A Country Band "Music By A Country Band" (Golden Eagle Records, 1973-?) (LP)
Behold: the most generic country record ever made! I couldn't resist. I mean, yeah sure, it cost me fifty-one cents and I was sure it wasn't going to be very good, but how could I pass this one by? This seems to have been a souvenir album made by the Golden Eagle label, which produced several albums in the 1970s which I believe were part of a tourist attraction related to the old steamboat industry... Anyway, turns out this album is actually pretty good -- two young guys picking and singing banjo and guitar in robust, salty renditions of golden oldies from the Antebellum and pre-bluegrass eras, as well as the cowboy-western and white gospel traditions... There's no information at all about who played on this record or when it came out, just the picture on the front (an anonymous group portrait from the 19th Century) and the song titles on the disc -- other than that, it's literally a blank slate. A little diligent research, though, and one discovers that this was the recording debut of guitarist Orville Johnson, who at the time was working on a tourist paddlewheel steamship, the SS Julia Belle Swain, and was an up-and-coming artist in the St. Louis music scene. I still dunno who was playing with him, but when I find out, I'll let you know. It's a nice record: thanks in advance if anyone has any additional info to add!

Geoffrey A "Common Criminal" (19--?) (LP)
Let's continue with a real mystery disc. This is a late 1970s/early '80s mega- ultra obscuro country-rock/AOR private press recording with minimal graphic design -- there's no date, no address, no musician or producer credits, and no composer credits other than "Words & Music by Geoffrey A." written on the inner labels. Songs includes "Common Criminal," "Cowboys Make A Habit Out Of Being On Vacation," "Talking New York City Homesick Blues" and "Wonder In The Morning," but despite the uniqueness of these titles, they don't pop up in copyright archives, so Mr. A (whoever he was) probably just banged the record out and left it at that, without trying to nail down all the legal stuff. Overall, it's a pretty fun record, an ambitious amateur outing with hints of Grateful Dead-ish hippie twang interwoven with more pop-oriented 'Seventies balladry, even a little bit of greasy funk on "Mohammed Cat." It's kinda geefy, but groovy nonetheless. Discogs has the record listed, and some tracks have been posted on YouTube, but nobody seems to know who this guy was or where he was from... Geoffrey, if you're out there, feel free to call!

A Grain Of Salt "Waiting For You" (Salt Lick Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Avedis)
A fairly straightforward bluegrass group from Aurora, Colorado, with a traditionally-oriented, pleasantly melodic repertoire. For some reason they presented themselves as a trio -- Bobby Anderson on banjo, bassist Kenny Pabst and Steve Youngblood on guitar - though they also had "friends" playing on this album, fiddler Susie Nobels and Dan Carter on banjo. Most of the songs are covers. though the originals include "Crying My Eyes Out Over You" by the band's Bobby Anderson, along with the title track, "Waiting For You," from Missouri bluegrasser David Houseman, and "Call Me When You're Lonesome," penned by Kenny Cornell, a songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma who also placed a song on a George Jones album in the 1990s. No date on this disc, but I'd guess it was an early 'Eighties thing, maybe around 1983, judging by the haircuts and clothes.

Les Aanderud & The Country Rock Shop "Simple Lovin' Man" (LEA Productions/Sundance Sounds, 1984).(LP)
(Produced by Les Aanderud & Rick Foltz)
Originally from Minot, North Dakota, singer-guitarist Leslie Aanderud (d. 2012) and his wife Ethel were living in Southern California when they recorded this album. Mr. Aanderud moved to Anaheim in the late '70s to work in the defense industry, but kept together his band after the move. Like many twangsters, Aanderud started out as a rocker: in his teens, he played in a popular late-'60s Texas garage band, The Tracers, which toured regionally and had some local hits, such as their single "She Said Yeah." By the early 'Seventies, though, Aanderud was ready to twang, and started a band called The Country Rock Shop after moving back to North Dakota in 1972. This album is mostly full of original material, with the exception of a few cover tunes, including Leroy Van Dyke's "Auctioneer," "Words" by the Bee Gees, and Marty Robbins' mega-weeper, "You Gave Me A Mountain." Most of the SoCal sidemen are unfamiliar to me, although pedal steel player Blackie Taylor rings a bell... Aanderud's originals include "I Just Can't Stop Myself," "Simple Lovin' Man," "Lonely Eyes," and one called "Country Boogie." As far as I know, this was his only album.

Allen Abajian "Forever And A Day" (White Saddle Music, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Allen Abajian, Jay Lacy, Gary Rowles, Lawrence W. Wendelken)
An all-original set by the self-proclaimed "Armenian Cowboy," Allen Abajian, of Sherman Oaks, California. All the songs were written or co-written by Abajian, some of 'em with his wife Alice Abajian and a few other collaborators. Originally from Chicago, Abajian played folk music as a kid, moved into country, and also moved out to LA, where he became friends with steel player Red Rhodes, who plays on this album and helped steer Abajian's musical career. Abajian later created the stage name "J. D. Allen" (because for some reason people had trouble pronouncing his real name, despite Armenian being a phonetical language) and also performed with his wife Alice using a few different names for their duo. Alice Abajian passed away in 2000, and J. D. Allen shifted gears away from secular country into singing strictly gospel material, albeit with plenty of twang. He's recorded several other albums under that name, including Windy City Cowboy, Out Of Our Hands, and Heaven Is My Home. The tracks on this album seem to have been recorded over the course of several years, at different studios between 1976 and 1985. In addition to Rhodes playing steel on several tracks, the backing musicians included producer Gary Rowles (who made some records of his own) and Herb Pedersen, who sings backup vocals on a track or two.

The Abbey Of South Texas "The Abbey Of South Texas" (Echo Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bubba Perron)
The Abbey was a Texas party band that got together around 1970 and played through the entire decade, breaking up in 1981. The original lineup featured steel guitarist Shorty Heinsohn, Denis Kotara (bass), Rick Kotara (lead guitar), Sammy Morales (guitar), Jeffery Teltschik (keyboards), Jerry Teltschik (drums), and Kurt Warnken on "horns." These Lone Star lads forged an interesting mix of current pop/hard rock hits and country classics... The twangtunes included "Before The Next Teardrop Falls," "Statue Of A Fool," Ray Wiley Hubbard's "Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother," and Lefty Frizzell's "That's The Way Love Goes." This is all balanced by good-timin' rock hits such as "Devil With The Blue Dress," Bad Company's "Movin' On," and ZZ Top's "Tush." Rock on!

The Abbey... Of South Texas "Full House" (Echo Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Bubba Perron)
Half live, half in studio. Side One of the album was recorded in concert at the Golden Stallion nightclub in San Antonio, while Side Two was recorded at the ZAZ Studio under more controlled circumstances. A similar mix of country and rock/pop material, with fist-thumping, booty-shakin' rock hits from folks like Peter Frampton, KC & The Sunshine Band ("Play That Funky Music"), Foghat's "Slow Ride," Steve Miller Band ("Rock'n Me") alongside real-deal country tunes with plenty of Texas twang. Same lineup as above...

The Abbey Of South Texas "Live" (Echo Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bubba Perron)
Their third album was a live set in keeping with their signature mix of frat rock, hip 'Seventies stuff, some soul tunes, and twang. Rock highlights include versions of Frampton's "Do You Feel Like I Do," "Fooled Around And Fell In Love," "Gloria," "Squeeze Box" by The Who, and BTO's "Takin' Care Of Business." The country side is sparser, but still good stuff, represented by Clyde Beavers' "Drunk Again," Merle Haggard's "It's All In The Movies" and Jack Greene's "Two Empty Glasses." One imagines a good time was had by all.

Jim "Ab" Abernathy "Good Timin' Man" (Applause Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Jeff Galey)
In the cosmic contest for the world's all-time biggest fan of Waylon Jennings, rustbelt honkytonker Ab Abernathy is a pretty strong contender. This album, recorded in Mattoon, Illinois towards the tail end of the Waylon & Willie glory years, is basically a Waylon tribute disc, covering a bunch of the biggest, most iconic outlaw hits: "Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys," "Waymore Blues," "Luckenbach, Texas," "Don't Cuss The Fiddle," "Me And Paul" and more. Sure, Abernathy's no Waylon, but he does his best... He sounds pretty good to me, and his band Counterpoint holds its own too, pickin' and plunkin' in the classic style: bandmembers included Jim Abernathy on lead vocals, Halana Cone (keyboards), Tim Cone (drums), Jim Donahoo (harmonica), Phil Pedigo (lead guitar), John Sawyer (pedal steel and slide guitar), Bob Smethers (fiddle) and Sonny Swisher on bass. The songs are all covers except for one original from lead guitarist Phil Pedigo, "I'm Going Fishing," which fits right in with the slack, Waylonesque vibe of the rest of the record. A guileless, straightforward homage to their hero... guaranteed to pry a smile out of other devoted fans as well.

Mack Abernathy "Different Situations" (CMI Records, 1988) (LP)
(Produced by Michael McClary)
Back-Forty commercial country from a Texas songwriter and former rodeo rider... Urged on by steel guitarist Tom Brumley, Abernathy headed to Nashville to cut this album with a studio crew that included fiddlers Johnny Gimble and Buddy Spicher, as well as guitar picker Ray Flack, who plays lead on the title track. The song charted nationally, hitting #80 on the Billboard charts, along with his cover of the old Floyd Tillman classic, "Slippin' Around" (which pegged out at #98). Abernathy didn't bust out on the national scene, but he definitely solidified his standing as a Lone Star artist; years later he recorded "Don't Tax My Beer," a protest song aimed at the Texas legislature, which was trying to use some suds to soak their taxpayers.

Ace Weems & The Fat Meat Boys "It's All Gone Now" (Carryon Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by David Winston)
Some nice, clean-cut young men from Natural Bridge, Virginia, The Fat Meat Boys proclaimed as their leader one Ace Weems (a fictional character from the Get Smart TV show...) although there was no one in the band by that name. Nonetheless, there were a few real people in the band as well, including a babyfaced old-timey fiddler named James Leva who was sinking his teeth into a lively repertoire of uptempo stringband tunes. (Leva went on to become one of the more notable "old-time" modernists of the 1980s-'90s folk scene...) This album is maybe less "country" than most of the records we're looking at here... but with a band name like this, how could I leave 'em out? Besides, it's a pretty swell record.

Gaylen Ackley "Dreams Do Come True" (Dreamland Records, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by Gaylen Ackley & Lonnie Wright)
Singer Clifford Gaylen Ackley (1939-2001) was a Texas native, born in Houston though he lived most of his life in the tiny crossroads town of New Ulm while owning a regional telephone company based in nearby Industry, TX. Though not a professional musician, he self-released a few singles as well as this album, which appears to have been his only full-length LP. The repertoire is typical of a certain strata of country performers, mixing ballads and oldies with newer hits, as well as a medley of celebrity impersonations (Dean Martin, Merle Haggard, Jim Reeves, Elvis Presley, Roger Miller, Hank Snow and Fats Domino) as well as a polka medley on the first side of the disc. It's an all-covers set that unfortunately does not include any of the original songs from his singles, neither "The Parlour" (a pretty funny tune sung in praise of New Ulm's local tavern) or "Hello Marvin Zindler" (a topical song based on the closing of The Chicken Shack, the infamous bordello in La Grange that inspired the play "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.") There's no date on the disc, but it seems to be of mid-'Seventies vintage, with the most recent tunes coming from 1968, when Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again" and Joe South's "Games People Play" came out. No info on the album's producer or any backing musicians. Mr. Ackley performed locally and as evidenced by a few show notices in small-town papers like The Bellville Times and The Sealy News, though that's about it. The earliest notice comes from 1968, and the latest I could find was from a Slavic fraternal lodge which had him performing one of their events in 1976. He was also active in local civic activities and an annual charity golf tournament was established in his name.

Andy Acree's Country Squires "Welcome To Squires Country" (Illini Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Fritz Brading)
I was psyched to see this album in the dollar bin at my local Record Hut, but profoundly bummed when it had the wrong disc was in the jacket. (The Doors...?? Really? Ugh. Oh, thou vast, wiggly quantum physics, you canst be cruel.) I did eventually track down a real copy, and am pleased to report that this is a great record. Crisp, direct, understated country ballads with a strong debt to Merle Haggard, though packed with original material, most of it penned by Leroy Clark, who may also have been the band's primary lead singer. Anyway, apparently these guys were from Springfield, Illinois, and played county fairs and similar local gigs, a continuation of Acree's youthful apprenticeship in Johnny Barton's band. Andy Acree is joined by brothers Jack Sampson and Larry Sampson on lead guitar and steel, singer (and songwriter) Leroy Clark, a gal vocalist named Janey Elston, who sings lead on one of Clark's originals, "My Whole World Turned Blue," and finally Acree's son, Gene Acree, playing drums. I guess they mostly did the county fair circuit, with Acree's own career reaching back a few decades before this album was recorded. The Illini label was owned by Mr. Acree, and attached to a recording studio business he opened in 1973, and which was plugged in Billboard on September 22, 1973, with Janey Elston mentioned as one of the artists under contract, along with Leroy Clark and Jim Hurley. (By the way, anyone know if this guy was related to country deejay Les Acree? Just wondering...) Nice one!

Allen R. Adams "The Better Life" (Kay-Lou Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Jacquline Adams, Manuel Alvarez & Gary Sloan)
A really cool album with a very understated, stripped-down feel and some very interesting material, delivered in a unique, discursive style that kinda reminds me of Dick Feller. Although he born in Oklahoma, Allen R. Adams moved out to California when he was still quite young, along with his family, which included his brother Charles, who also played country music. The Allens settled down in Eureka and may have done some local shows, though I suspect just on an informal basis... This album was recorded in the Central Valley, at Manny Alvarez's studio in Visalia, with backing by drummer Rick Burr, Max Denning (fiddle), Paul Dobbs (steel guitar), Eddie Sartuche Jr. (guitar), and Ron Schendel on keyboards. These guys all seem to have been from the San Joaquin Valley, notably steel player Dobbs, a Fresno-based picker who did session work with folks like Dennis Payne as well as local gospel artists such as the Gospelaires. I'm not sure if Mr. Allen also lived in the Valley at the time, or if driving down to Visalia was just easier than looking for a studio closer to home... At any rate, there wasn't much info about Mr. Adams to be found online, though I think we was still living up in Eureka pretty recently, though this seems to have been his only recording. Honestly? I think this is a great record. Very personal, very guileless and sincere, and packing with distinctive material, the kind of tunes that tug at your mind just around the time the last chorus is about to fade away. If I had a label, this is one I would reissue.

Dan Adams "By Request" (Sundance Records, 1978).(LP)
(Produced by Dan Adams, Ken Stumpf & Al Thomas)
A mostly-folkie solo acoustic set from singer-guitarist Dan Adams, who had been playing gigs in venues such as the Office Lounge in Springfield, MA and on the M/S Boehme cruise ship. The repertoire is a mix of folk and AOR covers, stuff by Gordon Lightfoot, Peter Yarrow, Bob Dylan and Elton John, along with a couple of ostensibly country songs such as Steve Goodman's "City Of New Orleans," Kris Kristofferson's "For The Good Times," and Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles." Apparently Mr. Adams went on to get his own captain's license and started his own cruise boat company called... By Request Charters! Dunno if he sang onboard as well... though it does seem likely!

Derroll Adams "Feelin' Fine" (The Village Thing, 1972).(LP)
A mix of traditionalist mountain twang and outsider folk by banjo plunker Derroll Adams (1925-2000) an Oregon-born troubadour who followed his pal Ramblin' Jack Elliott over to Europe back in the 1950s and wound up spending a hefty chunk of his life in the UK and Netherlands. This is only one of many albums he cut over a decades-long career, with a nice, laid-back feel, and modest backing by guitarists Wizz Jones and Roland Van Campenhout. No muss, no fuss, and a nice sense of unworried gravitas. Particularly notable here is the oddly structured "Oregon," a regional pride song of sorts, about the settling of his home state. Recommended.

Don Adams "On His Way" (Atlantic Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by David Paul Briggs)
The lone album, I believe, of this semi-rootsy country crooner from rural Greenfield, Ohio, which was also the hometown of country star Johnny Paycheck. Adams came from a large musical family, including his father Frank Adams, who was a Depression-era recording artist, as well as several brothers, including Arnie Adams, Darrell Adams, Farrell Adams and Gary Adams who worked together (and solo) backing various Nashville stars, most notably George Jones and fellow Ohioan Johnny Paycheck. The Adams lads also had a band of their own called The Boys, which was also included Doug Jernigan and fiddler Paul Justice (who also played on this album) and other erstwhile members of the Paycheck band; their cousin, Edward Daniel Adams, performed and recorded under the stage name Grizz Sawbuck. Don Adams broke through in '67 with a modest hit on an indie label, which landed him a spot in Paycheck's band. For whatever reasons, it never quite clicked for Adams as a solo artist. This major label debut was well-produced and satisfying... I like the loping honkytonk numbers, including the opening track, "I'll Be Satisfied," but the song only barely cracked into the Top 100, followed by a handful of non-album singles that also fizzled on the charts. Adams was best with a backbeat; there are also a few slower ballads where he sounds kind of Hank Locklin-esque, but these just underscored his limitations as a singer. Among the backing musicians are a couple of other Paycheck pickers, notably steel player Doug Jernigan and fiddler Paul Justice; Paycheck himself contributes brief liner notes and good wishes. Not an earthshaking album, but certainly worth a spin. Adams and his brothers later formed a local group called "The Boys," playing at regional "opry" venues and the like, and also privately released a double LP(!) souvenir album in 1975.

Jay Boy Adams "Jay Boy Adams" (Atlantic Records, 1977) (LP)
I mostly remember Texas-born hippie troubadour Jay Boy Adams from hearing him make a stoned foray into the studios of my beloved KFAT radio, way back in the late 1970s... He hung out, the DJ's obviously loved him, I'm pretty sure you could hear them toking it up on air... Anyway, I guess his background was as a roadie (and opening act) for ZZ Top, early in their career. Adams took a much mellower approach, however: this record (which has one of the most depressing hippie-art album covers ever...) is an odd mix of acoustic folk and Southern rock, with guitarist David Lindley and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Jackson Browne chipping in... Definitely a relic of its time!

Jay Boy Adams "Fork In The Road" (Atlantic Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Ham)
Adams was still hanging with Jackson Browne on this late-'70s album, but the vibe is more Michael Martin Murphey-style cosmic cowboy material, albeit with a distinct LA-scene pop gloss woven throughout. Adams and David Lindley trade off slide and pedal steel licks, and Lindley definitely adds a lot of the album's twang and overall musical direction -- Adams doesn't indulge in quite the same solipsistic singer-songwriter navel-gazing as Browne's albums, but the familiar tones of Lindley's guitars are a reminder of the comfortable pop-twang that Jackson had brought to the top of the charts. For twangfans, songs such as "Superkicker," "Lone Line Writer," and a cover of "Tennessee Stud" have a nice feel, although Adams never quite finds the same anthemic groove that made the best of Murphey's songs so anthemic and memorable. Lyrically, I thought the most interesting song was "Stray Dogs And Alley Cats," which also seems like the most personal and truly reflective of the songs on here, with Adams talking about his father's pragmatic world view, in which "you've got to be nice to everyone/but still look out for number one"; you can hear the hippie-era ballad singer struggling against the wisdom of his "straight," car-dealer dad, and yet you can't help but wonder how much this advice must have helped Adams get by in the glad-handing music business. An interesting album that's certainly worth checking out, especially if you like super-'Seventies stuff.

Jay Boy Adams "The Shoe Box" (Smith Music, 2007)
(Produced by Monty Byrom & Jay Boy Adams)
A strong roots-twang set with some great songs, sweet picking and plenty of conviction. The title track is a reflection on the pleasures of reflection and nostalgia, other highlights include the jaunty "Moro Bay" and "Showman's Life," which examines the unseen hardships of showbiz (which Adams, who left the spotlight to start a tour-bus rental agency, probably knows quite a bit about...) A good throwback to '70s-style indie-twang, with guest performers that include Ray Benson (of Asleep At The Wheel) and Marty Stuart on mandolin... Definitely worth a spin!

Jay Boy Adams "Let It Go" (Rockin' Heart Records, 2014)
(Produced by Jay Boy Adams & Monty Byrom)
'Way back in the 1970s, Texas-born troubadour Jay Boy Adams straddled the worlds of outlaw country and fancy-pants singer-songwriter pop; he was pals with Jackson Browne and worked as a roadie for high-profile rock bands, such as ZZ Top, and recorded a couple of albums of his own that were, as they say, highly regarded at the time. In 2007, he came back to the studio to record a doleful, world-weary set of roots-rock and folk, and this new album follows suit. It's an extended meditation on life and the wisdom that comes with middle age and beyond, with Adams sounding a bit like a mix between Rodney Crowell and Loudon Wainwright III. Not all the songs are gems, but there are some definite winners, including the album's opener, "Judgement Day," which is a nice twist on the looking-back-on-my-wild-days genre, in which Adams sees a little too much of himself in his own wild and stubborn daughter, and the contemplative "Count Your Friends," which may be the album's strongest song.

Jerry Jack Adams "In Seattle At The Flame" (Flame Records, 197--?).(LP)
A live recording, with covers of pop and country standards such as Freddy Hart's "Easy Lovin'," Tony Orlando's "Knock Three Times," "Joy To The World," etc. There's no info on the plain white album cover, but from the repertoire, I would have guessed this is an early-to-mid '70s release -- maybe '73, '74? -- although I've also heard that Adams only lived in Seattle for a few years in the late '70s/early '80s before moving to Alaska. Anyone out there have more solid information about this album?

Jerry Jack Adams "On The Road" (Worm Records, 19--?) (LP)
An indie twangster from around Seattle, Washington, with a fairly curious album. The artwork shows the band as a quartet of '70s longhairs, being "hassled" by a state trooper (and being bundled off into his patrol car on the back cover...) The bandmembers look like they might have been Kurt Cobain's older cousin's buddies, or something like that -- pretty shaggy with plenty of lumberjack plaid. But despite the hippie-ish look and the rebellious imagery, the music is pretty straightforward, sincere, old-school country crooning, in the tradition of Jim Reeves or Jim Ed Brown. It's for-real country-pop ballads, not done ironically or cynically in any way, but really played and sung with surprising resonance and a real "old man" vibe. Adams has a classically deep country voice, and shares lead vocals with a couple of band members -- a guy and a gal only identified by their first names, Bill and Merlaine. Sadly, there are no songwriter credits, but I'm pretty sure this is all original material and again, it's right in the country mainstream, albeit a little old-school even for the times. (I'm not totally sure when this record came out... Late '70s, early '80s maybe? Anyone know for sure?) At any rate, this is definitely worth checking out, particularly for obscuro-country fans who don't think you have to take the genre as a joke.

Jerry Jack Adams "Jerry Jack Adams" (ABM Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Adams & Larry Nefzger)
A pretty plausible bid for commercial success with confident, manly vocals, expansive post-countrypolitan pop-country arrangements and solid backing by a local band called Boothill. At least that's the picture painted by the ornate opening track, "Dixie Girl," and most of the LP's first side. Side Two gets a little wobblier and sounds more strained on sluggish ballads like "Let Me Say I Love You," a duet with Boothill's gal singer, Dana. A mousy-voiced, sorta-country cover of Exile's 1978 pop hit "Kiss You All Over" doesn't help, and the record devolves into a better-than-average locals-only indie disc, rather than a record that could break out nationally. Adams starts to get his steam near the album's end, particularly on the weeper, "Can You Find It In Your Heart," one of four tracks penned by Adams himself. But the frantic closing number, "Open Up My Heart," seals the deal... Still, even though they couldn't sustain the high-end production values that kick this disc off, it's a pretty strong private-press outing, packed with original material by local artists. Highlights include two songs penned by Merlaine Krause, "Dixie Girl" and "The Lights Are Going Down" -- Ms. Krause wrote several fine country songs over the years, though I'm not sure if she was in any bands herself. Unfortunately, the folks in Boothill are only identified by their first names, Buddy, Chris, Dana and Danny, but they acquit themselves well, and if anyone has more info about the group, I'm all ears

Johnny Adams "...Sings The City Celestial" (Gospel Record Service, 1966-?) (LP)
(Produced by Rev. Ray Anderson)
Primitive country gospel, not so much in the musical backing, but in Mr. Adams's unrelentingly rough, stylistically limited vocals, which I find appealing, though best in small doses. Mr. Adams hailed from Washington Court House, Ohio, and is backed here by his son Joe Adams, son-in-law Roger Snively, and a friend named James Bick -- unfortunately, he does not inform us about who played which instruments, though there is a solidly rural, backwoods feel throughout. This album is very much in keeping with the primitive style of producer Ray Anderson, a fellow Ohioan who had set up shop in Parkersberg, West Virginia at the time this album came out... The liner notes inform us this was Johnny Adams's first album, though I cannot tell you if he made another. Not a dazzling record, but authentic, and direct.

