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.

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.

Big Lost Rainbow "Big Lost Rainbow" (1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Igelhart & Big Lost Rainbow)
An early 'Seventies rock band with folk and country-rock influences, Big Lost Rainbow was originally from Pomfret, Connecticut, and performed regionally throughout New England. They self-released this album, and plugged away for a few more years before disbanding mid-decade. The group's main songwriter, Ridley Pearson and his brother Brad Pearson moved to Idaho, where they played in an indie-twang band called Stetson; Ridley Pearson later became a novelist and took part in the Rock Bottom Remainders band, along with horror writer Stephen King and others.

Bob Brooks & The Rustlers "Bad, Bad Memories Of A Good Time" (Memory Records, 1977-?) (LP)
A local band from Bristol, Connecticut that was formed in the 'Seventies, the Rustlers featured lead singer Bob Brooks, guitarist Jim Ferrera, Jr. and bassist Al Laurendeau (an old-timer who also played traditional fiddle music on his own time. The band's drummer, Greg Borbas was a teenager when he joined the band, staying active in the local music scene for decades to come. Anyway, this late '70s album features a lot of good, straightforward cover songs -- classy stuff like John Conlee's "Rose Colored Glasses," Waylon's "Good Hearted Woman," Ronnie Milsap's "Daydreams About Night Things" and Kris Kristofferson's "Bad, Bad Memories Of A Good Time." The title track was written by Brooks (real name, Robert Brooke) back in 1972, and it's a good song, although I guess it's the only original on here. Brooks is a modestly talented singer, not electrifying or overly charismatic, but competent and heartfelt, mainly sticking to mid-tempo crooning that makes good use of his slightly unusual voice. There's a hint of Hank Locklin in his tone (which might be a Florida thing?) and an un-macho feel that harkens back to the pre-hat act country sounds of the '40s and '50s where singers like Hank Snow and Webb Pierce who had kind of goofy voices nonetheless found success as emotive singers. A nice, decidedly local record made with no muss or fuss, just some solid old-school country played by guys who believed in what they were doing.

Gary Burr "Matters Of The Heart" (Lifesong Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Tim Geelan & Lee Yates)
Originally from Connecticut, singer Gary Burr joined the Top 40 country-rock band Pure Prairie League in the early '80s, taking over for Vince Gill, when Gill started his Nashville career. Burr also made it big in Nashville, becoming a very successful songwriter, with dozens of songs recorded by numerous artists... Before it all, though, came this poppy late '70s album, recorded in New York, before his hitmaking days.

Brenda Byers - see artist discography

Hank Cee "When Love Comes To An End" (BeVal Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by D. Trineer)
A set of almost all-original material by singer Hank Cee, who was a radio deejay on Waterbury, Connecticut's country station, W-104, and worked frequently with country star Dick Curless, who contributes to the liner notes.

The Country Misfits "The Country Misfits" (Misfit Productions, 1967-?) (LP)
(Produced by R. F. DeLisa & W. A. Kalouch Jr.)
A pretty down-to-earth country quartet from Wethersfield, Connecticut, your basic guitar-bass-and-drums kinda combo. The songs have generic themes, though several are credited to bandmembers... the group included Bob Branch on drums, Roger Hart (bass), Rocky LaRue (rhythm guitar), and Red Shea (lead guitar), playing both instrumentals and vocal numbers. They were twangy though not particularLy choppsy... a bunch of friends just having fun, from the sound of it.

