Pennsylvania Country Artists Locals Only: Pennsylvania Twang This page collects artist profiles and record reviews of country music from the state of Pennsylvania. It's part of a larger guide to unsigned and off-the-radar regional artists from years gone by, which is also part of the even larger Guide To Hick Music on Slipcue.com. Most of the artists here are little-known locals, bar-band singers, etc., but the list also includes Nashville stars who were from the state, as well as some bluegrass and gospel artists, etc. This is an ongoing projects, with new stuff coming in all the time, and we welcome any recommendations, additions or corrections.






BAR BANDS, LONGHAIRS & NO-HIT WONDERS:
Local Country From A-Z | State-By-State | Thanks & Praise | Other Country Styles


Rosalie Allen -- see artist profile


Jerry Jaye Allogio "Sweet Memories" (Pallette Records, 1985-?) (LP)
(Produced by Kent Hickman)
Not to be confused with Southern country-soul man Jerry Jaye, in the 1980s, local rancher and aspiring songwriter Gerald Allogio (1933-1987) hosted a country music TV show in Lehigh Valley, also releasing his own records while performing regionally with his band, Wrangler. Allogio was just starting to make some real traction with his music career when this album came out -- fellow Pennsylvanian Pat Garrett filmed a video with Allogio, and there was talk of a major-label deal in Nashville. Allogio died suddenly, however, suffering a heart attack while driving his car in 1987, barely a month after appearing at Nashville's star-studded Fan Fair music festival. This album is mostly cover songs, including oldies such as "Making Believe," "Heartaches By The Number" and "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," as well as some newer tunes, like Hugh Moffatt's "Old Flames." There's also one original song, Allogio's own "Let's Make It."


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


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


Michael Bacon "Bringing It Home" (Monument Records, 1973) (LP)
Wait - what? - seriously? This guy was Kevin Bacon's brother? His older brother, the soft-rock songwriter and film music composer? The other guy in the Bacon Brothers band?? No... seriously... That can't be right... That's like... no degrees of separation!! Or... is it one? I was never totally clear on how that worked... Anyway, the Bacon brothers were originally from Pennsylvania, and while Kevin pursued an acting career, Michael went into music, including an early partnership with Larry Gold that resulted in an earlier album back in 1970. Really, he's more of a "pop" guy, but since his later album (reviewed below) had so many cool roots music dudes on it, I had to check it out.


Michael Bacon "Love Song Believer" (Monument Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Michael Bacon, Rob Galbraith & Don Potter)
Okay, consider yourself warned: despite a string of promising names listed in the liners -- Buzz Cason, Fred Foster, Larry Jon Wilson and Mac Gayden, among others -- this is a truly dreadful, overly-slick '70s pop album, evoking a summit meeting of Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor, slumming after hours in some Memphis studio. The songs and the arrangements and the entire general vibe are pretty bland and awful, overblown and underwhelming at the same time, and not much twang, even with songs such as "Texas Cowboy" and "Yodeling Sam." The only tune even halfway worth revisiting is the subtle, acoustic weeper, "A Simple Argument," but mostly this is a pretty skippable record. Really. Not of any real interest.


Gloria Belle "...Sings And Plays Bluegrass In The Country" (Rebel Records, 1967) (LP)
A pioneering bluegrass gal, Gloria Bernadette Flickinger (aka Gloria Belle) was a singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for her long tenure with the Jimmy Martin band. She was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, but made her way down to bluegrass country, appearing on the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree and other venues. Though this was her first album, Belle's career dated back at least a decade earlier, and spanned well into the 21st century.


Gloria Belle "A Good Hearted Woman" (Southern Belle Records, 1978) (LP)


Gloria Belle "Love Of The Mountains" (Webco Records, 1986) (LP)


The Birkby Family "Fiddlin' With The Birkbys" (1982) (LP)
(Produced by Vaughn Lofstead & Rick Malis)
A simple, straightforward set of old-timey/bluegrass instrumentals performed by the Birkby family, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Their dad, Alan Birkby, was a Maryland State championship fiddler, though various family members take turns playing lead on this set of fiddle tunes... About as "mom and pop" as these private-pressing albums get!


Black Mountain Express "Ride Through The Country" (Teru Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Ted Reinhart)
Formed in 1969, this band from Williamsburg, Pennsylvania was initially a country-oriented quartet, although they slipped in a rock oldie or two, as well as a little bit of polka. The group's first lineup included guitarists Herm Arnold and Barry Aungst, along with Roger Ginter on drums and Bill Wilson on bass. They took a few sharp turns almost immediately, changing their name to the Second Edition in 1970, not long after this album came out. They also recorded a couple of singles under that name, and there's mention of an LP, though I think that actually refers to this album. The lineup changed, as well, with Barry Aungst dropping out in 1972 and going on to buy a used car dealership a few years later. His younger brother Lonnie Aungst took over as the band's lead guitar and continued on as a mostly-country band for a while, switching to rock in '74 and eventually became more of an oldies band. The Second Edition continued playing regionally for several decades and even did a fiftieth anniversary reunion gig in 2019, although by that time the lineup had changed completely.


Bob & Marie "Ten Years At The Duncan" (Green Valley Recording, 19--?) (LP)
The Pennsylvania duo of guitarist Bob Ramsey and piano player Marie Wilcox enjoyed a long residency as the house band at the Duncan Tavern in Antrim, PA, a tiny mining town southwest of Harrisburg. They were certainly conscious of their audience's roots in coal country, with cartoon silhouettes of miners on the album cover, and a set list that included songs such as "I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal," "Coal Miner's Daughter" along with other country covers, like "Bloody Mary Morning," et. al. as well as a regional-pride song called "Antrim, PA."



David Bromberg -- see artist profile


The Buffalo Chipkickers "Cleaning Up Our Act" (Chedda Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Matthew Guntharp, Hugh Johnson & Bob Yesbek)
A freewheeling bluegrass/folk/twang band from Pennsylvania, the Chipkickers had previously released an album under lead singer Bob Doyle's name, while they were still student at Penn State. This edition of the group included a recently-hired banjo player, Lee Ann Lenker, along with Bob Doyle on guitar, fiddler Matthew Guntharp and bassist Hugh Johnson, who had all played on the earlier LP. Apparently Doyle left the band at some point; not sure when that was or how long they continued after his departure.


Cambridge "Share A Song" (Green Dolphin Records, 1977) (LP)
A super-twangy country-rock band from Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, with a wealth of original material firmly rooted in Grateful Dead-ish hippie rock as well as more contemporary country-rock ala Poco and Firefall. The group included bass player Lonny Bowersox, Charles Fischer (piano), Chas Gunther (guitar), Tom Stine (drums) and Dan Vogan on dobro and steel guitar. Although it's got a slightly jittery, unpolished feel, this is a pretty strong album with strong material and was probably indicative of the energy at their live shows. The band was pretty popular regionally in the 'Seventies, though they never really broke out nationally; most of the guys in Cambridge went on to other bands, performing well into the 2000s.


Ron Carrington "Travelin' " (ECA-Sand Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Floyd A. Williams Jr. & Vincent S. Morete)
A real hometown hero, singer Ron Carrington hailed from Warren, Pennsylvania, a rural area in the Allegheny Mountains, roughly midway between Pittsburgh and Buffalo, NY. Carrington led a series of bands over several decades, specializing in country and rock oldies, while also showcasing his own original material. He cut his first singles in the early 1970s, and released this full LP sometime around '76. The album spotlights three Carrington originals: "Angels Please Listen To Me," "I Said Hello," and "Truckin'," along with country such as covers "Pass Me By," "Six Days On The Road" and Paul Craft's "Midnight Flyer." Carrington's band has had remarkable longevity -- the lineup on this album included Ron Carrington (guitar and vocals), Bob Lawson (bass), Larry Salapek (drums), and John Sidon on steel guitar; both Lawson and Salpek were still in his band, more than forty years later, playing local shows in 2020(!) As far as I know this was Carrington's only full LP.


Tex Carson "Country Reminiscing" (Regime Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Wilson)
Nicknamed "the Smokey Valley Troubadour," Tex Carson was an old-school country singer from from Pennsylvania, here mostly covering country classics, stuff like "Candy Kisses," "The Green Green Grass Of Home" and "I Fall To Pieces." The album also includes one Tex Carson original, a holiday weeper called "Christmas Won't Be Coming (To Our House This Year)," in which the narrator tells Santa all he wants for Christmas is to have his parents back again... Mostly though, these are just good, old-fashioned heart-songs. Carson is an enthusiastic if not entirely robust ballad belter, a thin-voiced tenor accompanied by a modest band dominated by a plinky-planky "honky-tonk" piano; the elements don't always fit perfectly together, but the sentiments are fine. I couldn't find any info online to indicate if Mr. Carson had a performing career, although he did release several singles on the K-Ark label, and at least one on Regime Records, working with the same producer as on this album. Alas, no info on who the backing musicians were, although on the 7" they're identified as The Smoky Valley Troubadours.


Tex Carson & The Smoky Valley Troubadours "Slippin' Away" (K-Ark Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Wilson)


Chicken Clark's Road Apple Rodeo "Chicken Clark's Road Apple Rodeo" (Baldwin Sound Productions, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Kent Baldwin)


Chicken Clark's Road Apple Rodeo "Rodeo Dreams" (Baldwin Sound Productions, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Mueller)


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.


Whitey Colyer "Sings His Favorite Songs" (Zap Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Alexander)
Bluegrassy covers of honkytonk oldies, from Wayneboro, Pennsylvania bandleader Whitey Colyer, a mason and housebuilder by trade who played country music while in the Army during WWII, and dreamt of playing professionally when he returned to civilian life. He fulfilled a longtime dream making this album a few decades later with his band the Blue Ridge Partners.


Wess Cooke "...Sings Mother Nature" (GCRS Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Wess Cooke & John Biehl)
Originally from Midland, Virginia, singer-songwriter Wess Cooke was a longtime member of the Carolina Opry, and later moved to Lancaster, PA to join the American Music Theatre, where he enjoyed a longtime residency. He had a regional hit with the song, "The Wind Keeps Whistling Dixie," though later he turned to spiritual themes, recording a couple of religious albums, such as the Church In The Wildwood CD, which is covers of standards such as "Unclouded Day" and "I'll Fly Away."


The Corbin/Hanner Band "For The Sake Of The Song" (Alfa Records, 1981) (LP)


The Corbin/Hanner Band "Son Of America" (Alfa Records, 1981) (LP)
This is one of those albums that really looks like an old, mainstream country-rock gem, but it isn't. The Pennsylvania-based duo of Bob Corbin and David Hanner assembled in the late '70s and cut two albums as the The Corbin/Hanner Band, meeting with minimal success on the Top 40 country charts. Partly that may have been because they didn't really sound all that "country" to begin with -- to my ears more of an overly slick, bland, AOR pop group. (But then again, it was the early '80s, so how could you tell?) At any rate, if you're looking for twang -- and indie twang in particular -- this album probably won't do much for you. It's way too belabored and artificial-sounding, if you ask me. They never quite cracked into the Top Forty, and broke up for a few years, returning as, simply, Corbin/Hanner in the early 1990s. Along the way, they made some ripples in Nashville as songwriters... David Hanner scored a big hit with his masterpiece (and one of my personal favorites) "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good," a song that Don Williams took to the top of the charts in 1981. I might not be to into this album, but that song is certainly a great legacy!


