Steve Austin "Sweet Woodsmoke Suite" (SRM/Special Release Music, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Skip Jones)
We can rebuild him... Oh, wait, no. I promised I wasn't gonna make that joke... Ooops. Anyway, this Steve Austin was a singer from Pound, Wisconsin, a microscopic village up near Green Bay. He was a kind of laid-back country-folkie who seems to have spent some time in Nashville. As far as I know, this was his first album. Through overdubbing, Austin played all the instruments on this album (including some clog dancing for percussion!)

Steve Austin "Goin' To Town" (SRM/Special Release Music, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Austin)

Jim Bing "This Is Jim Bing" (Universal Audio Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by John Michaelson)
Originally from Wisconsin, rockabilly/frat rock veteran Jim Bing had been living in Arizona for several years when he recorded this album of pop and country covers. The country stuff includes stuff like "Proud Mary," "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "For The Good Times" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," placing this undated album somewhere around 1973 or thereabouts. His old band, The Valiants, are faves of the rockabilly/retro set, and recorded several sizzling tunes back in the '60s.

Bluerock "Bluerock" (Fiddlesticks/Aleatoric, 198-?) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Mrozonski, Tom Dougherty & Bluerock)
Not to be confused with the later modern alt-twang band called Blue Rock, this was an indie twang band from Spooner, Wisconsin which featured fiddler Susan Pederson and her husband, drummer Ken Pederson, who was also owned a local nightclub called Fiddlesticks, where they often played. The songs are all covers, with well-known stuff by Ray Wylie Hubbard, Townes Van Zandt and good old Hank Williams, along with more obscure twang tunes such as George Frayne's "Got To Be One Of Those Nights" (from his Commander Cody days) and "Riding High," written by upstate New Yorker Dick Solberg, a song that Bluerock also released as a single... By the way, anyone know what year this came out? I'm guessing very early '80s, like around '81 or '82...(?)

Bluerock "Style" (Bluerock Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Miles Wilkinson)
A second album by this Shell Lake, Wisconsin twangband... The lineup includes Rick Marshall on guitar, Sue Pederson (fiddle), Ken Pederson (drums), Gary Nielsen (piano), and Jack White on bass, with producer Miles Wilkinson also chiming in on guitar. The album seems to be about half cover songs, including some old-timey oldies such as "May The Circle Be Unbroken," "Orange Blossom Special" and "Uncle Pen," as well as a cover of Keith Sykes' "Oh, What A Feelin'," which had recently been recorded by Rodney Crowell. Five of the tracks are credited to White Songs publishing, which I assume is the band's own imprint.

Broken Bow "Arrival" (Couderay Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Rick Murphey & Adrian Wiedmann)
An all-original set by this twangband from Madison, Wisconsin. A popular live act, Broken Bow featured Steve Barr on bass, Chip Duncan (guitar and vocals), Helt Oncale (banjo and guitar), and Dan Showalter (pedal steel), and drummer Rick Tacey. The music is pretty straightforward country stuff, with more of a country-rock vibe on most tracks. All the tunes were written by members of the band, except "No Better Feelin'," by Sandy Sowell, who I assume was a friend of the band. Picker Helt Oncale may have originally been from Germany, as he later did studio work on some schlager albums, as well as his own solo set, Day To Day, which came out in 1996. Lead singer Chip Duncan was quite a polymath: he graduated from U-Mad with a communications degree, then went on to a highly successful career producing both feature films and documentaries, including numerous television projects; Duncan also worked in still photography and has written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. This was Broken Bow's only album, but it's a pretty good legacy!

Wayne Brunner "Songs Of Wisconsin" (Jen Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Wayne Brunner)
Though he'd been living in Tucson, Arizona since the early 1960s, singer Wayne Brunner was a native Wisconsonite and a badger boy, through and through. He also had a real appreciation for the Johnny Cash sound, and cheerfully thunka-thunka-ed his way through a bunch of his own original tunes, notably on "T. R. Special," a regional pride song packed with Badger State landmarks, including the Point Beach nuclear power plant, which opened in 1970 in Brunner's hometown of Two Creeks, Wisconsin. Brunner previously released the song as a single with his old band The Nite-Cappers, which also included Mike Burek and Bob Squire. It's possible Mr. Brunner recorded another album, or planned to: in 1970 he copyrighted a slew of non-Wisconcentric songs, including titles such as "A Better Man Of Me," "Common Every-Day Life," and "Super-Lover," although as far as I know, only a couple of these songs were recorded by the Nite-Cappers, probably in 1969.

Brushwood Laurel "Build Me A Cabin" (Tyloa Records, 1978) (LP)
An eclectic bluegrass band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose set list includes a cover of Leroy Preston's "Somebody Stole His Body" a bunch of classic country gospel songs, bluegrass standards and two originals, "Another Man's Shoes" and "Goodbye Mr. Devil." The group included Diane Alexy on bass, Paul Brushwood (banjo), Bo Larson (fiddle), Mary O'Connor (vocals), Tom Siewert (drums), and Chris Stacey playing guitar.

Brushwood Laurel "South On 41" (1981) (LP)
Though still bluegrass-y with a bit of country twang, this album has a distinctly folk-pop tone, reminiscent of John Denver, as well as a strong undercurrent of Christian messaging. One gets the impression that bandleader Paul Brushwood really wanted to move in a contemporary Christian direction, but wasn't quite ready to decisively make the transition. At any rate, this will still be of interest to some bluegrass fans, and on the country side of things, perhaps interesting to fans of bands such as Brush Arbor, or the Christian country of Al Perkins and his posse. Also, the band's lineup changed, dropping down to a four-piece with just guys, no gals - with John Holtze joining on bass.

Felice Bryant & Boudeleaux Bryant "A Touch Of Bryant" (CMH Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Singleton)
Two of the greatest pop and country songwriters ever, singing their own stuff in a super laid-back session... The Bryants did find themselves in the odd position of approaching their own material well after it had attained "oldies" status and particularly on classics such as "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Bye Bye Love," and "Rocky Top," they ran the risk of sounding like cover artists when compared to the zippy hit recordings. To be honest, these Nashville sessions are really pretty goopy, and while I am generally a fan of hearing songwriters perform their own material, the Bryants both sounded pretty old on these tracks... It's not disastrous, by any means, but the arrangements are snoozy and lack the manic energy the Bryants showed on this early Hickory Records singles. Mostly of academic interest, I suppose.

Rex Cactus & The Comancheroes "Legends Don't Die" (CGS Studios, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Kay & Rex)
A semi-anonymous band from somewhere in Wisconsin, the mis-spelled Comancheroes were identified only by their first names (or nicknames): Bruce, Ed, Gregg, Kathy, Kay, Kevin, Kris, Reian. and T. K. -- with no indication given regarding who played which instruments. Very mysterious. Rex Cactus was a local figure from New Richmond, Wisconsin, a tiny town situated more or less between Minneapolis and Eau Claire... Back in 1977, before he cut this album, he recorded a super-clumsy comedy single, "Jimmy's Press Conference"/"Roy Rogers Had A Ranch" which featured a Dickie Goodman-esque "break-in" sound montage of country music imitations and audio clips lampooning Jimmy Carter... It was pretty low tech: you can actually hear the tape deck buttons clicking on all the edits. The Roy Rogers B-side was a weird parody of "Old McDonald Had A Farm," with added comedic dialog, and a few more imitations. This later album is only slightly less clumsy, mostly because Rex Cactus just wasn't that strong of a performer: on the opening track he sounds quite a bit like "wild and crazy"-era Steve Martin, and it took me a while to realize this wasn't meant to be a parody-twang album; he just didn't have it in him to really belt the lyrics out, and sounds jokey when he was actually being sincere. The album is mostly cover songs, a mix of western-themed oldies like "Don't Fence Me In" and "South Of The Border" along with some bluegrass-y material ("Fox On The Run" and "Tennessee Stud") and honkytonk standards such as Buck Owens' "Crying Time" and the Hank Williams classic, "Honky Tonk Blues." Two songs, "Nothing To Say" and "Two Lonely People Don't Make A Right," may have been originals, though neither the jacket or the inner labels provide composer credits. (It's worth noting that the backing band seemed pretty competent, particularly the steel player who gets in some fine solos on a tune or two... I'd imagine these guys were in some Badger State band or another, but I don't know for sure...) Rex Cactus has enjoyed remarkable longevity as a regional performer, even recently hosting a Facebook page for his more current band, Rex Cactus & The Radio Rangers.