Kay Adams -- see artist profile

Mike ("Mad Dog") Adams "Me And Jim Beam" (20/20 Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Greg James)
Novelty twang from Cleveland, Ohio by a guy who had been on the local scene since at least the late 1970s... This seems to have been Mad Dog Adams's first full album, though it gathers some songs that date back as far as 1978. Many of the songs have naughty, party-animal themes, such as "The K-Mart Song," "The Price Of Getting High," and of course the title track, which follows a well-worn track forged by many bad-boy twangsters over the years. Sometime around 1980 Adams took on a long-term residency at the Round House in Put-In-Bay, and recorded a couple of comedy albums in 1989 and 1999, as well as a set that was included as an add-on in one of several mystery novels written by Bob Adamov which feature Adams as a peripheral character. Over the years, Adams has gotten into a more rock-oriented sound, making him sort of an odd morph of Jack Black, Chinga Chavin, and Jimmy Buffett. This album features Mike Adams on lead vocal and guitar, Mike Balas (lead guitar), Phil Baron (piano and harmonica), John Dauenspeck (bass), Ron James (steel guitar), Rod Reisman (drums), with additional help from other local musicians, such as The Canale Brothers Band, who backed Adams on the song "Working Hard," and a fella called Fiddler Hal, who chimed in on a couple of tunes. At least one song, "Going To Toronto," was released earlier as a single (twice) though I don't know whether the version is the same as the one(s) that came out in 1978 or 1982.

Misty Adams/Mary McCoy "Mary McCoy/Misty Adams" (Crazy Cajun Records, 1978).(LP)
(Produced by Huey P. Meaux)
A split album, apparently cobbled together from old material from the Crazy Cajun vaults featuring two Lone Star gals who'd been around a while... Side One features four songs by Mary McCoy, a Houston area singer and radio personality from Conroe, Texas who'd been cutting singles since the early 1950s, and started her radio career in 1951. She sang on The Louisiana Hayride in 1955 and met Elvis Presley in both her capacity as a radio deejay and while performing on the same Hayride shows -- all at the tender age of sixteen! In 1967 she signed with a new label and became duet partner with another Conroe local, honkytonker Jimmy Copeland, who was also a country music deejay; they recorded several singles together, some of which are collected on an album he put together years later. Like Mary McCoy, Misty Adams cut several 45s on various labels associated with producer Huey P. Meaux -- including Jin Records, Princess Records and Skill -- and her six tracks here seem to be drawn from those mid-'Sixties singles, presumably McCoy's as well. I'm not sure if Misty Adams did much else, though Mary McCoy has released a few albums, including a self-released gospel set called Through the Storm. Every five or ten years, someone would write an article about how long she'd been working in radio -- the most recent one I've seen was an excellent profile piece in Texas Monthly dated August 2021, where they noted that Ms. McCoy was just months away from being named the longest-running female radio host in the world. Pretty durn cool, if you ask me.

Nancy Adams "...And The Deer Creek Fundamentalists" (Mega Records, 1972).(LP)
(Produced by Nancy Adams)
A slightly odd album, wherein pop vocalist Nancy Adams "goes country" -- sort of. Adams sings standards such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," "Moon River" and "That Old Black Magic," but she's backed by an A-list Nashville studio band, including Buddy Harmon, Weldon Myrick, Jerry Shook and the Jordanaires. Her stylistic range is highlighted in liner note testimonials from folks as diverse as Johnny Mercer, Neil Hefti, Jerry Reed, Billy Sherrill and Bobbie Gentry. Nancy Adams Huddleston was married to TV producer Floyd Huddleston and released a number of singles, dating back to the early '60s and also worked as a session singer, although as far as I know this was her only album.

Pappy Adams "My Kind Of Country" (Ropes Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Adams & Gary Denton)
Though this was recorded on a Hollywood label, songwriter Gary T. Adams sings convincingly on the title track of having grown up in California's Great Central Valley, "where Fresno was the big time" and the Bakersfield Sound loomed large on the horizon. That apparently autobiographical tune is the most country (and most enjoyable) track on this album, which quickly descends into the sort of thin, rinky-dink production style that was rampant in the early '80s, particularly in the somewhat jaded, coke-fueled Los Angeles music business demimonde, where you could always find some musicians somewhere to help you make a record, but nobody took sessions seriously unless it was some kind of big, slick, major label deal. Despite a promising start, this album devolves into a series of indifferent arrangements, populated with tinkly keyboards and synths, generic rhythm tracks and on one tune, "Guitar King," is packed with that really godawful shrill, tinny rock guitar style that -- for some reason -- dominated in a certain strata of 'Eighties pop. Although the production was super-generic, they nonetheless found a way for these prefab arrangements to overpower Pappy Adams' vocals, perhaps because they had little faith in his plainspoken, homespun delivery -- which is a shame because I sense that he could have thrived and made a much better record if he'd made it pretty much anywhere other than MTV-era LA. Listening charitably, you can pick up on hints of Leon Redbone or Jerry Jeff Walker in certain songs, and perhaps less favorably the folkie singer-songwriter pretensions of Townes Van Zandt... Some of the tracks were promising, though others were disastrously anchored in the style the times. Adams penned all the songs on this album, with one ("Johnny's Job") co-written with Burton Carey and another (the super-sappy "Final Touches") with Elmer Garten, which closes the album out. He's backed by a band that included pedal steel player Red Rhodes, along with a slew of more obscure SoCal players, with co-producer Gary Denton playing drums and guitar... This set was recorded in Van Nuys, California, though I couldn't find out much more about this guy. You don't have to run right out and look for this one at your local Record Hut, but some of y'all might find it worth a spin.

Ron Adams "I Loved You, I Proved It" (Ripcord Records, 197-?).(LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden & Blaine Allan)
A honkytonker who lived in Helena Montana as well as Wanatchee, Washington, Ron Adams recorded several albums at the Ripcord studios and seems to have had ties with other artists in that orbit. On this album, he mostly sang cover tunes -- stuff like Waylon's "Good Hearted Woman" and John Conlee's "Rose Colored Glasses," but there are a few originals as well, including the title track, "I Loved You, I Proved It" which is credited to C. O. Buddy Collinsworth, and "Out Of Hurt And Into Love With You," which was written by Adams. Too bad these old Ripcord records don't have release dates on them, though! I'm guessing this one's from around 1979, based on the Conlee song... Wish I could tell for sure!

Ron Adams "Ron Adams" (Portland Records, 197-?).(LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden)
This album is notable for its wealth of original material -- only one song by Ron Adams ("Rodeo") but two are by Benny Tibbets (who also recorded at Ripcord) and several more by someone called A. Branco. Branco's tunes include enticing titles such as "Space Age Rebel," "Nashville Girl" and "Hurt Worse Than Any Song I've Ever Heard." Adams is backed by the Ripcord house band, including Gene Breeden on lead guitar, and Terry Crisp playing pedal steel.

Ron Adams "The Dividing Point" (19--?).(LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden)
Mr. Adams seemed to enjoy recording original tunes by his fellow Northwestern country auteurs. This album includes four songs by Ken Wesley, including a version of "Heartache Remover," which was the title track of Westley's own album. Not sure who recorded it first, though!

Rosie Adams "Woods Colt" (Adams Records, 19--?) (LP)
This album, which I purchased near Kansas City, was more of a mystery disc than most... There's no address, no geographical info, and nothing about the producer or backing musicians; there's also no release date, although it looks like it was from the mid-1970s or perhaps early '80s. Clad in her full cowgirl suit glory, Rosa Lee Adams was literally someone's grandma, making a custom press album that was probably intended just for family and friends: the liner notes say she wrote the song "Make Believe World" for her young granddaughter, who was diagnosed with leukemia at age two. Ms. Adams had an odd, slightly tremulous voice, almost Brenda Lee-ish, though she was probably in her late sixties when this was recorded, and may have been a stronger singer in her youth. I wondered if she had a musical career earlier in life, like on some Opry-style show in the '40s or '50s perhaps(?) though I could find no mention of her online, as hard as I might try. (Any info is welcome!) The title track has, as it turns out, a kind of a racy theme: a "woods colt" is an old euphemism for a child born out of wedlock, though it can also have a more innocent, less loaded meaning, i.e. that of a colt born out in the wild.

The Adelmund Brothers & The Country Kings "Do It Their Way" (Triple Crown, 1975-?).(LP)
A regional band with brothers who seem to have been part of the extended Adelmund family in Eastern/Central Iowa... The only mentions I've found of them outside of this album (and one single) are a couple of show notices from Waterloo and nearby Oelwine, Iowa, so I assume this was their main stomping ground. The shows were in '74 and '76, so I split the difference and guessed at a 1975 release date for this album... Also, though many of the songs are 1960's country classics, they also cover "The Keys In The Mailbox" (a #1 hit for Tony Booth in 1972) and "Roll You Like a Wheel," which was a hit for Mickey Gilley in '75. Anyone with more concrete info about these guys, I'm all ears. (Update: thanks to the Adelmund family for sending some information about guitar player Darrell Adelmund (1941-2001) who was born in Charles City, IA and whose day job was as a senior engineer for the John Deere tractor factory in Waterloo; other brothers mentioned in Mr. Ademund's obituary include Dan Adelmund, Jack Adelmund and Doug Thorne; not sure which if any of these guys were also in the band.)

Bill Adkins & The Fugitives "Lost Love" (Freedom Records, 1977).(LP)
(Produced by Vinnie Vincent & Joe Waters)
An ambitious country band from Mansfield, Ohio, up in the north end of the state, halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. The group was led by John B. Adkins (1939-2008) and Flora Adkins, a husband-wife team who played local country gigs for about twenty years and later turned to singing gospel. They are joined here by fellow locals Junior Kegley (steel guitar), John Riley (lead guitar) and Chuck Stutz (drums), with "Miss Flora" singing lead on a tune or two, as well as singing harmony with her husband. This album has a wealth of original material, with seven songs credited to the band, including four by Charlie Stutz and one credited to Flora Adkins, and a couple by Mr. Adkins. There are also three cover songs: a version of "Silver Threads And Golden Needles," a lesser-known Dallas Frazier song, "If This Is Our Last Time," and Jerry Fuller's "Fugitive." As far as I can tell, this was primarily an amateur band, and this was apparently their only album.

The Adkins Family "Saturday Nite With The Adkins" (Eye Recording Studio, 1978-?).(LP)
A charmingly retro, totally unpretentious set of good, old-fashioned sentimental country by a family band from Lookout Mountain, on the Georgia side of the Tennessee state line. Visually, this looks like a bluegrass album, but the group only features guitar, bass and drums, and the repertoire is heavy on country tunes, rather than mountain music. They cover a lot of newer material, stuff like the Kendalls hit, "Heaven Is Just A Sin Away," Larry Gatlin's "I Don't Wanna Cry," "I'm Not That Good At Goodbyes," and "Standard Lie Number One," which was originally a single by Stella Parton. Perhaps of more interest are the older songs, including weepers like "Thought I Heard You Calling My Name," and the Jimmy Work/Louvin Brothers classic, "Making Believe." The band included several Adkinses -- Buddy Adkins on guitar, Kathy Adkins (piano), Lila Adkins (vocals), Terry Adkins on electric guitar -- along with lead singer Judy Oliver, Nikki Oliver (bass), Tena Marable (backing vocals) and drummer Rick Parker. I'm not sure if this was the band's first album, though they recorded several others, mostly gospel releases, including some from the 1980s. It looks like they may have moved to West Virginia later on, though here the liner notes by Bill Emerson definitely peg them as being from Georgia.

Wendel Adkins -- see artist profile

Mistress Mary (Afton) "Housewife" (Afton Records, 1969).(LP)
(Produced by Mary Afton)
An ambitious, wonderfully flawed outsider-art album apparently self-released in 1969 by Southern California musical indie auteur Mary Afton. It's not all country, although the opening track, "And I Didn't Want You," is a great twangtune where a tremulous, angst-ridden Ms. Afton displays a striking vocal likeness to Lucinda Williams. Soon after, though, she starts to channel more pop-oriented contemporaries such as Nancy Sinatra and Margo Guryan, with maybe just a touch of the Shaggs in the mix as well. Admittedly, this album requires a bit of charity on the part of modern listeners, but I agree with others that Ms. Afton shouldn't be considered a joke artist -- more like she was few decades ahead of her time, but had limited resources when she DIY'd this highly unusual record. There's plenty of ear-bending accidental glory on here, notably on the second track, "Dance Little Girl," a wildly warped take on the Carole King/Brill Building sound where the shrill backing music anticipates a lot of the lo-fi experimentation of the 1990s and beyond. The backing band is said to include country-rock luminaries such as steel player Carl Walden and guitarist Clarence White, who graft a Byrds-y style onto her kooky meanderings, while the satirical back cover liners portray Ms. Afton as an indolent, lingerie-clad stereotypical "bored housewife" of the era. Afton pressed a few hundred copies of this album and sent many of them out to radio stations and press, though after it (not surprisingly) tanked, she shifted gears and pursued a few feminist-oriented career paths (including self-defense instructor and auto mechanic/teacher) before finding her most profitable niche as an aerobic disco-dance teacher. Naturally, this album was reissued in 2016 -- with bonus tracks and informative liner notes -- and while it seems too good to be real, it is an amazing, authentic relic of the hippie era. Not that easy to listen to, but really kind of brilliant.

Dennis Agajanian/The Agajanians -- see artist profile

The Aggie Ramblers "After Sundown With The Aggie Ramblers" (Goldust Records, 19--?).(LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)
A long-running New Mexico band co-founded by Goldust label owner Emmit Brooks, the Aggie Ramblers played a mix of country and western swing, making numerous recordings, including singles backing Nolan Chandler and other singers. Bass player Brooks led the Aggies from 1957 to 1975, while his younger brother Jake played with the band off and on throughout the '60s and early '70s. The band also included musicians such as Bill Bailey and steel player Larry Dennison -- the group toured extensively in New Mexico and West Texas and fostered many local musicians over the years. This edition of the band includes Bailey, Brooks and Dennison, along with Jim Hill on guitar and piano player Jerry Miller, with various members singing lead vocals and a couple of instrumental tracks, one showcasing Dennison on a version of Pete Drake's "Midnight In Old Amarillo" and another with Bailey taking the lead on a vamped-up version of "Bile Them Cabbage Down." There are also some original songs, including "Fire Of Love" by Brooks and "Blues At Midnight," a duet by Miller and Hill.

The Aggie Ramblers "Ramblin' With The Aggie Ramblers" (Goldust Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Emmit Brooks)
A nice, low-key set mixing a healthy dose of originals along with oldies such as "Bubbles In My Beer," Rex Griffin's "Last Letter" and Ernest Tubb's "Walking The Floor Over You." Emmit and Jake Brooks each contribute a couple of songs, as does fiddler Junior Daugherty. You can hear their dance-band roots, particularly with their affinity for old western swing tunes, though these guys are also pretty laid-back, with a laconic style that might appeal (in retrospect) to fans of Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Calm, confident, old-school country from some young guys with a strong sense of tradition. Recommended!

Singin' Sam (Agins) "Singin' Sam's Saddlebag Of Songs" (Haywire Records, 1971-?).(LP)
(Produced by Sam Agins)
Straight-up cowboy music from a fella who grew up in Corona, California, in the hills up above Anaheim. Agins says he learned country and old-timey tunes from migrant workers who came to the area during the Dust Bowl when he was a kid, then devoted himself to cowboy culture, gathering and writing songs that he performed at various gatherings, including a 1971 folk festival in Montreal, Canada that was organized by the Smithsonian Institution. This album appears to have been completely self-produced; it's not clear if some of these songs were his own originals. It has to be said, Mr. Agins is kind of a rough hewn, even somewhat erratic vocalist, though perhaps this will translate favorably for listeners in search of unaffected, unpretentious "real people" artists. He certainly seems like he quite a character!

Singin' Sam (Agins) "Singin' Sam And Friends" (Haywire Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Sam Agins)
Another set of eccentric acoustic oldies, with covers of chestnuts such as "The Cat Came Back," "Good Old Mountain Dew," "Had But Fifty Cents," "Philadelphia Lawyer" and "Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine," along with more obscure campfire songs like "Cowboy Nick," "Iron Pants Pete" and "Peon Named Pancho." Sam Agins sings and plays guitar on all tracks, accompanied by Len Bacon on guitar, Kirk Opyt (guitar) and Joe Wolverton (mandolin), as well as Californian banjo picker Jim Hawkins playing on one track. The most notable of these sidemen was Mr. Wolverton (1906-1994) a veteran hillbilly performer originally from Chicago who is said to have taught Les Paul how to play guitar(!) and who led his own cowboy trio out West in his later years. (It's possible that the other guys were part of Wolverton's California band, though I haven't confirmed that yet...) As far as I know this was Mr. Agins' last album...

Airborn "Airborn" (Yessi Records, 1980).(LP)
(Produced by Richard Crosby)
I haven't heard this obscuro southern rock band from Avon, Colorado, though I've heard they were kinda twangy... Their lineup included some bottleneck guitar and lap steel, in addition to electric lead.

B. Bob Akers "The Old Rebel" (RRA/Rebel Records Of America, 1971-?).(LP)
Although not a Civil War concept album, I guess this was a fairly sincere tip of the hat towards the Old South and the Confederacy, with a Stars-and-Bars flag motif, an album title based on Robert E. Lee's nickname, and Mr. Akers on the cover proudly dressed in his Confederate best. The material is more "secular," if you will, with country tunes such as "Redneck Rebel" and "DJ Wife" though the Southern nostalgia is plain. The album is mostly all originals, credited to R. C. Akers; he also released at least a couple of singles on the RRA label, though otherwise information is scarce. The copyright on one of his singles was to "R. C. Acres," so the Akers name may have been a pseudonym.

Tom Akstens "Original And Traditional Music" (Takoma Records, 1976).(LP)
(Produced by Artie Traum & Thomas Mark)
Seventies-hip acoustic twang by a New York State picker with an obvious debt to the patron saint of oddball newgrass twang, John Hartford. The album opens with a zippy, western swing-flavored rendition of "Milwaukee Blues," then dips into a slightly saccharine folkie tone on "River Song," which though a bit strained is in keeping with its times and also reflects Akstens' lifelong interest in nature, and fly fishing in particular. Aksten then veers into full Hartford mode on a pleasantly gangly version of "Honey Babe," one of several similar bluegrass-meets-blues tunes that inhabit this album. Perhaps the album's real gem is an original banjo instrumental called "Stream Running Backwards," an innovative, meditative tune which may explain why John Fahey's label put its weight behind this odd little album. Eclectic fiddler-picker Jay Ungar is also on here, as well as steel player Bob Siggens, and Neil Rossi, who has worked with Akstens on a long string of roots music projects ever since. Overall, a strong, solid album with just a couple of tunes you might want to skip: a pretty good ratio, if you ask me. A college basketball star, English professor, lifelong naturalist and longtime fly fishing guide, Tom Connelly Akstens later dropped the "Tom" and kept the Connelly and redefined her gender, penning a transgender memoir, Without Shame, which incorporates these disparate elements into what seems like a pretty remarkable life story. Also, cool record.

The Alabama State Troupers/Various Artists "Road Show" (Elektra Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Bruce Botnick, John Fry & Don Nix)
Mixing blues and country roots with deep gospel, rock and folk, rootsy producer Don Nix wove together this far-ranging roots-music landmark, a double LP of live performances by a bunch of Muscle Shoals stalwarts. The cast included members of a couple of bands, The Minits and The Zion Mountain Singers, such as guitar picker Tippy Armstrong, pianist Jeanie Greene, Marlin Greene, Clayton Ivey, Brenda Patterson, soul singers Pepper Watkins and Tweety Watkins, organist Ken Woodly, and bassist Bob Wray... and many others. More of a rock/blues thing, but twangfans should dig it, too. A hefty chunk of the total time is devoted to the giddy, rambling showmanship of Mississippi blues legend Furry Lewis (1893-1981) whose career spanned back to the 1910's, when he played with W. C. Handy's blues orchestra, among others. A foundational Delta blues artist, Lewis was "discovered" by the 'Sixties coffeehouse folk scene and enjoyed great popularity among the hippie-era roots crowd; here he wows the crown with assertive versions of some of his old show-stoppers, ranging from his signature tune, "Furry's Blues" and the thematically challenging "I'm Black" to novelty numbers such as "A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird." The young'uns chime in with gospel-inflected roots-soul, inching into cosmic folk territory, such as the classic folk-rock twang of "Livin' In The Country" and the shambling rural funk of "My Train Done Come and Gone" which sounds a lot like the loose-limbed roots-rock of The Band. Indeed, folks who were into the eclectic blues-soul showmanship of Delaney & Bonnie might find similar thrills here. (Though if you ask me, these folks had a stronger musical foundation than the Bramletts, albeit with similar stylistic excesses...) All in all, this is one of the better documents of the hippie-era roots/soul scene.

The Alamo String Band "Alamo String Band" (Sugar Crik Productions, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by R. J. Wright & Larry Sturm)
This Indiana band forged a potent, pleasant amalgam of styles, mostly honkytonk and western swing, along with quick hints of Southern rock and bluegrass. The band's mandolin player, Tim Cunningham, adds some crispy Appalachian twang, while pedal steel player Nelson Wynn zips out some really sweet, hot licks. Most of the songs are originals, mainly written by singer Steve Farley or bassist R. J. Wright, though Cunningham contributes the jovial "I Don't Want To Walk To Heaven (But I'd Appreciate The Ride)", as well as a couple by guys who apparently weren't in the band. Wright's tunes are the most traditionally country, including excellent novelty numbers such as "I Never Cheated On You Darlin'," "Cryin' Country Song," and "Out Standing In My Field," which is one of those anthemic songs about DIY little-guy country singers who could have tried their luck in Nashville, but chose not to... There are also a few well-chosen cover tunes that outline their wide-ranging influences, from the Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" and Johnny Russell's "Catfish John" to the Hank Snow oldie, "I Don't Hurt Anymore" and the gospel standard, "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder." Their sound, especially with the mandolin in the mix, reminds me quite a bit of Columbus, Ohio's High Sheriff Ricky Barnes and his neo-trad novelty numbers. I think this band was only together for a few years, though a couple of members later formed The Original Hazzard County Band, along with a guy from the country-rock band Crossfyre.

Tony Alamo "Susan, I Love You So Much, It Hurts Me... Love, Tony" (Alamo Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Susan Alamo & Don Davis)
Here's a weird one... At least, one with a weird history. Tony and Susan Alamo were Pentecostal evangelicals whose born-again ministry devolved over the years into a full-blown cult, part of which involved polygamy, and more disturbingly, Mr. Alamo "marrying" underage girls and imprisoning them on a compound in Arkansas. Starting out in Los Angeles as "Jesus freaks" in the late 'Sixties, the Alamos were only moderately weird up until Mrs. Alamo died in 1982, and then Mr. Alamo really went off the rails and his behavior became more extreme and more grotesque. He was eventually arrested in the early 1990s and convicted for tax evasion and child molestation, later dying in federal prison in 2017. This was, I think, the first full album, with Tony Alamo backed by one of the most venerable southern gospel groups, J. D. Sumner & The Stamps. This is almost entirely a gospel album, although the "title track" is a cover of the Floyd Tillman oldie, "I Love You So Much It Hurts Me," a secular love ballad that dates back to the late 1940s. No date on this disc, though Alamo also covers Gene McClellan's pop-gospel crossover hit, "Put Your Hand In The Hand" (first recorded by Anne Murray in 1970, but best known as a top ten 1971 single for the band Ocean) which at least puts us in the right decade. This was probably recorded not long after they set up their Los Angeles-based church in 1969, though it appears to have been recorded in Nashville, as were their other albums.

Tony Alamo "...Sings Love Songs For Sue... And You" (Alamo Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Porter Wagoner, Tom Pick & Roy Shockley)
Weird album title and a definitely weird, Jim Jones-ish vibe to the album photos, especially his big, black aviator-frame shades. Knowing now what we didn't then... Ew. He's backed here by a Nashville crew that included with Dave Kirby (guitar), Alford Newell (guitar), Mike Leech (bass), Bobby Dyson (bass), Stu Basore (steel guitar), Hargus Robbins (keyboards), James Isbell (drums), Benny Kennerson (keyboards), Mike Lawler (keyboards), Terry McMillan (drums and harmonica), and backing vocals from the Sound 70s Singers... And, of course, the patronage of hick music legend Porter Wagoner, who seems to have fallen under Alamo's spell sometime int he 'Seventies.