Sam Coughenour "We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus And A Lot Less Rock 'N' Roll" (Jewel Records, 196--?) (LP)
Hard not to be charmed by this clean-cut, earnest young fella, especially since he's dusting off that great old hillbilly anthem, Wayne Raney's novelty classic, "We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus (And A Lot Less Rock 'N' Roll)." Nice touch. He later became, I believe, the Rev. Sam Coughenour, co-founder of a church in rural Pennsylvania. This is really more of a Christian folk album, but deserves recognition here for his version of the title track.


The Country All Stars "Country All Stars" (GBS Records, 19--?) (LP)
Great record by a lively but low-key band from Pennsylvania... Lead singer Jeff Knight reminds me strongly of country-era Ricky Skaggs, both in his vocal tone and phrasing -- the liner notes say he tried his luck in Nashville but came back to Pennsylvania and was apparently the leader of this band. The rest of the group included a fine steel player, Ronnie Eyler, and championship fiddler Roy Ingram, who used to tour with Tex Ritter; also on board are lead guitarist and piano man Donnie London, and drummer Marlin Madison, who all had varying degrees of showbiz experience. This really is a striking record, not like in a dazzling way, but more of a "hey, these guys were good" kinda way, with a funky, comfortable sound that dips a bit into western swing. There are several good originals on here, including three penned by Jeff Knight -- "The Lady's In Love With Me," "Sandy" and "Things Aren't Funny Anymore" -- as well as a tune called Printer's Alley, credited to Donnie London. Also notable is a cover of the song "Pure Love," composed by John Schweers, the guy who wrote "Day Dreams About Night Things." Not sure when this disc came out; the artist bios mention various dates of earlier gigs, with the most recent being Mr. Madison's stint in Nashville, which started in 1975. It's possible this is actually an early '80s release, but there's no release date given; also the producer/engineer is no identified. Anyway, I found this album pretty appealing.


Country Coalition "Country Coalition" (ABC-Bluesway, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Todd, William Schnee & Don Gallese)
A country rock/pop group that included Pennsylvania-born songwriter John Henry Kurtz, who later became known for recording the original version of the pop hit "Drift Away," although here was in more of a twangy mode. The band first came together in 1968 and briefly included bluegrass pioneer Doug Dillard, though when it came time to make a record, Dillard peeled off and returned instead the Dillards during their ground-breaking psychedelic phase. Kurtz was doing his part, though, for the country-rock cause, though the influences were often separated out into separate tracks on this album, which opens with a fuzz-guitar hippie-boogie freakout ("Your One Man Band") and has a few tracks that stand out as more-country than others. Still, there's a cool mixing of styles, with a white soul undercurrent that brings folks like Don Nix and Leon Russell to mind, and a number of standout tracks, such as the impassioned working-man ballad, "Poverty" and a groovy, soulful version of Charlie Rich's "Life's Little Ups And Downs," as well as a number of would-be-hit sunshine-pop songs, with group vocals reminiscent at time of the Mamas & Papas. Among the notable side musicians is Kurtz's pal, Kenny Loggins, who he formed a duo with in the early '70s, and the group's "girl" singer Peggie Moje has a couple of noteworthy moments, including some solo vocals where she sounds a bit Ronstadt-esque (and I mean that in a good way!)


Country Coalition "Time To Get It Together" (ABC-Bluesway, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Todd, William Schnee & Don Gallese)
This would appear to be a straight-up, song-for-song re-release of the self-titled album above. Guess the original title or album art wasn't deemed to be hip and groovy enough for the hippie scene? I dunno. Anyway, people say that the band cut three albums, although I don't know if they're including this disc in that headcount... They also contributed to various one-off projects -- soundtracks for movies and TV -- before the original lineup fizzled out. John Henry Kurtz left the group not long after this album came out and in 1973 released a solo album, Reunion, also for the ABC label. The other three members, Dick Bradley, Peggie Moje and Tom Riney, recorded at least one other album in the '70s, although I don't know if they actually kept together as a formal band the whole time. After doing some session work as a violinist, Moje moved to Portland, Oregon and switched gears artistically, dedicating herself to painting, with some occasional music gigs, including backing cowboy folkie Rich Mahan.


The Country Strings "Partners Up" (Asterik Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Regis J. Lutz, Ralph Cominio & Pat Wallace)
Bluegrass -- or "hoe-down music," as they preferred to call it in the liner notes -- by an informal band from the suburbs of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The group met at jam sessions held at a place called Strickler's Barn, in Uniontown, and played together at Al's Tavern, in the South Park township. They were sponsored by auto mechanic "Wimpy" Lutz, who owned a body shop in Bethel Park; I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think he was also album producer Regis J. Lutz (1918-1986) whose address is given on the back cover. The group centered around the twin fiddles of Mark Crossland and Pinkie Shoemaker; Shoemaker's brother John played banjo, while guitarist Nevin Kuhns sang lead. The group was rounded out by bassist Rocky Rockwell and Al Brunetti on harmonica... The repertoire was heavy on old fiddle tunes and stringband standards, although "Wimpy's Super Service" would appear to be an original penned in praise of their backer... Also, yet more versions of "Green, Green Grass Of Home" and "Orange Blossom Special," for those of us keeping track.


Crazy Elmer "The Other Side Of Crazy Elmer" (Dollo Records, 19--?) (LP)
Though the front cover shows a picture of country comedian Crazy Elmer in full clown makeup, we also see him in his civilian garb, as singer ClenRoy Geist. Mr. Geist (1935-2021) was born in Longswamp, Pennsylvania and started his career at age thirteen, singing in the chorus of a traveling minstrel show. A year later, he was promoted to become one of the show's solo-act comedians, and was still working the vaudeville circuit when he was recruited by country bandleader Shorty Long to join Long's band, The Santa Fe Rangers, where he took on the cornpone persona of Crazy Elmer, often performing his skits in regional Dutch dialect. This album is a straight country tribute to Jim Reeves, with backing from Shorty Long, Dolly Long and their band, a souvenir of the many years he worked at the Longs' entertainment venue Ontelaunee Park, near Allentown. In 1977, Crazy Elmer left Shorty Long's orbit and started his own group, The Outlaws, which also included Geist's grandson Kyle Isamoyer on lead guitar. He worked with the Outlaws well into the 21st century, and the band continued on after Mr. Geist's passing in 2021.


Jim E. Curtin "A Touch Of Presley" (Curtin/Condo Corporation, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Jim E. Curtin & Dave Kenny)
One of the 43,083 officially licensed, bonded Elvis Presley imitators in the United States of America in the year 1980. Because, yes, that was a thing. Jim Curtin was an Elvis acolyte from Pennsylvania, performing live on August 17, 1979 at a club called Palumbo's, in South Philly, with backing by two different groups, Astrix and Graceland. Alas, no details of who the actual musicians were, though it looks like a good time was had by all. Uh-uh-huh!


Dakota "The Captain And The Outlaw" (Front Range Records, 1982) (LP)
There were a few bands that called themselves "Dakota," including some that weren't from the Dakotas at all... Apparently these guys were from Colorado, and not to be confused with the soft-rock group from Pennsylvania that was led by Jerry Hludzik and Bill Kelly that put out an album a couple of years earlier. Anyway, this album includes some interesting folk-oriented country-rock covers, including three John Stewart songs, a version of Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon," and a version of "Greenback Dollar."


Dakota "All Kinds Of Country" (1984) (LP)
(Produced by Don Garvin & Joe Bougher)
There were several early '80s bands that called themselves "Dakota," including some that weren't from the Dakotas at all... Apparently these guys were from New Brighton, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, near the Ohio border. They're not to be confused with either the country-folk band from Colorado or with the Top 40 soft-rock group from the eastern end of the state led by Jerry Hludzik and Bill Kelly. No, this Dakota featured singer and keyboardist Joe Bougher, and all of the songs were Joe Bougher originals. They were a country band, though, with big cowboy hats and steel guitars and everything. For the life of me, though, I couldn't find any more information abut this band, other than the record itself. Guess maybe they weren't around for very long.


Bob Dalton "...And The Dalton Gang" (RPM Records, 1969) (LP)
A lesser-known country singer from Downington, Pennsylvania, Bob Dalton had one song hit the charts -- barely -- "Mama, Call Me Home," which came out in 1970 on Mega Records and peaked at #73. Then I think that was about all she wrote for these fellas. This album has a lot of contemporary cover songs -- "Act Naturally," "The Auctioneer," "Mama Tried," etc.



Lacy J. Dalton -- see artist profile



Donna Darlene -- see artist profile


Debbie Lynn Davidson "I Want To Be A Country Singer" (Cornucopia Records, 1978-?) (LP)
All freckles and bangs, young Ms. Davidson looks to have been about ten years old when she recorded this album... She was a kid from from Columbia Crossroads, Pennsylvania who was recruited to sing an album that was half gospel, half secular, including songs such as "I Want To Be A Country Singer," "Country Fever," "Everybody's Looking For Love" and "I'm Just A Little Girl Looking For A Big Boy." Apparently this album was recorded following an appearance on the Hee Haw TV show, although I couldn't quite track down when that episode aired, nor when this album came out. According tot eh local papers, she did some local shows and took place in a few regional talent shows between from 1976-77, under the name Debbie Davidson, and was apparently a cast member of the Bob and Dean McNett country music show.


Bob Doyle & The Buffalo Chipkickers "Volume One" (Marjon International Records, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by James Baldwin & Johnny Krizancic)
Originally a student band formed by some guys at Penn State University, the Chipkickers were a folk-bluegrass crossover, a trio of wiseacre younguns, blending banjo, fiddle and twelve-string guitar on a diverse repertoire of public domain oldies, country classics and an original or two. The new tunes on this album included "Walkin And Talkin'," which was composed by Bob C. Doyle, and a couple of regionally-themed songs ("Appalachia" and "Coal Hill Summit") credited to John J. Dietrich, who doesn't seem to have been in the band. Alas, the other two 'Kickers are only identified as "Joe" and "Matthew," with their sound filled out a bit by bass player Hugh Johnson, who probably was part of the Marjon studio's house band. A couple of years after this album came out, the group hired a new banjo player, Lee Ann Lenker, who played on their second album, which was released under the band's name, not Doyle's.


Jay Eddie "Teardrops In Vain" (K-Ark Records, 19--?) (LP)
A serviceman in the US Army at the time this album was recorded, Jay Eddie was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania but was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina when he decided to pursue a career in music. As a teen, he did some amateur performances, but it was while in the armed forces that his first real gigs: in 1969, Eddie appeared on South Carolina TV station WOLD, and then got a steady gig on WBLM, in Datesburg, and had plans to return to Pennsylvania when he got out, and start a new band there. The repertoire on this album includes some Hank Williams covers, along with several songs I believe are originals, such as "Temporary Escape From Reality." I'm pretty sure "Jay Eddie" was a stage name -- I couldn't find info on him online -- and unfortunately, there are no composer credits on the LP, so no clues there either.


