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.

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

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

John Anderson - see artist discography

Billy Apollo "Coast Guard Blues" (Nashville American Records, 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!

Freddy Baker "Sings Country" (Confederate Records, 1973-?) (LP)

The Bellamy Brothers -- see artist profile

Richard Betts "Highway Call" (Capricorn Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Richard Betts, Johnny Sandlin & Sam Whiteside)
The first solo set from southern rock pioneer Dickey Betts (1943-2024) a Florida native and founding member of the trailblazing Allman Brothers Band. Betts wrote (and sang) the group's biggest hit,"Ramblin' Man," and was a primary architect of the dynamic twin-guitar sound that defined the classic 1970's southern rock sound. This album was recorded during one of the many periods of turmoil and interpersonal conflict that marked the long history of the Allman Brothers Band, and was in part a declaration of independence for Dickey Betts, both literally and stylistically. Stepping back from the harder rock/blues vibe of Allman crew, he dips a little deeper into the melodic, country-friendly musical wellspring of his youth, when he got his start playing bluegrass with his dad. But with only six songs on a full-length LP, including the fourteen-minute long "Hand Picked," there's also plenty of the expansive jam-band rock ethos he helped construct in the late 'Sixties. Among the musicians backing him are bluegrass fiddler Vassar Clements, steel player John Hughey, Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Allman Bros keyboardist Chuck Leavell, producer/guitarist Johnny Sandlin, and many others... even including the fabled southern gospel group, The Rambos, providing backing vocals, and of course Dickey Betts himself, playing dobro and guitar. Quite a lineup!

Ronnie Blake "Country Class" (G.I.F.T. Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Kimble & Jerry Masters)
An enjoyable album from a Florida country-pop hopeful who sang a few cover tunes but also recorded several fine originals. Side One of the album opens with "Don't Marry For Money, Honey," an empty-pockets love ballad, and closes with Bob Adkinson's "Lure Of The Road," an cheerful novelty number about a guy who becomes a trucker instead of going to college (and dreads what happens when his dad finds out...) Side Two has some new tunes as well... Unfortunately, the liner notes don't include composer credits, so though I assume Blake wrote at least some of these songs, I can't say for sure. The cover songs are a mixed bag -- Blake wobbles a little bit on uptempo numbers like "Proud Mary" and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," but sounds swell on ballads such as "Help Me Make It Through The Night." All in all, this is a nice one, a strong effort by a regular fella with an okay voice and some big, big dreams. Definitely worth a spin!

Ronnie Blake "Key Largo Blues" (RB Enterprises, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Wilma Tackett & Lola Wager)

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan "Birds Of A Feather" (Wayside Records, 1970) (LP)

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan "Two Sides Of Jack And Misty" (Mega Records, 1972) (LP)

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan "Life and Death (And Almost Everything Else)" (Omni Records, 2006) (CD)

Betty Bond "Sings Country" (Tropical Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Quimby & Rick Balley)
This would appear to be a song-poem album, where aspiring composers send in their lyrics and a willing studio concocts arrangements, books a band and creates a souvenir album. The vocal talent was Ms. Betty Bond, a housewife from Daytona Beach, Florida who apparently had a background as a nightclub singer. The marks -- I mean, songwriters -- included Helen Chaney, Gladys Claus, Melba Flint, Sammy Gillican, John Hanson, Yvonne Hilton, Florence McAlister, Elwood Preston, Leona and Marilee Smith, Al Dee Solinger, Leni Taylor, Gordon Toyzan, and Phil & Mary Ann Lombardi, whose "You're My Sunshine" certainly seems to recycle an old theme... Alas, no info on the musicians, though producers Rick Balley and Bob Quimby seem to have recorded quite a few song-poem sets, dating back to the early 1960s up through at least the early '80s, including a second Betty Bond LP, Betty Bond Sings Pop, which came out around the same time as this one, and numerous earlier discs that feature her vocals. It's possible she may also have been the singer Betty Jayne, of the Betty Jayne & The Teenettes, who recorded numerous singles for Quimby back in the early '60s, though that's just random speculation on my part...

Jonny & Sue Bondz "...Sing Original Country" (Bondz Records, 19--?) (LP)
Not to be confused with Texas honkytonker Johnny Bond, New York state native John Bondzinski was a multi-instrumentalist perhaps best known for his work as a steel guitar player, and for his song, "I've Played Second Fiddle (For The Last Time)," which he first recorded for Starday back in the mid-'60s. Bondzinski played gigs in and around his hometown of Glens Falls, NY as well as across the border in Vermont, and opened a music store called Bondz Music, which he ran for several years before moving down to Wildwood, Florida with his wife Susan. They were living in the Sunshine State when they recorded this album, which is filled with all-original material, including songs like "Second Fiddle," "Happy State Of Mind" and "In A Redneck Bar." I think they're the only two musicians on here -- they both sing and he played a variety of instruments, through the magic of multi-tracking, and they are "backed" by their pet drum machine, who they nicknamed "Winchester."

Bonnie & Clyde "The Other Side Of Bonnie & Clyde" (Hillside Country Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Williams Earl & Jack Linneman)
I'm not much one on the judge-a-book approach to album art pop-mockery, though I gotta say, this is one scary looking record cover! In this case, Bonnie and Clyde were Bonnie and William Earl, a husband-wife duo from Deland, Florida who worked the Southern coastal resort circuit as well as a lot of gigs in Las Vegas and Reno. Side One of this album features all original material by Billy Earl, while Side Two is cover songs, ranging from "Wabash Cannonball" and "They Call The Wind Maria" to contemporary hits such as "Take Me Home Country Roads" and "Let Me Be There."

Larry Boone "Larry Boone" (Eeee Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Sacco)
In 1988, Florida-born singer Larry Boone cracked his way into the Nashville scene and became a successful chart artist, recording first for Mercury, and then for Columbia. But several years earlier, he cut this album of all-original material with producer Paul Sacco playing about half the instruments. There's no fiddle or pedal steel or mandolin or banjo on here, but there's still some twang, and that's all that counts, really, isn't it? His brother, Tony Booth, was a successful chart artist and songwriter during the 1970s.

Boot Hill Express Band "Let's Go For It!" (Boot Hill Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Tim Pick, Roy Shockley & Porter Wagoner)
This Florida-based outlaw band was led by brothers Robert Dale Clark and Roger Lee Clark, who was the group's lead singer and only songwriter, penning two tunes, "Lay Down Beside Me Tonight" and "When Ever," which were included on Side Two, amid various classic country and outlaw cover songs. The rest of the band included drummer Jay Combs, Danny Deibler (guitar), Jerry Dixon (banjo and dobro), Billy Easton (bass), and multi-instrumentalist Leticia Travis who sang, played piano and a slew of other parts. I'm not 100% sure where the band was from, though their contact address was in Palmetto, FL

Tony Booth - see artist profile

Braswell Brothers "Mile One" (19--) (LP)
An amiable family band, featuring Dave, Mike and Ronnie Braswell, brothers who started playing together as kids. They racked up a lot of experience traveling far and wide with their dad, an air traffic controller whose work took him to several states as well as to the Panama Canal Zone, where they entertained American troops who were stationed there. Apparently the Braswells were from Florida, and recorded this album in Tampa, with their band rounded out by steel player Tommy Crawford, Barry Jeffrey on keyboards, and Leroy Mercer on harmonica. Marvin ("Mike") Braswell (1947-2007) was the lead singer and one of the band's songwriters, along with brother Ronnie. Though most of the set is cover material -- including Neil Young's "Are You Ready For The Country" and classics like "Ghost Riders In The Sky," "Jambalaya" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," -- there are also several originals by the Braswells, "Kathy's Song," "Lady At The Window, "Mile One," and "Bluest Guitar In Town," which may also have been released as a single. This record is a nice set of straight-up country crooning with a smooth finish but a honkytonk core -- George Jones, Vern Gosdin and Jim Ed Brown come to mind. Good stuff. Some swell pedal steel, as well. Recommended!

Con Brewer "The Country Sound Of Con Brewer" (Blake Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by John Cook)
An extremely likeable, unpretentious album from a guy with modest vocal talents but deep country roots... Brewer plays some great, bouncy bordello-style piano riffs, strums the guitar and kinda croaks his way through a nice set of all-original material, with several excellent tunes. There are also a few instrumental tracks on Side Two where he jams with the band, with the piano and pedal steel being standouts. I'm not sure where he was from -- this album was recorded in Memphis, though in the liner notes he thanks some friends in Leesburg, Florida who helped him out. I like this record a lot: Mr. Brewer might not have had the greatest voice, but he sure knew about true-country twang.

Briley & Branch "Briley & Branch" (Prodigy Records, 1978) (LP)
The lounge duo of composer Pat Briley and vocalist Judy Branch worked in Florida in the mid-1970s, playing largely in a pop-jazz standards mode, though with some country in the mix as well. Branch worked as a singer in the Harry James band for a while, and brought a scat-singing background to the duo's work. As far as I know, this was their only album.

Barbara Brooks "Long White Beach" (Memory Records, 1977-?) (LP)
(Produced by Pete Drake & Tommy Hill)
A Nashville-produced album showcasing Barbara Brooks, a singer from Jacksonville, Florida whose main audience was made up of the sailors on shore leave and other military personnel who frequented the (unnamed) club where she'd enjoyed a six-year residency by the time she cut this album. She apparently toured a bit as well: the liner notes mention that sometimes she'd go up the coast and serenade many of the same guys when she did shows in Norfolk. (Sadly, details about her career are hard to come by, since she shares the same name as the wife of top forty star Kix Brooks, which really puts the whammy on any potential Google searches...) For this album, she booked a session at Pete Drake's studio, and is backed by a mix of Drake's in-house musicians and reunited members of the old Hank Williams band, the Drifting Cowboys, who apparently were in the studio at the same time. Players include Jack Drake, Pete Drake, D. J. Fontana, Jerry Rivers, Don Helms, Bob McNett, David Allan Coe(!) and others... Also worth noting: all but two of the songs on this album are originals, all credited to "E. Thorn," a figure who remains mysterious, but may have either been a collaborator of or pseudonym for Ms. Brooks. There's no date on the disc, but among the songs she covers is "Country Bumpkin," which was a hit for Cal Smith in 1974;

Alfred Brown & Willard Brown "Roots Of My Raising" (19--?) (LP)
These brothers were from Pensacola, Florida where inventor/entrepreneur Willard Brown (1935-2008) founded several successful companies, including one called Instrument Control Service (ICS), where the brothers would play classic honky-tonk style country for the employees and their families at company dinners. I believe Willard Brown also played the dobro, while Alfred was the lead singer, and perhaps the driving force behind their music. Alfred continued to perform well into the 2000s, posting videos after his brother had passed away, including this great gospel number which was recorded with vocal backing by a harmony-rich chorus of gals from the Brown family. If you're a fan of old-school, sentimental country twang, this disc might be a real find.

Terry Brown "...And A Whole Lotta Country" (Travis Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by Terry Brown & Ken Veenstra)
Hard country honkytonk from Tampa, Florida, recorded live at a place called The Country Junction... This includes covers of Jerry Reed's "East Bound And Down" and John Anderson's "1959," which places the show sometime in the early 'Eighties. It looks like Brown also released a few CDs, several years later.

Wilma Burgess - see artist discography

Billy Luke Burton "The Search Is Over" (Outlaw Records, 1981)
(Produced by Gary Vandy)
This record has an odd, and probably apocryphal, back story: singer Billy Luke Burton was originally from Miami, Florida, but seems to have been living in Nashville when this album was made... He landed in the orbit of Chance Martin, a Nashville/outlaw scene insider who worked as Johnny Cash's roadie and as a professional cue-card holder to the stars. Trying his hand at management, Martin took Burton on as a client and got a deal to make an album. Supposedly, though, the record was bankrolled by gangsters and Martin tells the tale about how they sent a mob enforcer to pressure him into finishing the project (which probably was being used as a tax dodge or to launder some money...) I dunno if any of that is true or not, but that's the legend. Regardless, it's worth noting that the Chance Martin tracks are versions of songs that also appeared on his now-infamous avant-country album, In Search, which is alluded to in the title of this disc. The studio crew included Andy Eder on pedal steel and the Rhodes-Chalmers-Rhodes vocal trio singing backup -- of course, Burton never cracked into the bigtime, but like many others he sojourned to Music City to make his grab for the big brass ring.

