Holiday Music | Other Country Styles

The Rader Family "Some Sweet Day" (Ocean Opry Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Rader & Dennis Rader)
The Rader Family was a gospel-and-oldies band led by patriarch Wayne Rader (1936-2015) a Missouri native who owned an appliance store in Wichita, Kansas, but found himself drawn to show business after managing a gospel quartet called the Riverside Boys, which featured his sons, Billy and Dennis. The Raders also recorded as an ensemble for a small gospel label in Cincinnati, and having dipped their toes in the entertainment world, they jumped into it whole hog in 1978 when they moved to Panama City, Florida and created their own, family-run country music venue. The first Ocean Opry show debuted in August, 1978, kicking off a multi-decade, multi-generational enterprise, with the venue finally closing in 2005 when Wayne Rader and his wife Patsy retired. One of many souvenir records they produced, this all-gospel album featured the Rader brothers backed by Mark Dene on harmonica, Calvin Gann (piano), Charlie Gilley (steel guitar), and Mike Latourette on drums, with the brothers each playing multiple instruments. Many of their other albums also included gospel material, along with covers of contemporary secular hits and oldies.

Ed Raetzloff "It Took A Long Time To Get To You" (Newpax Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Aune & Joe Wilson)
Christian country-rock with some fancy pickers on the sessions... Ed Raetzloff was formerly lead singer for the group Blue Jug, and brings that secular band's southern rock sound into the CCM movement, carving out a new career in the Christian music scene. The gruff, bluesy twang is an interesting twist, though the sometimes-clunky lyrics suffer (as gospel rock often does) from the need to explain his conversion and preach about it to others -- perhaps not the easiest thing to express artfully. At any rate, an interesting mix of sensibilities, groundbreaking at the time.

Ed Raetzloff "Drivin' Wheels" (Newpax Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Turley Richards)

Del Raines & Bert Raines "Great Nashville Sounds Of Gospel Music" (Skyland Records, 19--?) (LP)

Wayne Raney "16 Radio Gospel Favorites" (Starday Records, 1960)
Classic material, including the zippy novelty song, "We Need A Lot More Of Jesus (And A Lot Less Rock 'N Roll)" as well as a slew of religious standards, sung in Raney's trademark high-octane hillbilly style.

Wayne Raney "Gathering In The Sky" (Rimrock Records, 19--?) (LP)
A gospel/sentimental set reflecting Raney's old-time, backwoods roots... As with the album above, these may have been re-released King recordings.

The Rangers "I Believe" (Power Pak Records, 19--?) (LP)

The Rangers "Better Than Ever" (Trail Records, 198--?) (LP)

Rarely Herd "What About Him" (Pinecastle Records, 1997)
This bluegrass gospel album is a little too folkie and polite for me... It's heartfelt as can be, but there's not enough of a high lonesome feel here for me to be drawn in. Still, for folks looking for new material, stuff that breaks out of the traditional country gospel canon, this may offer some inspiring original material.

Marty Raybon "What I Came Here To Do" (CBUJ Records, 2008)
An all-gospel set featuring the former lead singer of the vocal group Shenandoah...

Marty Raybon "...And Full Circle" (Synchord Records, 2009)
(Produced by Marty Raybon)
Shenandoah's old lead singer is one of many Nashville ex-chart-toppers who have gone indie in the 21st Century... Here he's still mixing bluegrass with acoustified country ballads and heartfelt gospel -- and it sounds pretty good! A strong song selection with solid picking behind him. Raybon's voice ain't what it used to be, but it sounds fine on the uptempo numbers, and his old-man grit'n'growl sounds pretty authentic. Fans'll be happy, and skeptics might be surprised.

Collin Raye "The Power In You" (StarPointe Records, 2008) (CD & DVD)
A live contemporary gospel recording made with the Salt Lake City Symphony...