Norman Frey & The Country Cousins "It's Show Time With..." (CC Records, 1972-?) (LP)
A mostly-country mix of polka and twang from a local band that had a weekly radio program on WHOL-AM, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The group included Merle Becker on bass, Donald Derr (steel guitar), Norman Frey (drums and vocals), David Kern (banjo and bass), and accordionist William Ponnett. The group seems to have been a relatively informal, amateur band, made up of locals from the surrounding area; Norman Frey is a surprisingly common name in that neck of the woods and a little hard to pin down, although Mr. Ponnett lived in Stroudsburg and seems to have played local civic events such as school reunions, etc. dating back to the early 1960s. There are no composer credits on this disc, so I'm not sure how much -- if any -- of this was original music. The band also recorded at least one single, with an address in nearby Kutztown, PA, with two songs featuring a guy named Billy Billig on vocals -- he does not seem to have been on this album as well.


Bob Scott (Frick) "Mr. Gospel Guitar: At Work" (REF Records, 19--?) (LP)
A nice, understated set of country gospel instrumentals by a Pennsylvania guitar picker working very much in the style of Chet Atkins. Billing himself either As "Bob Scott" or Robert Scott Frick, this fella self-released dozens of LPs and CDs over the years, and worked prolifically in the southern gospel scene... I've heard some of his stuff that was more overtly country in style, and presumably there are some cheesier, more "Contemporary Christian" material as well, but as far as this disc goes, it's pretty good. Basic, straightforward pleasant to the ears, with miraculously unfussy, uncluttered arrangements.


Bob Scott Frick "Everyday" (REF Records, 19--?) (LP)



Pat Garrett -- see artist profile


Bobby Gosh "Bobby Gosh" (Polydor Records, 1971) (LP)


Bobby Gosh "Mother Motor" (Polydor Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Bobby Gosh)
Well, this one sure looks like it would be a hidden country-rock gem, but it's really more on the pop side of things, in an early '70s experimental/clompy roots-rock kind of way. Songwriter Bobby Gosh came to rock music from an old-school Pop background: as a teen, he backed singer Kitty Kallen and later worked with Paul Anka writing and demo-ing songs in his Brill Building/Tin Pan Alley years. As a solo artist, Gosh seemed like a pretty unlikely hitmaker, with his rough, limited vocals, but here he found a stylistic niche in the roots-boogie rock sound -- the opening tracks sound like Dr. Hook songs, and indeed, Gosh had one of his biggest hits the following year, when that band recorded his song, "A Little Bit More" into the Top Ten. There is some overt country-rock on here, particularly the twangy "Butterfly Mind," which showcases session picker Eric Weissberg on pedal steel, playing in that kind of chunky hippie-country steel style popularized by Jerry Garcia. Eventually Gosh settles into a sort of soul-roots sound, reminiscent of Leon Russell, though much rougher vocally and musically. There's not a lot of twang on here, but if you're into the '70s roots-pop thing, this one's definitely worth a spin.


Bobby Gosh "Sitting In The Quiet" (Paramount Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Lynn Barkley)
This album features Gosh's own versions of two of his biggest hits, "A Little Bit More" and the theme to the movie, "Bang The Drum Slowly." Dunno how country-sounding any of this is, but it might be worth a spin.


Frank Grill "The Hands You're Holding Now" (Custom Fidelity, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by David A. Owens)
A singer from Pittsburgh, Frank Grill sang mostly covers -- of Sonny James, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Pee Wee King and others -- as well as two originals that he wrote, "Face In The Mirror" and "We'll Be Together." The title track was originally by Marty Robbins; there's also one song on here by another local Pennsylvania, Lloyd Streeter... Although the California-based Custom Fidelity label pressed this album, the sessions were recorded locally in Sewilecky, PA, with backing by Skeets Martin, Ron Messing on dobro, Bob Mitchell, Dan Vorpe, Larry Westree, and Stan Wasilesewski.


Ted Hanson & Country Express "Remembers Just Plain Jane" (Shepherd Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Billy Holiday & Jack Turner)
These longhaired hipsters from Philadelphia, PA wrote a lot of their own material, with over half the songs credited to two publishing companies used by composers D. Turner and Dick Rich, who were both presumably bandmembers. There are also a few cover songs, one from Larry Butler, another by Jerry Kennedy, and a cover from the pop world, of the Bee Gees song, "Words." I'm not 100% sure, but I think Hanson later became a pastor.


Ted Hanson & Country Express "Tribute To A Queen" (Cherrywood Studios, 1975-?) (LP)
Guitarist Ted Hanson and bassist Dave Shaul were both from Wenatchee, Washington, a middle-sized town east of Seattle, and first formed their band after returning home from doing military service abroad, in different branches of the armed forces. They seem to have taken their band all over the country -- Reno, Nashville, Texas, and even a long stint up in Alaska. Somewhere along the line they recruited teenage singer Jackie Kadow, who sings on this album and later married Hanson. The repertoire includes some cool country covers, like "Rainy Day Woman" and "Most Beautiful Girl In The World," in a setlist that seems to have been made in honor of wimmin in general... Dunno what became of the band, but the Hansons wrote at least one children's book together, Dakota's First Roundup, and Ted Hanson made a career as a saddle and boot leathersmith.


Ray Hatcher "Songs Of Love, God And Country" (Arzee Records, 1964-?) (LP)


Ray Hatcher "The Best Of Country" (Nashville Sounds Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Pete Drake, Stan Kessler & Warren Peterson)
A Philadelphia country singer who was affiliated with Rex Zario, co-writing several tracks on this album with him, and using the same publisher. The studio band is packed with Nashville pros, house musicians at Pete Drake's studio, the outside of which is pictured on the back. Hatcher sings and plays acoustic guitar, with cats like Pete Wade, Charlie McCoy, Hargus Robbins and the Gary Paxton Singers on backup vocals... He does a cover of Don Gibson's "Oh, Lonesome Me," but otherwise the whole album is either his or Zario's stuff. Their originals include "A Fool Over You" and "Anybody's Baby" (co-written with Ann Davison), Zario's "Sing Me Another Country Song," and Hatcher's regional anthem, "Philadelphia Baby."


Ray Hatcher "Sings Your Requests" (Camaro Records, 1974-?) (LP)
(Produced by Style Wooten)
Although the album title implies an all-covers set, about half this album is original material written by either Ray Hatcher or Ann Davison, who shared the same publishing company, Pretty Girl Music. Alas, the backing musicians aren't identified, although the album was recorded down in Memphis on Style Wooten's label, Camaro Records.


Ray Hatcher "Sings Hank Williams, Plus Three Others" (Nashville Sound Records, 1977-?) (LP)
Sadly, there's no release date or musician/producer info on the album jacket, though the consensus seems to be this was a late-'Seventies offering. Hatcher covers a bunch of Hank Williams, "Oh Lonesome Me" by Don Gibson and a couple of his own songs -- "Philadelphia Baby" and "Time To Travel On," which was co-written with Ann Davison.


The Haywire Band "Silver Wings" (Air Craft Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Arty Tedesco)


Chuck Hess & His Chuck-Riders "Country And Western Favorites" (Strand Records, 1963) (LP)
Huh. A "country" song called "Baby Elephant Dance"? Although this is ostensibly a country album, Pennsylvania-born hotshot guitar picker Chuck Hess had a serious rock pedigree -- he was a charter member of the Vegas-based rockabilly lounge act The Jodimars, which was founded by some dudes who left Bill Haley's band in the 1955... The Jodimars broke up in '58, but a few years later Hess was picking up a paycheck from the New York-based cheapo label Strand Records. Whether any of the other Jodimar crew were on this disc is anyone's guess (probably not) since Strand albums almost never included significant discographical information. But while some tracks sported a twang-adjacent theme, others, like "Jet Flight," "Tropicana" and "Pony Boy Rock" are a tip of the old Stetson towards Hess' rock'n'roll bonafides. He worked in television for a while and also cut a few singles, including some straight country stuff, as heard on a single cut for Starday Records in the early '70s. I'm not sure about the contours of his career, but he was still doing gigs right up until the end: apparently Hess died while driving home from a show in Leesburg, Florida in 1999, at age 67.


Dolph Hewitt "King Of The Barn Dance" (Cattle Records/Binge Disc, 1987) (LP)
Vintage recordings from East Coast country star Adolph Edward Hewitt (1914-1996) a Pennsylvania native who was a star performer on Chicago's WLS National Barn Dance program starting back in the late 1940s... Like many performers of the classic hillbilly era, he started out moving around a lot and worked in numerous obscure bands, including many that were associated with local radio stations and whatnot. Hewitt landed a spot on WLS after returning from active duty in World War Two and stayed with the station for nearly fifteen years until it was sold in 1960; he then took over production of the Barn Dance show and moved it to a competing local TV station, where it stayed on the air until 1969, when it fell under the axe, as did numerous country-oriented programs in a nationwide push towards more "sophisticated," un-hick programming. Mr. Hewitt eventually moved down to Kissimmee, Florida where he worked in radio, both as an executive and as on-air talent. This groovy LP gathers over a dozen tracks recorded in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, with backing by musicians including bassist Red Blanchard, steel player Don White, and others. (Thanks to www.hillbilly-music.com whose extensive profile page augments this album's also-informative liner notes.)


Johnny & Vernon "The New Young Country Sound Of Johnny & Vernon" (Mount Vernon Music, 19--?) (LP)
The duo of Johnny Dubas and Vernon Sandusky, clean-cut lads from Scranton and Caffeyville, respectively, who were both 23-years old when they cut this album. This is an early 'Sixties outing -- the liner notes tell us they'd been "performing together since 1959," though I don't know if that means they'd also made other records, or when this one came out. (I'm guessing around 1962-63.) There may have been some original material on here, though songwriter credits weren't included. By 1964 Sandusky and Dubas shifted gears and formed a Beatles-y rock band called the Chartbusters, which supposedly was the inspiration for the greatest movie of all time, the Tom Hanks-directed documentary, That Thing You Do. Vernon Sandusky also had a later album on the GBS label, going back to his country roots sometime around 1980 or so.


Larry Lee Jones "Make Me Happy" (Memory Machine Records, 1984) (LP)
A longtime fixture on the early-'80s East Coast country scene, Larry Lee Jones grew up in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, just down the river from Pittsburgh. He started his professional career as a teen and during the urban cowboy years he held down regular gigs at the now-defunct Ponderosa Park venue in Salem, Ohio and at a West Mifflin honkytonk called the Foggy Bottom Inn, releasing a few singles before cutting this album. The title track has a semi-rootsy/semi-synthy, Johnny Lee-ish feel, sounding like a cross between Kenny Rogers and Neil Diamond, though not all his songs have such a strong '80s pop gloss. The album includes another single, "Sittin' In Atlanta Station," which Jones's son, Todd, also took into the back end of the charts nearly three decades later. Plus his band was called The Sidemen -- how cool is that? The group included Joe Balogh on piano, J.C. Muenzer (lead guitar), Karl Nutt (fiddle and steel guitar), Skip Povanda( bass), and Terry Richardson on drums. They played regularly at a place called the Foggy Bottom, which "went country" after the movie Urban Cowboy came out.