Brenda Byers - see artist discography

The Calhoun Twins "Country Jet Set" (Stop Records, 1967) (LP)
In addition to making perky, upbeat country music, twin brothers Jack and Jerry Calhoun were also avid pilots, running an independent commercial air service that catered to showbiz clientele. (Hence the album title and the airplane pictured on the cover...) Their Florida airfield was the site of the 1982 plane crash that killed Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist, Randy Rhoads, but they stayed in business well into the 21st Century, and also kept making music, releasing several CDs in addition to the LPs listed here. This was their first album, and it's pretty lively stuff, a mix of Buck Owens-y bounce and old-school hillbilly romp. They didn't get far in the national charts. but they sure made some fun music!

The Calhoun Twins "Country Jet Set, v.2" (Stop, 1970) (LP)

The Calhoun Twins "The Calhoun Twins" (Prize Records, 1971) (LP)

The Calhoun Twins "Goin' To The Dogs" (Marathon Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Taylor & Shot Jackson)

Jack Cannon "Jack Cannon Country" (TIM Records/Tops In Music, 1975) (LP)
This guy lived in Milton, Florida, and was an amateur singer who went to Pensacola to record this album with a band that was at least partly session players. The repertoire's mostly cover tunes, including versions of classics such as "I Love You So Much It Hurts," "Night Train To Memphis," "The Wild Side Of Life" "I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name" -- real old-school stuff. The backing band was called the Stranders and appears to have been all locals, with steel guitar by Curtis Hall, Junior Colley on lead and piano by Vaughn Thacker. The album also includes a couple of original songs written by a guy named Wally Willette: "Come On In, Mr. Blues" and "I'm Over Here, My Heart's Over There." Willette wasn't in Cannon's band, but he seems to have been pals with Papa Ray Sims, who appears to have been the financial backer of this album, and contributed the liner notes.

Jack Cannon "The Same Old Boy With Old Southern Memories" (Redwing Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Jernigan & Bruce Watkins)

Tom Carlile "The Tom Carlile Feel" (Door Knob Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Kennedy)
Slightly jittery, perfectly prefab pop-country from Florida singer Tom Carlisle, formerly a (terrible) late-'Sixties pop artist who led a (terrible) band called Tom & The Craftsmen. A decade or so later, he was still a hammy singer, but his remarkably tinny voice was better suited to country material than to the kind of pop material he tried tackling back in 1968. Kind of a Bill Anderson-ish vibe, I suppose. Anyway, if you enjoy the late '70s/early '80s equivalent of soft-pop/AOR and you're looking for more obscure artist to fill that need, this is an album that might be considered a lost gem, of sorts. If you like the style, it's probably worth checking out.

The Casuals "You Belong To My Heart" (SRS International/Sensational Records, 1976-?) (LP)
A covers band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, doing rock, blues and country oldies with more of a country tilt than anything else -- they cover "Ghost Riders In The Sky" and "Top Of The World" as well as "Johnny B. Goode," "You're Sixteen" and "Big Boss Man." There are also a couple of originals, "Truck Stop, USA" and "Again Tonight," which were both cowritten by guitarist Butch Watts and lead singer Mike LaHair and credited to Audio Architects Publishing, with copyright claimed in 1976... The band was still together at least as late as 1978, playing a gig in Palm Beach at a place called the Town Tavern, with the addition of a gal singer named Diane Fowle. Other than that? Total mystery.

The Cheyenne Stampede "Church Street Station Presents The Best Of The Cheyenne Stampede" (Church Street Station Records, 198-?) (LP)
Yeesh. A truly dismal live album that was a souvenir of a faux/retro "saloon" called the Cheyenne Saloon & Opera House, a western-themed steakhouse/music hall tourist trap that was part of Orlando, Florida's Church Street Station development. I mean, I guess on paper this band of hired hands could have been cool, but they really go out of their way to make things cheesy. The album opens with several Willie & Waylon covers -- "Good Hearted Woman," "Georgia On My Mind" -- where the dude lead singers slavishly imitate the then-godlike outlaw legends, but add an extra couple of layers of schmaltz and insincerity that are a real turnoff. A gal singer named Patty Stone chimes in with a cover of the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris classic, "Ooh, Las Vegas," and you get the sense that she may have had more devotion to the music, and more willingness to play it straight, but for some strange reason her vocals don't seem to have been as well recorded (or mixed) as the two cheeseball dudes. What's really weird, though, is the presence of twangtune oddball Zeke Sheppard, who takes charge on most of Side Two -- turns out that Sheppard recorded most of his own 1980 solo album at Church Street as well, though apparently the faux saloon hadn't been thought up yet. There's some overlap in the musicians as well: piano player Robert Allison, bassist Sam Allison and guitar picker Forrest Rodgers were all originally in Sheppard's band. For some reason the cornball singer Kenny James was brought in to be the star of the show, though when Sheppard takes the mic, things rapidly improve, even though his attempt at generating a country-pop novelty hit ("The Hat Song") doesn't quite pan out. Wonder whatever happened to him...?

Anne Christine "Gold Coast Country" (CME Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by George Daye Jr. & Charlie Tallent)
A pretty strong singer making her way in the countrypolitan era, Anne Christine Poux was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, but had migrated to Miami to form her own band, claiming the Florida "gold coast" as her base of operations. This album opens with her original song, "Summer Man," an ornately arranged countrypolitan number which hit the middle rungs of the Back Forty in the summer of '71. This album sought to build on that momentum, showcasing Christine on several other original tunes (all published on Tail Feathers Music) as well as cover tunes such as "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" and Ben Peters' "It's Gonna Take A Little Bit Longer." As I said, she had a really good voice -- maybe a little too imitative of Joan Baez, but still able to get out of folkie mode enough to tap into a legit country vibe. The weird thing about this disc is that all the songs are interrupted by banal interviews with the CME label's amiable owner George Daye, Jr., who was Anne Christine's husband as well as the band's manager. Still, as odd and intrusive as these spoken segments are, they are also pretty revealing, giving us both the sound of Mr. Daye's slightly desperate hustle and Christine's calm forbearance as a "chick" working in a man's world. Also interviewed is the band's bassist/fiddler, Bobby Buttonwood, who sings lead on a couple of tunes, and was a rock-solid performer. (Although several of her songs were previously released as singles, as far as I can tell, Buttonwood's were not.) Overall, the music is pretty good and one wonders how things might have panned out had they'd packaged her more conventionally, without all the "radio interview" hype. If you dig early 'Seventies countrypolitan gals, you might want to track this disc down.

Darrell Clanton "Alive" (Audiograph Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Demmans)
For a few brief years, the Audiograph label served as both a haven for faded Nashville stars as well as hopeful unknowns such as Mr. Clanton. Born Darrell Puckett, the Florida singer made his way to Nashville and had a promising career in the early '80s which was cut short when the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving launched a boycott against one of his songs that they felt made light of alcohol abuse. (How's that story for an idea for a country novelty song...? Oh, the ironies.) Anyway, this album has a bright, almost aggressively commercial production sound, with seven out of the ten songs being Clanton originals. It was one of the cover songs that was his biggest -- and really, only -- hit, an understated, straightforward rendition of Justin Tubb's "Lonesome 7-7203" that made it into the Top 30, though his later efforts on Warner Brothers pretty much tanked. There's some applause mixed in on a few tracks, but I'm pretty sure this was a studio-produced album.

Vassar Clements -- see artist discography

T. C. Condra "Live... At The Hilton Inn Central Nashville" (19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Willie Carroll Reinen & T. C. Condra)
An outlaw album with a lot of cover tunes, including "Are You Sure Hank Done It This A Way," "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," "Take This Job And Shove It" and of course, one more version of "Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother..." In the mid-1960s, singer Tom Condra was in a Beatles tribute/ripoff band called the American Beetles which toured widely throughout the US before changing its name (and artistic direction), becoming the Razor's Edge in 1966. I guess later on he got twang fever and went a little Waylon-y with this record, a session that I'd guess is from around 1978. He also recorded a single on the Mariner label in 1981, though I dunno if he's done more than that, or what became of him since then.

Tommy Lee Cook "Tommy Lee Cook" (JBC Records, 1985) (LP)
Dunno much about this guy... He was from Fort Myers, Florida and has one of those "getting busted" album covers, where a cop is pictured hassling the band... but other than that, he's kind of a mystery to me. Anyone out there know more about him?

Jon Corneal "...And The Orange Blossom Special" (Auburn-Orange, 1974) (LP)
In his high school years, way back in 1962, Florida-born drummer Jon Corneal formed a frat rock band with future '70s country-pop star Jim Stafford and the later-legendary Gram Parsons, the self-annointed demigod of hippiebilly country-rock. That first band broke up, of course, but they all kept in touch and in 1967, Parsons tapped Corneal to play in his International Submarine Band, a short-lived project that fell apart when Parsons jumped ship to (briefly) join the Byrds. For a while, Corneal ping-ponged between Nashville and LA -- he did session work for country stars and hippie bands, everyone from Loretta Lynn to the Dillards, and in went on the road with the Glaser Brothers for a couple of years before finally moving back to Florida and setting up shop as a regional musician. This was his first solo album, recorded in Florida and featuring original music by Corneal.

The Country Cavaleers "Presenting The Country Cavaleers" (JBJ Records, 1974-?) (LP)
These longhaired Jesus-freak country-rockers hailed from Tampa Florida, though they went to Music City to make it big around 1971, and didn't quite click with the conservative vibe of a pre-outlaw Nashville. The Cavaleers (sic) were ex-rockers Buddy Good and James Marvell, who started out as Nuggets-style mid-'60s garage rockers playing in a variety of little-known bands, including a psych-pop group called Mercy that had a short-lived major-label contract in 1969. But being Southern boys, they also moonlighted in a country band and when the rock gig fell through, they decided to make a go of it as twangsters, combining a shaggy, hippie-esque look with a down-home, moralistic Christian philosophy, spiced up with some pop-rock hooks. They were square pegs in a world of round holes, but a case can be made they were groundbreakers as well, at least as far as their image went... For a couple of years they were in the orbit of the Wilburn Brothers, touring with the old-timers and appearing frequently on their TV show. The Cavaleers made a few waves and got a couple of nibbles from MGM and other labels, but by the time they made this LP, they were deep into the indie/custom label vortex. The duo worked together up until around 1977, with a posthumous live album coming out sometime around 1980. James Marvell, whose real name was Carlos Zaya, went solo for a few years and even recorded some Freddy Fender-esque bilingual twang, but he met with limited success, and later worked as a Christian country artist. (Many thanks to Edd Hurt for his informative article and interview on Perfect Sound Forever, which also includes a discography that includes the Cavaleers numerous singles...)

The (Country) Cavaleers "Live On Stage: A Special Tribute To Elvis Presley" (Versha Records, 1980-?) (LP)
Though billed as an homage to Elvis Presley, this album is a 'Fifties-era nostalgiafest that includes oldies by Chuck Berry and Hank Williams, as well as several Elvis tunes. Most of the tracks are live, recorded at a gig in Morganton, North Carolina, though the record seems to have been padded out with some studio recordings as well. The Elvis angle implies that this came out around 1977-78, though Edd Hurt's discography places it around 1980. Who knows?

Country Cookin' "Front Burner" (Country Cookin' Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Country Cookin' & Charlie Strickland)
Not to be confused with the Tony Trischka/Kenny Kosek bluegrass band of the early '70s, these dudes from Florida look like some real good old boys... The group was led by singer Leonard Blackwelder, who had previously recorded a single around 1974-75, with his old band, the Break Timers. On this album, he was joined by Harold Floyd on rhythm guitar (and lead vocals on three songs, including his own "This Time She's Gone"), Skip Ellis on steel guitar, Ron Moody playing bass, Bob (any relation to Lyle?) Lovett on drums, and Tom Murphy playing piano. The album includes several original songs; Blackwelder wrote "I Need Someone To Talk To Tonight" and "Why Did I Have To Be The One" as well as one by Tom Murphy, "Time Is My Best Friend." They also play a bunch of cover songs, including David Allan Coe's "Jack Daniels If You Please," "Tulsa Time," "Rockin' My Life Away," as well as some tunes by Merle Haggard and Larry Gatlin... Blackwelder, who was born in Florida, apparently moved to Athen, Tennessee later in life, but I don't think he pursued much musically after this.