Tommy Cox "Take Her Deep" (Omega Recording Studios, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Brady & Sharon Shapiro)
An oddball album, but a good one. G. T. ("Tommy") Cox was a so-called submarine "spook" in the US Navy during the Cold War, a communications specialist trained to monitor Russian military transmissions from his post in a silent-running sub. I'm not sure where Cox grew up, but for much of his naval career he was stationed in Groton, where he began penning his unique ouvre of country-flavored songs detailing life as a "bubblehead" aboard a nuclear submarine. This album is, simply put, legendary among submariners, and has been for several generations. Also, it's really quite good. The arrangements are pretty bare-bones, but it's Mr. Cox's vocals that really make this disc a doozy. He sounds quite a bit like Johnny Cash, although not the hard-driving Johnny Cash of the 1960s and '70s so much as the later-vintage, stark, solo balladeer of the American Recordings era. It's not just the vocal tone: like Cash, Tommy Cox conveyed gravitas and confidence, and while the subject material might be a little esoteric, his delivery is compelling. With authentic accounts such as "Boomer Patrol," "Gitmo Blues," and "Torpedo In The Water," Cox endeared himself to his fellow sailors, both on record and in his regular live performances, notably at Norm And Annie's Lounge, where he was a regular headliner. He also wrote a memoir, Tango Charlie, about his twenty-plus years in the secretive Naval Security Group, and many of the missions and patrols he pulled, and discusses his music at great length.

Slim Coxx & The Cowboy Caravan "Lake Compounce Proudly Presents..." (Coxx Records, 19--?)
One of several souvenir/vanity albums by classic country bandleader Slim Coxx, a Connecticut cowboy who was once in a regionally famous band called the Down Homers, circa late 1940s, '50s. I think in his later days Coxx led a family band that played at New England resorts and country fairs. This album seems to be from the 1960s or early '70s and is all cover tunes, with some pretty interesting selections. Not sure how many other records he made...

Dice "On The First Throw" (Green Mountain Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Scott Ardinger & Lori B. Williams)
Not a lot of info about this eclectic New England band, which was on a Vermont label, but may have ben a Connecticut band... The driving forces seem to have been multi-instrumentalists Scott Ardinger (banjo, guitar, violin) and Lori B. Williams (piano, mandolin), with assist by bassist Greg Burill, steel guitarist Mark Crofutt and drummers Phil Littlefield and Gene Tourangeau. Not sure what happened to Ardinger, but Lori Williams moved to California and had success in the 1990s singing backup and playing various parts on albums by Hoyt Axton, Jackson Browne and others. Mark Crofutt remained local, playing with a New England acoustic roots jugband called Washboard Slim & The Bluelights.

Easy Pickin' "Live At The Country Tavern" (Easy Pickin', 197--?)
Not to be confused with the Easy Pickins bluegrass band from Pontiac, Michigan, Easy Pickin' were a bluegrass group hailing from Stamford, CT, and are recorded here playing at the Country Tavern restaurant, where they performed regularly for over twenty years. The group is led by singer Barbara Allen, along with bassist Linda Shackleford and banjo plunker Joe Knowlton, as well as Bill Allen on guitar and Dave Rausher playing mandolin. They had an intriguing repertoire, with lots of bluegrass standards, as well as contemporary country and pop-AOR hits such as the outlaw anthem, "Luckenback, Texas," the Kendalls' classic "Heaven's Just A Sin Away," Keith Carradine's "I'm Easy," Harry Chapin's "Circle" and Paul Anka's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore." Banjoist Knowlton was also in the folk duo, Joe & Bing, who recorded several albums in the '60s, and was apparently still gigging with Easy Pickin' in the early 1990s.

Easy Pickin' "Winning Combination" (Xerox Records, 19--?) (LP)

Ed Elliott "Knock Three Times" (K-Ark Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Capps)
A Connecticut native who worked as a radio DJ in Milford, CT, Ed Elliot formed his band in 1960 and played mostly local gigs... This album is packed with cover tunes, though possibly there were a couple of originals in the mix(?) Apparently he started out in a rockabilly duo called Charley & Junior, which cut a single for MGM, 'way back in the 'Fifties. He's backed here by a solid Nashville crew, including Jack Eubanks and Dale Sellers on guitar, steel player Russ Hicks and D. J. Fontana thumping the drums.