Tony & Susan Alamo "Mister DJ" (Alamo Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Hoffman)
Despite this checkered history, this late-'70s album is actually fairly good in musical terms. The cover art shows them onstage with Porter Wagoner at the Opry, and that got my attention. Wagoner wrote a testimonial for them in the liner notes, and if Porter liked 'em and even sang on their record, I figured I oughta at least check them out. The album is all Christian music, and the title track, "Mister DJ," is about a guy who wants the local radio station to spin "The Old Rugged Cross." Other tracks may have been recorded earlier in non-country versions -- anyone know for sure? Anyway, it's all Jesus-y but there's decent twang in there, too. Super-gross backstory, but I guess it's up to you how or if those later events should color your perception of this old album.

Barbara Alan & Bill Reader "Together" (Hawk Records, 197--?).(LP)
Not a lot of info on this one... It's a decent, if low-key country/pop duets set featuring singers Barbara Alan and Bill Reader, modestly backed by an anonymous studio crew whose strongest member was the pedal steel player. Reader seems to be the onetime pop-rockabilly singer Bill Reeder (sic), who recorded a few singles in the early 'Sixties for labels such as Fernwood and Hi Records. (Which would explain why they cover pop oldies like "Playboy" and "Searching.") I honestly can't tell if this is the same Barbara Alan who recorded the 1978 In Nashville album, though I think it was... If so, this looks (and sounds) like an earlier album, possibly from around 1972-74: he sings a version of the Statler Brothers "Bed Of Rose's," which was a hit in '71, and the general countrypolitan vibe on several tracks has a definite early 'Seventies feel. Sadly, there are no composer credits -- although most of the tracks are cover tunes, there are a couple of uptempo numbers showcasing Alan in a vaguely Wanda Jackson-ish mode which are album highlights. The album opens with the mildly raunchy "A Kind Of A Woman" and closes on "Don't Leave Without Me," both of which I think are originals. Not an earthshaking album, but it has its charms.

Barbara Alan "In Nashville" (Mid Land Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by William Lee & Jack Logan)
A lounge singer from Saint Louis, Missouri, Barbara Alan was the runner-up in a talent contest sponsored by the Grand Ole Opry as part of its fiftieth anniversary celebrations. I guess that's kinda like playing horseshoes, though, 'cause a couple of years later, she was still playing the bar at the Best Western Inn. But, still, she was a working musician, and she got to cut a record in Nashville, with an A-list backing band, including Buddy Emmons playing steel with Phil Baugh on lead electric guitar. This is an appealing album, although it does have a rather static feel... Ms. Alan says that Patsy Cline was her hero, and you can definitely hear it in her singing -- filtered, perhaps, through the rougher tones of Kitty Wells. Alan is appealing, though you may have a problem with the studio crew -- they just don't seem that into it, and honestly, don't give her a lot. Certainly, there are many more going-through-the-motions albums to be found, but this one does suffer nonetheless. What's cool about it, though, is the odd song selection -- she sings some pop standards by Gershwin and Berlin, a few country oldies by folks like Eddie Miller and Bill Monroe, as well as one by Wayne P. Walker (who's always a personal favorite of mine) but there are some odd entries that I think are unique to this album... "Walking Midnight Road" is the least of these, an odd ripoff of Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight," while "Walk On The Wild Side" is a pretty good honkytonk novelty number, wherein the singer balances six days of fun against one day of repentance and concludes that's a straight ticket to Hell. Perhaps the best track is "I Don't Know," a song written by Bill Adams, that's a sort of sideways gospel tune, written by a person who questions their faith because of all the horrible things God lets happen. I also enjoyed their bar-band funk rendition of "Blue Moon Of Kentucky," which is solid private-record kitsch. On balance, I thought this was a very sincere record made by a gal who for whatever reasons maybe didn't get the best treatment when she made her trek to Nashville. Still, she made a record, and that's more than most of us have done.

Alana & The Nightriders "Dedication" (Ba-Ron Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Messina)
Mostly country covers from this family band out of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The group included lead singers Alana Ralph, backed by Mike Anderson on bass, Ron Anderson, Sr. (guitar and vocals), Ron Anderson Jr. (drums), Ralph Mazzotta (lead guitar) and Bump Porter on pedal steel. They cover some country oldies, chestnuts like "Jackson" and "Kawliga," as well as more 'Seventies-oriented hits "Blue Bayou," Cal Smith's "Country Bumpkin" and "For The Good Times," along with a pop vocals tune or two. Groovy live performances with a rough country edge, particularly from Mr. Anderson, who really sounds like the kinda guy who'd been in a bar fight or two during his lifetime. Alana, who was apparently a teenager at the time, was a powerful singer who nails the country vibe, though she also gets into some soul-singer wailing. Occasionally the rock'n'roll guitar licks are distracting, though the steel guitar is pretty solid. There's one original song "To Be Alone," written by Ron White, and their bar-band cover of Neil Diamond's "Forever In Blue Jeans" is not to be missed.

Alaska's Hobo Jim "Thunderfoot" (BS Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Russell Smith)
Although he claimed Alaska as his home, "Hobo" Jim Varsos (1952-2021) was born in Indiana and raised in Wisconsin. Varsos permanently moved to Alaska in 1972, though his musical career also took him to Nashville, where he had a fair amount of success as a songwriter, including a composing partnership with Russell Smith, of the Amazing Rhythm Aces band. He seems to have briefly laid down roots in Boulder, Colorado, at least long enough to record a couple of albums with the Rocky Mountain locals... Bluegrasser Tim O'Brien is on board to add some fiddle licks, along with several of his acoustic music pals Although this looks like more of a folkie/bluegrass thing, there are some intriguing songs, such as "The American Farmer Song," "The Dramamine Fisher" and "My Old Tractor." This was Alaska Hobo Jim's first album; several others were self-released by Varsos, as well as on folkie labels like Flying Fish Records (which later re-released this one along with others...)

Alaska's Hobo Jim "Lost And Dyin' Breed" (BS Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Duncan Cameron & Kevin Clock)
His second album features an all-star cast of bluegrass heavyweights, with basically all the guys from New Grass Revival, and a Hot Rizer or two... The musicians include Sam Bush, John Cowan, Bela Fleck, Pat Flynn, Tim O'Brien and others... pretty impressive!

Alaska's Hobo Jim "Where Legends Are Born" (Flying Fish Records, 1986)
(Produced by Hobo Jim)
An all-star folk/bluegrass set with picking from Sam Bush, John Cowan, Bela Fleck, Pat Flynn and others, and guest vocals from Ashley Cleveland, Russell Smith, and others.

Tony Albert & Shirley Rogers "Shade Of Blue" (Danceland Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gayle Leister & Glen Seybert)
Lounge singer Tony Albert was originally from Boise, Idaho, though according to the liner notes he was living in Dodge City, Kansas when he recorded this album... It's a souvenir of a stint with his "Tony Albert Show" -- lead singers Tony Albert and Shirley Rogers, backed by arranger Ken Saari on cordovox, Kevin Kavanaugh, Jack Trice, and a small horn section led by Mr. Saari. The album was a souvenir of the band's gig at the Red Pussycat lounge, a strip club and music venue in Salina, Kansas that was popular in the 1960s and '70s and was a destination for on-tour rock and country bands and comedy acts passing through the remote western Kansas hinterlands. (It was remodeled a few times, including a big reboot in 1976, where it expanded to 10,000 square feet(!) and had two separate lounges, one for country music and another for rock artists, and a "rotating table..." The owner at the time this album came out was Gayle Leister, who contributes a quick blurb on the back cover...) To be honest, this record is pretty terrible -- Albert and Rogers were both rather questionable vocalists, and the cordovox-led pop-vocals arrangements are kind of bizarre, although technically speaking this album does have a lot of "country" material, songs by Pee Wee King, Eddie Miller, Marty Robbins, Billy Walker, and others.

Tony Albert "Flying High With Tony Albert" (Silver Pelican Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Little Richie Johnson)
The liner notes to this album give more of his full story... LeRoy A. Albiston was born in Conda, Idaho in 1936 and started his career in the late 1950s while serving a stint in the Navy, played on local TV and radio while stationed in Virginia, and ramped things up after he got discharged. As seen in the album above, he was living in Dodge City for a while, and worked up a lounge act that (kind of) had country roots, though he definitely was deeper into twang by time the late 'Seventies rolled around. He billed himself as "the Idaho Spud Picker," and supposedly had a backing group called The Spud Picker Band. This album has several classic country covers like "Drinking Champagne," Carl Belew's "Lonely Street" and "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You," as well as three songs credited to Mr. Albert and a couple by Oklahoma songwriter Barry Paul Harbison; Tony Albert's management is also listed on the album as being based in Oklahoma (which probably explains the songs by Harbison getting placed on this album) though it's not clear if Tony Albert himself had moved to the Sooner State at this point in his career.

Urel Albert "One Man's Woman At A Time" (Cinnamon Records, 1974).(LP)
(Produced by John Elgio)
An oddball novelty artist whose best-known work is in a long string of far-flung indie-label singles, Missouri native Urel Albert was a professional country music imitator, doing impressions of folks like Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash and the like... He had a few songs that grazed the back end of the Top 100, but mostly Albert was a plugger, relying on live shows for his bread and butter. Albert also recorded a few football-related private pressing singles (rah! rah! go Buckeyes!) which seems to have been a viable gig for under-the-radar country singers in the late '70s... Anyway, there's some straight country stuff on here, as well as several impressions, which, frankly I don't think were all that great, but they are kind of interesting in an odd, pop-culture way.

Urel Albert "Saturday Night In Nashville" (Spar Records, 1974).(LP)

Charlie Albertson "He Sure Sings A Good Country Song" (Hilltop Records, 1974).(LP)
(Produced by Jack Linneman)
A veritable institution in the Tar Heel State, Charles W. Albertson was born in Beulaville, North Carolina back in 1932 and pursued a musical career that spanned the 1970s and beyond. Once a regular on the Arthur Smith TV show, he went on to record a number of country records, including both secular and gospel material, and in the late '80s turned towards politics, winning a state house seat in 1989 (running in the Democratic Party) then moved into the state senate from 1993-2011, where he became known as "the singing senator." The apex of his political career may have been in 2010 when he heard that some guys in Willie Nelson's entourage had been busted for for smoking pot, which prompted Mr. Albertson to record a protest anthem, "Leave The Man Alone," which became a regional hit. This early 'Seventies album appears to be all cover songs, mostly big hits of the '60s and '70s, including tunes like "Borrowed Angel," "Love Is The Foundation," "Tie A Yellow Ribbon," and Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me Lord." Earlier he had recorded a few singles for the Nashville-based Stop Records label, and mid-decade had a few songs recorded on Mega Records, but nothing ever clicked nationally.

Charlie Albertson "Honky Tonk Moon" (Hilltop Records, 197-?).(LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Capps, Kevin McManus & Billy Linneman)
While his previous album was heavy on cover tunes, this seems to be more of a songwriters demo set, with all the songs on Side One co-written by picker Dave Kirby and Side Two packed with material by guys like Roger Bryant, Gene Dobbins, Weldon Myrick, and even one by Bobby Harden, who also sings backup on this album, along with his sister Arlene. Among the studio hotshots backing him here are Jimmy Capps and Steve Chapman on guitar, Bunky Keels plunking piano, Johnny Gimble sawing the fiddle and Stu Basore and Weldon Myrick chiming in on pedal steel... Although this is mostly new material written by others, there is one rare Alberson original at the end, a tune called "Thankful," tucked away at the tail end of Side Two.

Charlie Albertson "I'm Going To Live For Jesus" (Calvary Records, 1977).(LP)
Mr. Albertson also delved into gospel material, as heard on this disc, although his later albums from the 1990s and '00s mostly seem to be secular sets.

Bobby Albright "...And The New Country Revue" (Arctic Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Albright, Larry Welborn & Debbie Barlow; Engineered by Jim Zuchsow)
All cover tunes by this group from Alaska... Although they called Anchorage home, the band apparently made it down to the Lower 48 to play -- the liner notes from Kenny Vernon say that they backed him in Vegas. Albright apparently stayed in the background, playing bass and singing harmony, while guitarist Larry Welborn and gal singer Debbie Barlow split the lead vocals; neither were particularly adept vocalists, while the band was -- hate to say it -- pretty mediocre. An authentic bar band, and one of the few Alaskan country groups that made a record... but you don't need to go crazy trying to track this one down.

Rick Albright & One Of A Kind "A New Flame" (Harvest Records, 1978).(LP)
(Produced by Carl Godin & Jim Lake)
Well, yeah, I guess you could slate this guy from Saint Charles, Missouri as a "country" singer, though a hefty dose of his repertoire (three songs) come from Bobby Goldsboro... Not to mention his covers of "The Way We Were" and Burt Bacharach's "Say A Little Prayer." Still, you've got some Jimmy Webb ("By The Time I Get To Phoenix"), Eddy Raven, John Denver, and a version of "Welcome To My World." No pedal steel or fiddle, but his pop-lounge leanings are clearly balanced by a taste for twang... or countrypolitan ballads, at least. This set was recorded at the KBK Studios, in Saint Louis. No info on whether Albright played live gigs as well, or where, but if anyone out there knows more, I'm all ears.

Bob Alday "Alabama's Real Country Sound" (1982).(LP)
Singer Bob Alday owned farms in Leroy, Alabama, north of Mobile, as well as in nearby Jackson, where he ran a barbershop, and where this album was recorded. He billed himself as "the Alabama Plowboy," apparently in homage to Eddy Arnold's old nickname, although it sounds like he really had tilled a few fields in his time. This is a curious album, packed with original material, kicking off on Side One with three Christmas songs and an evocative gospel title, "God's Out Of Town." The rest of the record seems to be secular, with Side Two is proudly proclaimed "other side country" on the album cover. Mr. Alday claimed copyright on all the songs (although some have rather familiar themes...) and released the 1982 cassette version of this album under the title, The Alabama Plowboy.

Ava Aldridge "Frustrated Housewife" (MGM Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by George Soule)
Like a lot of folks in the Muscle Shoals scene, Sheffield, Alabama's Ava Ekiss Aldridge (1946-2003) sat on the ledge, with country on one side, and soul on the other... Aldridge worked extensively as a backup singer for a wide range of artists -- including Greg Allman, Patti Austin, Jim Dickinson, Levon Helm and Hank Williams, Jr. -- and obviously had deep connections to both country and Southern rock. She was also a successful songwriter, with perhaps her best known song being "Sharing The Night Together," which was a Top Ten hit for Dr. Hook. This was her first and (I think) only solo album, packed with original material, soulful music with a twangy undercurrent, to be sure.

Earl Aldridge "The Country Feelings Of Earl Aldridge" (Walnut Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Casolari & Bill Harris)
A mainstream country-covers set by a local guy from Sterling, Illinois who seems to have been active from the early to late 1970s... Aldridge was from the northern end of the state -- he thanks his fans in Sterling and Rock Falls, two towns on opposite sides of the Rock River, about fifty miles due west of Chicago -- but he traveled way down to Flora, IL to record these sessions at Crusade Studios, a business normally devoted to Christian artists. This set is decidedly secular, with covers of ballads such as "You Gave Me A Mountain" and Wynn Stewart's tragicomic, "It's Such A Pretty World Today," as well as Dick Feller's "Some Days Are Diamonds" and Bob McDill's "Amanda," all on the mellow side, but a nice selection nonetheless. The backing musicians aren't identified, though a couple of the studio's house band, Bill Casolari and Art Baker are listed as "assisting" musicians, though no other specific details are provided. Outside of the a few news items from between 1971 to 1976, I couldn't find much information about Mr. Aldridge or his musical career. Not sure when this album came out, either, although he does cover "The Rose," which was a big hit for Bette Midler in 1979, so this could be an early 'Eighties release.

Larry "Jinx" Alexander "Riverboat Man" (Private Stock/Demon Records, 1972/1989) (LP)
(Produced by David Johnson)
I really don't know much about this guy -- the liner notes on the album are pretty cryptic, and I wasn't able to find any info about him online. As near as I can figure this was sort of a "field recording" conducted by David Johnson for the Private Stock label, where he traveled to Mississippi and met and recorded Larry Alexander, who was a bluesy swamp-rock oddball who sounded pretty similar to Tony Joe White and Larry Jon Wilson. This is a cool, kicked-back, swampy Southern album -- kind of surprising it's so far off the radar... But that's the '70s for you! Hotshot superpicker Travis Wammack plays guitar (and banjo!) and that's always a treat. Originally released in 1972.

Stan Alexander "Remember Me" (Blanco Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Stan Alexander & Richard Westley)
A curious but kind of delightful album... Stan Alexander was a young dude from Chireno, Texas (near Nacodoches) who had a strong affinity for older music, covering blues-tinged, sentimental hillbilly oldies such as "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder," "I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name" and "Remember Me," as well as other, eclectic selections of a more modern vintage. Alexander had a very gruff, old-man sounding voice suggesting a Lone Star geezer such as Don Walser, but if you look at the pictures, he was just some skinny kid from East Texas. He was also a pretty idiosyncratic vocalist, perhaps not that great technically, but there's a relaxed, potluck-party charm to this album that might win you over. Alexander has some definite quirks -- he bends everything into an odd, blues-based mode, and he sometimes struggles on uptempo numbers, though on the softer side when he really starts to croon, he might remind you of Fred Neil or Hoyt Axton, with a similar post-folk vibe. There's some nice picking on here, too... I like the mellow, unpretentious feel of the sessions, mostly with Houston locals in the crew, as well as bluegrasser Alan Munde playing banjo, and some nice pedal steel by Dave Williams. If you like unusual, uncompromised, unique-sounding roots records, give this one a spin. I'm not saying it's a classic, but I got into it.

Wyvon Alexander "Wyvon" (Gervasi Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Shook)
This Texas honkytonk crooner's full name is Wyvon Alexander, and this record is pretty darn good. Robust, soulful, and packed with original material, this is a nice mix of hard-edged barroom ballads and smoother commercial country. This might appeal to fans of Ed Bruce, Vern Gosdin or Waylon Jennings -- kind of in that general territory. Definitely worth a spin!

The Alferd Packer Memorial String Band "Friends For Lunch" (1985) (LP)
This wild-and-wooley, all-acoustic, old-timey jugband represented the old-guard hippie fringe of the Lawrence, Kansas music scene. When all the kids were going punk, the Alferd Packer band -- named after a notorious 19th Century Midwestern cannibal -- played a mix of old-timey tunes from the likes of Charlie Poole and Uncle Dave Macon, some Celtic material, and several originals by bandmembers Steve Mason, Jim Krause and Doug DuBois, who penned the topically-themed "A Partheid In A Pear Tree." Playing percussion in the group was sculptor Jim Brothers, who found fame outside the Midwest and was drawn back to the heavy gravity of Larryville, where he continued to produced nationally-recognized works, often with historical themes. Not sure if he ever did a piece about Alfred Packer, though... This album also includes their rambunctious version of the "William Tell Overture," which they would play to heighten the tension of their annual concerts at the downtown Post Office on Tax Day, to the delight of last-minute filers.

Larry Alger & The Swingin' Country Show "Live At Max" (Virginia Arts Recording Services, 1980).(LP)
(Produced by Paul Brier)
Dunno much about this band from Charlottesville, Virginia... They left a pretty light imprint online, with little reference to this album or their live shows... The group released at least one single, "Best Female Actress Of The Year" (a song that isn't on this album) and lead singer Larry Alger won the Male Vocalist award at the 1981 National Championship Country Music Contest in Manassas. Other than that, the trail grows cold. Alger seems to have settled down in nearby Keysville, though I'm not sure how long he pursued his musical career. This album is mostly covers, a mix of oldies and newer hits such as Eddie Rabbit's "I Love A Rainy Night" -- there might also be some original material, but the tracks are uncredited, so I don't know for sure. The band included Larry Alger on lead vocals, guitarists Darian Lester and Dick Shull, Wendell Butler (drums), Jesse Harvey (piano), and Robby Meadows on bass. The Max nightclub was enveloped into a larger entity called Trax (which was the proving ground for the Dave Matthews Band in the early 'Nineties) though the entire complex was engulfed by the University of Virginia, which purchased the property and demolished the club(s) in 2001 as part of an expansion of the UVA hospital. Nothing really lasts, does it?

Mary Alice "Loving You Again" (Marty Bleifeld Productions, 1981-?).(LP)
(Produced by Larry Aschlemann & Marty Bleifeld)
This uber-Midwestern album was recorded in Fort Wayne, Indiana with an all-locals band. The repertoire is all cover songs, except for the title track, "Loving You Again," which was written by John Snyder, apparently a friend of the band. It seems doubtful that singer Mary Alice was even semi-professional, since in the liner notes she thanks Dick and Pat Oberly for letting her sit in with their group, the Country CBers Band, at a gig at the Four Aces club in Tillman, Indiana... My guess is that the musicians backing her here weren't her "regular" band, either, but rather a pickup group put together just for these recording sessions.

The All Nite Truck Stop Combo "Truck It: Truck Driver Love Songs" (CDM/Candlelight Music, 1982) (LP)
Absolutely no idea who actually played on this super-ultra-el-cheapo set of contemporary country hit covers, but I would not be surprised to find at least some of these tracks pasted into some other albums(s) under other "band" names. It's mostly pretty up-to-date, early 'Eighties material -- stuff like "On The Road Again," "Bobbie Sue," "Elvira," "Good Ol' Boys" -- along with oldies and sorta-oldies such as "Six Days On The Road," "Looking At The World Through A Windshield," "Phantom 309," and the like. It's certainly not all trucker tunes, but close enough. At any rate, with twenty-five songs wedged into two album sides, I doubt they wasted too much time sweating the details. One track, "So Fine," is credited to The Fiestas. Again, your guess is as good as mine.

David Allan "Town And Country" (Scooter Records, 1968).(LP)
(Produced by Nate Schwartz)
Songwriter David Allan was a longtime presenter on Albany, New York's WRGB-TV, where he hosted a "dialing for dollars"-style game show, and had a sideline as a musician and recording artist. On this album, recorded with Pete Williams and the Goodtimes Three, he records a bunch of original material, much of it with a light novelty feel, including songs like "Miss Understanding," "Turn Off The Memories," "That's How The Word Gets Around," "When A Woman Really, Really Loves A Man" and "Bone Lonely."

A. L. Allen "My Help Cometh From The Lord" (Classic Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by David Fauss & Kevin McManus)
Wow. This one's definitely a doozy! I mean, for anyone looking for Christian artists playing real-deal country, this disc is hard to beat. Archie Lee Allen (1927-2021) was a Pentecostal preacher living in Vidor, Texas at the time he cut this album, leading a congregation at the Calvary Tabernacle in nearby Beaumont. He was born in Mississippi and had real country roots, playing steel guitar in a hillbilly band with his brothers called the Mississippi Ramblers, but when he turned eighteen in 1945, he got religion and moved away from secular music to become a tent revivalist, working in a wide regional swath that included stints in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and elsewhere. He led several congregations before taking the job in Beaumont sometime around 1969, and his music certainly embodied the often wild, expressive tradition of Pentecostal country music. For this record, he the pilgrimage to Nashville to book a studio session with some top-level pickers, and he certainly made the most of it. Though blessed with modest vocal power, he really threw himself into it, backed by guys like guitarist Jack Eubanks, steel player Larry Sasser, and Bruce Watkins, who anchors the session on lead guitar, fiddle and banjo. A lot of times when gospel artists record in Nashville, everybody seems to go out of their way to tone things down -- a little steel guitar softly chiming in the background, but nothing loud enough to scare the neighbors. Mr. Allen, on the other hand, gets these Tennessee boys to really blast away: the opening track, "My Help Cometh From The Lord," is almost shocking in its brash, pure honkytonk vibe, while the lyrics are a real hoot, reveling in the doom and destruction awaiting the unsaved sinners. Though there are a couple of nods to the southern gospel elite -- one song each from Rusty Goodman and Dottie Rambo -- most of the songs are A. L. Allen originals, and they reflect his own bedrock fundamentalism. The energy flags a bit after the dynamic opening number, but not much. This a truly twangy record, and Mr. Allen's willingness to shoehorn clunky religious harangues into the robust arrangements makes for some quality country kitsch. I think he had some later records as well, but details are vague.