Susan Raye "Hymns" (Capitol Records, 1973) (LP)

Rebe And Rabe "If I Can Just Make It In" (Linda Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Kenny Wallis)
Revin "Rebe" Gosdin (1924-1978) and Auburn J.C. "Rabe" Perkins (1923-2005) were an old-timey gospel duo from Alabama, modeled on the Blue Sky Boys and the Louvins. The pair met while working in a local cotton mill, and began performing professionally in the 1930s and '40s. For many years they had a show on radio station WVOK, Birmingham as well as on WBAM in Montgomery, where Gosdin also had a day job in the early 1960s. They recorded prolifically for a while, but gradually gave up their music career, several years before Gosdin passed away. They continued to perform and record together sporadically; an early 'Seventies reunion included an appearance at Bill Monroe's fabled Bean Blossom Festival. This album includes Rebe Gosdin on mandolin and Rabe Perkins on guitar, as well as Wayne Cobb Jr. (drums), Buddy Davis (guitar), Junior Maharrey (bass) and John Probst playing piano. [Also of note is Gosdin's nephew, honkytonk balladeer Vern Gosdin, who became a chart-topping country star in 1970s and '80s.]

The Redeemed "Hallelujah" (Lasting Sound Studio, 1984-?) (LP)
Buoyant, hyper-rural harmony singing by a church band from Rogersville, Tennessee... The band centers around a vocal quartet led by the pastor of the Spires Chapel Baptist Church, Reverend John North (bass vocals), joined by Mike Davis (baritone), Donnie Sizemore (lead vocals) and alto Lora Mease, who has a fiery, Tanya Tucker-ish feel. Modest, efficient musical backing is provided by Alan Cross on bass, Mike Davis playing piano and rhythm guitar, and lead guitarist Chuck Tipton, who also adds some mournful harmonica. They have a surprisingly gritty, antiquated vocal sound for a group recording in the mid-1980s, working in the old-shcool shape-note/primitive call-and-response tradition that bluegrassers such as Ralph Stanley and later Ricky Skaggs kept alive in 1990s and beyond. Nice stuff.

The Redeemed "Open The Window" (Tri-State Recording Company, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Salyer)
Largely the same lineup, though Chuck Tipton is replaced by Bobby All on vibraphone and lead guitar...

Joe Reed "One More Time" (House Top Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by James Barden & Al Snelling)
Slick, over-orchestrated pop-country gospel from former pro football quarterback Joe Reed, whose second-act recording career veered into the religious music field. My eye was drawn to this album's wealth of top-flight Nashville talent -- folks like Lloyd Green, Ron Oates, Billy Sanford and Reggie Young -- but the results are bland and uninspiring, more of a Contemporary Christian production than country gospel. Nothing here I cared about. One note of interest, though, is the lineup of backing vocalists, which included Ginger Holliday, a pre-fame Janie Fricke, and most intriguingly, singer Lynda K. Lance, who sort of fell off the map in the early 'Seventies, but apparently was doing studio work later in the decade, and seems to have married Ron Oates (she's listed here as Lynda K. Lance Oates.) Twangfans can skip this one, though.

John Reedy & Frances Reedy "Classic Recordings Of Early Country Gospel" (Yazoo/Gusto Records, 2022)
A husband-wife team originally from Harlan County, Kentucky, John William Reedy (1918-1983) and Frances Reedy moved to Dayton, Ohio and were members in good standing of the Cincinnati/Dayton Appalachian/hillbilly musical diaspora. They recorded a string of bluegrass-gospel singles for labels such as Ark Records, Jaylyn, Jewel and Starday, as well as several they self-released on their own private imprint. This 2-CD set gathers all that material, which includes several songs that became country-gospel standards: according to the liner notes, they wrote the southern gospel standard "Somebody Touched Me"(!) and were credited as the source where bluegrass elder Ralph Stanley learned one of his signature songs, "Oh, Death." Great collection -- an invaluable archive of long-lost but foundational rust-belt gospel twang.