Dave Gordon "Natural Causes" (Vetco, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Lou Ukelson)
Connecticut-based folksinger Dave Gordon and his then-wife, Kay Gordon, recorded several albums in the late '70s and early '80s, perhaps the best-known of which is this uptempo, country-flavored set recorded for the bluegrass indie, Vetco Records. It includes two great, Dr. Demento-ready, Larry Groce-esque novelty songs, a tall tale about spending gone wrong entitled "The Mad Consumer" and the giddy, malaprop-laden "You Getting Bothered Doesn't Marry Me," one of the most cheerful scary-stalker songs ever recorded, and an old favorite of the KFAT crew. Their other album were a little too mainstream folkie for me, but I crack up every time I hear "You Getting Bothered" -- it's a pretty durable novelty song.

Gypsy "Ladies Love Outlaws" (Worldwide Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by R. Copp & Ted Mather)
Vrrrrm! Vrrrrumm!! A solo set by Robert Copp, aka Gypsy, a biker-y dude from Groton, CT who sang about Harleys and outlaws, but wasn't strictly a "country" singer. This album includes several of his own songs, including "Highway Gypsy," "I Love You (For Gale)" and "Ladies Love Outlaws" (not the same as the Waylon Jennings hit), as well as "Long Road To Nashville," which was penned by the album's producer, Ted Mather. The album's second side was a live set, with pop vocal covers such as the song "Mariah" (from the musical "Paint Your Wagon") and "The Quest" (from "Man Of La Mancha"). So go figure.

Elmer Hawkes & The Coonville Ferryboat Killers "Dirty Magazines" (Trutone Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Katz)
This is, I believe, the first album by New England-based singer-songwriter Elmer Hawkes, who recorded a handful of albums in the '70s and early '80s, tried his hand at theater, and more recently became a documentary filmmaker, producing travel films for kids. With the cheaply-pressed, seedy-looking cover, I had high hopes for this one, though it proved less of a low-rent twangfest and more of a frantic folkie comedy album, would-be fodder for Dr. Demento, ala Barnes & Barnes. Hawkes seems to have been a self-styled poet-satirist from New England, with a mailing address in Connecticut and tentative roots in New Jersey as well (he eventually settled in Cambridge, MA...) What country twang exists here comes more from the bluegrass side of things, with some decent banjo picking, though that's about it. Hawkes himself sticks to vocals, harmonica and guitar, and the verbiage comes fast and furious in song after song, in a post-Dylanesque fashion... It's all laid on a bit thick, if you ask me, but if you're looking for original under-the-radar '70s counterculture stuff, this could be of interest. I can see some kinship here with rock/folk geek-nerd outsider artists such as Jonathan Richman, although that's probably giving Hawkes a little too much credit... Still, there's a similar cultural thread that can be followed... Post-hippie, pre-punk, wiseass novelty material that's (perhaps deliberately) rough around the edges.

Bill Hein "...Sings The Nashville Sound" (Belmont H Records, 196--?) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Hill)
A fresh-faced young lad from Unionville, Connecticut, Bill Hein (1947-2015) played small gigs at local schools and Boy Scout "camporees" but had decided to chuck it in and sell his guitar when Joe Cyr, the owner of the Belmont Record Store, talked him out of it and instead became Hein's manager. Sometime in the late 'Sixties they made it down to Nashville and booked a session with some top talent, a lineup of real A-listers such as Tommy Hill, D.J. Fontana, Bill Linneman, Jerry Shook and Jerry Smith, with particularly sweet, heartfelt pedal steel by Pete Drake. Bill Hein may have been a bit wobbly as a vocalist; he seems unsure of what voice to take on, and traces of Hank Locklin and Hank Snow contend with a huskier, brusquer persona, while at times Hein's own wet-behind-the-ears youthfulness peeks out and gives him a slightly callow tone. For the most part, though, he sounds pretty confident and self-possessed, just not like he'd entirely picked the right voice for himself. The songs are rock solid, though, with a few cover tune classics like "Born To Lose" and "No Teardrops Tonight," but most of the material seems to be original, including two songs credited to Bill Hein, "But Here I Am" and "Who's The Fool." Several other songwriters share the same publishing company, Window-BMI, which I assume was owned by Mr. Cyr, and showcased other New England artists he was promoting. One big question mark is Shara Nix, a figure of mystery who contributes two honkytonk gems, "Feat Or Famine Love" and "My Troubled Mind," but doesn't seem to have recorded anything herself. Perhaps the biggest surprise is how committed the Nashville guys sound... they often just go through the motions, but maybe they liked this kid... who knows. Not electrifying, but definitely worth a spin!