Bill Camplin "January" (Tool Room Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Camplin & Bob Schwartz)

Bill Camplin "Cardboard Box" (Tool Room Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Camplin)
Wisconsin folkie Bill Camplin has made a bunch of records over the years, though I don't know if they are all as sweet and sweetly layered with country touches as this early gem. Fans of Jesse Winchester and Tim Hardin should love this record as well; it's definitely in that same range, with smooth vocals and deceptively simple acoustic arrangements buoyed by dobro and pedal steel... All but three of the songs were Camplin's, with covers including Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" and a jaunty rendition of Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You." Really nice stuff... Yeah, he's really a folk singer, but with enough of a rich, country-tinged musical backdrop that I'm into it. Recommended!

Bill Camplin "Bill Camplin's Latest Effort/Still Looking For The Cure" (Tool Room, 1976)

Cherokee "Cherokee" (ABC Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Steve Barri)
A rootsy rock album by a band from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, originally known as the Robbs, who are perhaps best known as being the "house band" for Dick Clark's teen beat TV show in the late 1960s. They cut one album and a bunch of singles as the Robbs, but "went country" and changed their name in '71, cutting this album with some in-studio help from some of LA's country rock elite, folks such as Chris Hillman and Sneaky Pete Kleinow. Despite all their showbiz connections, they never quite clicked on the charts, and wound up having better success opening a recording studio which had a booming clientele in the 1980s and '90s.

Chuck's Family Three "Memory Makers" (Country Clef Records, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Kuzulka & Carl Weinberger)
You really gotta dig accordions for this one... There are three accordionists in this quartet, along with two drummers and four vocalists! Chuck's Family Three was a family band from West Bend, Wisconsin, a small town just north of Milwaukee, and they definitely played country songs, though in the "old time" regional style with plenty of polka instrumentation. The group was comprised of husband-and-wife accordionists Chuck Roethke and Joyce Roethke (1933-2015) with their daughter Lynn on drums, as well as odd-man-out Gib Osmus (1934-2013) on accordion and drums. The Roethkes first formed their band back in the mid-1960s as a trio called the Country Clefs, with drummer Joe Fell; they later changed the name when their daughter Lynn came on board, replacing Mr. Fell. According to the liner notes, Gib Osmun joined the band three years before this album was recorded, though he had been an active country music for many years, recording at least one single for Cuca Records in the late 'Sixties. The notes also mention that this was the Three's second album, but I haven't been able to track down that first one yet, possibly it was a single(?) There's a whole slew of country oldies on this one, but also a few newer tunes as well, notably "Funny Face" and "Could I Have This Dance," which both feature Lynn Roethke singing lead.

Tiny Cochart "The Best Of Tiny" (Coulee Recording Corporation, 1972-?) (LP)
A straight-up country singer from La Crosse, Wisconsin. This album includes covers such as "All For The Love Of A Girl," "Bottle Let Me Down," "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Green Green Grass Of Home." Alas, no info about the musicians or producer.

James Curley Cooke "Gingerman" (First American Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Bruce Buckner & Doug Schauer)
Originally from Wisconsin, James Curley Cooke (1944-2011) started out as a bluesy rocker, most notably as a founding member of the Steve Miller Band back in 1967 (later playing guitar on a few tracks on some albums during Miller's mid-'Seventies creative peak.) Curley Cooke also co-founded a Milwaukee-based white blues/hippie boogie band called A. B. Skhy, which recorded a couple of fairly solid major-label albums in 1969 and '70, then broke up a few years later. Cooke eventually made his way out to Tacoma, Washington and like many of his plaid-clad contemporaries he drifted into country and country-rock territory, as heard on this solo set, which featured contributions from local folks like singer Annie Rose and steel player Chris Middough, as well as keyboardist Ben Sidran, another former Wisconsinite and Steve Miller alum. Though there's a definitely country vibe on this album, Curley Cooke became best known as a blues player, and established a blues-based music program for kids in the Seattle school system. This was his only solo album, though he recorded several collaborative records in years to come.

The Country Kings "Just Playin' Country" (Bright Productions, 19--?) (LP)
It's hard to find any info about these guys... The album was recorded in New Glarus, Wisconsin, though I'm not sure where the musicians themselves lived... the bandmembers are only identified by first names: Al, Apple, Gary, Mark, and Paul. I recognize some of the more obvious cover songs, stuff like "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Cattle Call" and "San Antonio Rose" but there are a few songs on here that might have been originals, such as "Cowboys Ain't Supposed To Cry" and "Honky Tonk On Loser's Avenue."

Gary Cross "Minnesota Lights" (197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Brian St. Louis & Lee St. Louis)
Great Lakes-y twang, recorded in West Bend, Wisconsin, though apparently a Minnesota band(?) ... The group included Gary Cross on acoustic guitar, with Brian St. Louis on lead guitar and bass, and Gary Wiener on drums. There are two Gary Cross originals, "Minnesota Lights" and "Joan," along with covers of Jimmie Rodgers's "Muleskinner Blues," a couple of John Denver hits, "Yesterday" by the Beatles, the Eagles' "Desperado" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town."

Gary Cross & The Cedar Creek Band "That's Country Music" (Homestead Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Brian St. Louis & Lee St. Louis)
The Cedar Creek Band was led by songwriter Gary Cross, who penned almost half the songs, including "Joan," "Fourteen Years," "Terminal City," and "That's Country Music," which was co-written with Kathy Cross. The group also included Dan Beulen on keyboards, Gary Christiansen (bass), Brian St. Louis and Gary Wiener. This was recorded live on December 14, 1980 at a place called Bell's Barn, in West Bend, Wisconsin... Lots of cool cover songs, too.

Curly's Hat Band "Sure Havin' Fun" (N.E.W. Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Hendrick & Curly's Hat Band)
An amiable twangband from Appleton, Wisconsin, up near Green Bay... Led by drummer-vocalist Audrey Hendrickson and keyboardist Roger "Curly" Hendrickson, they recorded an album chock full of original material penned by the Hendricksons and lead guitarist Gary Shaw (1954-2020), with backing by Mike Verboten (bass), Tom Winch (guitar) Steve Becker (pedal steel), and Dee Pearson on fiddle. Not sure when the group formed, but they seem to have mostly performed around Appleton and the town's Lawrence University, as well as a few shows in Madison around 1980-81. They later did a thirty-year reunion gig in 2012, so I'm guessing the band broke up not long after this album came out. As musicians do, these folks played in various other bands and were active in the local music scene: both Gary Shaw and Audrey Hendrickson worked in local music shops, and she was active for many years organizing a local outdoor musician festival. Curly Hendrickson also played with the Rose Canyon Band, over in Oshkosh, while Tommy Winch left the band in '82, moving to Florida where he worked as a lounge musician for almost thirty years before heading back to Wisconsin. Not, like, tons of information about these folks online... As far as I know this was their only album.

Bobby Darren & The Drifters "Country Classics" (Sentry Records, 1976-?) (LP)
Not to be confused with the pop crooner Bobby Darin, this fella was a straight-up country picker from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, near Green Bay. He's backed on this album by his pals Ed Vanderhoot (rhythm guitar) and John Gottschalk (bass) on a set of country standards peppered with a few newer tunes such as Moe Bandy's 1975 hit, "Bandy The Rodeo Clown" and "Bed Of Roses," by the Statler Brothers. Apparently he made his way to Nashville in the late '70s, though I'm not sure how long he stayed there or what kind of gigs he landed.