Larry Lee Jones "One Song At A Time" (Savoy Records, 1995)


Junie Lou "...Sings For You" (Process Record Company, 1961-?) (LP)
A mix of secular country and gospel from a gal who was born in Pennsylvania hill country and sang on local radio stations and in regional jamboree shows, starting out in a duo with her sister, Bonnie Jo, while still a kid. She formed her own band, the Pine Hedge Ranch Hands, and worked with regional country impresario Howard Vokes on a radio show led by a fella named Uncle Early. At the time of this album, Junie Lou was working a gig at a venue called the Shady Lake Jamboree, backed by a vocal trio apparently made up of three of her younger sisters -- Linda, Nancy and Sue -- who were billed as the Jamboree Sweethearts. There's no release date on here, but the liner notes mention that the song "Caroline" was penned in honor of Caroline Kennedy's fourth birthday, so that would place this session sometime in '61. The disc was pressed by Rite records, for those of you who keep track of such things.


Joni Kaye "Can I Depend On You?" (Jeree Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Elmer Willett & Jerry Reed)
Originally from Eastmont, Pennsylvania -- way up in the rural northeastern end of the state -- Joni Kaye (nee Joanne Diulus) was an aspiring actress who started doing community theater in Pittsburg during the early 1960s, and released a few local pop singles during the Kennedy era. She moved into children's theater but kept an interest in music, and at some point caught the attention of producer/nightclub owner Elmer Willett, who was best known for having discovered and promoted the chart-topping 'Sixties pop band The Vogues. This album includes several songs credited to Mr. Willett, including a version of Ms. Kaye's old single, "Can I Depend On You," a country ballad that she first recorded in 1963. There are also a couple of tunes composed by singer Jerri Kelly, who recorded a string of singles in the 1970s. Alas, this album and Joni Kaye's career are both shrouded in mystery -- the back cover tells us that "Piere" performs with her, but there's no elaboration about who or what Piere was or did. Joni Kaye later moved to Ocala, Florida, then retired in South Carolina, where she passed away in 2018. As far as I know this was her only full album. (Note: engineer Jerry Reed is not the hotshot Nashville picker/recording artist of the same name, but rather Pennsylvania-based label owner Jerry Reed, whose Jeree Records label put out dozens of local singles as well as a few odd albums, including some country stuff. )


The Kings Men "America's Hits Of Yesteryear" (1981) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Burton & Pete Hallirich)
One of many "king's men" groups out there, this particular trio was formed by Pennsylvanian Frank C. Hild and his sons, Brian and Larry, with the original act dating back to 1964-65, and formerly recorded under the name The Gospel Kings. Although they have kind of a barbershop/southern gospel vibe, this is definitely a secular set, of mostly country covers, including tunes like "He'll Have To Go," "Yellow Rose Of Texas," "Cool Water," and "When The Work's All Done This Fall," as well as pop-standards such as Norman Luboff's "Yellow Bird" and "Seventy-Six Trombones," from The Music Man. They are backed by some rust belt studio pros, including producer Dan Burton on piano steel player Chuck Rich and fiddler Junior Bennett, as well as a guest appearance by a guy who says he was in the Harmonicats.


Jim Klink & The Silver Spurs "...Sings Your Country And Gospel Favorites" (Process Record Company, 19--?) (LP)
This undated vanity release was pressed by a custom label in Franklin, Pennsylvania, with one side of the LP country, and the other side gospel, all of it resolutely old-fashioned. I'm not 100% sure, but I'd date this to around 1963... the Buck Owens/West Coast sound doesn't seem to have reached these guys yet, but their group photo has a Kennedy-era look to it. The back cover is blank - that's how cheapo and DIY this one was.


John Henry Kurtz "Reunion" (ABC-Dunhill Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Barri, Harvey Price & Dan Walsh)
A lavish pop-rock album with a strong dose of Southern, swampy soul from actor/songwriter John Kurtz, a native of Havertown, Pennsylvania who had formerly been in the band Country Coalition... This album is best known for the debut rendition of the song "Drift Away," which later became a huge hit for pop singer Dobie Gray. This album's not all that "country rock" (although it does get listed in a twang-ography or two....) Mainly the sessions have a Muscle Shoals-y feel, with a hint of Southern rock as well... As far as true twang goes, there is a nice version of Jesse Winchester's "Brand New Tennessee Waltz," and Doug Dillard plays banjo on a version of "Songbird," but that's about it. Other studio heavyweights include some of the dudes from the newly-formed Steely Dan, as well as Kenny Loggins -- who I guess had been working with Kurtz for a while -- singing backup on several songs, including a version of his own "Danny's Song." It's an interesting record, worth checking out both from a '70s soft-pop perspective, as well as for truly devoted twang fans. Kurtz had a long and notably diverse entertainment career -- he spent most of the '70s in Colorado, then moved to New York where he found success on Broadway, and later as a voiceover artist and announcer for various programs. Kurtz (who passed away in 2008) was also known as a hardcore Civil War reenactment buff -- he's posed on the cover of this album in full military regalia -- and he lent a hefty chunk of his memorabilia to documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to use in the PBS series on the Civil War.


The Laird Trio "Country Western Favorites" (MarJon Records, 1969-?) (LP)
A delightfully amateurish album by a family band from Sharon, Pennsylvania. The Laird Trio was made up of sisters Kathy Laird (age fourteen) and Sharyn Laird Canon (nineteen) and their eighteen-year old brother Rodger Laird, who harmonize roughly though with great enthusiasm on a set peppered with covers of old honkytonk and hillbilly hits. Before cutting this album, the Lairds had performed on local radio station WFAR, as well as some smaller venues in nearby Ohio, though I doubt they had that big of a professional profile. Sharyn is clearly cast as the would-be star of the group, belting 'em out in very teenage-sounding though not quite mousy voice, apparently with Wanda Jackson as her model... She also composed two of the songs, "He's Wonderful" and "Puppet On A String," while a third track, "My Sweetheart's Gone," is credited to Ray Laird (who was not int he band). Meanwhile, Rodger Laird was credited as the rhythm guitarist in the backing band, The Silver Spurs, a local band led by Rege Easler, Jr that later cut some records of their own for the MarJon label, though with a completely different lineup -- here, the band is credited as Rege Easler, Jr (lead guitar), Rodger Laird (rhythm guitar), Sandy Sanderson (bass), and David Spatilson (drums). Along with the other guys, Mr. Laird seems to have dropped out of Easler's band at some point, though he continued to play locally for many years to come, including a stint in a band called The Chaparrals, along with local steel guitar whiz Bob Shearer (1926-2017).


Shanna Learn "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" (Southern Heritage Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Wayne Walters)
Country gospel from a pre-teen singer from Ulster, Pennsylvania. Shanna Learn was six years old when this album came out, and had been recording in Nashville since she was four, and apparently she regularly performed on TV as well. Although she started out making singles, I believe this was her first LP, recorded with producer Wayne Walters, of the Christian Troubadours gospel band. Born in 1973, Shanna was spurred on by her parents, Robert and Shirley Learn, who apparently drove her to Nashville every year to make a record, and also booked her on local TV and concert performances. She had a lot of gigs when she was little, including appearing onstage with Merle Haggard at a show in Harrisburg when she was four. On at least one occasion she was paired up with another local pre-teen country singer, Debbie Lynn Davidson, who grew up about ten miles away from her, in Columbia Crossroads. Shanna was also affiliated with the Penn-York Country Music Club (PYCMC) a group of local amateur musicians led by a guy named Gary Strope, from nearby Towanda, PA. Shanna Learn kept recording at least until she was ten, but doesn't seem to have pursued it professionally, instead following a career in health care.


Shanna Learn "Jesus Loves You And So Do I" (Smokehouse Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Donald D. Morris & Kevin McManus)
Side One is secular, with covers of "Delta Dawn," "The Gambler," "Good Hearted Woman," "Proud Mary" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," while the second side is gospel material, including a couple of Hank Williams songs.


Shanna Learn "Country Sunshine" (Smokehouse Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Donald D. Morris)
This album is mostly a set a gospel standards, chestnuts such as "Amazing Grace," "Great Speckled Bird," "He Touched Me" and "I'll Fly Away." Although this was a Nashville session, the backing band isn't an A-list crew: Reggie Allen, Bill Hook, Jack Gates, Don Morris, Bruce Osborn, and John Rees, none of whom I recognize.


Shanna Learn "God Bless America" (Smokehouse Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Donald D. Morris & Kevin McManus)
Following their earlier formula, this album includes secular material on Side One ("Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," "There Goes My Everything," etc,) and gospel on Side Two. The album closes with "Battle Hymn Of The Republic," but isn't a patriotic record, per se.


Shanna Learn "I'm A Little Country Girl" (Smokehouse Records, 1983) (LP)
They really flipped the script on this one, putting the gospel material on Side One, and the secular stuff on Side Two. Covers include "Heartaches By The Numbers," "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" and "You Win Again." Im not sure if the title track, "I'm A Little Country Girl," is a cover song, or an original.


Glenn Lehman "Reminiscing With Glenn Lehman: Country Songs Of A Bygone Era" (Vetco Custom Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Hamann)
Originally from Pennsylvania, brothers George and Glenn Lehman formed a duo act in the 1940s, with Glenn on guitar and George on fiddle, playing throughout the Ohio Valley for several decades, eventually settling down in Hiram, Ohio, near Akron. They are joined by other local musicians on a sprightly set of sentimental old-timey tunes, stuff like "Little Rosewood Casket," "Sweet Kitty Wells," and "Give Me Flowers While I Live," as well as an instrumental or two...


Little Jo "Sonny Orr Productions Introduces..." (Marjon Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Rege Easler & Johnny Krizancic)
A native of Washington state, Ms. Little Jo (whose last name remains a mystery) started her musical career performing on US military bases in West Germany... She came back to the States, settled in Pennsylvania and worked for a profusion of little-known bands which are painstakingly detailed in the liner notes of this album: John Scingledecker's Country Look-Outs, George Keith & The Country Heirs, the Country Travelers, the Ranglers and others. Here she sings with guitarist Rege Easler and his band, the Silver Spurs, in an early '70s set of country covers, stuff like "I Fall To Pieces," "It Don't Hurt Anymore" and "D-I-V-O-R-C-E."



Dolly Long - see artist profile



Shorty Long - see artist profile


Garrett Rebel Mason "The Best Of Garrett Rebel Mason" (Winchester Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Kenneth Alexander)
Pretty darn good! A Kentucky lad who served in the Korean War, Garrett Thomas Mason (1930-2003) seems to have moved around a lot in his career. According to the liner notes, he started out singing on the radio in Toledo, Ohio way back in 1949, and following his military service he worked at station WAYZ, in Waynesboro, Virginia. His first record was a 1958 single that featured his own song, "Waiting For My Baby To Come Home," which is also included here. By the time he cut this disc, Mason had settled down in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and has a local band behind him, The Starlite Playboys, including Junior Black, Harvey Frey and Richard Ott, as well as gal singer Bonnie Lou Sillik, who adds some distinctly hillbilly-sounding vocals on several tracks. Mason sounds an awful lot like Ernest Tubb (only way less lethargic) and delivers solid hard-country performances backed by strong, competent twang, particularly the piercing pedal steel showcased on track after track. The album is full of original material, tunes from several composers all published by Little Jim Music/Jim McCoy Music, along with a light sprinkling of cover songs, such as Hank Locklin's "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On" and Jerry Chesnut's trucker tune, "Looking At The World Through A Windshield" (which helps date this LP to at least 1968 or later). I'm especially curious about the fiery Ms. Bonnie Lou, who is credited as composer on three songs, more than Mason himself. She started own band, the Majesties, around 1971, was still publishing songs in '72 and was singing at local events as late as 1975... but did she record elsewhere? Or was this it? Anyway, this record is solid Rust Belt twang... Maybe Rebel Mason wasn't the best at vocal phrasing, but he sure was country. Definitely worth a spin!


