native of West Tennessee, singer-picker Dianne Davidson dropped out of school in her teens and leapt full-tilt into a musical career which intersected blues, country and folkie material. While she recorded several albums in the early 'Seventies, she never quite broke through as a solo star, and eventually settled into a solid gig as a backup vocalist working with stars such as Jimmy Buffett, B.B. King, Linda Ronstadt and Leon Russell. This debut disc has a funky, Muscle Shoals feel, with backing by A-list Nashville pickers such as Mac Gayden, Kenny Buttrey, bassist Tim Drummond, piano player John Harris, Charlie McCoy and other guys in the orbit of the Area Code 615/Barefoot Jerry band. Though she subsequently got into a more rural, rootsy vibe, here there seems to be an attempt to go pop, showcasing distinctly Dusty Springfield-ish vocals, albeit with deeper soul roots than Springfield: Davidson was the real deal, a white soul sister of the kind that Springfield tried to shape herself into when she made her pilgrimage to Memphis. This authenticity may have been what held Davidson back professionally, as she consistently veers away from the brighter, more concise pop arrangements into a grittier, growlier, more improvisational blues style. But if you dig either the Dusty In Memphis sound, or other rootsy 'Seventies gals such as Jo Ann Kelly, Bonnie Raitt or Tracy Nelson, you're gonna want to hep yourself to Ms. Davidson and her remarkable recorded legacy. She was a trailblazer, for sure.

Dianne Davidson "Backwoods Woman" (Janus Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Tallent)
A more sluggish, downtempo sound prevails here, with curiously top-heavy covers of "Rocky Top," "Delta Dawn," and Elton John's "Country Comfort" though the album closes with a swell version of Cat Stevens' "Where Do The Children Play." This rest fo the record is packed with original material -- four songs from Dianne Davidson, and a couple more by composer John Drummond, who "hung out" at the sessions along with JJ Cale, while Mac Gayden anchored another all-star Nashville band, his own Area Code 615 cohorts bolstered by pros such as fiddler Vassar Clements and picker Bobby Thompson. Davidson backs away from the expansive, Motown-ish declarations of her first album, going for a more brooding, introspective, folk-informed style. Also worth noting is the presence of Tracy Nelson, who anchors a group of backup singers that also included Janis Siegel and the gals in her band, Laurel Canyon, along with Honey Combs, who also backed Nelson on one of her early albums. Though not as immediately appealing as the albums that sandwich it, this is a disc that stands up to repeat auditions, and sounds cooler each time you give it a whirl.

Dianne Davidson "Mountain Mama" (Janus Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Diane Davidson & Charlie Tallent)
Easing into a more expansive, funkier sound, Davidson takes greater advantage of the versatility of the Area Code 615 crew, digging into a bluesier vibe that invites comparison to Tony Joe White, Brenda Patterson or Tracy Nelson (who not coincidentally sings backup on these sessions...) Davidson puts her stamp on a few current hits, including a version of Jesse Winchester's "Brand New Tennessee Waltz," and a couple of Jackson Browne tunes, "Song For Adam" and "Something Fine," as well as an oddly lethargic rendition of Joni Mitchell's "Carey." About half the album is original material penned either by Diane Davidson or her bassist, Tim Drummond; Mac Gayden claims a co-credit on "Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way," a greasy, loose-limbed blues duet that closes the album out.

Dianne Davidson "Breaking All The Rules" (Second Wave Records, 1988)

Monte Davidson "Love Country" (MCL Records, 1977-?) (LP)

Monte Davidson & The Wild Bunch "Wanted" (AudioLoft, 197--?) (LP)
An "outlaw" band from Missouri, recording at the fabled AudioLoft custom label in Mack's Creek, MO. They do some oldies -- real oldies -- like "Wabash Cannonball," "El Paso," and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," along with more modern, Waylon-esque material such as "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" and "Just Call Us Outlaws," and even a version of Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Livin' Long Like This." Monte Davidson was an Ozarks regular since the early 1960s, and led the house band at the Lodge Of The Four Seasons, in Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri, basically in Branson territory. He also toured regionally, did Vegas, and eventually retired the band sometime in the 1980s. I'm not sure who else was in his band, although the steel and lead guitar was by a guy named Charlie Hill... Fans of Waylon Jennings and/or Jerry Lee Lewis might like this one... fake-live audience "cheering" and all.

Monte Davidson "...Sings The Old Ones" (BOC Records, 198--?)

Pat Davidson "Don't Stop The Lovin' " (Gold Dust Records, 1980-?) (LP)
(Produced by Pat Davidson, Pat Garrett & Mike Shockley)
Not much information about this youngster, other than that he seems to have been a protege of Pennsylvania country promoter Pat Garrett, recording on Garrett's label, and including four of Garrett's songs on this album. There are also two songs written by Pat Davidson, "I'll Lay You Back Down" and "Heroes." I'm not sure where Davidson was living when he cut this disc, but in 2021 he still working as a weddings-parties-anything musician, and was living somewhere near Chicago.

Davis & Company "Finger Pickin' Good" (Aunt Susie Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Johnnie High, Gary Scott & Phil York)
Light-hearted bluegrass from one of the acts at the Grapevine Opry, near Dallas, Texas... This group featured bass player Bob Davis, a veteran of the Shady Grove Ramblers, along with his sons Brad and Greg, as well as Kevin Fair (mandolin), Todd Strohmeyer (dobro) and fiddler Tammy Rogers (a local teenager who went on to do a lot of high-profile top forty session work in Nashville.) This disc spans a mix of bluegrass and country standards, as well as "progressive" influences such as the Flying Burrito Brothers ("Hot Burrito Breakdown") and Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'." The title track, "Finger Pickin' Good," is credited to the Grapevine Opry's Johnny High and Aunt Susie Slaughter. Oh, and they also cover "Rocky Top," in case anyone is keeping track.

Art Davis "A Cowboy And His Music" (White Hat Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Danny Hogan & Jim Rorie)
In 1935, Texas-born Art Davis was tapped by Gene Autry to play fiddle in his band -- Autry was on his way to Hollywood, and soon so was Davis, who wound up performing in numerous Autry films, as well as in a string of short features with Bill Boyd. World War Two interrupted his music career, and after the war he demobbed to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he and his brother Jay formed a band, playing in the vibrant western swing scene as Bob Wills and his brothers. The Davis Brothers also hosted a radio program on KTUL, Tulsa and toured widely, including numerous shows in Las Vegas. (The album below is a souvenir of their Vegas days...) Art Davis later went into TV, hosting local shows in Tulsa and Orlando, Florida, though eventually he retired from the music business. This album is a laid-back homage to the music of his youth, leaning mostly on honkytonk and western swing, though peppered with a few sentimental oldies such as Autry's "Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine" and various fiddle tunes. He's backed by a band of locals, presumably from Memphis where this album was recorded, with Jerry Ward on bass and guitar, Beecher Stuckey playing fiddle, and Billy Herbert on harmonica.

Buck Davis & The Singing Cowboys "A Hank Williams Tribute" (Crown Records, 1964) (LP)
One of many, many cheapo label Hank Williams "tributes" which include some songs not actually in the Hank Williams canon (such as "Sweet Betsy From Pike" and "Wagon Masters") and rather dubious connections to the Hank legacy, overall. There's also a bizarre, interlocking history between many of these records -- the same tracks getting released under various names -- aliases such as Billy Williams, Johnny Williams, Luke Williams, Larry Hank, etc. Some sources place nationally-known country-pop star Rusty Draper inside this continuum as well, though it's all a little too much for my pretty little head. Unlike many Crown albums, this seems to have drawn on 78s and 45s that come out in the late 'Fifties and early 'Sixties, rather than the lackadaisical just-roll-the-tape jam-session approach the Crown label took on many of its soundalike records. Some tracks may have been new to this record, many are not. A few were even covers of Hank Williams classics! [Note: Hillbilly star Curley Williams was another artist whose tracks got illicitly recycled as well -- PragueFrank's country discography has a very helpful entry that sheds some light on the mystery.]

Buddy Davis "The Buddy Davis Album" (Jay-Jay Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Davis, Bob Huskey, Eddie Rash & Eddie Swann)
A rootsy, bluegrassy picker with deep roots in Madison County, North Carolina, just north of Ashville. Davis mixes country and old-timey music with equal ease, with some of the more straight-up country material including tunes such as "Coal Tattoo," "I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand" and "Six Days On The Road," with a bit of "Mood Indigo" in there for good measure. Later in the 'Eighties, Davis joined The Norfolk Southern Lawmen (a local band made up of his fellow railroad cops) though I don't know if he ever recorded with them. Davis he also recorded with hometown legends Doc & Merle Watson, among other top-flight artists.

The Davis Brothers "More Top Tunes By The Davis Brothers" (Jamaka Records, 19--?) (LP)
By the time they cut this album, veteran country players Art and Jay Davis had settled into a Vegas act where they sounded like Homer & Jethro, or perhaps they were more in the Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti mold, playing Tin Pan Alley standards and a few country oldies as a simple, stripped-down string-band duo. The mandolin plays lead, with modest accompaniment by the other brother on guitar. One of them sings as well, in a laid-back, old-man kind of voice. The Davis duo was apparently considered popular enough -- and country enough -- to share billing with headliner Judy Lynn during her run at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. They also apparently played the Wagon Wheel honkytonk, which is where they were playing when they autographed the copy that I picked up. The album itself is super-generic, with no art at all on the back, and I'm pretty sure it's one of those vanity albums from a "custom" label that recycled the same album art for various clients. (The picture is of Grumman's Theater in LA, so go figure...) There are no liner notes, so I dunno who played what, or when this was recorded -- mid 1960s? -- so this one's basically a mystery record. I wouldn't recommend this ultra-obscuro album for the casual twangfan, but for folks who are tapped into the "sweet band" big-band style and the world of sentimental oldies, this certainly has its charms.

The Dale Davis Show "It's Gonna Be A Happy Day" (Dale Davis Productions, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Davis)
Moore, Oklahoma's Dale and Becky Davis led this compact band, joined by guitarist Gary Biel, Claudia Corley and Ziggy Fearn... They covered some pop/rock stuff, but also a bunch of country tunes such as "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights," "For The Good Times" and "I'm Not Lisa." This was one of those custom-made albums with a preprinted cover - not a lot of info about when it was recorded, but it must have around 1975-76, judging from the song selection. The title track, "It's Gonna Be A Happy Day," was a Dale Davis original which later became a chart entry for Jack Paris, who cracked into the very bottom of the Country Top 100 in 1978.

Duke Davis "Destiny" (Inde-Pro Records, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced by Duke Davis)
Check it out: this guy's the same Duke Davis who played bass for a while in the legendary 1960's Texas garage-psych band 13th Floor Elevators, as well as other late '60s/early '70s Lone Star rock bands. Davis also had a stint in Vegas where he worked with country lounge singer Bill Nash, and others. In 1979, he headed out to Los Angeles where he formed the Buckshot Band, an outfit that became a proving ground for numerous West Coast country pickers. On this early album, the Buckshot Band recruited some top talent, such as fiddler Byron Berline, country-rock pioneers Rick Cunha and Skip Edwards (on keyboards), Greg Leisz (dobro) and fabled pedal steel player Jay Dee Maness, as well as a bunch of lesser-known fellas who were probably the regular band members. Fellow Texan Dan McCorison sings background vocals on several songs. Duke Davis stayed in Southern California leading the Buckshot Band until the early '90s, when he decamped to New Mexico and later to Colorado, and eventually moved back to his native Texas. Along the way, he delved into more traditional, cowboy-style western music, most recently creating a theatrical show called "Westward Ho!" that showcases his love of old-school cowboy music and western swing. I'm not sure, but I think this was his first solo album, with all original material written by Davis.

Dwight Davis & The Linemen "Meet Dwight Davis And The Linemen" (Lineman Records, 197--?) (LP)
According to the liner notes by Dick Curless, bandleader Dwight Davis was born in Lyneboro, New Hampshire, and was a trucker by profession, although he sure knew how to sing a twangtune as well... Davis led his band, The Linemen, for several years, playing throughout New England, notably headlining at the Gene LaVerne's Lone Star Ranch, out in Merrimack, New Hampshire. Confident though resolutely forlorn, Davis channels national stars such as Merle Haggard and George Jones, a rock-solid honkytonker with a calm demeanor and a firm hand on the tiller. The band included some excellent pedal steel by Al Eyles, with Ken d'Eon (bass), Normand Ouellette (drums), Gary Winslow on lead guitar, and harmony vocals by Roxanne Lebo. This self-released LP was recorded at EAR Studios in Lewiston, Maine, though Davis also recorded for Little Ritchie Records, in New Mexico, and is said to have played down in Texas as well. Recommended.

Gene Davis "My Kind Of World" (Toppa Records, 1964) (LP)
Guitarist-singer Gene Davis was a true stalwart of the Southern California county-rock scene, cutting singles back in the 1950s while appearing on local TV programs such as Cal Worthington's popular show, Cal's Corral. Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, Davis is probably best known as the early-to-mid 1960s bandleader at North Hollywood's fabled Palomino nightclub, where hot country pickers and talented sidemen such as James Burton, Jerry Cole, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Jay Dee Maness, Johnny Meeks, Red Rhodes and many others cycled through the club's revolving door during the early heyday of LA's live rock scene. Davis's tenure at the Palomino came before the club shifted to a more rock-oriented focus, but there was certainly some crossover, as hear here.. This is a strong album, packed with rootsy, earthy material and plenty of originals, giving some sense of what the Palomino's nightly jam sessions must have been like, back in the day.

Gene Davis & The Star Routers "All Together" (Toppa Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Davis & Lee Carroll)
As detailed in the liner notes by LA country music deejay Larry Scott, Gene Davis branched out after his Palomino days, setting up shop in San Diego as owner of Gene's Lion's Gate restaurant, and also back home in Missouri as owner of a music venue called the Indian Foot Lake Resort, in Pevely, MO, just south of St. Louis. He was also heading the Star Routers as the house band at a San Diego club called the Alamo, just for good measure, and recorded this album there. Alas, the boys in the band, although pictured on the cover are not mentioned by name. Oh, well. But this album is notable for the wealth of original material: all but one of the songs are credited to Davis's own Jay-Gene publishing, and the remaining track, on Mixer Music, is probably original to this album as well.

Gene Davis "Lovin' And Hurtin' " (OL Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by James Burton & Randy Davis)
How or when Gene Davis got hooked up with Overton Lee's oddball, mega-DIY OL label, I have no idea... But I would hazard a guess that this is perhaps the best record they ever put out, particularly with the input from fabled superpicker James Burton, a longtime West Coast icon who anchored Elvis Presley's Vegas band and had more recently starred in the Emmylou Harris Hot Band. Also included are the Gentry Sisters backing vocalists... a lot of talent here!

Gene Davis "Let's Coast Awhile" (Hydra Records, 2010) (CD)

Gene Davis "Plays Country" (Tenn-Can Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Chuck Carson, Shot Jackson, Larry Lee & Joe Thornton)
Not to be confused with the West Coast country-rock bandleader (above) Georgia-born piano player Gene Davis was originally from producer Shot Jackson's hometown of Blackshear, Georgia, in the southern end of the state. According to Jackson's liner notes, at the time this album was made Gene Davis and guitarist Dink Thornton were holding down a gig at Joe's Bar And Packet Lounge, in nearby Hilliard, Florida, a tiny town in the state's northernmost tip, just above Jacksonville. Though they cut this album in Nashville, the musicians appear to have been their own band, The Stateliners, with Gene Davis on piano, Rocky Byrd (drums), Bobby Green (steel guitar), Dennis Strickland (bass), Dink Thornton (lead guitar) and Shot Jackson sitting in on dobro. The set list is all classic country material, tunes like "Faded Love," "Funny How Time Slips Away," "San Antonio Rose" and "Mansion On A Hill," along with a few tunes specifically crafted for pianists, like Floyd Cramer's version of "Last Date" and Jerry Smith's "Truck Stop."

Hank Davis "Crazy Living" (Relaxed Rabbit Records, 1984) (LP)
Like many early rockabilly also-rans, in the 1970s Hank Davis settled into the comforting arms of the European retro scene. But even as his old singles found their way onto various reissue records, he kept writing and recording music, new stuff as well as remakes of oldies. This gentle, relaxed DIY set has some nice, unhurried stuff on it. Whether you call it "demos" or "lo-fi," this record is positioned cheerfully and resolutely outside of the pop and/or country mainstream -- it's a personal record, made just because he likes to make music, and it makes up for its lack of polish and propulsiveness with a quiet, heartfelt simplicity and self-assurance: Hank Davis doesn't have to make the record you want him to make, he'll make the record he wants to make. In the liner notes, Davis acknowledges the troubles he's had trying to make a career out of music, but he seems pretty philosophical about it, and content to make an album that's just good enough, not perfect or mind-blowing or a big chartbuster. There are country touches -- pedal steel by Minnie Winston and Rod Braganza, along with mellow acoustic guitar and unfussy vocals. Interesting to hear rockabilly songs laid out at such as slow pace, the bare bones of the style revealed without the amplified wham-bam of electric guitars... Roots music critic Colin Escott contributes comments as well, though Davis's are more revealing and insightful.

Howard Davis "The Howard Davis Band" (Green Mountain Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Tatman)
A surprisingly fun, though admittedly static album from some Iowa amateurs with their hearts firmly situated in the right place. An older fella from Gilman, Iowa, Howard L. Davis (d. 2003) ran his own convenience store and auto garage and led this band for several years, backed by a bunch of younger folks, mostly members of his extended family. The lineup on this album included Howard Davis on rhythm guitar, his son Danny Davis on bass, along with Frank Brown on drums, Ilene Connealy (vocals), Dave Elliott (lead guitar), Lynn Probasco (vocals). I'm not sure when this album was made, though it looks like it's mid-to-late-1980s; the Howard Davis Band played regionally around Grinnell and Des Moines in the late '80s and early '90s and possibly farther back than that... Mr. Davis doesn't seem to have been a songwriter, as this is strictly a set of classic county covers. The opening track, I'm Just Cryin' ('Cause I Care)," sets the tone with a boldly mixed, simply strummed electric guitar framing lead singer Danny Davis, whose voice and approach bear a striking similarity to Texas twangster Jimmie Dale Gilmore. The vocal chores are pretty evenly divided though, and several tracks showcase the gals, who radiate a hyperlocal charm. The arrangements don't vary much -- the same flared out electric guitar tone dominates every single track, and there's no showboating from the other musicians, but it's still a charming album, compelling for those of us in search of regional and pedestrian thrills.

Hubert Davis & The Season Travelers "Harvest" (RHD Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Behrens)
This bluegrass-based band was led by North Carolinian banjo plunker Hubert Davis, an alumnus of the 'Fifties-era Bill Monroe band who modeled his playing on new Earl Scruggs style, and was one of the banjoists brought in to fill the gap when Flatt & Scruggs went solo. Much later, Davis got a full-time gig playing at a local club in Nashville called the Wind In The Willows, where he mostly played straight-up, traditional old stuff. This outlaw-era album is packed with standards like "Roll On Buddy," "Rocky Top," "Wabash Cannonball," and "Orange Blossom Special" -- there are also some cross-genre covers, like Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee," and western swing's "Faded Love." In the band at the time was a young mandolin picker named Mike Compton, who would later help co-found the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and worked with John Hartford throughout the 1990s. Although the Season Travelers, like most bands, had a fair amount of turnover, Davis kept the band running for decades, and recorded several other albums during this era. This disc features backing by Gene Bush on dobro, Mike Compton (mandolin), Rubye Davis (guitar), Shelby Jean Davis (bass) and fiddler Richard Hoffman.

Jesse Ed Davis "Jesse Davis!" (Atco Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Jesse Davis)
One of the premier roots-rock session players of the 1970s, guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (1944-1988) was born in Oklahoma and made his way out of the local music scene when he landed a spot in country star Conway Twitty's tour band in the mid-'60s. Davis later hooked up with roots auteur Leon Russell and became part of the studio session scene, playing on dozens of hippie-era rock and pop classics... He played on the first three Taj Mahal albums, as well as backing ex-Byrd Gene Clark on some of his early solo albums, and on various post-Beatles solo records by George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr, as well as session work for Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Steve Miller and many others. Davis recorded three records of his own, and collaborated with fellow Oklahoman Roger Tillison on Tillison's self-titled debut.

Jesse Ed Davis "Ululu" (Atco Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Jesse Davis & Albhy Galuten)

Jesse Ed Davis "Keep Me Coming" (Epic Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jesse Davis & Larry Hirsch)

Kenny Davis "Live At Jason's" (1972) (LP)
(Produced by Alan O'Day)
Alas, at one point I had researched the life and times of Kenny Davis, and even reviewed this album... but that was on a laptop that drowned when the pipes burst right over my desk. No, really. Anyway, I forget the details, but Davis plugged away for years, including a stint in Southern California where he was working when he cut this album. Probably what's most interesting here is the presence of SoCal pop singer Alan O'Day, on board as the album's producer -- O'Day had been working California clubs throughout the 'Sixties and was burnt out and semi-retired when he spotted Kenny Davis playing a steady gig at Jason's House Of Prime Rib, in Burbank, and wound up doing some live gigs with Kenny Davis and his band in the early 'Seventies, which apparently got his creative juices flowing. He agreed to help make this souvenir album, which was recorded live on October 7, 1972 and probably added a few riffs along with John Toben on Hammond B-3 organ, percussionist Joey Herrick and Kenny Davis on guitar and vocals. O'Day's own solo debut was around the corner, and disco-era stardom coming a few years later, first with Helen Reddy's 1974 hit version of "Angie Baby," and O'Day's own frothy chart-topper, "Undercover Angel" in '77. O'Day dedicated his first album to Kenny Davis, though I'm not sure if Davis or the other guys played on that disc as well. Anyway, this is a nice snapshot of a working band doing an average gig, kind of a mixed bag, including a fairly earthy, early covers of "Mr. Bojangles" and "Me And Bobby McGee," a haphazard Johnny Cash imitation, some good-natured goofing around and onstage banter (notably their organ-based instrumental, "Jazz?"). The album is also unfortunately punctuated by the painfully unfunny novelty number "Big Bruce," a homophobic parody of the Jimmy Dean hit, "Big Bad John." Oh, well. Nobody's perfect.

Kenny Davis "Texas Yearbook" (Fairydust Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Kenny Davis & Carl Wilson)
Not long after he recorded his live album back in '72, Kenny Davis took a trip to Texas and like a lot of folks back at the dawn of the outlaw era, he kinda liked what he saw. I think he actually moved there at some undetermined point in time, though he makes reference to his Southern California roots in his stage banter... of which there is plenty! There's plenty of stylistic overlap over the years... Mr. Davis was quite a chatterbox and joker back in his hippie days, and he honed that part of his act into a pretty decent comedy routine. Side One of the album is all mile-a-minute standup, most of it blue humor, and it all goes over well with the crowd. The same is true of Side Two, a country music set that also wows the Lone Star locals. Davis is backed by Roland Elbert on piano, Steve Mundt (drums), David Stanley (bass) and Carl Wilson on lead guitar... They kick things off with a boisterous cover of Guy Clark's "Texas Cookin'," and move into more comedic material, including songs like "Where are All The Girls (I Used To Cheat With)" and "Centerfold Lady," an ode to long-lost fold-out girlfriends. ("Centerfold" is also a reprise of a comedy bit with the same name from Side One, which goes into considerable detail about his teenage solo sex life...) The raunchy spoken word stuff is okay, I guess, though it's music interests me more, and from a twangfan's perspective, it's actually pretty good. Fans of Jerry Jeff Walker might dig this one; wish I had a better copy, though... mine skips!)

LeRoy Davis "For All My Friends" (L-V-K/Wakefield Records, 197--?)
(Produced by Sandy LaMont)
This one's really pretty much what it says -- LeRoy Davis was just some guy from Phoenix who cut an album because his friends told him he really should someday, and so one day he did. I'm sure he gave everyone a copy, too. He's not great, but he's not bad -- he's just a humble, average guy singing country standards such as "Crying Time Again," "Release Me," "Born To Lose," "Jambalaya," etc. No originals on here, but that's okay... that's not what this record is about. No info on the backing band, but I doubt they were major players... I also kinda doubt that Davis had a regular band of his own, but who knows? He gives a shout-out to the Rim Cafe in Pine, Arizona, and that's the only other clue to this disc's provenance.

Link Davis "Cajun Crawdaddy" (Mercury, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Frank Morin)
Although Texas-born Cajun country player Link Davis had been around forever -- his first recording session was in 1937 with a western swing band called the Crystal Spring Ramblers -- this was actually the first full album he recorded under his own name. Davis had played in a variety of styles on a number of instruments -- country fiddler or rock'n'roll saxophone, he excelled at everything, but by the time this disc came out his career had run out of steam. These sessions were recorded a few years earlier, but Texas legend Doug Sahm took the tapes to his label and persuaded to put out an album. It's a nice, simple, down-homey set, with country, cajun and a little bit of blues, with Davis playing some fine fiddle and a small combo backing him that includes hillbilly old-timer Wiley Barkdull playing piano. A nice record!

Marty Davis "I'm Happy Every Day I Live... But These Nights Are Killing Me" (Ripcord Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Eldred)
Marty Davis was a real-life Oregon cowpoke, a longtime fixture on the Pacific Northwest scene who served his time playing casinos in Vegas and Reno, toured with the rock-pop-oldies group The Diamonds, and later in life refashioned himself from a barroom balladeer into a western-style cowboy singer. This album is yet another disc without a release date from the Ripcord label, recorded some time in the late 1970s. It's all cover tunes, although the title track was co-written by Rose Maddox (who wrote the liner notes) along with her sister, Alta Troxel. Maybe Davis was in Rose's band at the time? Who knows? At any rate: portrait of a working musician -- Medford, Oregon, 1970-something.

Marty Davis "Country Feelings" (Marvan Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Cliffie Stone)
More cover tunes, mostly. Notable, though, are Carol Chase and Susie Allanson singing backup vocals, who both went on to become charting Country artists...

Marty Davis "Marty" (Marvan Records, 19--?) (LP)

Phil Davis "Number 1" (Country International Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Davis)

Phil Davis "Mark One Up For Me" (Jaycee Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Davis)
This was a UK reissue of Phil Davis' 1974 album, Number 1, listed above.

Phil Davis "Mark One Up For Me" (Country International Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Davis)

Rhett Davis "Rhett Davis" (Bowen Arrow/Arrow Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen & Rhett Davis)

Rhett Davis "For My Friends" (Aquarian Records, 19--?) (LP)
This seems to be the same album as above, reissued.

Roland Davis "Lost But Not Forgotten" (Wilson Ranch Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Bert Winston)
Archaic, old-school hillbilly music, played in the old-fashioned way. In the 1930s, guitarist Roland Davis traveled with various Texas stringbands, but by the time producer Bert Winston caught up with him, Davis had shifted gears and settled down to be a rancher in the Texas hill country near Kerrville... Backing him on this retrodelic set are piano plunker John Vorhes, fiddler John Shattenberg, singer Bobbi Pruneda and Rich Price on pedal steel.