Bobby Darren "Breakthrough From The Heart" (Sungold Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Johnny Howard)

Red Deacon "Have I Got A Night For You" (Nash Town Records, 1974) (LP)
Honkytonker Thomas J. Dillett (aka Red Deacon) started seriously performing in the late 1950s and just kept going right up until he retired in 2018. Mr. Dillett grew up in Gilbertville, Iowa but settled down around Milwaukee, so I think we can count this one as a Wisconsin record. Not a lot of info about this album or his career online, though he had a solid presence on Facebook and YouTube. This album includes a lot of cover songs and was recorded in Nashville, though unfortunately none of the backing musicians are listed.

Red Deacon "Another Way" (Uptown Country Records, 1986) (LP)

Duane Dee "My Shining Hour" (Capitol Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Kelso Herston)
Originally from Hartford, Wisconsin Duane Dee was singing in Milwaukee nightclubs when country star Bobby Lord spotted him and invited him to sing on his TV show. This opened the doors to a Nashville career, and a contract with Capitol Records right off the bat. Duane Dee had modest success with his 1967 recording of "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" -- his was the first version to chart and almost cracked the Top 40, peaking at #44 in Billboard. Later, after being dropped by Capitol, he did have a Top Forty hit with a country cover of the Bee Gees song "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," though the thrill was short-lived, and not to be repeated. Thus, this disc remains his only full-length mainstream album, though he did plug away as a singles artist for several years, first with a few more Capitol seven-inches, then on labels such as Cartwheel and ABC, which he recorded for up until around 1975.

Dennis & Cree "The Nashville Sounds Of Dennis & Cree" (D&C Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Stephen Schneider & Walton Amey)
Lounge-y performances by the duo of Marv Dennis and William ("Ed") Cree (1934-2014) whose comedic act played up in Reno, Nevada, in Tahoe, Vegas and Nashville throughout the 1960s and '70s. The duo were originally from Wisconsin, forming a duo while attending school in La Crosse, and they performed continuously for about fifteen years before splitting up the act in 1975. They regrouped in '77, making a few more records and even tried their hand at acting, getting cast in at least one TV show, appearing briefly as the hillbilly caricatures "Bubba" (Ed Cree) and "Billy Joe Bob" (Marv Dennis), in the 1978 series Who's Watching The Kids, a short-lived vehicle for Scott Baio which was set in Las Vegas. Dennis & Cree definitely included real country music in their act, but it wasn't their sole focus...

Dennis & Cree "The Country Side Of Dennis & Cree" (D&C Records, 19--?) (LP)

Dennis & Cree "Side By Side" (DNC Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by David McKinley)

The Marv Dennis IV "Caught In The Act" (Coulee Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Dean & Gene Lawson)
A live album featuring lounge performer Marv Dennis with comedy routines ("Hillbilly Bit,"etc.) and tunes like "Beer From Milwaukee." Dunno why this wasn't credited as a regular old Dennis & Cree album (see above) since Ed Cree was still involved, but what the heck. Not gonna lose any sleep over it... Their studio-recorded version of "Honey Comb" was also released as a single, and is also included here

Don & Deanna "...And The Prentice Ramblers" (Jam USA Records, 1970-?) (LP)
A no-frills local country band from Prentice, Wisconsin, up in the northern end of the state. Don Lasee and Deanna Hass formed the core of this group along with lead guitarist Larry Hass, and various other bandmembers moving through the group. According to researcher Gary Meyers the Prentice Ramblers got together in 1965, and played together until the early 'Eighties, mostly around Eau Claire. This album was recorded when Don and Deanna performed at the Wheeling Jamboree, which at the time was rebranding itself as Jamboree, USA. Several tracks also came out as singles, though this seems to have been their only album. (I'm not sure if the guitarist was the same Larry Hass of La Crosse who later worked as an Elvis imitator and died onstage in 2004 at age 54... If so, he would have been pretty darn young when they cut this album...)

Dave Dudley -- see artist profile

Curley Fields & The Kentuckians "Live At The Showboat Lounge" (Jo-Cur Records, 1969) (LP)
A country covers band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin... Why they billed themselves as the Kentuckians, I have no idea. Vocals are split between Curley Fields, Karen Otis and Jack Abuya.

Mack Ford & Sandy Ford "The Mack And Sandy Way" (Cuca Record Company, 196-?) (LP)
(Produced by Mack Lunsford)
The duo of Mack Lunsford (1898-1977) and Bernice ("Sandy") Lunsford (1918-2011) played at rodeos and radio shows, and released at least two singles for the Sauk City-based Cuca Record Company, in addition to this album. About half the tracks on this album were written by the Lunsfords and published by Great Northern Song Publishing; most of the songs were unique to this LP, although one track, "The Squeak In The Old Rocking Chair," also came out on a single. Mr. Mack played harmonica, steel guitar and ukulele, while Ms. Mack played bass and rhythm guitar... They are accompanied here by a young gal named Pam Rescheske, on the organ.

The Friends "Bar Hopp'n" (Ribit Records International, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Mueller & Andy Waterman)
For twangfans, this is probably more of a warning than a recommendation... Basically this is a fairly amateurish bar-band album by some folks from Appleton, Wisconsin, and while they do dip into actual country music on one song (a decent version of "Good Hearted Woman," recorded with the help of a family band called the Christensons) the closest they come elsewhere are a few maybe-sorta southern rock tunes, included alongside similarly rickety, low-rent power-pop, and a little bit of retro-R&B jump blues. The album's real kitsch tour-de-force is a two-part new wave/grindcore epic broken into "The Battle" (odd rat-tat-tat "war" sound effects) and "The Battle Song," apparently a pacifist(?) parable which devolves into shouted, incomprehensible lyrics and lots of bashing away on keyboard and guitars. The group included Tommy Almond, Jimmy Chase, Tony Vallera and Billy Williams, with additional backing by Gary Shaw (lead guitar) and Larry Darling (synthesizer) along with various and sundry others. You gotta give these guys points for going all out and doing their best, though really this is a pretty goofy album. And, other than that one track, alas, not very country.

P. T. Gazell "Pace Yourself" (Sugar Hill Records, 1978) (LP)
Another odd one: Johnny Paycheck's harmonica player Phil Gazell fronts a studio band that includes Jerry Douglas playing dobro and Ricky Skaggs on mandolin, in a mostly-bluegrass set, with some dips into sentimental Antbellum-style material, a few Irish jigs, and a little bluesy swing. Originally from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Gazell moved to Lexington, Kentucky in the late '70s, where he cut this album with the cream of the crop of new-generation newgrass musicians. He mostly blows the harp but also sings on a tune or two: the CD/MP3 reissue includes some twangier bonus tracks with an Asleep At The Wheel feel to them. Not bad! And is sure is interesting to hear the harmonica in a bluegrass context...

Glendale Train "Glendale Train" (Point Five Art & Design, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Glendale Train)
Presumably this Wisconsin-based band took its name from the song by the New Riders Of The Purple Sage... They had an unusual, far-flung mix of country, rock and bluegrass, ranging from hippie twang of "This Ole Cowboy" to the new wave-ish power-pop of "What Will It Take." They had two lead singers, and while the dude, J. D. Cunningham, was fine for the genre, I have to confess that singer Theresa Sanders kind of got on my nerves -- the timbre of her voice, along with the folkie, Joan Baez-ian phrasing doesn't fit in with what the rest of the band sounds like. At best, I found it distracting... Regardless, this is an interesting, ambitious set of all-original indie-twang, and certainly worth a spin if you're digging deep into the crates.