The Country Sounds "Memories #1" (Cracker Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Link)
A superb set of 100% local country. All cover tunes by this lean, stripped-down band out of Naples, Florida , and every tracks is a gem of true-twang sincerity and concision. There's nothing about this album that I don't like, but the group's lead singer, Mike Hodge is for-sure their real secret weapon, a plainspoken, fully committed vocalist with kind of a gangly, cheerfully un-slick sound who manages to put his personal stamp on every single song. The album opens with his take on "Dreams Of A Dreamer," an over-the-top honkytonk loser ballad recorded by Darrell McCall back in 1977, though in all honesty, this version blows McCall's out of the water, freeing the song from the tight, larger arrangements and leaving the gloom-and-doom lyrics fully exposed to the light of day. Mike Hodge had a real knack for summoning emotional accessibility, giving each songs a sense of personal immediacy, while at the same time giving just enough of a little wink to let you know he's also in on the joke with the more maudlin tunes. Likewise, the Country Sounds band plays these songs with just the right level of muscularity and laid-back twang, they sound like longhaired hipsters who actually had a deep understanding of the country genre, and play these tunes with exactly the level of finesse they aimed for. The group included Sam Bass (rhythm guitar and fiddle), Dave Bolser (drums), Stoney Brooks (lead guitar), Mike Hodge (bass), and steel player Jiggs Lemley, whose unusual approach also deserves special mention. Lemley steel work largely skips the broad, shimmering, singing style of most pedal steel, in favor of a scrappier, more note-by-note approach, helping to anchor the album in the band's minimalist style. These guys weren't trying to mimic the bigger sounds emanating out of Nashville, but rather chose to master the level they were already at, picking authenticity over aspiration. The group formed in 1975, but if you ask me, they were about two decades ahead of their time: just fill in the name of your favorite back-to-basics, traditional country Americana band from the 1990s, and these guys would fit right in. When I win the lottery, this is one of the records I'll reissue and hand out for free outside my local Record Hut. I'm a fan.

Cowboy "A Different Time: The Best Of Cowboy" (Polygram Records, 1993)
The group known as Cowboy was a showcase for session pickers Scott Boyer and Tommy Talton, who worked extensively with the Allman Brothers crew and other folks in the early Southern Rock scene... They're perhaps best known through Eric Clapton's cover of their sweet, yearning ballad, "Please Be With Me," although roots-rock connoisseurs might prefer the original version -- included here -- featuring sweet, lazy slide guitar from Duane Allman... As talented as the band was, though, fame remained elusive and their albums sold poorly and remain perennially out of print. This is partly due to the square-peg, round-hole quality of their work: the spacy whiteboy cosmic soul songs often had a sarcastic, dissolute edge, which along with Talton's airy Florida accent and choppsy superpicker vibe made them come off like an odd blend of Todd Rundgren and Tom Petty, and sometimes a little like a mean Jackson Browne after a four-day bender. I always found them hard to get into -- their albums seemed uneven and self-referential, but this excellent best-of retrospective cuts out a lot of the iffy stuff and paints a convincing picture of them as a country-rock band decades ahead of their time, particularly how their eclectic, uncommercial rock vibe anticipated genre-bending '90s twangbands such as Son Volt, Chuck Prophet or Wilco. Lots of cool, laid-back picking and unusual songwriting that may take more than a few listens to really be appreciated... A strong collection, well worth checking out.

Cowboy "Reach For The Sky" (Capricorn Records, 1970)
(Produced by Tommy Sandlin)

Cowboy "Five'll Getcha Ten" (Capricorn Records, 1971) (LP)

Cowboy "Why Quit When You're Losing?" (Capricorn Records, 1973) (LP)

Cowboy "Cowboy" (Capricorn Records, 1977) (LP)

Cowboy "Boyer & Talton: Reunion 2010" (Kid Glove Records, 2011)

Dale Crider "Pioneer Ethics: A 200 Year Review" (Anhinga Music, 1975) (LP)
On the opening track, Florida environmentalist Dale Crider takes up the mantle of earnest patriotism to lament the how the forces of expedience and greed had degraded America's natural landscape... Backed by members of the bluegrassy combo Red And Murphy & Co., Crider growls his lyrics out in an untamed yowlp worthy of old-timey icons such as Grandpa Jones, Charley Patton and Alfred G. Karnes, an antiquated, anachronistic style that certainly sets him apart from his country (and folk) contemporaries. An idiosyncratic album with some truly oddball lyrics.

Dale Crider & Linda Bittner "Natural Cycles" (Anhinga Music, 1978) (LP)
This might not be very country, but it sure is "Seventies"! A set of environmental folk songs about the Florida Everglades, with titles like "Stainless Steel Palm Trees," "A Swamp Is A Natural Systems Machine" and "Sea Oats" -- there's some dobro and fiddle in the mix, but this is more of a political folkie album, one of several that Crider recorded...

Cross Creek "Up The Creek" (Echo Sound Studios, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Reg Hunter)
Not a lot of info about this laid-back Florida-based country/folkie/rock band, which included drummer John Bell, Ronnie Davis (guitar), Mark Husbands (drums), John Kizirian (pedal steel and slide guitar), Jim Lewis (keyboards) and Del Suggs on bass and, um, flute... There were some rural themes on songs like "Arkansas Cowgirl" and "Highway Song," but there's also a geeky 'Seventies rock vibe at play (the flute... and the synthesizer!) and the most motivated of the group, Del Suggs, cheerfully calls his music "trop rock," sharing the brand with pop pirate Jimmy Buffett. While I wasn't able to track down much work by the other guys in the band, Mr. Suggs kept plugging away for decades, playing gigs and self-releasing several albums, sometimes calling his music (and his label) "saltwater music." I think this was his first album, though.

Frank Cain Csaki "Frank Cain Csaki" (C & G Productions, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Frank A. Csaki, N. Gregoire & Bob Kearney)
Not sure how country this is, overall... There are some country covers, such as Hank Williams' "Jambalaya," but also pop covers like "Under The Boardwalk," as well as several Csaki originals. This album was recorded in New Orleans, though Csaki seems to have been from St. Petersburg Beach, Florida... Unfortunately none of the musicians are listed on the album art, so I don't know who was backing him.

Julie Dawn "What About That" (JD Music Records, 198--?) (LP)
(Produced by David Johnson & Travis Wammack)
Dunno much about this Florida gal, though my curiosity was piqued by seeing twangbar whiz Travis Wammack on board as her producer... Also among the studio crew were Muscle Shoals regulars Ava Aldridge and Sue Richards singing backup, rootsy vocalists who both had modest solo careers themselves. Gotta admit, though, this one wasn't as twangy (or as satisfying) as I had hoped... Ms. Dawn seems to have been aiming for more of a rock/roots pop sound, and while a country vibe flutters through a few tunes, this is more of a rock kinda thing, with an occasionally muddled feel. Maybe of more interest to fans of the Southern roots/pop/R&B scene?

Billy Dean - see artist profile

Bill Dillon "Jamming At FXL" (1984) (LP)
(Produced by Frank X. Locanto)
An old-timer who played bluegrass and hillbilly music in 1950s bands with the likes of Tex Logan, Joe Val, and the Lilly Brothers, Bill Dillon was originally from Boston, but like many musicians from that era, he moved around a lot, taking work wherever he could find it. After several years working in Huntsville, Alabama, he quit show business and moved to Florida, where he worked as an engineer for IBM and other companies. He recorded this album in Sunrise, Florida, playing mandolin, autoharp and guitar, with accompaniment by the Lane Brothers, a bluegrass duo who he had worked with back in the early '50s.

Jerry Dycke "Memphis Country" (Aries Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Knox Phillips)
Singer Gerald Dyche (aka Jerry Dyke, or Jerry Dycke) was a kid from Auburn, Kansas -- near Topeka. As a teen he appeared on the Brush Creek Follies hillbilly variety show in Kansas City, and tried his hand at both country and pop material at the start of his career. He cut his first single in 1958 while still in college, recording a couple of songs written by local deejay Bob Bobo and went on to record sporadically over the years. In the late '60s he recorded at Sun Records, and during the '70s and early '80s cut several records for the Nashville indie, Churchill Records, grazing the back end of the Top 100 a couple of times in 1980-81. Although he was born in the Midwest, Dycke moved to Fort Myers and became known as a Florida-based artist. This disc was recorded in Memphis, with a very interesting studio crew: songwriter Paul Craft plays guitar, as does Sandra Rhodes, who is better known as a backing vocalist. Dycke also sings one of Craft's songs, a novelty number called "You Went Out Of Your Way (To Walk On Me)," as well as one of his own originals, "A Little More, A Little Less," along with a slew of groovy tunes by the likes of Glen Campbell, Dallas Frazier and Charlie Rich, and even one by future Nashville mogul, Allen Reynolds, and a sitar-ish groover called "Billy Lee's Country Band," written by John Phillips of the Mamas & Papas. Apparently Dyche recorded with Sun Records from roughly 1968-73, with this disc as the capstone of that era.

Jerry Dycke "I Never Said Good-Bye" (Aries Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Ed Penny, Charlie Bragg & Jim Williamson)
This album was recorded in Nashville, with studio pros such as Hargus 'Pig' Robbins and Charlie McCoy in the band. The album features four songs written by producer Ed Penny, while Jerry Dycke contributes one original song of his own, "Daddy Played Harmonica," which turned out to be one of his two entries into the Billboard charts. (The other song, "Beethoven Was Before My Time," is not included on this album, and may have come out only as a single...)

Doyle Dykes "Doyle" (Doyle Productions, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Lawson, Donnie Sumner & Doyle Dykes)
Christian country, with most of the songs on here originals written by Doyle Dykes, a hotshot guitar picker from Jacksonville, Florida with a background in the Southern Gospel scene, notably having toured with the Stamps Quartet back in the day. Interesting cast of characters here, with Mr. Dykes playing guitar and banjo, Beegie Adair on piano, Mike Davis (harmonica), Paul G. Franklin (dobro and steel guitar), Buster Phillips (drums), Billy Reynolds (drums), Mike Severs (guitar) and Steve Wariner on bass. Of course, Wariner became a big top forty star, but he did a lot of session playing in the late 'Seventies, before he made it big, usually along with Mike Schrimpf, who also plays on this album. Pianist Bobbe Gorin ("Beegie") Adair was married to another Nashville session player, jazz guitarist William Adair; also on this album is Brent Rowan of the Rowan Brothers, among other additional side players.

Doyle Dykes "I'm Gonna Play My Gold Guitar In Heaven" (Doyle Productions, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Lawson, Donnie Sumner & Doyle Dykes)
I'm actually not sure which of these albums came out first, though it's possible they were recorded at roughly the same time, as they feature pretty much the same core group of musicians. The band includes Doyle Dykes on guitar and banjo, Beegie Adair (piano), Mike Davis (harmonica), Paul Franklin (dobro and steel guitar), Billy Reynolds (drums), and Steve Wariner on bass. More Christian country, with most songs originals penned by Doyle Dykes... He continues to record as a solo artist for years to come, well into the CD era, including both secular and religiously themed guitar albums, and of course he did a lot of session work as well...

Billy Earl "The World Of Billy Earl" (Shade Tree Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Markham & Ray Lynn)
A novelty-oriented songwriter from South Florida, Billy Earl Chapman penned all the material on this album, including tunes like "Florida, You've Been A Friend To Me," "Son Of A South Georgia Farmer," "Divorce Court" and "My First Ex-Wife." Autobiographical? Could be. He recorded this session in Jacksonville, with a studio crew that looks like it was all locals... Fans of Bobby Bare might like this one.

Jack Elliott "Outlaw Jack Elliot" (Six Gun Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Doyle Grisham & Jack Lowell Elliot)
Not to be confused with folk legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott, this grizzled hombre's full name was Jack Lowell Elliott (1929-1999) and he professed to have been a rodeo rider, cowboy, moonshiner, oil field roughneck and ex-con, and finally "the original country music outlaw," as fellow musician Vern Pratt claims in his brief liner notes. Assuming it's the same guy, he also was a soldier, having served in the Army during World War Two. All the songs are credited to Mr. Elliott, although many have folk-traditional themes, with titles such as "Sundance Kid," "Badman Old Sam Brown," "Special Prison Train," and "Cherokee Jack." There's hardly any info about Mr. Elliott online, and I suspect he didn't have a full-time band or play live with any regularity... As far as I can tell, this custom album was his only recording. The songs are all originals and pursue familiar themes, mostly western cowboy ballads and such, all clumsily written and delivered in the same brusque, dour, overly dramatic and somewhat pretentious tough-guy growl. The cover art sports a photo of a cactus-strewn desert landscape, though the record label gives an address in Key Fargo, Florida, which I believe was his home state. Didn't wow me, but might give a little bang to fans of cowboy-outlaw kitsch. No info on the musicians backing him.