Sheri Davis "I Could Fall In Love With You" (Damo Music Group, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by John R. Moore, Michael R. Radford & Gene Rice)
Not a lot of info about this slick-lookin' country gal from southern Illinois, though she was definitely trying to crack into the mainstream Top Forty scene with this well-produced, super-commercial sounding album. Although she led her own group, The On-Key Show Band, this was recorded in Nashville with a bunch of Music City A-listers backing her up, including Stu Basore on steel guitar and dobro, Mark Casstevens (guitar), Gregg Gailbraith (lead guitar), Gary Prim (piano), Jack Ross (bass), John Story on drums, and the Cates Sisters both singing backup and acting as a string section. Ms. Davis sounds very Dolly-esque, especially on tracks like "Under The Influence Of Love," and on the whole this record sounds like it could have plausibly broken through on the radio... No chart action, alas, but not for want to trying. She seems to have been from Marion, Illinois or thereabouts, halfway between Nashville and Saint Louis, so it's possible she'd worked in the Ozarks mini-opry scene for a while. Anyway, if you're interested in professional-sounding but off-the-radar pop-country albums, this is a pretty strong example.

The Davises "The Davis' Sing Country And Gospel" (MRC/Major Recording Company, 19--?) (LP)
A family gospel band, on John Major's label from Waynesboro, Virginia...

The Dawker Mountain Valley Boys "Bound To Ride" (Deck Hill Records, 1976) (LP)
Peppy, progressive bluegrass from the slightly fictional locale of Dawker Mountain. These fellas from Charlotte, North Carolina seemed like nice young men... even if they had an electric bass! And they played weird stuff, too, like the "William Tell Overture" and songs with names like "The Hobbit" and "What Would He Think Of It Now?" Between 1975-76, the group performed at the Carowinds theme park, outside of Charlotte. The band included Jimmy Bird on banjo, John Bird (mandolin), Ed Bobbitt (guitar), Craig Duncan (fiddle), Bill Lindner (bass... electric!!) and Drexel Rayford on guitar...This disc, a souvenir for their Carowinds gig, was the Dawker Mountain Valley Boys only album. Although they mostly went into other bands (and careers), multi-instrumentalist Craig Duncan became a full-time studio musician and producer in Nashville, mostly working on bluegrass-y type stuff. (Many thanks to Mr. Rayford for his help filling in the blanks on this one!)

Delisa Dawn "Memories Of You" (Stardom Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Chuck Bartlett & Frank Evans)
Not sure when this one came out, but it seems to be an early 'Eighties kinda thing. Singer Delisa Dawn grew up in Independence, Missouri and started her performing career when she was just nine years old. She made her way to Nashville and wound up working for several older artists on tour, backing up falling stars such as Jack Greene, Faron Young and the Wilburn Brothers; she seems to have been in Jack Greene's band at the time this album came out. This was her first (and as far as I know, only) album, and may have been a Nashville songwriter's demo, produced by steel player Chuck Bartlett, who co-wrote the title track. Later she moved back to the Midwest, performing mainly in eastern Kansas and the Missouri Ozarks with with guitarist Dennis Cook in a group called Delisa Dawn & Route 66.

Joe Dawn "Capitol Of The State I'm In" (Nod Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Don Ho & Herb Ono)
An interesting fusion of mainland countrypolitan and Hawaiian lounge music. Singer and ukulele player Joe Dawn was a member of Hawaiian bandleader Don Ho's stage show during the 1970s, and brought a novel country sound to the groups pop vocals/hapa haole repertoire. On this album he sings country-folk material such as John Denver's "Sunshine On My Shoulders" and "Take Me Home Country Roads," as well as some honkytonk oldies by Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams, and a couple of tunes that showcased his considerable yodeling abilities. Steel guitar legend Jerry Byrd was one of the session musicians, along with pianist Bobby Enriquez, Archie Grant (bass), Randy McKinnan (banjo and guitar), Dave Richardson (banjo and guitar), Bill Spilliard (lead guitar), and Bart Tunick on drums. [Side note: One of the backup singers, Patti Swallie, was also a member of the Don Ho entourage, and years later, in 1981, gave birth to one of his children, Hoku Christian Ho, who also toured with her father and became a solo pop star in the early 2000s.]

Julie Dawn "What About That" (JD Music Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by David Johnson & Travis Wammack)
Dunno much about this Florida gal, though my curiosity was piqued by seeing twangbar whiz Travis Wammack on board as her producer... Also among the studio crew were Muscle Shoals regulars Ava Aldridge and Sue Richards singing backup, rootsy vocalists who both had modest solo careers themselves. Gotta admit, though, this one wasn't as twangy (or as satisfying) as I had hoped... Ms. Dawn seems to have been aiming for more of a rock/roots pop sound, and while a country vibe flutters through a few tunes, this is more of a rock kinda thing, with an occasionally muddled feel. Maybe of more interest to fans of the Southern roots/pop/R&B scene?

Wendy Dawn "Harper Valley PTA And Other Country Hits" (RCA-Camden, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Ferguson & Ethyl Gabriel)
A singer from Memphis, Texas -- not far from Amarillo -- Ms. Dawn covers hits of the day such as Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Harper Valley PTA" and a gender-flipped version of "Only Mama That'll Walk The Line," as well as a Lynn Anderson tune or two. This soundalike set was her first (and apparently only) full album, though RCA gave her a test run on several singles the year before, including a novelty number, "John" which was an answer to John Wesley Ryles' hit, "Kay." Alas, none of those earlier tracks were included on this LP, in favor of more generic material such as "House Of The Rising Sun." Anyone know what happened to this Lone Star gal?

The Dawnbusters "The Big Country" (Wyncote Records, 1967-?) (LP)
Twangy pop instrumentals by an anonymous cheapie-label studio band... No idea who the individual musicians were, though apparently they cut another Wyncote album around the same time, backing singer Dusty Owens... And they were not identified on that disc either, alas.

John Dawson "Guitar And Autoharp" (1964) (LP)
(Produced by Forrest Boothe)
Earnest, all-acoustic 'Sixties folk music from a talented picker with somewhat timid vocals... Although he covers an old Jimmy Driftwood song, and though Johnny Cash later brought Bob Dylan's "Girl From The North Country" into the canon, there's not much here you could really call "country music," though this is definitely of interest since this is the same John Dawson (1945-2009) who later co-founded the iconic hippie twangband, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. Nods of the hat towards Elizabeth Cotton, Woody Guthrie and others, as well as a couple of originals credited to Dawson. One of these, "Birmingham Town," is apparently Dawson's account of his own arrest as part of the Civil Rights Movement's "freedom summer" voter registration campaign. He soon went from Deep South civil disobedience to Haight Ashbury debauchery, though this obscure custom pressing is a nice memento of a more serious time. Nice folk album, and apparently completely unknown until 2017, when a copy turned up at a California flea market.

Lane Dawson "Love Letters" (Shalom Productions, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Harrison)
I got on the trail of Michigander honky tonk singer Lane Dawson (ne Laurence B. Dube, 1941-2016) on the basis of a few (quite good) singles he did in the early 'Seventies... He was an intriguing singer with a slightly odd voice but he worked his way into a solid, Gene Watson-ish hard country vibe and it's a shame he didn't make an album back then. Unfortunately by the time he cut this album in Nashville, times and tastes had changed and this album came out with a slick, early 'Eighties, keyboard-heavy production sound. It's mostly cover songs, with just one original written by Mr. Dawson, "Let Your Fingers Do The Walking." On the liner notes, he explains that his concept for this album was to record a set of positively-themed country tunes, as an antidote to all the cheatin' songs and boozin' tunes that he thought were getting to be a downer. Along those lines, he recorded another album for the Shalom label, the inspirational gospel set listed below, but as far as I know his earlier work has not been anthologized elsewhere. (Hint, hint.)

Lane Dawson "The Bus Driver Sings More Songs Of Praise" (Shalom Productions, 1985) (LP)
Oh, yeah: apparently Mr. Dawson was nicknamed "The Bus Driver" -- after a long career in radio, he shifted gears and started his own tour bus company, and later drove a bus for the Checker company. He's pictured behind the wheel on the front cover of this album and looks pretty comfortable... Which of course opens the question of whether "Lane" was a playful, transit-related monicker. Finally, just to tie things up nicely, Shalom Productions was a private label started in 1977 by the evangelical team of Henry and Hazel Slaughter, both as an outlet for their own ministry and as a for-hire private press label, mostly catering to Christian musicians.

Smoke Dawson "Fiddle" (Oliver's Fiddle Works, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Oliver Seeler)

Stormy Dawson "Stormy Dawson" (Cherish Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Hoffman)
I couldn't find much info about this guy, though he seems to have been kicking around for a while, having recorded a single on a tiny indie label back in 1971, and then this album, a couple of years later. This seems to have been a songwriters' showcase album for the Nashville-based Sunbury/Dunbar publishing company (aka Sunbar), with a little bit of help from "DJ Dan" Hoffman, a longtime fixture on the Nashville scene who worked at both Sunbar and the Cherish label. There are a bunch of songs from staff writer Glen Goza, and just one tune credited to Stormy Dawson, the song "Tear In Her Eye," which closes the album. Googling around, there have been several Stormy Dawsons at various times; no idea whether they are all related or not.

Herb Day "A Touch Of Gold" (Windjammer Records, 197--?) (LP)

Jimmy Day & His Buddies "...Salute Don Helms" (Texas Musik, 1980) (LP)
A solo set by a consummate sideman. Steel guitar pro Jimmy Day (1934-1999) was an Alabama native who played on the "Louisiana Hayride" as a kid, and backed many of the giants of the 1950's honkytonk era during a stint in Nashville. Later, Day settled in Texas and was a stalwart of the '70s Lone Star scene. This album was a tribute to Don Helms, the legendary steel player in Hank Williams' band, with sympathetic backing by several "buddies": Buddy Emmons and Buddy Spicher, and drummer Buddy Harmon. Heh, heh. Anyway, if you're a country instrumental fan, you're gonna want to check this one out.

Paula Day "The Two Sides Of Paula Day" (197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Harold Harmel & Jeff Mooridian)
Raleigh, North Dakota, a microscopic hamlet just south of Bismarck, was the birthplace of guitar player/accordionist Paula Day -- aka Pauline Loeb Deichert (1928-2017) -- who wrote all but two of the songs on this album. The "two sides" in the title are country music on Side One, and "old time" music on Side Two, which up around the Great Lakes and high plains states meant polka and other old-world European ethnic dance music. Ms. Day and her husband Ben Deichert (1925-2001) both came from tight-knit German-American enclaves, though after marrying in the late 1940s they moved to the big city and lived in Fargo, managing the Seneca Inn for many years before moving to nearby Davenport, where they ran a place called the Shenandoah Supper Club (and presumably provided some of the entertainment as well.) Paula Day was a prolific songwriter and years earlier, around 1970-71 she made some trips to Nashville where she recorded at least four singles, including two for the North Dakotan label Jude Records, and two that came out on the Nashville-based Stop Records, with all the tracks being her own compositions. One of those songs, "Her Mother's Ring," is also included here, but with an all-local band backing her, rather than the all-star, A-list studio crew she worked with in Tennessee. The musicians include hubby Ben Deichert on drums, Ron Kerver (rhythm guitar), Jeff Mooridian (electric guitar and steel), Rick Murry (bass), Byron Quam (piano) and backup vocals by Ron Kerber and Rick Murry. I dunno how many of these folks performed regularly as part of her band, but I assume they were all Fargo-area locals. As on her singles, this album has a wealth of original material: along with a cover of Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever" there's a slew of Mrs. Deichert's own tunes such as "Double Or Nothing," "Bug Me," "Ich Bin Deine Rose" and "Raleigh Waltz." There's a strong Rose Maddox vibe on these recordings, showcasing a confident, middle-aged woman who's got a firm handle on the music, and takes a no-muss, no-fuss approach. There's no date on this album, but I think it's much later than 1970 guesstimate found on various online sources: she sounds (and looks) much older than she did on her 1970-71 Nashville singles. I'd say late 1970s, early '80s on this one...

Roy Day "North Country: Far North Music" (Arctic Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Dwight Finger)
A pretty obscure one here... Roy Day was an oil pipeline worker who brought a pile of original material to Arctic Studios, in Anchorage, Alaska, where the producers slapped together a backing band and let the tape roll. There are no producer or musician credits, but the sessions included some jazzy guitar and snare drums, punctuated by accordion, pedal steel, and an all-gal backing chorus, identified only as "the girls" in the sketchy liner notes by Frank Tonnema. Mr. Day wasn't a particularly skillful vocalist, but he had a jaunty, jocular feel which brings early hillbilly-era Ernie Ford to mind, with maybe a hint of Bing Crosby. The plainspoken lyrics are clunky but earnest and authentic -- no slick showbiz stuff here! Some songs like "Pipeline" and "Nine Weeks On" provide a common-man's view of life during in the Alaskan oil boom, including some bitter asides about a system that Day considered to be a rigged against the working stiffs. Apparently he wrote all the material although the arrangements are credited to Jackie Jacobs and Bob Wright. It's really not a very good record, but it does ooze rough-edged authenticity and might be worth a spin... If you want, you can hear the whole thing on the Alaska Oldies blog, which features posts from one of the guys who worked at Arctic Studios.

Daylight "One On One" (Hi Lo Records And Tapes, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Lee Farmer)
This group, anchored by singer/songwriter Ron Moore and pianist Lee Farmer, was the backup band for T. G. Sheppard. This album features a bunch of usual suspects session players, though all the songs were written by guys in the band. Though somewhat rock-oriented, the album closes with a track called "I'm Just Country."

Daystar "Daystar" (Black Sheep Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Thomas J. Marolda)
This is an odd-looking album, and definitely not what I expected... From the looks of it, I figured these folks from New Jersey would be earnest, mellow folkies, maybe with a little whiff of bluegrass in the mix. What I did not expect, though, was a group that would sound so much like the Carpenters, albeit with a firm dose of country music laced into what is essentially a strong set of independently-produced soft-rock/AOR, and a very 1976 sound. Lead singer Rene Kammeyer really nailed the Karen Carpenter sound, and generally speaking the songs on this album and the arrangements are quite good. Daystar billed itself as a trio: songwriter/keyboardist Mitchell Jay, Rene Kammeyer (vocals) and drummer Jimmy Dolan Jr., with studio backing by guitarist Tom Marolda, Jack Stanton (pedal steel), Bill Holcombe (flutes), and an airy string section that gives it that special little 'Seventies soundalike bump. The steel guitar nudges this set enough into the country sphere that it makes the grade for "Locals Only" fame, although the rural look of the cover art is definitely misleading, since the album is really a set of pretty slick pop. Anyone looking for a Carpenters coda would be well advised to track this one down; these songs may have been hopelessly out of date in the early 'Eighties landscape, but they're well-crafted and performed with real feeling. Producer Thomas Maroda worked on a few dozen records, including the Saturday Night Fever sequel soundtrack, Staying Alive, which came out in '83. He also tried launching his own power-pop band, The Toms, with Rene Kammeyer involved in an ancillary role as the band's graphic designer, which turned out to be her true professional path. She also designed the cover art for this album.

Jane Dea "Sweet And Tender Lies" (Lamon Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by David Floyd, Carlton Moody & David Moody)
An intriguing record of misty provenance... Jane Dea may have been from North Carolina, since she recorded this album at the Moody Brothers' studio in Charlotte, NC, although her Tarheel bona fides are not a given, since the studio was a magnet for artists throughout the region. At any rate, this album is packed with tons of original songs, most of them credited to Helen Moore, along with one credited to Carlton and David Moody, and one to Jane Dea herself, "That's The Way Life Goes," which closes the album. They all share the same publishing company, Laymond Publishing, which I believe was run by the Moody Brothers, and though I'm tempted to wonder if Helen Moore and Jane Dea were one and the same person, it's also possible that Moore was an aspiring songwriter the Moodys had on tap. Your guess is as good as mine. This is a prototypical custom-label, private press album, with the backing band provided by the studio, basically the Moody Brothers and several of their usual-suspect sidemen, notably steel player Jeff Surratt. The liner notes mention two earlier singles, though the only one I've tracked down so far is one that was broken off from this album, with both songs penned by Ms. Moore.

Red Deacon "Have I Got A Night For You" (Nash Town Records, 1974) (LP)
Great Lakes honkytonker Red Deacon (aka Thomas J. Dillett) started seriously performing in the late 1950s and just kept going right up until he retired in 2018. Mr. Dillett grew up in Gilbertville, Iowa but settled down in Milwaukee, so I think we can count this one as a Wisconsin record. Not a lot of info about this album or his career online, though he had a solid presence on Facebook and YouTube. This album includes a lot of cover songs and was recorded in Nashville, though unfortunately none of the backing musicians are listed.

Red Deacon "Another Way" (Uptown Country Records, 1986) (LP)

Deadly Earnest & The Honky Tonk Heroes "...The Honky Tonk Heroes" (Wheeler, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Danny Sheridan)
Midwest indiebilly pioneer Denny (Deadly) Earnest was Cleveland, Ohio's answer to Jerry Jeff Walker, and this classic album has several of his best, funniest Jerry Jeff-style songs. After playing in regional groups such as Sheffield Rush, Earnest formed this rootsy country band in 1975, playing locally for the better part of a decade until decamping to Wyoming. My favorite tunes are the delightfully snarky "Don't Make Me Laugh (While I'm Drinkin')" and "Leavin' For Texas," with "Restless Me," a song about roving eyes in a committed relationship, coming in a close third. This is a very DIY, slightly uneven album, but it has moments of pure brilliance and always manages to float to the top of my "keepers" pile for music of this particular vintage. I think there are two editions of this album, his self-released version on Wheeler Records, and a second pressing that came out on Mike Nesmith's nationally-distributed Pacific Arts label, one reason that so many folks got a chance to hear this obscuro local hero. Apparently he's made a bunch of records over the years under the Denny Earnest monicker, but the "deadly" trio are pretty fun stuff.

Deadly Earnest & The Honky Tonk Heroes "II" (Wheeler, 1980) (LP)

Deadly Earnest & The Honky Tonk Heroes "The Modern Sound Of..." (Wheeler Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by "Bo Deadly" and Jay Vecchio)
A disappointing followup to the first two albums, though there are some nice moments, and lots of nice ideas. I think the main problem is with the production, which is kind of static and muted -- not a lot of jolt comes through from the performances, although he wrote some good songs. I'm also not that into his duets partner, Robin Stratton (who also sings solo on some tracks) a gal with an okay, but not great, voice that generally distracts from his strengths as a performer. It has to be said, he still sounds an awful lot like Jerry Jeff, and the more he does, the better he sounds, like on "Time To Get Paid," a comedy song about singing for tips in dive bars, and probably the highlight of the album. Also of interest is "The Kid's Song," a rather serious, surprisingly feminist song about a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage who can't quite figure out how to make the single-income parent thing work out, so she stays "a mother to her children, then a mother to him." This is worth checking out if you liked his earlier albums, but don't get your hopes up too high. (By the way, Earnest, if you're out there, my copy still has the insert for the free Prairie Wonders 45... Any chance you still have one laying around?)

The Deadly Nightshade "The Deadly Nightshade" (RCA/Phantom Records, 1975) (LP)
I dutifully wondered about The Deadly Nightshade for years -- decades, actually -- wondering if they were really country at all, and whether they were perhaps as good as they sounded on paper. Hailing from Massachusetts, The Deadly Nightshade was one of the first all-woman rock bands to score a major-label contract, and they had a distinctly feminist political stance, which was often reflected in their lyrics... I gotta say, though: their vocals as well as the overall vibe of this album is pretty iffy. I just don't think they were that good, or at least not that fun to listen to. Historically important, sure, but music I'd come back to for listening pleasure? Not so much. Originally formed in Massachusetts during the 1960s as "The Moppets," the band went through a few lineup changes, calling themselves Ariel for a while, and finally settled on The Deadly Nightshade, playing regularly through the 'Seventies, with reunions for years to come.

The Deadly Nightshade "F&W" (RCA-Phantom, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Joel Diamond & Charlie Calello)
Although the album title holds out a promise of country music inside, this is in essence a fairly dreadful '70s rock album, with some irritating, artsy passages. There are a couple of twang tunes, to be sure, notably the bluesy "Murphy's Bar" and "Show Me The Way Back Home," which lurches into some challenging (and I mean that in a good way) gallumphing, pre-punk rhythmic passages. Mostly, though, this is an album that you probably wouldn't want to put on while you had company over... It's pretty shrill and taxing. Their three-part gal harmonies recall the Roches, but the aggressive, looking-for-a-new-sound rock riffs are a little hard to take. True devotees of '70s experimentalism will want to check this out, but twangfans can pass.

Dealer's Choice "Memories" (DCB Productions, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced by Larry Sturm)
This early 'Eighties southern rock/twangband recorded at a studio in Schaumburg, Illinois, though they appear to have been from San Pierre, Indiana, in the northern end of the state, near Gary and South Bend. The group included lead guitarist Jim Bell, Butch Bennett (steel guitar), Greg Collins (piano), Ed Martin (bass and lead vocals), and drummer Rod Martin. They had a few interesting covers, including "See You Later, I'm Gone" (which was the flipside to Marshall Tucker Band's 1973 hit, "Can't You See") as well as Elton John's "Ball And Chain," which was a hit in 1982.

Al Dean & The All Stars -- see discography

Benny Dean "I'd Rather Be Blind (In My Eyes Than In My Soul)" (Erin Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Rudy Calicutt & Bob Ysbeck)
Virginia-born Benny Dean had a pretty melodramatic life story, as described on the liner notes of this album. A former family-band gospel singer, Dean lost his path and went blind after going to prison for car theft -- he found God again, but still wound up singing secular music. I'm not sure, but chances are this was his only album.

The Dean Brothers "As They Are" (Pilgrim Records, 1976)
This family band hailed from Skaneateles, New York and played in a variety of regional garage bands and pop-rock acts, dating back to their highschool years, when the British Invasion swept through Ithaca and environs. On this album, they mostly played a mix of '70s soft pop, power-pop and cosmic folk/rock, with a notable debt to bands like the Byrds and the Hollies. But there is also a country vibe, especially on the bouncy twang tune, "Who Loves You" and a couple of other tracks with pedal steel. This was the band's only album, recorded while they were basically breaking up (and soon to reform with a different lineup...) Not as much of a "country" record as others in this survey, but still worth having on the radar.

Carl Dean (Hoppe) "Up To Date Country Music" (Rite Records, 19--?) (LP)
Country and rockabilly, served up in a Jerry Lee Lewis-ish style by Midwestern piano pounder Carl Dean Hoppe. The tracks on this album were re-released on an album by the retrobilly White Label album, Carl Dean And His Piano, along with a handful of live tracks (which are not included here...)

Donna Dean "Classic Country" (JRM Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Mullins & Rick Mullins)
Yeah, this is more Top Forty-oriented than I'm normally into, but it's definitely an off-the-radar outing. Singer Donna Dean was originally from Virginia, and started working in show biz at a very early age. According to the painfully detailed liner notes, she spent some time working in Vegas, had an on-camera job with Alan Funt's "Candid Camera" program, and did some stuff with country stars such as Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. By the time she cut this album, she had returned to Virginia and was working as a weather reporter on WSLS-TV, in Roanoke, though she was still looking to break into Nashville. The backing band is refreshingly local and free of "usual suspect" superpickers -- as far as I can tell, these were all Virginia lads, including Allen Mason (keyboards), Randy Hurt (strings), Dale Thompson (lead guitar), Keith Guthrie (lead guitar), Rick Mullins (drums), Mike Sweeney (steel guitar), Steve Thomas (fiddle) and several different bass players... Mostly this was recorded in Salem, VA, though some tracks were laid down in Nashville, with help from Jerry Crutchfield. This seems to have been a songwriters demo disc -- Ms. Dean recorded on of her own songs, "Over At Last," while others come from folks like Larry Stewart and Troy Seals; three songs were co-written by a guy named J. D. Martin. This was Dean's first album, dunno if she made any others.

Eddie Dean -- see artist discography

Elvis Dean & The Desperadoes "Pay Tribute" (Lark Records, 1979) (LP)
An Elvis Presley tribute singer from Alexandria, Virginia, running through a bunch of oldies from the Elvis canon... This was recorded at John Major's regional label, the Major Recording Company, which included the Lark label as one of its imprints. For the most part, Dean's vocals are a little bit higher-pitched than one might expect from an Elvis clone, but he does dip down into lower tonalities, and does seem to be tapped into the King's vibe... I mean, I don't really "get" this whole genre, but I have to confess this guy kinda won me over, largely through his innate enthusiasm and persistence. The backing band alternates between exuberance and rote performance -- all of which adds up to some pretty prime 'Seventies kitsch. Don't quote me on this, but this is actually kind of a fun little record.

Larry Dean "Outside Chance" (USA Music Group, 1989) (LP)
Born of the same post-Urban Cowboy neo-trad boom as Rosie Flores and Dwight Yoakam, SoCal singer Larry Dean led his band, The Shooters, for most of the '80s and into the early '90s, playing at local clubs such as the Cowboy Palace, the Palomino and the Silver Dollar Saloon. He released this solid set of slick, would-be Top Forty twang, with backing by folks like Ray Austin, Byron Berline, and Jay Dee Maness, and some songs co-written with the likes of Rocky Burnette and Wayne Carson. Dean was born in Perryton, Texas, and grew up in Oklahoma and Idaho before hitting the LA scene in the early '80s. He was nominated for California Country Music Awards in 1984 and '95, and managed to scratch his way into the Billboard Top 100 with the title track of this album. Dean seemed like a pretty good contender to break through nationally, and though he got closer than most, it never quite happened. Still, if you dig relatively twangy, Alan Jackson-y neo-trad, this is a nice hidden nugget to know about. At some point, Dean seems to have moved back to Idaho, and was playing gigs around Boise.

Rusty Dean "Wailin' Time" (Alshire Records, 1969) (LP)

Rusty Dean "Country Hits Of Today" (Alshire Records, 1969) (LP)

Rusty Dean "Country Hits Of Today, Volume Two" (Alshire Records, 1969) (LP)

Rusty Dean "Country Gospel" (Alshire Records, 1969) (LP)

Rusty Dean "A Big Bouquet Of Hits" (Alshire Records, 1971) (LP)
Apparently this was one of several aliases used by SoCal svengali Gary S. Paxton, who spent years behind the scenes in the Alshire/Crown/Custom cheapie-label demimonde, producing innumerable sessions with the shaggy country and country-rock pickers clustered around the Palomino Club and other LA venues. Paxton used several different stage names over the years, including the country-oriented Rusty Dean persona, which was from the peak of his country-rock Bakersfield days. No info, alas, on who was backing him here, but doubtless it was a passle of longhairs from the Sunset Strip scene...

Jonny Deane "Big Time Dreamer" (Shrimp Music, 1981-?) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Shrimpf)
Nice album recorded by a guy who looks kinda middle-aged and gray-haired on the cover, but with a nice voice and a vocal style that reminds me of Hoyt Axton. I'm not sure where Jonny Deane was from, but this album was recorded at Mike Shrimpf's studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with some lesser-known studio musicians, including Shrimpf himself playing keyboards. The repertoire is mostly originals, including several by Shrimpf and some guys attached to his publishing company -- Archie Drew, Ron Saucier and Jonny Deane -- and perhaps most interesting, two songs by future superstar Steve Wariner, "He'll Be The One" and "Labor Of Love." Wariner had recorded his first album a few years earlier, but seems to have been in Mike Shrimpf's orbit for a while before he had his first big hit, which came later in '81, so this is still a glimmer of his early years. At any rate, I kinda liked this album -- it's solid but unpretentious, soulful but unassuming. Definitely worth a spin!