Tom Grant & The Nashville Sounds "The Nashville Country Club Proudly Presents..." (Nashville Country Club) (LP)
Not to be confused with the smooth jazz pianist, singer Tom Grant was a Wisconsin native who led the house band in Milwaukee at a club called Nick's Nicabob, and later found a slot in an obscure Indiana-based venue called the Nashville Country Club. He eventually made it to Nashville, signing to Republic Records in 1979, where he landed two singles in the Billboard charts, though he may be better known as a member of the band Trinity Lane. Although his solo career didn't really take off, Grant stuck around and worked on several Nashville-based TV shows, including TNN's 'Eighties-era "Nashville Now" and "The Ralph Emery Show," on NBC. This album was recorded during his Indiana days, with a band called Nashville Sounds, which included Darrel Young on bass, Larry Young playing lead guitar, Billy Powell on steel, and Dale Greene thumping the drums. Apparently future star Steve Wariner also apprenticed in the band at some point, though I don't think he plays on this album.

Roger Harrison "Take Some Love" (C Records, 197--?) (LP)
A singer from Wisconsin who at the time this record was made was doing a gig at the Lou-Ann Motel, in Cumberland, WI. The motel's owner, Roy Odden, is pictured on the back cover, along with action shots of the band. The liner notes tout Harrison's ability to play a variety of styles, including pop and disco, but his heart seems to have been more into the country stuff, including covers of "Muleskinner Blues," "Statue Of A Fool" and "Luckenbach, Texas." If you're looking for real-deal records of working bands from the '70s, this one's a prime example.

Tiny C. Hart "Sings The Cold Hard Facts Of Life" (K-Ark Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by John Capps)
Norbert William Cochart (aka Tiny C. Hart, 1932-2015) was a Wisconsin native who tried his hand as a country singer after years on the road as a professional trucker, playing his first music gigs in the late '50s and early '60s, way out in California. It was out West that he picked up the ironical nickname "Tiny" (he was actually a 6'4", 250 pound goliath...) When he was nearly thirty, Hart moved back to the Badger State and settled down, establishing himself as a regional country star, recording several singles and a few LPs, with a mix of cover songs and originals. This was his second album: his other records came out under his real surname, Cochart.

Larry Heagle "Time And Space" (Dog Records, 1983) (LP)
America's Dairyland isn't my first go-to locale when I'm thinkin' "outlaw country," but Eau Claire auteur Larry Heagle makes a persuasive case for the redneckiness of the cheeseheads in his anti-Texas anthem, "Wisconsin Country Song," one of several novelty twangtunes on this infamous album. Heagle is also known for novelty gems (not on this album) such as 1979's "The Vasectomy Song" and "The Wood Tick Song" ("...you check me, and I'll check you...) Yee-haw, eh?

Hap Hogan "...Sings Danny Boy" (Living Voices, 1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by Hap Hogan)
This singer from Berlin, Wisconsin recorded at least five LPs, of which I think this is the first... This disc includes a cover of "Green Green Grass Of Home," as well as "Another Place, Another Time," "Brown County Blues" and "Iron Mountain Michigan." Couldn't find much info about Hogan online, but he seems to have been pretty active during the early 'Seventies, playing shows in Wisconsin and Iowa, mostly centered around the Green Bay and Oshkosh area.

Hap Hogan "Nashville: Volume Two" (Living Voices, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Hap Hogan & Travis Turk)
Hogan went to Nashville to record this album, with a studio crew that included Doyle Grisham on dobro and steel guitar, Jeff Newman (steel guitar), Jerry Smith (piano), along with Lee Maxwell on lead guitar, and Harold Gene Marshall playing rhythm. The same lineup backs Hogan on the Music City album below, and my guess is that they were both recorded at the same time, possibly Party Time album as well. Some of the guys were locals that Hogan brought with him: he gives Gene Marshall a shout-out as his "director and arranger," and I suspect Maxwell was a Wisconsinite as well.

Hap Hogan "Volume Three: Music City USA And Hap Hogan" (Living Voices, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Hap Hogan & Travis Turk)

Hap Hogan "Sings Your Favorite Songs" (Damon Records, 19--?) (LP)

Hap Hogan "Party Time Live" (19--?) (LP)
His band seems to have played pretty extensively throughout the region, with this album being recorded live in Des Moines, Iowa.

Genevieve Hovde "...Sings Close To My Heart" (Ardelle Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Rex Allen, Jr.)
Ms. Hovde was formerly a child star performing on the Chicago-based National Barn Dance radio show and KSTP-TV's Sunset Valley Barn Dance, and also apparently played live with the Sons Of The Pioneers... This album captures her much later (early 1970s??) as an adult living the quiet life in River Falls, Wisconsin. She went down to Nashville to record at Jack Clement's studio, with backing from Lloyd Green, Hargus Robbins, Johnny Gimble and other several high-powered studio pros. This album includes some oldies like "Release Me" and Hank Williams's "Mansion On The Hill" as well as several by songwriters she was friends with, such as Bud Auge and Billy Folger. Not sure of the exact date on this one, but I'm guessing early-to-mid '70s.

In Came That Rooster "In Came That Rooster" (Traveler Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Marv Nonn & Helen Pachay)
A goofball, good-time stringband from Janesville, Wisconsin, applying banjo, mandolin, jews harp, guitar and kazoo to a rollicking set of goofy ditties such as "Old Joe Clark," "The Cat Came Back," "If You're Happy And You Know It," and "Be Nice To Spiders." The driving force behind that band was Dan and Roxanne Kedding, and the generous arts grant they got from the Wisconsin Arts Board to bring music to school children across the state. A kids album that would make Jim Kweskin proud.

Bob Kames "...Plays All-Time Country Favorites" (Hollywood Records, 1965-?) (LP)
According to the flowery liner notes, pop'n'polka star organist Bob Kames wanted to take a bold, new step into the country world. So he left the mean streets of Milwaukee and booked a Nashville session with a bunch of top pros -- fiddler Tommy Hill, Billy Sayer on drums, picker Pete Wade and most of all, Pete Drake, whose steel guitar is the main instrument Kames plays off of. No big surprises in the repertoire, except maybe the stylistic variety -- there are some real chestnuts (stuff like "Birmingham Jail" and "Wabash Cannonball") along with ballads and some weepy ballads and honkytonk hits.

Ron Knuth "Fiddle Favorites By Ron Knuth" (Atwell Records, 19--?) (LP)
Fiddler Ron Knuth grew up in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, in the heart of Cheeselandia, but he on a lot of uber-indie albums from the Southwest and Texas, and did a lot of work with Tex-Mex twangster Augie Meyers. This was his first solo album, with Knuth backed by a full band, including piano, steel guitar, electric guitar and drums. He plays a bunch of standards, tunes such as "Old Joe Clark," "Faded Love," "Tennessee Waltz," "Orange Blossom Special," as well as his own signature tune, "Ron's Rag." This album was also issued on the Stoneway label, although I'm not sure who put it out first.

Ron Knuth "Hoedown Wisconsin Style" (Stoneway Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by R. M. Stone)

Mickey Larson "The Mickey Larson Band" (Deezul Records, 1977-?) (LP)
(Produced by Steph Playter, Mike Richson & John Struthers)
Though sometimes incorrectly identified as from Minnesota, this blues-twang bar-band was actually from Eau Claire, Wisconsin (the record label was in Minnesota, but the band were 100% pure cheeseheads...) The record features liner notes from another local musician Will Jennings, also from Eau Claire, who praises Larson as having the new best band in town. Piano player Mickey Larson (1947-2004) was a prolific and prodigious musician, playing in numerous rock, blues and country bands, leading his own group and supporting national acts on tour through the Midwest. As a teen he co-founded the Great Lakes rock band Tongue, which morphed into the Mother Truckers, and gradually became known primarily as a blues musician. An avid motorcyclist, Larson moved to California not long after recording this album, where he worked for Harley-Davidson for several years before returning to Wisconsin. As far as I know, this was his only album recorded under his own name.