Jack Elliott "The Hooker" (Annpeg Records, 1976-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Elliot)
I'm not sure where this indie album fits in with Elliott's other records -- before or after -- but it's another album packed with original material, including the title track, which was also released as a single. The inner label gives an address in Fort Lauderdale; the musicians aren't listed, so I'm not sure if they were local Floridians or if he booked a session Nashville.

Erich (Fallisch) "My Kind Of Music" (Erich Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Badude)
Lounge performer Erich Fallisch may have originally been from Florida, but gives an address in Lincoln Park, Michigan for this early 'Seventies outing, in which he is backed by Glen Cairns on flute and saxophone, Darrell Gore (guitar, piano and bass), Gary Gore (drums), and flautist Richard Hubbard. No fiddle or pedal steel, alas, but amid the showtunes and pop covers there was definitely some country stuff -- covers of "Cotton Fields," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Jambalaya" and "Six Days On The Road," as well as an Elvis Presley medley to round things out. There are also three originals credited to "Please, Please Forgive Me," "Marianne" and "Ten Miles From Texas," though again: where's that steel guitar?? Dunno much about Mr. Fallisch's career, though at some point he moved (back?) to Fort Myers, Florida, where his mom lived, and was active in community events as well as local lounge/cabaret events. As far as I know this was his only album...

Florida Bill "I Wanna Love You All The Time" (Sunbonnet Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Gordon & Earl Lett)
Pensacola, Florida singer-saxophonist Earl Lett went by the stage name Florida Bill, although he grew up in Alabama and was an R&B player before he took up his country career. He even had a gig playing sax for the Ike and Tina Turner Revue from 1970-71. From there, he enrolled at the Berklee School of Music and studied arranging and music theory, then started his own band, which by the early '80s had evolved into an all-country act. Lett penned all ten songs on this uber-indie album, all solidly crafted in the mainstream, Top Forty Nashville style, with pretty standard-issue, glossy, pop-country arrangements, sometimes complimented by Lett's own saxophone licks, but mostly it's all about fairly generic electric guitar and keyboard backing, with some tasty though perfunctory pedal steel playing by Doug Jernigan. It's not really my cup of tea, but it's a well-produced, solid set from such an off-the-radar local artist.

Bill Floyd "This Is Bill Floyd" (Topic Records, 1968-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Wright)
Robust, twangy country from one of Tampa, Florida's most popular radio deejays... Born in Willacoochee, Georgia, Floyd moved to the Tampa area as a kid and became a well-known radio personality as well as a popular local performer, cutting a few hillbilly bop/rockabilly singles in the late '50s and this doozy of a disc in the 'Sixties. Around the time this came out, Floyd was headlining at Doc Castellana's Imperial Ballroom, a country music outpost that also often booked nationally-known Nashville stars, as well as local acts. In addition to a bunch of hard country songs like "Now It's All Over," "Uptown City Slicker" and "Somebody Else's Husband," this includes the strident pro-military Vietnam War song, "Freedom's Cause." Often working with his brother, electric guitarist Harold Floyd, Bill Floyd kept his band together through the early 1980s. He released numerous singles, several LPs and CDs, though this seems to have been his first album. Floyd was a featured performer on Jim Foster's Tampa-based "Nite Hawks" TV show sometime around 1971, and later briefly hosted a syndicated TV show of his own in the early 'Seventies. After disbanding his group, Floyd took a job at a local newspaper, though he continued doing private solo gigs on the side. This was his first album... and it's mighty tasty!

Bill Floyd & The Countrymen "Sunshine Country" (Sunshine Country Records, 19--?) (LP)

Bill Floyd "...Sings Country" (Hillside Country Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Alan Smith & Betty Whidby)
A mix of Bakersfield twang and outlaw poetics, with songs by Kris Kristofferson ("Lovin' Her Was Easier"), Billy Joe Shaver ("Black Rose"), Bob McDill, Dallas Frazier and Harland Howard, along with four originals by Bill Floyd, and even a version of Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," to top things off. Floyd is backed by a small studio crew, with some Nashville A-listers such as Willie Rainsford and Leon Rhodes, along with Gene O'Neal on steel guitar and Horace Whidby on lead. (The Whidbys had recorded at least once before this, a 7" cut for the Rich-R-Tone label sometime around 1970, featuring a pair of original honkytonk weepers, "We Both Were Wrong" and "I'm Tired Of Being Hurt.") Dunno exactly what year this album came out, but '73 seems about right, given the choice of cover songs.

Bob Folsom "This Is Bob Folsom" (World Records, 1974-?) (LP)
The provenance of this album is a little unclear, with no liner notes to speak of, and little info on Mr. Folsom to be found online. The disc was recorded by "Joe Banana Productions," in Brandon, Florida, Mr. Folsom's hometown. I'm guessing at the release date based on the inclusion of a cover of Cal Smith's chart-topping hit, "Country Bumpkin," which came out at the start of 1974, though the record itself is undated. Folsom also covers eclectic numbers such as "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," "Everyone's Gone To The Moon" and "Behind Closed Doors," a huge hit for Charlie Rich.

Jim Foster "The Living Legend: Trooper Jim" (Country Artists International, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Finley Duncan)

Jim Foster "This Is Trooper Jim" (Country Artists International, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Finley Duncan)
Man! Talk about wearing a lot of different hats! In addition to being one of those "singing cop" country artists, Florida state trooper Jim Foster also worked as a radio announcer and a TV personality (broadcasting weekly public service announcements for the Florida Highway Patrol...) In 1972, Foster leveraged his celebrity into a political career, getting elected to the Florida House of Representatives, where he remained for ten years before returning to the civil service. He recorded this album, as well as a bunch of singles on various labels -- his best-known song was one of his earliest, a drunken-driving novelty number called "Four On The Floor (And A Fifth Beneath The Seat)" which he recorded for United Artists back in 1965. This disc is exclusively packed with original songs written or co-written by Foster, including a re-recording of "Four On The Floor," and a fine recitation tune, "Trooper's Prayer" -- there are even some of the political ad spots used in his campaign for the state House seat! The studio crew were Nashville pros -- guys like DJ Fontana, Johnny Gimble, Weldon Myrick and Buddy Spicher -- and a few of the songs were co-written with songwriting partners Sharon Carroll and Gayle Sheppard, who were presumably Florida locals. Foster had kind of an old-fashion, slightly cornball style, sort of midway between Jim Reeves and Red Sovine, with a dash of Andy Griffith, aw-shucks rural cop humor thrown in for good measure.

The Jim Foster IV "Wanted: The Jim Foster IV Show" (J. F. Records & Tapes, 1973-?) (LP)
This was a really cheapo dealie -- a plain white cover with xeroxed artwork pasted on the back and front... Apparently it was a souvenir of a lounge gig at the ill-fated Shamrock Hilton Hotel in Houston, Texas, and though there's no date on the disc, it looks like it came out around 1973, with covers of popular hits such as "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," "For The Good Times," "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," and "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree." Although there's definitely country material on here, the instruments used by the IV were pretty heavy on big band sounds -- clarinet, fluglehorn, saxophone, trumpet and trombone, with nary a fiddle or pedal steel to be seen. The group included Jim Foster playing banjo, guitar and drums as well as several brass instruments, with Barry Burke and Brad Hughes also in a variety of roles, but particularly brass, and Ray Sporrer on piano, organ and accordion. The Shamrock was a massive, 1100-room behemoth which struggled financially and was demolished in the 1980s, though Foster and his crew seem to have enjoyed a long stint as one of the house bands.

Rick Freyfield "The Kosher Kowboy" (Southern Heritage Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Boles)
A secular set of mopey honkytonk and heart songs, recorded for the Southern Heritage label, which normally specialized in gospel releases. Talmudic twangster Rick Freyfield learned music from his older brother Peter Freyfield, a bluegrass picker who later became a circuit judge in Florida. Rick Freyfield -- who had a day job as a process server -- hung around at rodeos and local watering holes around Jacksonville until he cut his first singles in 1978, and subsequently took over a cable access TV show which he called The Kosher Kowboy, and has hosted since 1979. Freyfield is abacked on this album by backed by session players Russ Hicks (steel guitar), Dave Lee (bass), Steve Logan (guitar), Benny Kennerson (piano) and Leo Taylor on drums; with the exception of the prolific Mr. Hicks, these guys were mostly Nashville back-benchers, though they appear on a few albums around this time. Later in life Freyfield became a locally-based record producer, demo-ing albums for a few dozen artists, though he generally sent to them up to Nashville to complete their albums.

Rick Freyfield "Midtown Country" (Kosher Kowboy Records, 1992-?)
(Produced by Jody Johnson, David Russell & Tom Pick)

John Henry Gates "...And The Church Street Station TV Staff Band" (1984-?) (LP)
(Produced by Pat Holt & Glenn Longacre)
Florida fiddler John Henry Gates did some session work in the Orlando area, and appears to have been employed in the house band for Church Street Station, a long-running country television program that generally showcased famous Top Forty artists from Nashville. This souvenir album was recorded mostly in Nashville, with backing by studio pros such as Phil Baugh, Buddy Emmons and Dave Kirby, although Canadian-born pianist Glenn Longacre was also part of the Orlando contingent, having moved to Florida in 1981, where he later set up his own recording studio and did a lot of advertising work in addition to recording local artists. The repertoire on this album includes jazz standards as well as country tunes; several cajun-flavored tracks like Link Davis's "Big Mamou" and "Diggy Liggy Lo," and of course a version of "Orange Blossom Special."

Gordon Gentry "Life's Railway To Heaven" (19--?) (LP)
Not a lot of info about this one. Gordon G. Gentry (1927-2002) was an old-school county gospel singer from Loxahatchee, Florida, near Palm Beach, who recorded several albums and performed locally with a group called the Gospel Strangers, which also included mandolin player Fran Gentry, who I think was his daughter. I'm not sure when any of these albums were made, though the Gospel Strangers performed regularly at the Florida Folk Festival during the early 1990s. Mr. Gentry also appears to have been the host of an evangelical lecture program, God's Miracle Hour, which he broadcast on shortwave radio.

Terri Gibbs - see artist discography

Tom Gribbin "Saltwater Gypsy" (Mariner Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by David Williamson, Harry Dailey & Tom Gribbin)
Hailing from St. Petersburg, Florida, corporate lawyer-turned-honkytonk-outlaw Tom Gribbin may have paid allegiance to Jimmy Buffett, but he sounds most like Waylon Jennings, growling in a Waylonesque brogue and covering "Waymore's Blues" along with a strong set of mostly-original material in the same mode. Gribbin seems to have been tight with songwriter Danny Flowers, who plays guitar on this album and co-wrote one of the tracks with Gribbin. Also in studio was keyboardist Biff Watson and some other Nashville session players, although this album album wasn't just packed with Music City hired guns. Gribbin wrote or co-wrote five of the songs, and his harmonica player wrote a sixth... Perhaps the biggest surprise is an original reggae song, "Johnny Deepwater," and a cover of the punk anthem "Guns Of Brixton," by the Clash (Gribbin went to England and played some clubs during the early punk era, and came back impressed by the DIY ethos. This album's kind of slick and commercially oriented, but definitely as indie as they come. (Note: this was reissued in the UK as Son Of Lightning with a different track sequence, though the songs are all the same.)

Tom Gribbin & The Saltwater Cowboys "Useppa Island Rendezvous" (Mariner Records, 1984) (LP)

Linda Hargrove - see artist discography

Ogden Harless "Volume One: It Ain't Country" (Cypress Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Plummer & Dru Lombar)
The debut album by self-proclaimed drifter, William Hardy ("Ogden") Harless (1949-2015) a honkytonk crooner who grazed the back end of the Top 100 several times in the late 1980s. Ogden Harless started out in music as a teen, leading a country band called the Honky Tonk Heroes in his hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, before joining the Army and serving two tours of duty in Vietnam. After he got out, he moved to Florida and plugged away for years until he was finally signed in the mid-1980s, releasing a string of singles and several LPs, with his biggest single pegging out at #64 in the charts. Here, he's backed by a local Jacksonville band, including keyboardist Eugene Baker, Bill Crist (guitar), Doyle Dykes (banjo and guitar), Joe English (steel guitar), Chet Gibson (steel guitar), James Holmes (fiddle and mandolin), Dru Lombar (bass, guitar and keyboards), Larry Nader (bass), and Steve Ness on keyboards. The overlapping musician credits suggest this album was a long time coming, with sessions that spread out over a long period of time... but the results are kinda nice. Though he's definitely a lanky, weatherbeaten old-timer with a hard country core, Harless stuck to a pretty mellow, low-key mode -- fans of Don Williams should dig his discs.