Mike Deasy "Letters To My Head" (Capitol Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jay Senter & Howard Weiss)
A groovy, eclectic album from a member of the elite group of top West Coast studio musicians known as "the Wrecking Crew." A Los Angeles native, Deasy wove his way through an astonishing series of bands and artistic endeavors, as a kid notably touring with rockabilly/rock'n'roll icons such as Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and later sitting in on sessions with just about everyone you can think of... This is a very trippy disc, and I mean that entirely in the sense "trippy" was taken in the early 'Seventies: Deasy definitely seems to have "turned on" and embraced the cosmic psychedelic vibe of the times. Or, maybe he was just the world's happiest Christian: Deasy got "born again" when he attended a Billy Graham revival in 1969, and many of the songs on this album (and others) have explicitly Christian themes. Deasy was also a disciple of pop-rock iconoclast Curt Boettcher, whose folkie, dreamy psychedelia pervades much of this disc. Although it lapses into some pretty gooey, hippie-dippy, stars-in-my-eyes flights of fantasy, there's grit here as well, and real twang, particularly on tunes such as "I Am I Am I Am" and "Flutterby," which showcase some fairly avant-garde pedal steel from Jay Dee Maness. The second half of the album gets a little heavier, and Deasy's radical reinterpretation of the blues standard "Stagger Lee" is an album highlight, an expansive, horn-drenched heavy blues-soul psych odyssey worthy of roots dudes such as Dr. John or Leon Russell. Deasy's wife, Kathie Deasy and brother-in-law, Jim Horn are major contributors -- the Deasy's worked together in a variety of bands, including the swamp-rock band Gator Alley. Definitely worth a spin!

Bud Deckelman "Daydreaming With Bud Deckelman" (Barnyard Records, 19--?) (LP)
A hillbilly singer from Harrisburg, Arkansas, Gene ("Bud") Deckelman (1927-1998) had a regional hit with his 1953 single, "Daydreamin'," a success that led to a major label contract the following year. Over the next couple of years he recorded a string of singles for MGM -- an album's worth, as it turns out, most of which are collected on this very bare-bones, nondescript LP, issued on a German imprint possibly connected to the Cattle/Binge Disc collectors label, which put out a similar collection on CD a couple of decades later. (See below.) All of the tracks on this album are included on that compact disc; what's missing however, is a post-MGM career footnote, a bouncy indie-label single from 1961 that had a rock-flavored feel quite similar to Buck Owens though with a deeply rural Ozarkian edge. Bud Deckelman's cousin, Sonny Deckleman, followed in his footsteps and cut several rockabilly singles in the early 1960s

Bud Deckelman "Hillbilly Love Songs: 1954-56" (Cattle Compact/Binge Disc Records, 2008) (LP)
This digital-era update includes all the songs on the old LP above, along with two more of the same vintage, "Darling,I'll Keep Trying" and "Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow," both from the same MGM single. Still missing, alas, is Deckleman's groovy 1961 single on the Memphis-based Stomper Time label... But what is on here is pretty darn good!

Bobby Dee "Six Weeks In Alaska" (Eagle Records) (LP)
I'm not sure what the Alaska connection is here -- singer Bobby Dee was a Native American from Idaho, and the Eagle label was from Montana. Anyway, he seems to have been in the thick of it, countrywise: musicians include pedal steel player Lloyd Green, guitar picker Gene Breeden, The Hardin Trio and neotrad honkytonker David Frizzell, who co-wrote one of the songs on here, "Hold The Past Against Me."

Gracie Dee "In A Country Mood" (Rada Records, 1972) (LP)
Canadian country gal Gracie Dee originally hailed from Canora, Saskatchewan, getting her starting her career in the 1960s and working at least through the mid '70s. She and her husband -- fellow Saskatchewanian fiddler/producer Mike Harris -- also spent time in the US, releasing some of their material both on the Canadian-based Rada label and on Harris' own Blaze Records, which was headquartered in Nashville. (The liner notes on this album mention her being signed to Sims Records, though her Sims singles are not included here...) There's no date on the record itself, and though I've seen this listed online as a 1971 release, it was listed as "album of the week" by one of the Billboard country reviewers in December, 1972; maybe it was a sleeper, I dunno. Her second album also is a little mysterious, though it has a later catalog number so I assume it came out sometime between 1973 and some subsequent Blaze singles that came out in '75 (and are not included on either album...) At any rate, some pleasantly twangy material, framed in a roduction style that reminds me of Decca/MCA's bright, punchy sound. Definitely worth a spin!

Gracie Dee "The Many Moods Of Gracie Dee" (Blaze Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Harris & Ron Manning)
As on her first album, there are no musician credits, though singer Bobby Hardin wrote the liner notes, which suggests it was recorded in Nashville (and presumably that he sings on the record as well...) There's also no date on the disc, though as mentioned above it came out in both Canada and in the US, and the Canadian catalog number shows that it was her second album, after Country Moods, so I'm guessing this was from 1973 or '74.

Jimmy Dee "Today/Tonight" (Rosewood Records, 1977) (LP)
A mystery disc, produced in Nashville by "Album World," which seems to have been a fairly sketchy imprint of the IRDA distribution company. Tax scam? Songwriter's demo? Your guess is as good as mine. Alas, no info on who played on the album or who produced these sessions, also no biographical information about Mr. Dee or where he was from. Maybe someday.

Johni Dee "Just Trackin' " (American Communication Enterprises Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by John Dee, Bill Carnes, Jim Rice)
Ambitious indie twang from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan... Around 1976-77, John D. Lollio was the drummer in a Deerborn-based Elvis Presley tribute band called Mystery Train, then got bumped up to the group's lead singer in '78. Though named after an Elvis song, the band drifted towards country material and recorded this set of mostly-original material just before breaking up in '82. Sadly, the musicians are not identified, though there is a proliferation of producers including Bill Carnes and Jimmy W. Rice who both wrote songs for Johni to record. One of the singles off the album was credited to the band, and suggested that the record would be coming out under the Mystery Train name, although I guess they decided "Johni Dee" sounded cooler. Though he continued to play locally for years to come, Mr. Lollio mostly hung up his spurs after this and settled down to become a tax accountant. As far as I know this was his only album, though he may have released a CD a couple of decades later.

Kathy Dee "DEE Lightful" (BW Records, 1963) (LP)
(Produced by Quentin "Reed" Welby)
The Midwest's Kathleen Mae Potts, aka Kathy Dee, enjoyed modest success with a pair of singles issued by United Artists -- her debut was the 1963 hit, "Unkind Words," which rose to #18 on the charts, although the followup, "Don't Leave Me Lonely Too Long," was perhaps a flop, peaking at #44, and was her last chart entry. Although regional success, starting at a very young age, Kathy Dee suffered from diabetes and was eventually felled by the disease in 1968, when she suffered a stroke and slipped into a fatal coma. Born in West Virginia, Dee was managed by an Ohio impresario, Quentin Welty, whose regionally-based BW Records label released several dozen singles in various musical styles, including a number of country recordings. This included Kathy Dee's early singles, which were licensed to United Artists where they found a national audience. This album features a dozen other songs recorded for BW (though sadly, not her hits) and was reissued on a budget label, as seen below. Her style was similar to that of Sue Thompson, an odd mix of country ballads and girl group-ish pop - not quite gritty honkytonk, but she had some twang in there, for sure, Definitely worth a spin!

Kathy Dee "Teardrops In My Heart" (Guest Star Records, 1964) (LP)
This LP was basically a budget reissue of the BW album above, with ten tracks instead of twelve. The two songs that were left off this album are "Go On Home" and "Funny How Time Slips Away," with all the other songs being the same. As of this writing, all her recordings, including her UA singles, remain unissued in digital form.

Roy Dee & The Cinnamon Creek Band "All Day Singing With Dinner On The Grounds" (Moonglow Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Chuck Nelson & James O'Rafferty)
This one's a bit of a mystery disc... The Cinnamon Creek group featured lead singer Roy Dee on lead guitar, Buddy Banks, (drums), Tommy Gobel (bass) and James O'Rafferty (steel guitar), with Bob Fergo chiming in on keyboards and violin; also pictured but not properly credited is vocalist Suzy Ogden, who duets with Roy Dee on a couple of tracks. I'm not sure if these guys were really a "group," although this seems to have been a sincere set of original material, with all the tracks credited to producer Chuck Nelson, adding a couple of co-credits to Roy Dee and to O'Rafferty. The backing band was made up of guys who had worked as studio musicians in LA throughout the 'Sixties and Seventies, including sessions with pop and rock groups. Steel player O'Rafferty probably had the most extensive country background, gigging with SoCal stalwarts such as Don Lee and Denny Michaels, as well as country-rock pioneer Michael Nesmith. O'Rafferty worked a lot of bars and clubs, too, and is remembered as a good vocalist -- you can judge for yourself, since he sings lead on the first three tracks. Ms. Ogden had been doing lounge gigs in Orange County for several years, and led her own band at Knott's Berry Farm, apparently with backing from fabled guitarist Pete Anderson. (She may have been the same bluesy gal from Kentucky who self-released a single way back in 1970, but I'm not totally sure about that.) Roy Dee is probably the biggest blank spot here, with his last name doubtless the first initial of some longer "D" name; besides this album, I couldn't find any other info about him. Exactly where Roy Dee or Chuck Nelson were from is hard to say -- clearly the crew were Southern Californians, though the label address is in Hayward, California, up around San Francisco. If you split the difference, there is a Cinnamon Creek located on the map in the Sierra Nevada foothills, near Visalia, but who knows.

Roy Dee "Hail We Americans" (1980-?) (LP)
(Produced by Robert Ritchie)
Ah. Things come a little more into focus here. This album bears the stamp of SoCal twang auteur Robert Ritchie, who wrote all the songs and produced the sessions at his own Pyasaw Music studio in Orange, California. Ritchie also released a few albums under his own name that had the same sparse, naifish, hand-drawn graphics and blank, white back covers. Roy Dee is credited as having arranged and performed all the songs on here, with backing by Buddy Banks on drums, Tommy Gobel (guitar), Jim O'Rafferty (guitar) and Ken Wilson playing flute and saxophone. By the way, Tommy Gobel also cut a track for a 1982 compilation album called THE COWBOY: THE COUNTRY DOZEN, which was sponsored by a nightclub in Anaheim called The Cowboy, and may have also been released on an imprint created by Mr. Richie.

Cliff Deegan & His Western Riders "Cowboy Favorites" (Craftsmen Records, 1963--?) (LP)
Straight-up "western" cowboy stuff, also including a few pop tunes like "Pistol Packin' Mama" from a performer whose history remains pretty mysterious. Typical of many cheapo-label albums, there's no information about where Deegan was from, or who was backing him, or about who produced these tracks. This early-'Sixties imprint was a spinoff of the Tops label, so it's possible this draws on earlier singles, or that "Cliff Deegan" was a made-up name for other artist's work. Hard to know.

Deep South "Deep South" (NSD Records, 1985-?) (LP)
A would-be Top Forty band, though one with outlaw-ish inclinations... They cover Michael Martin Murphey's "Cosmic Cowboy" and "Fool In The Mirror" by Guy Clark, for starters... So maybe they were from Texas? Even though they recorded in Nashville?

Danny DeGood "All New Country" (King's Universal Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Louis Wright)
An independent honkytonker from Greenville, Michigan, Danny DeGood wrote all ten songs on this album, including numbers such as "Aggravation Is The Name Of The Game," "Playing Around," "Thank God For That Woman" and "Talk Is Cheap." DeGood had been at it for quite a while before he cut this album: in the liner notes, he thanks the owner of a local bar in Greenville who put his first single in the jukebox way back in 1968(!) This album was recorded in Nashville, although, sadly, they neglected to list the studio musicians. I'm not sure if Mr. DeGood made any other records, but would welcome any info about his career.

Dean Del Ray "The Sounds Of A Man Alone" (Del Ray Enterprises, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Howard Stewart & Dean Del Ray)
I'm pretty sure this is not the same Dean Delray who went from a career in 1990s jam band/hard rock into a career as a standup comedian... This Dean Del Ray, a lounge singer was from Clarksburg, West Virginia who was crooning at the Sheraton Hotel when he cut this album in the early 1970s. It's mostly a bunch of oldies, stuff like "Chantilly Lace" and "Proud Mary," but also some country songs, such as "Four Walls," "For The Good Times" and "Muleskinner Blues." I'm guessing around 1972 on this one...?

Del Rio 101 "Del Rio 101" (KCMJ Productions, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Sullivan)
This Lone Star group centered around the quartet of Bo Hutto, Bob Gray, David Murray and James Gilbreath, with assistance from Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery, who plays guitar and provides arrangements, along with several Houston area musicians from his studio, such as pedal steel player Maurice Anderson and bassist Marc Jaco...In some ways, this album almost seems like a compilation, with each of the four singers taking solo spots on various tracks... Also worth noting is that Bo Hutto was also in a band called Texas Pride, whose fiddler, Carl Cloudt plays guitar on this album... dunno if they also made any records....

Delaney & Bonnie -- see artist profile

Ethel Delaney "Goin' To The Country With Ethel Delaney" (Ohio Records, 1972-?) (LP)

Ethel Delaney "Heeeere's Ethel!" (Ohio Records, 1976-?) (LP)
A veteran performer of many decades and eras of country music history, Ohio's Ethel Delaney (1927-2005) started her professional career in 1934 at age eight, singing on Wheeling, West Virginia's WWVA radio station, and went on to become one of America's most famous female yodelers. Not sure when these albums came out -- looks like the early-to-mid '70s(?) and the middle-aged Ms. Delaney was clearly still plugging away with a tour bus of her own, emblazoned with the name of her band, the Buckeye Strings. She eventually moved to Las Vegas in the 1990s, but continued to perform for years, giving her last public performance in 2004(!) seventy years after she first took the stage.

Ethel Delaney "...And Her Buckeye Strings" (Ohio Records, 1976-?) (LP)
This one includes covers of oldies like "I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart" and "Steel Guitar Rag" along with more contemporary hits such as Bobby G. Rice's 1973 hit, "You Lay So Easy On My Mind," Charley Pride's "We Could," and Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors." Also featured is "A Bottle, A Blond And A Barroom," which appears to be an original...

Deliverance "Memories" (NRP Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Les Ladd)
An utterly charming, completely amateurish album by a spunky '70s band from Wilton, Iowa... The lead singers were Darryl Gilbert and Sonya Gilbert, with Mr. Gilbert playing lead and Sonya Gilbert on rhythm guitar, along with bassist Kay Seebeck, pianist David Barnes, and a guy named Glenn Ray playing steel on a few tracks. Although as late as 2012, Darryl Gilbert and Deliverance were included on a local radio station's list of Iowa country bands, it's hard to imagine this band -- particularly in this early incarnation -- being much of a bar-band powerhouse. And that's what's great about this record: it's clearly a labor of love from some folks who were playing and singing for fun, and while they were kinda sloppy and poorly produced, they were real and sincere and really into what they were doing, and this is actually one of the more enjoyable "private" country records I've picked up, certainly one of these albums I'm more likely to listen to just for fun. They cover a few obvious hits -- "Good Hearted Woman," "Proud Mary," and "Help Me Make It Through The Night" -- along with a few originals written by Mr Gilbert and other members of the band: "Memories," "Raindrops" and a gospel number called "He." The album was recorded at Tom T. Hall's Toy Box studio in Nashville, while the photos on the back cover show the band performing at the Moose Lodge, in Muscatine, Iowa.

Glen Delpit "Prodigal Son" (Swallow Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Glen Delpit & Bill Bixler)
A nice acoustic retro-blues set from one of Fresno, California's finer post-hippie pickers... Features a lot of oldies covers such as "Bourgeois Blues," with Delpit playing dobro and regular six-string guitars... I believe that the album's co-producer, Bill Bixler, was once the owner of a club called The Wild Blue Yonder, which was one of Fresno's few cool rock clubs in the early '80s...

Kay Delsite "Feels It's Spring" (Valley Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Robert Ramsey)
Very minimal biographical info about this East Coast twang auteur... Born in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, country gal Kay Delsite won a songwriting contest at age nineteen -- around 1971 or '72 -- which seems to have prompted her to pursue a musical career... I found an item in a local newspaper plugging a gig she and her band The Good Tymes played in 1975 with comedian Crazy Elmer in nearby Sunbury, PA, a tiny mid-state hamlet that was right next door to where she settled down, the equally tiny town of Danville, where she was known (I think) as Cheryl Kay Delsite. That's about the extent of what I could find, other than several copyright entries in the 1977 Library Of Congress listings which helped pinpoint the release of this undated album. And boy, what a forlorn set of all-original songs: "Gone Down The Drain," "I'll Never Trust Again," "Change My Ways," "Rainy Weather," "I Can't Become Your Wife," "I Have Feelings Too..." Though the subject matter is a bit downcast, the performances feel upbeat, with Kay Delsite double-tracking her Dolly-meets-Loretta vocals ala Skeeter Davis amid backing by an uncredited local band dominated by a slightly haphazard, note-happy guitarist and plucky though limited rhythm section. The sound mix is a bit clumsy and distracting, but in essence I think there's something here: she had a good voice, and though it's a little hard to focus on the lyrics, her songs were pretty solid. This disc is kind of what you might think of as a prototypical "private press" country album, assuming you were looking for the good ones, and not just something to make fun of. It's awkward and indifferently engineered, but also sweet and charming, kind of like if Donna Fargo never made it big and only had the chance to make home demo tapes. If I had unlimited resources, I'd include this in the Locals Only reissue series... Heck, maybe someday I will!

The Delta Sisters "Music From The Old Timey Motel" (Rooster Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Stephen Schneider & Walton Amey)
Old-timey tunes, bluegrass and cajun tunes played by the California-based acoustic duo of Frannie Leopold and Jeanie McLerie, with a slew of cool guest musicians, including Gene Parsons, Sue Draheim, Jody Stecher, and Eric & Suzie Thompson. Nice stuff from the West Coast contingent!

Larry Denham & The Cowboy Ramblers "I've Sang The Blues So Long" (Adler Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Stan Louden)
Kentucky native Larry Denham played in and around Louisville for several decades, cutting uptempo, rockabilly-tinged singles as a teen before settling into a more robust honkytonk baritone style. As heard on this album, his appreciation for classic country ran deep: the LP showcases four Hank Williams oldies, along with a slew of Denham originals, with Denham's vocals evoking Hank, Jr. to a surprising degree. He's backed here by several locals, including Dennis Beard on drums, bassist Larry Karr, and a well-respected steel guitarist named Boogie Sherrard, a fellow Kentuckian who had toured with Ray Price in the early '60s. The artwork is super-DIY, with a plain white back cover, and little info about Denham or his band, and alas does not include a release date. (Note: there seem to be a number of musically-inclined Larry Denhams listed online, and I'm not sure how or if they are all connected. A piano player named Larry Denham did session work with a few mainstream country musicians in the early 'Sixties as well as a stint with the Plainsmen southern gospel group from 1962-64, and there's also a steel player by the same name who was an old-timer playing local venues such as the "Bardstown Opry" and the "Shepardsville Country Music Show" at least as late as 2015. The same guy? Relatives? Anyone out there who might be able to help sort it all out?)

Dennis & Cree "The Nashville Sounds Of Dennis & Cree" (D&C Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Stephen Schneider & Walton Amey)
Lounge-y performances by the duo of Marv Dennis and William ("Ed") Cree (1934-2014) whose comedic act played up in Reno, Nevada, in Tahoe, Vegas and Nashville throughout the 1960s and '70s. The duo were originally from Wisconsin, and performed continuously for about fifteen years before splitting up the act in 1975. They regrouped in '77, making a few more records and even tried their hand at acting, getting cast in at least one TV show, appearing briefly as the hillbilly caricatures "Bubba" (Ed Cree) and "Billy Joe Bob" (Marv Dennis), in the 1978 series Who's Watching The Kids, a short-lived vehicle for Scott Baio which was set in Las Vegas. Dennis & Cree definitely included real country music in their act, but it wasn't their sole focus...

Dennis & Cree "The Country Side Of Dennis & Cree" (D&C Records 19--?) (LP)

Dennis & Cree "Side By Side" (DNC Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by David McKinley)

Dale Dennis "Give Me One More Chance" (Country Soul Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Dean & Gene Lawson)
A mystery disc. This mid-1980s outing appears to be the only album by singer Dale Dennis, whose biographical details I wasn't able to track down... Though it was recorded in Nashville and looks relatively glossy and modern, there's no mention of it online, other than a single that was broken off in '84; Dennis Dale also released at least one other single a couple of years later on a different indie label. The Nashville studio crew included heavyweights like drummer Bob Dean, guitarist Jack Eubanks, Bunky Keels, Dale Sellars, and others. A lot of original material on here, including five songs by a fella named Thomas A. Cox, and two more credited to Dale Alfred (perhaps Dale Dennis's real name?). Other than those little nuggets, though, I'm stumped.

The Marv Dennis IV "Caught In The Act" (Coulee Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Dean & Gene Lawson)
A live album featuring lounge performer Marv Dennis with comedy routines ("Hillbilly Bit,"etc.) and tunes like "Beer From Milwaukee." This was an offshoot of the Dennis & Cree lounge act... Dunno why this wasn't credited as a regular old Dennis & Cree album (see above) since Ed Cree was still involved, but what the heck. Not gonna lose any sleep over it... Their studio-recorded version of "Honey Comb" was also released as a single, and is also included here

Denny & Donna "Love Of The Common People" (Musicountry Records, 1973)
(Produced by John Stoecker & Ron Jeffreys)
A country-pop duo from Rock Valley, Iowa, singing some original material written by Donna Chapel Wrede, as well as covers of Eddy Raven, Jan Crutchfield and the Bee Gees... Donna Wrede had a family background in the music business, having performed along with her father, Don Chapel, in Tammy Wynette's road show. She was the stronger of the two singers, an emotive vocalist who belts it out sometimes, and has a pronounced Wynette-ish streak as well. She contributes three tunes to this album: "It's Time For Us To Fall In Love Again," "My Heart Feels Right At Home" and "More Love For You," which she had previously released as a single in 1973. (Footnote: Years later, Donna Wrede recorded a semi-infamous single, "Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore," a topical song based on a missing child case, and continued to write and perform original material through the early '80s, singing with her husband Denny, who became a highschool basketball coach and math teacher... So they were indeed regular folks, in case you wondered.) I think this was their only album, though she seems to have recorded a few singles as well, including a lot of gospel material. To be honest, this isn't the greatest country record ever, but they really put their hearts into it, and that counts for something.

Clyde And Marie Denny & The Drifting Kentuckians "Monticello" (Country Star, Inc., 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Reid & Carmine Lombardo)
Independent bluegrass with a country-ish fling... Most of the songs are Denny originals, though the Dennys get the trad stamp of approval, with old-timer Carl Story providing laudatory liner notes. The label was from Franklin, Pennsylvania, and I imagine the Dennys lived there as well, or at least nearby.

Walt Denny "Twelve All Original Country And Gospel Songs" (Breeze Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by J. P. Bowman)
A Kentucky native who moved to the Midwest as a teen, singer Walt Denny was a self-described hardcore alcoholic and born-again Christian who tried to make it big in music in the 1940s and '50s and found himself down and out and literally drunk in the gutter, at the mercy of his addiction. Back in '56 he got religion and turned his life around, and though he was an ardent Christian, this album is divided between secular songs (on Side One) and religious material (on Side Two) all of which Denny wrote himself. Backing him is a small band that included Frazier Moss on fiddle and Elton Davis on dobro, along with some other local, rural Tennessee pickers from outside of Nashville's orbit. (Frazier Moss also recorded a couple of albums of his own, reviewed on this site as well...) Definitely a little more rough-edged and more country-oriented than your standard-issue Southern Gospel album!

Bobby Denver "City Lights" (Modern Sound Records, 1966-?) (LP)
One of the many budget-label "soundalike" cover artists of the 1960s and '70s, Bobby Denver was also one of the few to have albums come out under his own name... or, well, his own pseudonym, as he seems to have also recorded as Bobby Singer (and perhaps a few other names...) This album is almost all country covers, with a few songs from the late 'Fifties and early 'Sixties, though most were originally hits in 1965-66, which helps date this album. This includes mid-decade gems like "Tippy Toeing" from the Harden Trio, Porter Wagoner's "Skid Row Joe" and less fabulously, Roger Miller's "Husbands And Wife." It's possible some of the older songs, like "Ring Of Fire," were released earlier as singles, since Bobby Denver also cut a bunch of seven-inches for Modern Sound's "Country & Western Hits" imprint. Of particular note are two tracks wedged in at the end of Side Two which were originals: the song "Pardon My Living" was copyrighted by Bergen White in 1965 and pops up on a string of Modern Sound/Spar Records releases, while "Love's Lonely Avenue" was recycled on at least one other album. The contours of Bobby Denver's career are are rather opaque -- it's most likely that this was one of many pseudonyms, and also possible that these tracks came from or were used on other records under different names, also possible that more than one person played the role of "Bobby Denver," since that's the way these cheapie-label folks use to roll. I welcome any clarifications.

Bobby Denver "Big Country And Western Hits" (Modern Sound Records, 1967-?) (LP)
Again, mostly cover songs, though they mainly seem to have been chart hits from 1967, which most likely makes this a '67 (or maybe '68) release. Bobby Denver kicks things off with a couple of Bakersfield hits, Merle Haggard's "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive" and "Where Does The Good Times Go," from Buck Owens, then moves into more Nashville-related territory with songs such as "Loser's Cathedral" (an early David Houston hit), Porter Wagoner's "Cold Hard Facts Of Life," and the George Jones ballad, "Walk Through This World With Me." There's also a fairly obscure number from Carl Perkins's attempt to pivot into mainstream country, "Country Boy's Dream," and a few other lesser-known tunes. As on Denver's previous album, at least one song seems to have been an original from the Modern Sound stable, a tune called "Back To Losing You," which was also recorded by their gal singer Katy Richards on her LP that came out the same year. Alas, there was no composer credit on either album, so the song's exact provenance looks murky at first glance, though I think it was probably the same song that Music city insider Mac Gayden copyrighted in... July of 1967(!) via Modern Sound's in-house publishing company, Tennessee Music.

Bobby Denver "Sings Country And Western Number One Hits Of The '60s" (Sterling Records, 19--?) (LP)
Less info about this Bobby Denver set, though this time around there don't seem to be any original songs on the album. Several Buck Owens songs -- "Act Naturally," "Together Again," and "Waitin' In Your Welfare Line" -- along with entries from Eddy Arnold, Bobby Bare, Ernest Ashworth, and others. And after this did Bobby Denver get stuck on an uncharted desert isle? No idea.

Danny Denver "Recorded Live At The Stardust Inn" (Go-Go Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Sam Ghoers)
A native of Hartville, South Carolina and one-time '50s rockabilly rebel, as a young man Danny Denver (1937-2003) spent some time in New York working as a demo musician and also moved to Maryland to pursue a career as a live performer in the Washington, DC area. Here he assembled a band that most notably included hotshot guitarist Roy Buchanan, who later became one of the top urban blues artists of the 1970s and '80s. Buchanan is part of the compact backing band on this private album, along with Link Wray's former bassist Shorty Horton (1921-1974) and drummer Dicky Maughn, who are called the "Three Sound Masters" on the back cover. The disc was pressed as a souvenir of the Danny Denver Band's gig at a place called the Stardust Inn, a venue in Waldorf, Maryland, and showcases Denver doing a mix of country and pop material presented in two album side-length tracks. Denver's act at the time seems to have relied heavily on show biz impersonations: instead of song titles, the albums sides are broken up by the names of celebrities being imitated: Johnny Cash, Webb Pierce, Buddy Holly, Dean Martin, Otis Redding, etc., with "Danny Denver" forlornly listed at the very end. There's no date on the album, but judging from the source material, it probably came out well before the 1972 album below; some sources say this lineup of Denver's band was playing in the DC area sometime in the mid-1960s.