Johnny Len "For You" (KL Recording Service, 1975-?) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Klein & Johnny Len)
A lifetime resident of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, country singer Leonard Brouchoud (aka Johnny Len) led an intensely hyperlocal band, featuring steel guitar licks from Lee Chizek (1937-2015), Howard Fischer on piano, Mike Heier (drums), Ron Remiker (lead guitar), Jean Stahl (backing vocals) and of course Johnny Len on lead vocals and guitar. His brother, Leroy E. Brouchoud (1945-2017) was a veteran musician, playing in local blues and rock bands back in the 'Sixties, and plays bass on this disc. The album also includes several of his songs ("Brittle," "I Forgot How To Smile," "In Memory," and "Wanting, Needing, Still Loving You") comprising almost half the album. This was apparently recorded at the Club Bil-Mar, a tiny dive that still exists in Manitowoc, with recording assist by Ron Klein, a record producer from around Milwaukee who specialized in polka and religious records.

Johnny Len "A Portrait Of Johnny Len" (El Dorado Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Brothers & Jim Lopas)

The Lost Marble Band "In The Pines" (1980) (LP)
Milwaukee bluegrassers with eclectic leanings, including a few dips into the country pond. Along with all the "Little Maggie" and "Cripple Creek stuff, notable covers include a version of John Prine's "Paradise" the infamous male chauvinist anthem, "Put Another Log On The Fire." Dunno if they made another album, though they for sure recorded several singles, including a version of "I'm My Own Grandpa" and one called "Brewers Have It All," which was an homage to the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, who made it into the World Series in '82.

The Lost Marble Band "Winter Harvest" (1982) (LP)

Lost Nation String Band "Lost Nation String Band" (Dodo Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Victor Marsh)
Obscure and rural, though not all that country. This quartet from Bayfield, Wisconsin mixed bluegrass twang with a hefty dose of "Puff The Magic Dragon"-ish folk... A little too folkie for me, but I did like their label name ("The Label Of Extinction") It's mostly cover tunes, including stuff by John Lennon and Tom Paxton, as well as a version of John Hartford's "Tall Buildings," as well as some Celtic-influenced traditional bluegrass stuff. There is some country-ish, stuff, though: guitarist/banjo picker Warren Nelson contributed some original material, including the lively "Rosie Where Are You Tonight" and his own new lyrics to "Whiskey Before Breakfast." Bandmembers Bruce Burnside and Don Pavel added one song each, including Pavel's "Sittin' Around Pickin'," which is an album highlight. Mostly this isn't the kind of stuff I'm looking for, but it is some obscure old Midwestern DIY, and might be of interest to folks who are into the whole Twin Cities acoustic music scene...

Dale Luedke "Telling Tales With Loose Ends" (End Of The Trail Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Kuzulka & Dale Luedke)
Singer-guitarist Dale Luedke hailed from Waupun, Wisconsin, or thereabouts. Anyway, this one's really more of a coffeehouse singer-songwriter folkie kinda thing, although he is joined on a couple of tunes by fiddle and pedal steel, notably on a thumping cover of Lefty Frizzell's "If You've Got The Money, Honey," showcasing Wally Messner's steel playing. Most of the other tracks are Luedke originals, and they're generally pretty shambolic efforts -- wordy, strained lyrics with high aspirations tempered by his somewhat iffy vocals, as well as his preoccupations with success and the stumbling blocks in life. Several songs spotlight Luedke's apparent resentments about his own lack of financial success and creative recognition, although he tries to mask his feelings with an affectation of wry detachment and philosophical wit. Luedke wasn't quite the Greg Brown-ian storyteller he aspired to be, though if you're into obscure, off-the-radar, proto-Americana folksingers, this disc might be of interest... A little twang included, but it's not really a "country" set.

The Memories "Fifth Anniversary Album" (Topeka Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by James Engandala & Warren L. Petryk)
Country covers by a trio from around Eau Claire, Wisconsin, including John Lynch on guitar, drummer Tim Stevens, and Warren Petryk on keyboards. Based on the album title, these guys seem to have formed their band around 1972, and were together at least into the early 1980s. A college student at the time this album was made, Mr. Petryk became a businessman and later went into politics, representing the state's 93rd assembly district since 2010. Although they also released a single or two, this seems to be the group's only full album. Partly recorded live at the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater in nearby Menomonie, this showcases a wide variety of influences, from a Sons Of The Pioneers medley and several Statler Brothers tunes to some country gospel at the end. Doesn't look like there was any original material, although there are two songs credited to Timothy B. Wright, of the Wright Brothers Overland Stage Company, a band from Indianapolis that The Memories admired and thank in their liner notes.

Artie Minz & Ellie Shepherd "...And The Countrymen" (Lewein Recording Company, 19--?) (LP)
A Wisconsin native who is said to have formed the first country band in Washington County, Arthur "Artie" Minz (1925-1998) led his band The Countrymen for over fifty years, playing in and around the Milwaukee area. He worked a day job as a teamster, driving trucks for a local concrete manufacturer until he retired in the early '80s. His partner on this album, Ellie May Shepard (aka Elenora Roos, 1936-2014) was a machinist and union shop steward who also performed locally, recording a few singles with Minz, as well as an album of her own. This disc includes a wealth of original material, as well as covers of country classics such as "Detour" and "Why Baby Why" -- the song "Just Another Name" also came out as a single on the Cuca label, though I don't know if Minz and Shepard re-recorded it, or used the same session for both releases. As far as I know, this was Mr. Minz's only LP release, though Ms. Shepherd recorded an album of her own in 1982

The Morgan Brothers "Mixing It Up Good" (Appleton Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by The Morgan Brothers)
Things were not what they seemed with the so-called Morgan Brothers, who were not Morgans, nor all three related. The trio hailed from Appleton, Wisconsin (near Oshkosh), where brothers Don Stiernberg and John Stiernberg (mandolin picker and banjo plunker, respectively) owned a music store... While at Ripon College, John met guitarist John Parrott, who was a transplant from New York. They formed a trio and delved into bluegrass music, though with an eclectic range seen in this scrappy set of traditional bluegrass tunes (stuff by Jim Eanes, Jimmy Martin and the Easter Brothers) augmented by a bunch of 'grassed-up cover tunes, songs by Dan Hicks, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, folkie Eric von Schmidt, Kurt Weill(!) and the Rolling Stones. If you're up for an evening with a twangy "Mack The Knife" alongside "As Tears Go By," this Midwestern trio might be for you. The one original song on here is called "Blue Missouri Sky," written by John Parrott, though he wasn't a Midwesterner. The band had a musical philosophy they called "pro grass," which meant they indulged in a diverse range of styles, but didn't necessarily bent non-bluegrass material into traditional-sounding styles -- just using the acoustic instruments was enough; they also prided themselves on not taking on made-up Southern accents or singing all twangy, but keeping their own Northern intonations.

The Morgan Brothers "Northern Lights" (Blue Ridge Productions, 1976) (LP)

Larry Mullins & The Sugarbush Hill Boys "Close To Home" (Larry Mullins Records, 1983-?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Hendrick)
Marinette, Wisconsin bandleader Larry Mullins plunked a bit on the banjo, but don't be fooled: this one's solid country, with a little splash of bluegrass on the side. Indeed, it's a great record, solidly in the post-Merle Haggard style of John Anderson and that generation of early '80s neo-tradders, though with a distinctly indie feel. All but two of the songs are Mullins originals, with the exceptions being a cover of Bob Wills' "San Antonio Rose" and gospel tune that closes things out. He pays tribute to his Rhinelander roots on "The Hodag Song," though most tracks have a more universal honkytonk orientation, as well as a couple of sentimental tunes in the 1930's style, most notably "Mother's Song," which is one of the best country homages to motherhood that I've had the pleasure to hear... The sessions were a little flatly produced, but despite the lack of instrumental oomph, these are really good songs, with really nice vocals. Two of his brothers, Marty Mullins and Rick Mullins, add backing vocals, building a fine family-harmony sound on several songs. If you get a chance, check this one out!