Anna Jane (Allen) -- see artist profile

The Allen Brothers Band "Live From The Sail Inn Lounge" (Arkay Custom Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Rich Krueger)
Ultra-authentic bar-band/lounge act country from this clean-cut California combo... The Allen brothers, Jack and Russ, were originally from Decatur, Illinois, moving to California in the early 1960s and forming their first band in '68, although it was put on hold for a few years while Russ Allen served a tour of duty in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Jack Allen and his wife Linda came up with the cash to purchase the Sail Inn Lounge, a bar in Santa Cruz, CA, which is where this album was recorded. You can really hear the ambience of the room, with happy, tipsy customers chat-shouting during the set and whooping their applause... The band was amateurish but sincere, mainly a guitar-based lineup with some fairly haphazard pedal steel licks in the mix. (Steel player Ernie Hagar mainly played gigs around the central coast, though he had a brief, early 'Seventies gig with the Commander Cody band, and recorded an instrumental album under his own name.) Here, the Allen Brothers played a few rock tunes -- Santana's "Evil Ways," a couple of Creedence covers ("Down On The Corner" and "Proud Mary," of course) and a semi-funky version of the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman." Mostly though, they seem to have been devoted to country stuff, with versions of "Six Days On The Road," "Night Life," "Kiss An Angel Good Morning" and a lively version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" where Russ Allen shows some real chops on the banjo. The Sail Inn Lounge changed hands (and names) several times before the property was eventually purchased by the county and converted into the Live Oak branch of the local public library... Although toddler storytime is probably the big show there now, I'm sure many a mellow night was spent at the old bar, back in the days.

Allen Creek Coal Company "The Allen Creek Coal Company" (Major Recording Company, 1983-?) (LP)
(Produced by Allen Creek Coal Company)
A half-hippie bluegrass band from Northeast Ohio, with decidedly "progressive" inclinations. They covered songs by the Beatles, Dallas Frazier ("California Cottonfields"), David Grisman ("Old And In The Way"), Peter Rowan (Midnight Moonlight") and Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," as well as some more traditionally-oriented material. The band included Buck Deal on guitar, Jim Kelley (fiddle), Jeff McCrystal (bass), Sonny Neff (mandolin) and banjo picker Larry Sargent. Pretty straightforward banjo-driven bluegrass; nothing too earthshaking, though I'm always interested in stuff on John Major's Virginia-based label.

Dave Allen "Doin' My Thing" (TAD Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Downs)
Not to be confused with the surf-rock musician, country singer Dave Allen was born in Rogersville, Tennessee and emerged as a child prodigy in the late 1950s, appearing on local radio as well as Opry member Archie Campbell's TV show... This album was "recorded in Nashville Studios with Nashville Musicians," though, sadly, none are identified. As far as I know, this was his only album.

Gary Allen "Stars And Bars" (PMI Records/Prime Music Incorporated, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joseph Cesare & Robert M. Durazzo)
A really great set of smoothly-produced but totally robust modernized honkytonk, with debts to Moe Bandy, Marty Robbins, and others. I'm pretty sure this is not the same Gary Allen who hit the Top Forty scene in the early 2000s, though there's really not much to go on infowise as far as this album goes -- no musician credits, no date, no address, etc. It looks like a late 'Eighties outing, though apparently Mr. Allen had a recording career dating back to the 1960s, and was briefly signed to Capitol Records around 1970. He was for sure working in Arizona when this album came out, as the front cover gives shout-outs to a couple dozen nightclubs scattered throughout the state, and a Tucson address for PMI Records is given on the inner sleeve. Sadly there are also no composer credits, though I'm guessing these were all Allen's own originals. Fortunately, the music speaks for itself, and this is a very strong, very enjoyable album, one of those discs that make you wonder why some folks make it while other don't... Definitely worth a spin!

Greg Allen "This Is Greg Allen" (ASI Studios, 1979-?) (LP)
(Produced by Greg Allen & Jim Murphy)
An ultra-DIY album by a lounge singer from Minneapolis, Minnesota... Basically one of those records that are just intended to get a musician more work, this includes simple, typewritten liner notes that list -- in minute detail -- each of the dozen or so casinos, hotels and bars that had hired Allen to date, a string of Midwestern and Southern Holiday Inns and Vegas lounges. Working with local musicians, Allen recorded this short session, with country oldies like "Rocky Top" alongside pop standards such as "Feelings" and "My Way." This is another undated mystery record where we just have to guesstimate the release date: the most contemporary selections include Bonnie Tyler's "It's A Heartache" and Kenny Rogers' "Love Or Something Like It," both hits in 1978, so I'm gonna go '79 on this one, although it could be later as well.

Ira Allen "Hanging On With..." (Portland Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden & George Richey)
A stalwart of the New England country scene, Maine's Ira Allen started out as a rocker in the late 1950s, cut a few country singles in the '60s and early '70s, though nothing charted nationally, and he remained a hometown hero for several decades. The album title is a reference to Allen's best-known song, "(Just Enough To Keep Me) Hanging On," a tune he co-wrote with Buddy Mize that was one of Vern Gosdin's first solo hits in the 1970s. Also included are originals such as "Love Can't Feel Good All The Time," "Good Old Country Song" and "Real Live Country Star." It looks like Allen spent some time out West as well -- although there's a Portland in Maine, the town in the label name refers to Puddletown out on the West Coast, and this set was recorded at Gene Breeden's fabled Ripcord studio in Washington state. In addition to seven originals by Allen, the album includes "One Last Kiss," a song credited to Bobby Wooten, a deejay/program director at radio station KAYO, Seattle... So I guess he was a Pacific Northwesterner, as well!

Ira Allen "...Sings Cabbage Patch Doll" (LS Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Scaife & Jimi Young)
This set was recorded in Nashville with a mix of familiar and less-familiar studio musicians... They are all named, though not which instruments they played(!) The group included Tim Atwood, Chuck Bartlett, Fred Bluestone, Jimmy Capps, Fred Newall, Tommy Williams, Jimi Young and Mike Young. All but one of the songs are Ira Allen originals, with most of the tracks on Side Two co-written with a fella named Dan Newman.

Joey Allen "Joey Allen Movement At The Town And Country" (Mark Custom/Allen Records, 1970-?) (LP)
Marginally country, but probably worth a mention. A lounge band from upstate New York the Joey Allen Movement centered around tenor saxophonist/vocalist Joey Allen and had a very 'Sixties-era eclectic popular music repertoire, including a couple of country tunes -- "Little Green Apples," "Walk On By" -- along with pop vocal hits, show tunes and movie themes. Non-country material dominates, with versions of "Eleanor Rigby," Burt Bacharach's "I'll Never Fall In Love Again," and Rod McEuen's theme to the 1969 film The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, as well as the theme to Midnight Cowboy (both of which help date this album to either late 1969 or 1970...) There's also one original by Joey Allen, a little tune called "The Cow," which closes out Side One of the album. The group also included Fred Kalfas on lead guitar, Mark Krupiriski (bass), Jim Perry (percussion), Steve Propocki (organ), and Francis Warnke (flugelhorn and trumpet) and while they were hardly a twangband, this is a good example of the enduring popularity of country material as crowd-pleasing lounge music. They apparently had a regular gig as the house band at a place called The Town And Country, though other than that I'm not sure if they played much elsewhere.

John Allen "All Night Ladies" (Bejay Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Ben Jack)
Country stuff and southern rock by a guy from Fort Smith, Arkansas with a slightly David Allen Coe/John Anderson-ish vibe... One of the many idiosyncratic offerings from Fort Smith's hyper-indie Bejay label, with musical backing by producer-steel player Ben Jack and a studio crew that included Terry Anderson (rhythm guitar), John Davies (bass), Bill Flashpohler (lead guitar), Ben Jack (steel guitar), Herb Lewis (saxophone), Bob Myers (lead guitar), Bob White (steel guitar), and Bobby White on keyboards.

Johnny Allen & Norm Halsey "I'm A Real Live Cowboy" (Pamrae Records, 1981)
(Produced by Drew Palmer & Ralph Stover)
A fairly strained set of uptempo country novelty songs. Recorded in Stockton, California, this album starts out okay, with the title track, "I'm A Real Live Cowboy," a frantic, twangy satirical jab similar to Chuck Wagon & The Wheel's "Disco Sucks," but taking aim at the urban cowboy crowd instead of the pop-dance scene. As an opening number, it's an okay novelty song, but there are diminishing returns after that. The humor quickly starts sounding more and more desperate, the musicianship more hurried and frayed at the ends, and less and less country. There's a blaring, saxophone-led '50s rock-style number that literally made me get up and move the needle to another track, and the album eventually terminates with a couple of real stinkers -- a bizarre, bad, rock-flavored number called "The Toll Troll," and its immediate reprise, "Toll Troll Dance," which I guess they meant to sound like some kind of faux-electronica/industrial anti-song(?) The swift devolution of what started out as a "Junk Food Junkie"-level comedy record leaves you feeling disappointed, and with the distinct impression that these guys maybe should have just made a single, and left it at that. All local musicians, though, including guitarist Dave Azevedo, Jeff Baker (drums), Bobby Davis (banjo), Wes Jones (saxophone), Bobby Niemeyer (pedal steel), Tim O' Connor (fiddle) and Mike Wood on piano. Maybe worth having on your radar, but not a record you're likely to return to very often.

Judy Allen "Especially For You" (Stop Records, 1972) (LP)
One of the many lost, orphan albums of the early '70s... Though her career took off in Canada, singer Judy Allen -- an ex-wife of country star Rex Allen, Jr. -- was originally from California. Her chart hits came a little later, in 1978, with a brief mid-1970s stint on Polydor, but apparently those Back Forty singles weren't enough to persuade the label to put out a full album of her work... Perhaps someday she'll get a full retrospective set, combining these songs with the later stuff? Maybe... who knows?

Rags Allen "After Hours With Rags Allen" (2005) (LP)
A solo set by pianist Rags Allen, a versatile musician who played with a wide variety of rock, pop and country artists. This set isn't very twangy, packed with pop standards such as "The In Crowd," "Misty" and "Say A Little Prayer," with a version of Floyd Cramer's "Last Date" being just about the only officially "country" song in the batch... But having backed folks like Charley Pride, Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, he'd earned the right to play whatever fancy-pants, big-city, easy listening stuff he wanted... I'm not sure how many recording sessions he was in, though he can be spotted in the early 'Seventies touring with itinerant bandleader Al Perry. I'm also not sure where Allen was originally from, but he settled down in Arizona and self-released several other CD-era albums, and was inducted into the Arizona Nightclub Performers Hall of Fame.

Reb Allen "Country Hits" (Alshire/Somerset Records, 19--?) (LP)
A California-based also-ran, singer Reb Allen released several singles over a span of years, some of which are reprised here, on this budget-line LP, though many others remain uncollected. Dunno much about this guy, though obviously he got into the orbit of the cheapie budget label scene... As with so many Alshire LPs, it's not clear who the backing musicians may have been, or when the sessions were recorded, though Allen seems to have been part of the Southern California country-rock contingent clustered around the Palomino and other LA-area clubs. Some of the old-timers on the Steel Guitar Forum thought he may have had a day job in a local police department, but moonlighted as a country singer when the sun went down. This is a classic "soundalike" album, with his cover of the Johnny Cash hit, "Folsom Prison Blues" as the big draw, though the rest of the record seems to be original material, presumably written by Mr. Allen, or maybe by some of the unidentified LA pickers backing him here. No composer credits, of course.

Reb Allen "The Fightin' Side Of Me" (Crown Records, 1970-?) (LP)
Although he recorded a bit of uptempo twang in his time -- notably his own bouncy rocker called "Go Back To Your Honky Tonk" -- these tracks are mostly pretty languid and low-energy. As on his previous record, this prominently features a cover of a big contemporary hit -- in this case, Merle Haggard's "Fightin' Side Of Me" -- but most of the other tracks seem to be originals. Good news here: on this album they actually do provide songwriter credits, and identify Mr. Allen as the sole composer, with all his songs published by fellow Crown Records artist Gordon Calcote. Mr. Calcote was a jack-of-all-trades who worked as a deejay, producer, manager and session musician, so it's possible he was involved in Reb Allen's recording sessions as well, but that's just idle speculation, since there are no producer or musician credits on this album.

Richard Allen "Personal Reasons" (Ben Recording Company, 1985-?) (LP)
A self-released album with Mr. Allen playing all the instruments, presumably with a bit of multi-tracking magic. All the songs are originals, credited to Richard A. Nix, which was probably his full name.. He was born in Tennessee, but grew up in Indiana, and was living in New Haven, Indiana and, according to the liner notes, had picked up some gigs in Florida around when this record was released.

Terry Allen -- see artist profile

Tommy Allen "Still A Lot Of Good Miles Left In Me" (JED Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by John E. Denny)
Dunno the story behind this guy, but I think he was a Lone Star lad, singing hardcore honkytonk twang... He seems to have been pals with some folks who had almost, kinda-sorta made it in the Nashville studio scene: this album was recorded in Nashville, with Darrell McCall, Dewayne Orender and Judy Rodman singing harmony. All the songs are Tommy Allen originals.

Tommy Allen "Rough And Real" (JED Records, 1984-?) (LP)
(Produced by John E. Denny)
As with the previous album, this is all original material; Dewayne Orender also plays on this album, some of which was recorded in San Antonio, some of it in Nashville...

Duane Allman "An Anthology" (Capricorn Records, 1972)
A fine retrospective that spotlights the late Duane Allman's session work outside of the raucous confines of the well-known Allman Brothers Band. Besides the Southern rock and blues workouts, there are some sweet, acoustic-based gems such as "Please Be With Me," by the band Cowboy, and the Allman Bros instrumental, "Little Martha," which is an eternally soothing, mellow melody. Some of the funky roots riffs and slide routines have grown stale through overexposure and imitation (if I never, ever, ever, ever hear "Layla" again, it'll be too soon...) though it's still cool hearing Allman backing up the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Clarence Carter... And as a historical testament to one of the finest whiteboy blues players ever, this is a pretty swell 2-CD set. If you're unfamiliar with his legacy, this collection is the place to start.

Gregg Allman "Low Country Blues" (Rounder Records, 2011)
(Produced by T Bone Burnett)
A rock-solid, pleasantly mellow roots-blues set from Southern Rock granddaddy Gregg Allman, who has seen his fair share of funky jam sessions in his time, often with a solid wall of rock-god guitars around him. This time, he's in a stripped-down, mostly acoustic mode, playing classic blues from the likes of B.B. King, Amos Milburn, Otis Rush and Muddy Waters, with a few more obscure songs in the mix and some original tunes for good measure. Underpinning Allman's B3 organ are the funky piano trills of Dr. John, and a host of tasteful pickers, including producer T Bone Burnett strumming on a tune or two. A very tasteful, tasty album, Allman's first solo set in thirteen years(!) and sure to satisfy his fans and old-school blues lovers everywhere. Definitely recommended.

P. J. Allman "Heart First" (Kansa Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Ronny Light)
A solo set by singer P.J. Allman, who was a founding member of an all-gal band called Chantilly, which also featured Debbie Pierce, daughter of honkytonk legend Webb Pierce. Most songs look like they were original to this album, including Allman's own "Touch Of A Man." These tracks feature an all-pro Nashville crew, with Pete Wade, Hargus Robbins, Lloyd Green and Weldon Myrick, as well as Judy Rodman on backup vocals. Alas, nothing charted from either album.

P. J. Allman "Genuine Love" (Playback Records, 1987) (LP)

Jerry Jaye Allogio "Sweet Memories" (Pallette Records, 1985-?) (LP)
(Produced by Kent Hickman)
Not to be confused with Southern country-soul man Jerry Jaye, back in the 1980s local Pennsylvania rancher and aspiring songwriter Gerald Allogio hosted a country music TV show in Lehigh Valley, also releasing his own records while performing regionally with his band, Wrangler. Allogio was just starting to get some traction with his music career when this album came out -- fellow Pennsylvanian Pat Garrett filmed a video with Allogio, and there was talk of a major-label deal in Nashville. Allogio died suddenly, however, suffering a heart attack while driving his car in 1987, barely a month after appearing at Nashville's star-studded Fan Fair music festival. This album is mostly cover songs, including oldies such as "Making Believe," "Heartaches By The Number" and "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," as well as some newer tunes, like Hugh Moffatt's "Old Flames." There's also one original song, Allogio's own "Let's Make It."

Jerry Jaye Allogio "What Does She See In Me?" (Pallette Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by John Miller)
A six-song EP, with all-original material penned by Allogio. The band isn't identified, though a gal named Linda Tyrie duets on the title track, "What Does She See In Me."

Bucky Allred "Bucky Allred" (Chaparral Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Turner)
A humble honkytonker from Glenwood, New Mexico, Bucky Allred started playing music while going to college, back in the early 1970s. He later made the move to Albuquerque around 1975, using the city as his base of operations while he toured regionally in his home state, as well as in Colorado and Texas. In the early '80s Allred gave Nashville a shot and released a string of singles though after a few years he headed back to Albuquerque and cut a few more singles on local indie labels. In 1993 he bought the Blue Front Cafe and settled down in Glenwood, finally hanging up his music biz spurs for several years before signing up as The Delk Band's bass player sometime around 2005. As far as I know this is his only album, though it includes a lot of original material, including his own "Rx-All Ranger," which came out as a single the year before. Bucky Allred had some interesting musical connections, recording tunes by Billy Eustis, Bobby Fisher and others, and was in music promoter Little Richie Johnson's orbit as well. He had at least one of his singles -- on the Bluefront label -- engineered by the legendary Norman Petty, though it's possible this was an older recording, since Petty died in 1984. Mr. Allred also got into local politics, and ran for country commissioner a number of times, while hosting a big community party from time to time, to build up good will.

John Allred "Big Horn Country" (CG Productions, 1976)
(Produced by John Allred & Leon Bohanon)
A farm kid from Montana, John Allred played in high school bands and local acts in the late 1960s, getting more serious about his music in the early 'Seventies. Along the way he caught the attention of promoters working for a talent agency run by Buck Owens, which led to many more high-profile concerts as well as the opportunity to record professionally. His first sessions were in Bakersfield, where he cut a single, and then this album, which was recorded at the RCA studios in Nashville. The songs are all originals, mostly by Allred, although one tune was written by his father, Garth Allred, while another was composed by Louis Reynolds, one of the guys in his band.

John Allred "A Real Live Cowboy" (Wind River Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Williams & Ronald Gant)
I suppose if George Strait had missed the bigtime and just kept playing with the Ace In The Hole Band back in Texas, he might have sounded something like this uber-indie Montana cowboy... Allred went to Nashville to record, and cut an album of consistently good, simple, straightforward melodic honkytonk, with a sharp backing band, spotlighting rich, ringing pedal steel and dobro by Paul Franklin, and the Bob Wills-flavored fiddling by Tommy Williams (of the Hee Haw house band.) As with his other albums, this contains a wealth of original material, with about half the songs being Allred's compositions, along with some well-chosen cover tunes such as Jimmy Work's "Making Believe" and "Good Hearted Woman" by Waylon Jennings. The vocal phrasing can be a little sluggish at times, but essentially this is pretty strong stuff... Definitely worth a spin!

John Allred "Born With Country Music" (Wind River Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Williams & Ronald Gant)
Man, what a great record. Allred sounds a lot more at ease here, robust and relaxed, and much better at riding along with the rhythm of the songs. This time around he hired another Nashville studio crew, with paid pickers including Sonny Garrish, Bunky Keels and Terry McMillan playing some sharp, slick riffs, with Tommy Williams is still leading the sessions and still sounding western-swing sweet. You really gotta wonder why Allred didn't make to the national stage with a record like this under his belt, but hey, that's show business. Another set of all original material -- six songs by John Allred, one by his dad Garth Allred and a few more by bandmembers Leon Bohanon and Lonnie Bell. Nice stuff. The title track, "Born With Country Music," is one of those fun twang-booster tunes where the singer says he ain't from Texas or Tennessee, but he can play country just as well as those big city fellers. Amen to that, brother!

John Allred "Dreams Of A Dreamer" (Wind River Records, 1984) (LP)

Tommy Allsup "The Buddy Holly Songbook" (Reprise Records, 1964) (LP)
Oklahoma-born guitarist Tommy Allsup (1931-2017) was a prominent session player and country music producer in the 1960s and '70s, although earlier on he had been a rock'n'roller, touring with Buddy Holly & The Crickets in the late 1950s. Like his bandmate Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup famously gave up his seat on the small passenger plane that crashed in February, 1959, killing pop icons Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson and Richie Valens... So this Buddy Holly tribute disc comes with some history. Personally I think the souped-up, electrified arrangements are a bit overwrought, but it's a nice chance to hear Allsup's picking rise to the fore... Not sure who else is backing him on this album, though...

Tommy Allsup & The Nashville Survey "The Hits Of Charley Pride" (Metromedia Records, 1969-?) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Allsup & Charlie Bragg)
After spending about a decade in Texas, Tommy Allsup moved to Nashville in 1968 to try his hand (quite successfully) in the Music City studio scene. For a while in the late 'Sixties he led an informal group called The Nashville Survey, which backed a few artists in singles and whatnot, mostly for the fledgling Metromedia label, which put out this Charley Pride tribute album. Not sure who the other musicians were, though it seems likely they were studio heavyweights and folks in the orbit of producer Charlie Bragg.

Tommy Allsup & The Tennessee Saxes "...Play The Hits Of Tammy Wynette" (GRT Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Allsup)
As with his other solo albums, this doesn't identify the studio musicians by name... Alas. That they devoted an entire tribute album to singer Tammy Wynette is testimony to her dominant presence on the Country charts during the countrypolitan era... even this early in her career!

The Almond Hillbillies "Almond Hillbillies" (Southern Railway, 1961-?) (LP)
Beginning in 1951, the Southern Railroad company staged live entertainment in large tent shows for their management-level employees during regular retreats held in Almond, North Carolina. One of the main acts was an informal bluegrass stringband called the Almond Hillbillies, initially organized by Snow Baker, a member of the company's internal police force. The Almond shows also featured audience singalongs and comedic skits, including folksong parodies from another group called the Diddle Singers. These raucous railroad hootenannies were held for over a decade, up until 1965, when the company ended the tradition. I'm not sure how many souvenir albums like this one were created, or if this one from 1961 was the only time one was made. It was apparently manufactured and distributed without any cover art, as pictured here. Not surprisingly, the set list is heavy on train-oriented songs such as "Wreck Of The Old 97" and "Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad," though there are also more generic mountain ballads and gospel tunes galore, like "Nine Pound Hammer," etc.. Unfortunately, the individual musicians aren't listed, though it is worth noting that another band, The Southern Lawmen, was subsequently formed -- also drawing on the ranks of the SP police -- and that that group has recorded a number of albums over the years, including several reviewed here. (Many thanks to the www.railserve.com for filling in a few blanks about this band, posted as part of an exhaustive list of railroad-related albums and recordings.)

The Alsea Hillbillies "Play Old Time Dance Music" (WDW Records, 1980-?) (LP)
True-blue, old-school, pre-bluegrass stringband music by a quartet from Alsea, Oregon, a few miles inland from the coast. Fiddler Bill Woolsey led this group, with his sons Frank and John playing guitar and banjo, respectively, and Frank Perkins on mandolin. A point of interest: Mr. Woolsey built his own fiddles!

A. M. Delivery "A. M. Delivery" (A. M. Delivery, 1976) (LP)
With their banjo-mandolin-autoharp lineup this Atlanta, Georgia band was more of a bluegrass/newgrass group, but they covered country artists such as Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Herb Pedersen and Billy Ed Wheeler, so they'd probably fit into a broader "twang" category as well... The lineup included Sandy Dimon (autoharp and guitar), Ricky Burch (banjo), Gary Looper (fiddle and mandolin), and Robin Looper on bass... As far as I know these two Loopers were not directly related to the Looper Family gospel group.

The Amazing Rhythm Aces -- see artist discography

G. T. Amell "Bein' Ernest About Hank" (KM Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Johnson & Bob Berglund)
Straight-up country roots music, covers of honkytonk oldies by Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams by country (and western!) enthusiast Tom "GT" Amell. A native of Duluth, Minnesota, Amell worked for years in heavy industry while nurturing his love of western movies and old Hank Williams songs... He's backed here by a cast of Twin Cities locals, including Peter Ostroushko and Butch Thompson from the orbit of the Prairie Home Companion radio show, as well as pedal steel player Mike Cass and backup vocalist Maureen McElderry, who had a roots-oriented album of her own that came out around the same time. Amell later moved to Tombstone, Arizona, where he dressed up in wild-west cowboy duds, and retired in Georgia around 2015. As far as I know, this is his only album.

American Bluegrass Express "Bluegrass Express" (Eagle Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Leonard Walls)
Years before he joined the Top Forty country band and still in his teens, Shenandoah, Florida-born singer Marty Raybon led this bluegrass band, with three of his brothers -- Ken, Rick and Tim -- playing a mix of secular and religious material. Decades later, as an ex-chart artist gone indie, Raybon returned to bluegrass and gospel... Nice to hear that he had real roots in the style!