Jim Hinkle "Bittersweet Love" (Mark V Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Otis Forrest & Joe Huffman)
Not a lot of info on this one... Hinkle was originally from West Virginia, but the album's liner notes come courtesy of Carl Clovis, a radio deejay in Marietta, Ohio, who may have been the driving force behind the record itself. Hinkle was living in Connecticut at the time, where he was reported to be an "extremely successful" businessman, and president of his own company, with music as a hobby. The record may have been a publisher's demo: it's packed with original material, but none of the songs are credited to Hinkle. Songwriters include Nashville stalwart Ray Buzzeo, with several writers signed to the same publisher -- Programs, Inc. -- including George Kiriakis (a songwriter from Norwalk, CT) as well as "E. Bailes" and "D. Allen," who will both probably remain mysteries. The album's piano player and arranger was Otis Forrest, who had previously been with a well-known Southern Gospel group called the Blue Ridge Quartet, although when he worked on these albums, Forrest had left the band and was working as a staff musician for the Mark V label.

Jim Hinkle "Nobody's Darling" (Mark V Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Otis Forrest & Bill Huffman)
As with Hinkle's previous album, this disc is packed with a bunch of songs credited to Ray Buzzeo, along with a couple more by George Karakis... Otis Forrest is the session's arranger and director, and though some fo the musical touches are fairly derivative, overall it's a pretty ambitious album. The weak link is Mr. Hinkle, whose vocals often are flat or otherwise off-key, but he's charming anyway, totally committed to the music and plausibly in the Hank Locklin-esque range. Some of the songs (as songs) are quite good, and the musicanship is fairly high. Also of interest is the profusion of Huffman family members involved, with Bill Huffman listed as arranger, Harold Huffman playing bass, and Joe Huffman on lead guitar. A nice indie set, if you're not a big stickler for singers staying on key.

Martin Hollis "Nashville Session" (Holmac/Wilma Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Charlie Bragg & Bob Moore)
Singer-guitarist Martin Hollis made his mark on the British twang scene as a founding member of The Down County Boys, a popular and trailblazing English bluegrass band of the 1960s and '70s... Sometime in the 'Seventies, Hollis emigrated to the United States, where he worked thirty-plus years as an accountant for the Connecticut Department Of Education. He continued his love of American music, branching out into more mainstream country, and even joined the Connecticut Country Music Association, serving for a time as its president. Hollis formed a new band (brilliantly) named the Back Street Affair, which performed regionally around New England, though on this album he sought out backing by the big-name country pros, booking a studio crew that included Buddy Harman, Weldon Myrick, Hargus Robbins, Jerry Shook, Jerry Smith and Pete Wade, recording at the House Of Cash studios in Nashville. The repertoire is pretty straight-ahead country stuff, with songs written by Don Gibson, Merle Haggard, Mickey Newbury, Mack Vickery and others... Unfortunately, there's no release date on the LP, though I'd guesstimate 'Seventies, possibly early-to-mid '80s from the look of it. Mr. Hollis passed away in 2011, at age 64, a couple of years after retiring from his gummint job.

The Incredible Broadside Brass Bed Band "The Great Grizzly Bear Hunt" (Poison Ring Records, 1972) (LP)
This thumpy electrified jug band from New Britain, Connecticut had some twang in there, but mostly they were a party band, with a heavy beat echoing around the washboard and kazoo... They were sort of like the earlier, more rock-oriented Youngbloods, but with a harder, less laid-back hippie vibe. Not quite a full-on boogie-rock band like Hot Tuna or Canned Heat, but kind of in that general direction. One of the leading forces int he band was singer Bill Comeau, who is perhaps best known for his Christian folk music, recorded before and after this band was formed.

