Quacky Duck & His Barnyard Friends "Media Push" (Warner Brothers, 1974)
(Produced by Stephan Galfas)
Awkward country(ish) rock from an East Coast band led by Danny and Daegal Bennett, sons of legendary pop crooner Tony Bennett. This is mostly clunky, cluttered stuff -- self-indulgent and not well-crafted, though I guess it has its moments. Based in Jersey, these guys had some regional success, but not surprisingly this odd, jokey album went nowhere on the charts, and the band quickly fizzled out. Perhaps the most notable member of the group was multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield, who later joined Bob Dylan's tour band, then co-founded the Alpha Band with T Bone Burnett, and became a prolific session musician. Meanwhile, the Bennett brothers went into more behind-the-scenes, out of the spotlight music business roles such as A&R and production. Overall, there's not much here that requires your attention: the title track generated mild controversy because of its gratuitous inclusion of various ethnic slurs, but it's not a terribly interesting song. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, twang martyr Gram Parsons is not credited as the album's producer, although they did add the dedication, "Our Love To Gram" on the back cover... Apparently they hung out with him in his waning days, but his influence isn't readily apparent. This disc is a footnote to East Coast country-rock, but not a compelling record.

Bruce Quande "Ol' Montana Boy" (Bitterroot Valley Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Michael Purington & Luther Henley)
For some folks, Bruce Quande is perhaps best known as an athlete, a kid from rural Kalispell, Montana who is often credited as the first person to competitively "flop" on a high-jump. When he was photographed doing his signature move at a high school meet in 1963, the hometown newspaper made fun of him, but when a guy from Oregon did the same maneuver at the 1968 Olympics -- and won -- they named it the Fosbury Flop and athletes across the world started clearing the bar head first and upside-down as well. Quande never let his lack of fame go to his head, though, and stuck around Montana, working in a variety of fields before he eventually opened his own windshield repair company. He also played a bit of music, and cut this album with several guys on the local scene. This may have been a cassette-only release, a pretty stripped-down, no-frills production recorded at a small studio in Missoula. All the songs are Bruce Quande's originals, with one tune co-written with Catfish John Tisdell, a local multi-instrumentalist and roots radio deejay who also plays guitar on the album. The rest of the band were also locals, many of whom played together in various bands over the years... They included bluegrass banjo plunker Larry Gangi, Phil Hamilton on drums, Paul Kelley (bass), Don Pawlak (pedal steel), Michael Purington (guitar), Richard Reinholdt (mandolin), Tom Robison (fiddle) and Steve Wright on guitar... Some of these names may sound familiar, notably Richie Reinholdt, who was in the Livewire Choir back in the 'Seventies, and steel player Don Pawlak who did a fair amount of session work and eventually landed a gig in Dale Watson's band. Plenty of regionally-themed material, including one track called "Ain't No Nashville In Montana." (And ain't that the truth!)

Rooster Quantrell & The Border Raiders "Col. Buster Doss Presents..." (Stardust Records, 1998)
(Produced by Col. Buster Doss)
Apparently "Rooster Quantrell" was a made-up country music character conceived of by Nashville-based indie-twang/song-poem producer Col. Buster Doss, although I have seen Quantrell's name appear on other artists' albums, so that origin story may be a bit mythical. This CD came out in the 1990s, but the recordings may have been made much earlier; there are also a number of singles out under Quantrell's name.

Fifi Queen "Coming Home" (Sonoma Records, 1979) (LP)
Man, what a great name. North Carolina native Fifi Queen set up shop -- literally -- in Florida, singing and playing keyboards as part of a '70s lounge act with her partner Linda Powers, while also modeling and playing semi-pro golf. She eventually moved into retail business, opening a used clothing store that later became a chain of related businesses in the Florida area. Ms. Queen seems to have been working in Jacksonville when she cut this album, with a band that included her on keyboards, along with Bud Conrad (guitar), Kevin Justice (bass), Linda Powers (drums) and perhaps most improbably, hillbilly old-timer Smiley Burnette on banjo. The songs are all originals, credited either to Fifi Queen or to her mother, gospel songwriter Hilda Ruth Hill, who is also credited on the back cover as a backup singer. Not sure of the exact year this came out, but it was either 1979 or '80, since it's mentioned in a 1980 profile in a local Ocala newspaper, an article which also notes that Queen and Powers quit working together in 1980. She recorded a second album in 1984, though I'm not sure if it was ever released.