Larry Mullins & The Sugarbush Hill Boys "Bringin' It Home" (Larry Mullins Records, 1982) (LP)
Independently released country and country-gospel... Side One features kind of folkie material -- work songs about lumberjacking and in praise of the Wisconsin forests, as well as some old-school heartsongs such as "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again." Side Two includes a huge medley of classic gospel tunes such as "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder," "Farther Along" and "Life's Railway To Heaven..." My kinda gospel, to be sure!

Ken Nelson "Everyone's Favorites" (Ken Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson & Cary Peterson)
Not to be confused with the fabled producer of the same name, this Cordovox-wielding accordionist from Osceola, Wisconsin covers a bunch of contemporary country hits -- "Lodi," "Proud Mary," "Green, Green Grass Of Home," "Okie From Muskogee" -- and a few polka tunes as well. Mr. Nelson also showcases his youthful sidekick, drummer Cary Peterson, who also sings on this album, and may have helped steer the song selection towards some of the more rock-oriented material. Not a lot of info about Ken Nelson's musical career, though presumably he led a band or two on the Great Lakes polka scene.

Ken Nelson "Songs For You" (Ken Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Ashlin & Ken Nelson)

Ken Nelson "Come Ride With Me" (Ken Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Nels Evrits & Ken Nelson)
Dressed in leather and riding his favorite hog, accordionist Ken Nelson projects motorcycle-ridin' vigor as he works his way through another set dominated by modern countrypolitan hits, covering Charlie Rich, The Statler Brothers and other early 'Seventies hitmakers. The liner notes inform us that this was Mr. Nelson's third album; no musician credits, alas.

Tracy Nelson - see artist discography

North Country Band "North Country Band" (NCB Records, 1978) (LP)

Al Perry & The Countrymen "Souvenir Album, Volume One: I Love You" (Love Studios, 19--?) (LP)

Al Perry & The Country Folk "Sondrestrom And Thule Souvenir Album: '69-70" (Love Studios, 1970) (LP)
A souvenir album recorded live at some US military bases in Greenland, during a European tour by ex-rockabilly twangster Al Perry and his band... Most of the songs were sung by Al Perry, with other singers including Vern Coldiron, Billie Love, Doris Love and Jimmy Waylon. The "Love Sisters" -- Billie, Doris, and later Donna -- toured with Perry for several years, though I'm not sure if any of them were actually related.

Al Perry & The Country Affair "Live At The Country West" (Love Records, 1975) (LP)
A live album recorded May 10, 1975 at a place called The Country West, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, near Wausau. For several years this was the adopted stomping grounds of the Al Perry band, a hard-country shuffle band from Tyler, Texas that apparently had a big influence on the local country scene. The group was led by steel player Al Perry, along with piano player Rags Allen, singer Donna Love and bass player Glenn Worf, a Madison local who went on to become an A-list studio musician in Nashville. (Note: This same band backed singer Orrin Ranum on his 1976 album, The Country Voice Of Orrin Ranum, also released on Love Records.)

Dick Pinney & Greg Brown "Hacklebarney" (Mountain Railroad Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Stephen Powers)
Midwestern singer-songwriter Dick Pinney was sort of the Pete Best of the Twin Cities folk scene... Take for example his early partnership with Greg Brown, who became one of the biggest folk stars of the '80s and '90s. This live album documents the duo's act, capturing a show they did at Charlotte's Web folk club in February, 1974, with Dick Pinney on guitar and harmonica, and Brown playing guitar, harmonica and piano, along with a guy named Doug Freeman playing bass. Greg Brown wrote over half the material and seems to have had the full run of Side One, while the flipside showcases Pinney's work, including one tune they wrote together, called "Driftin'." Pinney looks back on their partnership with good-natured equanimity... He later headed out to LA and did some record label A&R work, including helping Lucinda Williams get a contract in the late '80s, although eventually he moved back to Milwaukee and seems to have stepped out of the performing limelight altogether.

Dick Pinney "Devil Take My Shiny Coins" (Mountain Railroad Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Stephen Powers & Dave Ray)
Recorded at the fabled Sound 80 studio in Minneapolis, this is perhaps a bit more on the coffeehouse folkie side of the street, but with Cal Hand adding some pedal steel licks, I figure it's worth mentioning... Speaking of fancy picking, Pinney shows off some sweet licks of his own, notably on the Fahey-esque guitar instrumental, "Alaska Sunrise." Pinney covers a few Greg Brown songs, though at this point I believe Brown had officially gone solo. Also on board is veteran rock guitarist Lonnie Knight, who at the time was a folkie, but later got into the blues scene.

The Pony Express Band "Northern Country" (Audio Phonic Records, 1981)
(Produced by Jeffrey A. Harman)
An all-original set by a Racine, Wisconsin twangband that had been around for well over a decade before cutting this disc... The group included guitarist-bandleader Dean Lange (ne Dwight Langenfeld, 1946-2020) who was also their primary songwriter, as well as George Albert (guitar), Maggie Lange (bass), Chuck Might (piano and conga drums) and Scott Zierke on drums, with some assist in the studio by steel player Al Andersen. On the back cover they thank Vance's Bar, a former auto garage that morphed into a sprawling local honkytonk, where apparently the Pony Express were the house band for a decade or more. The owner John Vance passed away in 1979, though his family kept Vance's running until 1995; Pony Express continued to perform there through the '80s and '90s, though I'm not sure if they played together continually through the life of the bar... As far as I know this was the band's only album.

Radio Flyer "Radio Flyer" (End Of The Trail Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Radio Flyer)
Not to be confused with the bluegrass band from Missouri, this Radio Flyer was a country bar band out of Van Dyne, Wisconsin, playing classics'n'outlaw, with a peppery dash of western swing. The group included lead guitarist Tim Ferguson and his brother Fred Ferguson on bass, with Wally Messner on steel guitar and accordion and Bryan Christiansen pulling triple duty on banjo, fiddle and mandolin. The musicianship is pretty solid, though sometimes their vocals lapse into a corny bar-band self-parody, as if at times they couldn't take the whole country thing totally seriously. That's okay, though, since for the most part this disc is pretty fun, especially with a cover of the old Webb Pierce hit, "Tupelo County Jail," along with several swell originals. Tim Ferguson also played in a band called Ida Red, and more recently in a band called The Best Westerns.

Orrin Ranum "The Country Voice Of Orrin Ranum" (Love Productions, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Al Perry & Orrin Ranum)
This album includes country classics like "Four Walls," "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," "Phantom 309" as well as standards like "Distant Drums" and "Beautiful Dreamer" -- also the promisingly titled "The Wine And The Lord" and "There's That Smile Again" (originals?) This was recorded in Tyler, Texas, with producer Al Perry playing guitar and steel, Glenn Worf on bass and Rags Allen playing piano, and Donna Love playing drums and singing backup. There's no information about when this came out, or where Mr. Ranum lived, but I think there's a good chance that he was from Wisconsin, and that this was recorded early in Glenn Worf's career, before he left Wisconsin to pursue his career in Nashville. Anybody got more info on this one?

Bobby G. Rice - see artist discography

The Rice Family "The Rice Family Album: Featuring Lorraine And Bobby" (Cuca Records, 196--?) (LP)
Originally a child member of a regional family country band, Bobby G. Rice had real rural roots... Born in Boscobel, Wisconsin, Rice and his family made nearby Richland Center their center of activity, and they were a real-deal 1950s hillbilly band that performed in gingham and overalls for several years before breaking up as the siblings got older and married off. After a high school fling in a frat rock band, Bobby G. formed a country duo with his sister Lorraine, and when that fizzled out, he set off for Nashville to become a solo star. This reunion album is of late '60s vintage, packed with covers of hits such as "Talk Back Tremblin' Lips," "Tippy Toeing" and "Company's Coming," along with a bit of polka and waltz music that was still popular in the region. Sure would be cool to also hear some of the stuff the Rice Family did in the 'Fifties when they were on the radio, but this is a pretty interesting memento of his early years.

