A California native, cowgal Janet McBride grew up on the East Coast but eventually made her way to Dallas, Texas in the early 1960s, where she recorded for Longhorn Records and sang at label owner Dewey Groom's dancehall of the same name. Like many regional artists, McBride mostly recorded singles, although an early LP recorded with labelmate Vern Stovall was a notable exception... Although she sang straight-up honkytonk and country heartsongs, McBride's real passion was for yodeling, and she took up the banner of earlier western-music gals such as Patsy Montana and Rosalie Allen, yodel-ay-ti-ing her way across the decades, long after the style had died out in mainstream country. In the 1970s, McBride started the Mesquite Opry, a mom'n'pop music venue near Dallas which she ran right up until the end of 1995. Afterwards, she continued to record and tour for many years. Here's a quick look at her career...
Janet McBride & Vern Stovall "Country Dozen" (Longhorn Records, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Dewey Groom)
Also in the orbit of the Longhorn label was California-born cowgal Janet McBride and her husband Claude, who helped write and produce much of the material on this album. Stovall and McBride sing several duets, as well as solo numbers, including a bunch of McBride and/or Stovall originals and a well-chosen cover song or two. Although I found this album thoroughly charming, it must be said that there's a manic, almost desperate tone to most of the tracks, similar to the early stuff Wynn Stewart recorded for Challenge Records around the same time. These folks were West Coasters with twang in their blood, and they were wary of the gooey pop sounds coming out of Nashville, but they also wanted to score a few hits. It perhaps led them to sound a little wobbly or unsure... but if you like nutty old hillbilly country, this could be a very rewarding record. The set includes "If You Don't Know Now," written by ex-rockabilly West Coast twangster Glen Garrison, who went on to record a couple of albums of his own, as well as tunes by Curtis Leach, Freddy Powers and Bobby George (who co-wrote the country classic "Long Black Limousine" along with Mr. Stovall...) Numerous singles were peeled off this album, and both McBride and Stovall cut several singles-only releases as well. All in all, a pretty durn twangy album, definitely worth a spin!
Janet McBride & Dexter Johnson "Yodeling At The Grand Ole Opry" (Cattle Records, 19--?) (LP)
Janet McBride "The Mesquite Opry Presents..." (Cattle Records, 19--?) (LP)
Janet McBride "Yodelin' Jan" (Cattle Records, 1988) (LP)
Janet McBride "The Texas Yodel Lady" (Cattle Records, 1988) (LP)
Janet McBride "Honky Tonk Ballads & Classic Yodeling: 1960-1967" (Binge Disc/Bronco Buster, 2006)
Janet McBride "Happy Yodeling Cowgirl"
Janet McBride "Gospel Country"
Janet McBride "50 Years Of Yodeling With Janet McBride"
Janet McBride "Wyoming Country"
Janet McBride "Still Loving The Ride" (Brookhurst Records, 2009)
(Various Producers)
A yodeling cowgal who's been around for decades, Ms. McBride may be a bit elderly now but is still more full of life than a squad of college linebackers... On this new release she mixes classic ballads, country gospel and cowboy tunes... And she still can yodel up a storm! Those of us used to more youthful (or shall we say, less experienced?) performers might need to readjust our ears a little to appreciate this record. But country fans who have followed the careers of Wanda Jackson, Rose Maddox -- or heck, even Ernest Tubb -- will have learned the pleasures of letting an old-timer stretch out and work their way around a song. Speaking of songs, although this disc includes a bunch of golden oldies, some of the strongest numbers are originals penned by Ms. McBride, such as "I Hate To See A Grown Man Lie," "What's Missing" and "Mama (I Got Here As Fast As I Could)," a nice throwback to the sentimental songs of yore. There are several older recordings on here as well, including two bonus tracks from her first recordings session in 1959, where she was backed by none other than Bakersfield legend Wynn Stewart and his band, with steel player Jim Mooney adding some super-sweet licks. This is a nice introduction to a fascinating artist... I'm gonna have to try and track down some of her 'Sixties stuff as well! (Also check out Janet McBride's website for more information.)