Jimmy Reesor & Orchestra "Easy Coffee Cup" (Wax Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Larry Benson)
A mix of gospel originals and country covers... Songs include some overt gospel tunes ("Lord Jesus Lives," "Abraham To Be Free," both written by Reesor) and many straight country covers: "Sunday Morning Coming Down," Harlan Howard's "Busted," "Green Green Grass Of Home" along with a couple of other Reesor originals, "Bright Side Of The Sun" and the colorfully titled "Television Atom Bomb." Reesor was originally from Bismarck, North Dakota, where as a teen he recorded a rock single called "Streak Of Lightning," before decamping to Nashville in 1962... He apparently had a staff writing job at House Of Cash for a while, but as far as I know, this was his only secular album.

Jimmy Reesor & Orchestra "Reesor Communicates" (Christian Folk Records, 19--?) (LP)

Del Reeves "The Little Church In The Dell" (United Artists, 1967) (LP)

Del Reeves "Gospel" (King Records, 1996)

Del Reeves "I'm Gonna Sing My Songs For Jesus" (King/Gusto, 2007)

Jim Reeves "God Be With You" (RCA Victor, 1959) (LP)

Jim Reeves "We Thank Thee" (RCA Victor, 1962)

Jim Reeves "Twelve Songs Of Christmas" (RCA Victor, 1963) (LP)

Jim Reeves "Best Of Sacred Songs" (RCA Victor, 1974) (LP)
This posthumously released LP draws on material from the albums God Be With You and We Thank Thee.

Jim Reeves "All-Time Gospel Favorites: The Encore Collection" (BMG Special Products, 1997)
Interestingly enough, this CD release also selects songs from the albums God Be With You and We Thank Thee, but it's largely different material than the earlier LP listed above.

John Reints "Down Home Gospel" (Rite Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Burkhardt & Dan Burton)
All but one of these songs are originals written by Mr. Reints, with the lone exception being a Loretta Lynn song, "Where I Learned To Pray." He was backed by the in-house band at Rite Records, a small group including drummer Kenny Bobinger, Dan Burton (keyboards), Dennis Herrel (bass), Chuck Rich (steel guitar) and Gary Smith playing lead guitar. Alas, the liner notes don't tell us where Reints was from, though since he was recording at the Rite Records studio, he could have been from about anywhere in the upper Midwest. (There was a Christian musician named John Reints who played at an evangelically-themed coffeehouse in Beloit, Wisconsin who seems like a good candidate, but so far no solid connection has been found to this album...)

Lawrence Reynolds - see artist profile

Kimmie Rhodes "Rich From The Journey" (Jackalope Records, 2000)
An all-gospel/spiritual album... Although the wide-eyed, dewily optimistic, religious slant may make some folks uncomfortable, it has to be said this record has some of Rhodes' finest singing, with a light, Emmylou Harris-like lilt on many of the tunes... Indeed, twangfans who've enjoyed some of Emmylou's later work, albums such as Wrecking Ball, et. al., might really like this as well. Many of the songs have a similar glossiness and expansive feel; personally I'm not into that aspect of this album, but there are a couple of simpler songs that I did like, notably "Big Ol' Train" and "God's Acre," which features guest appearances by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The songs are all Rhodes originals, notable for their non-Jesus-specific, nondenominational approach -- it's a celebration of life, and of life's unseen beauties. Might not be for everybody, but if you're on its wavelength, this is a very rewarding record.

The Rhythm Masters "Daddy Sang Bass" (AR Co. Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Producer not listed)
Formed in 1967, this Cincinnati-based gospel group went through a few changes in lineup over the years, but on this (early '70s?) offering, three original members were still present: Dan Hubbard, Grady Nix and Bill Phelps, along with newer members Buddy Liles and Carrol Rawlings. Fans of the Southern Gospel incarnation of the Oak Ridge Boys (or the Statesmen, Blackwood Brothers, et.al.) Despite the Johnny Cash cover, their rugged-sounding name and the groovy bell-bottoms, though, this disc is probably of limited interest to country fans -- not much twang, though some nice harmony vocals.