Hoot Roberts "Invitation To The Blues" (Choco Records, 196-?) (LP)
Honkytonk crooner Thomas Houston ("Hoot") Roberts was born in Alabama but had moved to Wausau, Wisconsin by the time he recorded this album. He had solid country roots: before forming his own band, Roberts toured with Johnny Horton, and while up North he became a protege of Marvin Rainwater, who wrote two of the songs on this album, "Now And Then" and "The King Has Fallen," which was also released as a single. Most of the other songs are covers, mainstream country ballads such as "Blue Side Of Lonesome," "Don't Touch Me," "Funny How The Time Slips Away," and "There Goes My Everything." Alas, there's not info about the album's producer or the musicians who backed him, so they may have been Great Lakes/Rust Belt locals... but that's just a guess for now.

The Rose Canyon Band "Destiny" (RCB Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Tom Sierakowski & The Rose Canyon Band)
This country-rock band band from Oshkosh, Wisconsin was a four-piece -- Gary Ormsby (lead guitar and vocals), Mike McKenzie (drums), Scott Sherman (bass) and Steve Becker (lead guitar, banjo and pedal steel) with additional musicians on piano, sax and fiddle. The songs are all originals, written or cowritten by various bandmembers, including tunes like "Rolling Wheels," "Border Bound," "Highway Rider," and the rather prosaic "Rockin' In The Country." Maybe they weren't the most imaginative songwriters, but they were definitely deep into the longhair twang scene... Not bad for Oshkosh, b'gosh!

Maggie Eberle Sather "Folktrails" (End Of The Trail Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Kirchstein & Marv Nunn)
Originally from Chicago, folksinger Maggie Sather had settled and raised a family in Cross Plains, Wisconsin, and was apparently a regular on the Madison folk scene... This record looked less country-oriented than I'm normally interested in, but I figured, what the heck, give it a shot. I'd expected something, I dunno, more Ola Belle Reed-ish perhaps, though this album is more like Joan Baez or Cynthia Reed cutting a kids music album. Okay for what it is, but it's not really my bag. Sather had made at least two albums prior to this... She's backed here by guitarist Steve Paris (from Baraboo, WI), bassist Peter Deakman, percussionist Dave Gochberg and multi-instrumentalist Brian Schellinger (aka Desquaw Woody), whose banjo work adds a little pop to the tunes.

Jack Schorn "Jack Schorn's Country Show" (1979-?) (LP)
A delightfully, deliciously amateurish album by a clompy trio from River Falls, Wisconsin, this is the very epitome of a vanity album... and I mean that in a good way. I'm guessing their "country show" mostly played in various bandmembers basements and rec rooms, but apparently Schorn was from a musically-inclined family and had played local gigs with his siblings for many years before this late '70s album came out. He's backed by bassist Tom Gardner and Mike Kullman on drums; the liner notes say Kullman had played with Schorn since 1968. This is a goofy but heartfelt record, packed with cheerful but lackluster renditions of the band's favorite country songs. Fun tunes, too: it's always nice to hear tunes like Billy Joe Shaver's "Georgia On A Fast Train," Wayne Carson's "Drinkin' Thing," or Ronnie Milsap's "Day Dreams (About Night Things)" and oh my gosh, who can resist a few wannabee good ol' boys singing "Afternoon Delight"? Not me. And of course they cover "Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother..." (Man, was that song popular!) Okay, I admit it... I'm totally kitsched-out on this one, and in a way that I normally resist, but I just can't help it. This is just such an endearingly flawed, honest album -- it really is just three dudes singing a few groovy tunes they like, thumping away down in someone's basement studio, with iffy vocals and modest instrumental heft. The sound is stripped down and strictly non-professional, and real. Really, really real.

Ellie Shepherd & Artie Minz "...And The Countrymen" (Lewein Recording Company) (LP)
A Wisconsin native who is said to have formed the first country band in Washington County, Arthur "Artie" Minz (1925-1998) led his band The Countrymen for over fifty years, playing in and around the Milwaukee area. He worked a day job as a teamster, driving trucks for a local concrete manufacturer until he retired in the early '80s. His partner on this album, Ellie May Shepard (aka Elenora Roos, 1936-2014) was a machinist and union shop steward who also performed locally, recording a few singles with Minz, as well as an album of her own. This disc includes a wealth of original material, as well as covers of country classics such as "Detour" and "Why Baby Why" -- the song "Just Another Name" also came out as a single on the Cuca label, though I don't know if Minz and Shepard re-recorded it, or used the same session for both releases. As far as I know, this was Mr. Minz's only LP release.

Ellie May Shepherd "Something Sentimental" (End Of The Trail Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Fred Ferguson & Nick Kuzulka)
I could not find much info about this gal, other than on the album itself... The set list is heavy on cover songs, including "Before The Next Teardrop Falls," "Blue Kentucky Girl," "Satin Sheets" and "Squaws On The Warpath." Ms. Shepherd appears to have been from around Waupun, where this album was recorded at the Madison St. Sound Studio. She's backed by the band Radio Flyer (who have some music above)... The group included Gary Case (drums), Bryan Christensen (fiddle), Fred Ferguson (bass), Tim Ferguson (lead guitar), Wally Messner (steel guitar), Paul Thelan (organ and piano), as well as some other locals adding backing vocals and whatnot. Definitely indie!

Side By Side "Ode To A Friend" (End Of The Trail Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Kuzulka & Side By Side)
A folk-country band from McFarland, Wisconsin, featuring David Liebmann and singer-songwriter Bonnie Rowan... She contributes two original songs, "Man In The Moon" and "Ode To A Friend." They also cover several Patsy Cline classics, along with "oldies such as Wreck Of The Old 97," "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," and other country standards.

Sierra "Runnin' For Nothin' " (Loose Outlaw Records, 1980)
One of several bands using this name in the 'Seventies and 'Eighties... These folks were a country-rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin which was together for most of the '80s... They had more of a power-pop feel here, although there is definitely some twang in there as well, mostly in the form of some untamed steel guitar, and a dose of Southern rock boogie as well. Stylistic schizophrenia ensues with the introduction of a truly awful spacey-poetic love ballad sung by the band's gal singer, Valerie Mikkelson, but written (like most of the original songs on here) by R. L. Miller. Notable tracks include "High On Lowell," a tribute to Little Feat's lead singer, Lowell George, who passed away in 1979, and their jittery cover of Michael Nesmith's "Rio." I gotta say, this record didn't really do it for me -- a little too rock'n'roll, maybe? -- but I do like how the band looks on the back cover, all of them lugging sixpacks and twelve-packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon to go jam at the great rehearsal session in the sky.

Gene Ski & The Mavericks "Nashville Music" (1971-?) (LP)
A native of Green Bay Wisconsin, Gene Ski (ne Eugene Kurowsky) is best known for his macabre rockabilly classic, "Six Feet Down," which he recorded in 1966, while in his early twenties. This album was recorded several years later when Ski and his band the Mavericks owned and performed at their own club in Mentor, Minnesota. The album features a half-dozen Gene Ski originals, including a version of "Feeling Bad," which was the flip side of the '66 single, along with tunes such as "Juke Box Blues," "Papa Had Wild Blood," "Lookin' Out This Window" and "It's A Different Kind Of World," as well as a few classic country covers, songs like "From A Jack To A King" and Leroy Van Dyke's "The Auctioneer." Not a lot of info about this one, though apparently the band included Minnesota keyboardist Jerry Basore on Cordavox; Basore played in several local country groups from the early '60s onward.

Southbound Band "...And Friends" (End Of The Trail Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Nick Kazulka)
Not to be confused with the Alabama-based late 'Seventies band Southbound, this group was from Waupun, Wisconsin, and from the looks of things on their back cover, they put on a pretty lively show. The list of folks on the back cover doesn't differentiate between core band members and "friends," but the composer credits and inner liners include the following: Donna Dabson (who wrote one song), Jerry Dabson (guitar), Greg Huppert (guitar), David Tomten (guitar), David Wilson on bass, and a lot of other people playing various instruments or singing backup on various songs. They apparently wrote all their material, though the goofy back-cover photocollage mentions the song "Elvira," so I'm sure they played a few cover songs as well.