Last Fair Deal "Whole New Ride" (Ordeal Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Howard, Doug Kupper & Phil Zimmerman)
A string-swing/retro band from Connecticut... The album's repertoire all original material, except for one track...

David Liska "Startin' All Over Again" (Pharoah Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Clark)
An eclectic set bridging folk and country, but definitely plenty of twang. Songwriter-multi-instrumentalist David John Liska hailed from Glastonbury, Connecticut, and had a musical career that spanned back to the early 1960s when he was playing more rock-oriented material with a band called Davy Jones & The Dolphins, and formed a bluegrass band called Kentucky Wind that put out a couple of albums after this disc came out. In later years he worked under the stage name David John & The Comstock Cowboys. Among others backing him here are his brother Richard Liska on dobro, and East Coast steel player Terry Sutton, banjo plunker Don Urbanic, and Liska picking mandolin and guitar. (Thanks to the PragueFrank website for their work unravelling this long musical thread.)

Dave Liska & Kentucky Wind "Indian Summer" (Aztec Records, 1977) (LP)

Dave Liska & Kentucky Wind "Stranger Lost In Time" (Laughing Cat Records, 1979) (LP)

Earlene Pike "Singing From The Heart" (Zap Records, 1973-?) (LP)
A posthumous homage to singer Earlene Pike (1953-1972) a dynamic artist who passed away just before her nineteenth birthday after a battle with bone cancer. Hailing from Connecticut, the diminutive Ms. Pike was a lifelong performer -- from the age of four she worked as part of her father's family bluegrass band, the Pike Brothers, and she sang on the band's two albums, circa 1968. For this record she tears into a bunch of country stuff, including covers of hits such as "I Still Miss Someone," "I Fall To Pieces," "Crazy Arms," "Go Cat Go" and "Snowbird," with backing by the Pine Hill Ranchers, which was the same group that appeared on the Pike Family recordings. Sadly, the back cover of this album features a picture of her gravestone, bordered by photos taken at various live shows performed with a variety of country and bluegrass artists.

Pilgrim "Silver Lady" (One Of Nineteen/Sky Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Jonathan Freed, Garth Kelley & Dan Novacco)
Fairly manic, all-acoustic bluegrass/stringband jazz from a longhaired trio from Storrs, Connecticut, which was made up of Dudley Hamilton on bass, Vinny Kelley (banjo, guitar and mandolin) and Bob Thurston (violin). While I appreciate their eclectic tastes and ambitious vision -- and the wealth of original material -- this disc might be a hard sell even for many folkie fans. The technical production feels a bit flat, but more than that is the overly-brisk feel of the performances: there are plenty of fast solos and whatnot, but not a lot of subtlety or tonal texture. Things just feel a little too rushed, and one wonders what this record could have sounded like, with a little more time, or a little more guidance, and a little less haste. Worth noting: Bob Thurston also released a solo album called Fiddlers Have All The Luck.

Gove (Scrivenor) "Heavy Cowboy" (TRX Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Don Gant & Mike Weesner)
Although he became known as a freewheeling, genre-morphic 'Seventies folkie (see below), Scrivenor's first big music gig was, almost improbably, working for Nashville mega-mogul Wesley Rose, cutting this debut disc for the TRX imprint, which was sort of a youth-market label, catering more to pop and soul music than the usual country fare that Rose was famous for. Nonetheless, even with the hippie-esque veneer, Scrivenor got backing from a slew of top country talent, Nashville heavyweights such as David Briggs, Danny Flowers, Weldon Myrick, Hank Strzelecki, Chip Young and the like. Perhaps not surprisingly he became pals with John Hartford, who had a similar start as a major-label odd-man-out over at RCA, and followed Hartford over to the more comfy confines of the upstart folk/bluegrass label, Flying Fish Records. On this album he went all mononymic, just calling himself "Gove," though later on he added his surname to his records... I'm sure his folks were proud!