Ogden Harless "Deal Me In" (Doorknob Records, 1987) (LP)
Following his success on the Florida-based Cypress label, Mr. Harless signed with Doorknob Records, one of the last notable Nashville indies, and they were able to push him into the national charts, with the single "I Wish We Were Strangers" topping out at #64 in Billboard -- the highest chart entry of his career. This album yielded three other charting singles, "Down On The Bayou," "Somebody Ought To Tell Him That She's Gone" and "Walk On Boy," though these were all strictly Back Forty tracks. Harless also got to work with some tp Nashville talent, including bandleader Charlie McCoy and some of his crew.

Ogden Harless "No Last Refrain" (Mountain Stream Country, 1989) (LP)
Following his stint in Nashville, Ogden Harless started his own studio back in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, producing his own albums as well as opening the studio up to other regional artists... He wasn't able to build up the same mojo that got him onto the charts, but at least he owned the means of production. One track off this album, "Together Alone," squeaked into the charts, peaking at #92 in late 1988, leading to this album, though not to bigger successes on the Mountain Stream label. Harless kept plugging away, though, and opened his studio up for private press artists in the area. Although he set up shop in his native state of Mississippi, he also kept roots in Florida, passing away in Woodville, FL at age 65.

Ogden Harless "Now I Know" (Mountain Stream Country, 1989) (LP)
(Produced by Ernie Winfrey)
This album was apparently never officially released, though promo copies seem to exist in the wild. I confess I am eager to hear it, especially with covers of classics such as "Swingin' Doors," "Lovin' Her Was Easier Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again" and "Amanda" (a nod to Don Williams, perhaps?). There are also a few gospel tunes on here, notably "Amazing Grace" and Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me Lord," pointing perhaps to a new path in his career. Anyone with a copy to spare, feel free to swing it my way!

The J. Hawkins Band "One Eye Open" (Partying Fools Productions, 1980) (LP)

Rick Holt "Rick Holt" (Rainbow Records, 1987-?) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Holt & Rusty Jones)
Songwriter-guitarist Rick Holt (1952-2017) was from Taneyville, Missouri -- near Branson -- but he apparently traveled to Florida to record this album with some local Pensacola musicians, possibly folks who might have been his fishing buddies as well. According to his obituary, after retiring from his construction work, Holt was a professional fisherman (which sounds like nice work if you can get it) and doubtless he traveled down to the Florida panhandle for a fishing trip or two. This record features all-original material by Mr. Holt, and while it doesn't have an address or a date, it looks like maybe late '80s and does list all the musicians, including Rick Holt on electric and acoustic guitar, Gene Burleson (drums), Steve Gunter (lead and slide guitar), Jerry Holmes (fiddle), Rusty Jones (bass), Rick Redmon (piano), steel player Sandy Wyatt. I couldn't track down much info on guitarist Rick Holt, though he may have been more of a rock and roll guy than a country player... The backing band, though, definitely had some country pickers on board, notably steel player Sandy Wyatt, co founded a local mini-opry called the Farmer's Opry House in Chumuckla, Florida, and played at other regional venues as well, while bassist Rusty Jones (1952-2009) was in a group called the Blackwater Band, which doesn't seem to have made any records. Rick Holt definitely loved Florida: though he maintained his home in Taneyville, he passed away in the Sunshine State, hopefully while on one last fishing trip.

Hot Walker Band "Hot Walker Band" (HW Records, 1981) (EP)
(Produced by Larry Brahms, Vincent Olivert & Marsha Radcliff)
A four-song EP bay an indie band from Miami, Florida, featuring lead singer and principal songwriter Stan Edwards on rhythm guitar, Brian Prout (drums), Larry Seidman (fiddle and mandolin), Ralph Seymour (bass), Arlin Strader (drums) and Lee Strader on lead guitar, dobro and pedal steel This was recorded at a studio in Fort Lauderdale, apparently with the actual Hot Walker Band playing all the instruments (with a few guest performers playing keyboards and horns). Dunno this group's story yet, but I'll try and track it down.

Don Hughes "Simply For You" (CC & Company, 1979) (LP)
A singer from Pompano Beach, Florida with covers of hits by Waylon Jennings, Eddie Rabbitt, Johnny Rodriquez, Mel Tillis and even Kenny "Sauron" Rogers...

The Troy Irving Trio "To Get To You" (Moon Records, 19--?) (LP)
Born and raised in Chariton, Iowa, Troy Irving (1940-2019) worked all kinds of jobs -- feed store manager, insurance salesman, used car lot owner, and musician. He and his wife Carolyn formed a band in the mid-1970s and recorded this album with Mr. Irving on lead vocals, her on drums and a guy identified simply as "Jean" playing lead guitar and steel. An uber-indie DIY release, this disc sadly includes no information about where or when it was made, who produced it, or if any other musicians played on it. The Irvings moved to Kissimmee, Florida in 1976 and may have recorded this album there, or while still living in Iowa. The repertoire is mostly country standards, stuff like "Drinkin' Champagne," "Good Times," "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "Last Date," and "Steel Guitar Rag." A few tracks may have been originals; the instrumental showcase, "Jean's Boogie," almost certainly was. The Irvings also released at least one single, "Cryin's Not The Answer"/"Tommy In Ted," which features two apparently original songs which were not included on this LP. Other than that, this group remains a real mystery.

The James Brothers Band "Wanted" (JABRO Records, 1978) (LP)
An absolutely dreadful, horrible album and one that made me think -- man, maybe I've really bottomed out on this whole obscuro country thing. Perhaps it's time to stop? Anyway, the first thing to know about this record is that there's no one named James in the band, although all the songs were written by a J. B. Kimberel, who presumably was related to the band's singer-keyboardist Burt Kimberel and may have been named James(?) so maybe it was some kind of in-joke based on that. The second thing to know is that Burt's keyboard playing is really irritating -- terrible tones, cheesy riffs, consistently overpowering in the mix -- and it's the dominant factor throughout the entire album. Third thing: can't judge a disc by looking at its cover. I was sure that with its wood planks-and-crossed-pistols artwork that this was a hippie-era, country-indie relic, but there are only a couple of tracks that really make the grade, while the rest of it's some kind of watered-down, amateurish, self-indulgent, rock-pop, I'm-not-quite-sure-what-to-call-it mish-mosh. Now, many of you out there will know that I'm not all that big on the hipster habit of mocking "bad" records of the past and making sport of the well-meaning people who made them. But occasionally even I will have to admit defeat and chime in. This is a very bad record. And people who like to make fun of very bad records will love this album and delight in its existence. Have at it. In fact, anyone wanna buy my copy? Okay, there are a couple of songs to keep track of, twangwise -- "I've Been Around" has a galloping trucker music feel, while the album's closer, "My Love's Getting Hard" features some not-too-subtle sexual double entendres and both tracks showcase steel guitar from Randy Shellnut, who also produced the album at his studio in Pensacola, Florida. (Alas, despite its promising title, the song "Funky Country Music," misses on all three counts...) Oh, well. Ya win some, ya lose some.

Doug Jernigan -- see artist profile

Johnny Johnson "On The Road" (Art Records, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Terry Marsh & Jim Johnson)
This looks like more of a pop vocals/easy listening country-folk set, ala Glen Campbell or Mac Davis, with covers of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "My Elusive Dreams," "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" and even "Tennessee Bird Walk." The Art label was from Miami, Florida... other than that, this one's a blank.

Windy Johnson & The Messengers "Country Boys... Bound For That City" (Score Three Productions, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Windy Johnson & Donnie Register)
Darn it! I got all excited because of the overt reference to "country" in the title, but while the album does indeed open with a few promising notes of steel guitar and subdued twang, it quickly settles into a standard-issue Southern Gospel, of the classic Blackwood Brothers/Stamps family style. This group from Jacksonville, Florida recorded numerous albums with various lineups over the years... This edition included Windy Johnson and his wife Mary Ellen, along with three vocalists to provide the quartet sound, as well as lead guitar and producer Donnie Register, drummer Tommy Holloway and bass player Jim Johnson, Jr. There's a distinct lack of restraint as the album goes on: Mr. Johnson and lead vocalist Ronnie Combs try to outdo one another in showboating solos, and while it's swell to hear they both a good set of pipes, it does tend to distract a bit. I picked this one out of a pile of several Windy Johnson albums; it was enough to satisfy my curiosity.

The Lonnie Jolson Band "Swamp" (Gator Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by John A. Kreager, Lonnie Jolson & Waddy Thompson)
An eclectic, laid-back set from a Florida band that sometimes gets tagged as "southern rock," but seems closer to Austin outlaw to me... Songwriter Lonnie Jolson recorded a few singles in the late 'Seventies, with a band then called Moonshine, but by the time this came out, he was the marquee artist, backed by singer Donna Hodges, who sings lead on a version of "House Of The Rising Sun," and harmony on several other tracks, along with Dale Holmes (bass), Waddy Thompson (drums), and David Watkins on lead guitar and slide. Though Jolson was living in Immokalee, Florida when this album came out, he previously lived in Mississippi, and seems to have worked in both Tampa and West Palm Beach, recording singles for labels in both towns. Anyway, I dig this one. The sound production ain't fancy, and it's a good match for Jolson's decidedly un-Nashville singing style, which evokes various other folks -- on the opening track, River City Queen," he's got this hesitant little catch in his voice that reminds me of Townes Van Zandt; on much of the record he sounds a lot like Jimmie Dale Gilmore, or maybe a little like John Prine, or even a little like Charlie Daniels, particularly on his cover of Tony Joe White's "They Caught The Devil And Put Him In Jail In Eudora, Arkansas." It's worth noting that about half the songs are his own originals, and across the board these are far more engaging that the cover songs, which include a low-wattage version of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers." Personally, I like it that he was more into the originals -- highlights include Jolson's "Let's Reason Together" and a tune called "Some Ol' Sad Song," which seems to have been written by drummer Waddy Thompson.

Kim Jones "Leave Him Alone" (Bowen-Arrow Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen)
Pretty funky stuff from this Floridian vocalist... She doesn't seem to have composed any of the material on this album, but the song selection is pretty interesting, with a mix of pop and Muscle Shoals-style soul, as well as a hefty dose of modern-day, 'Seventies country-pop. There are songs by Bobby Braddock, Alex Harvey, Dianne Davidson and Jackson Browne, alongside a Holland-Dozier-Holland oldie and some pretty soul-drenched, Memphis-y material.

Judy "Introducing..." (JBP/John Beard Productions, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Beard & Bill Green)
A country covers set from a gal whose full name was Judy McCravy (but what's a little mononym among friends?) Recorded at a studio in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this set includes a couple of Hank Williams tunes, some Kristofferson, a couple of country "girl" classics ("I Fall To Pieces," "Silver Threads And Golden Needles"), a fair number of gospel tunes, and yet another version of "Rocky Top" (in case anyone's keeping track...) The band included producer Joe Beard on piano and synthesizer, Jon Carlton (banjo, dobro and steel guitar), Billy McCravy (bass and guitar), Dave Stype (banjo), Ben Venuti (harmonica) and a bunch of folks providing a horn section... Not sure where Ms. McCravy was from, though I'm assuming somewhere in Florida.

Just Us Brothers Band "J. U. B. And Me!" (TCC Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Robert Keyth Dickerson)

Freddie King "A Girl Like You" (197--?) (LP)
Not to be confused with the sizzling 'Sixties Texas bluesman, this Freddie King was a studly-lookin' fella who was originally from around Cincinnati, but made his career working small clubs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He previously worked on the Cincinnati-based TV show, Midwestern Hayride with Kenny Price, though at some point he peeled off and headed down South. Backing King on this album are Don Coggins (guitar), Gerry Dee (bass), Mickey Fortune (steel guitar), Ronnie Inscoe (drums), and Jay Stacy on lead guitar... The liner notes tell us this was King's first album, and though there's no date given, it was definitely a 'Seventies affair since the liners also reference All In The Family, which debuted in '71. Most fo the tracks are cover songs, primarily 'Sixties hits and chestnuts such as "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Cold, Cold Heart," "Together Again" and "Undo The Right."