The Quinaimes Band "The Quinaimes Band" (Elektra Records, 1971)
(Produced by Zachary & Jac Holzman)
A longhaired New York City rock group with rootsy leanings, The Quinaimes Band open this album with some truly groan-worthy white funk -- the opening track, a cover of David Bromberg's "Try Me One More Time," features an embarrassingly exaggerated faux Southern/black accent, with the singer insisting on over-enunciating the word "mo" over and over again. Yikes. But the group soon slides into mellower, rootsier material, including mildly lethargic versions of Utah Phillips' "Green Rolling Hills Of West Virginia" and Bob Dylan's "Visions Of Joanna," and while these tracks sound a bit stilted and precious, you still gotta give them points for being in the forefront of the '70s country-rock sound. The Quinaimes Band harbored veterans of various East Coast forerunners, notably Ken Pine, who played guitar for the Fugs, and several members of a short-lived New Jersey garage band called the Myddle Class, the best-known of whom was singer David Palmer, later known as the lead singer on the first Steely Dan album(!) Rounding out the ensemble was bassist and fiddler Jerry Burnham, who around the same time was also adding some twang to the equally crypto-rootsy Jake & The Family Jewels. Session players included newgrass fiddler Richard Greene, and pedal steel savant Bill Keith, who definitely bring some real twang-cred to the proceedings. The album is packed with originals by singers Danny Mansolino and David Palmer, who often sing as a duo, though fans of Palmer's work with Steely Dan may be gratified by songs like "Don't Take No" and their cover of Pop Staples "Don't Knock," where his vocals hit a more relaxed, familiar feel, despite the overall cluttered feel of this album. Alhough they might not have been really the most country-sounding hippie band ever, they had good taste in material, and took a fairly unusual approach for an East Coast band. Worth a spin... but don't set your expectations too high. [Footnote: in addition to helping launch Steely Dan, David Palmer later went on to collaborate with Carole King and, even more improbably, was in the late 'Seventies pop-rock band Wha-Koo.]

Ruthie Quinlan "Here's Ruthie" (Country Green Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Walter Haynes & Ruthie Quinlan)
An independently-released album from country singer Ruthie Quinlan, an Indiana native who headed to LA and Nashville to hit it big, although she eventually returned to the Midwest, reconnected with her religious faith, and devoted herself to gospel music. This secular-themed debut features a lot of original material, as well as four songs written by Lola Jean Dillon and a few obscuros from Sonny Throckmorton and Bobby Braddock. Plus, there's studio backing by Nashville session pros such as Fred Carter, Jr., Jerry Shook and pedal steel player Lloyd Green... quite a production! Anyone have more info about this artist?

Ruth Quinlan & Bill Quinlan "Jesus Wept" (2000)
I think this is the same artist, years later, recording gospel music with her husband Bill...

Bill Quinn "Jim Reeves Revisited" (Hilltop Records, 1968-?) (LP)
A budget-label homage to the late country crooner, Jim Reeves... Mister Quinn was an Irish artist who recorded for the Dublin-based Demense label, and was apparently unrelated to the Bill Quinn from Texas who founded the Gold Star studios. This is one of those cheapo albums that seems to have been put out several times on various labels, with slight variations in the title.

The Quinn Brothers "A Bushel Of Charley Pride Hits" (Pickwick/Hilltop Records, 1972) (LP)
I couldn't tell you for the life of me, who these here Quinn Brothers were, although it's possible -- since this is a Hilltop LP -- that this also includes singer Bill Quinn (from above) who recorded for Pickwick a few years earlier. Or not. Anyway, this is a cheapo-label set of "soundalike" cover songs, including hits like "Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger," "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone" and "Kiss An Angel Good Morning." Originally it was meant to appeal to folks who would be fooled into thinking it was really a Charley Pride album, and unlikely to make those folks very happy. But now, decades later, it's just another old, prefab countrypolitan album, and can be taken at face value.

Donnie Quinn "Reno Junction" (Big K Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Kellogg & D. J. Brundridge)
A rockabilly-flavored offering from a Kansas City-area teen, and an album that's packed with original material. The liner notes by KFIX radio deejay Uncle Don Rhea inform us that Donnie Quinn was seventeen years old when he cut this disc, and that "many" of the station's listeners were already fans, having heard him sing at churches and school events... I can't confirm or deny any of that, but this album is notable for its wealth of original material, including a couple of songs credited to Quinn ("Rockin' Fever" and "You're Living With The One You Love") as well as others by producers Charlie Kellogg ("Legend Of The Hillbilly Cat") and Donald Brundridge ("Your Love") along with a bevy of less well-known composers: Michael Angelo, Neva Cessnum, Ron Hake, Walt Hummell and Russ Pyburn. (One suspects some sort of song poem-ish, pay-to-play arrangement at work here...) The backing band seems to have been locals, though it's not clear if they were Quinn's own group or a studio crew -- Jack Hensley on steel guitar, Jeff Litrell (drums), Doug McBain (saxophone), and arranger Terry Swope on bass, lead guitar and sax. Two songs, including the title track, are credited to Terry Swope and one to co-arranger Jeff Litrell. In later years Donnie Quinn made his devotion to "the King" more clear and worked as an Elvis Presley imitator, albeit often in a "what if Elvis lived?" mode, where he records newly-minted songs written to match the Presley style.