The Rice Kryspies "A Reason To Believe" (Tortilla Records, 1970) (LP)
This was the second album from this San Diego bluegrass-folk family band, made up of brothers Jim, Joe and Wayne Rice, (on guitar, mandolin and banjo, respectively) as well as Wayne's wife Marci, who played bass and sang harmony. They saw themselves as a Christian group, though they made a concerted effort to appeal to a wider audience, and recorded mostly secular material, peppered with a few Jesus tunes here and there. The band formed in the early '60s as part of San Diego's folk revival scene, though they were still in their teens and early twenties when they cut this album: bandleader Wayne Rice was the oldest member at twenty-three, while younger brother Joe Rice was still in high school. Although they only cut a couple of self-released records, the Rices went on to co-found Brush Arbor, one of the most influential country-gospel groups of the country-rock era. On this album, Side One was devoted to secular music, while Side Two was all religious tunes. Bass player Marci Rice quit the group in 1971, and the Rice brothers then merged with members of another SoCal band called the Kentucky Faith, recruiting their singer, Ken Munds, to create a new group which eventually became known as Brush Arbor.

Tony Rice "Crossings" (Mountain Home Records, 1994)
An (almost) all-gospel album by bluegrass superpicker Tony Rice... You know it's gotta be good! Also in the ensemble is Ben Isaacs, of the Isaacs Family gospel band...

Charlie Rich "Silver Lining" (Epic Records, 1976)
(Produced by Billy Sherrill)
A Grammy-winning gospel album... The white soul roots of Charlie Rich seems like a natural match for gospel material, and indeed, these are some pretty swinging versions of old gospel classics such as "Old Time Religion" and "Down By The Riverside," as well as newer, less bedrock tunes, including Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me" (which, arguably, could be seen as a somewhat subversive selection for a project like this...) This is a fun album, although some gospel fans may find Rich's boisterous, slam-bam performances to be a little on the flip side... I don't think he had the same kind of earnest devotion to the church that, say, Elvis did, but he still puts a lot of feeling into the music.

Dave Rich "Ain't It Fine" (Bear Family Records, 1994)
Songwriter Dave Rich was a favorite of RCA head Chet Atkins, but he fell short of big-time success, after having recorded a couple of dozen tracks in the late 1950s, just as rock'n'roll was knocking Nashville for a loop. Rich's departure from the spotlight was due in no small part because just as his career was starting to cook, he got religion and turned his back on showbiz, choosing instead to become an itinerant Pentecostal preacher. This album charts his career from his early hillbilly material -- where he sounds like an odd, interesting cross between Lefty Frizzell and Hank Locklin -- onto his later work where a panicky Nashville tried to repackage him as a teenybopper rockabilly idol. The country material is fun, but the rock-pop stuff falls flat and sounds pretty insincere. It's okay, but not great. The album closes with four gospel songs from Rich's last RCA session, and these songs are actually pretty interesting, original material penned by a soul-searching singer who was trying to sort out his conflicting feelings about material success as opposed to spiritual glory. It's hardly music with great commercial potential, but looked at from the religious side of things, it's kinda cool. Rich, by the way, wrote "Didn't Work Out, Did It," which Don Gibson later recorded, with great success... the original version is included here, and is one of the album highlights.

Dave Rich "Gospel Time" (Mercury/Cumberland Records, 1964) (LP)
Probably one of more noteworthy of the many cheapie-label knockoff albums cranked out by Mercury Records for their folk-era Cumberland imprint, this features former '50s hillbilly/rockabilly singer Dave Rich, who got religion and went Pentecostal around the time this came out, effectively ending his career in the secular scene. Alas, the Cumberland albums didn't credit their studio crews or producers, so there's no way of telling who backed Rich on this disc.

Dave Rich "Soil Brother" (Stop Records, 1968-?) (LP)
A pretty plainspoken, no-frills vocalist, sort of in the Ernest Tubb school, Dave Rich mostly sang covers of hits like "Green Green Grass Of Home" and several by Merle Haggard, as well as one old-school, cornball recitation song, "The Runt." The musical backing is decent -- a good studio crew backing a modest singer -- nothing dazzling, but it's okay.