American Bluegrass Express "Expressing Gospel" (Eagle Record Productions, 197-?) (LP)

American Bluegrass Express "Bluegrass On My Mind" (Eagle Record Productions, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Leonard B. Needham)

American Bluegrass Express "Live!" (Redwing Records, 19--?) (LP)

American Flyer "American Flyer" (United Artists, 1976)
(Produced by George Martin)
Songwriter Eric Kaz is well-known to fans of the early Bonnie Raitt canon as the composer of the epic weeper, "Love Has No Pride," which he recorded himself while in this soft-rock ensemble formed with Craig Fuller (formerly the lead singer of Pure Prairie League) along with Doug Yule, who at the time had recently helmed the teetering, post-Lou Reed Velvet Underground... This falls more into ornate soft-rock territory than I'd prefer - very '70s, very slick, very LA. But then again, that may be exactly what you're looking for, right?

American Flyer "Spirit Of A Woman" (Columbia Records, 1977)
(Produced by Ken Friesen & American Flyer)

The American Gun Album "A Celebration In Song" (Rage Music, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Dude McLean & Paul Brosche)
Well, you might think these guys were kidding, but... I'm pretty sure they weren't. A lengthy (self) defense of the right to bear arms, this album features various songwriters enlisted to craft cheerful ditties such as "God, Guts And Guns" (by Rhio Hersh), "Thank You, Smith And Wesson" (by Terry Moretti) and "America Was Born With A Gun In Her Hand" by James Lee Reeves. Over half the album was composed by Tim McDonald, who penned tunes like "Gun Totin' Woman," "Never Mind The Dog (Beware Of The Owner)," "If Guns Are Outlawed (Only Outlaws Will Have Guns)" and my personal favorite, "We're Rednecks (And We're Gonna Keep Our Guns)." Most of the songs have a Second Amendment greatest-hits/bumper-sticker slogan vibe, though a couple, like "The Survivalist" and "Vigilante" hint at a slightly darker world view. The last track on the album, "It's My Alternative Point Of View," anticipates the whole Trump era post-truthiness movement by several decades... Oh, joy. The provenance of this project is a little hard to pin down: the liner notes say it was recorded in Boonton, New Jersey, but was mixed and released by a company in Hollywood, California. Go figure. The musicians include drummer Steve Gregory, Sharon Lynne (keyboards), Terry Moretti (lead vocals), Steve Swinford (lead guitar), Ron Tranquil (bass), Nat Wyner (fiddle and mandolin) and Dave Zeigler on steel guitar. It looks like most of the musicians were West Coasters doing session work, while Terry Moretti and some of the others were from back east. So I guess we'll call this a Jersey thing.

The American Way "America's 1st" (Blue River Records, 1976) (LP)
Euww-Ess-Say!! Euww-Ess-Say!! I dunno anything about these guys, though I think they may have been from Indiana... maybe. Anyway, this Bicentennial outburst of national pride isn't all patriotism, all the time: there are also covers of country and country-rock standards such as "Before The Next Tear Drop Falls," "Take It To The Limit" and "Squeeze Box." So, yay America!

Jim Ames & Ralph Mooney "The Bronze Boot Presents Jim Ames, Ralph Mooney & The Moonshiners" (Phil's Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Ames)
This album was a memento of a gig that steel player Ralph Mooney did at the Bronze Boot lodge, near Cody, Wyoming, a venerable, turn-of-the-century venue which at the time was operated by Hilda Ratliff. Unfortunately, the back cover liner notes spend so much time telling us about the history of the Bronze Boot, they neglected to tell us anything about Jim Ames, or his connection to Mooney's band, or, indeed, what the lineup of the band was like at the time. Although Mooney gets equal billing, The Moonshiners may have been hired by Jim Ames, who also released a single on Phil's Records, with two songs off this album, under his own name. I wasn't able to find out where Ames was from, though apparently Phil's Records was a label from Oklahoma City. (Any info is welcome!) Despite the super-fake sounding, entirely unconvincing "live" crowd noise, this is a pretty fun record, with Jim Ames projecting a rough-edged, deep-hick honkytonk persona, with an uptempo approach that owes a sizeable debt to Buck Owens, though Ames definitely has his own unique sound. Lots of great picking, too, if slightly on the manic side.

Gerry Andal "Country... Just For The Heck Of It" (Aura Cee Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden)
A country covers album from the Pacific Northwest, recorded at the Ripcord Records studio, though not officially part of their catalog. A Saskatchewan native, Gerry Andal (1943-2011) went to college in Seattle and eventually settled in the area, where he first owned a car dealership and then went into the restaurant business, partly as a way to have a place he could play music. Of special interest here is his thank-you in the liner notes to R. C. Bannon, who loaned Andal his band, Freedom, as backup musicians for this album. In the early '70s, Bannon was working as a DJ and bar singer in Seattle, before moving to Nashville in 1976; guitarist John Hoag followed Bannon to Nashville and wound up working in Louise Mandrell's band. Oh! Anyway, back to Gerry Andal: I'm not sure exactly when this album came out, but I'd guess somewhere around 1973-74, around the time Andal was hosting the first of a series of local TV shows. The album includes several Kris Kristofferson songs (including the inevitable "Me And Bobby McGee") along with stuff like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Everybody's Talking At Me." By all accounts, Andal -- who passed away in 2011 -- was a really nice guy who loved playing county fairs and was very active in the community.

Gerry Andal & Pat Roberts "Country Northwest" (Aura Cee Records, 19--) (LP)
(Produced by B. D. Bassett & Aaron Linburg)

Eric Andersen "A Country Dream" (Vanguard Records, 1969)
(Produced by Jack Lothrop)
Singer-songwriter Eric Andersen was always one of my favorite of the early Greenwich Village folkies, with his distinctive, classically pretty-sounding vocals and a romantic vision that -- to my ears at least -- helped elevate him from the confines of the either-Dylan-or-Butcher-Holler "authenticity" pigeonholes of the genre. Like many of his contemporaries -- Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Tom Paxton -- by the end of the '60s, Andersen found himself pushing against the boundaries of the folk scene and several times he went to Nashville to add a more countrified tone to his work. On this album, his last for Vanguard, he was backed by many of the big-name Music City session players such as Charlie McCoy, Weldon Myrick and Norbert Putnam... Years later, Putnam would call on several years of experience working with Andersen to produce one of the singer's finest albums, Blue River, listed below,

Eric Andersen "Avalanche" (Warner Brothers, 1969)
(Produced by Jerry Goldstein)

Eric Andersen "Eric Andersen" (Warner Brothers, 1970)
(Produced by Paul Tannen)
One of several albums Andersen recorded in Nashville, this could be considered either "diverse" or "uneven," depending on your point of view. Stylistically, it's all over the map: Andersen braves Muscle Shoals-type roots-funk on the opening track, "Don't Leave Me Here For Dead," and again on Side Two, with the uptempo "She Touched Me," and to his credit he really throws himself into the rock'n'roll vibe. Similarly, he makes good use of his Nashville crew on a couple of straight-up country-novelty songs, "Sign Of A Desperate Man" and "I Was The Rebel (She Was The Cause)," with a hefty chunk of the 615 studio crew backing him up: Norbert Putnam playing bass, Weldon Myrick on pedal steel, drummer Kenny Buttrey, Charlie McCoy, David Briggs, et. al. While the rock and twang numbers are done well, most of the album is devoted to straight-up folk stuff, all of it with Andersen's distinctive romantic stamp on it, with a few tunes drifting into more cosmic, starry-eyed, semi-psychedelic territory. Although the album isn't necessarily all that cohesive, all of the tracks are musically solid and satisfying on their own terms. And certainly -- if it matters -- Anderson has fully liberated himself from the "imitating Dylan" trope: this music is all Andersen's sound and vision. Definitely worth a spin!

Eric Andersen "Blue River" (Columbia Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Norbert Putnam)

Eric Andersen "Sweet Surprise" (Arista Records, 1976)
(Produced by Tom Sellers & Mark Harman)
I'm sure this was meant to be a country-folk magnum opus, but nothing really connected for me -- it's all a little too slick, sterile and LA-ish to draw me in. There's a lot of country talent on here, along with studio pros from the rock world, with folks like Tony Brown, Tom Scott and Arlen Roth balanced out by Ben Keith, David Mansfield and Happy Traum, but the contributions of the roots crowd are pretty definitively buried amid a pretty sappy AOR soundscape. Perhaps the most intriguing side musician is jazz player/women's music pioneer sitting in June Millington on both acoustic and electric guitar, but again nothing distinctive to point to... Andersen also covers a Tom Waits tune, Some of the more uptempo numbers sound a little like early Steve Forbert, but nothing really leaps out, except maybe the steel-dappled "Crazy River," which also features modest backing vocals by a trio formed by the guys from Silver, John Batdorf, John Collier and Brent Mydland, who at the time were in a band called Silver. A reserved, contemplative set, but not super compelling.

Anderson, Flesher & Key "AFK: Right On The Edge" (Venture Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Stull)
The lone album by the Texas trio of Jackie Anderson (guitar), Bob Flesher (bass) and Woody Key (guitar), aka AFK, or Amarillo's answer to Hall & Oates. Yeah, I guess you could called these guys "country rock," though they seem to have been aiming for more of a AOR/'80s soft rock sound. They're backed by drummer Lynn Williams (who was grouped in with the main band on the credits...) as well as Sheryl Anderson on piano, steel player Mike Hardwick, Rikki Horton (saxophone), Tommy Scales (clavinet, organ and synthesizer), and Billy Young (piano). Although this seems to have been their only album, AFK stayed together and performed regionally for several decades... even posting new songs on YouTube during the height of the 2020's covid pandemic! I wouldn't exactly tell all you twangfans to run out and track this one down, but they were from Texas, and there is some country in the mix, at least on this early album. Probably worth a spin.

Al Anderson "Al Anderson" (Vanguard Records, 1972)
(Produced by Maynard Solomon)
The hotshot, blues-drenched lead guitarist for NRBQ recorded this lovely solo album early in his career, apparently finishing out the contract his old band, The Wildweeds, had with Vanguard. It's a real gem, definitely worth tracking down. Here the master musician of the alterna-bar-band repertoire nods his hat towards Hank Williams and Delta blues forerunners, while also sculpting several lovely, delicate acoustic love songs of his own. A nice mix of styles, mostly in a mellow, gentle, country-tinged mode. One of my favorite hidden gems from the goodle days.

Anita Anderson "Busted Love" (Dusspri Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by J'Sue LaRue)
Independently produced would-be Top Forty, early '80s style. Slick but still low-rent enough to be appealing. I couldn't find any info about this bright-voiced gal online... This disc was released on a label from Hollywood, California, with backing by guitar picker Al Bonhormme, Brad Felton on pedal steel, drummer Clay Lowder and Arnold Mitchum on bass. Not a usual-suspects crew by any means, but they were all competent, professional musicians and the songs were similarly workmanlike and commercially-oriented. Anderson's voice seems a bit too girlish and thin -- she sounds like she may actually have been a teenager -- but still you could imagine that with more robust production, she coulda been a contender. This doesn't really wow me, but it ain't bad.

Casey Anderson "Good Old Boys" (Edge Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Ed Hansen)
Born in Chicago, singer-guitarist Casey Anderson was more of a "folk" artist, recording albums in the '60s for Elektra, Atco and other "real" labels, but he'd always peppered his work with country and blues material. On this self-released indie album, he goes all-out country, covering Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, Hank Williams and others, and adds a twang anthem to the canon called "Country Music Is Alive And Well." This was, I believe, his second-to-the-last album, with Anderson passing away in '76. A rock-solid record, really. Good vocals, understated accompaniment, strong material, emotional resonance. Fans of Don Williams might like this one -- it has a similar world-weary vibe. Unfortunately, the backing musicians are not identified

C. W. Anderson "Turn Off The Key And Rosin Up The Bow" (Circle B Recordings, 19--?) (LP)
Not to be confused with the children's book illustrator, country fiddler Clifford "C.W." Anderson (1931-2013) was a founding member of the house band at the Circle B, a dude ranch near Rapid City that produced numerous LPs, including this "solo" set, which highlights fiddle tunes... Anderson was born in Minnesota and worked for several decades in the logging and paper industries. In 1962 he moved to Grand Rapids where he continued his paper industry work, even patenting a specialized, multi-part trailer bed for trucking logs called the Translotor. He also became involved in the Circle B Ranch and the Black Hills Country Music Association, performing regionally as well as on tours of Canada and the Rockies.

C. W. "Cliff" Anderson "A Little Fiddlin' And A Little Yodelin' " (Circle B Records, 19--?) (LP)
Another solo set, with fiddle tunes such as "Cripple Creek" and "Old Joe Clark," as well as cowboy songs like "Cattle Call" and "Lonesome Cowpoke." Alas, no info on the musicians, or when this was recorded. Looks 1980s to me...

Jim Anderson & The Cheyenne Bodie Band "Dreams" (Mom Records, 1987) (LP)
Not a ton of info about these Northern California DIY-sters. I don't think vocalist Jim Anderson was a member of the Cheyenne Bodie Band, but rather had them backing him on this disc, although both Anderson and the Bodie Band were making music way up in Redding, dating at least back as far as the late 1970s. The group was named after Clint Walker's character in the 1960's TV show, Cheyenne; they stayed together as a local jam band well into the twenty-first century, with the members on this album including Rick Harter (bass), Tom Nash (drums), Barney Paul (lead guitar), Sam Sloan (fiddle) and Robert Lee Smith on guitar. Jim Anderson's background is a little harder to pin down; he recorded at least one single back in the 1970s(?) but it seems like that was more of a rock thing. Not sure how "country" to consider this disc, either, but it sure is local!

Lee Anderson "Hitch Hikin' " (Wah Hoo Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Breeden)
This is an odd one from Oregon... Mr. Anderson appears to have been from rural Tygh Valley, Oregon, and though this is definitely a country record, the album includes several topical songs aimed at the controversial Hindu mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, whose hippie-ish cult had taken over a small town in nearby Wasco County, and was not very popular with the locals... Perched next to country covers of tunes such as "The Auctioneer" and Bobby Bare's "Tequila Sheila" are a brace of provocative middle-finger melodies, including "Little Bhagwan," "Goodbye Guru Goodbye" and "Guru" (which came out as a single in 1982, possibly before the full album...) I suspect that it's these songs that make this a fairly collectable LP. Legendary PNW producer Gene Breeden plays lead guitar on this album, backed by Terry Crisp on steel guitar, Steve Logan (rhythm guitar), Martin Parker (drums), Gary Prim (piano) and Bruce Watkins on bass.

Reverend Ray Anderson "Rev. Ray Anderson Gospel Trio - Richmond Dale, Ohio" (Gospel Recording Service, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Anderson)
Fans of the Louvin Brothers should love this. A veteran hillbilly singer whose career stretched back to the 1940s, Ray Anderson (1924-2010) started out as a secular artist, cutting singles for Starday and other labels. He was born in West Virginia, and worked on the WWVA Jamboree, though later in life he settled down in Ohio. Anderson's topical novelty numbers, "Sputniks And Mutniks" and "Stalin Kicked The Bucket" are both often-anthologized Cold War classics, showcasing Anderson's style of lively, uptempo rockabilly-adjacent twang. He also played bluegrass, and was bass player for the Osborne Brothers band in a late 'Fifties lineup that also included Red Allen. At some point, Anderson got religion and became an ordained minister in the early 1960s, leading his own church in Richmond Dale, Ohio while starting the Gospel Recording Service, a combination studio and record label that documented numerous rural Midwestern gospel acts in the area. He released several singles and at least two LPs of his own on the label. (Thanks to hillbilly-music.com for their impressive forensic work on Anderson's career!)

Reverend Ray Anderson & Maxine Anderson "We're Almost Home" (QCA/Gospel Recording Service, 196--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Anderson)
This album, cut with Anderson's wife Maxine, appears to have been very poorly recorded, though the murky sound quality may also be due to the griminess of the copy I picked up. It's also a bit of a shambolic mess, in musical terms. Everyone seems to be a little out of tune, with each musician whirling in slightly different circles than the others: Mr. Anderson is a little too laid-back and churchy-sounding, the rhythm section plods on, and the piano is so poorly mic-ed it has a jangling, echoing toy-piano feel, like one of those old "honky tonk piano" albums; meanwhile the backing singers oooh and aahhh all the livelong day without much relation to any given melody. There are some gems, though -- the plangent gal vocals on Maxine Anderson's "King Jesus" have a cool hillbilly authenticity, and equally delightful is Mr. Anderson's brazen theft of the melody to Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Die" for his "You Must Take Time To Die," which I guess could be considered an answer song, of sorts. I wish this disc had better sound quality, though -- it would be a better record, obviously. Stylistically, though, the resolute, primitive amateurism is definitely a plus.

Reverend Ray Anderson "Silver Bridge Disaster Memorial Album" (QCA/Gospel Recording Service, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Anderson)
This country gospel set memorializes the catastrophic collapse of a poorly-designed, poorly constructed bridge on the Ohio River, a disaster that killed 46 people on December 15, 1967. Anderson, who lived in nearby Richmond Dale, cut a single soon after the accident, a topical song that was included on this album, which came out the following year. The back cover of the album shows newspaper clippings about the disaster, though, alas, no info about the musicians on this album. Most of the songs were written by Ray Anderson, with three tracks credited to his wife, Maxine Anderson.

Ray Anderson "...With The Tennessee Mountaineers" (BACM, 2017) (LP)
This collectors' reissue CD-R gathers a bunch of Anderson's secular stuff from the 1950s, including novelty numbers like "Draft Board Blues," "Sputniks And Mutniks" and "Stalin Kicked The Bucket," as well as several tracks recorded with the Osborne Brothers, along with a gospel tune or two.

Texas Anderson & Jeff Martin "Songs In Boone Country" (RCM Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Chan Strader)
This duo from Winchester, Kentucky played fairly hardcore, old-school country -- the emotive, declarative Jeff Martin sounds like a combination of Hank Snow and Mac Wiseman, a little stilted though compelling, while Texas Anderson sounds a lot like Kitty Wells. She's able to project and sort of force her way through a song, much like Kitty Wells did, although Anderson's phrasing often sounds off, and her vocals wobble a bit as a result. Sometimes the band is a little wobbly, too, so maybe tempo wasn't everybody's strong point here. That being said, I really this record -- the overall sound is stripped-down and rough-edged, but robust and soulful as well -- Martin, in particular, sells these songs. There are a lot of good cover tunes -- she wallops her way through "Just Walk On By," "Once A Day" and "You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man," and he covers Joe South's "Games People Play" in a hard honky-tonk style, to rather amusing effect. There's original material as well: five of the tracks were composed by the album's producer, Robert Channing Strader, a middle-aged Kentucky native who claimed direct descent from Daniel Boone and who approached the singing couple to see if they would record his songs for him. They seemed to have helped him rough them out a bit -- four of the tracks are also credited to T. Martin, which I think meant that "T" was for Texas and that she and Mr. Martin were married. There's also one song written by the guy who also contributed the liner notes, Herb Lewis, whose "Two Divided By One" is a fairly standard-issue love-triangle country weeper which, like some of Stradler's stuff, comes off as a little bit lyrically strained, though not at all unpleasant. After all the good-natured twang, the album ends up sharply veering course -- Ms. Anderson testifies her way through a churchy, gospel-oriented Strader-Martin tune, "The Golden Grains," which hints at what they hoped would be their next project, an album showcasing Strader's religious material. Did they ever make it? I dunno -- you tell me! (One quick footnote: Mr. Strader (1911-1991) was a well-regarded local farmer and insurance salesman who died a bachelor in 1991. In his will, he donated to the State of Kentucky forty-seven acres of family land that had once been a settlement known as Boone Station, where Daniel Boone lived from 1779-1782. Mr. Strader also willed the state his collection of over 10,000 arrowheads, which were to be given to the Kentucky state parks system. Boone Station, where he had previously helped endow a historical marker, is now a state historic site which includes recreations of the old cabins and stockade walls. And he left us a few songs, as well.)

Daniel Andrade "Hank The Drifter" (New England Records, 1968-?) (LP)
Born in Taunton, Massachusetts, hillbilly-style singer Daniel Andrade was a wildly devoted Hank Williams fan, starting his recording career back in 1955 with a double-sided tribute 7" ("Hank Williams Is Singing Again"/"Hank You're Gone But Not Forgotten.") This was followed by a string of country and rockabilly singles released between 1956-64, as well as by this LP, which came out sometime after January 1, 1968 (according to the liner notes.) Most of his recordings were released on Andrade's own label, New England Records, which was curiously-named, considering that he had long since moved to Houston, Texas. The tracks on this album seem to have been made over a long timespan: on the Hank Williams tributes he sounds pretty nasal and young, while later songs sound really crudely produced and his voice is gutterally thick and middled-aged low: Hasil Adkins fans might dig these rough-hewn rockabilly stomps. Definitely a one-of-a-kind, oddball offering! But good, too!

Bill Andrews & The DJs "By Your Request" (Triple K Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by Triple K Corporation)
An amateur band from South New Jersey, covering a slew of late 'Sixties/early 'Seventies standards. mostly well-traveled territory, with covers of big hits such as "The Auctioneer," "Easy Lovin," "Green Green Grass Of Home," "Kiss An Angel Good Morning," "Me And Bobby McGee" and "Proud Mary." Bill Andrews was a local country deejay who first hit the airwaves in 1965 and always dreamed of cutting a record. He finally did, singing and playing bass with backing by Sherry Chew (piano), Jimmy Davis (guitar), Jimmy Gannon (lead guitar), and Warren Sparks on drums. Given the band name, you'd think these guys were also in radio, but they don't seem to have been -- some worked as truck drivers and whatnot. At the time they recorded this album, the group was playing a long-tern gig at the Circle K Ranch Club, a restaurant in Penns Grove, New Jersey, whose owner Vernon Clarke adds glowing liner note testimonials.

Lumber Jack Jeff Andrews "The Man That Used To Be" (Lumberjack Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Schrimpf & Bernie Vaughn)
A hometown hero from Pleasant Lake, Indiana Jeff Andrews (d. 2007) was an actual lumberjack -- or at least he ran his own lumber company in Steuben County. Andrews started his musical career in a high school rock band called Cupid & The Heartbreakers which was popular around the Fort Wayne area. For his country debut he headed to Tennessee to record at producer/pianist Mike Schrimpf's Hendersonville studio, backed in part by some guys who were in Conway Twitty's band. The studio crew featured a young Steve Wariner playing bass and singing backup, along with Charlie Archer (electric guitar), Jimmy Dumas (bass), Mike Foster (saxophone), Greg Galbraith (guitar), John Hughey (steel guitar), Steve Johnson (percussion), Mike Schrimpf (keyboards), Terry Warniner (drums), Paul Yandell on guitar, and others. Jeff Andrews also sings one of Steve Wariner's own compositions, "No Reason," although most of the songs are published by Shrimp Music, presumably the publishing company of producer/pianist Mike Schrimpf, including several by Andrews and two by Ron Saucier, who was not in the band. In later years, Andrews was playing gospel music, notably with the Simon Peter Band.

Bruce Anfinson "Huckleberry Hill" (Last Chance Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Bruce Anfinson & Luther Henley)
A cowboy-poet type guy from Helena, Montana, Anfinson covers Guy Clark's "Homegrown Tomatoes," along with some other butte-iful old songs. (Sorry, couldn't resist that one...) I think he made a few more albums as well.

Bruce Anfinson "Home Is Where Montana Is" (Last Chance Records, 1991) (LP)
(Produced by Rich Adler, Abe Dawson & Ken Nelson)

Angel "Down At Johnny's" (Angel Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Angel & Bob Wurster)
Not a ton of info about this one... The mononymic "Angel" seems to have been a California gal with a penchant for classic country music -- singing oldies like "He Taught Me To Yodel," "Talk Back Trembling Lips," "I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name" and "Waltz Across Texas" and newer stuff such as "Satin Sheets" and early 'Eighties hits like Dolly Parton's "9 To 5," and "Somebody's Knocking," from Terri Gibbs. There's no address or other geographical info, though this seems to have been recorded in Los Angeles, with a studio crew of little-known pickers, including Richard Kane (fiddle and guitar), Debbie Pomeroy (drums), Don Swigert (guitar) and Johnny White (bass and pedal steel); the keyboard player, Jay Spell was the only one who's career I could track, and he had done a lot of session work with various country and soul artists, and notably was a member of Richard Torrance's backing band Eureka, which had a vaguely Joe Walsh-like southern rock sound. Otherwise, this is mostly a mystery disc. (Any info is welcome!)

Betty Angel "Introducing Betty Angel, The Golden Voice Gal" (Joey Records, 1978) (LP)
This one looks a little bit iffy, what with the the mix of piano and saxophone... Ms. Angel was a radio host from Adrian, Michigan who called her music "refined country," and it's the refined part that makes me a little concerned. Still, if she called it country, I guess it's country. Backing her are drummer Howie Schumann and saxophonist Lee Wallace... there's definitely a lot of cover material on here, though there may have been some originals as well.