Freddie King "Something Special Just For You" (CMC Records, 197--?) (LP)
This album is packed with cover tunes, stuff by Kris Kristofferson, Marty Robbins, Roy Orbison and other crooners. Tommy Overstreet contributes liner notes, though I don't think they had any formal professional relationship. Not sure when this came out -- I'd guess mid-1970s, but it could have been later. Once again, he covers a pretty standard set of country hits, including "Drinking Champagne," "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" and oldies such as "Running Bear," "White Lightning" and "A White Sport Coat" -- not super-up-to-date, but up-to-date enough.

H. J. Kuntry "They Call Me H. J. Kuntry" (Nashville Record Productions, 1975) (LP)
Hailing from the North Florida/South Georgia border, songwriter H. J. Carter wrote all the material on this album... Locals-only, Southern style!

Dixie Lane "This Is Dixie" (Country Artists International, 1969-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Foster)
Born and raised in Sanford, Florida, Lorraine M. Gillyard (aka Dixie Lane, 1928-2016) was married to steel guitar player Smokey Gillyard, a local musician who co-founded their band, the Kountry Kut-Ups, which Dixie Lane headlined until Smokey passed away in 1989. They released several singles and at least one LP, which came out around 1969 on the Country Artists International label, in collaboration with "Trooper" Jim Foster, who seems to have been the label's owner. The Gillyards traveled widely, performing in most of the continental United States, as well as several foreign countries; following Mr. Gillyard's passing, Dixie Lane devoted herself to performing gospel music, with a new group dubbed Country Gospel 4U. As far as I know, this was her only full album.

Jody Leavins "Alligator Man" (Ho-Daddy Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Julian Tharpe & Roland Thompson)
Maybe more of a swamp-pop thing, this was an LP recorded by Alex "Jody" Leavins (1927-2000) a nightclub owner from Panama City, Florida with connections to the regional rock and soul scene. The title track, "Alligator Man," is a callback to a single Leavins recorded in 1967 that included a version of the song (originally written by country star Jimmy C. Newman) with a B-side, "Why Have I No Daddy," that is also reprised on this album. Apparently Julian Tharpe's pedal steel work on this album is phenomenal; also backing Mr. Leavins is guitarist John Rainey Atkins, who worked with Roy Orbison, and played the hook line on his hit, "Pretty Woman." In the early 1970s, Mr. Leavins owned a Panama City nightclub called the Playhouse, though he seems to have had ongoing legal troubles throughout the decade, including a tax evasion case that earned him a prison sentence in '72. His son, Jimmy Leavins (1946-2016) was a successful professional musician who played drums for Aretha Franklin, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Paycheck, Hank Williams, Jr., and others, before starting his own group, the Lower Alabama Band, retiring after a heart attack at a show where they opened for Willie Nelson.

Bobbie Lee & Nashville South "Live At Country Music, USA" (LaMancha Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Norm Titcomb)
Gosh, I didn't know Fort Lauderdale was considered "Nashville South..." And... isn't Nashville in the South to begin with? I'm confused here. Anyway, lovable locals from Florida... and another mystery band for us to track down info on!

Ernie Lee "Ernie Lee's Big Thirteen" (Century Custom Recording Service, 1965-?) (LP)
(Produced by Charles Fuller)
A veteran of the 1940s and post-war 1950's hillbilly scene, Kentucky-born Ernie Lee (1916-1991) recorded prolifically for major labels such as Mercury, RCA Victor and MGM singing jaunty, uptempo country tunes in the style of early Red Foley. He performed on or hosted a variety of live venues and radio shows, and at the time of this album was star of The Good Day Show on Tampa, Florida TV station WTVT, a program he started in 1958. Although he cut a bunch of singles over the years, this was apparently his only full LP. Lee is joined by Good Day cast members Herb and Kay Adams and guitar pickers J.D. Renney and Dewey Tew. (The Adamses were a country duo from Ohio who worked with Ernie Lee in several different gigs, and Mrs. Adams was a different gal from the Bakersfield honkytonk gal/ of the same name.) Lee had moved to Tampa for the climate, and stayed there for nearly four decades, hosting the The Good Day Show right up until he passed away in 1991. (Thanks to www.big13.com for providing a wealth of biographical info on Lee and his career.)

Ernie Lee "The Kentucky Balladeer" (Binge Disc/Bronco Buster, 2000)
Classic uptempo postwar twang, solidly in the Tennessee Ernie Ford/Red Foley tradition of bouncy, jovial bullfrog vocals. These archival recording capture Ernie Lee at his peak, fun stuff skimmed from the Mercury and MGM catalogs -- well worth checking out!

The Limited Edition "...Presents The Limited Edition" (1975) (LP)
This progressive bluegrass trio from Florida split things down the middle, with a bunch of bluegrass oldies and traditional tunes on Side One of this album, and more country, more hippie-flavored material on Side Two. They covered songs like "Midnight Flyer" by the Eagles, "Glendale Train" and "Aime," by the Pure Prairie League. The trio consisted of Bill Middleton, Bob Shuler and Dave Stype: the group was influential on the Florida bluegrass scene and members went on (as all good bluegrassers do) to be in a variety of other groups. Love this first band name, though!

Gary Link "Classic Country" (Great Southern Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Larry Walls)
Originally from Indiana, singer Gary Link moved to Southwest Florida in the '70s and set up shop as a would-be novelty artist, though he later devolved into a real oddball. This album (his first?) is definitely one of the cheesier records you might ever encounter. I mean, admittedly it's a fairly straightforward set, with Mr. Link in relatively fine voice, but the ballad material is still super-schmaltzy, and not really the kind of country I dig, replete with the most overplayed hits from Eddy Arnold, 'Seventies-era Ray Price, Kris Kristofferson and the like... Mostly pretty anodyne and bland, but things really veer sideways on his version of Glen Campbell's "Turn Around, Look At Me," which is one of the most on-the-nose, genuinely scary stalker songs ever made, particularly Link's rendition, where he finally cuts loose and gets way, way more emotive than he should. It's a creepy classic, kind of. Anyway, I can't say I'd really recommend this disc, though it is one of Link's better albums. He sings and plays keyboards, with backing by studio pro John Rich on steel guitar and bass, lead guitarist Dave Haslip, Carl Chambers playing rhythm guitar, and Rodney Price on drums. No date, but definitely a 'Seventies set.

Gary Link "Shell Factory Billboard Blues" (Great Southern Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Carl Chambers & Len Walls)
This album's title track was a minor regional hit, a reasonably twangy novelty number that name-drops a bunch of local references (which inexplicably are punctuated by canned laughter from some theoretical live audience...) There are other enjoyable country-oriented tunes on here, some with a slight Jimmy Buffett vibe about them, although others remind me quite a bit of songwriter Dick Feller... Interestingly, most of the songs are from other songwriters, with only two credited to Gary Link, with one by producer Carl Chambers, as well as tunes George Bowers and Hank Scholz, and one by Kent Robbins, "After Sweet Memories," which is an album highlight. The band included Gary Link on keyboards and vocals, backed by Duke Burr (harmonica), Carl Chambers (guitar), Jesse Chambers (bass), Jon Corneal (percussion), Rodney Price (drums), Joe Spann (banjo) and some sweet steel guitar by John Rich. The production values aren't always great, but generally speaking the songs are fun, and the album as a whole is a cut or two above most of Link's other releases... Definitely worth a spin, and one of Mr. Link's more solidly country efforts. Worth a spin. [Oh! And this also has one of those "busted by the man" album covers, showing Gary Link getting "arrested" by the Lee County Sheriff's Department... an odd theme that pops up on a lot of country albums.]

Gary Link "Live At The Hut" (Hut Records, 1981) (LP)

Gary Link "Easy Lovin' " (Great Southern Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Link & Len Walls)
A pretty straight set of country crooning, with Gary Link covering classics such as Freddy Hart's "Easy Lovin'," "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" and "Georgia On My Mind," as well as favorite hits with more robust numbers such as "Elvira," Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again." The Florida-based backing band was quite competent and professional, while Link holds it together better than on some of his other albums, while still cheerfully lapsing into some pretty cheesy emoting. Gary Link plays keyboards, album with Jimmy Byrd on guitars and bass, drummer Jon Corneal, and string arrangements by Donnie Sumner -- there's also a good steel player in the mix, but they aren't identified on the album. All is all, this is a credible, if uncompelling, effort by a guy who made some other records that were kinda sketchy. Also a little odd is the cover photo, which features a cameo portrait of Mr. Link along with an unidentified gal who I had assumed was his duet partner, though it turns out this is not a duets album.

Gary Link "Nashville City Limit" (Great Southern Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Burgess)

Gary Link "As Requested" (Mariner Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Bryce Roberson)
Wow. Just... wow. I mean, look, I'm not one of those irony-addicted would-be hipsters who gets my ya-yas by making fun of old records I think are "bad," but sometimes you just gotta be honest about it. There's not a lot of wiggle room here: it's hard to imagine anyone appreciating this album as anything else but a so-bad-it's-good trainwreck of an album, one of those self-delusional artistic oddities that are the kind of thing you imagine most custom pressings would sound like. Link's vocal style brings Dick Feller to mind, while his oddball lyrics have a Jack Blanchard/Misty Morgan feel, just without the cohesion or discipline of either of those examples. The songs are weird, the lyrics can be vaguely disturbing, the arrangements are precarious and the performances are just plain nutty. All the songs are originals, most of them written by Gary Link, with a few by G. Bowers and one co-written with someone named G. Lesh. That track, "Chasm Of Time," is a real standout amid a battalion of justifiably mockable songs -- for one thing, it's drum-machine, disco-synth arrangement sounds different from the country-ish tunes that surround it, but also, omigod it's just an amazingly bad song, one of several soul-searching philosophical meanderings that populate this disc. Indeed, this album is backed with jaw-droppers, tunes that malevolent, puerile college radio deejays could cackle about for decades to come. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, but I do feel some obligation to let you all know that this record is... special. Apparently, Gary Link died in a 1986 auto accident, so this may have been his last album... I'm not proud of myself for mocking him here, but it really couldn't be helped. You were warned.

Ken Lowery & Country Fever Band "Seagram's Double 7 Winner" (Plantation Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Cal Scott)
In 1982, this band from Lakeview, Florida was the winner of a talent contest sponsored by the Seagram's 7 booze company, looking for the best "young country" band in the US... They won $5000.00 and a recording contract with the Plantation label, the fruits of which are seen here. Looks like this album includes a bunch of original material as well...FYI, second place went to a band called Baked Apple, from Groton, CT.

Toni Lynn "Toni Lynn" (Tanglewood Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Woolman)
Omigosh! She was so darned adorable! Like, early-'Seventies Kristy McNicols-level adorable! Ms. Lynn (later Toni Lynn Starr) was the daughter of Buddy Craft, a local cop and race track owner in Hopkinsville, Florida who also opened a nightclub and let his daughter sing there and make her professional debut at age nine. This custom-pressing album was recorded in Nashville, backed by a studio crew with Bruce Watkins playing piano and guitar, Bill Johnson on steel, Noel Walters on bass, rhythm guitar by Wayne Walters -- also, backup vocals by Rita Figlio and others. The songs are about half originals, with Toni Lynn penning "All That's Left Is Saying Goodbye," "Has Anybody Seen My Cowboy," "How Could I Lose Something I Never Had" and "I Must Be Out Of My Mind," which was co-written with her dad; Mr. Craft also contributes a couple of songs as sole composer, "How Do You Measure A Friend" and "In Many Ways," using the same publishing companies (Lufaye and Golden Spool) that Lynn uses on her songs. Straight out of high school, Ms. Lynn moved to Nashville to work as a secretary at Acuff-Rose, and she kept performing onstage throughout her adult life, later shifting her focus from country music towards NASCAR fandom. Thanks to Ms. Starr for her lively website, which fills in a lot of information about her early career, and her dad's equally colorful stories.

Buddy Max "Many Styles And Sounds Of..." (Cowboy Junction Records, 1980) (LP)
An outsider-art harmonica player from Florida who called himself "the singing, roller skating cowboy..." Though from what I understand, it's pretty hard to rope a calf when you're on rollerskates. Maybe it's a Florida thing. Anyway, Mr. Max and his wife Freda owned a parcel of land near Leconto, Florida that they named the Little B Ranch, and over the years they built a flea market, a skating rink and a modest opry-style music venue on the property, three strands that he spun together in his music. God bless America, right?