Dave Rich "Jesus Is A Peaceful Man" (19--?/2010) (digital only-?)
This one's a bit of a mystery disc... if indeed it was ever an actual disc at all! Although the cover art looks like vintage 1960's private label material, this set of music seems to have been released digitally in the 2010s, and was available on a number of platforms. No idea when or where the tracks were first recorded

James (Spider) Rich "The Rich Sound Of Twin Guitars" (True Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Spider Rich & Raymond Rich)
Fancy pickin' and multi-trackin' from longtime Opry guitarist James Q. Rich (1923-2003), who is perhaps best remembered as the co-composer of Boots Randolph's hit instrumental "Yakety Sax," included here as "Yakety Axe." Born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Mr. Rich was kin to the Everly Brothers as well as hillbilly gospel singer Dave Rich, and played in several regional bands while still a teen, before joining the Army and serving in World War Two. After demobilizing, he moved to Nashville where he earned a slot on the Opry stage and became an in-demand picker, touring with Lefty Frizzell and other honkytonk stars. He met Music City legend Chet Atkins in the late 1940s and became a close collaborator with Atkins, who recorded several of Rich's tunes, including his own hit version of "Yakety Axe." This album includes contributions from some family members and fellow Kentuckians he knew in his youth, including Mr. Rich's older brother Raymond and nephew Dave Rich, guitarists Mose Roger and Lindell Russ, and a guy simply called Mac, who played harmonica.

James (Spider) Rich "When They Ring Those Golden Bells" (Rich Tone Records, 197--?) (LP)
A slick, mellow set of gospel instrumentals, strongly influenced by Chet Atkins and his affinity for big band-era pop. Indeed, Spider Rich's pal, Chet Atkins, adds liner notes to the album. Not electrifying, but some pretty classy picking, for sure. Sadly, the backing musicians are not identified.

Larry Richardson "I'm Moving Up Home Some Day" (MKB Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Edmonds)

Larry Richardson "Walking And Talking With My Lord" (1974) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Edmonds)

Larry Richardson "Ship Of Zion" (Life Line Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Edmonds)
An old-school bluegrass original, banjo picker and guitarist Larry Richardson (1927-2007) played with Bill Monroe in the early 'Fifties and was also in the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers along with Bobby Osborne, his songwriting partner on several songs the band recorded 'way back in 1950. Richardson later hosted a TV show in Winston-Salem and -- as the liner notes tell us -- got saved in 1970, thereafter devoting himself exclusively to performing Christian music, although he had already recorded quite a few gospel songs in decades past. Mr. Richardson was born in Galax, Virginia and was living in King, North Carolina when this album came out. His band included Alan Bibey on mandolin, Russell Easter, Jr., fiddler Jimmy Edmonds and Wes Golding on guitar on a rock-solid set. (Thanks to PragueFrank, Bluegrass Today and of course Discogs each for filling in different blank spots.)

Randy Richardson "A Country Called Heaven: Country Gospel Music" (Gospel Media, 19--?) (LP)
Aww. This one was disappointing: despite its proclamations of being a "country" album, this gospel set is mostly just Mr. Richardson strumming solo in a Sunday school folksinger mode, although there is one track, "Shadow Of The Cross," where he imitates the classic 1950's Johnny Cash chunka-chunka rockabilly riff -- other than that, though, it's mostly a folk-guitar style. Half the songs are credited to Richardson, along with covers of songs by Laverne Tripp, Marty Robbins, the Rambos and others. Slightly long-haired, Richardson was a California native living near Sacramento who recorded several albums back in the 'Seventies, and may eventually have had a ministry of his own.

Randy Richardson "Can't Stop Praisin' The Lord" (Gospel Jubilee Records, 1974) (LP)

Riders In The Sky "Land Beyond The Sun" (Riders Radio, 2011)
(Produced by Joey Miskulin)
A nice singing-cowboy gospel album, mining familiar veins of Bob Nolan and other classic western artists, along with a few new originals by Ranger Doug and his posse, with perky guitar, zippy accordion and plaintive harmonies galore. There's a big camp meeting in the sky, and these fellas are gonna be singing around the fire... Saddle up, folks!

