Red Jenkins/ & The Midnight Cowboys "Kenneth Swanstrom Jamboree" (Cisco Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Lillies Ohlsson)
Not to be confused with the bandleader from northern Kentucky of the same name, this fella "Red Jenkins" was really a guy named Bjorn Raita (1947-2021) from Sweden who recorded a bunch of albums over a very long career. Before settling on the infinitely more enjoyable band name, "The Rednecks," Jenkins led a combo called The Midnight Cowboys, which at the time this album was made included Red Jenkins on vocals, Staffan Elfstrom (bass and guitar), Mats Haglund (banjo and steel guitar), Thomas Haglund (fiddle and guitar), Urban Haglund (bass and guitar), Gudmund Hammar (drums) and Kenneth Swanstrom on piano. Swanstrom also leads his own "jamboree" band on one song, the Jamboree actually being a quartet that also included guitarist Thomas Haglund, along with a couple of other guys, drummer Lasse Fredricksson and Mike Grimwade playing bass. A ton of cover songs, including a lot of fairly hip selections, including songs from Dolly Parton, Billy Mize, Tommy Duncan, a Kris Kristofferson deep cut (of sorts) -- "Jody And The Kid" -- and a version of "Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone," which is one of those songs like "Aime": you can never hear too many versions. This looks like a pretty barebones productions, real DIY indie twang.
Red Jenkins "Neon Playboy" (Great Music Production, 1974) (LP)
Red Jenkins "A Texas Honky Tonk" (Great Music Production, 1975) (LP)
Red Jenkins "King Of The Honky Tonks: Red Jenkins Sings Frank Dycus" (Strictly Country Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Thomas Haglund & Stig Wiklund)
An homage to American-born outlaw honkytonker Frank Dycus (1939-2012) who recorded a few albums of his own, including a couple released in Sweden. His 1980 debut was mostly recorded in Stockholm, with a band put together by Red Jenkins and Thomas Haglund... why, right about the time this album was made!
Red Jenkins "Highway Cowboy" (Shannon Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Thomas Haglund & Stig Wiklund)
Red Jenkins "In A Rock'N'Roll Bar" (Shannon Records, 1982) (LP)
Red Jenkins "In Nashville" (Sonet Records, 1983) (LP)
Red Jenkins/Various Artists "The Bartender (It's All On The Jukebox)" (Red Hot Songs, 2006)
Red Jenkins/Various Artists "Neon Bible: The Texas Honky Tonk Testament" (Red Hot Songs, 2006)
Red Jenkins/Various Artists "Trucker's Paradise" (Strictly Country Records, 2008)
Red Jenkins "Hank And Jack" (Strictly Country Records, 2010)
Red Jenkins/Various Artists "Cheatin' Heart Motel" (Strictly Country Records, 2012)
(Produced by Bill Green)
Red Jenkins/Various Artists "Stone Country" (Strictly Country Records, 2015)
(Produced by Bill Green)
Jerrycan "Stony Man Mountain" (Strictly Country Records, 1983)
Jack Jersey "Honky Tonk Man" (Capitol-EMI Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Frank Jones)
A country/countrypolitan set by Dutch pop singer Willem de Nijs, who sang English-language material under the stage name Jack Jersey. Backed by the Jordanaires and an all-Nashville studio crew, Jersey shows a clear affinity for old-style rockabilly-pop, ala Elvis Presley, or early Conway Twitty. Not bad! His accent's pretty good, too (although I would prefer hearing him sing in Dutch.)
Krag Jorgenson Band "Grenseland" (Studio B Records, 1983)
(Produced by Jonas Fjeld & Ingar Helgesen)
Jussi & Kantri Boys "Kantri And Rock" (Scandia Records, 1975) (LP)
Finnish twang, led by Jussi "Big John" Raittinen (1943-2024) a rockabilly singer who played in a bunch of different bands, including some retro-rock combos with his brother, Eero Raittinen. Here he goes more in a straight country direction, with backing by the Kantri Boys, a twangband anchored by steel player Olli Haavisto, as well as pianist/arranger Kaj Westerlund, who worked with Raittinen throughout the decade, including on an earlier album with rocker Tommie Mansfield, cut in 1972. The repertoire here is pretty strictly country, though, packed with translated versions of country classics such as "Folsom Prison Blues," Rick Nelson's "Garden Party," "Hey Good Looking," "Oh, Lonesome Me" and "Singing The Blues." Looks like there were a couple of Finnish originals as well: "Metsamokin Tonttu" by K. W. Blomquist and Karl Kuuva's "Nukkekoti." Jussi Raittinen dabbled in country over the years, but this disc and the Nashville album that followed may be his most concentrated efforts in that sphere.
Jussi & Boys & Friends "Keha Kaartuu" (Scandia Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Matti Laipio)
This one has a similar lineup -- Jussi and his brother Eero, along with pianist Kaj Westerlund and Kalle Lae of the Kantri Boys, along with a slew of horn players, in a set dominated by soul and R&B numbers, though bookended by a couple of country tunes -- "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken." Not totally twangy, but there is some crossover.
Jussi "Nashville" (EMI Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Matti Laipio & Scotty Moore)
For this set, Jussi Raittinen did indeed travel to Nashville to get backing from several Music City A-listers... Being a rockabilly dude at heart, of course he booked a session with a couple of Elvis Presley's old sidemen, drummer D. J. Fontana and guitar picker Scotty Moore, who years earlier had set themselves up as go-to session players. Scotty Moore plays guitar and co-produced the session, which also included guitarist Ray Edenton, Bob Moore (bass), Weldon Myrick (steel guitar), Buddy Spicher (fiddle), Kaj Westerlund (piano) and Reggie Young on lead guitar, along with some backing vocals from Linda Hargrove and The Jordanaires (further cementing the links to Elvis...)
Jussi "Rollin' The Rock" (EMI Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Matti Laipio)
More of a straight rockabilly/rock oldies set, though recorded in America with a bunch of rock and R&B artists, with perhaps the most tantalizing musician being guitarist Billy Zoom, best known as the guitarist in the trailblazing punk band X -- a group founded the same year this album was made! Several albums after this, though I think these early ones are the closest to what we're tracking here...
Country music is everywhere, even in the erudite intellectual aeries of Europe... In fact, there's so much of the stuff, I barely know a fraction of it. This section includes a bunch of random bluegrass and country bands from across the European continent, although I'm aware there are many, many other artists and albums not currently on my radar. Also, separate sections exist for Germany and The United Kingdom and Ireland which have their own large, impressive country scenes, though many of those albums may also be included here. And trust me, once I crack the code and find all the records, France, Croatia and Lichtenstein will all get their own twang guides, too! (PS: I apologize for not being able to support umlauts and schwas and other special characters and for making all your languages look so very not right. I'm just not smart enough for all that technical-type stuff!)