Johnny Angel "Swings At Swingos" (JoDon Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Petito & Annie Rosenberg)
"What Johnny Cash is to Nashville, Johnny Angel is to Cleveland..." At least that's what they said in the liner notes... Angel was maybe more of a general lounge singer than a county artist, but he did know a little bit about Stetson hats and big belt buckles, and cut his fair share of country tunes. This album has him pictured outside of the Swingos Hotel's fabled Keg & Quarter restaurant, before it was rechristened Swingos Celebrity Inn. Swingos was an ultra-hip, bad-boy rock'n'roll hotel, a place that catered to rock stars on tour who wanted a place to party hardy and let their hair down... Led Zeppelin famously would come to town and trash the rooms, then pay the bills in the morning, a scenario that was portrayed in the movie Almost Famous. I dunno how often Johnny Angel played there, but it sure was a hip venue for him to record a souvenir album.

Johnny Angel "Texas Women" (JoDon Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Melvena Denardo & Dennis Alexander)
Well, Mr. Johnny Angel was definitely going all-in on the whole Mickey Gilley, urban cowboy thing here -- this is definitely a country album, but man, oh man, was he a subpar singer. I guess every town has one: one of those guys who just plugs away and makes themselves part of the scene despite their readily apparent limitations. I suppose this has a so-bad-it's-good feel, but I would be hard pressed to imagine a non-sadistic scenario in which I personally would be willing to play these songs over the air. Particularly mind-boggling is the sentimental-parental recitation weeper, "You're The Best Daddy In The World," in which he opines on his affection for "that chubby little girl," and really goes overboard with the schmaltz. Ditto with the title track, which is trying really hard to be a linedancing-era novelty hit, and could almost be effective if it weren't for Angel's insistence on repeating the chorus about fifty-seven times... the track just never ends! The songs all seem to be original, although there are no composer credits... Similarly, the backing musicians aren't identified, although they were real professionals, with a particularly capable steel player... The liner notes inform us this was Glen Campbell's band, but since there's also no date on the record, there's no way to determine which edition of Campbell's band we're talking about. Anyway, I am not big on mocking folks who make indie albums, but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't admit that this one is pretty, um, strained.

Angel Oak "Making Plans" (Harvi Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Harold Fogle)
An all-original set of country-rock/indie twang by a band that seems to have been from Virginia, although the album was recorded at Rome Studios, in Columbus, Ohio. The group included drummer Vic Cotto, Mike Couch (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Charlie Fogle (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Harold Fogle (lead guitar and pedal steel) and bass player Tommy Wayne Hooks. The Fogel brothers were both from Newport News, Virginia, while Couch and Hooks were South Carolinians; Tommy Hooks was also related to the Fogels as a cousin. Harold Fogle (1945-1999) seems to have been the most prolific musician in the group, with a session-playing career that dates back to the late 1960s, later playing on a bunch of southern gospel records, as well as with the Ohio-based uber-indie twangband The Challengers, and earned a big feather in his cap playing on a late-career, 1983 album by Nashville star Jimmy C. Newman. All the songs on this album were written or co-written by his younger brother, Charlie Fogle, though this seems to have been Charlie's only album. Fans of 'Seventies soft-rock and countrypolitan might dig this album a lot.

The Angle Sisters "Back Home Again" (Telephone Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Angle, Don Caldwell & Lloyd Maines)
One of the countless Lone Star locals in the orbit of the Maines Brothers Band and producer Don Caldwell, this is a full-on Lubbock-or-leave-it lovefest, with musical contributions by The Angle Sisters (Gwen and Stacy, of Knox City, Texas) along with Don Caldwell on saxophone, Rick Hewlitt (lead guitar), Wayne Hill (fiddle), Steve Keaton (drums), Curly Lawler (also on fiddle), Lloyd Maines multi-tasking on banjo, guitar and pedal steel, Hymie Smith (bass) and Monte Williams playing piano... The Telephone label was one of Caldwell's side projects, run out of his sound studio which documented a lot of local and regional musicians... Tone of cover tunes on this album, though one or two may have been originals, such as "If You Love Me Let Me Know."

The Angle Sisters "...A Little Bit Country" (Texas Soul Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Don Caldwell, Lloyd Maines & Syl Rice)
A similar set, largely cover tunes, with maybe a couple that might be original to this album, and a bunch of locals backing the Angle gals. Don Caldwell and Lloyd Maines anchor the band, along with fiddle player Richard Bowden, though the rest of the players are less familiar. I'm not sure what became of these two -- they also appeared on one of the Grapvine Opry compilation albums, circa 1978, so I assume they were in the show's cast for a while, but for the time being I don't know the full contours of their performing career... Any info is welcome!

Jerry Ann "Unmistakably" (A + R Records, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Huddleston, Larry McPhail & Jerry Ann McPhail)
A countrypolitan also-ran, gal singer Jerry Ann seems to have been a foil for songwriter David Patton, who returned to Texas after recording a couple of early 'Seventies albums, and settled into regional work. Patton composed all the songs on this album, which was recorded at the same time he was establishing his new band, the Dallas-based Side Of The Road Gang, a band that also backed Jerry Ann on at least one single (a duet with Dick Kasper.) The liner notes on this disc inform us that Jerry Ann had been performing for about a year on Dallas-area TV station Channel 11 before she cut this album. She had a soft, milky vocal style reminiscent of '70s stars such as Crystal Gayle and Anne Murray, doleful but not a lot of bite, and pretty standard-issue for the era. Backing her are keyboard player Stuart Lamb, Jimmy Lowrance (lead guitar), Larry McPhail (bass), David Patton (rhythm guitar), James Stanley (rhythm guitar), Dickie Lee Taylor (keyboards), and Wesley Taylor on lead guitar and steel. Not sure what Jerry Ann's real name was, although she may have also performed under the mononym JeriAn; as far as I know this was her only album.

Annajane (Allen) -- see artist profile

Kenny Antcliff "I'm Double Parked" (Autumn Hill Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Harris, Lee Hazen & Jim Voytek)
A late-life entry from singer Mr. Kenneth Antcliff, Jr. (1938-2009), who mainly worked around Grand Rapids, Michigan... Although this LP doesn't give any information about Mr. Antcliff, a 7" single from the late '80s informs us that he had a band in the 1950s and '60s called The Rhythm Ramblers and over the years had played at local venues in Michigan, made an appearance on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, been on the radio a few times, and attended Nashville's Fanfair in the early '80s. A profile piece in a local newspaper said that he'd recorded two albums and six singles by 1995, though this LP was probably the pinnacle of his musical career. Produced by Miami, Florida promoter Jim Voytek, this was recorded in Nashville with the assistance of an (unidentified) Music City studio band, and vocal backing by the Sound 70 Singers... The record seems to have been a songwriter's demo set, with a little bit of a see-what-sticks feel. There are a couple of tunes by veteran tunesmith Kent Westberry, along with four by DeAnn Bennett, three more by Jan Carlton, and the title track penned by Neil O'Donnell; several of these composers were represented by one or the other of Mr. Voytek's publishing companies, and the Autumn Hill itself was an outlet for his aspirations as country music producer. I dunno what Mr. Antcliff sounded like in his younger days, but he has a distinctly middle-aged sound here, a bit like Burl Ives, really, and though he doesn't quite sell the songs, he does fully commit and has a charming sincerity about him. The album's highlight is probably DeAnn Bennett's "When Ole Willie Sings The Blues," a Willie Nelson tribute song that Mr. Antcliff also released as a single a time or two.

Chubby Anthony "Chubby Anthony's Last Tribute" (A & O Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Glen Odom)
A set of country classics and old favorites, with dips into western swing and old-timey tunes, all recorded by Donald Lee "Chubby" Anthony (1935-1980) who was best known as a bluegrass fiddler. According to the liner notes, this album was the result of a 1979 session where Miami, Florida producer Glen Odom threw the studio doors open and gave Anthony unlimited studio time, allowing him to perform on multiple instruments (banjo, fiddle, flattop guitar and mandolin) with musical help from Carl Chambers on rhythm guitar, Gerald Chambers (bass), Jon Corneal (drums), Josh Graves (dobro) and John Rich on steel guitar. The repertoire includes sentimental songs from Johnny & Jack ("Ashes Of Love"), The Louvin Brothers ("If I Could Only Win Your Love") and George Jones ("Walk Through This World With Me") as well as newer stuff like Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night." There are also some bluegrassy fiddle tunes, including one called "Huskie's Fiddle," which Anthony wrote as an homage to his mentor, North Carolina fiddler Ray Huskie... hence the album title. Sadly, this was a posthumous release: Anthony died while the album was being mixed, passing away at the TOO-young age of forty-four.

Rayburn Anthony "Audiograph Alive" (Audiograph Records, 1982) (LP)
Growing up near Memphis, singer Rayburn Anthony made into the first wave of rockabilly pioneers, but only just by a hair, cutting his first single for Sun Records in 1959, and releasing a couple more in the Kennedy era. His stuff was already a little more country-oriented than many of his labelmates, so when the first burst of rock'n'roll fizzled out, Anthony was able to make the jump into Nashville without too much trouble. He cut a few singles here and there, but his main gig was as a songwriter, successfully placing songs with several stars of the 'Sixties, in both the country and pop markets. Amazingly, for a guy who'd been around for so long, this early '80s offering seems to have been his first full album, and it's a pretty solid set, with several novelty-oriented numbers that fit the tenor of the times, such as "Wine And Tequila," "Tennessee Whiskey And Texas Women," and "I'll Love You Forever (Every Saturday Night)." Some of these songs were recycled on his second album, Dance Floor Crystal Ball, which came out the same year... Raymond Anthony went on to release several other albums in the 1990s and '00s, including a bunch of reissue compilations that catered to his European rockabilly fan base.

Rayburn Anthony "Dance Floor Crystal Ball" (Audiograph Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Riggins)

Vince Anthony "Closing Time" (Midnight Gold Record Company, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Chet Guzzetta, Randy Russell, Buz Smith & Bill Triche)
A Louisiana native who recorded this set in Houston, Vince Anthony (aka Vincent Guzzetta) started out as a 'Fifties rock'n'roller, recording independent bluesy, swampy gems such as "Too Hot To Handle," way back in the day. He collaborated with his brother, producer/multi-instrumentalist Chet Guzzetta, to create this beer-soaked, Moe Bandy-ish country set, packed with original material such as "Closing Time," "I Cried All Day," I Hurt So Much" and "Sad, Sad Letter." The only cover song on here is a version of Jan Crutchfield's "Statue Of A Fool," which pairs nicely with all the mopey Vince Anthony originals. Backing him is a local crew including saxophonist Joe Auenson, fiddler Steve Snoe, session pro Robby Springfield on pedal steel and Chet Guzzetta playing bass, guitar, drums, piano and just about any other thing you can imagine, with Vince singing lead and playing piano and guitar.

Vince Anthony & the Country Blue Notes "The Right Man" (Midnight Gold Record Company, 1985)
(Produced by Chet Guzzetta, Vince Guzzetta & Buz Smith)

Any Old Time String Band "Any Old Time String Band" (Bay/Arhoolie, 1978, 1980)
This San Francisco Bay Area ensemble was one of the most charming -- and accomplished -- of the late -'70s string band revivalists. The 1996 CD reissue combines two LPs originally released in 1978 and 1980, and features their lovely version of the melodic oldie, "I'll See You In C-U-B-A," originally a hit for vaudeville star Billy Murray way back in 1920. The Any Old Time lineup changed between albums, but Kate Brislin and Sue Draheim were core members of the band, along with Genny Haley on guitar... and their sense of "old-time" music, including old-time jazz and Tin Pan Alley material, was right on the button. Very sweet and highly recommended.

Any Old Time "Ladies' Choice" (Bay Records, 1983) (LP)

Apache Spirit "Indian Cowboy" (Apache Spirit Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Jose A. Chavez)
A nice set of mellow, mostly acoustic country tunes from a Native American band out of Whiteriver, Arizona, inside the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, near Phoenix. I really like the vibe on this disc -- it's totally laid back and chill, just some regular folks playing some of their favorite songs with a sense of good cheer all around. There are two originals credited to Evelyn J. Ethelbah, "Weekend Woman" and the title track, "Indian Cowboy." It seems likely she is also one of the band's lead singers, simply listed as Lee in the liner notes. The other musicians also use nicknames: Midnight plays lead guitar and pedal steel, Paschal plays bass, and Apache Boy is on drums. The other songs are cover tunes, a mix of country and pop hits, along with a few oldies such as "Bring It On Home" and "La Bamba." One of my favorite tracks is the strummy cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria," which really sounds like a guy sitting around at a house party banging away on an acoustic guitar, very simple but heartfelt and real. Other tracks include Bonnie Bramblett's "Never Ending Song," "Delta Dawn" and "Hello Trouble," from the Buck Owens catalog, as well as one track called "Apache Mexico," where they didn't know the composer, but credit the arrangement to guitarist Midnight. A nice, unpretentious album... definitely worth a spin!

Apache Spirit "Keep Movin' On" (Apache Spirit Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Jose A. Chavez & Herman E. Martinez)
Mainly a straight-up country covers set, with plenty of classics such as "Ashes Of Love," "Help Me Make It Thru The Night," "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," and "Silver Threads And Golden Needles," although the title track, "Keep Movin' On," is not a Hank Snow cover, but rather one of two originals credited to Matthew J. Ethelbah, along with the super-cosmic sounding "Everything Will Always Be Together," which kicks off Side Two. They also cover a Jimi Hendrix oldie ("Fire") so it ain't all country stuff on here... Also worth noting are the album's bilingual liner notes, which are written in both Apachean script and English translations...

Apache Spirit "Volume Three" (Apache Spirit Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Jose A. Chavez)
Mixing things up a little, Apache Spirit play all country songs on Side One ("Pass Me By," "Rainy Day Woman," "Together Again") and a diverse selection of rock'n' pop covers on Side Two ("Brown Eyed Girl," Santana's "Black Magic Woman," BTO's "Takin' Care Of Business" and Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day"). As on their previous albums, the band is identified only by nicknames and first names: Apache Boy (guitar), Darrell (drums), Lee (vocals), Midnite (lead guitar and steel) and Paschal (bass)

Apache Spirit "El Mosquito Medley (And Other Spanish Favorites, 19--?)" (Alta Vista Records) (LP)

Billy Apollo "Coast Guard Blues" (Nashville American, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Bragg & Hank Strzelecki)
Although he didn't have a rock-solid voice, Florida's Billy Apollo had a great sense of humor and knew how to how to do honkytonk novelty songs right. The title track is an amiable pot-smuggling song, a worthy companion to Peter Rowan's "Free Mexican Air Force," while the rest of the record sports some other swell songs. Apollo went up to Nashville to cut this album, and got backing from a bunch of old pros, including Buddy Emmons and Lloyd Green on steel guitar, Hargus Robbins on keyboards, et. al. Fun stuff!

The Appalachian Opera "Our First Time Around" (Starr Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Casey & Marvin Jones)
A progressive bluegrass band from Port Clinton, Ohio... The quintet included Roger Howard on mandolin, Scotty Jackson (guitar), Jesse Riley (banjo and dobro), Archie Stinson (bass), and fiddler Ellis Sturgill. About half the album is made up of original tunes from various members of the band, while the cover songs include 'Seventies staples such as The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo," as well as a Donovan song, "Black Is The Color."

Appaloosa "Morning Riser" (White Gold Music, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Greg Riker & Michael Day)
A country-rock band from Champaign, Illinois... Despite the evocative, rural-sounding band name these guys do set off a few it-was-the-'Seventies-man warning bells, mostly the presence of congas, flute, recorder and saxophone, none of which should be on a country record. And indeed, they do go off on some weird, over-the-top musical fusion tangents, as heard on the disastrous gallop into twang-prog territory on the album's title track and elsewhere. Probably fine live, though, as they were a fairly popular regional band. Not mentioning any offending instruments, the group included songwriter-lead vocalist Michael Garcia on guitar, Howie Golub (percussion), Marc Hutchison (bass), Steve Morrison (drums), Ray Wiggs (piano) and Stephen Strong on lead guitar and pedal steel (good man!). This was a late edition of the band, which first formed around 1976 and played local clubs such as The Alley Cat, Panama Red's and Ruby Gulch, as well as gigs in Chicago and elsewhere. In the 2010s, a free-flowing group of veteran Appaloosans reunited and started doing local shows, though apparently Mike Garcia, who was the dominant force on this album, was not part of the reunion.

Bob Applegate "Satisfied Mind" (GDS Records, 1979-?) (LP)
(Produced by Mike W. Grimm)
Mostly a showcase for fancy picking by multi-instrumentalist Bob Applegate, a fella from Peoria, Illinois who had previously recorded a couple of bluegrass albums in the group Applegate & Company. Here he plays several in styles -- pop, country-folk, and classical, with additional backing by slide guitarist David Ziegele. Of particular note to country fans: an as-yet undiscovered Suzy Bogguss sings harmony(!) a couple of years before she recorded her own private-press debut.

Apple Ridge Band "Pickin' On" (Appleridge Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Turner & Al McGuire)
The lone album from this band out of McComb, Ohio. The group included Keith and Mark Detamore, drummer Dan "Spanky" Corwin, lead guitar Kenn Trout and keyboard player Jim Slagle... Songs include "Alabama Rose," "Long Legged Women," "Peterbuilt," and "Small Time Country Band." There's really not much info about these guys online... One bandmember became a local judge, so I think it's fair to say that the band was really just a for-fun kind of thing...

Applejack "First Swig" (Adobe Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Martin)
The El Paso, Texas trio of Mike Durham, Charlie McDonald and Cleo Pair played a mix of honkytonk and softer country-folk... The softer stuff was best, and Side Two of the album leads off with a particularly folkie number, Bob Coltman's "Before They Close The Minstrel Show," which dramatically changes the pace of the album. This leads into a parade of mellower numbers: an oldie by Tom Russell, a nice version of Jesse Winchester's "Brand New Tennessee Waltz" and -- this is the one that won me over -- a cover of a Kenny Rogers song that I actually enjoyed... and that's no easy trick to accomplish!! One their hard-country efforts, the vocals and the band don't always have enough ooomph... But this band is fondly remembered, and the album may grow on you...

Jan Arden & Company "This, That And (Of Course) The Other Thing" (Falcon Enterprises, 1979)
(Produced by Jan Arden & John Filadel)
Not a lot of info about this country-oriented lounge band from South Dakota... The liner notes inform us that he started playing music professionally in 1973, though neglect to tell us what town he was from. The repertoire is mostly country or country-adjacent, with covers of "Mr. Bojangles" and "Rocky Top," a couple of Kenny Rogers songs, also some pop stuff like "Danny's Song," Mack The Knife," and "House At Pooh Corner." The band included Jan Arden on vocals and guitar, Bob Glover (bass), John Hogen (piano), Scott Kaverklamp (drums), and Katie Rassmussen on bass and backing vocals.

Suzi Arden "The Suzi Arden Show Live At the Mint Hotel" (Mint Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Don Henderson & Gary S. Paxton)
Apparently originally from Colorado, fiddler-guitar picker Suzi Arden is best remembered as the leader of the longest-running show in Las Vegas history... Arden is also a legendary figure among guitar buffs for having field-tested the first Rickenbacker 12-string guitar back in 1963. (Take that, Roger McGuinn!) Though this album has plenty of pop and folk diversions, Ms. Arden did have a solid background in the golden era of hillbilly variety shows, notably performing on Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee in a duo called The Arden Sisters. She hit Vegas in the early 'Sixties and became a fixture at the Merri-Mint Lounge, where she remained for most of the 'Sixties and 'Seventies. She also cut a couple of singles in Nashville and LA, but her vinyl claim to fame comes from this live LP, recorded in Vegas in the '70s... Her backing band included singer/bassist Lucky Clark, drummer Jerry (not that one) Garcia, Bobby Lee (bass), Leon Richardson (lead guitar), and Jerry Vance on rhythm guitar. I suspect these guys played quite a bit elsewhere, but like a lot of Vegas musicians, their wider careers were obscured... Not actually that country of a record, but still worth a spin.

Area Code 615 "Area Code 615" (Polydor Records, 1969)
(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)
(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.

Arizona Mountaineers "...At Home" (BIRC Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by John Diana)
A laid-back but rural bluegrass group from Tuscon, Arizona with a taste for contemporary country and western swing, the Arizona Mountaineers featured Fred Eaton (bass), Phil Egleston (banjo), Don Johnston (fiddle) and Don Matlock on guitar. They were all native Arizonans, except(?) Egleston, and apparently played their fair share of local gigs, including at local bars. Not surprising, then, they include honkytonk hits like "Goodhearted Woman" and "Is Anybody Going To San Antone" as well as softer country stuff such as the Statler Brothers' "Bed Of Rose's" alongside all the stringband standards like "Foggy Mountain Breakdown, "Maiden's Prayer" and "Black Mountain Rag." Not a lot of info about these guys, though apparently Egleston had been around forever, as seen in a 1961 show notice of a folk-revival era hootenanny headlined by Peggy Seeger. I imagine they all played in other bands at various times, but wasn't able to track that info down.

Arizona Outlaws "On The Road" (1979) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Monnett)
This long-lived band from Central Arizona was led by pedal steel player Jim Monnett, with Danny Monnett on lead guitar, Don Carson on piano, some fiddle and mandolin by Maverick Homes, and vocals by Jim Monnett, Kathy West and bassist Bob Lewis. The album includes covers of classics by Rodney Crowell, Whitey Schafer and Hank Thompson, as well as a wealth of original material. There are four songs written by Ken Patrick, a friend of the band who had apparently passed away before the was released, including "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind," "Listen Heart," "Outlaw Night Train" and "Running To The River." Jim Monnett contributed two songs, "Arizona Outlaw Theme" and "Spaced Out Cowboy" while Bob Lewis penned one called "Free Man Again." The lineup changed a few times, but Monnett kept the band together well into the 2010s, playing local festivals, county fairs and other community-oriented gigs, although I think this was the group's only album.

The Ark Valley Boys "Solid Gospel" (Valley Records, 198-) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Duggen & Brian Kelsey)
This youthful Southern Gospel band from Haysville, Kansas took its name from a legendary western group called the Ark Valley Boys, which -- beginning in 1939 -- was the house band for radio station KFH, Wichita. I'm not sure if these guys have any direct connection to the original AV Boys, but there is certainly a lot of colorful history to the name. The original Ark Valley Boys were early stars of Kansas country music, and fostered the careers of numerous local musicians, including Fiddlin' Willie Boggs, Kay Stalker, pianist-arranger "Corky" Edminster (1916-2013) and others. The band fractured in the 1949 when Edminster and a half-dozen musicians left KFH, kicking off a legal battle between the station and the musicians' union when KFH hired Tex Ferguson to lead a new band with the same name... Edminster formed his own group, Corky's Corral Gang, which then played on rival radio station KANS; some bandmembers also followed Edminster out to Hollywood, where he worked with Smiley Burnette on various cowboy "oater" movies. In the 1950s, Willie Boggs went on to play in a version of the Ark Valley Boys which performed on KAKE-TV's country program, "Dusty's Jamboree," hosted by Dusty Herring, a real-life deputy sheriff in Wichita. From there, the trail gets a little hazy. There was a western swing group formed in Pueblo, Colorado in the 1940s and led by Clyde Casebier which was billed as the Arkansas Valley Boys, which has been (I believe) mistakenly identified as an offshoot of the Kansas band; also a guy named Bill Wimberly led an edition of the Ark Valley Boys in the 'Fifties, though I'm not sure how he fits into the overall story. At any rate, this 1980s(?) group may have simply borrowed the name of the popular old band for their own gospel vocals, or maybe someone's uncle once played with them; I dunno. As far as I know these two LPs -- one gospel, one secular -- were the only two cut by this group; neither on includes a release date. The lineup was: Rob Wilson (tenor), Ron Baggett (second tenor, emcee), Glenn Hanna (baritone), Dick Warren (bass), Dave Thomas (piano), Fred Townsend (drums) Curt Baggett (bass guitar), recording a session at the Benson Sound Studios, in Oklahoma City. Musically solid, with clear country roots, though on this album they lean pretty far into the sluggish, mopey vocal style popular in the Southern Gospel scene. The twangier, uptempo numbers are satisfying, but few.

The Ark Valley Boys "Solid Country" (Valley Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Baggett & Barry Dirks)
Produced at the same time as their Solid Gospel album, this features the same vocal quartet, augmented a more country-oriented with steel guitar by Gene Crownover and Cotton Wittington on steel guitars, Buddy Kendrick on bass, fiddle by Gene Gasaway and piano by Jack Atchley. They cover some '70s/'80s hits, jovial stuff such as "Come On In" and "Y'All Come Back Saloon." Given the set list, I'd guess this was from somewhere around 1982-83...