Buddy Max "Cowboy Junction Opry" (Cowboy Junction Records, 1980)
Here he bills himself as "America's singing, fleamarket cowboy" and includes several songs about Lecanto, Florida, where I gather he was quite the local oddball.

Buddy Max/Various Artists "Cowboy Junction Stars" (Cowboy Junction Records, 1985)
Listed as his fourth album, this disc shows Mr. Max sharing the spotlight with several locals who made up the loosely-formed Cowboy Junction Opry. Buddy Max is the featured performer on Side One, while various musicians populate Side Two, including singers Charlie Floyd, Ruth Hanson, Wally Jones, Wayne Lairson, fiddler Lloyd Stevens and numerous others. Apparently Wally Jones also a tax accountant, and provides his business number on the back cover, giving a sense of just how down-home and funky this operation really was.

Buddy Max "Little Circle B" (Cowboy Junction Records, 1990) (LP)
This was, according to the liner notes, Max's seventh album, with him still banging out twang tunes at the flea market, memorializing it in songs such as "Flea Market Trail" and even helpfully adding the market hours on the cover of this record. Max went into some interesting places in search of new material, penning tunes such as "Don't Walk In The Garden," "Pinky The Rabbit" and "With A Golden Screw And A Silver Top Nail." He also tackles topical material, presumably with a basis in his own life. Framed by the fall of the Soviet Union and the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Max goes all libertarian on "The Berlin Wall Must Be Torn Down In America." In the liner notes he helpfully expounds, "This used to be a free country, today it's not... You can't do anything on your own property unless you're rich. If you do anything without a permit you get jail terms, fines and confiscation of your property... President Bush told the Chinese we have democracy and freedom - where are they? He have government mafia and dictatorship... You know it's true." So, I guess finally some county commissioner (or whoever) finally asked what was going on with that whole family-owned flea market/skating rink/mini-opry out on Highway 44, and told Mr. Max he'd need to pay some back taxes? Oh, the bitter taste of bureaucracy! The madness must stop: if they make one of us get a building permit, someday they'll make ALL of us get a building permit!

Will McLean "Florida Sand: Original Songs Of Florida" (Wakulla Records, 1971) (LP)
A remarkably prolific songwriter, folk musician Will McLean claimed authorship of over 1400 songs by the time this regionally-themed album came out in 1971. The tracks themselves were archival recordings taken from sessions originally taped in 1959, with additional backing by Jim Ballew, Paul Champion, Paddy Mitchell and Gamble Rogers, all of whom had recording careers of their own. More of a folkie thing, but definitely of interest to historically-minded Floridians, this set of all-original material pursues a number of themes, perhaps most notably the stories of indigenous and minority groups within the state's sometimes troubling past. Modern listeners may find their internal radar go off when McLean broaches topics such as the persecution of Osceola, or the razing of the "Negro fort" known as Blount's Fort, an African-American enclave which the British army fortified at the close of the War Of 1812, partly as a way to thwart or delay American expansion in the area. The relatively blunt (though not racist) lyrics may initially feel disorienting to our enlightened ears, but the stories fit in with the civil rights movement bubbling up at the time. Musically, McLean is a pretty compelling performer, amiable and charismatic, although the arrangements and melodies may feel a bit rudimentary in comparison to the more eclectic singer-songwriter folk music to come.

Floyd McClellan "I'm An Ex-Convict From A Florida Chain Gang" (Sagitario/S&P Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Floyd McClellan)
Well, the title really says it all. Mr. McClellan was sentenced to a seven-year sentence for armed robbery back in the late 1940s, serving his time in the Florida State Penitentiary. Many years later some friends got him to record this album, which is filled with rueful, country-flavored numbers meant to expose the cruelty of the prison system... On Side Two, McClellan slips into an alternate persona, "Rebel Superstar," which I guess was kind of a hillbilly Ziggy Stardust thing... I'm not sure, but McClellan may have been living in Southern California when this one was made...

Horrell McGann "April Fool" (TK Productions/Cloud Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Alaimo & Michael Hurley)
Weirdo, oddball '70s outsider rock. Although this album is packed with lush, overly-orchestrated cosmic pop and grinding blues-rock, there's also a significant "country" undertone, particularly with the participation of erstwhile Holy Modal oddball Michael Hurley, and some sweet pedal steel and dobro picking by Joe Hart. The songs are idiosyncratic, kooky and (though slickly produced) decidedly non-commercial... The themes go from low to high and back again: on Side Two, "Gambler's Lament" tells the tale of two dudes betting it all on the Packers, while "Honey In The Negev" is an ode to refugees from the Holocaust, followed by the allusive, poetic "Growin' Your Own," which I assume is a druggie reference, it being the '70s and all. This is a weird, only-in-the-Seventies album, possibly worth veneration if you're already in the orbit of Mssr. Hurley and his crowd... Not enough twang for me, but I do appreciate the high level of eccentricity, combined with state-of-the-art pop production. An odd one. Apparently McGann was a pseudonym for Dr. Benji Brumberg, a Florida optometrist with a flair for musical expression...

Meisburg & Walters "See The Morning Breaking" (Parchment Records, 1975) (LP)
The acoustic duo of Steve Meisburg and John Paul Walters met at an open mic night in Florida, where Meisburg was an ordained minister in search of a new path, and Walters was a music major at Florida State... Becoming pop stars, even minor pop stars, would have seemed like an unlikely path -- for Meisburg in particular -- but somehow they fell into the orbit of the cocaine-and-disco-fueled Casablanca label at the height of its cash-burning glory years, and someone at the label threw a bunch of money their way, backing them to tour college campuses and stadium shows, as well as an album that was as unlike typical Casablanca fare as you could possibly imagine. The duo gained some small notoriety for the single, "Graduation Day," an anti-feminist novelty number with just enough mild profanity (the phrase "son of a bitch") to get it mildly censored (a bleep on the LP version)... In the era of songs like "Junk Food Junkie" or "Werewolves Of London," it was plausible that these guys could have connected with a national audience, but somehow it never happened. After the Casablanca gig ended, they eventually called it quits, though Walters tried to launch a solo career in 1981. Meanwhile, Meisburg reentered civilian life, going into politics rather than back to the ministry, and at one point in the '80s was even the mayor of Tallahassee. after several years on the city council. So, how's that for a day job??

Meisburg & Walters "Just Like A Recurring Dream" (Casablanca Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Thomas Williams)
This is the album that includes "Graduation Day," with much of the rest of the album a collection of super-gentle folk-pop tunes, like a Simon & Garfunkel duo, but made up of John Denver and John Denver. Good for the style!

Meisburg & Walters "Love's An Easy Song" (Casablanca Records, 1977) (LP)

Willie Morrell "Lead Me Not Into Temptation" (Country Artists Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Finley Duncan)
Latter-day honkytonk by a guy from Milton, Florida... Morrell seems to have been the "talent" for a local publishing company -- variously identified as Friendly Finley Music, or Chu-Fin Music -- that was run by producer Finley Duncan, possibly as a kind of "song poem" enterprise. The songs are all by composers signed to that company: Bert Colwell, Jim Foster, Bill Floyd, Bonnie Parker, Gail Sheppard, and three songs by Becki Bluefield, who also sings a duet with Morrell, on her "Lovin' In The Same Old Way."

Jim Morrison "Songs For And About You" (Curley Q Records, 19--?) (LP)
A former rockabilly rebel from Miami, Florida, singer Jim "Curley" Morrison began recording back in the late 1950s, when he was in the Air Force, stationed at Homestead AFB, and started his own label, Curley Q Records, sometime in the early 'Sixties. He produced a steady stream of singles, material that seems to form the core of this LP, which was released while he was living in Fort Worth, Texas. Included is a version of his early hit, "Air Force Blues," as well as other originals such as "Ace In The Hole," and a version of the old folk standard, "Bill Bailey." Almost all the music is credited to Morrison, with one song by Jack Rhodes and another co-written with Eddie Manney. There are no musician credits, alas, though there is a shout-out to drummer Fred C. Albee. Assuming that many of these tracks are re-releases of Morrison's old singles, some blanks may be filled in by a long post on the Hillbilly Country blog which documents much of Morrison's career and mentions some of the musicians he may have played with.

The Mustangs "Country Music Our Way" (Tropical Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Quimby & Rick Balley)
Although this album came out on Bob Quimby's song-poem label in DeLand, Florida, the Mustangs seems to have been an actual working band, doing local gigs around Daytona Beach in the late 'Sixties and early 'Seventies. The repertoire is mainly country cover songs, titling towards contemporary hits such as "Lodi," "Love Of The Common People" and "Okie From Muskogee," as well as oldies like "Danny Boy," "I Fall To Pieces" and "Mule Skinner Blues." The group included drummer and lead singer Rob Braswell, Johnny Rich (lead and steel guitar), Glenn Ritchey (bass) and Johnny Sutton on rhythm guitar, and was split between guys from Georgia and Florida. There's one original song on here, "Afraid To Take A Chance," penned by John Rich, Sr., though I'm not sure if that was the same as Johnny Rich, or perhaps his dad. It's possible that Bob Braswell (who was from Augusta, Georgia) was related to the Florida-based Braswell Brothers band, though probably not.

The New Country Store "Lonestar Fever" (Hilltop Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by New Country Store, Kevin McManus & Tom Harasmisz)
A pretty strong set from a young band out of Orlando, Florida... Eight of the ten songs were written by singer Eddy West, with two more credited to a "B. Nelson," who wasn't in the band. It's all good stuff, ranging from a number of mellow-tempoed, John Denver-esque ballads to the jovial stoner song, "Stems And Seeds," which has a Buck Owens-meets-the-Statler Brothers feel (and namechecks Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine and David Allan Coe!) Throughout are several solid country numbers, neither stomping honkytonk or wimpy countrypolitan, but a strong mix of styles. What's most evident about this album was they were serious about the music, and fine craftsmen -- maybe they didn't stand a chance commercially, but they made a damn fine album. The album was partly recorded in Nashville, partly in Orlando, with Johnny Gimble, Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan pitching in on the Nashville sessions. Not sure when this came out - late '70s or early '80s, I'm guessing.

Johnny Noles & The Pretenders "Front Row Seat" (Hillside Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Linneman & Gene Lawson)
A covers band from Fort Myers, Florida... Not sure of the date, but it definitely looks 1970s... anywhere from 1973-76, I'd guess. Johnny Noles (1937-2014) was a popular local performer for much of the '60s and '70s, keeping his band going for years and years, with a revolving cast of sidemen. This edition of the group was called the Pretenders, in honor of his song, "I'll Pretend," which was a regional hit in the early part of the decade.

Johnny Noles "Original Songs" (Hillside Country Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Linneman & Johnny Noles )
Lively, uptempo novelty-oriented country with plenty of originals by Dave Anderson, Lonnie C. C. Mills and Johnny Noles. This album was a souvenir of the Noles band's long tenure as house band for a club called The Big Still, located in Fort Myers, Florida. The Big Still was originally known as The Checker Club in the 'Forties and 'Fifties, but changed its name in the '60s, and keeping it until the bar closed in 2005. Noles played there for years, starting in the 'Sixties, with a parade of local pickers moving through his band; this edition of his group included bassist Tommy Floyd, Gene Lawson on drums, an outstanding steel payer named Gene O'Neal and Horace Whidby on lead guitar. Noles had a fairly plain, homespun vocal style, reminiscent of Roger Miller or Don Bowman -- he knew he wasn't a Caruso, and kept things simple rather than try and get all fancy. The songs are all pretty good, though you might want to take the claims of authorship with a grain of salt: one tune that lists Noles as the composer was "Oh, Ain't It A Beauty" (aka "The Garden Hose Song") a dopey sexual entendre song that's been recorded by numerous artists and seems to have been an old English music hall song, with numerous people claiming "authorship" over the years. Anyway, this is a fun disc, packed with good originals and stronger musically than many off-the-radar country discs. Definitely worth a spin.

James Oglesby "Love Is Just A Legend" (United Steel Records, 1978)
(Produced by Doug Jernigan & James Oglesby)
A great set of twangy, boozy, sincere, real-deal country from Pensacola, Florida... All the songs are written by James Oglesby, a strictly-local musician who was in the background of the Florida country scene, and was a longtime friend of picker Doug Jernigan, who became one of the preeminent steel players of the '70s. Jernigan produced this album and adds lots of sweet licks and twang, perfect accompaniment for this jovial set of irony-laced honkytonk tunes. There are some great weepers, novelty numbers and cheating songs, including "My First Shot At Nashville" and "Full Time Lover, Part Time Wife" and "Country Picker's Life." The only real sour note comes with "The City Life," which is kind of a redneck-twang equivalent of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message," which a farm boy confronting life in the dirty, noisome big city. It unfortunately includes traces of homophobia, anti-Semitism and sexism that are not present in the rest of the record -- not sure if Oglesby was just assuming the role of a character for this song, but it does prove a bit jarring. Otherwise, a pretty cool record -- Oglesby wasn't a super-disciplined craftsman of song, but he had some good songs in him, and a distinctive voice... Kind of reminds me of Dick Feller.