Don Rigsby "A Vision" (Sugar Hill Records, 1998)
Sweet, solid bluegrass gospel from one of the remarkably talented members of the Lonesome River Band. This album occasionally drifts into sugary southern gospel-ish territory, but mostly keeps things real. A slew of superpicker pals help out, including J.D. Crowe, Ben Isaacs, Ricky Skaggs, et al. Ralph Stanley takes the lead vocals on a nice version of "Rose Among The Thorns." For those open to gospel material, this is a mighty fine album.

Don Rigsby & Midnight Call "The Voice Of God" (Rebel Records, 2010)
(Produced by Don Rigsby)
A top-flight bluegrass gospel set, with solid picking, sweet high harmonies, and a tremendous song selection. Rigsby hits all the right notes, both literally and figuratively, with a hefty dose of traditional material and standards by the likes of Albert Brumley, but better still he spotlights powerful new material from a troop of great contemporary songwriters, with fine songs such as "Charged With Being A Christian" by Paul Craft, Skip Ewing's modern-themed "The Gospel According To Luke," Phil Wiggins' "Forgiveness" and a few tunes he wrote himself, including "I Am An Orphan Child," which he co-wrote with Gillian Welch. One highlight is Tom T. Hall's "Then Y'ain't," a pithy, pointed calling-out of anyone who uses religion to say they're better, or smarter, or more holy than anyone else: if you do that, then you ain't got it right. A much-welcome message in these times when religious intolerance seems to divide the world, rather than spirituality unite it; balanced by Rigsby's abiding and undeniable faith, it comes through loud and clear. If you like sanctified twang, this is a really strong record.

Jeannie C. Riley "Sings The Gospel" (MCA Records, 1995)

Jeannie C. Riley "Praise Him" (Playback Records, 1996)

LeAnn Rimes - see artist discography

Tex Ritter "Psalms" (Capitol Records, 1958)

Tex Ritter "Lincoln Hymns" (Capitol Records, 1961) (LP)
Not exactly sure what the connection was between the religious material and old Honest Abe... But what the heck! Go for it, Tex!

The (Singing) Roar Family "...With Rev. Ray Anderson" (Victory Records, 1969-?) (LP)
Super-rural, hardcore mountain music by a family band from Piketon, Ohio. The Roars were members of gospel singer Ray Anderson's pentecostal congregation, and Anderson chimes in on this album, apparently helping produce it as well. Their back-to-basics bluegrass shows a heavy debt to truegrass elders such as Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers, but with little of their vocal lightness -- family patriarch Darrel Roar has a deep, chunky voice, real backwoods stuff, with no apologies or attempts to get all fancy or pretty things up; ditto with the female harmony singers who dominate the first half of this album. According to the liner notes, Side One of this album was filled with originals written by various family members (sadly the songs are not individually credited) while Side Two more focussed on more traditional bluegrass material. Along with Mr. Roar on lead vocals and banjo, the group included family members Cledith Roar (his brother?), Sara Roar (wife?) and daughters(?) Brenda, Connie, Phillis (guitar) and Shirley (bass guitar). The family seems to have had roots in Kentucky, though I was unable to determine their exact relations, or what happened to the band. There are a couple of sparse mentions of Darrel Roar preaching in the early 1970s, though only a few. Though crudely recorded, this album features pretty lively performances, particularly the popping banjo riffs, as well as an unidentified mandolin picker who was pretty durn good.

Marty Robbins "What God Has Done" (Columbia Records, 1966)

Betty Jean Robinson - see artist profile

Maggie & Suzzy Roche "Zero Church" (Red House, 2002)
When the Roches hit the folk scene in the 1970s, their style was a bit keening and odd; now the harmonies are smoother and the voices mellowed into simple beauty. Of course, the difference may also have something to do with the nature of the material -- this is an album entirely devoted to spiritual questing, running Judeo-Christian religiosity through the filter of liberal New Yorker culture. Naturally, there's some September 11th-related material as well, although the religious nature of this album was already in the work before the attacks. Anyway, this is a slightly different Roches than you may remember -- musically it's pretty solid, though if you're not into the whole God thing, this might not be for you.