The Arkansaw Travellers "From The Ozarks" (Arkansaw Traveller Records, 1969) (LP)
Retro-delic old-timey music recorded by the cast of an all-acoustic local "opry" called the Arkansas Traveller Folk Theater in Hardy, Arkansas. This early edition of the cast included Denice Adams, B. F. Anderson, Wayne Clark, Neil Crow, Ralph Depriest, Bruce Ferniman, Olaf Pinkston, Orilla Pinkston, Leo Rainey and Debbie Sanders. The repertoire was all oldies and folk songs, including chestnuts such as "Bill Bailey," "Home Sweet Home," "Bile Them Cabbage Down," and, of course a version of "Arkansas Traveler" and one called "Down In Arkansas." The liner notes mention some previous studio albums, but I haven't been able to track those down yet.

The Arkansas Travellers "Live" (American Artists, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Leo Rainey)
A live show recorded in August, 1976 with artists such as Ralph Depriest, Jim Buchanan, Debbie Hansen, Abe Weaver and others... The repertoire was all oldies and folk songs, including "Sally Goodin," "Sweet Betsy From Pike," "Wreck Of The Old 97," "Old Rattler," "Bile Them Cabbage Down," and the like.

Tim Arkansaw "Entertainment Is The Thing" (Astumhill Records, 19--?) (LP)
Born in Alabama, Tim Arkansaw was an African-American country singer who worked throughout the South, eventually settling in Atlanta, Georgia, where he became an arts educator in the city's public school system. On this album he's singing "town and country," according to the liner notes. Apparently Mr. Arkansaw was kind of a jack-of-all-trades, doing a gig at a Polynesian-themed restaurant called Dobb's House Luau, in Memphis, as well as traveling to Europe, Asia and Africa to perform. He recorded another Astumhill album, though that one was full of sailing songs, so the country thing might not have been his main gig.

Randy Armour "This One's For You" (Souvenir Records, 197-?) (LP)
A pretty scary-looking set of lounge piano performances by Randy Armour of Shreveport, Louisiana, who apparently did gigs in Miami, Dallas, New Orleans and on various Caribbean cruise ships. His Tony Orlando-ish fashion choices don't exactly scream out "country," but most of the songs on here are country covers: "Delta Dawn," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "City Of New Orleans," "Please Release Me," and the like. Still...

Billy Armstrong "The World's Greatest Fiddle Player" (Hillside Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Franer & Dean Kay)
West Coast fiddle whiz Billy Armstrong was originally from Illinois, but made his mark on the Southern California music scene playing in western groups such as the Frontiersmen that were associated with Hal Southern and his cowboy clique, and may have work with some of the Bakersfield bands of the early 1960s. He notably held down a stint as a member of The Sons Of The Pioneers, circa 1966-72, and recorded with the Sons on their albums, including a one-off record as The Country Hombres, which was basically several members of the Sons acting as a pickup band for producer Cliffie Stone. Armstrong seems to have been part of the SoCal nightclub scene, recording with several members of the Palomino Club's house band, including this solo album, which features steel guitarist Jay Dee Maness along with other Palomino alums such Larry Booth and Red Wooten, as well as hot-shot session guitarist Al Bruno. Billy Armstrong is perhaps best known for his thirteen-year run as the Country Music Association's fiddler of the year, a hot streak that earned him the nickname "the world's greatest fiddle player," and is memorialized on these indie instrumental albums. (Note: he also toured in England, and this album was simultaneously released in the UK as Mister Fiddle, on Westwood Records.)

Billy Armstrong "Billy, Don't Sell Your Fiddle" (Hillside Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Franer)
Another sweet set packed with vocal tunes as well as instrumental numbers galore. The backing band once again includes several Palomino Club alumni, such as Norm Cass on guitar, pedal steel master Jay Dee Maness, Cliff Stone's son, Curtis Stone on bass, and singer Ray Sanders. As with the album above, this was also released the same year on Westwood Records, using the same title.

Billy Armstrong "A Man And His Fiddle" (Hillside Records, 1979) (LP)

Billy Armstrong "The Best Of Billy Armstrong, Volume One" (Hillside Records, 1980) (LP)

Billy Armstrong "Melody Ranch Featuring Billy Armstrong" (Polera Records, 1980-?) (LP)
Though he completely dropped off the radar in the early 'Eighties, this album seems to suggest that for a while he was working at Gene Autry's Melody Ranch film studio/dude ranch. The trail grows cold on Armstrong after this, with a few folks who worked with him posting online queries about his whereabouts. The most recent mention I could find was a 1982 news clipping about Armstrong headlining a six-piece band for a gig at a PGA celebrity golf tournament... after that, nothing. Any additional info about his career is welcome!

Jack Arndt "The Country Sounds Of Jack Arndt" (Crusade Enterprises, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Harris)
This was the second album by Midwesterner Jack Arndt, a clean-cut, Glen Campbell-lookin' young fella from Vandalia, Illinois, near Saint Louis. He was a Christian recording artist, having made a gospel album before this secular set. The repertoire here is all country covers, oldies and hits by Merle Haggard, Harlan Howard, Stonewall Jackson, Hank Williams, and others. This was recorded at Crusade Studios in Flora, Illinois, with Art Baker (steel guitar), Charlie Mills (drums) and perhaps most notably pianist-guitarist Bill Casiolari, who played on countless gospel sessions, and Jack Arndt on lead vocals and 12-string guitar. I couldn't find much info about this guy online, though there was at least one show notice from 1975, in a newspaper from nearby Mattoon. IL. Other than that, not much. Anyway, I dig this record -- it's richly twangy though charmingly flawed. Jack Arndt was a very expressive, impassioned singer who had a tendency to force the melodies and tempo of his favorite songs into what I guess we could call his comfort zone. It's not bad, or embarrassing in any way, just more like he's... kind of... shaving the corners off the original versions on some odd way. I do honestly dig it, though... Indeed, if it's anything like this disc, I would love the opportunity to check out his gospel album!

Frank Arnett "Model T" (Artco Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Thompson & Carl Warren)
Steel guitar music by an inventive Okie who was in the thick of it out in California during the 1960s and '70s, playing club dates with various bands during the big bang years of the West Coast/Bakersfield Sound, best known for backing singer Gene Davis, down in Southern California. Arnett did some studio work, as well, including stints in Oklahoma, also doing live shows with local bands, as well as some shows up in Vegas. Arnett wound up retiring near Nashville, moving to Greenbrier, Tennessee. About two-thirds of the songs on this record are his originals, including the title track, which is a perennial favorite. Recorded in Oklahoma, this disc features David Anthony on electric guitar, Jim (Hoke) Hokenadel on rhythm guitar, Euclid Hart playin' piano, a couple of guys pickin' either acoustic or electric bass, and some other guy on drums, and -- of course -- Frank Arnett zapping the steel guitar. In addition to his own instrumentals, Arnett plays a couple of old gospel tunes, and one by his idol, Ralph Mooney, "Moonshine," to show you where he was coming from. Local bandleader Billy Barnett contributes glowing liner notes... As far as I know, this was Arnett's only album, though I could be wrong. Anyway, thanks to the fellas over at The Steel Guitar Forum for their two bits!

Amanda Arnold "Amanda Arnold" (Isis Moon Records, 1983) (LP)

Billy Arnold & His Rangers "Cowboy: A Collection Of True Cowboy Favorites" (Tops Records, 1958-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Pell)
A surprisingly robust set of country covers and cowboy oldies... I'm not entirely convinced by vocalist Billy Arnold, per se -- he seems a bit poppy overall, and Lord knows who he really was -- but there are some real hotshot western musicians backing him up, particularly the western swing fiddler (or fiddlers) heard on the more uptempo tunes. The album opens with a rollicking rendition of "When Payday Rolls Around," which proves to be the album's high point, as it slowly lapses into slower ballads more typical of the pop-vocals of the era. There's also an unidentified gal with kind of a Patti Page vibe who sings harmony on a few tracks and (assuming it's the same singer) duets with Arnold on "Pistol Packin' Mama" and has a solo number towards the end. Doubtless most of these songs also came out as Tops singles, and chances are the Rangers "band" never really existed; someone more expert in the murky depths of the label's discography could probably figure it all out. No date on the disc, but the cover photo is a still from a 1958 western called Cowboy, starring Glenn Ford, so what the heck... Let's call it '58.

Amos Arnold "Country Piano" (Mercury/Cumberland Records, 1964) (LP)
A cheapie-label set cut by an anonymous band on one of Mercury Records' budget label imprints. Apparently Amos Arnold was a real person and not a pseudonym, although the rest of the musicians remain unidentified. Take that, Floyd Cramer!

Cheryl Arnold "Something Special" (Morgan Enterprises, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bonnie Guitar)
A protege of pop/country star Bonnie Guitar, singer Cheryl Arnold was from Washington state, living on a ranch just north of Seattle, where she raised German shepherds, rode her Morgan horses and worked as an animal rights advocate. She apparently led a band called Blue Mariah, and was associated with Seattle school superintendent Donald Steele, who recorded an album of his own around this time, and who contributes liner notes for her LP. All but one of the songs on this album were written or co-written by Bonnie Guitar, including two that Arnold co-wrote, "Mason Dixon Line" and "When The Lights Go Down." A notable exception is her cover of Melvin Endsley's classic "Singin' The Blues," which was a hit for Marty Robbins back in '56. As far as I know, this was her only album.

The Arnold Chinn Group "Take It On The Chin" (Twin Spin Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Chandler & The Arnold Chinn Group)
Oddly enough, there's no one in this band named Arnold Chinn -- not sure what the in-joke was there -- but there was plenty of twang. A decent pop-country band from Owensboro, Kentucky, these guys got together in 1974 and played throughout the decade. This early album sports a strong bluegrass-y streak that eventually faded out of the band's sound... In addition to several original tunes composed by various bandmembers, they cover country-rock classics such as Dan Hicks' "How Can I Miss (You When You Won't Go Away)?," "Oooh, Las Vegas" from the Gram Parsons songbook, and J. D. Souther's "Safe At Home." The band is joined on a couple of tracks by fiddler Buddy Spicher.

The Arnold Chinn Band "Hometown Heroes" (Twin Spin Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Hardy)
A nice album with a perceptible AOR influence, but firmly surrounded by a pronounced, slightly exaggerated hillbilly twang. It took me a while to place it, but finally (duh) I heard their similarity to country-rocker Rodney Crowell. Indeed, they had an almost-hit with a cover version of Crowell's "Ain't No Money," which got played on American Bandstand and is included on this album. Their allegiance to the sleek, hip style of Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris post-hippie neo-traditionalism gives them a distinctive sound, recreating yet refashioning their radio-friendly sound. There's definitely an almost-but-not-quite, woulda-coulda feel to this record -- it's amateurish in some ways, ambitious and assertive in others. Worth a spin, if you can track it down.

Kay Arnold "...Sings Eddy Arnold" (Sims Records, 1965-?) (LP)
Born and bred an Arkansas gal, Mae Katherine Arnold (1926-2005) wasn't kin to Nashville star Eddy Arnold, but like a lot of folks, she sure liked his music. This tribute album was recorded in the mid-1960s with a featured performance from legendary old-school steel player Little Roy Wiggins, who had backed Eddy Arnold from the mid-'Forties up until the advent of the Nashville Sound. Ms. Arnold was married to producer-bandleader Buster Doss (1925-2005) and was part of his road show starting back in the 'Fifties... Though it looks like this was her only album as a solo performer, Kay Arnold also cut a few singles contributed some tracks to some of Doss's projects.

Arrow Memphis "Arrow Memphis" (Intermountain Records, 1980) (LP)
Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, these guys moved to Tucson, Arizona in the late '70s when the desert's country-rock scene was really hot... They became mainstays of the local scene, and at the time they made this album, were the house band at the Stumble Inn honkytonk bar. Lead singer Steve Williams bought a smooth, James Taylor-ish voice to front a solid outlaw country sound -- he later broke into the Nashville songwriting racket, penning several Top Forty hits, including "Redneck Yacht Club" (a chart-topper for Craig Morgan) and "Where Have I Been All My Life," which was recorded by George Strait. And here's Williams and his pals, back in their longhaired glory... Pretty good stuff, though you can sure hear the commercial, Top 40 aspirations in there as well.

Art & Jim "Live: The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Clothes On" (1981) (LP)
(Produced by Art Whitlock & Jim Atwater)
A country comedy duo with a musical mix of '50s-style rock and some country tunes such as "Take This Job And Shove It," "Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw" and John Denver's "My Sweet Lady." The rest of the repertoire is mostly originals, evenly split between Atwater and Whitlock. This album was recorded live at the Steak And Ale House restaurant in Richmond, Virginia.

George Arthur "In Nashville" (Cla-Lot Records, 19--?) (LP)
I couldn't find much information about this release, though George Arthur seems to have been a well-regarded country music deejay from Indiana whose career in music and on radio dates back to the mid-1940s. In 1944 he joined a band called The Blackhawk Valley Boys, which became part of the WLS National Barn Dance cast a year later in 1945, with a young Mr. Arthur on guitar. He worked at several other stations, but seems to have found his permanent berth at station WBAT, AM-1400 in Marion, Indiana, where he was listed as on-air talent in Billboard and Cash Box radio surveys of the late 1950s, and was still there in the 'Seventies when some younger talent came on board (judging from an obituary of another deejay who was born in the 'Forties...) This appears to have been his only album, with Side One featuring a half-dozen songs, mainly old weepers and ballads like "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," "Bouquet Of Roses" and George Morgan's "Room Full Of Roses," while Side Two was a truncated version of one of his radio shows. Not sure when this came out, but from the looks of the cover photo, probably sometime in the mid- to late-1970s(?)

Arwen Mountain "Five Of A Kind" (Chelsea House Records, 1977) (LP)
A string/swing band from Vermont who mixed zippy covers of standards and public domain tunes and western swing with progressive bluegrass and country-folk material from the likes Herb Pedersen, Dallas Frazier and Asleep At The Wheel. Mostly in the bluegrass camp, but with some interesting country touches.

Jack Arwood "My Favorite Country" (NCR Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Arr & Jack Elgin)
Hailing from Hamilton, Ohio, singer and multi-instrumentalist Jack Arwood was a stalwart of Dayton's country scene, performing regionally with his band, Country United, throughout the 1970s. He released a few singles on his own Sunrise label back around 1968-70, although he only appears to have made a couple of albums. This first one was a studio set containing a few cover tunes, but mostly packed with original material, including a couple of songs credited to Jack Arwood, "The Devil In Her Eyes" and "Pardon Me For Saying I Love You," and three more by Larry Steele. Dunno the exact trajectory of Arwood's career, though the liner notes here say he was born in Maryville, Tennessee and was blind at birth, and started his professional career around age six and was playing shows with singer Barbara Allen in places like a Pennsylvania steakhouse in the early 'Seventies, presumably before settling down into the Dayton scene. Sadly, the backing band isn't identified at all...

The Jack Arwood Show "Live At The Little Missouri Saloon" (Sunrise Records, 1979) (LP)
This disc is a souvenir of a slightly ragged-sounding though still satisfying live show from Jack Arwood and his band Country United, playing at a steakhouse called The Little Missouri Saloon, in remote Medora, North Dakota. (The restaurant took its name from the Little Missouri River, which runs past Medora on its way north towards the larger Missouri River.) While Arwood's 'Seventies singles included a lot of original material, those songs sadly didn't make it onto this live album, which is entirely made up of crowd-pleasing cover songs, including newer hits such as Eddie Rabbitt's 1978 single, "Hearts On Fire" and "Y'All Come Back Saloon," which The Oak Ridge Boys released in 1977. There's a brash, rock'n'roll flavor to this set that's perhaps a reflection of the rock-friendly youthfulness of Arwood's long-haired backing band, a little bit of roadhouse sizzle that brings Gary Stewart to mind, perhaps with a little bit of Asleep At The Wheel or Jerry Jeff Walker in there as well. A contemporary album review in the Dayton Daily News mentions that the record includes showcase numbers for the each of the bandmembers, but also neglects to give us their names; likewise the album's liner notes provide no musician or producer credits. Jack Arwood, however, gives brisk intros before some of the solo numbers, naming drummer Darryl Jeffries, Willie Rickard (bass) and David Sawyer(?) on lead guitar -- the strongest singer of the three was clearly Mr. Rickard, who acquits himself well on a version of the Charlie Daniels tune, "Long Haired Country Boy." This is a jovial, slightly jittery but still compelling live set, a nice snapshot of a local working band in the heart of the Midwest. One of the stronger indie country albums of its era!

Tom Asbridge "Moments With Tom" (Square Records, 19--?) (LP)
Originally from Marion, Kentucky, singer Tom Asbridge relocated to Memphis for a few years, and cut this album in Little Rock, Arkansas. A few years later, he made his way to Houston, Texas, where he's been ever since. This album includes some interesting cover songs, including a version of Chip Taylor's "Clean Your Own Tables," Sammy Johns' "Chevy Van" and yet another rendition of "Me And Bobby McGee," as well as a couple of tracks that may have been Asbridge originals.

Garry Ash "The Country Sound Of Garry Ash" (John's Recording Studio, 1973-? ) (LP)
A native of Melbourne, Arkansas, teenaged guitarist Garry Ash -- who was still in high school when he cut this record -- picks and sings a set of country covers, with hits such as "Big River," "White Lightnin'," "Walk On By" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." The backing band appear to be all locals, among them Todge Avey on lead guitar, Zane Beck playing steel and Bobby Carson on fiddle. Not sure of the year, though it definitely looks 1970s... This was his first album, though Garry Ash continued playing country music and put out CDs as recently as 2011, backed by his band Wildfire.

Glenn Ash "Especially For You" (AMP Records, 19--? ) (LP)
(Produced by Ernie Powers)
Banjo picker and guitarist Glenn Ash mixed a little comedy into his act -- and onto his record -- with skits inventively titled "On Drinking" and "On Policemen," etc. Backed by "Pete Pedersen & His Dirty Old Men," Ash mixed Eddie Peabody-ish Dixieland-folk-pop standards with more country-oriented material, such as the "Country Western Requests" medley, and "Grand Ole Opry." Of course, he's also playing "Malaguena" and "Exodus," so perhaps twangfans shouldn't expect too much from this one... The back cover informs us that the album features "Music by Pete Pedersen & His Dirty Old Men," which may require some further investigation.

Glenn Ash "Both Sides" (Sandcastle Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Walker & Bobby Cotton)
In his liner notes, actor/comedian Andy Griffith tells the story of how Don Knotts spotted Glenn Ash in Dallas, Texas, doing his show at Ric Ricardi's nightclub, The Horn. Knotts and Griffith got their manager to sign him, and Ash wound up doing several appearances on The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, USMC as well as The Tonight Show and variety programs like Glen Campbell's Goodtime Hour. He also made his way out to Vegas and Reno, most recently doing lounge sets at Harrah's around the time this LP came out. The material here still includes a preponderance of comedic material, but is also more solidly in the "country" camp, with tunes composed by Red Lane, Norbert Putnam, Jud Strunk and others, notably Jimmy Buffett's "Brand New Country Star." The backing band includes Jerry Hall on steel guitar, Don Johnson playing piano, bassist Eric Lemmons, and producer Billy Walker playing guitar.

Billy Ashby & The Stringdusters "16 Top Hits" (Top Hit Records, 1964-?) (LP)
Hyper-generic country on a short-lived Canadian budget label that promised to deliver monthly releases of "top hits" in a variety of styles. Billy Ashby apparently had a history as both a pop and country artist, though the Stringdusters backing band are a bit more obscure... The album doesn't list any individual musicians, although the subsequent(?) LP below names Betty Gauthier, Mac McBain, Ron Nicholls and Russ Parker as bandmembers, with drummer Ron Nicholls better known as a member of the Canadian Night Hawks. As with many budget-line albums, this also includes no release date, but the profusion of songs first released in 1963 points us in the right direction, while a couple of 1964 B-sides -- Carl Smith's "Pillow That Whispers" and Johnny Cash's "Understand Your Man" -- narrow it down to a likely 1964 or '65 release date.

Billy Ashby & The Stringdusters "Lucky 13: Country And Western Top Hits" (ROK Records, 19--?) (LP)
It's possible -- probable, even -- that this was the earlier album, since all most of the songs seems to date from 1963 singles by various American country stars, but nothing later than that. This album also lists the members of the Stringdusters by name, though neglects to tell us who played which instruments. Anyone know more about these folks?

Francis B. Ashby "Ashby Country" (High Sierra Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Rich Price)
I guess I'd file this one under the "you never know, do you?" department. When I first heard this record in the late '80s, I didn't think it was that great -- maybe I donated it to my radio station or something. But coming across it again years later, deep in the throes of my '70s hippiebilly mania, I could finally hear what a great record this is... Francis Ashby was a West Coast country fan who herded together a mix of old-timers and longhair pickers to back him on a dozen of his own original songs, many of which are quite good... The record opens with "Welfare," a modern-day working-man's ballad that has a Merle Haggard feel, but slightly more liberal leanings -- the liner notes talk about Ashby's own bout with chronic unemployment, so while the song is gritty, it's also compassionate. Various heart songs, train songs and honkytonk numbers follow, with passionate, razor-sharp lyrics. This San Francisco session was helmed by local cowpoke Rich Price, who later recorded for the same label, but unlike Price -- who got a bunch of high-power Nashville superpickers to back him -- Ashby's band seems to have been little-known locals, and they really put a lot into their performance... This is one of the stronger hard-country indiebilly albums of the era, a little idiosyncratic and rough around the edges, but definitely worth checking out. An energetic, original off-the-radar '70s country album.

Eddy Asher "Faded By The Night Life" (Dry Holler Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Nelson & C. E. Asher)
A singer who hailed from Springfield, Missouri, Eddie Asher packed this album with original material, writing eight out of the ten songs... Asher was also involved in some of the Missouri-based country music variety shows, including one that billed itself "the Ozark Hee Haw," and recorded an album under that name.

Ashley's Singers "Eighteen Cowboy Songs" (Hudson Record Company, 1960) (LP)
One of innumerable generic cheapo albums cranked out from the East Coast's fly-by-night record industry demimonde, in this case by a budget label headquartered in West New York, New Jersey. Zero info about the artists, but this was cranked out at the height of the late 1950s/early '60s TV cowboy craze, so make of that what you will.

Ernest Ashworth - see artist discography

Asleep At The Wheel -- see artist profile

Mike Asquino "Old Friends And Fine Wine" (Red Cloud Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Ben Beckley, John Nagy & Chris Cassons)
A folkie-country set from upstate New York... Asquino also released a couple of albums in the early 2000's...

Atchafalaya "One In A Row" (Nijik Records, 1982) (LP)

Atchafalaya "Live" (Nijik Records, 1986) (LP)
Recorded in concert at the Boudin Festival in Broussard, Louisiana, Feb. 1 and 2, 1986.

Atchafalaya "Defined" (Nijik Records, 19--?) (LP)

Bob Atkinson "Life's Railway" (QCA Recording Studio, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Charles Novell & Ric Probst)
A remarkably flawed country gospel album... on many levels. Bob Atkinson was a family man from Butler, Pennsylvania, backed on this album by an A-list studio group drawn from the Cincinnati-based QCA studio's house band: co-producer Charles Novell sits in on piano, with Denny Rice (rhythm guitar), Chuck Rich (steel guitar), Tim Short (drums), and Mike Taulbee on bass. Things start out okay, with a robust pop-country arrangement on "Life's Railway," but soon go sideways with a series of drab, mushy, too-slick-sounding southern gospel ballads. What really lights this album up, though, are the lyrics of a song called "Old Buddha," which is just about the single most offensive, intolerant Christian country song I've ever heard. It's a real jaw-dropper. The premise is simple enough: if you get to Heaven, it won't be that Buddha guy sitting on the celestial throne -- nosiree, all his followers are 100% going straight to Hell. That's just the first verse. Mr. Atkinson goes on to lambaste several other religions, then moves on to various Christian denominations with which he also seems to have a beef -- Baptists, "charismatics," etc. -- then gives a little zinger at the end, taking a pot shot at the Moonies. The best part is his metric for who gets in and who doesn't: you can't get to Heaven if you don't love your fellow man. Wow. Talk about lacking self-awareness. As offensive as the song is textually, it also suffers melodically -- instead of being some jaunty little hate-hymn that you can't get out of your head, instead it's just another dreary, drippy Christian pop anthem, more country-sounding than the other tracks, sure, but not very engaging on a musical level. The liner notes tell us Mr. Atkinson used to play in some secular bands, but no solid details about where or when. Oh, well.