Gove Scrivenor "Solid Gove" (Rounder-Flying Fish, 1998)
This is a handy compilation of two late '70s albums by multi-instrumentalist Gove Scrivenor, one of those eclectic acoustic folkies like George Gritzbach who mixed a love of bluegrass and blues with a funky sensibility... Of the two original records, Shady Gove is certainly the better, with some melodic blues tunes, such as "Black Cat Bone," that are nice, and plenty of sweet picking from his pals, including folk-bluegrass luminaries such as John Hartford, Marty Stuart and Doc Watson. Although I heard a lot of these songs on KFAT, back in the day, there are two songs I liked best and would still recommend: the jaunty "Walkin' My Blues Away" and "Going To The Country." His next album isn't that great, with decent material given flowery arrangements, amid an overly-serious folk scene experimentalism. Not my cup of tea, though I guess if you're into mainstream folk, this might be worth checking out. I kinda hate to say it, but this might be a record where a couple of quick downloads would pretty much cover it. Scrivenor also did a lot of work as a session musician, and many years later recorded a couple more albums.

Jim Sharpley & The Sharpshooters "Northern Country" (Quiet Cannon Records, 1977) (LP)
Connecticut country picker Jim Sharpley was also a TV traffic and weather reporter on New Haven's Channel 8. The TV thing was his main gig, and he quit music for several years after leading this band, but got back into it in 2011 when he joined the bluegrass band Still Pickin' and later The Heartaches, a Patsy Cline tribute band. This early album features a wealth of original material, much of it with a swing-twang feel.

Silverado "Silverado" (RCA, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Jerrard & Dick Bogert)
Songwriters Earl Goodwin and Carl Shillo led this mellow country-rock/AOR band, with assist from a few top session players, notably steel player Jay D. Maness, and Emory Gordy and James Burton from Emmylou Harris's Hot Band. The overall sound is, well, pretty wimpy -- folk-tinged soft-pop in roughly the same territory as Seals & Crofts, with a little extra twang woven in but mostly it's wispy romantic stuff. Not much stood out for me; one track, "Kicking The Habit," has vague druggie connotations, but it's not really that great a song... If you're into '70s AOR, this could be a real find, though looking at it from an alt-country perspective, not much to get worked up about. Goodwin and Shillo were originally from Connecticut, and had been in an earlier band called Spur, which got signed to a major label and brought out to LA to cut an album... That project got shelved, but after licking their wounds, the duo formed a "new" band and headed back to California to try it again. They wound up cutting three albums as Silverado, and Shillo kept the band running in one form or another for several decades, including infrequent reunion shows.

Silverado "Taking It All In Stride" (RCA, 1977) (LP)

Silverado "Ready For Love" (CBS-Pavillion, 1981) (LP)

Jimmy Stephens & Joann Davis "We Might Not" (Pan Handle Records, 19--?) (LP)
Originally from Hartford, Connecticut, James F. Papillo (1929-2006) (aka Jimmy Stephens) settled in West Virginia and was a longtime cast member of the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree, performing on the show for over forty years alongside his wife, Joann Davis. They also performed regionally in New England and Canada, notably working USO tours at Thule Air Force Base, in Greenland. I'm not sure how many albums they made; the artwork for this one was also used on a gospel CD released many years later.

The Turkey Foot Band "Makin' Tracks" (TFB Productions, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Jones & Evan Jones)

Wildweeds "Wildweeds" (Vanguard Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Maynard Solomon)
An early band led by Connecticut yankee guitarist Al Anderson, who went on to join NRBQ in 1971 and later became a super-successful Nashville songwriter and session player. In 1967, The Wildweeds had scored a regional pop hit with their sleek single "No Good To Cry," though those garage rock days seem far behind on this rootsy set, which is packed with Anderson originals, stuff that will resonate with fans of early NRBQ. In a sense Anderson's country music career begins here, when he and his New England pals hoofed it down to Nashville to cut these sessions with backing from A-list studio cats such as David Briggs, Jim Colvard, Mac Gayden Charlie McCoy and Weldon Myrick. After joining NRBQ, Anderson recorded another excellent album for Vanguard, recording under his own name with a mix of musicians from both the Wildweeds and the 'Q. Nice stuff!

Hick Music Index