Donnie Quinn "What Might Have Been" (2017) (LP)
He was still plugging away decades later, as seen on this self-released set... a bunch of cover tunes, mainly country oldies and 'Seventies pop hits, done Elvis style.

Carlos Quintas "LRJ Records Presents... Carlos Quintas" (Little Richie Johnson Records, 198--?)
(Produced by Little Richie Johnson)
A bilingual English-Spanish country 'n' pop set by crooner Carlos Quintas, who apparently was Portuguese actor-singer Carlos Miguel Quintas Martins, who started singing pop music as a side gig in the late 'Seventies. He released several albums in Europe before making a pilgrimage to Arizona to cut this partly-country record under the auspices of indie producer Little Richie Johnson. To be completely candid, this is a really terrible album, at least from a twangfan's perspective... Johnson put together a solid crew of (unidentified) musicians, and though the album opens with a solid western swing-flavored version of "Release Me," the arrangements shift into more florid, over-the-top pop orchestrations, and Quintas's vocals are just, well, wrong for most of the record. His accent is a tough sell to begin with, but his often-bizarre phrasing is really what tanks this disc. I'm not big on mocking "bad" records, but honestly the only reason I can think of to keep this album on my shelves is to make fun of it -- especially the two closing tracks, which may possibly be the worst versions of "Me And Bobby McGee" and "Green, Green Grass Of Home" ever recorded. Or at least right up there. It's all pretty painful. Not sure when this came out; neither the album or the single had a date on them, though it looks like a mid-1980s kinda thing, I'd guess from around 1984-86.

Bill Quisenberry "Sings Country" (Custom Fidelity, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by Burton A. Decker)
This one's got quite a story behind it... I'm fairly sure this is the same Bill Quisenberry (1934-2017) who was an Air Force Master Sargent and led his own band while stationed at Vandenberg AFB on California's central coast. Like a lot of military folks, he moved around a lot... Quisenberry eventually took over a Nashville talent agency and became David Allan Coe's booking agent during the 1990s and early 2000s and settled down in Tennessee. Decades earlier, he was in the orbit of one of LA's fabled custom labels, not only recording his own album but also doing session work playing guitar on other records, such as Maxi Maxwell's Interstate 40 LP, which came out around the same time. This disc was recorded in Hollywood, and producer Burton A. Decker mentions something about seeing Quisenberry play a show "75 miles up the coast." More than half the songs on Quisenberry's record are his own originals: "Heart Of A Fool," "Fool's Gold," "When A Jester Loves A Queen," "A Girl Like You," "Sound Of The Wind," and "Alone." See any sort of pattern here? The forlorn ballads are paired with then-temporary hits such as "Is Anybody Going To San Antone," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," and "Maria," as well as a nice thumping oldie, "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down." The liner notes are a little fuzzy on where Quisenberry was from, but years later he was living in Oklahoma, where he recorded another album about a decade later. Somewhere between then and the Clinton presidency, Quisenberry opted for the business side of things, and started working behind a telephone rather than a microphone...

Bill Quisenberry "Bill Quisenberry's Country" (Diamond Q Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Carol Quisenberry & Charles Townes)
This album was made while Bill Quisenberry was living in Oklahoma, apparently owning a horse ranch in Miami, OK. Plenty of cover songs from old-schoolers such as Johnny Bond and Jimmy Wakely, but also original material including two songs penned by Mr. Quisenberry, "Little By Little" and "Our Song," and two others ("Edges Of My Mind" and "I Ain't Much") by Bill Harmon. Harmon may have been in the backing band, though unfortunately the musicians aren't listed on this album.

Jack Quist "Texas Bound" (Oscar Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by George Mallard & Jack Quist)
A longtime fixture on Utah's twang scene, earlier on Jack Quist was a member of an outlaw country band called Cold Blue Steel, which recorded an album back in 1976. He may have been in a few rock bands, too, back in his younger days, as heard on this album which appears to be a collection of his early work, all of it composed by Mr. Quist. The album includes outlaw-ish stuff like "Can't Get Enough Cocaine," as well as the single "Surfin' Hermosa Beach," a bar-band song with a raucous, garage rock sound than might fit more in the alt-country or hippiebilly categories... Plenty of good, pure honky-tonk stuff, too... definitely worth a spin!

Jack Quist "Where Does Love Go" (Grudge Records, 1989)
(Produced by Earl Richards)
Hailing from Utah, singer Jack Quist has tried his hand at a wide range of country styles, including a stint as a Johnny Cash impersonator. This is his most focussed album, with the strongest commercial feel. It's a decently produced, laid-back record with a strong stylistic debt to mid-'80s Merle Haggard... All the songs are originals and they're all pretty good. He's backed by a talented Nashville studio crew including Harold Bradley, Ray Edenton and Pete Wade -- they don't completely knock it out of the park, but they don't overdo it, either. If you're a Merle fan, this is definitely worth checking out.

Jack Quist "Dear Mom" (Grudge Records, 1996)

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