Joe Rogers "Sincerely Yours" (Atronics Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Art Boyd)

Johnny Rogers "Memories" (Trail Records, 1979-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby All & Rick Salyer)
A semi-crypto gospel album, with overt Christian songs such as "His Name Is Jesus" and "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," alongside several Nashville oldies that seem to be recast as sorta-kinda sung to God: "Please Release Me," "Make The World Go Away" and "I Can't Stop Lovin' You." Recorded in Kingsport, Tennessee, this seems to have featured mostly local musicians, or at least lower-rung session players. A special spotlight is thrown on fiddler Elan Lu Chalford, along with Bobby All on guitar, Art Bain (piano), Tim Compton (bass), Randy Manis (drums) and Eddie Tipton playing rhythm guitar.

Kenny Rogers "Across My Heart" (Magnatone Records, 1997)

Tex Rogers & Jimmie Collins "...And Western Gospel Crusaders" (Century Custom Records, 1965) (LP)
A gospel duo with a long, winding road to salvation. Collins and Rogers had both previously worked in secular country, notably with western artists such as Ken Maynard and a band called the Pals Of The Purple Sage. Though born in Pennsylvania, Rogers got his nickname because he grew up near East Texas, Pennsylvania, an oddly-named dot on the map near Allentown; Jimmie Collins was originally from Chilicothe, Missouri, and may have worked in various midwestern and southern bands during his youth. They released this album through a custom press label in Saint Louis, with backing by C. B. Kelton (piano), Dale Sims (bass and fiddle) and guitarist Eddie Suey, and some others who are not identified (a steel player, etc.) Although the album cover says the fellas are "with The Grissom Sisters," this is actually a split LP, with the Grissom Sisters (small town farm gals from Maroa, Illinois) singing on Side One, and Tex and Jimmie featured on Side Two. The connecting tissue here seems to be Mr. Kelton, who had a long-running gig as a lounge musician at a place called the Brown Jug, in Decatur, Illinois, which is due south of the Grissom gals' hometown of Maroa. Eddie Suey also lived in Decatur, and later formed a southern gospel group called the Journeymen with Kelton as his pianist, and later moved to Nashville. Both sides of this disc are quite poorly recorded and mixed, though the tracks with Collins and Rogers have real resonance and a pleasant real-hick gravitas. Authentic as all get-out, really, though maybe not that easy on the ears.

Tex Rogers & Jimmie Collins "...And Western Gospel Crusaders" (Songs Of Calvary, 1969-?) (LP)
On this album, it's just Collins and Rogers singing both as a duo and individually, backed by an entirely different set of musicians, including fellow believers Gene Shelby (on "electric Hawaiian guitar"), Effie Shelby (guitar), Mary Lou Stewart (vibraphone), Royce Collier (bass), and Judith Collier (piano). The label address is from Oakland, California, where I think they were living at the time: the recycled liner notes remind us of Jimmie Collins's born-again conversion in Alameda, CA, back in 1951, eighteen years earlier.

Larry Rollins "Suppertime" (Little Nashville Records, 1977-?) (LP)
I'm not entirely sure, but I think this was the first full LP from Indiana troubadour Larry Rollins, a determined performer who established himself regionally, and led his own band for many years. According to the liner notes, Rollins was born in Norman, Indiana and started singing at school events and local talent shows from a very early age. He led a band in high school, and cut his first single around 1963, when he was still seventeen. Rollins served in the United States Army from 1966-68 and continued to play music while stationed in Europe, then eventually moved back home and settled down in Tampico, IN. He became one of the local country artists in the orbit of the Little Nashville mini-opry and shepherded many local musicians through the ranks of his band. Although he also wrote and sang plenty of secular stuff, this was an all-gospel album, with a slew of classics, including songs from Ira Stanphill, Hank Williams, and several standards from the Stamps-Baxter catalog. The only musicians identified backing him here were a vocal duo, sisters Kathi and Shannon May.