Danny Denver "The Best Of Denver With Roy Buchanan" (Wrayco Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by Lewis Chitty)
Although this album seems to have come out in 1972, a few of the tracks may have recorded earlier, with some also issued as singles on the Wrayco label, though I'd guess these came out around the same time as the LP. The liner notes by Maryland deejay Tom Reder make it sound like this was recorded as a cohesive country album, rather than as a hodge-podge of older stuff; this is supported by the inclusion of newer tunes such as a cover of Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times" and Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again." By the time this disc came out, though, Roy Buchanan's solo career had finally taken off, and Denver probably saw it as a last chance to capitalize on Buchanan's presence on his band. Several country covers from the like of Ray Pennington, Mel Tillis and Hank Williams, as well as an original by Danny Denver called "Spring Is A Woman" and another called "Mother Nature," penned by William McCloud, that shared the same publishing company. Not sure what became of Denver as the 'Seventies rolled on -- this album seems to have been his swan song as far as recorded music goes.

Jeannie Denver "Yorkshire Rose" (Westwood Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Dusty Gordon, David Whitely & Kelvin Henderson)
One of the most UK's popular country singers of the 1970s, Yorkshire-born Jeannie Denver was a pub singer who "went country" in 1973, joining Kelvin Henderson's band where she quickly stole the show and became a showcase performer. She went solo in '75, recruiting several members of Henderson's ensemble to form the JD Band, including her husband, hotshot guitarist Stewart Barnes. This was her first album, and it leaned heavily on cover songs and current hits such as "Delta Dawn," "Field Of Stone," "Jolene," and "For The Good Times," with obvious nods to American "girl" singers such as Dolly Parton and Tanya Tucker.

Jeannie Denver/Various Artists "The Music Festival Show" (Westwood Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Davies & Mike Naylor)
Here, the up-and-coming Denver shares billing with several of her bandmembers and labelmates, British twangsters such as Nick Carter, Lee Williams and steel guitarist Slim Pickins, all packed by her own group, the JD Band.

Jeannie Denver "Queen Of The Silver Dollar" (Westwood Records, 1975) (LP)

Jeannie Denver & Slim Pickens "At The Spur And Saddle" (Westwood Records, 1976) (LP)
Recorded live at the Welsh country music venue, The Spur And Saddle.

Jeannie Denver "With Love" (Westwood Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Davies & Bob Whitely)

John Denver -- see artist profile

The Deputies -- see artist profile

Richard De Saito "Volume One: Nashville Country Princess" (Aurora Records & Tapes, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Alan Kirk & Tod Andrews)
I really honestly couldn't tell you what was going on with this one... except that it's exactly the kind of weird record that could only have been made in late 'Seventies Hollywood. Despite the cosmic cowboy graphics, this is more of a super-indulgent, mega-emotive, folk-rock flight, the sort of wildly over-the-top, uninhibited West Coast, SoCal soul wail worthy of Dino Valenti or numerous oddball outsider-rock unknowns of that era. De Saito plays an undetermined number of instruments, with additional backing by Richard Charlton (lead guitar), Teddy Rocca (bass) and others -- I suspect there are also folks who played on here that didn't get credits, but that's just a guess. I wouldn't count this as much of a country record, despite the "Country" and the "Nashville" in the title; it's really not my cup of tea, though I'm also not sure if I should necessarily warn other twangfans off of it. I suspect there's a whole aesthetic of this kind of music that I'm just not in on, or just don't get. Dunno De Saito's backstory; he was writing and copyrighting songs at least as far back as the early '70s; he may have done some work in the movies, and he might be in the art world... The cover art for this album was by desert painter Chuck Caplinger, who was doing celebrity portraits at the time. As of 2019, DeSaito (also spelled Desaito) was still in Hollywood and still performing onstage at age 77, organizing American Legion shows and whatnot. This disc is a pretty odd record, an out-there artifact of its time.

The Desert Rose Band -- see artist profile

Joe DeShannon & Martha "Higher Than A Mountain" (Vetti Record Company, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Shockley)
An all-gospel set featuring country singer Joe DeShannon, whose give name was Joe Detty, Sr., and who seems to have been from Tennessee. His duet partner was wife of a friend who heard some of Mr. Detty's original music and insisted he make a record. I'm not sure how many of these tracks are Joe Detty's compositions, though his subsequent album (below) was packed with originals. Also no info on the backing musicians, though producer Mike Shockley did have a studio crew of regulars, any of whom could have been in these sessions.

Joe DeShannon "For The Love Of Country" (King's International Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Doyle Grisham)

Desperado "Time After Time" (Ruff Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Hott Soup Productions)
This band from Garland, Texas was different than the East Coasters below... To give you a sense of where they were coming from, they covered both the Eagles and Atlanta Rhythm Section, and had both banjo and saxophone in the band. Ah, the Seventies!

Desperado "Desperado" (Calfdisk Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Desperado)
East Coast twang... The leading light behind this Ithaca, New York alt-country group was singer-guitarist Walton Amey, though the spotlight often fell on vocalist Carol Lee (aka Carolee Goodgold) who was a performing arts student at the university and who went on to a very successful career as a commercial singer and voiceover artist. The band was rounded out by bass player Doug Robinson and Paul Marino on banjo and guitar. These folks made two records together, though I'm not sure what happened after that... I think Mr. Amey was originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia) and may have returned there later in life. At any rate, there's a fair amount of original material on here, as well as several well-chosen cover tunes, including a version of the Peter Rowan song, "Midnight Moonlight."

Desperado "Out On A Limb" (PCI Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Stephen Schneider & Walton Amey)
This semi-shaggy, Levi's-clad band from upstate New York didn't have a lot of ooomph as country twangsters, but as soft-pop/country-rock act, they had their charm. Their male-female vocal mix included several songs with the spotlight on Carolee Goodgold, who seems to have been a big Linda Ronstadt fan, mimicking Ronstadt's vocals and musical approach, as opposed to Emmylou Harris, who was the other big female country-rock icon of the era. Desperado seems to have been aiming for a mix of indie-twang and hopeful commercial success as a pop act, but the style of music harkened back to pre-disco AOR of a half-dozen years earlier. This has its moments, and is a genuine slice of '70s(ish) DIY, but it didn't really wow me.

The Desperadoes "The Branding Iron Presents..." (Branding Iron Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Avants & Tommy Melder)
A souvenir album from a country bar in West Monroe, Louisiana called the Branding Iron ("home of red necks and goat ropers"), one of several nightspots owned over the years by former rodeo clown Warren "Pinball" Antley (1935-2001). This is mostly a set of country cover tunes, though there are three originals, each written by one of the bandmembers (which is how we learn the names of some of the otherwise unidentified musicians. James A. Crain, Jr. contributes "You're Gone From Me"; Terrell H. Howard wrote "Temptation Is Like Whiskey" and Ronald J. Lutrick adds "Too Much Stormy Weather." Born in nearby Columbia, Lutrick apparently performed on the "Louisiana Hayride" while in his teens, with the Desperadoes being his first band. He later moved to Nashville, where he did some session work, played backup and was in the house band at a place called Gabe's Lounge. The fourth guy in this band -- Steve -- remains a cipher. Probably the drummer. The Branding Iron itself seems to have closed in the late 1980s, a few years after this album came out.

The Desperados "Desperado" (Rio Records, 1980)
Hoo-boy. Desperado... Desperados... Desperadoes... Man, I bet there were an awful lot of bar bands who used that name. Anyway, I'll try and sort it all out... though it might take a while. This band, with Jim Tomlinson on pedal steel and Ted Scanlon singing lead vocals, was from Mesilla Park and Las Cruces, New Mexico, and had some jazzy stuff going on with their twang... The material was all cover tunes, so I figure they were a working band, though apparently none of the members was a songwriter. Founded in 1976, The Desperados became known as one of the most diehard western swing bands in the Southwest and have continued on for decades, helmed by Scanlon, but with a constantly evolving group of collaborators. One this first album, the lineup also included Carroll Gilley (piano), Bob Faris (fiddle), Pete Warner (drums) and Dale Baker (saxophone and flute.) The material is all cover songs, but they chose from the best, so you get a real chance to hear their chops.

The Desperados "Take Two" (Rio Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Emitt Brooks & Steve Brooks)

The Desperados "II" (Pollyfox Studios, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Frank Green)
This no-nonsense country band from eastern Nebraska was led by Don Rogert, a businessman from Waterloo who was also active in state politics during the '70s. The Desperados headed to Nashville to record at least two albums, both of which are quite good -- not dazzling, but solidly performed and well produced, and packed with well-chosen material. The core group included Rogert on guitar, along with fiddler Jerry Cook and a fine dobro picker named Max Cooley, who also played in several bluegrass bands. They had a distinctly old-fashioned, down-to-earth traditional country sensibility, playing lots of oldies and a few contemporary hits. This album seems to be an early-to-mid-'70s release, with songs including include "Six Days On The Road," "The Key Is In The Mailbox" "I'm A Survivor" and "Daisy A Day." These two albums were reissued together on CD, though I'm not sure where you could find a copy.

The Desperados "In Nashville" (1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by David Shipley)
This album features a larger band and smoother production, and seems to be from around 1978-79... The more recent songs include "Couple More Years" (recorded by both Dr. Hook and Waylon Jennings in 1976) and "You're The One" (a big hit for the Oak Ridge Boys in 1977 and '78.) I'm not sure how much longer the band was together after this... any info is welcome!

Don Devaney "Someone Loves You Honey" (JMI/Boot Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Curt Allen & Bob Webster)
Canadian songwriter Don Devaney (1940-2014) was living in Toronto in the late 'Seventies, but headed to Nashville to cut this album at Jack Clement's JVI studios with a crew that included pedal steel player Lloyd Green and guitar picker Jim Rooney. Some of the songs were released as singles, though this appears to have been Devaney's only full album. The title track was a song that served as Devaney's Music City calling card, after Charley Pride took it to the top of the charts on both sides of the border. Devaney had been plugging away since the early 'Seventies with modest success and he placed songs with a slew of country and bluegrass artists over the years, including another #1 hit when Highway 101 recorded his song "Cry, Cry, Cry" in 1988.

Jerry Devine "Something Devine" (Polaris Records, 196-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Melino)
New England twangster Jerry Devine (1935-2008) performed on regional shows such as the Boston Hoedown, dating back to the early 1950s, and formed his own band, the Countrymen, in the early 'Sixties. He also hosted a show on radio station WHIL, related to the Boston Jamboree, and recorded this album locally at a studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The set list includes six of his own originals, though most of the other songs are unfamiliar as well.

Jon Devlin "Country Aerobic Dancercise" (Viki Enterprises, 1981-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jon Devlin & Victor Scudiery)
You'd be surprised by how many of this kind of album exist. Or maybe not. Also worth noting that this was just one of many exercise albums Mr. Devlin produced from his dancercise empire in Hazlet, New Jersey, with equivalent volumes of jazz, disco and rock(-ercise). No information about the musicians involved, but the picture of the nude lady on the front cover is a nice touch.

Lew DeWitt "On My Own" (Compleat Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Lew DeWitt & Chip Young)
It took me a while to warm to this one, but after a couple of listens, it got under my skin... Lew DeWitt (1938-1990) was best known as a member of the Statler Brothers band, singing tenor vocals until he retired in '83 due to poor health. He's also the author of their earliest (and arguably best) big hit, 1965's "Flowers On The Wall," which he reprises here in a slightly less robust but still satisfying rendition. Many of the songs here share the forlorn, nebbishy heartbreak of "Flowers," as well as the world-weary wisdom of middle age, verging on old-timer-ness. Like I say, this album grows on you and though his voice sounds a bit thin, DeWitt's emotional commitment to the material comes through with attentive listening. There is one weird, note, though, on the end-time-ish "Show Me Someone Making Plans To Leave," which declaims all kinds of global violence and kookiness - it's sort of a goofy folk/protest number that doesn't quite hold together, and doesn't match the tone of the rest fo the record... But it is interesting. Anyway, this album is a nice footnote to an illustrious career, and a must-hear for fans of the original Statler Brothers lineup.

Lew DeWitt "Here To Stay" (Compleat Records, 1986) (LP)

Ray Dexter "Alligator River" (Lucky Records, 19--?) (LP)
The first album by English country crooner Ray Dexter, a Hertfordshire lad who got into "cowboy" music and recorded a string of well-regarded albums, notably packed with original material. Like many Brits of his generation, Dexter started out playing in skiffle bands in the late 1950s, though unlike the other kids of that era, he didn't get swept up into Beatlemania and Merseybeat, but rather dug deeper into the American roots traditions of the folk-oriented music of the skiffle scene. Apparently he was backed on this album by a band called the Dynamoes, which included guitarist Albert Lee (who would later make his own mark in the country world, both as a member of the British band Heads Hands & Feet, and perhaps more significantly as a member of the Emmylou Harris Hot Band...)

Ray Dexter "Country Seasons" (Philips/Pine Ridge, 19--?) (LP)

Ray Dexter "Goin' Up Country" (Avenue Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Smith)
An odd, but also rather compelling release from this British country-folk artist. This was his third album and showcases fewer of his original songs, in favor of covers of classics such as "Four Walls," "Faded Love," a funky-cool version of "Solitary Man" a nice reading of "Before The Next Teardrop Falls," and a languid rendition of Neil Young's "Birds." Some songs feature spoken introductions -- with an English accent, immediately dropped when he starts to sing in a Merle Haggard-meets-Jim Reeves rural drawl. The album's three originals are all winners: "Nebraska Sunrise" was re-released as a single in the United States, and "Mississippi Messenger" has perhaps the album's most unique arrangements, and "Your Lovin' Man," while not as distinctive is still a nice solid country ballad. This album was apparently a big hit, selling several hundred thousand copies -- the biggest selling British country record of its time. Unfortunately, the liner notes don't include information about the backup band, but this was a pretty solid effort throughout. Worth tracking down!

Ray Dexter "From Midnight Through 3AM" (Decca/Emerald Gem, 1974) (LP)

D'Fleming "...Sings Good Country" (Shew-Ming Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Harold Lee & Al Gore)
An Alaskan singer with all original material, including some (but not all) gospel, and one song co-written with Don Bergstrom. To be honest, his vocals ain't all that, but he does throw himself into it with great gusto. Looks like he went to Nashville to cut this album, and the band behind him sounds pretty sharp. Among the studio players were steel players Jim Baker and Little Roy Wiggins, along with some backup harmonies by the "Bach-Ahp Singers."

Dhon & Sunny "On The Road" (Dawn Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by J. Allan McKinnon)
A real-deal lounge music set, recorded live at the Samovar Room, in Sitka, Alaska, where I imagine these two had a pretty cold-toed, tipsy, and devoted audience. Singer Don Cole was a twenty-three year old expatriate from Arizona who had decamped to the wild North, though this album was released in the Lower 48 on a label in Phoenix. The set is a mix of genres, hardly all of it country, including several showtunes, and a couple of regionally-themed songs, "Saga Of Alaska" and "Tlinget Bill," which might be the two originals mentioned in the liner notes. There are also a few tracks that are legitimately country, including a couple of Roger Miller songs ("Dang Me" and "England Swings"). There's no date on the disc, but it looks late 'Sixties(?) maybe early '70s, up to about 1971 but not much later. Sunny was the nickname of Dhon's wife, Alleyne Cole, and according to the liner notes the pair had released a similar album a couple of years earlier, Don And Alleyne Cole, Live At The Whiskey-A-Go-Go, though that was pretty strictly a rock and R&B oldies set. The only other musician mentioned on the back cover is drummer Bruce Gollubier, who appears to have been an Arizona transplant as well. (Also: dig that turquoise hair color: this gal was hip!!)

Dyan Diamond "In The Dark" (MCA, 1978) (LP)

Ronnie Diamond "Songs Of Feeling" (1980) (LP)
(Produced by Chuck Haines & Louie Swift)
An independent twang auteur from Alton, Illinois, just north of Saint Louis... Ronnie Diamond seems to have released both of these albums at the same, traveling to Nashville to record at Tom T. Hall's Toy Box Studios, where the backing band included Jim Baker on steel guitar, Duke Dumas (lead guitar), Tommy Floyd (bass), David Reese (piano), and Terry Waddell on drums. All the songs were composed by Ronnie Diamond, with more originals on the album below. Anyone know more about this guy?

Ronnie Diamond "Just Four Roses And A Daisy" (1980-?) (LP)
(Produced by Louie Swift)

The Diana Sisters "Wild And Wonderful" (Celebrity Records, 196--?) (LP)
Blue comedy from a duo that had country influences, but branched out into pop standards as well... The Diana Sisters gave their names as Diane and Lynda Diana, and though their label was in New York, the gals themselves were apparently from North Carolina. Their schtick was to sing mildly obscene parodies of popular songs, both hits and standards, with the punchlines usually being either about some guy's studliness, or his failure to perform. It's not very sophisticated humor, but their carnality is striking, even given that these records were cut in the late 'Sixties, at the height of the sexual revolution. For an act with such ripe kitsch potential, the Diana Sisters have a remarkably low profile online: I poked around for quite a while and found no info other than what was written in the liner notes. They play several instruments -- guitars, banjo, violin and drums -- and purport to have gone to the Juilliard music school, though I would take this info (along with their names and biographies) with a grain of salt. But the musical end of their act was pretty solid, apparently all generated by the gals themselves. This was their first album, released around 1967 or '68, and features parodies of country songs such as "Roly Poly," "Feudin' Fiddler," "Steel Guitar Rag," as well as non-country material and comedic skits. Anyone know more about this duo? I'm all ears.

The Diana Sisters "Go Wild!" (Celebrity Records, 196--?) (LP)
On their second album, the gals include versions of "Just Because," "Orange Blossom Special," "The Race Is On" and "Madam Of The House," a lampoon of "King Of The Road." Again, it's not strictly a country record, but there's certainly enough twang to earn a spot here. There's also a version of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking," which devolves into a bawdy, Sophie Tucker-like discourse. Not as kinky as one might desire, but hey, this was a long, long time ago...

The Diana Sisters "We're Not Angels" (Celebrity Records, 196--?) (LP)
Their third album also integrates a bunch of country material, including takeoffs on "Alabama Jubilee," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Strawberry Roan," and "We've Been Everywhere," and a raunchy lampoon of Hank Snow's classic, "I've Been Everywhere."

Diane (Leigh) "Diane... Country Queen" (Birchmount Records, 1972) (LP)
A Canadian country (and pop) singer who had success on both sides of the border... Although most of her records were issued under her full name, for some reason they issued this one under a mononym... Features a bunch of originals written by Al Rain, a songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Leigh was the featured vocalist with a group called the Sons Of The Saddle, and recorded with them as well.

Dice "On The First Throw" (Green Mountain Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Ardinger & Lori B. Williams)
Not a lot of info about this eclectic New England band, which was on a Vermont label, but may have ben a Connecticut band... The driving forces seem to have been multi-instrumentalists Scott Ardinger (banjo, guitar, violin) and Lori B. Williams (piano, mandolin), with assist by bassist Greg Burill, steel guitarist Mark Crofutt and drummers Phil Littlefield and Gene Tourangeau. Not sure what happened to Ardinger, but Lori Williams moved to California and had success in the 1990s singing backup and playing various parts on albums by Hoyt Axton, Jackson Browne and others. Mark Crofutt remained local, playing with a New England acoustic roots jugband called Washboard Slim & The Bluelights.

Dichotomy "Muddy Waters Presents Dichotomy's Last Album" (KBK/Earth City Sound Studios, 1985) (LP)
A Saint Louis, Missouri bar band that was together from about 1970-85. They worked as the house band at a place called Burnham's St. Louis Opera, and then at the Muddy Waters bar up until the club closed in 1985. This commemorative set includes covers of country songs like "East Bound And Down," "Red Neck Mother" and "The Gambler."

Dichotomy "Just Here To Make Friends" (OMR Records, 1987-?) (LP)
According to the liner notes, this was their second album... Includes a cover of "Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother," in case anyone's keeping track...

J. J. Dickens "Teardrops On The Rocks" (1980-?) (LP)
Born in Hennessy, Oklahoma and raised on a ranch in Arizona, singer J. J. Dickens made his way up north in the early 1960s, settling in Chicago where he formed a multiracial country band puckishly called the Barrier Breakers, as it was unusual back then for African-Americans to play country music, especially in Illinois. In 1970 he moved out past the 'burbs to the tiny town of Utica where he played small bars and clubs in neighboring towns, such as the City Limits Inn, the Pink Cloud and the Diamond Horseshoe in Oglesby, which was owned by his wife Norma. Dickens also landed a gig playing at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Clubs, though most of his work was local. Dickens died in 2005, though he was performing with his band as late as 2004. As far as I know, this was his only album, though he also cut at least a couple of singles, including one with the Barrier Breakers, recorded around 1970, and another one for FMC in '72 -- both singles highlighted his own original material.

Dub Dickerson "Sad And Lonely" (Sims Records, 1962) (LP)
(Produced by Russell Sims)
An oddly placid album by Texas honkytonker Willis "Dub" Dickerson (1927-1979) a onetime firebrand who tried his hand at rockabilly and uptempo hillbilly material throughout most of the 1950s, but seems to have tried to retrench and retool himself into a more mainstream, conservative-sounding country singer during the Kennedy era. Working at a slower tempo, Dickerson tried to stylize his phrasing, and seems to have aimed at to recreating the richly textured subtlety of Lefty Frizzell's vocal style, though on most tracks, he simply falls flat, and sounds quite awkward. The backing band is also strangely reserved and mixed way in the background, so that Dickerson's high-wire act feels even more fragile and exposed -- the lack of power coming from the instrumentalists is even more puzzling considering that the producers also seemed to be trying to cast Dickerson as a jovial, uptempo hard country singer in the style of early '60s George Jones. None of which is to say this is a bad record, just that compared to Dub Dickerson's sizzling singles of the 1950s -- which were gathered on an excellent Bear Family collection -- this set seems strangely low-energy and thinly mixed. Worth a listen, and with several fun novelty numbers, but sadly not that engaging.

Dan Dickey "Country Strides" (Chartwheel Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Howard)
Texan Dan Dickey was a true Hank Williams devotee, sticking to pure twang on this LP, with tracks recorded over a period of three years, 1978-80... Apparently he had a couple of tunes that charted 'way, 'way back in the Back Forty, "Hot Mama" and "Bye Bye Baby," sometime around 1979. I'm not 100% sure, but I think he was also an academic, an ethnomusicologist working at the University of Texas at Austin, whose specialty was in Latin American music, particularly Tejano corridos. Anyone know for sure?

Jim Dickinson - see artist profile

Debbie Dierks "Lucky Chicago" (Cherish Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Hoffman)
Originally hailing from Kansas, Debbie Dierks made her way to Nashville in the early '70s to try and make it big in Music City. In addition to several singles for the Kansa label, and at age nineteen singer she cut this excellent album for Cherish Records, a side project of radio DJ Dan Hoffman. He produced the record and provided several songs he'd written himself along with other compositions by songwriters in his orbit. It's pure perky, early '70s Nashville pop with bouncy little melodies and just enough twang to make it fun, featuring pedal steel by Bubba Seymour and fiddles by Buddy Spicher. Dierks's plainspoken girl-next-door vocals recall girl-groupish country gals such as Skeeter Davis and Jody Miller -- very pleasant overall. Unfortunately, like many Nashville indies of this era, Cherish was really more of a vehicle for promoting songs rather than artists, and Dierks was simply a vehicle to deliver their hopeful hits. However, she was able to record one song of her own, "Daddy's Little Girl," a heartfelt remembrance of her own father, who had passed away before the family moved to Tennessee. All too quickly, her country career foundered and by '74 she signed with the Christian-oriented Dove label, setting out on a different musical path. Decades later, recording under her married name, Debbie Dierks Montgomery remains a religious singer and has long since moved back to the heartland, living and working in the Kansas City suburbs. This is a fun record, though, if you can manage to track it down!

Gene Diffie "Country Now And Then" (ARA, 1975--?) (LP)
A charming album by an old-school honkytonker from Phoenix, Arizona. Songwriter Gene Diffie led various bands through much of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, and had one of those odd, thin voices that were popular in the fifties (a cross between Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb) which at first may be off-putting, but really grows on you after a while... At the point when he made this album, there were several longhairs in his band, which included steel player Art Hawkins and Clint Diffie on keyboards. This album is mostly original material, with four songs written by Gene Diffie, two by Stan Bennett, and three more by Slim Forbes, a veteran performer of "western" cowboy bands. Honestly? It's great stuff. The cover art is intriguing: there's a drawing of him standing outside of "Diffie's Hair-Em," a hair salon that he presumably owned... (And FYI, apparently the Arizona Diffies were not direct relations of '90s top forty star Joe Diffie, who grew up in Oklahoma and Texas...)

The Dave Dighton Band "Wanna Dance? Follow Us!" (UA Recording, 1970-?) (LP)
Born and raised in Coggon, Iowa, bandleader Dave Dighton (1935-2021) started his own group in 1964 after playing trumpet in several local bands. The Dave Dighton Band played regionally for several decades up until Dighton retired in the year 2000, booking up to 300 shows a year at their peak; the core of the group also included steel player Jerry Pasker (1943-2018) and guitarist Jack Sexton (1933-2020) and in later years, Dighton's son, Kirk, who played lead guitar. Dighton's band was a full-time gig, though he also took over the family farm which was where he lived, worked and even where he passed away; he also did advertising at radio station WMT-AM, Cedar Rapids, where he worked alongside fellow bandleader (and deejay) Leo Greco. In 1973, Dighton's band also notably headlined the last concert given at the Coliseum Ballroom, a dancehall in nearby Oelwein, IA, owned by another bandleader, Andy Doll. This disc may have been Dighton's first LP, probably released sometime around 1969 or '70. The set's admirably heavy on honky tonk tunes, songs like "Crazy Arms," "Release Me" and "There Goes My Everything," as well as pop hits such as "Tijuana Taxi" and "Games People Play," and even the Mills Brothers' oldie, "Cab Driver" (which they may have gotten from the Hank Thompson version, since they also cover Thompson's "Squaws Along The Yukon," so obviously they were fans...

The Dave Dighton Band "The Green Green Grass Of Home" (Double D Records, 19--?) (LP)
A youthful country covers band from Iowa, combining honkytonk oldies and pop hits of the days... Not sure when this one came out, but the Dighton Band must have been fairly popular... They put out several albums over a span of years.

The Dave Dighton Band "Country Clover" (Double Dee Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Condon & Bill Synhorst)
According to the back cover liner notes, this was the band's fourth album... Another mix of traditional country and polka tunes. The band included Dave Dighton on trumpet and bass, Rod Blanchford (drums), Mark Lauderwasser (cordovox and trumpet), Jerry Pasker (steel guitar) and Jack Sexton on rhythm guitar and banjo, and a "guest appearance" by Kirk Dighton on lead guitar... Among other gems, this disc includes a version of Faron Young's "Wine Me Up," and one called "Shortest Song In The World."

Carl Dillard & Frank Martin "If The Phone Should Ring" (Mark V Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Huffman & Jeff Clark)
A couple of old dudes from South Carolina, backed by a band called the Rhythm Masters. Dillard plays piano, Martin sings, and between them they wrote five of the ten songs on this album. A real mystery disc here... any info would be welcome!