Wes McCauley "Troubadour" (Kat-Deb Records, 1972-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Leahy)
Amateur songwriter Wes McCauley was a telephone lineman and Vietnam veteran who grew up in Pennsylvania coal country, a background he reflects on in a couple of songs here, "Last Day In The Mines" and "Stay Away From The Mines." McCauley was not a great singer, musician, or songwriter, but this is still a very appealing album, as it oozes simplicity and sincerity, a ragged, truly authentic vanity album that exemplifies the whole "real people playing real music" ethos. McCauley was the bass player in a band with guitarist Dave Saunders, who contributes liner notes in which he details a life-threatening motorcycle accident that McCauley had in '71. After his recovery, McCauley recorded this album with Saunders on guitar and additional vocals from a gal named Janet Gilroy. All the songs on Side One were originals, including one called "Mr. Johnny Cash," with a spoken introduction which alludes to Cash's left-leaning politics, and "Count To Ten," which is a great oddball novelty song. He also covers several late-'60s/early-'70s hits from the folk-flavored end of the countrypolitan spectrum, stuff like Bobby Bare's "Detroit City," social commentaries like "Six White Horses" and "Skip A Rope," and a clunky but compelling version of "Tombstone Every Mile." Definitely not a record that will appeal to everyone, but I kinda like it.


Bob McNett & Dean McNett "The Big Country -- Featuring Shawnee" (Wheeling Records, 19--?) (LP)
A legendary local duo from Pennsylvania, Bob and Dean McNett led their band from the early 1960s almost to the end of the '70s, later taking a gig as part of the Hank Williams homage band, the Drifting Cowboys. They came by their Hank bona fides the hard way: the brothers started performing regionally as a duo when they were kids, but when Dean McNett got drafted, his brother Bob found work on the Louisiana Hayride, where Hank spotted him and recruited him for his band. Bob joined the Drifting Cowboys in 1948 and stayed with the band up until Hank's death in 1953; he accompanied Williams on his Hayride and Opry debuts, as well as on numerous hit recordings for MGM. After his discharge, Dean McNett joined the Doc Williams band on the Wheeling Jamboree, which seems to have been where the brothers were performing when they cut this album. The liner notes imply this was their first LP, although I'm sure they must have recorded a single or two prior to this... In contrast to the album below, this one is packed with original material, with all but two tracks credited to the McNett brothers. No date, alas, and no credits for the musicians backing them.


Bob & Dean (McNett) "McNett Country" (Jewel Records, 1976-?) (LP)
Great stuff. This was definitely a 1970s album, featuring covers of hits such as Mel Tillis's "Commercial Affection" and "Green Green Grass Of Home," while also dipping deep into older country traditions. Sadly, there are no real liner notes, so I'm not sure if there are any original tunes on here or not, or who was backing them on these sessions... Also, it has to be said that they sounded a bit over-the-hill, or at least low-energy, on this album... Maybe that was just their style, I dunno. They sound tremendously authentic and sincere, but just in musical terms this record might be a little inaccessible to the average twangfan. I like it, though, mostly for their real-hicks vibe. A reconstituted version of the McNett Country band came together in Y2K, and has been held together ever since, with second-generation singers Shawn and Tim McNett as the front men.


Ron Mesing "Saturday Night/Sunday Morning" (Country Boy Records, 1975) (LP)
The first of a handful of solo records by Pennsylvania-based dobro player Ron Mesing, a picker from the same generation of "progressive" bluegrassers such as Jerry Douglas who helped expand the range and direction of the instrument. Like Douglas, Mesing introduced jazz themes and new source material into his albums, adding to the country and mountain-music repertoire with which it was historically linked. Mesing never achieved the same level of recognition as some of his peers, though he did record several well-regarded albums.


Ron Mesing "No Minors Allowed" (Flying Fish Records, 1978) (LP)


Ron Mesing "Just Messing Around" (Rosewood Records, 19--?) (LP)


Bud Messner & His Skyliners "Slipping Around With Jole Blon" (Cattle Records, 1983) (LP)
A veteran of the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree, Bud Messner was born in Virginia but grew up in Hagerstown, Maryland. During the late 1940s and early '50s, he led a regional band that included his wife, Molly Darr, along with several other artists who perform on this album. The disc is a collection of a dozen tracks that draws on several singles that originally came out on the Abbey and Spear labels, as well as a couple of unreleased tapes. Included are duets with Molly Darr, as well as tracks with lead vocals by Don Adams, Bill Franklin and Slim Roberts. Messner quit performing in 1955, but later got into radio broadcasting. In 1960, he purchased WCBG in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and established it as an influential country music station. Messner seems to have been in the orbit of regional country music promoter Howard Vokes, who licensed a bunch of stuff to Cattle Records in the 1980s -- Vokes contributed liner notes to this album, and probably owned the tracks on this album.


Bud Messner "Bud Messner's Country And Mountain Church Favorites" (Spear International Records, 1965-?) (LP)
Vintage recordings from his work on the Spear label. There's a lot of overlap between this disc and the Cattle Records LP that came out in the '80s, with many of the same artists involved -- Messner, Molly Darr, Don Adams, Bill Franklin, Alan Roberts and Slim Roberts. Four tracks on this disc were not included on the later LP, in favor of others.


Bud Messner & Roy Ingram "It's Country Time" (Robud Records, 19--?) (LP)
Not a lot of info on this one, though it seems to have been a "comeback" album for Mr. Messner, probably recorded in the 1970s. Fiddler Ray Ingram was a member of Messner's old band The Skyliners and later worked as general manager at Messner's Pennsylvania radio station. They opened a talent agency together, which Ingram eventually took over and was running in the early 'Seventies when he was profiled in a local newspaper. Ingram is probably the same guy who played fiddle for a New York state folk-country duo called The Plainfolk, who released an early 'Seventies album on a label from Virginia, though I don't know how many other records he played on.


Morgan Valley Road Band "Out Of The Shell" (Great Valley Records, 1982) (LP)
Not really a twang album, though one song, "Rodeo Girl" is a fairly straight country-folk tune... This is more of an eclectic, hippie-ish jug band, in sort of a Bonzo Dog-ish, Dr. Demento-y mode by a band out of from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The driving force is pianist-composer Douglas Banks, who contributes a whole slew of lively original tunes in an old-fashioned vaudeville/music hall style, and also plunks out a fine cover of the old Fats Waller jazz tune, "Don't Let It Bother You." The group also lapses into a few drippy folk tunes, but mostly it's a pretty perky, enjoyable set. Not all country, by a long shot, but very reflective of the wide-ranging musical sensibilities of a bygone era. The group, which also included Bob Garrett on bass, Steve Hulslander (guitar), Marty Walker (flute and percussion), and Terry Wild playing harmonica and mandolin... They apparently released at least one other album, though that may have been a cassette-only release.


Marty Navarre "Sings And Plays (Penna, Dutch) Country Heart Songs" (Fun-nel-Aires Records, 1983-?) (LP)
Definitely an odd one here... Dubbed "the queen of the funnel cake," Pennsylvania baker Alice Reinert was known as the gal who popularized traditional Dutch funnel cakes, selling them at county fairs from her family-run kiosk, and even wrote a book about 'em. Apparently she also composed some country music, which local picker Marty Navarre recorded, backed by his band the Country Jades. Navarre is a pretty obscure figure; I could only find one mention of him playing a live show, a 1983 appearance at a mall in Trexlertown, PA. And, unfortunately, while the Jades are mentioned on the back cover, no individual bandmembers are listed by name. Another footnote to this album is that it was also released under Reinert's name, with very similar artwork, and the track listing jiggled around a little.


The Nitanny Mountaineers "Beil Style" (Marjon Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Fred Beil & Tom Gallucci)
Straight-up longhaired bluegrass... Not really the focus here, but how could I resist, with a name like "The Nitanny Mountaineers?" This band from central Pennsylvania was formed in 1967 by husband and wife Fred Beil (banjo) and Gwyn Beil (mandolin), joined later by his brothers, bassist Bob Beil, and Ron Beil on guitar. As far as I know, this was their only album.


Lucky Oceans & The Asleep At The Wheel Revue "Lucky Steels The Wheel" (Blind Pig Records, 1982)
A nice solo album by Asleep At The Wheel's first steel player and co-founder Reuben "Lucky Oceans" Gosfield, who was born in Philadelphia, but made the trek out west (and then down south) with Ray Benson on the band's sojourn to Texas by way of California... The album features a familiar mix of western-swing, swank, big-band-y R&B and instrumental tunes that spotlight Lucky's considerable skills as a pedal steel stylist. Texas fiddler Johnny Gimble adds some sweet licks as well, making this a mighty fine little record... Definitely worth tracking down!


Ray Owen "Well Wasted Afternoons" (Police Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Arne Brav)
Great album cover, but a little more folkie-eclectic than I'd been hoping for... Hailing from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, songwriter Ray Owen may have been aiming for a Steve Goodman or Gove Scrivenor-esque mix of folk, blues, pop and twang, but for the most part it doesn't really grab me... Includes some fiddle and mandolin, but also tenor sax and Korg synthesizer and even the mighty DX-7 keyboard on a tune or two. So, you see where we're heading here? A possible highlight might be "You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Love Her (But It Sure Would Help)" which features a dixieland brass band backing his bluesy vocals... Anyway folk fans may dig this disc, but my dreams of discovering a lost honkytonk gem were dashed right away.


Wesley Parker "Love Must Know Hard Times" (Boll Weevil Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Bernie Williams & J. R. Williams)
A songwriter from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Wesley Parker was in the orbit of bandleader J. R. Williams, who co-produced this album and also recorded on the Boll Weevil label. This debut disc was recorded in Hendersonville, Tennessee with a bunch of Music City pros, folks like backup singer Rita Figlio, Greg Galbraith (guitar), Sonny Garrish (steel), Bunky Keels (piano), Jerry Kroon on drums, and bassist Jack Ross. I'm not sure how much professional success he had, though all the the songs were originals written by Parker, and he continued to record well into the '80s. He later moved to Dallas, and may have gottten into the Christian music scene.


Wes (Parker) "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" (Boll Weevil Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Bernie Williams & J. R. Williams)
Another all-pro session in Tennessee, with most of the same studio musicians on board... Parker tried going the mononymic "Cher" route on this disc, but that didn't last forever.


Wesley Parker "Good Time Tonight" (Garden Isle Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Sonny Garrish & Wesley Parker)


The Rehrig Family "Country" (Rehrig Family Records, 1974-?) (LP)
Originally from Pennsylvania, the Rehrig Family band did a ton of backup work in early '70s Nashville, notably working for Conway Twitty, while Bill Rehrig was the lead guitarist in Dolly Parton's band... They also performed and recorded under their own name, including this self-released set.


The Rehrig Family "While In Nashville" (Royal American Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Rehrig & Louis Owen)
This album features liner notes by the great Dolly Parton herself...