Larry Rollins "Highway To Heaven" (L. R. Records, 1986-?) (LP)
(Produced by Kurt Ericson, Mike Graham & Larry Rollins)
On his second all-gospel album, Larry Rollins covers tunes from Hank Williams, Mosie Lister and classics such as "Where Could I Go," "Daddy Sang Bass," and one called "I Found My Jesus And He Wasn't Even Lost." There are also two originals credited to Mr. Rollins, "Have You Heard About Jesus" and "Highway To Heaven," each one kicking off one of the album sides. The all-locals crew backing him included James Allen on lead guitar, Kenny Aronoff (drums), Lincoln Hamilton (rhythm guitar), Garry Pugh (steel guitar), Tony Reid (fiddle), and Roger Smith on piano, and two groups providing backup vocals, the Stidd Sisters and the Wray Brothers. (Of intense interest is whether these Wray Brothers were the same family group from Arkansas that included siblings Scott Wray and his brother Floyd Wray, who went by Bubba and later became Top Forty star Collin Raye... It's possible they drifted over to Indiana and worked in the Little Nashville scene, but I don't have any evidence -- yet -- that these were the same guys...)

Lulu Roman "Now Let Me Sing" (Rainbow Sounds, Inc., 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Cline & Jim Grier)

Lulu Roman "Hee-Haw's Lulu Sings For Her Friends" (Rainbow Sounds, Inc., 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Grier, David Boothe & Larry Nix)
An admittedly painful album by Hee-Haw cast member Lulu Roman, whose career dates back to the 1950s, when she recorded a string of singles, but failed to click as a headlining artist. Later in life, Roman -- who had a thyroid problem that contributed to her weight gain -- settled into a "fat gal" schtick and played that role for many years on Hee-Haw. Like Johnny Cash before her, Roman struggled with drug addiction and straightened out after she got religion, eventually moving into the Southern Gospel field. This disc is kind of a transitional effort, mixing secular country and pop covers with gospel songs... A Dallas native, Roman drew on local talent such as Smokey Montgomery, steel player Maurice Anderson, bassist Marc Jaco and drummer Perry Skidmore... They deliver a professional, if somewhat by-the-numbers backing, mainly in a soft-sounding post-countrypolitan mode which, if you ask me, doesn't support Roman's rather husky vocals as well as a more robust, uptempo style might have done. The inner gatefold features "scrapbook" backstage photos of a number of huge country stars that Roman had hung out with -- Roy Clark, George Jones, Jerry Reed, Connie Smith and others -- but several self-deprecating comments sprinkled throughout cast a shadow on the project. For example, a picture taken with Tennessee Ernie Ford reads, "Ernie...(and) 16 TONS!!" which strikes me as a little depressing... Overall, body issues aside, this is an okay album, although it didn't really wow me.

Linda Ronstadt "Prayer Circle" (Asylum Records, 1999)

The Rose Sisters "Songs From The Lord Done Country Style" (Horizon Records, 19--?) (LP)
Sisters Charlotte and Fay Rose were born in Murray, Kentucky, though apparently they grew up near Detroit, and were living in Michigan when they cut this album at a studio in Nashville. The disc is packed with all-original material, with all but one song composed by Charlotte Rose, and the remaining number written by Rev. Ray Nahurien, who shared her publishing company. I've only seen and not heard this one, but I suspect there's a strong debt to the Carter Family, what with the autoharp-guitar combo pictured on the back. Not sure if they recorded any other material, but this looks pretty sweet.

Richard Ronsisvalle "Country" (Reality Records, 19--?) (LP)

The Roy-Als "Reach Out Jesus" (19--?) (LP)

The Russell Brothers "Magnify The Lord In Songs" (Jewel Records, 197-?) (LP)

Justin Ryan "Revive Us Again: Timeless Hymns, Treasured Friends" (Mosrite Records, 2008)

Dennis Ryder "Let Me Take You To The Kingdom" (Hosanna Music, 1973-?) (LP)
Longhaired, hippie-era Jesus-freak folk-gospel stuff, recorded at the legendary cult-status studio, Two Dots, in Ojai, California. Mr. Ryder was apparently from the nearby LA suburb of Thousand Oaks, CA.

Hick Music Index