The Dillards - see artist discography

Bill Dillon "Jamming At FXL" (1984) (LP)
(Produced by Frank X. Locanto)
An old-timer who played bluegrass and hillbilly music in 1950s bands with the likes of Tex Logan, Joe Val, and the Lilly Brothers, Bill Dillon was originally from Boston, but like many musicians from that era, he moved around a lot, taking work wherever he could find it. After several years working in Huntsville, Alabama, he quit show business and moved to Florida, where he worked as an engineer for IBM and other companies. He recorded this album in Sunrise, Florida, playing mandolin, autoharp and guitar, with accompaniment by the Lane Brothers, a bluegrass duo who he had worked with back in the early '50s.

Bruce Dillon "To Everyone Who Has A Song" (Little Wonder Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Mitch Hennes, Gary Loisso & Garry Elghammer)
This album from from New Lebanon, Ohio's Bruce Dillon is a little questionable... Yes, there's pedal steel in the mix (played by Tommy Furlong) but also brass, flutes and an overall profusion of orchestral instruments, pushing this into an ornate folk-pop direction... However, Dillon did shows opening for stars such as Brenda Lee and Hank Thompson, and wrote some country-themed material, so there is some legit crossover there... Indeed one of Dillon's ten originals on here is called "Crossover," appropriately enough.

Lola Jean Dillon "Sings Songs She Wrote For Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Cal Smith, Loretta Lynn..." (Cabin Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Bradley & L. E. White)
Not sure just when this record came out, but I sure would love to hear it... Along with her partner, L. E. White, Ms. Dillon was a very successful country songwriter in the 1960s and early '70s, and -- as this album's title makes plain -- her stuff was covered by a bunch of heavyweight country stars. Her compositions include "You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly..." This is doubtless a very cool record.

Zig Dillon "Something Old, Something New" (Ripcord Records, 197--?) (LP)
In his heyday, midwestern honkytonker Allan "Zig" Dillon worked with national headliners such as Ernest Tubb, Porter Wagoner and Red Foley, although as a solo artist his main stomping ground was Kansas City, where he recorded a string of rockabilly-tinged singles in the early 1960s for the ultra-obscuro R Records label. This album comes from much later in his career, probably in the mid-to late-1970s. About half the songs are originals - including "There'll Be No Color Line In Heaven"; some of his earlier recordings have been anthologized on rockabilly and hillbilly bop collections, notably on Redita Records' fab KANSAS CITY COUNTRY ROCKERS collection.

Carol Dills & The Rainy Mountain Boys "Sings Country Favorites" (NAME Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Dave A. Huber)

Don Dimick "A Song To Sing" (Sahara Records, 1972-?) (LP)
Dimick recorded on a Savannah, Georgia label... This album includes covers of "Crying Time," "Release Me," and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," etc., as well as the title track, which was written by Buddy Alan suggesting some sort of connection to Buck Owens...

Don Dimick "The Wonder Of It All" (Emerald Records, 19--?) (LP)

Michael Dinner "The Great Pretender" (Fantasy Records, 1974) (LP)

Michael Dinner "Tom Thumb The Dreamer" (Fantasy Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Keith Olsen)

The Diplomats "Gary Davis' Mackinaw Music Show Presents..." (Mackinaw Music Show, 1975-?) (LP)
Dunno why Michigan bandleader Gary Davis sometimes called his group Mackinaw Music Show and sometimes The Diplomats, but whatever. Seems to be the same folks, though, including Kirsty Davis, who also released an album of her own. There's no date on the album, but I'm guessing '75 based on the catalog number and the set list, which is heavy on early-to-mid-'Seventies, including covers of "Behind Closed Doors," "Paper Roses," "Tie A Yellow Ribbon," "Country Roads" and "Delta Dawn."

Jimmy Discount "A Bargain Every Day" (Original Intent, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Don Boomer & James Conroy)
An independently-produced California country album from James ("Jimmy Discount") Conroy, a singer from Torrance who was said to be one of the original investors in the legendary freeform hippie-country radio station, KFAT. This is a very unpolished, DIY album, crudely produced with a rock'n'roll undercurrent, and Discount's love of twang often at odds with an unsurpressable urge to ham it up. He sings with an exaggerated drawl, not unlike many modern "twangcore" bands who take country more as a joke than as a calling... Although I'd say this album, even with its surplus of novelty songs, has an underlying sincerity -- and a historical value -- that makes it worth checking out. Some nice picking, too, with backup musicians that included hot pedal steel from J.B Crabtree (who once played with the Sweethearts Of The Rodeo) and producer/drummer Don Boomer, who had once been a lineup of the psych-rock band The Seeds, along with the Libbea brothers, bassist Gary and mandolin player Steve, who had been in an early 70s bluegrass band with Alison Brown and Vince Gill. So, some interesting side players here, even if the album itself is a little bit funky.

Jimmy Discount "Sunrise Breakdown" (MAOWN Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by James Conroy)
Rootsy, eclectic California country-meets-soft-rock, sort of in the same mode as folks like Norton Buffalo... The twangier tunes are fine, but the more "serious" pop songs -- stuff like "Poison Heart" and "Too Soon" -- are kind of dreadful, even though you can tell that they were where he was really focussing his major creative mojo. The album itself has the feel of a would-be magnum opus, sort of a Copperfields Dillards-meets-Seals & Crofts kinda thing, with some excellent picking surrounded by some truly questionable songwriting. Unfortunately my copy of this album didn't include any liner notes, but there were clearly some really good country players sitting in on these sessions, particularly the pedal steel player, who really lights up several of these songs. Wonder who they were!

The Dismembered Tennesseans "Forty Years With The Wrong Band" (1985-?) (LP)
(Produced by Elmer Cole & Jim Stabile)
Although they had a whole history of making fun of themselves, and belittling their own talent, these guys from Chattanooga were no joke. The DTs formed way back in 1945 with fiddler Fletcher Bright and several of his pals, and have remained together for decades, making this one of the longest continuously running bluegrass bands in the world. The group has a similar history to long-running groups such as the Sons Of The Pioneers or Max Roach's various ensembles, as a proving ground for countless talented musicians. This edition of the band featured Fetcher Bright on fiddle, George Bright (mandolin), Ed Cullis (banjo), Frank McDonald (guitar) and Ansley Moses on banjo, with joke quotes from Norman Blake John Hartford, and Benny Martin on the back. Pretty much straight-up bluegrass, but with that band name, they needed mention here as well. One of many albums.

Dixie Dewdrops "Down Home In The City" (TexGrass Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Slim Richey & Keith Rust)
An all-gal bluegrass band from Fort Worth, Texas, with an eclectic repertoire ranging from bluegrass classics like "Rocky Top and "Dark Hollow" to country classics like the Carter Family's "Wayfaring Stranger," Guy Clark's "Heartbroke" and Don Gibson's "Sea Of Heartbreak" and some rock/pop oldies. (Also groovy is their cover of Norman Blake's "Ginseng Sullivan," which they may have copped from Tony Rice's version on the Manzanita album...) The group included Starr Green (bass), Nancy Kamm (fiddle), Julie Anne Kirby (guitar and autoharp), Suzanne McDonald (bass), Janita Jo Thomas (banjo, guitar and mandolin), with one original song, "Only Lonesome" composed by Janita Thomas.

Dixie Line Band "Everything It Takes" (1984) (LP)
A pop/honkytonk band from Bowling Green, Kentucky comprised of local musicians who had previously worked in road band led by stars such as Bobby Bare, Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker. Around 1980, they formed their own band for local gigs, and recorded this lone album in '84.

Dixie Rose "Dixie Rose" (Safari Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ramsey Kearney-?)
Not a lot of info about this band, which mostly seems to have centered around two people, Dickie Harris and Linda Harrison, with all of the songs credited to Dickie Harris. Super-vague liner notes by Nashville work-for-hire guy Ramsey Kearney suggest this may have been some sort of "song-poem" set, with Mr. Kearney producing the album and making arrangements for Harris's lyrics, though a little more research might be needed to confirm that theory...

Benny Dixon & The Rebels "Deep Country Feeling" (Studio 5 Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Anthony J. Nathe)
Indie country from New Brighton, Minnesota... Mostly covers of songs such as "Folsom Prison" and "Okie From Muskogee," although the first track, "Mr. Blue," was written by Benny Dixon.

Bill Dixon "After Hours" (SC Music, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Barnes & Bill Dixon)
Earthy honkytonk from Los Angeles, California, with a slew of original material and sweet licks from a strong backing band. What first caught my eye was the presence of Glen D. Hardin, who played piano for Elvis Presley and Emmylou Harris back in the 'Seventies. Also on board was SoCal country fiddler Doug Atwell, who toured with Johnny Lee and played some really sweet licks on a couple of Lucinda Williams' best records, before passing away in 1993. Bill Dixon may be all-but-impossible to track down online, but gleams radiant and alluring in his anonymity. He seems like one of those folks who just barely missed the onset of the "Americana" scene: another couple of years and he woulda been right in there with Rosie and Dwight. Anyway, Dixon had a good feel for novelty lyrics, and several songs on here resonate and might could have been hits if he'd ridden in on the right neotrad revival, or if he'd cut this album a few years later with a bigger budget. Dixon had a good voice though his phrasing gets kind of choppy, in little ways... over-articulating the lyrics, for one. You can sense that a limited recording budget got in the way -- this album's not totally ready for primetime. But he was damn close. Some interesting stuff on here.

Rob Dixon & The Lost Cowboy Band "Live At The Crystal Chandelier" (Texas Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Rob Dixon)
Originally from Sharptown, Maryland, songwriter Rob Dixon recorded his first album when he was twenty, and established himself as a live act around DC, before making tracks for Nashville where he played guitar for David Houston, George Jones and others, while also starting his own solo career. In the early 1980s Dixon relocated to Dallas-Fort Worth, which became his center of operations well into the 21st century. This album is mostly cool cover songs, with a couple of originals by Ernie Rowell (who was apparently not in the band...) The group included David Griffin on steel guitar, Rob Landrum (bass), Tim Harris (harmonica), Jim Aspero (drums) and Steve Payne on piano.

Rob Dixon "Let Me Sing You A Song" (Texas Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Walt Cunningham)

Rob Dixon "Through Her Eyes" (Texas Records, 2000) (CD)
(Produced by Rob Dixon)

The DJ Band "The DJ Band" (DJ Records, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Cotton & Art Hansbach)
A country-covers band from Auburn, Indiana, due north of Fort Wayne. The group was put together by local nightclub owner Denny Dengler in the early 'Seventies and was originally called DJ & the DJ Band, after the name of his bar, The DJ Night Club. (The liner notes don't explain the band name, but Mr. Dengler was also a radio host on local station WIFF...) This edition of the group included bass player Steve Ade, fiddler/mandolinist Arvel Bird, drummer Cecil Freeburn, and Roger Marshall on lead vocals and guitar, with additional cryptic credits for steel player "Bobby" and "White Willie" on piano. The album is all cover songs, except for the opening track, "Searching For Love," which is credited to "B. Tressler," who was probably Bernie Tressler, a guy from Ohio who recorded a song called "I've Been Looking For Love" on a single in 1976. Other than that, it's all George Jones, Billy Sherrill, Shel Silverstein and whatnot. Probably the most accomplished member of the group was fiddler Arvel Bird, who was originally from Utah and lived in the Midwest for several years, and according to his own website, won four statewide Indiana fiddling championships, and is showcased here on versions of "Diggy-Liggy-Lo" and "Orange Blossom Special." Mr. Bird later joined Glen Campbell's tour band, and also worked with stars such as Tom T. Hall and Loretta Lynn, eventually moving to Nashville, where he opened an independent recording studio. Singer Roger Marshall left the group in 1977, and headed for Nashville to work with producer Harold Shedd, who also helped with this record. Back in Indiana, Roger Marshall started a new group, the Silver Dollar Band, which cut an album a couple of years later, with Cecil Freeburn again on drums.

Dean Dobbins "Me An' The Boys" (Dob Records, 1989) (LP)
(Produced by Colin Cameron & Bob Gothar)
Indie twang from Northridge, California... I'm not sure if this is the same Dean Dobbins who also wrote children's books... Anyone out there know for sure?

Richard J. Dobson "In Texas Last December" (Buttermilk Records, 1977) (LP)
One of the original gang of Austin singer-songwriters, Richard Dobson (1942-2017) was a Tyler, Texas native who hung out with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle back in the early days... He was a successful songwriter who recorded over a dozen albums, and while its his association with Van Zandt that many remember, I'm most impressed by his co-authorship of "Old Friends," one of my favorite Guy Clark songs. This was the first of many fine albums.

Richard J. Dobson "The Big Taste" (Rinconada Records, 1979) (LP)

Richard J. Dobson "Save The World" (RJD Records, 1983) (LP)

Richard J. Dobson "True West" (RJD Records, 1988) (LP)

Richard J. Dobson & State Of The Heart "Live At The Station Inn" (RJD Records, 1988) (LP)
(Produced by Richard J. Dobson & Mike Dunbar)

Doctor Fry's Texas Medicine "Doctor Fry's Texas Medicine" (Night Train Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Clifford Fry & Kurt Zech)
A good-natured, all-locals set from Houston, Texas, featuring Clifford Fry and his mostly-family band, made up of Dr. Clifford Fry (PhD) on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Max Fry (bass), Darelyn Fry Jennings (vocals), Larry Lawson (keyboards), Randy LeBlanc (lead guitar and steel), Scott Marsh (drums), Doug Sharp (backing vocals), with various and sundry other locals pitching in on a tune or two... The album is packed with original material penned by Fry, LeBlanc and Sharp... Not a ton of information about these folks, though I believe Clifford Fry was an economics professor at the University of Houston at the time this album was made, later becoming a corporate consultant in the private sector, with a side gig at Texas A&M. Betcha didn't know how hard them economists can party down in Texas!

Doc Kirby & Co. "Doc Kirby & Co." (Playboy Records, 1973)
Good'n'greasy, weird, unruly, swampy Southern rock with some good, hard riffs, rough edges and a good sense of humor. This is more of a rock/boogie record, but there's also a definite element of twang... Fans of Joe Cocker might like this, particularly with the growling, uneven vocals. From Mississippi, apparently...

Dr. Schultz "The Last Frontier Band" (Frozenstif Records, 1979)
(Produced by John Speer)
From the far-flung boundaries of the continental United States comes one of Alaska's trailblazing folk/Americana bands. The "doctor" would be banjo picker and vocalist Don Schultz, a founding member of the band, accompanying the other lead singer, Dana Cox, who went on to record a solo album of her own. Although bluegrass-friendly, the group had more of a mainstream hippie-folk sound, particularly Cox's Joan Baez-ish vocals. I'm not that into straight-up folk music, although these folks did have some weirdo-eclectic touches than earn them a spot in the hippiebilly hall of fame. They came down to California to record this album, and a few Bay Area locals helped on the sessions, most notably pedal steel player Joe Goldmark, who plays on a tune or two.

Hobey Dodd "Wanted" (Kard Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Cam Mullins)
A generally dreadful set of silky-smooth countrypolitan ballads, though punctuated by a couple of mysteriously funky numbers where Dodd is backed by a banjo and loosens up a little to let a little blues into his phrasing. It may be that he was actually a fairly rootsy singer who just got trapped in the wrong recording session, but overall this is a pretty dreary, corny album. Oh, well. Dodd was being groomed for the Top 40, but didn't get very far.

John Dodd & Members Of The Milano Opry "Texas Fiddling" (ACR) (LP)
(Produced by Don Robertson)
This Lone Star "opry" broadcast weekly from radio station KMIL, in Cameron, Texas, as well as staging a monthly Saturday Night "jamboree" in Milano. Dodd's son, Greg plays guitar on this album...

Steve Dodge "Steve Dodge" (Cactus Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Dodge)
Independent twang from Phoenix, Arizona, with all original songs, except for a couple of tasty cover tunes, one of Johnny Horton's "North To Alaska" as well as Guy Clark's "Rita Ballou."

Dogtooth Violet "Dogtooth Violet" (Dogtooth, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Dogtooth Violet & Jeffs Wells)
One of Houston, Texas's premier 1970s country-rock bands, Dogtooth Violet was formed in 1973 by Bob Oldreive and several other locals. The eclectic, folk-tinged band was on a hot streak when fabled record producer Huey P. Meaux offered them a contract, but they chose to self-release their own indie album instead... The lineup included Bill Bertinot, Pam Grimes, Richard Jacob, Joe Lindley, Bob Oldreive, Marty Smith and many others (with most bandmembers performing on multiple instruments...) As it turned out, this was their only album, though after the band split up its members went into various other Houston-area bands, perhaps most notably Bob Oldreive, who later joined the group Hickory, which released several albums in the late '70s and early '80s.

Robert Dolan "The Robert Dolan Road Show: Beginnings" (Celery Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Spencer)
An Elvis imitator who worked a remarkably broad swath of territory throughout the 1970s, mostly the upper Midwest, with dips into New Mexico and up into parts of Canada. I'm not sure where Dolan was from -- this private release gives an address for the label in Hammond, Indiana, although it was a souvenir of an eight-week gig at the Hilton Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska and was recorded at the Century Recording Studio in Lincoln. Backing Robert Dolan are Dave Asher (keyboards), Tony Pratscher (drums), John Taylor (bass), and Don Tucker on lead guitar. Like his live act, the repertoire draws from a variety of sources, but mostly centers on Elvis and his own pop and countrypolitan leanings. By the way: anyone know if this was the same Presley-impersonating Robert Dolan who lived in Colorado Springs?

Robert Dolan "Memories: An Encore Performance" (Road Show Enterprises, 1980-?) (LP)
An early-'Eighties recording, with Dolan still plugging away. Apparently he was still doing live shows at last as recently as 2010(!)

Andy Doll/Various Artists "Pop Nashville Sounds And Folk Favorites" (AD Records, 195--?) (LP)
Born in Wisconsin, guitar picker Andy Doll (1919-1984) was a pioneering Midwestern rocker with a strong regional following. He formed his first band in the early 'Fifties, before the advent of rock'n'roll, and later set up his own studio in Oelwein, Iowa, where he produced his own records, as well as sessions for other musicians. Although he's best remembered as a rockabilly singer, like a lot of the original rockers he started out country and often went back to the well, as on this album, and -- being from Iowa - he also played a lot of dance music, including polkas and other "old time" stuff. The first side of the LP is just Doll and his band, while Side Two features a number of guest performers, including future radio celebrity Red Blanchard. Doll fostered local talents such as Bobby Hankins and steel guitarist Lefty Schrage (who went on to form their own band in the late '60s) Andy Doll kept his band together until 1969, then became a deejay on the local country station, KOEL, and for a while owned and operated a local music venue, the Coliseum Ballroom. Apparently there were also a number of special promo records sent out to Doll's fan club up until the mid-1960s.

Andy Doll/Various Artists "On Stage" (AD Records, 1963-?) (LP)
This album features four tracks cut by the Andy Doll Band back home in Iowa, but the rest of it was recorded in Nashville with high-power session players such as Buddy Emmons, Buddy Harmon and Hargus Robbins, along with various guest performers including vocalist Mary Bee, comedian Red Blanchard, singer Gene Jay of Louisville, and the western swing duo of Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart, who seem to have known Andy Doll from their days up in Wisconsin.

Andy Doll/Various Artists "HOT CHICKEN" (Jay Jay Records, 1964) (LP)
More of an instrumental set, "old time" music, as they liked to call polkas and other dance styles up around the Great Lakes. The album features five tracks by the Andy Doll Band, and the remainder of the album taken up by a couple of polka artists -- two tracks by Eddie Blatnick, and five more by Chicago bandleader Lil' Wally, aka Walter E. Jagiello, the owner of the Jay Jay label...

Johnny Dollar -- see artist profile

Peso Dollar "The Highway Man" (Ranch Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Sanders & Billy Williams)
Phoenix, Arizona's country-singing cop, W. O. "Peso" Dollar was a Highway Patrolman by day and honkytonker by night, leading his band, The Counterfeit Bills, throughout the 1950s and '60s and '70s. The next-gen denominations, son Mark Dollar and Amanda Dollar, led an "all-star" version of the band for a couple of decades, working as the house band for the Rustler's Rooster nightclub since the early 1990s. I'm not sure when this LP came out, but I believe Peso Dollar also cut some singles back in the rockabilly era, some of which have turned up on a "hillbilly bop" collection or two. I think this may have been his first album, as they go out of their way in the liner notes to explain how he was both a police officer and professional entertainer... The repertoire is heavy on western (cowboy) songs, stuff like "Cool Water," "Streets Of Laredo," "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Bad Brahma Bull," "Strawberry Roan" and "Ghost Riders In The Sky." No info on the musicians who were backing him, alas.

Peso Dollar "...Sings Cowboy Country" (Ranch Records, 19--?) (LP)
This album also includes a bunch of western oldies, along with a few originals, including two by Peso Dollar and two by Ray Sanders.

Peso Dollar "...Sings Trail Rider Songs" (Ranch Records, 19--?) (LP)

Peso Dollar "Arizona... A Little Bit North Of Old Mexico" (Cimmeron Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by J. D. Bell)
This disc is heavy on honkytonk tunes and weepers -- old hits from Lloyd Copas, Harlan Howard, Dallas Frazier and the like, though the title track, "Just A Little Bit North Of Old Mexico," is credited to Dorothy and Peso Dollar. The liner notes list various work gigs Dollar held down over the years, with one of the longest being his then still-current contract with the Hurst Ham Beans company. Alas, they do not also inform us about the musicians backing Peso Dollar on this set... But you can't everything, now, can you?

Dennis Domas & The Hashknife Outfit "Steve Dodge" (Larkspur Records, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dennis Domas)
An oddball, outsider-art album of gunslinger cosplay, a full set of western-themed songs about outlaws and owlhoots, gun fighters and desperados of all size and description. The back cover has rather charming, tongue-in-cheek liner notes that give pointers on how to be a rough, tough western hombre ("Walk slow and ride fast." "Never flinch while drinking whiskey.") and even gives some tips on how to listen to the album ("Have copy of Zane Grey of Louis L'Amour at the ready" "Roll you own -- cigarette or ?") as well as a glossary of cowboy terminology, to make it easier to follow along. It must be said up front that Mr. Domas is not a good singer, or rather, perhaps, he is a "great" singer in a Mrs. Miller kind of way. But he is totally into it. And if you're into range-riding story-songs, this disc is packed full of 'em. I'm not sure exactly who Mr. Domas was or where he was from, although his steel player, Alan K. Douglass was from Maryland. "Dennis Domas" may have been a six-shootin' pseudonym for Floyd Dennis (Domas) Harvey, a West Texas oil worker who passed away in 1979 -- in which case he was almost seventy years old when he cut this disc. (Which would explain the vocals...) Although, if he's the middle-aged lookin' fella on the front cover, it's more likely he may have been the Dennis Domas who lived in Phoenix and did local theater in the 'Seventies, especially since the band behind him took its name from an infamous Arizona cattle ranch. Anyone know for sure?

The Dominion State Quartet "If I Walk Among The Shadows" (Tri-State Recording Company, 1971-?) (LP)
A delightfully chaotic country gospel set by a vocal quartet from Vinton, Virginia, a suburb of Roanoke... The singers -- Gene Burrows (tenor), Marvin Parsons (bass), LaRell Strickland (lead) and Richard Turner (baritone) -- worked in a pretty straightforward southern gospel style, though the liner notes say they got together in October, 1970, and it doesn't sound like they had spent much time rehearsing together before they cut this record. Not that they sound bad or anything, it's just that the vocal quartet feels pretty disconnected from the country band backing them; the pickers are playing all kinds of random, noodly country curlicues that are often mixed a little too high and are a bit distracting. It's great. I love how amateurish and slapdash it sounds, even though the singers themselves seem fairly coherent. (I suppose it's even possible they recorded a separate vocal track and the guys at Tri-State Recording Company just slapped the instrumental tracks on top...) At any rate, this is a heartfelt record with a pleasantly disjointed, "real people" feel, and a healthy amount of real country twang. The backing band seem to have been locals, either from Roanoke, or from Kingsport, Tennessee, where this was recorded: Bobby All (classical guitar), Rodger Cook (rhythm guitar), Dorothy Hickman (piano), Aubrey Hilton (bass), Red Lincous (fiddle), Estel Mack (lead guitar), Jerry Staley (steel guitar), and David Turner on drums. The album was probably produced by Bobby All, who worked on numerous locals-only gospel records in the 'Seventies, and later spun up the Trail Records label from the Tri-State studio.

The Dominions "Dreams Take Me Home" (MRC Major Recording Company, 1984) (LP)
Led by Virginia-born Cecil Hall (1931-2020) this was a later iteration of the Dominion Valley Boys bluegrass band, which recorded a few albums with Hall in the early 1970s. On this album, Mr. Hall is the guiding force, penning all but two of the songs, backed by his brothers Marshall and Ray Hall, along with Barry Hutchins, Billy Hutchins, Bryan Hutchins, Clifton Mabe, Ronald Pinnix and Charles Shelor, and dobro legend Josh Graves sitting in as well. The band was made up of locals from the Piedmont area of Virginia and North Carolina; a few years later in 1988 Cecil Hall built and opened Dominion Valley Park, a music venue in Stuart, Virginia that became a regional center for bluegrass and gospel.

Don & Charlotte "My Little Corner Of The World" (Interstate Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Don West & Tim Sprowl)
This New Hampshire duo featured singer-guitarist Don West and "girl" singer Charlotte (whose last name isn't mentioned in the liner notes), who were from Manchester and Londonderry, NH, respectively. Some songs are sung as duets, others as solo... They performed together for several years before this album came out, and their repertoire included a lot of early '70s countrypolitan hits -- stuff like Donna Fargo's "Funny Face," Conway Twitty's "You've Never Been This Far Before," "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Let Me Be There," and of course a couple of Marie Osmond hits. So... early '70s? 1973? Something like that?

Don & Deanna "...And The Prentice Ramblers" (Jam USA Records, 1970-?) (LP)
A no-frills local country band from Prentice, Wisconsin, up in the northern end of the state. Don Lasee and Deanna Hass formed the core of this group along with lead guitarist Larry Hass, and various other bandmembers moving through the group. According to researcher Gary Meyers the Prentice Ramblers got together in 1965, and played together until the early 'Eighties, mostly around Eau Claire. This album was recorded when Don and Deanna performed at the Wheeling Jamboree, which at the time was rebranding itself as Jamboree, USA. Several tracks also came out as singles, though this seems to have been their only album. (I'm not sure if the guitarist was the same Larry Hass of La Crosse who later worked as an Elvis imitator and died onstage in 2004 at age 54... If so, he would have been pretty darn young when they cut this album...)

Don & Laurie "The Music Mates" (RJ Recording, 19--?) (LP)
A (very!) 'Seventies private pressing country album from Hoffman Estates, Illinois... On the album cover, he looks like a John Anderson-esque longhaired dude, while she's in cutoffs and cowboy boots...

The Don & Tony Show "The Don And Tony Show" (QCA/Capitol Star Artist Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Wetzel & Bill Dengler)
Back in 1960, singers Donnie Lee Bailes and Tony Starr formed a duo, later expanding into the eight-person ensemble which made this record... They spotlighted a child performer named Junior Thomas, who sings on a tune or two, sandwiched between Don and Tony, who take turns singing lead on the other songs, including a version of "Before The Next Teardrop Falls." Amid a slew of classic country covers, there's one original, "Why Do You Roam," written by Tony Starr... they also cover "Help Me Make It Through The Night," dating this album to at least 1970. I'm not sure how long this group stayed together, but Bailes was still doing shows in Rochester, New York as late as the mid-1990s, fronting a band called the Cannonball Express -- quite a career!