Orange Blossom Bluegrass "Orange Blossom Country" (Eagle Records, 19--) (LP)

Orange Blossom Bluegrass "Festival Favorites" (A&R Records, 19--) (LP)
(Produced by Art Calaman)

The Outlaws "Hurry Sundown" (Arista Records, 1977) (LP)

Billy Owen & The All-American Band "Sounds Of Lakeland's Brand New Opry" (Lakeland Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Phillips)
The name "Brand New Opry" was a spoof of the fabled Grand Ole Opry, although instead of being rooted in a specific place, the BNO was actually a touring bluegrass band out of Lakeland, Florida. This early edition of the band featured Billy Owen on vocals, along with Sandi Braden, Willie Burroughs, Teresa Chadwick, and Cindy Poole... The group as an institution has survived intact well into the 2010s (so far!) although the membership has completely changed over the years. Not completely sure when this album came out... From the country-pop hits they cover -- "You Can't Be A Beacon," "There Goes My Everything" and "Let Me Be There" -- I'd guess this was from around 1974-75.

Don Page "The Sheriff Of Sumter County, Florida" (Lawman Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Harry Urschel & Rusty York)

Gram Parsons -- see artist profile

Bob Patterson "Friends Of Mine" (Bake Sound Recording Studio, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Norman Baker & Bob Patterson)
A twelve-string strummer and hummer, Philadelphian Bob Patterson definitely started out as a groovy, starry-eyed folkie, spinning out meandering, hippiedelic lyrics in line with spaced-out tunes by Dino Valenti or late-edition Tom Paxton. It's groovy, man, but the explicitly country(ish) stuff was yet to come.

Bob Patterson "Land Of The 12-String Songman" (Conch Island Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Lynn, Tom Marcum & Bob Patterson)
Groovy, man. Well, actually, this is way too loosey-goosey and gooey-folkie for me, but there are some country threads with noting, particularly on tunes like "Country Pickin'," and "Brokedown Country Singer." Also he's got some banjo and pedal steel in the mix, though it may be outshined by the flute and clarinet... Also, by Patterson's remarkably artless, spacey songwriting. Dino Valenti keeps coming to mind, but Valenti's career is funnier and more significant because he once wrote a huge hit, while Patterson is clearly a "regular people" oddball, noodling away in his own little corner of the world. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Looks like he'd moved to Florida by the time he cut this disc. By the way, I was mostly drawn to this because the album art is one of the "beach cover" stock photos, which continue to fascinate me.

Bob Patterson "Short Stories" (Conch Island Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Markham, Skip Osmundsen & Bob Patterson)
Same deal, really, and some of the same musicians, including steel player Jim Nee, who were on his previous album. Also, Florida fiddler John Henry Gates who made an album of his own around the same time, and some breezy harmonica riffs from Jim Essery, an alumnus of the Allman Brothers Band. But, honestly? I can't handle this goopy, noodly folkie stuff. It's not my cup of tea.

The Poindexter Band "The Poindexter Band" (RPW Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Craig Renton, Bud Snyder & Leon Poindexters)
That would be guitar picker Leon Poindexter and his bluegrass-ish/jug band-y acoustic group from Florida, who held their own onstage at Radio City Hall opening for southern rocker Dickey Betts, at least according to the liner notes. (and even a quote from The New York Times!) The group also included Ben Anders on fiddle, the Duncan Family (backing vocals), Don Earl (dobro), Dave Henderson (bass), Don Paul Kilgore (lead and steel guitar), Larry Klopfenstein (drums), and Randy Smith on banjo. I believe their stomping grounds covered the Tampa/St. Petersburg area... As far as I know, this was their only album.

Rick Powell "Switched On Country" (RCA Camden, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Les Ladd, Danny Davis & Ethel Gabriel)
Countrypolitan hits... played on the synthesizer! A Moog, to be precise. Born in Seffner, Florida, Richard Dean Powell (1935-2006) was an electronics engineer by training, taking, then teaching engineering courses while in the US Army. He became interested in electronic music and synthesizers and moved into music, he recorded a number of Moog albums under his own name. Perhaps more significantly, he became a go-to keyboard player for several elite Southern Gospel groups, including The Speer Family, The Imperials, Oak Ridge Boys and worked on several crusades and music tours for folks such as Pat Boone and Bill Gaither. This was one of his earliest records, though he worked on hundreds of albums, including several of his own.

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 Rader Family "Fresh Country" (Ocean Opry Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dennis Rader)
The Rader Family was a gospel-and-oldies band led by patriarch Wayne Rader (1936-2015) a Missouri native who owned an appliance store in Wichita, Kansas, but found himself drawn to show business after managing a gospel quartet called the Riverside Boys, which featured his sons, Billy and Dennis. The Raders also recorded as an ensemble for a small gospel label in Cincinnati, and having dipped their toes in the entertainment world, they jumped into it whole hog in 1978 when they moved to Panama City, Florida and created their own, family-run country music venue. The first Ocean Opry show debuted in August, 1978, kicking off a multi-decade, multi-generational enterprise, with the venue finally closing in 2005 when Wayne Rader and his wife Patsy retired. Ocean Opry was mostly a family affair, though like many mom'n'pop oprys they hired outside performers such as singer Ric Mason, who recorded an entire album while part of their 1982 season cast. Other featured performers included multi-instrumentalist Dennis Rader, who doubled as the troupe's cornpone comedian, Moonshine, doing parody songs, skits and recitations, and later became an ordained minister before moving to Nashville. His brother Billy sang and wrote original material, helped operate the Ocean Opry until it closed, and soon after went into local politics, although he continued to perform for local charities and community events. This album is mostly cover songs -- oldies such "Pass Me By," "Silver Threads And Golden Needles," "Tennessee Waltz" and various novelty numbers, though an original penned by Billy Rader, "Don't Say Goodbye," kicks off the album. This is one of several Ocean Opry souvenir albums; numerous cassettes and CDs were also issued, many perhaps lost to the tides of time.

The Rader Family "Some Sweet Day" (Ocean Opry Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Rader & Dennis Rader)
An all-gospel album featuring the Rader brothers backed by Mark Dene on harmonica, Calvin Gann (piano), Charlie Gilley (steel guitar), and Mike Latourette on drums, with the brothers each playing multiple instruments.

The Rader Family "Ocean Opry's Most Requested Show Songs" (Ocean Opry Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Rader & Dennis Rader)
More cover songs, mostly, in a variety of styles. Things kick off with Billy Rader doing a medley of country music impersonations; other highlights include a couple of original songs, "Sea-Going Cowboy" (co-written by Billy Rader and Mike LaTourette) and LaTourette's own "You've Got Me Worried."

The Rader Family "Food On The Table" (Ocean Opry Records, 19--?) (LP)

The Rader Family/Various Artists "Ocean Opry Live On Stage" (Ocean Opry Records, 19--?) (LP)

Pal Rakes "Palmer C. Rakes" (Musicor Records, 1977-?) (LP)
One of those long-term pluggers who just kept toiling in obscurity for years and years and years, Tampa, Florida's Pal Rakes put in plenty of time in Nashville, and scored several major label contracts, though for the most part success proved elusive. After working in a more pop-oriented 'Sixties band called Pal & The Prophets, he shifted more full-time into a country mode, cutting a string of singles on various labels, constantly searching for a way to make things click. This is an odd album: apparently issued only as a promo, it contains nine songs that as far as I can tell were not released as singles, and presumably the folks at Musicor were just trying to clear out his contract before they folded up shop. Rakes landed on his feet, though, moving to Warner Brothers, where he scored his biggest career hits, a pair of Top Forty singles, "That's When the Lyin' Stops (And the Lovin' Starts)" (#24) and "Till I Can't Take It Anymore," a remake of an old soul song which made it to #31. Despite this modest success, Warner didn't invest in a full album, cut Rakes loose in the early '80s. His final swan song came with yet another major-label deal, resulting in an album on Atlantic that also yielded a few back forty singles. I'm not sure what became of Rakes since the late '80s, but he sure had a quite a run in the music business!

Pal Rakes "Midnight Rain" (Atlantic Records, 1988-?) (LP)
(Produced by Nelson Larkin, Ron Reynolds & Hank Williams)

Ralph Raulerson & The Countrymen "Sing Your Favorites" (Auburn Orange Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jon Corneal & Leonard Walls)
Bandleader Ralph Raulerson hailed from Fort Myers, Florida and was active for several decades, first as a honkytonker and later as a bluegrass artist... On this 1970s album he's singing pure hard country, and sounds a lot like Merle Haggard on several tunes, with backing from David Brooks (bass), Roger LeBlanc (lead guitar), George Smith (fiddle), and Wes Hollingsworth on drums. In the 1980s, Raulerson could be heard singing at bluegrass festivals, but the stuff he was playing was more more of an old-school hillbilly boogie style, ala Wayne Raney. At any rate, he was a presence in Florida's traditional country scene for many, many years. Most of the songs on here are covers, though there's one tune written by Mr. Raulerson, "It Breaks My Heart (To Let You Go)" and one by lead guitar picker Roger LeBlanc, "This Is The Place." Raulerson sings on three tracks, generously sharing the spotlight with the boys in the band, who handle the rest of the record. Highlights include Raulerson's original, as well as a semi-kooky, slightly wild, amped-up and completely countrified rendition of CCR's "Proud Mary." Good stuff, with plenty of twang.

Ralph Raulerson & The Countrymen "Country Gold: Ralph Raulerson Sings With The Countrymen" (Music City Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Len Walls)
A sizzling set of rambunctious country covers, with a little bit of rockabilly retro in the mix as well. The album opens with a cover of "The Race Is On," done Buck Owens style, with hefty doses of Merle Haggard, Harlan Howard and Hank Williams to follow... The vibe is a mix of West Coast/Bakersfield Sound and Southern-fried rockabilly bop, with a simplicity and primitive, no-frills approach that sounds really damn good. In technical terms, this album is not well produced, and I'm willing to bet that Raulerson and his band could summon a much bigger, more electrifying sound when they played live, but even with the modest production values, this record oozes authenticity and vigor. It's fun. I'm a fan.

Alan Ray "Mr. Blue" (Suncoast Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Mills)
Not a ton of information about this one... According to the liner notes, Alan Ray was originally from Saint Petersburg, Florida and had a radio show in Tampa, but he gave it all up when he moved to Nashville, in pursuit of a musical career. This album was recorded at Bradley's Barn with a mostly A-list studio crew, including folks like Jimmy Capps, Sonny Garrish, Billy Linneman and Willie Rainsford, as well as The Four Guys vocal group, and also a couple of musicians I don't recognize who may have been from Alan Ray's own band -- Reggie Allie on rhythm guitar, and bassist Eddie Regger. Although this was recorded in Tennessee, the album itself seems to have come out on a UK-based label, as that's the only place I've seen copies for sale.

Alan Ray "International Album" (Westwood Records, 1979-?) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Mills)

Red And Murphy & Co. "Riding Around On Saturday Night" (Eljan Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Markham)
A northern Florida bluegrass band with sort of a puckish, playful edge. The group included the husband-wife team of Red Murphy on fiddle and mandolin, and banjo player Murphy Henry, along with bassist Argen Hicks, one of Murphy's sisters. (She was later replaced by another sibling, Laurie Hicks...) Red Murphy started out playing bluegrass in a string of informal late '60s/early '70s bands; serving in the Air Force, Murphy was stationed in several different states and jammed with musicians in Delaware, South Carolina, Texas, and elsewhere. Discharged in 1975, he got serious about forming his own band, and though he played down his own musicianship in an extensive profile in Bluegrass Unlimited, the group was successful enough to release a half-dozen albums over the next eight years. At some point the group also included Tuck Tucker, associated with fellow Floridian twang-folkster Dale Crider, who put out a few albums of his own.

Red And Murphy & Co. "Fast Picks And Hot Licks" (Eljan Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Markham)

Red And Murphy & Co. "Pall Mall Reds" (Eljan Records, 1979) (LP)