Alice Reinert "Alice" (Fun-nel-Aires Records, 1983-?) (LP)
Dubbed "the queen of the funnel cake," Pennsylvania baker Alice Reinert was known as the gal who popularized traditional Dutch funnel cakes, selling them at county fairs from her family-run kiosk, and she even wrote a book about 'em. Reinert also composed some country music, which local picker Marty Navarre recorded, backed by his band the Country Jades. This undated LP is basically the same as another (very similar) record released under Navarre's name, with near-identical artwork, and the track listing jiggled around a little. It was also released as a cassette tape with Reinert calling herself Dutchie Alice, but as far as I can tell it contained all the same music.


Ted & Ruth Reinhart "Go Western" (Teru Records, 1982) (LP)
An early album by the husband-wife duo of Ted and Ruth Reinhart, who co-hosted a long-running radio show in Pennsylvania and specialized in nostalgic western songs -- cowboy stuff -- on their own records. Fans of the style may appreciate their music, but this is one of those times when it may be difficult to separate the music from the man: in 2005 Mr. Reinhart was arrested and received a fifteen-year prison sentence on child molestations charges. So... ew. Kinda makes me way less likely to check this album out.


Ted & Ruth Reinhart "Sing Cowboy Sing" (Muscadine Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Paul Hornsby)
More oldies and cowboy tunes... This disc is notable for producer Paul Hornsby, who was best known for his work with the Capricorn label, a Southern rock powerhouse during the 1970s. Hornsby apparently set up shop in Macon, Georgia during the early '80s and this album features some of the same studio players as other Muscadine productions, including fiddler Randy Howard, pedal steel player David Irwin, and Hornsby on a variety of instruments, so the Reinharts get a pretty full backing on this one. Most of the songs are duets, though Mrs. Reinhart also has a couple of multi-tracked numbers where she harmonizes with herself.


The Relations "Record No. 1" (QCA Custom Records, 19--?) (LP)
A country covers band from Newburg, Pennsylvania, featuring singers Bob Crank and Calvin Ott. Songs include honktonk ballads such as "She Thinks I Still Care," "The Older The Violin, The Sweeter The Music," and Tony Booth's "The Key's In The Mailbox." The liner notes say that when this album was made, brothers Calvin and Dennis Ott had been with the band about five years, with Bob Crank having "taken over" the band back in '73.


Rita Rose "...Sings Potter County, Pennsylvania" (Jewel Records, 1977) (LP)
A gal from Catawissa, Pennsylvania, singer Rita Rose pursued a career in music, heading to Tennessee straight out of high school, and landing a spot on Cas Walker's show, "The Farm And Home Hour," a Knoxville television program that famously helped Dolly Parton start her career. While in Knoxville, she recorded at least one single, then returned to Pennsylvania where she hosted her own TV show, with sponsorship from Datsun Motors. She recorded this album with her husband Bruce Rosenbaum -- aka Bruce Rose (1940-2017), who managed her career and also sings on a couple of tracks. She tackles several country standards, oldies like "Folsom Prison Blues," "Harper Valley PTA" and "Silver Threads And Golden Needles," as well as the title track, and original written by a friend from Idaho. Not sure if there are other originals on here, though her single from 1970 had two tracks credited to "Rose-Yorks," so it's possible there are original tunes on here as well.


Bob Saver "...Sings From The Hills Of Home" (Arzee Records, 1976-?) (LP)
Recording for Pennsylvania cowpoke Rex Zario's independent Arzee label, Bobby Saver initially took on a rock'n'roll persona, recording some good old, greasy, sloppy teenybopper garage rock as "Count Drac," back in the mid-1960s. A decade or so later he was in a country mode -- singing, yes, but perhaps more importantly playing some plangent, echo-y electric guitar, in a vaguely surfin' mode, despite the rural-sounding album title. Although his more rock-oriented recordings been anthologized on several collector-label reissues, there doesn't seem to be much biographical info about Mr. Saver out there... Presumably he was from Philly, since the Arzee label was fairly hyper-local, but other than that, a bit of a mystery


Lois Scott "...And Back Up And Push" (Green Dolphin Records, 1982-?) (LP)
(Produced by Roy Nickels)
Lois Scott was a country singer from New Brighton, Pennsylvania, whose father, Ramblin' Roy Scott, was a well-known local fiddler who performed regularly at the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree. In the late 'Seventies she formed a band called Back Up And Push that included her then-fiancee, drummer Roy Nickels, as well as Bob Crafton on pedal steel and dobro, bass player Paul Rodl, and lead guitar by Bryan Rubican, who also wrote most of the songs on this album. According to a lengthy profile in West Liberty College's student paper, The Trumpet, Nickels and Scott met around 1978 while working together at local used car lot, and they struck up a relationship based partly on their love of country music: Mr. Nickels had been in a few rock bands as a kid, and Ms. Scott had plenty of experience working with her dad, starting back when she was just eight years old. Back Up And Push came together around 1980 with Bryan Rubican as their primary songwriter. They initially put out a single in '81, although the lineup had almost completely changed by the time this album came out. As far as I know this was their only LP, though Scott and Rubican later led a band called Plum Loco, and were still playing together at least as recently as 2008, including some live gigs with her dad; Lois Scott also formed a trio called Harmony Scott with her sisters Jan and Lori, who had all been child performers working with their dad, back in the old days.


Al Shade & Jean Romaine "Pennsylvania Mountain People" (Aljean Records, 1965) (LP)
(Produced by Al Shade)
The husband-wife duo of Al Shade and Jean Romaine led a regional band in central Pennsylvania throughout the 1960s and '70s... Shade's day job was as a country music DJ at radio station WLBR, in Lebanon, PA... while Romaine did a radio show on the weekends. The were pretty traditionally-oriented and rooted in their local community, although they attained some national cult notoriety for their 1979 album (below) which included an old-fashioned disaster-song recitation about the meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in nearby Harrisburg, PA. I believe Pennsylvania Mountain People was their first self-released album. Backing Al & Jean are their band, the Short Mountain Boys, with Bill Runkle (banjo and guitar), Jerry Lentz (fiddle) and Curley Stump on bass.


Al Shade & Jean Romaine "The Little Dogwood Tree" (Aljean Records, 1967) (LP)


Al Shade "...Sings A Tribute To Hank Williams" (Aljean Records, 19--?) (LP)


Al Shade & Jean Romaine "More Yodeling" (Aljean Records, 19--?) (LP)


Al Shade/Jean Romaine/Debbie Ann "Potter County Was Made By The Hand Of God" (Aljean Records, 1973) (LP)


Al Shade/Jean Romaine/Debbie Ann "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Aljean Records, 19--?) (LP)


Al Shade & Jean Romaine "(Potter County Was Made By The Hand Of God, But The Devil Made) Three Mile Island" (Aljean Records, 1979) (LP)


Al Shade & Jean Romaine "Dolly Parton, You're A Lady" (Aljean Records, 1982) (LP)
Even though it doesn't say so on the album jacket, this duo from Myerstown, Pennsylvania must have gone to Nashville to record their album, because the picking is pretty good and the the production is pretty solid, with a slick-but-rootsy late '70s/early '80s Top Forty sound. No clue as to who that studio crew might have been, though, because there are no credits... Neither Al or Jean were electrifying singers, but they wrote some good songs and really pour themselves into the material. Several songs were written by and feature vocals from Faron Shade -- not sure who we was, their son, maybe? -- and again, it's good, strong amateur-hour stuff. As DIY country vanity pressings go, this one's pretty darn good.


Sheepskin Pat "From Nashville" (Red Barn Recording Company, 19--?) (LP)
This was an album by a fella named Pat Sickafus, a Pennsylvania businessman who went on to be a reasonably successful Top Forty country musician under the name of Pat Garrett. When this record -- which may be his first(?)-- came out, he was a real-life sheep rancher, having created his own business in Strausstown, PA, selling sheepskin clothing, rugs, bed covers and other accessories... (So perhaps his song, "Why'd You Do This To Me," was written from the sheep's point of view? One wonders!) Despite the album title, this record came out on his own label, based in Pennsylvania, where Sickafus has deep roots. It includes several originals such as "Why'd You Do This To Me," "Slide On Over" and "I'd Like To Wake Up In Your Arms," as well as covers of country classics like "Silver Wings" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night." By 1977, he changed his name and had his first chart hit on Billboard, though as this record proves, he also his own locals-only roots.


Merv Shiner "In The Ghetto" (Little Darlin' Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Aubrey Mayhew)
An East Coaster from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Mervin Shiner started out as a hillbilly singer back in the early '50s, with an initial boost from big band/pop bandleader Vaughn Monroe. Shiner plugged away throughout the 'Fifties and 'Sixties, touring and appearing on various radio stations and variety shows, also recording a slew of 78s and singles on multiple labels. By the mid-'60s he had broken through as a successful songwriter in Nashville, with compositions recorded by Jan Howard and Loretta Lynn, among others. He co-wrote some stuff with Ken Westberry and, as heard on this album, delved into the socially-minded topical folk-country sound of the time, recording "issue songs" similar to "Skip A Rope" and "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." Shiner didn't have much success as a recording artist, though label head Aubrey Mayhew seems to have liked working with him, producing two LPs, each packed with material from Mayhew-related publishing companies.


Merv Shiner "Life Is Lovin' What You've Made For Me" (Certron Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Aubrey Mayhew)


The Silver Spurs "Rege Easler, Jr. Presents The Silver Spurs" (Marjon International Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Krizancic, Rege Easler, Jr. & Bill Wasser)
A generic, semi-anonymous country covers band with some young dudes from Pennsylvania... The group included Rege Easler on lead guitar, Wilkie Granger (drums), Jack Osborne (fiddle), Lance Schnur (pedal steel) and Bill Wasser (guitar and vocals). Lance Schnur also played on an album by another Krizancic-produced group called Bumpy & Sawmill Run, from upstate New York, which also released an album on Marjon International, in 1977. There's at least one original on here, "I Believed You," composed by Bill Wasser.


Silver-Stevens "Dusty Roads" (MGM-Lion Records, 1972) (LP)
This is one of those records where I take one for the team... It sure looks like it could have been a lost country-rock gem, and Red Rhodes is listed playing pedal steel, but basically this album is another self-indulgent, negligible, hippiedelic orchestral-rock mess. The songwriting partnership of Arnie Silver and Mark Stevens worked their way up through the Philadelphia coffeehouse folk scene and somehow landed a major label deal where they delved about as deeply into their stoned musical fantasies as is humanly possible -- this record is all over the map, slathered with baroque, multi-layered nuttiness, although to my ears it lacks the cohesion or charismatic focus that separates it from more memorable but similar experimentalism of the era. Anyway, it's more of a hippie-rock relic than a twangtunes kinda thing. Red Rhodes does add a nice feel to a couple of the tracks -- he doesn't sound like he was particularly challenged, but he does manage to find room inside the lavish Don Costa orchestrations to leave a distinctive stamp on a tune or two. If you're a devoted '70s culture buff, this is worth a spin... otherwise, skip it.


