Ben Hall & The Country Drifters "Country Ways And Rockin' Days" (Rollercoaster Records, 1993) (LP)
With a career dating back to the 1940s, Texas radio deejay Ben Hall (1924-2010) branched out into concert performances, forming his own country band which backed him on live, on-air performances on several different stations, and eventually on a live TV show which he hosted for ten years, starting in 1956. Probably the most famous member of his ever-changing bands was steel player Weldon Myrick, who was part of the house band for the TV show, a gig that lasted several years, until Myrick made the leap to Nashville in the early 'Sixties. This disc is packed with tunes that showcase Myrick's early, formative work, including dozens of tunes that Myrick wrote or co-composed. There are also a bunch of tracks recorded before Myrick joined Hall's band, with all the material recorded between 1949-62. Some great, vintage Lone Star twang!
Area Code 615 "Area Code 615" (Polydor Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Kenneth Buttrey, Elliot Mazer & Area Code 615)
A funky, rootsy set of all-instrumental jams by several studio musician heavyweights, including then-ubiquitous superpickers such as fiddler Buddy Spicher, banjoist Bobby Thompson, steel player Weldon Myrick and Mac Gayden on guitar, with Charlie McCoy tootling on the harmonica. It's a loose, good-natured session, with these Nashville virtuosi obviously having a good time jamming together, dipping into bluegrass, baroque pop, and plenty of Southern-style, Muscle Shoals-y rhythm'n'rock. They cover several Beatles songs, perhaps the best of which is a steel-drenched "Hey Jude," take passes at Otis Redding and Bob Dylan, and Thompson plunks out an oddly slowed-down version of "Classical Gas." Some of the most inventive moments come with their covers of traditional bluegrass tunes, perhaps most surprising is on "Lil' Maggie," where Gayden plays some heavy electric guitar, flirting at the edges of the acid rock/proto-metal sound of the time, and Charlie McCoy gets into some gritty Chicago blues riffs ala Little Walter. Who knew he had it in him?? It helps to be a fan of instrumental music to get into this one, but it is a nice chance to hear some Nashville cats let their hair down and play a little rock'n'soul.
Area Code 615 "Trip In The Country" (Polydor Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Area Code 615)
The second AC album feels more forced, less like a laidback jam session and more like an in-studio concoction. There's still certainly diversity: from the big, bright, brash pop-orchestral update of Bill Monroe's "Scotland" that opens this album, to the spacey proto-prog of "Stone Fox Chase," the group moves into a few tracks of outright easy listening, ala Mantovani, and finishes up Side One with a clunky acid-rock number by Mac Gayden called "Gray Suit Men." Their country roots are largely obscured between the Southern-rock electric riffs and the flowery muzak, with the banjo or fiddle drifting out of the haze from time to time, though the best tracks have more of a Muscle Shoals feel than a Nashville tinge. The core group is essentially the same, with the addition of pianist David Briggs, and the set list is almost all original material, in contrast to the covers-heavy first album. But it's pretty kitschy and easy listening-ish, with only one track, Weldon Myrick's robust instrumental, "Welephant Walk," to satisfy twangfans. After this, Mac Gayden took the 615 rhythm section of Kenny Buttrey and Wayne Moss, and founded the rock band Barefoot Jerry, which continued the country-meets-soul vibe going... On this album you can sense their impatience, from the sterile, multi-tracked feel of the songs to the album-art footnote that reads, "Ding Dong The Code Is Dead?" Farewell, too, to the Goodlettesville String Sextet, and to this chapter in country-billy crossovers.
Sonny Burnette/Hal Rugg/Weldon Myrick "Sonny, Hal & Weldon: Steel Guitars Of The Grand Ole Opry" (Mega Records, 1975) (LP)
Weldon Myrick "Pedalman" (Mid-Land Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by DeWitt Scott & Jerry Shook)
Myrick's first proper solo album... These instrumentals deliver plenty of fancy picking, although with covers of material such as Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down The Line," or "Send In The Clowns," you might be forgiven for questioning the overall taste level. But hey, it was the 'Seventies, man. Not surprisingly, the backup band included a lot of other heavyweight players that Myrick had jammed with over the years -- in addition to producer-guitarist Jerry Shook, this disc included pianist David Briggs and Hargus Robbins, and many other A-Teamers.
The Grand Ole Opry Staff Band & The Carol Lee Singers "The Grand Ole Opry" (Woodsmoke Records, 1980) (LP)
I guess this was some sort of house band for one of the Opry's regular venues during the early '80s... The group included Nashville studio pros such as Sonny Burnette, Jimmy Capps, Weldon Myrick and Leon Rhodes, with vocals by a group called the Carol Lee Singers. Hey man, a paycheck is a paycheck!
The Grand Ole Opry Staff Band & The Carol Lee Singers "Showtime" (Woodsmoke Records, 1983) (LP)
Plenty of cover tunes, including some fun singalong songs such as "Take Me Back To Tulsa" and "I'm My Own Grandpa." And if you've ever wanted to hear superpickin' steel player Weldon Myrick step in front of the mic and sing, check him out on their version of "Even Tho." Lots of instrumentals, as well!
Weldon Myrick "Texas To Tennessee" (Woodsmoke Records, 2001) (LP)
(Produced by Kurt Storey)
Weldon Myrick "The Other Side Of Me" (Woodsmoke Records, 2007) (LP)
(Produced by Kurt Storey)
Weldon Myrick & Jimmy Capps "Grand Ole Steel And Guitar" (Woodsmoke Records, ??) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Capps, Weldon Myrick & Ben Hall)
Myrick plays some old favorites, jamming with some of his old Opry Band and studio pals, including A-list guitarist Jimmy Capps, as well as pianist Tim Atwood, Ralph Davis (guitar), Joe Edwards (fiddle), Billy Linneman (bass) and drummer Harold Weakley (drums). I'm not sure of the vintage of these recordings, though it's interesting they were made with Myrick's old boss from his Texas days, Ben Hall. Ronny Light is credited as remastering the tapes, which suggests that these tracks were recorded a while back.
Pedal steel guitarist Weldon Myrick (1938-2014) was one of the most ubiquitous Nashville session players of the 1960s and '70s. Known for his sleek melodic lines -- notably on many of Connie Smith's early hits -- Myrick soon became part of the top-flight "Nashville A-Team," playing on countless sessions alongside the likes of Harold Bradley, Kenneth Buttrey, Jimmy Capps, Johnny Gimble, Charlie McCoy, Wayne Moss, Buddy Spicher and many others. He appears on a bazillion recordings, ranging from the biggest country hits to the most obscure private-press albums. Myrick and several of his fellow A-teamers also formed the band Area Code 615, which represented the hipper end of the late Nashville scene -- the core members of the this group also backed folk and rock musicians such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt when they made their Music City country-rock pilgrimages. Like many steel players, Myrick also recorded his own solo albums, showcasing his technical prowess and strong melodic sensibility. Here's a quick look at his work...