The Done Gone Band "The Done Gone Band" (Police Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Max Berueffy)
This Mill Valley, California combo was pretty much a straight-up local bluegrass band, but they gained some notoriety for their cover of the Grateful Dead's "Friend Of The Devil" -- another "KFAT classic," if I recall correctly. It's a nice record. The thing I like about it is the mellow feel of their delivery... they aren't a fusion band, but rather choose to play traditional (and progressive) bluegrass without all the drag-racing pyrotechnics thta most hardcore 'grass bands go for. Also, there's a wealth of original material on here, with four songs from singer Don Humphries and a sizzling instrumental called "Old Red Mandolin," written by Tom Bekney. A nice, unassuming set of relaxed but rootsy picking.

Larry Donn "Larry Donn" (Shelby Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Wayne Raney)
Larry Donn (aka Larry Donn Gillihan, 1941-2012) was a Southern radio deejay who grew up in Bono, Arkansas, about an hour or so away from Memphis. As a teenager, he hung out at every rockabilly show he could, back when the scene was really popping. He recorded a bunch of singles dating back the 1950s, though this may have been his first full album. There's some retro-billy stuff, for sure -- "Blue Suede Shoes," etc. -- but also some country stuff... and smack dab in the middle is his cover of Wayne Raney's campy hillbilly classic, "We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus (And A Lot Less Rock And Roll)" which was also a nod to his Ozarkian producer (Wayne Raney) at the fabled Rimrock Records studios. Not sure when this one came out... It looks older than the other albums on Shelby Records, but has a much higher catalog number. Anyone have any insights?

Larry Donn (Gillihan) "Thank You Music Lovers" (Shelby Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Davis & Larry Donn)
Using his full name for some reason, Larry Donn/Gillihan works his way through a mostly- country classics set, peppered with retro-billy rock oldies such as Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" and emotive soul ballads like "He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother)" and "Rainy Night In Georgia." But this is a country set at its roots, with real old-school stuff like "Blues Stay Away From Me" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" as well as Harold Dorman's "Mountain Of Love" and 'Seventies standard "Proud Mary," all of it filtered through the slick modernism favored by rockabilly revivalists of the era such as Billy Craddock and Robert Gordon. It's not quite my jam, but I appreciate where he was coming from. According to the liner notes this was recorded in a few different sessions, between 1975-76.

Larry Donn "Lightning Strikes Again" (Shelby Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Keene)
More of a straight-up rockabilly set... In the liner notes, Donn laments the state of modern, mid-1970's rock music, which he says had somehow lost its way with all that hippie crap, or whatever. Anyway, he at least is keeping it real. This album is packed with covers of classics by Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins and Chuck Willis -- real hardcore, old-school 'Fifties rock-pop hits. Unfortunately, the liners don't tell us about any of the musicians involved, except that the album was recorded in Missouri, at Kennet Sound Studios, over a couple of years between 1976-78. There are also collector-label compilations of his early rockabilly recordings, as well as a few later-vintage, digital era albums of original material that can be found as well.

Dorothy (Freyberger) "Everybody's Mother Swings Heavy" (Studio 5, 19--?) (LP)
Like Cher and Nico, Minneapolis native Dorothy Freyberger (1921-2010) simply went by her first name, but fans also knew her by her nickname, "Everybody's Mother." She made her name as a frequent performer at the Minnesota State Fair and other local/regional events, as well as appearances on radio and TV. Her repertoire included pop and country oldies and covers of contemporary hits. Mrs. Freyberger occasionally worked with Sherwin Linton, another legendarily persistent, under-the-radar regional performer. This was the first of two albums she recorded -- not sure of the year, but I'm guessing these are both early '70s releases.

Dorothy (Freyberger) "Everybody's Mother Goes Country" (Studio 5, 19--?) (LP)

Slim Dortch "Below The Dixie Line" (Kennett Sound/Lightning Ball Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Keene)
A Tennessee native who started playing guitar when he was twelve, Henry Pierce "Slim" Dortch (1921-2000) moved across the nation chasing various radio gigs, such as the "Breakfast Time Frolic," on WJJD, Chicago, or the "Saddle Mountain Roundup" in far-distant Dallas, where he played with musicians such as Fiddlin' Arthur Smith and singer Ray Whitley. He's best known among rockabilly enthusiasts for his 'Sixties sizzler, "Big Boy Rock," which has a driving hillbilly soul-beat sound, perhaps not surprising for an uber-indie Memphis single, back in 1964. There is some really wicked twang-bar guitar on that platter, but even more impressive is the vigor with which the forty-plus years old Dortch really grinds into some sweaty, bluesy 'billy vocals. Anyway, this album came out years later and was recorded in Mack's Creek, Missouri with a small local band that included James Prince on lead guitar and steel, Lee Barnes on bass, Jeff Bost on drums, and Dortch singing ten of his own original songs. Mr. Dortch eventually settled down in Poplar Bluff, MO, where he passed away at age 78.

Tommy Doss "...Of The Sons Of The Pioneers" (Bear Family, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by William E. Wiley)
Solo sessions by an erstwhile member of the Sons Of The Pioneers western band... Tommy Doss was born in Idaho and grew up in Oregon... He got his first big break in 1948, when western swing legend Bob Wills tapped him to replace estranged lead vocalist Tommy Duncan; Doss left the Texas Playboys after a few months, instead joining the band of Wills' younger brother Luke Wills, out in Los Angeles. His radio performances brought him to the attention of the Sons fiddler, Hugh Farr, who recruited Doss to replace another country legend, lead singer Bob Nolan, who temporarily left The Sons Of The Pioneers in 1949. Doss stayed with the band throughout the 1950s, before he finally quit touring with them in 1963 (although he did infrequently record with them in the studio for several years after that...) These tracks were from sessions Doss recorded in Hollywood, California in May, 1972. The repertoire leans more towards bluesy honkytonk and western swing material, the kind of stuff he picked up working with the Wills brothers, with some West Coast influences as well, including a cover of an old Wynn Stewart hit. With only eleven songs, this is a surprisingly short album for the Bear Family folks, but valuable for Sons fans, nonetheless.

The Bob Doszak Orchestra "Entertainment" (JuDo Productions, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Doszak & Bill Rascati)
A polka accordionist and singer from Joliet, Illinois, Bob Doszak took a couple of dips into country crooning (sleepy but adequate renditions of "Drinking Champagne" and "After The Loving") but mostly this it just straight-up polka material. Probably fine if you like the style, though it's not really my bag.

Dotson, Lee & Middleton "Something Old, Something New" (Young Country Productions, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Sparks)
This Dallas-based Texas trio -- Dana Dotson, Pat Lee and John Middleton -- wrote about half the songs on this album, rounding things out with a medley of bluegrass standards and more contemporary tunes from Dan Fogelberg, Larry Gatlin and Michael Murphey, as well as a version of "Y'All Come Back Saloon," an early 1977 hit for the Oak Ridge Boys. Producer Rick Sparks also kicks in on several instruments, notably banjo, dobro and pedal steel, and other musicians chime in as well... I'm not sure if the "Young Country" studio had any connection to the band led by Randy Brooks, or if that was just a phrase and an idea that was in the air at the time. There's no date on the album, but I'm guessing at least 1978, possibly as late as 1980-81, judging from the band's photo: some major aviator glasses action!

Dottie Lou "...Sings One More Memory" (Oxboro Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Norell)
Fun stuff. Although she was an inconsistent singer, Bruno, Minnesota's own Dottie Lou Bolme exudes enthusiasm and real rural charm, evoking stars such as Lynn Anderson and Loretta Lynn, though she also tackles some tonier countrypolitan ballads such as "Drinking Champagne" and "There Must Be A Way," in addition to uptempo novelty numbers like "Little Arrows," "You Know Where You Can Go" and a version of Liz Anderson's "Ride Ride Ride." The liner notes identify her band The Tumbleweeds as a trio -- with Dottie Lou on piano, bass and vocals, Gene Norell on rhythm guitar and Toby Berndt playing lead -- but there's also some really swell pedal steel throughout with some fairly wild licks (though, sadly, no indication of who's playing...) There are also several original songs, including a few credited to the Newkeys Music publishing company, which represented Gene Norell along with Tom T. Hall, whose "Now I Lay Me Down To Cry," which is also spotlighted on this album. Great, honest album by some real-deal Great Lakes locals.

Double Gage "Live From The Cattle Baron" (Cattle Baron Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Chris Terrance & Bob Martin)
This semi-shaggy Fresno-area bar band featured brothers Jim Gage and Jack Gage (hence the punny spelling of the group's name), along with lead guitarist John Hampton and bassist Hal Lee. The album was recorded live at the Cattle Baron steakhouse in Clovis, California back in October, 1979, with the band playing a mix of '70s rock hits and country covers such as "Family Tradition" by Hank Williams, Jr.

Double Gage "Remuda" (California Country, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Carlton & Earl Hall)
A slicker (more early '80s) look and a slight change in lineup, with guitar player John Hampton off searching for greener pastures... The main band was the five guys pictured on the cover, the Gage brothers, Jack and Jim, along with drummer Lynn Farmer, Hal Lee (bass) and Steve Tracy on slide guitar... There were also a slew of other local musicians also on this album, including steel player Lloyd Brown, Ken Carlton (piano), Terry Cristofferson (lead guitar) and saxophonist Bill Bixler, who also owned the Wild Blue Yonder nightclub in Fresno's then-hip Tower District.

Joe Dougherty "Rollin' On Down The Road" (Winged Victory, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Dougherty & Peter Mercure)
Self-released country stuff from Marietta, Georgia, near Atlanta... The liner notes say it's a mix of "country, rock, gospel and blues," but that's about all I've got on this one... for now.

Bob Douglas "Fiddles Old Time Gospel Music" (197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Trigg)
An old-timey fiddler from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bob Douglas performed regionally for decades in relative obscurity, though like many traditional artists, he became better known when he was "discovered" during the 1960s folk revival. Legend has it he was the very first musician to perform live on the radio in Chattanooga, back in the 1920s and he was the first bandleader to give The Louvin Brothers a professional music gig. Douglas was a championship fiddler who took the Tennessee Valley Fiddle King title in 1969-70, and made this commemorative album, backed by some of his local pals. He plays some gospel oldies -- real chestnuts such as "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" and "Where Could I Go, But To The Lord" -- but with a full country band behind him, including piano and electric guitars. Bill Wilson plays dobro, with Dan Hatchett on banjo, and Colman Emberton playing lead.

Bob Douglas "...Presents Waldens Ridge: Old Time Dance Tunes From Sequatchie Valley" (Tennvale-Collation Records, 1973) (LP)
This album features Mr. Douglas on fiddle, backed by Coleman Emberton (lead guitar), John Sanders (rhythm guitar), and Bill Trigg on bass, working their way through some tasty old-time material, including several less well-known tunes. At the time this disc was made, Douglas was on a roll, going on to win a national fiddling championship in 1975.

Eddie Douglas "Chicago Country Sound" (Spectra Sounds Records, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced Lew Douglas & Bob Thomas)
This one's a little mystifying... I'm not sure if this was an album by a band, or some kind of song-poem deal. Eddie Douglas is presumably the guy pictured on the front cover, though it's not clear if he is the singer on all these songs... The back cover provides credits for Bob Shipner as vocalist below all the songs listed on Side One, while Bob Gentile is credited below Side Two... Maybe this means each guy was the featured singer on the entire album side, or perhaps the credit only applies to the last track? I dunno. All the songs were published through D. M. Maryon Music, with Eddie Douglas credited on a few, while the others are mostly credited by last names only: Fabrizio, Gentile, Laney, Miller, Smith, and a gal named Lesa Lamour. No date on the disc, and none of the songs seem to have been registered with the Library Of Congress, so we can only guesstimate on this one -- I'd guess early 'Eighties? Maybe around 1981 or thereabouts? No info on the backing musicians, either, darn it.

Glenn Douglas "Heartbreak Alley" (Decca Records, 1958) (LP)
Texas-born Douglas Glenn Tubb (1935-2021) was the nephew of honkytonk legend Ernest Tubb and the younger brother of Talmadge Tubb, the guy who wrote the ET classic, "Waltz Across Texas." He didn't record under his real name for many years, using the "Glenn Douglas" monicker instead, as well as a few other permutations of his name, like Doug Glenn, etc.. According to the liner notes, this album was recorded when he was just 23 years old - and it's pretty durn good. He sounds kind of like a mash-up between plunky Johnny Cash and croony Marty Robbins, with a whiff of clean-cut, pink-cheeked, perky teenpop in the mix as well. This appears to have been his only full album, although he also recorded a long string of singles, mainly on Decca and MGM, but also on several lesser-known indies. Tubb was probably best known as a songwriter, penning almost two hundred songs, perhaps most notably the Henson Cargill hit, "Skip A Rope," as well as "Home Of The Blues," one of several songs recorded by Johnny Cash. (Other Cash recordings included 1971's "If Not For Love" and "I Talk To Jesus Every Day" as well as "Paul Revere," from Cash's anticipatory Bicentennial album, which came out in 1972.) All the songs on this album were his own originals, with about half of them co-composed with various collaborators. Around the time this came out, he was performing in a regional Texas mini-opry, Slim Willard's "Mid-State Jamboree," in Abilene, though he later moved to Nashville, where he lived with his wife, Dottie L. Snow. (She was apparently the second wife of Hank Snow's son, Jimmie Snow, marrying Tubb after she and Snow divorced. She recorded a few secular country singles in the 1960s as "Dottie Swan," and at least one gospel album as Dottie Snow. Dottie and Douglas Tubb ran their own evangelical ministry in Tennessee, and she was locally famous as a "superfan" of the Nashville Predators hockey team.)

Steve Douglas "Dark Lighted Barrooms" (Banka/Demon Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Dyson, Billy Joe Kirk, David McCumber & A. V. Mittelstedt)
Houston, Texas songwriter/performer Steven Ward Douglas was born in Greenville, Michigan but after a stint in the military he moved to Texas, where he set out to pursue a career in music. Starting in 1976, he released a string of singles, several of which are gathered on this LP, along with a few newer tracks produced under the auspices of veteran producer A. V. Mittelstedt, who also plays guitar on some of the tracks. Indeed, there's a whole slew of notable musicians on here, since the dozen songs that make up this album were recorded in sessions spread out over the better part of half a decade... Some of the pickers and players include lead guitarists Randy Cornor and Steve Gibson, steel players Curly Chalker and Ray Baker, a few Nashville types such as D.J. Fontana, Bunky Keels and Charlie McCoy, and many, many others. This album was apparently released in two different versions, though with pretty much the same album art -- there's the self-titled Steve Douglas (on Demon Records) and this slightly more evocative edition, Dark Lighted Barrooms, a 1983 reissue which came out on the Banka label. (Though as far as I can tell, Douglas was the main artist on both imprints...) In 1986 Steve Douglas started the Magnolia Opry Jamboree, a mom'n'pop venue on the outskirts of Houston, which he ran until 2005. Mr. Douglas also tried to create a sort of cooperative organization to link the various mini-oprys sprinkled over the Texas landscape, a project which may have documented a lot of little-known local activity. This was his first full album, although he continued to record well into the digital era...

Steve Douglas "Love Goes Round" (Banka Records, 1983) (LP)

Steve Douglas "To A San Antone Rose" (Dorman Productions, 1989) (LP)

Tony Douglas -- see artist profile

Wayne Douglas "Sing It From My Soul" (Chartwheel Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Howard)
The first album by Wayne Douglas Kabanuck, a songwriter originally from Max, North Dakota who spent nearly twenty years in Nashville working as a composer and studio musician. This disc features a slew of original material, as well as a cover of the then-current George Jones hit, "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Kabanuck also led his own band, touring throughout the plains states and lower Midwest. He later reissued this album under his full name, and has recorded several other records since '81. This album was reissued under his full name, followed by other albums as Wayne Douglas Kabanuck.

Wayne Douglas "Badlands Fever" (Chartwheel Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Howard)
More than half the songs on here are Douglas's own originals, with covers of Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Larry Gatlin and even one by fellow midwesterner Larry Heaberlin, an indie artist from Iowa. The regional pride tunes include "Badlands Fever," "Dakota Girl" and "Sweet Dakota Lady." Alas, the musicians are not listed, though this was recorded in Nashville, so there's a good chance it wasn't his own band backing him here.

Jim Doval & The Gauchos "Face Value" (Chrisamthemum Records, 19--?) (LP)

Jim Doval "Pardon Me Fer Starin' (But I Think I Love You)" (DBI Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced & Arranged by Jim Doval)
Turns out this is a pretty terrible record, but it has a really great back-story. Jim Doval (aka Sandoval) was the driving force behind the super-awesome garage-soul group, The Gauchos, a truly killer band from Fresno, California that was one of the most prominent latino rock groups of the 1960s. Fronted by the smouldering, seductive Sandoval, the Gauchos landed a regular gig on the Shindig teenpop TV show, but the group imploded in 1966 after failing to get onto the Ed Sullivan show. Later, Jim Doval retrenched and retooled himself as a lounge singer -- this disc is a memento of that era (in the liner notes Doval thanks the staff at the Gold Dust West, in Reno, Nevada, where he landed a gig as the casino's entertainment director...) I was drawn, like a moth to a flame, to the album's title track, which just had to be a country song... and it kind of is, in a Jimmy Buffett/Margaritaville kind of way. That track is okay, but the rest of the record quickly devolves into tepid, downtempo lounge-singer ballads. Only one twangtune, and then it gets really, really cheesy and low-energy. Side Two shows a little more life, with Doval delving into Latin pop stylings and a little bit of R&B, ending up with the perky "Uptown Caballero." Nonetheless, the much hoped-for country-rock record failed to materialize here. His other solo stuff seems to be more blues-oriented. Oh, well... I tried!!

Jim Doval "Harp And Soul" (DBI Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced & Arranged by Jim Doval, David Houston & Jim Pappageorge)
Even farther afield is this explicitly R&B oriented album which Doval recorded while living up in Reno, Nevada. Not country for sure, but let's put in on our radar anyway...

Ben Dover & Tennessee Tucker "Carpetbaggers" (Road Apple, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Snyder)
Despite the jokey band name (Ben... Dover... get it? get it??) the Atlanta, Georgia duo of Rick Snyder and Pat Coletta made some great, soft-edged Southern rock/country rock, as heard on this self-released debut record, which I believe was their first (and only?) release. Apparently the group was quite popular in the late '70s, and their approach was pretty straightforward, with a nice mix of rock guitars and country steel. The album is packed with great material, and not the parade of crass jokes you might imagine. The uncredited backing band was quite strong, and though this has the unpolished production sound of an uber-indie album, the arrangements and performances are high caliber, basically at the same level as the bands they were emulating. Fans of the various Capricorn label bands, or of groups such as the Marshall Tucker Band and the Outlaws will probably love this record; there's also a hint of soft-rock artists like Jim Croce, as heard on tracks like "Gypsy." All in all, a very strong indie album, worth tracking down and deserving of reissue.

Dixie Dover "Haunting Memories" (Twileen Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Clyde Varner & Tommy Strong)
Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, singer-songwriter Dixie Dover wrote most of these songs herself, with one co-written with producer Clyde "Josh" Varner... The set includes her songs "Truck Driver's Dream," as well as "He's Living In Your House (But He's Sleeping In Mine)." Recorded in Nashville, this album has an all-pro studio crew, with folks like DJ Fontana, Willie Rainsfield, Dale Sellars, et.al.

Down Home Praise "Down Home Praise" (Marantha Music, 1983)
(Produced by Al Perkins & Joe Bellamy)
A country-rock supergroup jamming on some old bluegrass tunes and singing some gospel songs... It's a distillation of the best of the Southern California contingent of "Jesus freak" country-rockers, guys who had done quite well in the hippie-era music scene but did what many folks at the time would have considered super-uncool, namely record a bunch of Christian twangtunes. The ensemble includes five core members -- Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon, Al Perkins, fiddler David Mansfield and bassist Jerry Scheff -- who recorded a similar album in 1985, calling themselves Ever Call Ready. They're joined by vocalist Tommy Funderburk, guitarists Steve Hill and Dan McCorison and Mel Durham on bass, on a set of surprisingly sincere gospel songs, heavy on the hymns, Southern Gospel and a few newer tunes from folks like Peter Rowan and Dan Daniels.

Down Yonder "Lay The Money Down" (1980) (LP)
(Produced by Joey Garcia)
A pleasantly twangy, amateurish SoCal country bar-band from Ramona, California... Tom Boston was the main vocalist, with a few tunes each by bassist Steve Bisbikis and mandolin picker Larry Weddle, with Bisbikis contributing one of the album's handful of original songs, a rambling hippiebilly tune called "Arkansas." Other originals include "To Love That Kind Of A Woman" by Ray Borras and a couple of songs by Cal Roberts, "Lay The Money Down" and "Bright Neon Lights" -- these guys must have been friends of the band, although neither Borras or Roberts perform on the album, or are mentioned in the liner notes. Anyway, nice stuff from SoCal - not an earthshaking album, but charming and sincere.

Down Yonder Band "Where's Adrian, Missouri?" (Tuff-Stuff Records. 19--?) (LP)
I'm gonna make a couple of guesses here... One, this isn't the same band as the California band above and, two, they probably played at one of the many Branson-esque venues that populated Missouri back in the '70s and and early '80s. It might take me a while to track down the particulars on this one, though... And by the way? Adrian -- population tiny -- is located in Bates County, on the very Western end of the state, just South of KC.

George Downey "...And The South Texas Playboys" (G & J Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by George Downey)
A latter-day western swing tribute to Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, with vocals by Jodie Andrews who sang with the Texas Playboys in the early 1950s... Couldn't find much info about Mr. Downey, though.

Big Al Downing "Big Al Downing" (Team Entertainment Records. 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Tony Bongiovi & Lance Quinn)
When I picked this one up, I thought, "oh, this is a country covers album by an old-school R&B artist." That turned out to be only halfway accurate: in fact, while pianist-singer Al Downing (1940-2005) did have a background in blues and R&B, he also had real country roots. An Oklahoma native, Downing was a founding member of the Kansas City-based Bobby Poe & The Poe Kats, one of the Midwest's first and most prominent racially integrated rock bands, a musically diverse group that is perhaps best known as Wanda Jackson's backing band during the height of her rockabilly glory years. That gig probably accounted for his later appearances on the Hee Haw TV show, since superpicker Roy Clark was also a member of one of Jackson's bands, immediately after the Poe Kats years. At any rate, even though Al Downing did have some country bona fides, this album does have the hallmark production sound of an '80s-era urban blues album, a bit slick and too-perfect, though Downing still manages to emit a fair amount of rootsiness and authenticity. An earnest and friendly-sounding album, just a little too controlled for my tastes.

Eddie Jo Downs "Country Stars And Honky Tonk Bars" (United National Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Don Snyder)
Singer/bassist Eddie Jo Downs (1937-1993) grew up in Texas and worked regionally at the Houston Jamboree and in various road bands, notably touring with honkytonker Eddie Kirk, who at the time was based in California. While still in his early teens, Downs moved to Los Angeles and joined the cast of the Hollywood Town Hall Party television show, eventually signing to Capitol Records as a solo artist and making a name for himself as a songwriter. This album was his magnum opus and -- honestly? -- it's a doozy, one of those unique country gems that folks only made in the 'Seventies. Stylistically, it's kind of an odd amalgam of Dick Feller, Willie Nelson and Don Williams, subtle, cerebral twang with a vocal tone that consistently evokes Hank Snow, if perhaps Snow had gotten into the outlaw scene. The disc is packed with all-original material; eight songs by Downs and one from John Levasseur, and once you get on his wavelength, Eddie Downs really delivers the goods. Side One includes a few negligible novelty numbers, notably "Nudie The Rodeo Tailor," a nod to the fabled country/cowboy suit designer Nudie Cohen, as well as "Jodi's Song," a sappy daddy song about living with a toddler... Rounding the side out is the title track, "Country Stars And Honky Tonk Bars," which recounts a romantic trip to Nashville, where a happy couple sees all the sights and go to all the shows (with Mr. Downs namechecking various stars) but of course it ends in tears, as his gal goes off with another guy. It's Side Two where the classics kick in: Levasseur's "Hard Times" is a convincing Merle Haggard-style memoir about growing up poor-but-proud, while "Your Body Belongs To Me" is just about what you'd think, a forlorn little somebody-done-somebody-wrong song about two folks who still share the same bed, but not much else. It's the album's final track that packs the biggest punch: "There's Just No Talkin' Anymore" is one of the most mature, reflective, truly heartbreaking songs about drifting apart that you're ever likely to hear, slow paced but soul-crushing in its calm delineation of a love gone wrong. There's no date on this album, but the exact same lineup -- Eddie Downs (bass), Ed Holtz (piano), Al Bruno (guitar), Billy Webb (guitar), Johnny Greer (drums) and Silvio Tucciarone on steel guitar -- also backed jazz legend Anita O'Day on her 1978 album, "There's Only One." Mr. Downs is looking a little shaggy on the grainy front cover photo, though more clean-cut and lounge-lizardy on the back. Around this time, though, he definitely "went outlaw," growing a massive beard while leading a trio called the Electric Horsemen, which cut an album in 1980, and apparently booked some gigs with Waylon and Willie. As far as I know this was his only solo album, although he released numerous singles on various labels over the years, including a 1960s stint on Capitol, recording simply as Eddie Downs. Recommended.

Doyle And Leilani "At The Sky Dome" (1974-?) (LP)
A bit of a mystery disc. This super-amateur duo mixed Hawaiian pop and hapa haole songs ("Pearly Shells," "Tiny Bubbles") with early 'Seventies soft rock and several country songs, including hits such as "Delta Dawn," "For The Good Times," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Tie A Yellow Ribbon," and "Top Of The World," as well as another Carpenters classic, "Superstar." This was apparently their only album, recorded live at the Revolving Sky Dome Lounge in Arlington, Virginia. Alas, there's no biographical info about the artists, not even their last names, or anything about backing musicians -- although I think this is just the two of them with a drum machine and organ. There's also no date on the disc, though judging from the repertoire -- which includes "Top Of The World" -- a big hit in December, '73 -- I'd say 1974 is our best bet. You can hear crowd chatter in the background and apparently these guys really did a few live gigs; I found at least one show notice from a 1977 date in Delaware, which also mentions this album being for sale. Still, this disc really seems like more of a personal memento than a professional calling card. It's, um, very DIY. Possibly this couple was Mr. and Mrs. Donald Joseph Doyle, who met and married in Hawaii, although her obituary (1941-2019) made no mention of any interest in music.

Bob Doyle & The Buffalo Chipkickers "Volume One" (Marjon International Records, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by James Baldwin & Johnny Krizancic)
Originally a student band formed by some guys at Penn State University, the Chipkickers were a folk-bluegrass crossover, a trio of wiseacre younguns, blending banjo, fiddle and twelve-string guitar on a diverse repertoire of public domain oldies, country classics and an original or two. The new tunes on this album included "Walkin And Talkin'," which was composed by Bob C. Doyle, and a couple of regionally-themed songs ("Appalachia" and "Coal Hill Summit") credited to John J. Dietrich, who doesn't seem to have been in the band. Alas, the other two 'Kickers are only identified as "Joe" and "Matthew," with their sound filled out a bit by bass player Hugh Johnson, who probably was part of the Marjon studio's house band. A couple of years after this album came out, the group hired a new banjo player, Lee Ann Lenker, who played on their second album, which was released under the band's name, not Doyle's.

Jimmy Doyle & Patsy Gayle "...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.