The Spoon River Band "Spoon River Band" (North Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Jacob Snyder)
A pretty iffy outing by a band from Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania... All cover songs, and all great stuff, fun singalong standards ranging from "City Of New Orleans" and "Fox On The Run" to "Country Roads" and "Rocky Top," with some Hank Williams and bluegrass oldies thrown in for good measure... The trouble is that the main lead singer, Richard Wineland, didn't seem ready to handle anything beyond a slow-to-moderate tempo, and you can hear the band holding itself back on several tunes, taken at a fairly sluggish pace. A nice bluegrassy feel throughout, and some nice picking, including good banjo work from Wineland. Apparently some of the guys in this group had previous experience singing with the Vicksburg Quartet, a long-running southern gospel group from Pennsylvania, but wanted to go in a more secular direction for a while. This disc struck me as a bit lackluster, though, sadly.


The Spoon River Band "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" (North Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Jacob Snyder)


Sally Starr "Our Gal Sal" (Clymax Records, 1958) (LP)
More of a television star than a singer, Alleen Mae Beller (akaSally Starr, 1923-2013) was the buckskin-clad host of a local TV presentation of "Popeye Theater," on Philadelphia's WFIL TV, introducing cartoons and Three Stooges shorts, as well as acting in western-themed skits. Not long after the station was sold off due to a federal antitrust ruling that broke up local media monopolies, Ms. Starr retired in 1972, moving first to Florida, and later to Atco, New Jersey, where she later hosted a weekly radio program. She recorded at least two albums, primarily aimed at the children in her audience. This one is notable for musical backing by Bill Haley and His Comets, and features three songs with Haley billed as composer, including "ABC Rock," "Cuckoo In The Clock," and "Good Night Dear Lord."


Sally Starr "Adventure To The Moon" (Liberty Bell Records, 1959) (LP)
I guess after Sputnik, even cowgirls got moon fever, as evinced on this space/science fantasy LP. Perhaps not so twangy as all that, but she was still sporting her Stetson...


George Stavis "Labyrinths" (Vanguard Records, 1969) (LP)
A real folk-freak gem. After a stint in an eclectic Pennsylvania college rock band called Federal Duck, where he contributed a few odd, old-timey country ideas, George Stavis took his love of the banjo several steps further and created this intense solo album, with five long tracks that pushed the humble banjo straight into the avant garde. Here, Stavis does for the banjo what Robbie Basho did for the guitar, or John Coltrane did for saxophones, taking a folk instrument and crafting a deep, challenging, expressive instrumental set, melding Appalachian folk, avant jazz and various strains of what would now be called "world music." As would be expected in an album from 1969, Indian classical music is a big influence, and while Stavis can't use a 5-string banjo to replicate the drone of a sitar, he does get the modalities right, and perhaps more impressively his percussionist -- someone playing a very simple single drum -- gets into an intense, tabla-like frenzy, alternating this with a hambone rhythm out of old vaudeville. Stavis covers John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," which probably gives the best impression of what this album sounds like -- I've seen it described as "psychedelic," but I think that's a misnomer: rural jazz is more like it, and pretty dense, rewarding, substantive jazz at that. Fans of later banjo experimentalists such as Tony Trischka and Bela Fleck might want to check this one out... Although this is an obscure album, in many ways it set a benchmark that still challenges the banjo plunking community. (Note: Stavis later was in a late-'60s/early '70s San Francisco Bay Area psychedelic folk group called Oganookie, and released at least one other solo album, many years later...)


Steel City Quartet "Gospel Trucker" (TEA/Tribunes Evangelistic Association, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by John T. Struthers & Ron King)
This Pittsburg-area gospel group centered around the vocal group of Chuck Johnson (lead), Ron Cornell (bass), Marty Kaczynski (baritone) and John Lawrenz (tenor), with instrumental backing on piano, guitar and bass. I'm not sure just how twangy they actually were, other than the title track, but they definitely had a badass semi for the cover photos!


The Susquehanna River Band "Susquehanna River Band" (Baldwin Sound Productions, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Kent Baldwin & The Susquehanna River Band)


The Susquehanna River Band "Susquehanna River Band" (SRB Music/Baldwin Sound Productions, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Still)


Johnny Swendel "First Folk Almanac" (Country International Records, 1974) (LP)
Although the cover says "folk," really what they mean is "hillbilly," with Pennsylvania-born old-timer Johnny Swendel singing some pleasantly rugged material in the style of Depression-era vintage Roy Acuff, with a touch of Jimmie Rodgers and Jimmy Davis... Stuff of that type, maybe with a trace of "outsider" singers in their as well. The backing band is anonymous, but they were good. There might be some original material on here, but it's hard to tell, since Swendel claims copyright on his arrangements of a bunch of folk tunes, such as "John Henry" and "Lonesome Valley." Anyway, it's a nice souvenir album from a guy who was a regular on several country "barn dance" shows, including a long stint on one of the stages at the WWVA Original Jamboree, and apparently cut some hillbilly boogie singles back in the rockabilly era... Anyone know more about Mr. Swendel? I'm all ears.


Johnny Swendel "Let's Put Old Glory Back" (Country International Records, 1975) (LP)


Tanglefoot "Tanglefoot" (Generic Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Paul A. Rothschild & Roger Mayer)
Yikes. This Pennsylvania-based ensemble mixed folk, orchestral pop, gospel and a bit of country-rock twang, but lacked subtlety or finesse. Some of the more country-based tunes, such as "A New Banjo Song," are horribly strained, and it took me a while to realize that maybe this was a Christian folk-pop group, and not a twang band, but either way, there's a wealth of overwrought arrangements, big, blunt key changes and iffy vocals, along with a lot of original material that's of an equally un-subtle calibre. I gave 'em a fair shake, but just in fairness to you all out there in cyber-land, I can't honestly say that I can recommend this post-hippie pop-folk muddle. It just didn't work for me, and I can't imagine it would do much for you, either.


Tom Throckmorton "Loose Wheel" (Nashville Goose Records, 19--?) (LP)
This was a set of country comedy stuff, including parody songs, ala Homer & Jethro: the title track was a parody of the Kenny Rogers hit, "Lucille." All the songs were written by Wayne M. Richey, and sung by Tom Throckmorton, who appears to have been from Pennsylvania, although the Nashville Goose record label was in Colonial Heights, Virginia. Go figure!


Tiana "Yesterday And Today: Introducing Tiana" (Crescent Hill Records, 1981-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dewey Stiltner & Sonny Deaton)
The very essence of a "private press" vanity album, this album showcases an amateur vocalist from Pennsylvania who was billed only as "Tiana." She had a good voice, although she showboats her way through a lush repertoire of vocal standards and country oldies, tilting more towards pop-standards than twang. Among the country tunes are covers of "Crazy," "Cold Cold Heart" and "Hold Me," while the pop standards include "Yesterday," "Side By Side" and "Cry Me A River." Apparently she went to Nashville to record, and has pedal steel pro Doug Jernigan onboard for the Tennessee sessions, as well as several members of the Deaton family, who were doing studio work at the time. Brief liner notes are provided by Tiana's old high school music teacher, Phil Runzo, and an almost equal amount of text is devoted to detailing his own career -- where he earned his own college degrees, etc. which gives you an indication of where this album stood in relation to the professional music scene. Anyway, although Ms. Tiana had a good voice with a nice timbre (best on the pop ballads) this album simply emanates an aura of amateurism, which on several tunes manifests itself in the giddy, unrestrained performances of some of the backing musicians (notably guitarist Steve Hambree...) Although in all honesty I would be hard-pressed to recommend this album, there's a sincerity and palpable sense of enthusiasm here that has charms of its own, though perhaps mostly only to hipster-collector types who are drawn to records like this more for the "real folks" vibe than for the music itself.


John Topper "God Loves Cowboys Too" (Raintree Records, 1985) (LP)
Not entirely sure what's going on with this one... John Topper's label was from East Freedom, Pennsylvania, a bitty little town, smack dab between Pittsburg and Harrisburg, about fifty miles away from either big city. I think he may have been a children's music performer -- the cover shows him in cowboy clown makeup, with a kid dressed in western gear. The CD version was called God's Got A Soft Spot For Cowboys, also on Raintree Records.


Uncle Jack & Mary Lou "Live At The Reading Fair: July, 1971" (Dollo Records, 1972) (LP)
An homage to a pioneering figure in the hillbilly music scene of the 1930s and '40s, "Uncle" Jack Nelson (1987-1972). Nelson and his wife Mary Lou were originally from Ohio, but like many performers in the radio era, they moved around a lot; eventually they settled in Pennsylvania, and for over a decade operated their own music venue, Himmelreich's Grove near Womelsdorf, PA, where they worked for most of the 1940s. Nelson's connection to the Shorty and Dolly Long dates back to the Great Depression when they worked together on radio, maintaining that relationship for many decades to come. The liner notes are remarkably forlorn and circumspect, as Shorty Long recounts his attendance at Nelson's funeral in April, 1972, where he and Dolly joined a handful of old-timers. Apparently, although Uncle Jack and Mary Lou were big stars on the radio, they never recorded singles or albums, at least that's what Long says here, so this concert recording from a show in Reading, Pennsylvania makes a fitting epitaph for a now-obscure country legend.


Lenny Valen "Lenny Valen" (Lenny Valen Enterprises, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dennis A. Baird, A. J. Rhodes & Ronnie Light)
Though the album cover shows guitar picker Lenny Valen getting ready to knock on the door of the Grand Ole Opry, he actually seems to have been from Scranton, Pennsylvania or thereabouts: a newspaper blurb from 1986 lists him and his partner, pianist Denise Whaley, holding down a gig at a place called the Promised Land, and scheduled to play the 19th Annual Summer Festival in Honesdale, a tiny borough about ten miles outside of town. This disc spotlights a bunch of original material, with about a third of the tracks written by Valen, along with others by Mark Swindell and Dennis Baird, and a couple of cover songs, such as a version of Jimmie Driftwood's "Battle Of New Orleans." This was recorded in Hendersonville, Tennessee with a slew of Music City A-listers and unknowns; I wasn't able to find much info about Valen himself, but this looks like an interesting record. Release date unknown.


Bruce Van Dyke "Self Portrait" (Van Dyke Records, 1982) (LP)
A self-released album by a guy from Biglerville, Pennsylvania with covers of some country oldies ("Crazy," "Rocky Top") some rockabilly stuff, one tasty roadhouse tune (Delbert McClinton's "Two More Bottles Of Wine") and one really scary, run-quick!! pop song (Lionel Richie's "Lady," doubtless acquired via Kenny (Sauron) Rogers...) There are also two original songs written by Van Dyke, "Cat In The Long Black Dress" and "Soft Eyes," each co-written with his pal Oscar Spicer and tucked away unobtrusively at the end of Sides One and Two. In the '70s, Spicer and Van Dyke -- whose day jobs were as the local district attorney (and later country judge) and probation officer -- composed several musicals together, including a Bicentennial-themed rock opera, so it's a musical partnership that went back quite a ways. This was, I think, their most country-oriented project.


Bruce Van Dyke "It's In The Touch" (Van Records, 1987) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Allison & Danny Chauvin)
Oh, man, just look at that album art! None of that old-fashioned haybales and wood fence iconography for this country boy: he was a strictly modern, well-groomed, nicely coiffed, finely appointed manly-man, in the Earl Conley/Eddie Rabbit/Gary Morris mode. Oh, sure, he might hit the bars with the boys or pop a top when the game is on, but he cleans up nice and knows how to act when company comes over. Sensitive, too, I bet. Despite his Top Forty aspirations, though, Mr. Van Dyke remained a hometown hero, holding down the fort in Englerville, PA. While his previous album was heavy on cover songs, this one is packed with original material, including songs by Jim Allison, Rory Bourke, and others. He might not have tore up the charts, but he sure knew the image he was looking for -- impressively slick-looking for an indie album.