Hal Atkinson "Harley-Davidson Presents Soundtrack Of Daytona Bound" (Harley-Davidson Records, 1980) (LP)

Kip Attaway "Jess For You" (CIS Northwest, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Flannagan)
Originally from Texas, singer Kip Attaway decamped to Idaho in the early 1970s, skipping out on the Lone Star outlaw scene, but bringing a lot of the same freewheeling attitude to his new perch in the Rockies. Over the years he hung around with a lot of notable folks -- Jerry Jeff Walker, cowboy honkytonker Chris LeDoux, the Braun Brothers -- and was especially tight with bad-boy twangster Pinto Bennett, playing in various bands and on various albums together. In later years, Attaway moved away from his hippie bar-band roots and focussed more on being a redneck-ish comedy artist, though this early stuff is still pretty rooted in the outlaw vibe of the times. This album was recorded in Allegeny, Oregon with a bunch of locals -- most of the songs are Attaway's own originals, along with a few well-chosen covers of songs by Pinto Bennett, Bruce Hauser, Willis Alan Ramsey and good ole Jerry Jeff. Not a bad place to start!

Kip Attaway "On Down The Road" (Very Available Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Kip Attaway)
I'm not sure what year this album came out, though I'm guessing 1983-85, based on the sound and look of the record. Overall, I'd have to say I didn't care much for this one -- there are a lot of tracks with just terrible pop-crossover arrangements and cheesy production that sounds both glossy and rinkydink. The opening track is the worst, a kind of 'Eightiesed-up bar-band rock number that I almost didn't get past... The rest of the record gets better, though not by a lot. There are a couple of decent twang tunes, though their charms are largely obscured by the iffy, antiseptic production... Still, an alcoholic novelty song like "I'll Hold The Bottle (You Hold The Wheel)" is one that deserves to be known, and in terms of actual songwriting, as opposed to performances, this record has material that's worth a spin. But honestly, not a lot on here that I'd want to listen to for fun. Attaway's longtime pal Pinto Bennett chips in on this album, though in a pretty strictly background role.

Bobby Attwood "Picks The Nashville Sounds" (1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Peppers)
A guitar instrumental album by a guy from Wichita Falls, Texas, who also owned a music store in town and is remembered as one of the best pickers in town. Although it's very no-art, DIY, the album features liner notes by '70s star Mel Street; Atwood led a band of his own, which was managed by Street in the early '70s.

Bobby Attwood "Just Pickin' " (Wichita Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Peppers)
This appears to be the same album as above, just with better graphics, and more complete liner notes. Not sure which edition came first, but this one rather helpfully provides information about the recording session, which was held at the RCA studios in Nashville, and included A-list session men such as Larry Butler (piano), Ray Edenton (guitar), Lloyd Green (steel guitar), Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Kenny Malone (drums), Bob Moore (bass), Leon Rhodes (electric bass) and Buddy Spicher on fiddle. Can't ask for a better crew than that! Includes instrumental versions of "Okie From Muskogee," Bill Doggett's "Honky Tonk," and a version of Mel Street's big hit, "Borrowed Angel." (Mel Street was apparently Attwood's manager at the time...)

The Austin All Stars "Down In Austin" (Thumbs Up Records, 1977-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Smith)
A multi-genre jam-band spectacular, with plenty of blues and twang to be heard for those so inclined... The lineup(s) draw from numerous Austin-area rock, blues and country bands, with luminaries such as guitarist John Inmon, Gary P. Nunn of the Lost Gonzo Band, Willie Nelson's longtime sidekick Mickey Raphael blowing the harp, pianist Tom Van Zandt. Waller Collie and many others from the Lone Star state of mind. There is some country ("Silver Wings") and plenty of roadhouse blues... Nice snapshot of the eclectic late 'Seventies Austin music scene... or at least some small fraction thereof...

The Austin All Stars "The Austin All Stars" (Felicity Records, 1982) (LP)
I'm not sure what, if any, connection there was between this disc and the one from '77 above... It looks like the first album was a far-flung local jam session with a bunch of folks drifting in and out, while this one was by an actual band calling themselves the Austin All Stars. I don't think there was any crossover in the personnel between the two. Also, these guys seem to have been strictly a rock and R&B cover band, playing stuff like "Barefootin'," "Dock Of A Bay," "Rocky Mountain Way" by Joe Walsh, British Invasion stuff by the Beatles, the Hollies and the Who. Maybe the name was just sitting around unused? I dunno.

Darlene Austin "...And The Road Company" (Road Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Haynes & Bill Vandervort)
Originally from Salina, Kansas, singer Darlene Austin hit Nashville in the early 'Eighties and landed solid gigs performing on Nashville Now and The Ralph Emery Show. This was her first album, and it has lotsa cover songs, including contemporary country-pop hits like "Somebody's Knockin'," "Nine To Five" and "The Rose," as well as some more rootsy, outlaw-ish material from folks like Delbert McClinton and Rusty Weir, even a version of Al Green's "Take Me To The River." There's one song credited to Ms. Austin, "How Long Does It Last," as well as one by bass player Terry Dee (aka Terry D. Zimmerman), who splits some of the lead singer duties. Although this disc is heavy on cover songs, Austin later became known as a songwriter, after years of plugging away as a singer.

Darlene Austin "In And Out Of Love" (Music Masters, Ltd., 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Harry Shields & Dennis Richie)
An expansive double-LP set with backing by some elite Nashville players, including Gene Chrisman (drums) Sonny Garrish (steel guitar), Mike Leach (bass) Bobby Ogden (piano), Vince Rundus (guitar), Jerry Shook (guitar), with Gary Talley as guest steel player on one track, and the Cates Sisters singing backup, reprising their role on Austin's previous album. This was recorded at Jerry Shook's "Shook Shack" studio; one assumes some of the players worked with Darlene Austin at one or more of her TV gigs... A pretty solid showcase for her talent, slick, Top Forty-oriented performances with confident vocals and solid musical backing.

Darlene Austin "Holding On" (BSW Records, 2000)

Gary Austin "Easy Lovin' " (Country Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Larry Lee)
A swell set of rough-cut, heartfelt Canadian country... Lead singer Gary Austin had a pleasantly imperfect baritone, quite at home with cover songs like Dave Dudley's "Six Days On The Road" or Waylon's "Good Hearted Woman," though admittedly a bit wobbly around songs with more complex phrasing. No worries: he's a sincere and committed performer, and the backing band is super-twangy and plenty country, so it all evens out. This is one of those uber-indie albums where at first you think, oh that guy can't sing, and then if you're lucky, you get over yourself and get in the groove. Along with a few cover songs, there's a slew of original material, credited to Austin's publishing companies, Dusty Pants and Patchy Pants, with Greg Austin co-credited on a couple of tunes, and other composers including three songs by Dennis Clement, who was in the band and is pictured on the back cover, as well as Wendy Cribbins and Liz Haas, who must have been in their orbit as well. Good stuff!

Greg Austin "Dixie Dancer" (Kentex Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by J. D. Miller & Cecil Jones)
A pretty good indie album with a rootsy-meets-slightly-commercial sound... I'm not sure, but I think this was Austin's first album, and his band was pretty good for a bunch of locals. Other than the credits for songwriting and musicians, there's not a lot of info on here -- I'm just guessing what year this came out -- and while this was recorded in the Lemco studios in Lexington, Kentucky, I'm not sure if that's where the band was located at the time. Anyway, it's a pretty solid record. Austin co-wrote all but two of the songs, along with Ron Daly, a guy who wasn't in the band, but did sing backup on some of the tracks. The exceptions were a version of the R&B/western swing oldie, "Mama Don't Allow" and a cover of Shel Silverstein's "Masochistic Baby," which is one of the novelty-song standouts, along with "I Beat The Bottle" and "If Women Were Whiskey." This stands up well in comparison to Austin's later records, with vocals that are assertive but not very emotive -- he doesn't reach too high or try too hard, and the results are fairly straightforward and effective. Definitely worth checking out if you're on the indie-billy trail. Just wish I knew more about when this one came out!

The Greg Austin Band "Midnight Driver" (Chnito Productions, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Heyl)
An ambitious album from this shaggy local bar band out of Vermont. I couldn't find much info about these guys, other than what's on the records themselves, and the fact that they made at least three albums. Apparently Austin had been playing since the mid-1970s, though this might have been his first album. Anyway, it's an appealing set, even though it's poorly recorded, with a mix that leaves most of the instruments muted, except for the lead guitar. The vocals are okay -- not a great voice, but plainspoken and sincere -- and the songs are pretty good. It's mostly original material, written by Austin or various band members, twangy songs about drinking, bars, and "painted ladies," as well as a cover of David Allan Coe's "I Love Robbing Banks," which gives them an outlaw vibe. This isn't the greatest music ever, but it has sincere DIY authenticity...

The Greg Austin Band "The Greg Austin Band" (Xeres Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by J. P. Pennington)
Big difference here: the band went down to Nashville to record this, and a Music City sound is immediately noticeable, with slicker, processed guitars instead of their earlier scrappy sound. Some of the songs are still outlaw themed -- like "Cheap Thrills," which opens the album -- but others were clearly meant to be more commercial, like the Eagles-y "Leaving In Her Eyes" and "Didn't Mean To Love You." Obviously, it didn't work, since these guys remain so obscure, but it's still interesting to see how quickly a band could remake themselves, reaching for the big brass ring. Their bar-band roots still show, though, in several rock-oldies covers -- "Bird Dog," "Sea Cruise," as well as a more-interesting cover of "Tonight The Bartender Is On The Wrong Side Of The Bar," an old Asleep At The Wheel song. Again, not spectacular, but for real. Let's hear it for the little guys!

The Greg Austin Band "If The Dream Could Stay" (Xeres Records, 1984) (LP)

The Greg Austin Band "Three Time Losers" (Xeres Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Cecil Jones)

The Greg Austin Band "VI" (Xeres Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Dyson & Ed Garrard)

Jim Austin "Live In The Desert" (Malea Records, 1973-?) (LP)
Longhair country from... "the desert"? Which desert?? Where? When?? There's an awful lot that's sincerely cool about this album, especially its laid-back, low-rent, unpretentious vibe. The lanky, bearded, denim-clad Mr. Austin on the blurry front cover sure looks like some Waylonesque country outlaw, but in fact this is a simple, back-to-basics set with old-guy sounding vocals that evoke Hank Snow as much as Willie Nelson. The liner notes aren't completely forthcoming about where Mr. Austin was from, though the cover shows him hanging around outside the Branding Iron Steak House, which as it turns out was located in Indio, California, out near Palm Springs. In order to that find out, though, you have to listen to the whole album and to all of Mr. Austin's laconic stage patter, which is embedded within two album-side long tracks which, charmingly, have crude tape edits though no separate tracks. The more I listen to this record, the more I like it. Late in the set, the singer introduces the boys in the band -- by first name only -- with onstage shout-outs to bass player Russ, drummer Terry, and guitarist Tommy. He also lets the audience in on a little secret, that the band had barely rehearsed his original songs. This may help explain the loose-limbed feel throughout -- which, by the way, I think is an absolute strength. Nothing flashy, nothing dazzling, just a humble hired band doing their best to back up an ambitious amateur. There's mention on the back cover of Austin have worked with (or having been known by) folks like Jimmy Bryant, Randy Harris, and Doug McGinnis, though it's unclear where or when this might have happened. Doesn't really matter, though. The play's the thing, and for my money, this is a really great album. And if I ever get around to putting out an album of this kind of stuff, the closing track, "Testing, 1-2-3" is right at the top of my list.

Kay Austin "The Hit Kit" (Corral Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Kinsey & Bill Smith)
A country gal from Southern California, Kenne Jeanne Austin made a big splash in the early 'Seventies and worked with several pioneers of the West Coast country scene, notably Bakersfield-ians Fuzzy Owens and Red Simpson. She originally came from Long Beach and mostly worked the casinos in Nevada, making it onto the Opry stage in Nashville at least once (there's a picture on the back cover of her other album...) She led her own band for several years, touring mostly on the West Coast, but also nationally in the mid-1970s, after she hit the scene as a "promising new artist" in 1974. Here she's backed by a fairly elite country crew from LA: Archie Francis on drums, John Hobbs (piano), Don Lee (guitar), J. D. Maness (steel guitar), and Curtis Stone playing bass. In addition to these two LPs, Ms. Austin also released several singles, including the 1976 novelty song, "(This New) Woman's Lib," which doesn't appear on either of her albums. Austin also earned a footnote in the soul world as one of the handful of country and pop artists signed to Mike Curb's "MC" label, an ill-fated, country-oriented offshoot of Motown Records that seems to have pressed several records that were never actually released. She plugged away on the country scene for about a decade before switching gears to become a Southern Gospel artist in the early 'Eighties.

Kay Austin "Only A Woman" (EIO Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Boles, Ray Ruff & Don Lee)
Unlike her first album, this one is less reliant on cover songs, packed instead with newer material, including -- interestingly enough -- a couple of songs by Linda Hargrove. This includes two tracks from her short-lived MC Records contract, as well as four songs that came out as singles on EIO. Two of the songs that were released as singles made it into the Billboard Back Forty, "The Rest Of Your Life" (which hit #86) and "Two Hearts Beat (Better Than One)" (which peaked at #75.)

Luke Austin "Introducing Luke Austin & Country Kingdom" (Country Kingdom USA, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Al Bruno)
Independent twang from Houston, Texas with bandleader Luke Austin frequently sharing the spotlight with his sidemen. Looks like it's all cover songs, with picking courtesy of Austin, lead guitarist Terry Martin and steel player Jimmie Powell, along with bassist Don Babb and pianist Roscoe Horton. (And why do I never mention the drummers? If I was Rudy Blake, I'd be pissed!)

Ray Austin "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke" (R&E Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Brien Fisher)
Amazingly little information to be found about this guy... Although this was recorded in Nashville, Austin's record company had an address in La Grange, Illinois, which leads me to believe he was active around Chicago. He also seems to have been the same showbiz orbit as the Kendalls and their producer, Brien Fisher: Royce Kendall contributes glowing liner notes, Fisher set up the sessions, and the Cates Sisters -- who Fisher also produced -- sing backup. Austin apparently didn't get recruited for Fisher's main label, Ovation Records, though this album seems to have been made at the height of Fisher's career, possibly around 1980 or so. Among the session players were steel player Sonny Garrish and Russ Hicks playing lead guitar. There were several country music Ray Austins, though I think this guy didn't record all that much. Anyone out there know more about him?

Salty Austin "Full Course Country" (Seneca Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Peter Bomber)
The self-styled "Eastern king of western swing," fiddler Lloyd H. Austin (1918-2018) grew up in rural western New York, leaving home as a teen during the Great Depression to follow a career as a country musician. He returned to upstate New York after serving in World War Two, and continued to play music and to produce his own radio show. He recorded this album while in his fifties, living on a houseboat (pictured on the cover) which he docked at Watkins Glen, on Lake Seneca. The songs are all Austin originals, including two, "Crank Up The Music"/"Touch Me Gently," which were also released as a single. Although his obituary states that Mr. Austin played all the instruments on these tracks, the album lists his backing band as George Coleates on bass, Danny Hart (pedal steel), Chuck Murphy (lead guitar) and Terry West on drums, while Mr. Austin plays "three fiddles" and sings "three voices," presumably through the magic of multi-tracking. As far as I know, this was his only album.

Steve Austin "Pretty Lady" (K-Art Records, 19--?) (LP)
We can rebuild him... Oh, wait, no. I promised I wasn't gonna make that joke... Ooops. Anyway, this Steve Austin was an older, post-middle aged fella who sings a bunch of country oldies, including stuff by Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Eddie Miller and Hank Williams; yet another version of "Green, Green Grass Of Home." Mr. Austin (who looks about seventy on the cover photo) had a pretty good voice, a true velvety baritone that really does evoke that of his idol, Jim Reeves, to whom he dedicated this album. Unfortunately, he infrequently slips a bit on the meter and as a result falls out of sync with the melody, so you have to be a little forgiving as you listen. It definitely helps that he includes four of his own original songs: "Pretty Lady," "For Old Times Sake," "I'm Glad We Got Together," and "You're Not Really Real," which is an awesome-sounding song title. The who-where-when of this album is kind of a mystery -- there's not a lot of info in the liner notes, except that he thanks the folks in Ellis County who supported him, but he neglects to mention if it was the Ellis County that's in Texas, the one in Kansas, or the one in Oklahoma... Your guess is as good as mine. But the "why" of the album is pretty clear -- he wants to sing some country, and he wants to keep things old-school. Also, no info about the backing band, either, alas.

Steve Austin "Sweet Woodsmoke Suite" (SRM/Special Release Music, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Skip Jones)
This is a different Steve Austin, a younger guy than the feller above... This singer was from Pound, Wisconsin, a microscopic village near Green Bay. He was a kind of laid-back country-folkie who seems to have spent some time in Nashville. Through overdubbing, Austin played all the instruments on this album (including some clog dancing for percussion!)

Steve Austin "Goin' To Town" (SRM/Special Release Music, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Austin)

Wayne Austin "Pure Austin Country" (Pure Austin Country Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Randall & Frank Green)
A popular regional artist who kept his band together for many years, Wayne Austin hailed from Midland, Michigan, although he trekked down to Nashville to record this album, which is packed with original material. Session player Buddy Spicher sits in on fiddle, while the other musicians, including producer-guitarist Bobby Randall, are unfamiliar to me, and may have actually been members of his hometown band. This is a great record. Though his voice sounds perhaps a little faded, the music reminds me of that great western swing-inflected sound the MCA label had going in the mid-1970s -- bright, clear, all the instruments well mixed and individually separated out... Heck, he even opens the album with a version of Carmol Taylor's "Saddest Song (On The Jukebox)" so he's got my vote right off the bat. No date on this disc, but it looks mid- to late-'80s; if I had to guess I'd say 1986 or thereabouts. Wayne Austin also released a string of CDs in later years, though I haven't had a chance to track them down yet. Apparently there was a band called Jasper Creek that grew out of his backing band, again, I haven't heard 'em. Yet.

Autumn "66 Miles To Madison" (RPC/Recorded Publications Company, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Rudy Gill, John Antos & Mark Antos)
I confess, I'm not entirely convinced this one belongs here, though they do cover a few 'Seventies-era pop-country hits, such as "Let Me Be There" and "Wild Fire." Besides, who doesn't want to hear covers of "Easy" and "Sham-Ba-La"? I mean, come on. Seriously. What's more misleading, though, is how easy it is to assume this is a contemporary Christian album, since these three clean-cut fellas all attended Michigan Christian College, in Rochester, MI, and the college seems to have sponsored the recording as some kind of recruiting tool. The musicians were not all Michiganders themselves, just fellow MCC students who liked jamming together. Tom Rellinger was from Gladwin, Michigan, while Clay Sturgeon was from Arizona and Tom Dill was an Indiana lad. Alas, the liner notes don't tell us who played what, though I'll hazard a guess they all three sang and played guitar. An archetypal custom album, if ever there was one.

George Avak "Dreams To Remember" (K-Ark Records, 1970) (LP)
A Connecticut's yankee in Roy Acuff's court, singer George Avak certainly has a colorful backstory... A near-lifelong resident of Wolcott, CT, Avak made the move to Nashville in the 1960s and did okay as a real-deal country artist, recording two albums and several singles before a tumor on his larynx cut his career short. But even before he headed for Music City, Avak earned national renown, not for his singing ability, but for his skill with guns. A talented pistolero, Avak was hired by Colt's Manufacturing Company (headquartered in Hartford) as a showman -- billed as "the fastest gun alive," Avak toured the US as an ambassador for the venerable gun company, giving trick shooting and quick-draw shows at rodeos and other firearm-friendly venues throughout the late 1950s and early '60s. (Much later in life, Avak expressed a desire to start a butterfly museum in his hometown, showcasing his personal collection of over 800 specimens. This certainly showed a much more sensitive side than his gunplay; one imagines that the music career fell somewhere in the middle...) He also worked in Hollywood, working as a firearms consultant on various western movies and TV shows such as Maverick and Wyatt Earp. In addition to these albums recorded for K-Ark, Avak also recorded singles for Cinatone Records, Nugget, Stop, and Starday, where his version of "I've Loved You All Over The World" generated some buzz in the early 'Seventies.

George Avak "Blues Country Style" (K-Ark Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by John Capps)
This is a fun record... A little clumsy, perhaps a little awkward, but Avak really throws himself into the material. I guess you could say he had sort of a Dave Dudley-esque, plainspoken singing voice, and his almost-sorta seems to get tongue-tied on a tune or two, but mostly this is a nice, unpretentious set of honkytonk novelty twang. I dig it. The songs are unusually dark and bleak, though -- maybe the "blues" in the title was meant to indicate that this was some sort of gloomier-than-thou concept album? Definitely worth a spin.

Joe Avants "Country Music My Way" (One Way Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Avants & Bill Clements)
Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Joe Leonard Avants Jr. (1931-1996) was the longtime engineer for Louisiana's legendary Swallow Records label, producing cajun, country and soul tracks by Rod Bernard, Clifton Chenier, Tommy McClain, and many, many others. That gig ended when the label closed its studio in 1978, with Mr. Avants then opening his own business in Slidell, Louisiana. He seems to have focussed on country music, as suggested by back-cover testimonials by Tex Williams and fiddler Billy Armstrong imply, and by this album of solidly country material, which unfortunately does not provide us with info on the musicians who backed him. It's not 100% clear if Joe Junior was the son of old-school honkytonker Joe Avants, who famously led a band in Arkansas that gave country legend Hank Locklin his start in the late 1940s, and who worked with Chet Atkins and other in the 'Fifties, but it seems likely. Also unclear if either (or which one) of them was the Joe Avants who cut several country singles up in Seattle during the early 1970s -- I couldn't find any info online that made the connections clear, but the hazy outline is there... Anyway, this album is a mixed bag, kicking off with some uptempo western swing, giddy music that helps us overlook Mr. Avants's vocal limitations, though they are harder to ignore on the slower, sappier tunes. Overall, though, it's hard not to appreciate his love of the music, and the backing band is clearly a solid, professional crew. I found it charming, though honestly not a record likely to inspire much recreational listening; several original songs, though, and probably a good resource for anyone looking for unknown old country songs to revive.

W. C. Averitt & Chubby Wise "Bluegrass" (Stoneway Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Roy M. Stone)
A fairly straight-up bluegrass set by fiddler Chubby Wise and guitarist W. C. Averitt (1930-1987) who were both in the orbit of the Houston, Texas-based Stoneway label, which specialized in instrumental albums. Averitt also played on some other local-label albums and various local bands.

Shorty Avery "...And The Swingsters" (Renee Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bud Comte & Larry Krenk)
A farm kid from Petersburg, Nebraska, Orville "Shorty" Avery (1923-2013) played in local groups dating back to the early 1950s, and formed his own four-piece band, the Swingsters, in the 1960s, and for a while hosted a weekly television show on KCNA in nearby Albion, Nebraska. This edition of the band included Mr. Avery on rhythm guitar, Dick Williamson playing piano, Leon Schulz on lead guitar, and "Porky" the drum machine, who gets a lot of attention in the liner notes. There's no date on this album, but the cover songs -- "Snow Bird," "Never Ending Song Of Love," "Games People Play," "Me And Bobby McGee," "Kiss An Angel Good Morning," and Faron Young's "Leavin' And Sayin' Goodbye," et. al. -- include a slew of tunes that were hits in 1971, so I'm making an educated guess that this came out in '72. In addition to all the covers, there are two songs listed as originals: "Ramblin' Piano" (composed by Williamson) and "Please Forget Me" (penned by Mr. Avery). The group apparently played gigs in Nebraska, South Dakota and nearby Kansas -- they also traveled to Texas to cut an earlier(?) 7" single on Keeno Records, which was a square dancing record. Avery played live shows up until around 2000, when he was almost eighty years old, though I think this was his only LP.

Hoyt Axton -- see artist profile

Joe Aylward "Joe Aylward" (Panther Records, 1984) (LP)
A Top-40 oriented honkytonker from Ontario, Canada, Joe Aylward released this 6-song EP in the '80s, and kept plugging away for at least a decade, well into the mullet-y '90s, backed by his band, The Yelverton Express. Good, uptempo neo-trad stuff.

Aztec Two-Step "Aztec Two-Step" (Elektra Records, 1972)
Although they really fit more into the '70s "soft rock" category, like many bands of that era, Aztec Two-Step wove significant amounts of twang into their albums, and deserve mention as part of the radio-friendly country-rock sound of the time. Besides, this first album has Doug Dillard and John Sebastian sitting in on the sessions, and those are some mighty fine guests to have at your party. Apparently, songwriters Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman met each other at an open-mic club in Boston, things clicked, they got signed, and they just kept making music happily ever after. Most of the songs on this debut disc are gooey, spacey acousti-pop numbers, much in the style of Brewer & Shipley or Seals & Crofts, though a few tunes have more overtly twangy feel. Worth a spin, but very '70s AOR-ish, so be forewarned.

Aztec Two-Step "Second Step" (RCA-Victor, 1975)

Aztec Two-Step "Two's Company" (RCA-Victor, 1976)

Hick Music Index