Barry Drake "Happy Landing" (Capitol Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Terry Knight)
I was drawn to this album by the presence of a couple of country-bluegrass twangsters in the credits, fiddler Kenny Kosek and Bill Keith (usually a banjo whiz, but here playing pedal steel) However, as a potential country-rock nugget, this record turned out to be a bit of a dud. A dud in general, I guess, although hardcore '70s soft-pop devotees might be able to look past Drake's thin voice and the overall derivative nature of the demi-psychedelic, Emitt Rhodes-ish pop-orchestral arrangements and enjoy this as a period piece. It's not awful, by any means, just resolutely mediocre. A couple of tunes have some twang to them, but nothing to write home about, really. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Barry Drake was his second act in rock'n'roll, in which he established himself as an official expert in all things rock, becoming a popular lecturer on the college circuit for folks who want his insights into several generations of rock and pop culture... To which this was his first personal contribution.

Barry Drake "Roadsongs" (Catskill Mountain Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Barry Drake)
This album, self-recorded in a home studio up in the Catskills, mainly features Drake multitracked on a variety of instruments, with minimal help from other musicians on a few of the songs. Drake seems to have found a more comfortable stylistic niche for himself, playing in roughly the same mode as Paul Siebel, basically singer-songwriter folk, with an awareness of pop and blues in the mix. Some songs are interesting, like the album's opener, "Troubadours," where he talks about how he's dropped out and headed for the country while his music business friends are still doing their stuff out in the rat race... (My ear was caught when he name-dropped Loudon Wainwright III, who at the time was riding high on the cult success of his infamous novelty song "Dead Skunk"...) On Side Two, he lapses into a more distinctly John Denver-ish style, light, blithe folk-pop with pretty clear-cut melodies. Although Drake remains a fairly underwhelming performer, and many of the songs seem contrived -- particularly the character sketches of hobos and proud unbowed Confederate soldiers -- this is still a strong, authentic effort for the DIY folk scene of the time, derivative to be sure, but I think also a cohesive realization of Drake's artistic vision... If you're into obscuro-folk outings, this one's certainly worth a spin.

Barry Drake "Solo Survivor" (Catskill Mountain Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Barry Drake)

Eddy Drake "Country Sounds Of Eddy Drake Today!" (Newhall Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Cliffie Stone)
A lesser-known California honky-tonker, singer Eddy (aka "Eddie") Drake was born in Kentucky, but made his way out West after joining the Marine Corps, and settled into the Southern California scene, working with folks such as producer Cliffie Stone and the husband-wife duo of Johnny and Janie Mosby. His first solo recordings date back to 1959, where he sounded like a mix of Buck Owens, Wynn Stewart and Ray Price; by the time this LP came out, he was channeling the mojo of Waylon Jennings and Jerry Lee Lewis. Although Drake never really broke through as a solo artist, he did host his own television show for several years, and recorded numerous indie singles in addition to this lone full-length LP. He had a lot of studio firepower behind him for these sessions, including Earl Ball on piano, pickers Phil Baugh, James Burton and Al Casey on guitar, and some nice, choppy steel guitar courtesy of Carl Walden, an ex-rockabilly picker who did a lot of West Coast session work. The set includes a couple of originals credited to Eddy Drake, "I Had A Dream Last Night" and "Call Me In The Morning," as well as one called "As Tear Drops Fall," written by J. Dobbs and H. Coffman, which was from the same publishing company, Mixer Music. Nice stuff, with plenty of twang!

Guy Drake "Welfare Cadillac" (Royal American Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Don Hosea)
A lethargic country comedy album with a distinctly conservative political bent... The title track features a recitation backed by a sedate country band, and is based on the persistent myth about welfare "cheats" who were filing multiple claims, stockpiling huge amounts of cash, and buying houses and cars with all that dough. Of course, that's all total BS, but the myth lives on, and a few years later, Ronald Reagan would use the story of a "welfare queen" living high on the hog while hard-working taxpayers had to foot the bill. Kentucky-born Guy Drake scored a minor hit with this tune, and on this full-length album also commented upon politics, sex education, anti-smoking campaigns and other timely topics. He also covered the faux-hick big band-era oldie, "Life Gets Tee-Jus, Don't It," while poking fun at the music business on tunes like "Songwriter Talking The Blues" and "Born To Be An Opry Star."

Pete Drake -- see artist profile

C. D. Draper "The Most Successful Failure In The World" (Curtain Call Records, 1965) (LP)
C. Dean Draper was a country singer from Englewood, Colorado who started his own label in the mid-1960s and released a number of novelty singles, such as "I'm The Only Hippie In Muskogee" and "The Most Successful Failure In The World" while playing gigs at a venues such as Earl's Toll Gate Tavern and Marvelous Merv's in Denver. He tried to bust out of the regional scene, but his biggest splash came when Buck Owens recorded one of his songs, "California Oakie," in 1976. He also produced some albums by other local artists, and sat in with bands at venues such as Earl's Toll Gate Tavern, in Central City.

C. D. Draper & Crisser "Bright Lights, Blues And Lonely Memories" (Curtain Call Records, 1983) (LP)
(C. D. Draper & Jerry Mahler)
On this second LP, Draper shared the spotlight with a gal called Crisser (aka Chris Taylor) who sang and played piano... As on all his records, there's an abundance of local talent and original material though, alas, his 'Seventies singles such as "California Oakie," "Super Bowl Game Of Love" and "The Only Hippie In Muskogee" were not included here: Mr. Draper had moved on. Maybe a best-of collection is in order? The other musicians include Dawn Arlene on drums, John Bower (bass), Bob Carillo (guitars), Tom Likes (percussion), Dick Meis (steel guitar), Art Miller (harmonica), Susie Nobles (fiddle), and Gary Schnacker on piano. [Thanks to The Elk Bugles blog for filling in a few gaps in this guy's career.]

Dusty Drapes & The Dusters "Dusty Drapes & The Dusters" (Columbia Records, 1974) (Unreleased LP)
This was a group of (formerly longhaired) hippies from Boulder, Colorado who "went country" in the early '70s as a way to stand out from the crowd in the rock-oriented live music scene. Dusty Drapes was the cowboy alter-ego of bandleader Steve Swenson, who in 1972 came up with the idea of the guys in the band cutting their hair short and wearing matching polyester suits, as if they were a standard-issue country bar band. At first it was just a gag, but as they got better and dug deeper into hillbilly twang, the Dusters morphed into a capable western swing band, and got more serious about their twang. They were a band seemingly right on the edge of fame, including a brief major-label fling on Columbia Records. Sadly, this ended in misery (and one lone seven-inch single) after the label decided to shelve their debut album and the original lineup decided to call it quits. Founding member Dan McCorison went solo and had some success in Nashville and LA, and even recorded a commercial country album for MCA. Swenson led the band through a few different incarnations, including a lineup that included hotshot guitarist and future Americana icon Junior Brown, though I don't think he ever recorded with them. The Dusters remained a popular local group up until the early '80s, and have played a lot of reunion shows over the years...

Dusty Drapes & The Dusters "Dusty Drapes & The Dusters" (Too Cow Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Mason)
This was their second LP, also known as the "red album," and the only one that actually got released. It's a solid set of eclectic country swing'n'boogie, very much in the same hippie-roadhouse mode as better-known bands such as Commander Cody, Asleep At The Wheel, or Alvin Crow. A big change in lineup, with the '81 band including Dusty Drapes on bass and lead vocals, along with Pete Adams (mandolin and piano), Brian Ercek (steel guitar), James Mason (mighty sweet fiddle), Terry McClanahan (lead guitar), Tom Smith on drums, a modest horn section led by Fly McClard, a few random backup singers, and Skip Edwards making a guest cameo, playing organ on a Pete Adams tune called "One More Shot." Admittedly, these guys sound a little manic and coked-up, but mostly they hit their marks, and the more country they are, the better they sound. There are requisite dips into oldies like "Cielo Lindo," Asher Sizemore's "Right Or Wrong," and Tex Williams' "Talking Boogie," though mostly this album is packed with original material from bandleader Steve Swenson and guitarist Terry McClanahan, and these originals stack up pretty well next to their contemporaries... There are a few hiccups, though. McClanahan tries an ill-advised dip into radio-friendly power ballads ("Lovin' Man") while Swenson's amiable, Jimmy Buffett-ish "Livin' With The Mexicans" is a well-intentioned stab at jovial, stoner-hick multi-culturalism which nonetheless is likely to ruffle a few feathers: any radio deejay bold enough to pair this up with Larry Hosford's likeminded early single, "Salinas," is gonna get some audience feedback, even though both songs are about chill coexistence, not expressions of prejudice. Overall, this is a pretty strong album, several notches above most of the private-press country of the time. Definitely worth a spin, and probably a classic. One wonders, though, if that Columbia album will ever see the light of day...

Jerry "Jaybird" Drennan "Ole Jaybird Drennan Sings Country And Gospel" (1968-?) (LP)
Radio deejay Jerry William Drennan (1928-2006) was a Texas lad who worked his way across the country, station by station, until he wound up in Akron, Ohio, where he had a 27-year run as the drive-time host on WLSR. Using the nickname "Jaybird," Drennon was a well-known country music programmer and like a lot of country radio guys back then, he made a record of his own, presumably for local fans to enjoy. It's one half secular, the other side gospel and full of plenty of unbridled twang. To be honest, Mr. Drennon didn't have all that great a singing voice, but he still gave it a go, shooting for kind of a jovial Dave Dudley vibe, with plenty of gusto and good cheer, and more of a Ernie Ford sound on the gospel stuff... The band was pretty solid, with a bouncy, Bakersfield-y feel. The musicians included guitarist pickers Vic Clay and Bobby Rutledge, as well as fellow deejay and accordion player, "Happy Hank" Pawlak (1924-2005) a local Akron businessman and music promoter who played in polka and country bands, and was also one of the city's earliest promoters of rock'n'roll. Equally notable was fifteen-year old steel player Jerry Brightman (1953-2015) who was quite good and went on to produce a few records, and played pedal steel with a number of artists, even including a stint with Don Rich and Buck Owens. (Speaking of young Mr. Brightman, multiple sources peg this album as a 1969 release, but the liner notes tell us that Brightman -- who was born in 1953 -- was fifteen at the time, so this might actually be from '68.) No idea if Jaybird was direct kin to Ozarks bandleader Dave Drennon, though I suppose it's possible...

Dave Drennon "Live Dave Drennon Show" (American Artists, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Higgins)
A veteran of the Branson, Missouri "opry" scene, bandleader Dave Drennon was the first country artist to record for the Springfield-based American Artists label, which documented many of the Ozarks-area regional musicians of the 1970s. He and and his wife Dee Drennon, split off from her family's Branson revue (The Presley Mountain Music Jamboree) and started their own venue in the early 1970s, the Crossroads Auditorium in Nixa, Missouri, near Springfield. A few years later, in 1975 they pulled up stakes again and moved to the Saint Louis suburb of Eureka, where they opened a 900-seat venue called the Pine Mountain Jamboree. The Drennons ran Pine Mountain as a family business for over thirty years, eventually selling it to a fellow Bransonite, Mike Bishop, in 2006. This bluegrass-flavored album is a souvenir of their first, more short-lived venture, with a photo of the club and Drennon's tour bus parked outside. Alas, the musicians pictured on the front cover are not identified on the back, though a few of the musicians may have been piano player Joe Griffin, Kathy Kiehl, Jerry Mcnown and fiddler Don Wright. Whoever they were, they were pretty good: the banjo and lead guitar pickers were pretty flashy, and the fiddler was no slouch, either. The set list is pretty conservative -- mostly chestnuts like "Cripple Creek," "Orange Blossom Special," "Rocky Top" and "White Lightning," with a couple of bluesier numbers ("Going Down The Road Feeling Bad" and "It Takes A Worried Mind") that are a little unusual for the mini-opry scene. The only semi-contemporary tunes are versions of Dolly Parton's "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man" and Joe South's "Games People Play," which both originally came out in 1970 so this album may have come out around '71 or '72. (Side note: judging from the photo montage on the front cover, they seem to have done a parody of the Porter Wagoner-Dolly Parton show as part of their act... bet that was a real hoot.)

Dave Drennon "...Sings The Words Of Lon Hogan" (American Artists Records, 197--?) (LP)
A set of patriotic, gospel, and regional pride songs written by Lon Hogan, an old-timer from the southern end of Missouri who was in Drennon's orbit. Alonzo Vannis Hogan (1883-1981) was born in Willow Springs, Missouri, and spent his life in the heart of the Ozarks, watching the intensely rural landscape change over time. He may be best remembered as a photographer: in his youth, Hogan worked for a large local lumber company and took countless photos of the lumberyard and other local sights; later in life he opened a photography studio and met and documented numerous local residents. In the late 1970s, Mr. Hogan had earned the title of the oldest resident of Shannon County, Missouri, and was interviewed on film about his life and the changes he saw -- these interviews were preserved by the state historical society, and have also been posted on YouTube and elsewhere. His work as a songwriter is less well-known, and it's interesting that a musician such as Dave Drennon, who had commercial aspirations decided to record an album of material by such an obscure local figure. The songs include "Old Missouri," "We Americans," and "God Isn't Dead," as well as the more frivolous "Doodle Bug Rag" and the exotic "My Hawaii."

Lee Dresser & The Krazy Kats "Beat Out My Love" (Fury Records, 2014)
This posthumously-released collection gathers over thirty tracks by Kansas City rocker Lee Dresser (1941-2014) and multi-instrumentalist who formed a high school band called the Krazy Kats in 1957 and scored a few regional hits before getting drafted and sent to Vietnam. When he came back to the States, Dresser headed for LA and fell into steady session work as a harmonica player, backing pop and country stars throughout the late '60s and '70s. The Krazy Kats got back together in 1980, and Dresser moved back to KCMO to play with them full-time a few years later, playing with the band up until he passed away from leukemia in 2014. This compilation mainly features his early stuff from the late 'Fifties and early 'Sixties -- lively, Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired (though sometimes kinda surfy) rockabilly, including unreleased demos and the band's best known song, "Beat Out My Love," a mildly naughty song which is frequently anthologized on rockabilly reissues. There's also some stuff the Krazy Kats recorded after they got back together... It's not very innovative, but it sure is fun!

Lee Dresser "El Camino Real" (Amos Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen)

Lee Dresser "To Touch The Wind" (Bella Linda Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Gilmore & Doug Decker, Dennis Bachmann & Ivan Fisher)
This country-flavored album shows Dresser fully entrenched in the LA music scene, backed by an impressive studio made up of some of the elite pickers in the West Coast country-rock and bluegrass scenes, including Larry McNeely, Dan Crary, Glen D. Hardin, along with steel players Al Perkins and Red Rhodes. Dresser plays banjo, guitar and harmonica and wrote all but two of the songs -- the exceptions were the title track, "To Touch The Wind" and "Wilderness Family," which were both apparently from a 1975 feature film called "The Adventures Of The Wilderness Family."

Lee Dresser "The Hero" (Air International Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Mark Sherrill)
This later album was recorded in Nashville with session players such as Hargus Robbins and Bobby Thompson, as well as several less well-known players

Drifters "Power Of Love" (RWW Productions, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by The Drifters)
Not to be confused with "The" Drifters, this Minneapolis lounge band covered pop and soul as well as (a lot of) country material... On the country side are some pretty mainstream, AOR-aligned hits, tunes like Jessi Colter's "I'm Not Lisa," "Annie's Song" by John Denver, "Silver Threads And Golden Needles," and Doug Kershaw's "Louisiana Man." The group centered around the vocal trio of Marc Ratajczak (lead guitar), Sharon Ratajczak, and Greg Weeg (bass), with additional backing by steel guitarist Randy Barnes and drummer Steve Webb.

Drifter's Caravan "Country And Western Hits" (Bellaphon Records, 196--?) (LP)

Drifter's Caravan "Run To The West" (Bellaphon Records, 1970-?) (LP)

The Drifting Cowboys Band -- see artist profile

Wade Driver "Recorded Live At The Rhythm Ranch" (Rhythm Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Wade Driver & Bill Holford)
The whole world of square dancing and how square dance records relate to regular country music remains a bit opaque to me, though caller Wade Driver seems to have made the transition to straight country, recording both styles on his own private Rhythm Records label. Though he was originally from Georgia, Driver established himself as a caller in the Houston-Fort Worth area, and recorded this set at the ACA Studios, in Houston. This disc is a definitely calling album, with most tracks previously released as singles for square dance groups; he also released a string of singles with his band The Rhythm Rockers. Charmingly, instead of listing the musicians who play on this album, Driver has pictures of the folks in his "Rhythm Ranch" squaredancing group, along with their signatures -- very intimate and adorable, though I also wish I knew who was playing the guitar. There are some intriguing songs choices, including covers of Jerry Reed's 1977 single, "I'm Just A Redneck On A Rock'N'Roll Bar" and Crystal Gayle's "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (also from 1977) which help date the album. Along with the anonymous studio band, Driver is backed by vocalists Lanelle Davis and Judy England White, aka The Rhythmettes; Ms. Davis continued to work and record with Driver for several years, though Ms. Davis moved to New Orleans with her husband and apparently gave up her music career. Another interesting footnote is Wade Driver's son, Wade Driver Jr., who was in the Houston punk band The Degenerates, as well as a lineup of the Austin-based cowpunk group, The Hickoids... bet Dad didn't see that one coming!

Wade Driver "It's Almost Like Starting Over" (Rhythm Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Wade Driver & Pat Coughlin & A. V. Mittelstadt)
A straight-up country set, not a "calling" album, with slick backing from A. V. Mittelstadt's studio crew, including guitarist Randy Corner and several less familiar pickers. Mostly this is pretty good, and Driver might have had a shot at the Top Forty if he'd recorded this a few years earlier -- hard to see this really breaking through in the increasingly corporate country scene of the early 'Eighties. Still, it's not that different from Bill Phillips's comeback material of the same era, and Phillips did pretty well. Also, Don Williams fans might dig Driver's sentimental side, even if he's a stronger on the uptempo tunes. Wade Driver's longtime collaborator Lanelle Davis is one of several backup singers, and the album seems packed with original material. Mr. Driver has kept cranking out square dance records over the years, and has been active at least through 2020, expanding his business to bring in a bunch of younger callers, who I believe both record and go out to do live performances. The various singles and albums are perhaps too numerous to include here, at least for now.

Joe Droukas & His Crazy Man Band "Goodbye Joe Drake" (Sweet Fortune Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Eddie Jason)
Well-meaning country-rock/folk-pop with a definite early 'Seventies hippie vibe. Fairly perky music with an eclectic feel and a persistent thread of countryish twang, particularly in the dobro and banjo work by Paul Prestopino. New Yorker Joe Droukas sang his own original material with backing by a mix of studio pros such as Hugh McCracken and Rick Marotta -- along with a cameo by Toots Thielman -- and others who seem less familiar and may have been members of his own band. Droukas's overly self-conscious liner notes make reference to current events and topical issues and some of the lyrics are fairly depressing and grim, reflecting the downcast political mood of the Watergate era. Probably not much here that will really wow you, but it is a good example of the searching, sometimes-strained experimentation of the times. Worth checking out if you're heavy into 'Seventies soft-pop and whatnot, though most casual listeners (and country-oriented twangfans) can skip it.

Joe Droukas "Shadowboxing" (Southwind Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Eddie Germano)

Don Drumm "Bedroom Eyes" (Churchill Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Millsap)
A really nice set of independently-produced 'Seventies style honkytonk pop, from New England-born singer Don Drumm. He wasn't any great shakes as a vocalist, but this is a fine set of songs, with plainly-arranged, straightforward accompaniment, and garnered Drumm a fair amount of chart success. Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, Drumm started out as a piano player in a local cocktail lounges and hotel bars; when he began working as a singer, he gradually shifted away from his jazzy origins into more country-oriented material and was one of the last artists signed to Chart Records before it folded in 1975, though he managed to land on his feet and briefly flourished on the country charts just a few years later. Most of the songs on this album were written by Drumm's pal, Ray Hillburn, who sings backup along with the Cates Sisters, who were making a go of it themselves on Ovation Records around the same time. Side One of the album is packed with Hillburn songs, including a couple that actually hit the Top 40 ("Bedroom Eyes" and "Just Another Rhinestone") while Side Two has a wimpier, poppier sound, finishing up with the only track written by Drumm, "You'd Be Beautiful (In A Children's Book)" which is actually a better song than the title implies. Highlights include "Brother, I'm Glad She Found Me" and "Sad Songs" (again, written by Ray Hillburn) and their cover of Chips Moman's outlaw anthem, "Luckenbach, Texas." This is swell record, a modest late-'70s gem that reminds me of Bill Phillip's "comeback" album of the same era. Worth looking for... I enjoyed it quite a bit!

Dry Creek "Live And Kickin' " (Widget Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Terry Skinner & Dry Creek)
These guys were the house band for a place called Johnny's Club, in Iron City, Tennessee... The set list includes covers of "Waltz Across Texas," "Hell Yes I Cheated," "Sweet Home Alabama," and a Hank Williams medley...

Jimmy Dry "Esquire Ballroom Presents Jimmy Dry" (Princess Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Huey P. Meaux)
Honky-tonk bandleader Jimmy Dry lived in Herford, Texas and was a local country DJ on radio station KPAN. He's backed on this album by his band, The Dance Kings, which included Ferd Heinie, Troy Passmore, Noel Stanley and Pee Wee Truehitte. I'm not sure when the album came out; it looks early 'Seventies and was on a vanity label pressed by Crazy Cajun, although Dry had released singles on the Princess label back in the mid-1960s.

Alan Dryman "The Alan Dryman Show -- Live" (Juke Box Records/United Image, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bert Frilot & Lonnie Wright)
A country music impressionist who apparently had cut a few singles for MGM before making this live album... The liner notes say he was born in North Carolina and started performing while living out in San Diego, California. Dryman had moved to Houston, Texas by the time this live album was recorded. His impersonations include Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb, as well as a more "pop" personalities such as Dean Martin and Elvis Presley. Dryman is backed here by roots music sideman Danny Epps on harmonica, producer Lonnie Wright on guitar and backing vocals by "Linda and Judy (The Scorpios)." Groovy, man.

Duane & The Country Squires "Swingin' Country" (1973-?) (LP)
No solid info on this one yet, but if anyone's got the 411, I'm all ears. The album includes songs such as "Truck Drivin' Woman" (a 1968 hit for Norma Jean) and the Connie Francis oldie, "My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own" as well as several other cover songs, like Merle Haggard's "Swinging Doors" and "Pass Me By." I'm guessing at the release date of 1973, based on the inclusion of "Funny Face," which was a big song for Donna Fargo in '72.

Mark Duboise "Diamonds Aren't Forever Anymore" (Duboise Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Don Cartee & Alan Cartee)
I can't tell you much about this one, other than that Mr. Duboise appears to have been from Alabama, and was one of the many way-off-the-radar artists who recorded an album through what I've started calling "the beach label," a vanity/custom service that recycled the same photograph for numerous LPs. Anyway, the liner notes say this one was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and the backing musicians are an interesting lot: Lenny LeBlanc, who had a few modest pop hits under his belt, is the bass player, while Jerry Wallace plays rhythm and lead guitar, with Doug Jernigan on pedal steel and Tim Henson tickling the ivories... The backup singers include Ava Aldridge and Sue Richards, two country second-stringers from Alabama who had a few hits in the '70s. Apparently all the songs on here were originals (except for a cover of "Green Green Grass Of Home"), all written by producer Alan Cartee, who was kind of a jack-of-all-trades -- songwriter, engineer, etc. -- who later opened a successful sound studio in Nashville.

The Dude Ranch Boys "Magical Campfire Show" (Campfire Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Frosty Gehron)
A souvenir album by one of the house bands at The Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch, a massive, 3000-acre tourist trap located in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, not far from Nashville. The bluegrass-y group included Kim Hilton (guitar and mandolin), Ricky Rebel (guitar and bass), Ken Terry (banjo and bass) and Louis Mitchell (aka "Souie Louie"), a comedian and musician who chimes in on numbers like "Tattooed Lady" and "Pfft She Was Gone." The band was just so-so, and the cornpone humor was pretty strained, which isn't unusual for this type of retro-vaudeville hillbilly act. Overall, I'd rate this one as subpar, even for the genre. The repertoire is super-heavy on novelty numbers and oldies and Dixieana, stuff like "Cripple Creek" and Leadbelly's "Cotton Fields," and very little in the way of contemporary country material, outside of a version of "Easy Lovin'," and yet another cover of Mickey Newberry's dreadful "American Trilogy" patriotic medley. Side Two showcases some folkier material, and a couple of standout tracks might be originals -- I couldn't track them down to any other sources, thought he credits are unclear. These are the folkie-sounding "Winter's Touch" and "General Lee," a rueful, haunting Civil War ballad with a much fuller, more produced sound than the rest fo the record. All in all, this is a pretty slight effort, but like many souvenir discs it offers a few surprises. Unfortunately there's no release date to be found, but it looks later than the Freddie Hart cover would suggest... I'd guess it was from anywhere between 1976 and '82; more precise info would of course be welcome.

J. E. Dudgeon "Look Ahead..." (1982) (LP)

Bill Dudley "Nashville Moves North" (Paragon Records, 1968-?) (LP)
Although he was born in Missouri, honkytonker Bill Dudley only hung around Nashville for a few years before sensing that he might have more opportunities up North in Canada. Earlier, Dudley had cut some singles for Capitol Records, but he had to hoof it up to Toronto to get out a full album. This is packed with low-tech twang -- simple arrangements that match his plainspoken vocals. Authorship of most of the songs is credited to Dudley, but many are just thinly-disguised ripoffs of better-known Nashville hits (such as "Poor Poor Me," which is a shameless lift of Don Gibson's "Lonesome Me") while several others, like "Oh Please Mr. Conductor" and "I'm Just Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail" are hillbilly chestnuts that Dudley didn't even try to gussy up into "new" versions. Like a lot of Canadian artists, he pulls out the regional pride card on the album's opener, "My Nova Scotia Home" (a Hank Snow oldie) while he also makes a brazenly direct appeal for radio airplay with "Top Ten In Heaven," a recitation tune that's kind of like Tex Ritter's "Hillbilly Heaven," except that instead of naming country musicians, he lists a bunch of country deejays -- by name -- in the lyrics of the song. Not very original, obviously, but a fun record nonetheless.

Bill Dudley "...Sings The Life And Death Of Hank Williams" (M. M & C Records, 1971-?) (LP)

Michael Dues "I've Never Been To Nashville" (Copperwood Records, 1979)
(Produced by Brian Cutler)
A thoughtful, craftsmanlike album from this Sacramento-area songwriter. A nice mix of country and folk, with a local bluegrass band, The South Loomis Quickstep Band, providing a lot of the musical backing. Many of the songs are a bit dense thematically, but overall it's a very listenable album, particularly the more country-sounding, pedal steel-driven numbers. Many songs explore loneliness and romantic yearning, and may cut a little closer to the bone than is entirely comfortable, but overall this holds up well. I'm a sucker for country novelty songs, so "The Great Composer" (about a guy who can't write good country songs anymore because he's too happily in love) is a highlight, as well as the title track, "I've Never Been To Nashville," about a songwriter who stays home rather than seeking fame and fortune in the big city. I'm assuming this one was fairly autobiographical, and while Dues shows a lot of talent, maybe he was too square-peggy for Music City -- but the music he left behind sure sounds nice! I think he recorded a few other albums as well, though I haven't tracked them down yet...