Howard Vokes "Mountain Guitar And Other Favorites" (Del-Ray Records, 1962) (LP)
Originally billed as "Cowboy Howard Vokes," this Pennsylvania twangster enjoyed his time in the spotlight, particularly while recording for the nationally-distributed Starday label, in the mid-1960s. Vokes's true legacy was as a record producer and promoter, though, shepherding countless regional musicians into the recording booth at Vokes Studios, and tirelessly plugging their custom-made singles in the '60s and '70s. This was his first full LP, drawing in part on previously released singles, and showcases Vokes playing both modern-day honkytonk and older-style sentimental songs such as "Down In The Hollow," and "Willie Roy, The Crippled Boy." It's the novelty numbers that leap out at you, though, kooky tunes such as "Keep Cool But Don't Freeze" and "Polka From Outer Space," which was in keeping with the post-Sputnik vibe of the times.


Howard Vokes "Tragedy And Disaster In Country Songs" (Starday Records, 1964)
(Produced by Tommy Hill)
The peak of his performing career came when Vokes snagged a deal with Starday Records, culminating in this album old old-school tragedy ballads, ala the Louvin Brothers. There are plenty of gloom, despair and agony to be heard in this blend of murder ballads, topical songs, and maudlin weepers, tunes such as "Old Shep," "The Death Of Little Kathy Fiscus," "Death On The Highway," and "The Sinking Of The Titanic." A digital-era reissue added a couple of tracks that originally were separately released on a seven-inch single.


Howard Vokes "Pennsylvania's King Of Country Music Sings Songs Of Broken Love Affair" (Folk Variety Records, 1977) (LP)
This late-'70s offering brought to light some great sessions that were originally recorded in 1969, with D.J. Fontana on drums, Joe Hayes (fiddle), Al Gore (guitar), Billy Linneman (bass) and Jeff Newman (steel guitar, lead guitar). Folk Variety was a West German label, and apparently the prototype of Binge Disc/Cattle Records, an excellent reissue label that first got traction in the 1980s, reissuing material from obscure American artists, including a number of albums drawing from the vaults of Howard Vokes' various endeavors. The music on this LP is all pretty sweet -- Vokes was understated, but undeniably rootsy and steeped in country music tradition and lore. He wrote or co-wrote most of the tunes on here, with songwriting partners that include Marian Kaye, Billy Wallace and Louise Webb; there are also contributions from artists he published on his Lark Music company, notably Rudy Thacker and Bob Strack, who wrote "Keep Cool But Don't Freeze," which Vokes recorded on his 1962 debut. Such unreconstructed hillbilly twang was, obviously, out of favor in the early-'70s countrypolitan era of Billy Sherrill, so it's not hard to see why this music went unissued for nearly a decade, but it sure sounds sweet now that all the sequins have fluttered to the ground and blown away over the years. Recommended!


Howard Vokes "Tears At The Grand Ole Opry" (Folk Variety Records, 1979) (LP)
This is basically a reissue of his 1962 LP, Mountain Guitar And Other Favorites, with a few extra tracks added to round things out.


The We Don't Smoke Grass Band "On Heartbreak Mountain" (Larry's Audio, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Larry L. Manarelli)
I admit it: these guys squeaked past the bluegrass barrier mostly because of their name -- how could I resist? -- but also because of the song selection, which includes some interesting country stuff along with more traditional 'grass tunes. Along with your "Orange Blossom Special" and "I'm Using My Bible As A Roadmap" there's also Merle Haggard's "Rambling Fever" and Johnny Russell's "Red Necks, White Socks And Blue Ribbon Beer," which is a hoot no matter what style it's performed in. This was a fairly informal group, formed by some guys who met while jamming at a local bluegrass festival around their hometown of Plumville, Pennsylvania -- the musicians included Ron Coleman (fiddle), Tom McPherson (bass), Rich Potts (guitar), Butch Rummel (guitar), Brian Rummel (banjo), and Jim Wadding (mandolin). Not sure when this came out, or if they recorded any other albums.


Whiskers And Lace "Whiskers And Lace" (Rain Tree Studios, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Miller)
A string-swing trio from Alexandria, Pennsylvania, with a slew of "trad-arr" standards, and a smattering of country and bluegrass covers, including a pair of tunes from a pair of Rodneys -- Rodney Crowell's "Song For The Life" and Rodney Dillard's "By And By." The group consisted of Kevin Curry on fiddle, guitar and mandolin, Galla Higinbotham on bass and guitar, and George Higinbotham playing banjo and bass. The album also includes at least one original, "Old Back Roads," credited to George Higinbotham, but mostly seems to be a pop/jazz oldies set. I'm not sure if these three really played professionally; the album seems to be a memento of "Aunt Amy's wedding," produced after the fact and perhaps bankrolled by Aunt Amy herself.


The Younger Brothers Band "The Younger Brothers Band" (Montagne Records, 1979) (LP)
This group from Lancaster, Pennsylvania grew out of a mid-1960s high school garage band called the Velaires, which featured guitarist Denny Sweigart and Terry Gehman on keyboards. They eventually moved from rock into country, forming the Younger Brothers Band in the '70s, and playing steady gigs for several years while Gehman and Sweigart held down day jobs as the visual arts instructor and music teacher (respectively) at the same local high school. In addition to several LPs, they also released a number of singles before disbanding towards the end of the '80s.


The Younger Brothers Band "Back Porch Singin' " (Fantastik Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by The Younger Brothers Band)
This edition of the band included Terry Gehman, Don Hall, pedal steel by George Rowe, Hoagy Strother and Denny Swiegert, playing a lot of original material, as wella s an affectional rendition of "Eastbound And Down.


The Younger Brothers Band "The Younger Brothers Band" (HME Records, 1985) (LP)


Rex Zario "Rex Zario" (Arzee Records, 1966-?) (LP)
Born in Palermo, Italy, immigrant Philadelphia twangster Rex Zario (ne Rosario Lefavi, 1925-1991) recorded a string of obscure hillbilly bop/rockabilly singles in the late 1950s, some of which are gathered on this later LP. According to the album's liner notes, he started his professional career in 1948 on ABC radio's "Hayloft Hoedown" show and later worked on East Coast radio and TV stations WHAT and WTEL. Although the music is good, I think Zario's actual success was pretty minimal -- the liner notes sound pretty noncommittal and puffed-up. Some of his songs such as "You Nearly Lose Your Mind" and "Go Man Go, Get Gone" have popped up on a few modern-day collections of hillbilly twang, and a full reissue of this album would certainly be welcome.


Various Artists "COUNTRY 'N ROCK" (Country Star/Process Record Company, 19--?)
Super-rare stuff on this 1960's vanity label from a Franklin, Pennsylvania label... This album includes local artists such as Chuck Anthony, Bonnie Baldwin, LeRoy Cortez, The Highlights Combo, Billy Jones, Junie Lou & Her Pine Hedge Ranch Hands, Pie Plant Pete, Ralph Ryan, and Jim Stephens. The Country Star label seemed to have released several albums in this series - about a half dozen or so... also check out the OLE COUNTRY MUSIC compilation, below.


Various Artists "GLENN CAMPBELL PRESENTS PITTSBURGH COUNTRY" (Var-Bee Records, 1970) (LP)
In 1970, country radio station WEEP, Pittsburg hosted a locals-only talent show which produced this deceptively-packaged album: countrypolitan star Glen Campbell is mentioned in the liner notes, but the Glenn Campbell named on the front was a Pennsylvanian, apparently the owner of the uber-indie Var-Bee label. Anyway, the musicians include the radio station's house band, Frank Grill & The Saddle Buddies, along with The Country Belles, Jim And Joanne & The Flaming Hearts and honkytonker Jim Contenta (1929-2008), a local steelworker and country old-timer whose first records date back to the early 1950s. Contenta sang three songs on this album, a version of "Drinking Champagne," "Kawliga" and "My One And Only Love."


Various Artists "OLE COUNTRY MUSIC" (Country Star/Process Record Company, 19--?) (LP)
This is the sister album of the COUNTRY 'N ROCK album, above... It's all local and regional artists including Clyde & Marie, Don Morgan & Little Judy Adams, Rex Klingensmith, The Pennsylvania Ramblers, Steve Vettenberg and The Youngblood Sisters. And don't even try to tell me you've heard of these folks!


Various Artists "PENN YORK COUNTRY MUSIC CLUB: LIVE" (Wayne Sound, 19--?) (LP)
I'd be really super-interested in more information about the Penn York Country Music Club (PYCMC), a Pennsylvania-based community group founded by singer Gary Strope, who I believe was a professional musician himself. The group appears to have been exactly what it sounds like: a place for regular folks in Pennsylvania who were into country music to get together and play some true twang. An awful lot of just-plain-folks, mom and pop types were members -- a fact I gleaned from dozens of obituaries where Mom and Pop were proudly described as card-carrying members. Apparently the club was formed in 1970, and held together at least until the mid-1980s. Just when this curious live album was recorded is a bit of a mystery, though. Gary Strope songs on one song, with the rest of the tracks spotlighting locals such as Ed Bassett, Gary Bixby, Gene Horton, Kathy Leighton, Jody Lynn, Fran Mack, Kenny Marks, Penny Parks, Bub Robinson, Tommy Robinson, Ronnie Shoonover, Sharon Slocum, Lloyd Streeter and Wendy Strope, all backed by a house band. Although Gary Strope never seems to have made an album of his own, his family band, the Bandits, played regionally for decades -- including after a house fire demolished the Strope's house in March, 2015. Strope is widely remembered for his charitable work, and one suspects that the PYCMC was itself a manifestation of that charitable impulse.


Various Artists "ROUND UP TIME" (Round Up Records, 19--?) (LP)
Produced in Philadelphia, PA, this is an ultra-local set of unknown provenance, with obscure artists such as Bob Strack, The Kay-Doll Sisters, a guy called "Johnny By The Way," Karen Lee, and the duo of Skinney Clarke and George Adams. I suspect that this was a "song-poem" album -- though there's no producer info, several tracks feature backing by pianist Hargus Robbins, who is the only session musician mentioned by name. Many of the songs seem to be originals


Various Artists "UNFORGETTABLE COUNTRY" (Pacer Productions, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Buzz Curbs)
Between 1980-82 Allentown, Pennsylvania's AM station WSAN enjoyed a country format which also supported local musicians, including the sponsorship of a battle-of-the-bands contest looking for country talent in the sprawling Lehigh Valley. The finalists are represented on this album, including established regional artists such as Denny Wayne -- who already had a record out -- and others who were less well-known. Other artists include Tex Carson, Tommy Crist, East Side Dave & The Pine Ridge Mountain Boys, the Jackson Summit Band, Chops Morgan, Phyllis Ruth, Wayne Smith and Pat Troiani. The "unforgettable" part may have been a little optimistic, but they certainly were spunky and East Coast locals all.




Hick Music Index


Copyright notice.