Darryl DuGosh "Extraordinary..." (American Kountry Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Rudy Gray, Bob Bruce & Bruce Greenberg)
The debut (and lone?) album by Texas fiddler Darryl DuGosh, who was a teen prodigy and a state championship winner whose musical career got sidelined by a motorcycle accident while he was still in high school, though he managed to make this album after his recovery. He's backed here by a bunch of San Antonio locals, but what really caught my eye was the backup singers, who included a gal named Susie Jenson and top forty veterans Dottsy and Barbara Fairchild. DuGosh also went to Nashville with his dad and cut a couple of singles, but he seems to have dropped music in favor of barrel racing horsemanship... That led to problems as well, though, when he had another accident in 2009 while riding that led to another long recuperation. (He seems to have gotten through it, though, posting YouTube riding videos over a decade later... As far as I know, though, this was his only album.)

Duke And The Drivers "Cruisin' " (ABC Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Eddie Kramer)

Duke And The Drivers "Rollin' On" (ABC Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Deke Richards)
Fake hippie country from a Boston-based longhair boogie band... Actually, it's not country at all, more like latter-day whiteboy boogie rock/R&B, along the lines of the Blues Brothers, but for some reason the band chose to record in anonymity, with the cover art looking like a parody of the CB-trucker fad that was then current in the country charts... Doesn't have much to do with the music on the album, though, which is pretty spazzy and unremarkable. I guess if I'd been really drunk or doing a lot of coke back in the '70s, this would seem like fun music to party to, but several decades later, it doesn't seem like much to cheer about. Note to country fans: don't fall for the packaging -- this ain't got no twang.

Okie Duke "The Songs And Singings Of Okie Duke" (Ovation Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Brian Christian, Dick Schory & Ron Steele)
Weird, kitschy, way over-the-top 'Seventies pop-novelty material... I guess this review is primarily meant as a warning sign to twangfans: despite the country-sounding monicker "Okie Duke," and despite the Ovation label's later association with country music, this is basically a manic and rather insincere-sounding misappropriation of contemporary late-'60s soul music. I think they were aiming for a Tony Joe White-ish swamp-pop vibe, but it's a little bit more like Forrest Gump doing an Arthur Conley tribute show. A lot of talent on here -- most notably guitarist Phil Upchurch -- but to what purpose? It's hard to tell if this was pop parody or just truly tragic... Okie Duke was one of several pseudonyms for keyboardist Frank ("Duke") Kish (1941-2020) a New Jersey lounge musician who also recorded an amazingly awful late-'70s instrumental tribute to Elvis Presley using the name Farley Parkenfarker, and about a decade after that produced and played on a notoriously terrible custom-press country album by a guy named Earl Edwards Junior (Duke again?) Honestly, I don't know what this guy's deal was, but certainly on this album he seems to have had slightly cynical motivations... or maybe he just wasn't that self-aware to begin with? It's pretty terrible, really, but I can see how people would enjoy this in a so-bad-it's-good kinda way. Sadly missing from this LP is his contemporaneous single, the the ultra-unconvincing whiteboy swamp-pop soul tune, "Ain't No Color To Soul," which if you've heard it more or less covers the breadth of what Mr. Duke had to offer. Anyway, this ain't country.

The Dumplin' Valley Boys "Welcome To Dumplin' Valley" (19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Elmer Cole & Jim Stabile)
I'm not sure if "Dumplin' Valley" is an entirely real place, but there is a Dumplin' Valley Road a few miles out of Knoxville, Tennessee, and apparently that was the stomping grounds of this amiable country gospel band. They were cowboy hatted twangsters who played with steel guitar and an all-gospel repertoire that includes a half-album's worth of original compositions by Kyla Rowland, and one by Eulalia Martin, neither of who were in the band, but I imagine they were friends or relations...

Gary Dunbar "Lonely Song" (North Country, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Dunbar)
Kind of folkie sounding, but with pedal steel, and country-themed lyrics... This record has an odd origin, tracing back to a Grand Rapids, Michigan rock group called Band X, who "went country" and changed their name to North Country in 1971. Dunbar was a friend of the band who kind of inherited their name, and a couple of guys from the original group -- Jay Fortier and Roger Tarczon -- backed him on this record...

Billy Duncan "Loving You" (Ludwig Sound, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Melder)
I think this guy was from Houston, Texas, although I haven't found out much about the where, when or how of this record. Notably, Randy Cornor played guitar on this album, and seems to have written a bunch of original material as well... Other than that, a mystery. Any info is welcome!

Billy Duncan "Time Won't Wait" (Lovin' Country Record Company, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Louie Guzik & Tommy Melder)
Same guy? If so, he seems to have been from Houston, though this was recorded in Nashville. The band included Davis Ray Bates on drums, Ken King (bass), Travis Smith (lead guitar), and Jim Owen playing keyboards... The repertoire includes a bunch of originals, with a couple by Dan Mitchell, John W. Gostick and Richard Moreland, as well as one by Mundo Earwood, who was possibly Duncan's Nashville connection.

Johnny Dunn "Sweet Lies" (F & L Records, 1980-?) (LP)
(Produced by Hank Strzelecki)
Studio professional Hank Strzelecki was the driving force behind this album, arranging and producing the sessions, playing bass and contributing a couple of his own songs. In addition, he provides two tunes by writers using Strzelecki's publishing company, including one by Donald Vince, a friend of Johnny Dunn's who set the singer up with Strzelecki... There are also three songs written by Sid Linard, who was riding the wave of his anti-Iranian novelty songs, "A Message To Khomeni," which thankfully was not covered here. He's backed by an all-star studio crew: Tommy Allsup, Phil Baugh, Buddy Emmons, Lloyd Green, Hargus Robbins, Dave Kirby, Buddy Spicher... alla them guys. The liner notes mention Dunn flying down from "the windy city," so I guess he was from Chicago... anyone know for sure?

Frank Durbin "Originals: Swingin' Country" (Merryman Records, 1969-?) (LP)
Guitarist Frank Durbin was an unreconstructed hillbilly twangster, born in Ohio County, Kentucky, a comedic singer with a taste for gangly, uptempo novelty numbers reminiscent of Grandpa Jones or Porter Wagoner, but with plenty of electrified twang. He's backed on this all-original album by several local teens from Limestone high school in Bellvue, Illinois -- Terry Henderson (bass), Tim Rudd (drums), and Doug Walraven playing organ. The album also mentions guitarist and comedian Big Ben, and many of the songs are co-credited to Big Ben, although that may have been some kind of alter-ego for Durbin. Not a ton of info about this guy, but the music is fun!

Bull Durham "Songs Of SACk" (Sergeant Major Records, 1964) (LP)
(Produced by William D. Halford)
An entire album of topical songs about the Strategic Air Command? You betcha! And it's country music, too? Yup. A veteran Air Force pilot who flew in both the Korean War and Vietnam, James P. "Bull" Durham (1927-2004) also had a knack for songwriting and performance. He recorded this Cold War classic at Gold Star Studio in Houston, Texas, presumably while stationed in the Lone Star State; the record was commissioned by the Air Force Sergeants Association, in San Antonio. The liner notes tell us that some of the musicians backing him were veterans of WWII and the Korean War, a crew that included banjo player E. V. Buckingham, A.E. Christopher on fiddle and mandolin, bass player Dave Hall, and Tim Woods on drums. Picker Carl Whitley also backed Durham on some of his later recordings, playing both lead guitar and steel. Legend has it that the commander of SAC commissioned both the album and the band, and assigned Durham to tour various Air Force bases as sort of an in-house USO band. Many of the songs are parodies of folk and country oldies, such as "Hang Down Your Boom Ross Cooley" or "Home On The Pad," as well as "The Crew That Never Returned," a send-up of the Kingston Trio's "MTA." Other originals take aim at the Strategic Air Command, or SAC. which was responsible for maintaining America's nuclear first strike capacity, starting with B-52 bombers and spanning into the era of ICBM missiles. Perhaps the album highlight is "No SAC Crew Members Down In Hell," which compliments several other SAC-specific novelty numbers. Born in Kentucky, and stationed all over, Durham settled down in Tennessee in his later years, and recorded at least five full albums.

Bull Durham "Songs Of S.E.A." (Durham Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Skip Wilson)
Narrowing his focus to Southeast Asia, Durham sings his praise for the American armed services active in the Vietnam War, which had gotten pretty darn unpopular by the time this album came out. But Jim Durham had flown in this conflict, too, and had some hard-won songs for the Air Force, as well as praise for the Army, the Army medical corps, helicopter pilots and the military air traffic controllers. Several songs take more of a slice-of-life viewpoint, such as "Saigon Girls" -- about pilots going on leave -- and "DaNang Lullaby," cheerful ditty about artillery shelling, a song described in this jaunty liner note, "If there is anything amusing about a rocket attack it is afterwards when you are back home in the States, and hear a tire blow out, and start looking for a bunker." Ah, the good old days, back when PTSD was still a funny story to tell the kids, and not yet an acronym! Durham is backed by Doc Martin on steel guitar and Carl Whitely playing lead -- a couple fo songs are contributed by David McKay (including a Johnny Cash parody called "I Fly The Line") and two others by a guy named Jack Selden, whose apocalyptic nuclear-war ballad, "The Devil Clapped His Hands," rounds this album out.

Bull Durham & The Heard "The Girl I Left Behind" (19--?) (LP)
According to the liner notes, this CD was his fifth recording, with Durham joined by bassist Robin Thomas and guitar picker Jim Cantrell. The repertoire is mostly sentimental honkytonk and heart songs, stuff like "Long Black Veil" and "San Antonio Rose," as well as a whole string of gals-from-exotic-locales -- tunes like "Filipino Baby," "Fraulein,""Geisha Girl," and even some more obscure choices like "Viet Nam Rose." Apparently Durham had settled down in Nankipoo, Tennessee by the time he cut this disc... Not sure, but it might have been recorded in the 2000s.

Sandy Lee Durham "PS: Better Late Than Never" (Ameritone Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Sandy Lee Durham)
Usually on these "private press" records the back-story is a mystery and half the fun is imagining what circumstances were involved when it was made... Here, though, Southern California songwriter Sandy Lee Durham puts it all out there, writing in the liner notes about how he bought two one-way tickets to Nashville for himself and his pal, Fred Cardenas, and headed for Harold Shedd's studio to cut this humble album... The studio crew dutifully made space for Cardenas to add some sometimes-clumsy guitar licks, and Durham himself has a nice, regular-guy voice -- this is a real, live vanity record made by a couple of guys who just wanted to make a record and be able to say they did it... Durham also writes in the liner notes about God and prayer, not in the usual unctuous style of modern-day evangelicals, but rather as a guy who acknowledges his own weaknesses and shortcomings, as a mark of his own frailty and need for love and acceptance. Equally touching is how he writes with great conviction about how he made a real connection with the Nashville studio pickers, and how he was sure they would remember working with him. Who knows? Maybe he's right. (He even includes the lyrics to a song he wrote for Harold Shedd and the Music Mill musicians, though sadly didn't record on this album...) Half the songs are Durham's originals, including a sweet, folkie song dedicated to his son, and there's also an instrumental by Cardenas... The rest of the songs are covers of songs by Jimmy Buffett, Jim Croce and Kris Kristofferson, as well as a nice version of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles. I'm a pretty cynical guy, I guess, but I did honestly find myself charmed by this unpretentious, self-made album... Like a lot of other musicians, Durham and Cardenas bought another pair of one-way tickets back home, but it's nice they made it to Nashville and made the record they wanted to make.

The Durrell Brothers "Rattle My Cage" (Jester Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Hale)
Southern rock... from Montana? Guess so... I'm not sure where these guys were from, but they cut this album at the Jester studios in Billings, MT, with some assist by country producer Bob Hale. The group included brothers Steve and Stormy Durrell, along with keyboardist Mike Black, and Billy Parsons on bass, playing a bunch of original tunes penned by drummer/singer Stormy Durrell. The songs include themes such as "Outlaw Livin'," "Moonshine Man," "Gimme My Rock And Roll," and the title track, "Rattle My Cage," which led to a rather unfortunate album cover with a photo of a desperate, terrified monkey peering through the chain link fence in some grim experimental lab somewhere. Yeeks.

Duster "Live At Weninger's Post House" (Brothers Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Duster)
A Canadian band from Kelowna, British Columbia, playing mainly covers, with some trucker songs in the mix...

Dusty Chaps "Honky Tonk Music" (Bandoleer Records, 1975) (LP)

Dusty Chaps "Honky Tonk Music" (Capitol Records, 1977) (LP)

Dusty Chaps "Domino Joe" (Capitol Records, 1978) (LP)

Dusty Chaps "Honky Tonk Music/Domino Joe" (Zyx Records, 2008)
A CD reissue of two '70s albums from this dimly-remembered, novelty-oriented hippiebilly outfit, Tucson, Arizona's answer to the Lost Gonzo Band... I used to hear a bunch of these songs on the legendary FM freeform station, KFAT -- "Don't Haul Bricks On 66," "Honky Tonk Music," "Too Many Pretty Woman (To Love Just One)" "Keep Your Hands Off Her Stranger," "Chile Today, Hot Tamale" -- and while the lead singer still isn't the most robust vocalist you'll ever hear, this is certainly a singular batch of songs, stuff that only these guys could have come up with, or pulled off so well. Worth checking out, but probably mostly as a nostalgia trip for folks who remember these guys from 'way back when.

Dusty Chips "When The Chips Are Down" (Spencer Alquist Audio Enterprises, 1975) (LP)
Not to be confused with the Dusty Chaps (above) this short-lived trio also hailed from Tucson, but were basically an informal group that played a few coffeehouse and casino gigs and called it quits after a few brief months in 1975. That May, they were in a battle of the bands sponsored by radio station KHOS, and played a finalists' concert that proved to be their swan song. The group was made up of Wayne Glass (guitar) and Tom Ryan (banjo and guitar), with Jay Obenour on bass, and Ruth Glass pitching in on one track, an original number called "Early In The Mornin'." All of this information is included in charmingly earnest, typewritten liner notes, which were printed on a xeroxed sheet that was hand-pasted on the back cover, as was with the equally low-tech cover art. The Chips definitely had a sweet-tooth for novelty numbers, including a trilogy of tunes written by Wayne Glass -- "Double Clutchin' Trucker," "Happy Go Lucky Truck Driver," and "Mother Russian Trucker," and once called "Flushed." According to the liners, this album contains all the songs in their repertoire. I'm not sure if all of these guys pursued music after this adventure, although decades later Tom Ryan was in a contradance band called The Jumping Chollas, which was active in the 2010s.

Dusty Road "Dusty Road" (Thunderbird Recording, 197--?) (LP)
This country-rock trio from Burford, Ontario played plenty of original material written by bandmembers Brian J. Callahan, Leslie Childs and John K. Gulley, including Gulley's "Canadian Cowboy," and one called "Country Pickin' Man," by picker Fred McKenna, who penned the liner notes. Dunno if they made any other albums, though, or exactly when this one came out, though Mr. McKenna passed away in 1977.

Lynn Dvorak "This Is Our Country" (Renee Records, 1980-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bud Comte & Bob Palensky)
A ton of country covers by a young-ish fella from Norfolk, Nebraska. Multi-instrumentalist Lynn Dvorak primarily played keyboards, though also lists bass, rhythm guitar, and trombone as part of his balliwick... He's backed by drummer Larry Balaski, Dick Hitchcock (on lead guitar and pedal steel), and bassist Larry Harris. As far as I can tell, this was their only record.

Dyan & Parker "Where Do We Go From Here" (1981) (LP)
(Produced by John Black & Gary Heil)
I'm taking the bullet for you guys on this one... Consider yourself warned. Despite the groovy rural album art, this is a truly appalling album, the trainwreck-y kind of trainwreck that the more cynical among us imagine all "private press" albums sound like. There's not a lot of info out there about the Minnesota duo of Dyan Peterson and Jon Parker, who created this lone album filled with all-original material, more than half of it written by Ms. Peterson. It was recorded in St. Paul with help in the studio from a pair of capable multi-instrumentalists Randy Amborn and Gary Heil, who play the guitars, banjo, dobro, steel and whatnot, with the rest of the sound filled-out by a string section, as well as brass and wind instruments. That last bit may sound a little scary from a twangfan's perspective, and indeed, there is reason to be afraid. Now, you folks know that I am not one of those sneering hipsters who like to make fun of supposedly "bad" records, but I gotta be honest: this one is not very good. Neither Dyan nor Parker were particularly strong vocalists, and amazingly they sounded even worse when they tried to sing together. It took a while to pick out the problems... At first I thought they were both tone-deaf, but then I realized they could sing in tune, they just had limited range and simply didn't compliment each other that well. He's okay, I suppose -- just a dude with an okay-sounding deep voice who penned a few dude-ly, alcohol-oriented novelty songs that are pleasantly unpretentious in their scope, very much in contrast to her more overly-ambitious, pop-oriented numbers. I suppose Dyan had a fair amount of vocal range, though her phrasing is off and I am not a big fan of that style of folkie, Judy Collins-ish trilling. She also steps all over him on several duets, most notably on like "Flat Broke Blues," where he was doing just fine before she showed up to add some truly awful, unnecessary counterpoint, or on his "Take Me As I Am," which sounds like a Jack Blanchard/Misty Morgan outtake. On the flip side, when Parker backs her on her songs, he just sounds adrift -- ill-matched, unable to keep up, and like he was dubbed in from another continent. After a while I started hearing him as Will Ferrell doing a lounge act parody, which helped. The albums modest highlights are two straight country tunes where Ms. Peterson does not intrude -- "Bellies To The Bar" and "Minnesota (Beer Drinkin') Summer" -- they may redeem this disc, but really this is one of those embarrassing albums where I dread having my wife walk in while I'm listening and having her tell me the time has come to get rid of my record collection. Still, if you're looking for records to make fun of, this one's a doozy. (Also of interest, a couple of tracks feature bass playing by J. D. Shug, a Great Lakes local who recorded an album of his own in '82...)

Jerry Dycke "Memphis Country" (Aries Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Knox Phillips)
Singer Gerald Dyche (aka Jerry Dyke, or Jerry Dycke) was a kid from Auburn, Kansas -- near Topeka. As a teen he appeared on the Brush Creek Follies hillbilly variety show in Kansas City, and tried his hand at both country and pop material at the start of his career. He cut his first single in 1958 while still in college, recording a couple of songs written by local deejay Bob Bobo and went on to record sporadically over the years. In the late '60s he recorded at Sun Records, and during the '70s and early '80s cut several records for the Nashville indie, Churchill Records, grazing the back end of the Top 100 a couple of times in 1980-81. Although he was born in the Midwest, Dycke moved to Fort Myers and became known as a Florida-based artist. This disc was recorded in Memphis, with a very interesting studio crew: songwriter Paul Craft plays guitar, as does Sandra Rhodes, who is better known as a backing vocalist. Dycke also sings one of Craft's songs, a novelty number called "You Went Out Of Your Way (To Walk On Me)," as well as one of his own originals, "A Little More, A Little Less," along with a slew of groovy tunes by the likes of Glen Campbell, Dallas Frazier and Charlie Rich, and even one by future Nashville mogul, Allen Reynolds, and a sitar-ish groover called "Billy Lee's Country Band," written by John Phillips of the Mamas & Papas. Apparently Dyche recorded with Sun Records from roughly 1968-73, with this disc as the capstone of that era.

Jerry Dycke "I Never Said Good-Bye" (Aries Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Ed Penny, Charlie Bragg & Jim Williamson)
This album was recorded in Nashville, with studio pros such as Hargus 'Pig' Robbins and Charlie McCoy in the band. The album features four songs written by producer Ed Penny, while Jerry Dycke contributes one original song of his own, "Daddy Played Harmonica," which turned out to be one of his two entries into the Billboard charts. (The other song, "Beethoven Was Before My Time," is not included on this album, and may have come out only as a single...)

Connie Dycus "Let Ole Lonesome In" (Country's Finest Disc Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Wayne Raney, Harry Glenn, Rose Maddox)
Originally from down south, Connie Dycus (1930-1978) was born in Tennessee, grew up in Arkansas and moved up north to Flint, Michigan where he was a country deejay and hosted his own TV show, while also working a day job at a General Motors factory... Dycus was a first-generation rockabilly/rock'n'roll star, recording tracks with Jim Minor and as a solo artist -- in 1958, he cut a single for Mercury Records, "Rock-a-Bye-Baby Rock"/"Mind If I Cry" and recorded steadily through the early '60s, releasing singles on a variety of small local labels, including Wayne Raney's Rimrock Records. Raney also produced this early 'Seventies LP, which was partly made up of late 'Sixties recordings, and has a bouncy, novelty feel, equal parts Bill Carlisle and Buck Owens. Great stuff, with plenty of twang. Dycus wrote ten of the twelve songs on here, and covers the Merle Travis oldie, "Dark As A Dungeon," which was also released as a single on Rimrock. Dycus eventually moved back to Arkansas, and passed away later in life.

Frank Dycus "International Blues" (Great Music Productions, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Eddy Fox, Al Gore, Thomas Haglung & Stig Wiklund)
Though born in Kentucky, songwriter Frank Dycus (1939-2012) seems to have mainly recorded for a European audience, as seen by these two albums released on Swedish labels. He was also the focus of a tribute album by Swedish outlaw singer Red Jenkins, and worked with many of the same producers and musicians as Jenkins and his band. Most of the tracks on this album were recorded in Stockholm, though a few were cut in Nashville with a usual-suspects American crew that included Dave Kirby, Buddy Spicher and Hargus Robbins

Frank Dycus "Honky Tonk Crazy" (Sonet Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Cannon & Jimmy Darrell)
This album was recorded in Tennessee with an all-American band -- Buddy Cannon, Sonny Garrish, Fred Newell, Bruce Watkins and others -- though, again, the record was released on a Swedish label... Not sure to what extent Mr. Dycus also lived or worked there, but he certainly had a strong connection to the Swedish country scene.

Doyle Dykes "Doyle" (Doyle Productions, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Lawson, Donnie Sumner & Doyle Dykes)
Christian country, with most of the songs on here originals written by Doyle Dykes, a hotshot guitar picker from Jacksonville, Florida with a background in the Southern Gospel scene, notably having toured with the Stamps Quartet back in the day. Interesting cast of characters here, with Mr. Dykes playing guitar and banjo, Beegie Adair on piano, Mike Davis (harmonica), Paul G. Franklin (dobro and steel guitar), Buster Phillips (drums), Billy Reynolds (drums), Mike Severs (guitar) and Steve Wariner on bass. Of course, Wariner became a big top forty star, but he did a lot of session playing in the late 'Seventies, before he made it big, usually along with Mike Schrimpf, who also plays on this album. Pianist Bobbe Gorin ("Beegie") Adair was married to another Nashville session player, jazz guitarist William Adair; also on this album is Brent Rowan of the Rowan Brothers, among other additional side players.

Doyle Dykes "I'm Gonna Play My Gold Guitar In Heaven" (Doyle Productions, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Lawson, Donnie Sumner & Doyle Dykes)
I'm actually not sure which of these albums came out first, though it's possible they were recorded at roughly the same time, as they feature pretty much the same core group of musicians. The band includes Doyle Dykes on guitar and banjo, Beegie Adair (piano), Mike Davis (harmonica), Paul Franklin (dobro and steel guitar), Billy Reynolds (drums), and Steve Wariner on bass. More Christian country, with most songs originals penned by Doyle Dykes... He continues to record as a solo artist for years to come, well into the CD era, including both secular and religiously themed guitar albums, and of course he did a lot of session work as well...

Bob Dylan "John Wesley Harding" (Columbia Records, 1967)
(Produced by Bob Johnston)
It's pretty hard -- and maybe a little silly -- to try and pin down when Dylan "started" playing country music, since he's always been such an eclectic and innovative songwriter, and there's never been as much distance between "folk" and "country" as many people think. Anyway, this album is notable for some session cut in Nashville with session players such as Pete Drake and Charlie McCoy, and while it's hardly "a country record," the twang is definitely there. People love this record, though personally I never need to hear "All Along the Watchtower" again, in any version, and as a country fan, I find Nashville Skyline (below) to be an infinitely more satisfying album.

Bob Dylan "Nashville Skyline" (Columbia Records, 1969)
(Produced by Bob Johnston)
Dylan seems to have liked being in Nashville, and he went back to record another album there, arguably better and more concise -- a real gem. This album boasts several classic tracks, notably "Lay Lady Lay" and the sublime "Girl From The North Country," which features harmony vocals by Johnny Cash, an establishment rebel who championed Dylan's songs at a time when conservative Nashville viewed him as a leftie longhair, and certainly not a source of good songs. Their duet isn't musically cohesive, but it has a beautiful, joyful feel and was certainly historic, with Cash annointing Dylan with country cred and Dylan bringing the Man In Black to the attention of the hippie hipoisie. Backed by several of the same studio pickers as John Wesley Harding, Dylan seems in really good mood -- relaxed, open-hearted, playful -- and the studio pickers sound happy to let their hair down and play some funky riffs for the rock god... It's certainly one of my favorite Dylan albums, and not just because of the twang factor... Recommended!

Bob Dylan "Bootleg Series, v.10 -- Another Self Portrait: 1969-1971" (Columbia Legacy, 1970/2013)
Much reviled, but better than those old hippie-era critics thought it was... I tend to think of Bob Dylan's oft-reviled 1970 Self Portrait album as one of the first records he did where he wasn't trying so hard to prove a point, where he just let go of the rock star thing and followed his own interests as a music fan, rather than as a much-parsed, groundbreaking iconic innovator. That impression is borne out by the release of the tenth volume in his self-curated "Bootleg" series, where outtakes and demos from those sessions reveal just how deeply he was getting into reconnecting with his simpler folkie roots. There are alternate versions of songs that appeared on the album, as well as a number of tracks that were recorded at the same time, but not included in the final 2-LP set. A lot of these are straight-up folk songs, chestnuts like "Pretty Saro" and "Railroad Bill," as well as a demo version of the old murder ballad, "Little Sadie," which did make it onto the album, albeit in souped-up form. What I hear in these sessions is Dylan the flashy, genre-busting songsmith going back to the well, relaxing a little, taking the time to actually enjoy the kind of music that originally inspired his love of folk music, and using that experience to propel himself forward. Many of these tracks are just Dylan and acoustic guitarist David Bromberg farting around and jamming, alternating between goofiness and sincerity, but palpably having fun with the music. You can sense, as well, that while he's pickin' and singin' these old-fashioned hootenanny tunes, Dylan's subconscious mind is moving along a little further down the line; while he relaxes and takes the pressure off, the familiar old melodies quietly open up new creative paths -- you can also sense that Bromberg knew this as well, and was just there to give Dylan the kind of unfussy, unhurried accompaniment he needed at the time. It's a fascinating aural document: Self Portrait was panned at the time, and though it's retroactively gained a loyal following, it still remains one of his lesser albums. For my money, these demos and outtakes supersede the studio album, revealing the richer emotional undercurrent to a record that many perceived as a pointed rejection of fame and the expectations pressed upon Dylan by his critics and his fans. These sessions show something else: a musician rejecting the pressures of celebrity so that he could simply enjoy music again.

Bob Dylan "Blood On The Tracks" (Columbia Records, 1975)
(Produced by Bob Dylan)
This is my number one, all-time, mostest favorite Bob Dylan record ever, an immensely rewarding album that keeps standing the test of time, again and again and again. Dylan is fully committed to this set -- he's vibrant, intense, alive, playful and acidic, and concise in a way he hadn't been in years. The disc is packed with classics and indeed there isn't a bad song on here, although some songs, like "Simple Twist Of Fate," "Shelter From The Storm" and "Buckets Of Rain," grow easier on the ears as time goes by... Twangfans will note the talents of Buddy Cage, Peter Ostroushko and Eric Weissberg on here, amid a phalanx of talented players, all completely on the same wavelength as Dylan and working in harmony to give this record its cohesive, perfect feel. Highly, highly recommended.

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