Stampfel & Weber "Going Nowhere Fast" (Rounder Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Dan Doyle & John Swenson)
More nutty stuff from Milwaukee native Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of Unholy Modal Rounders infamy... They reprise a bunch of wonderful songs from the days of yore -- vaudeville, Appalachian and Tim Pan Alley oldies, novelty songs and sweet, sincere ballads given a disjointed, squeeky fiddle-and-careless guitar makeover. True to form, Stampfel & Weber play their music in a seemingly haphazard manner, playing "sloppy" just because they can, their actual mastery of the material is so complete that they can relax and enjoy themselves and know their audience will still be along for the ride. Interspersed with the kooked-up renditions of older tunes are some legitimately weirder originals, such as "Jeannie's Dream," a rambling recitation about a woman who finds some old records in her attic and has the cops called on her when she plays them too loud. If you're already tapped into the whole Rounders/Clamtones vibe, you're sure to enjoy this record as well.

Stone Oak "Riding With The Wind" (Trade Wind Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Mason & Andy Waterman)
Bluegrass and acoustic swing by an eclectic ensemble from Madison, Wisconsin... They do Appalachian oldies such as "Banks Of The Ohio" alongside novelty numbers like "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens," which they probably learned via Asleep At The Wheel, and Bill Kirchen's party-down classic, "Too Much Fun." There's some more modern 'grass to mow as well, with covers of Peter Rowan's "Blue Mule" and Jack Bonus's "Hobo Song."

Suthern Comfort "Sings Bill Herrick Originals" (Door Knob Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Gene Kennedy & Bill Langlois)
A see-what-sticks effort from one of the last great Top Forty indie labels of the '80s. The short-lived Suthern Comfort (who probably could have had a better band name) was the vocal trio of Mike Reinecke, Gene Tesch, and Tim Tesch, backed on this album by a Nashville studio crew that included folks like Charlie McCoy and steel player Russ Hicks. Despite their evocative "suthern" name, the group was from Wausau, Wisconsin and made their way to Music City after winning a country music talent show sponsored by Wrangler Jeans in 1984 in conjunction with local radio station WDEZ. Formed in the late 'Seventies, the group seems to have been aiming for the vocal harmony style bands such as Alabama and the Bellamy Brothers, although it's worth noting that when they were winning first place at the state fair in West Allis, WI, they also had a female bandmember,, Kathy Lindie, who apparently opted not to make the trip to Nashville. Dunno what the story was on songwriter Bill Herrick, though -- apparently he was signed to the publishing wing of the Door Knob empire, though I don't think he was originally connected to this band from up north.

The T-Bones "Presenting... The T-Bones" (Cuca Records, 1964-?) (LP)
A western swing/polka dance band from Wisconsin, sometime in the 1960s, from the looks of it... Most of the material is polka and waltz-oriented, but there are some country songs in there as well, and several that spotlight the steel guitar. The group included lead guitarist Jerry Carlisle, rhythm guitarist Jimmie Hintz, accordion player Ed Borberich and drummer Kidd Carson. The band's name is a reference to their shared involvement in Wisconsin's ag industry -- two of them worked as livestock sellers at the Milwaukee Stockyards, while the other two sold farming equipment. In fact, the album was sponsored by the Milwaukee Stockyards itself, and the liner notes go into great detail about the organization, including a rundown of its annual sales for 1963. Round 'em up, boys!

Ron Thompson "Plays, Sings" (Claremont Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Ron Thompson & Andy Watermann)
A lounge-y set from pianist Ron Thompson of Orfordville, Wisconsin, a teensy town near Janesville. There's a fair chunk of country material -- covers of "Country Roads," "For The Good Times," The Most Beautiful Girl," "Proud Mary" and others, as well as more mainstream pop standards, like "Girl From Ipanema," "Misty," and "Mack The Knife." In the early 'Sixties Thompson was in a garage band called the Nocturnes which recorded a couple of singles for the Cuca label, including an amped-up version of an old Hank Williams tune, refashioned as "Jambalaya Rock." Beyond that, I couldn't find much biographical information... As far as I know, this was his only solo album... but you never know!

Dave Toland & The Armadillo Desert Band "You Can't Take Back The Kiss" (Desert Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Michael Larscheid, John Tanner, Frank Lindsay & Dave Toland)
The debut album by honkytonk songwriter Dave Toland, who was a rambling man if ever there was one... Born in Texas, he played bars in Arizona before moving up North to Wisconsin, of all places. This album was recorded in Milwaukee, where Toland was hanging his hat at the time, leading an all-local band that toured the Great Lakes area... In the 1990s he relocated to Denver, Colorado and eventually made his way to Hawaii's Big Island, picking and singing at every stop... This is a fine set of original material -- other than a cover of Terry Stafford's "Amarillo By Morning," the songs are all written by Mr. Toland.

Dave Toland "Didn't I Let You Drive My Truck" (Star Revue Records, 2005)
As far as I know, this is the only other album Toland released -- a perky set of country novelty songs, led by the clever title track. Vocally, he sounds a lot like the young Rodney Crowell!

The Top-Notchers "Top Notch Country" (1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Dobbs, Norm Herman, Dave Melgard, Larry Scott & Wayne Zank)
Real-deal locals-only country from central Wisconsin... The repertoire is half-originals, half-covers, with a few polka tunes thrown in for fun. The Top-Notchers were formed in the 1960s by drummer Bill Dobbs, who anchored the group along with piano player/songwriter Dave Melgard, of Eau Claire. The bandmembers were all from a cluster of towns near Eau Claire and Neillsville, Dobbs and Melgard backed by John Kreuger on drums, Dale Sanders (bass) and Wayne Zank (guitar), while harmonica player Paul Runholm had been active for several years as a college folkie at UW-Stout in nearby Menomonie. Zank, who hailed from Holcombe, played in polka band as a kid, and later got into show promotions and managing bands, including local rockers as well as country acts... Dave Melger contributed four original songs to this album: "Call It Love," "Our Anniversary," "Our Love," "and the novelty number, "Why Weight?" The rest of the record spotlights gems by Merle Haggard and Harlan Howard, as well as a couple of tunes from '71, Jim Chesnut's "Four In The Morning" (a hit for Faron Young) and Wanda Ballman's "Anywhere (Just Inside Your Arms)" which was a popular number for Charley Pride. I'm not sure how long this group stayed together, but Mr. Melger was still performing locally as recently as 2019, although I think he was playing solo.

The Townsmen "I Believe" (Coulee Records, 197--?)
Another mystery band. This one was recorded in La Crosse, Wisconsin in either the late 1970s or early '80s, from the looks of it.

The Valley Boys "Old-Time And Country-Western Music From The St. Croix Valley" (Audiotek Records, 1971-?) (LP)
These fellas were from the Great Lakes region, hailing from the tiny town of Hudson, Wisconsin, on the state line right across the river from Minneapolis -- so when they say "old-time music," what they mean is polkas, not Appalachian twang, with accordions and brass at least as prominent in their sound as electric guitars. Founded in 1958 by accordionist Steve Feyereisen, the Valley Boys played together for thirty years, officially disbanding in 1988, with slow changes in a lineup mostly anchored by the Feyereisen family. This edition of the band included drummer Arlyn Benoy (1933-2021), Steve Feyereisen (accordion) and his son Charles Feyereisen (tuba and bass), Dennis Thorsen (guitar) and Dave Waughtal on trumpet. Side One of this LP is devoted entirely to polkas, while Side Two shows their devotion to classic country, with tips of the hat to Johnny Cash ("Folsom Prison Blues"), Merle Haggard ("Sing Me Back Home") and George Jones ("Walk Through This World With Me"). They also cover some contemporary material such as "Kiss An Angel Good Morning" and "Never Ending Love," two hits from 1971 which (probably) place this as a 1971 or '72 release.

The Valley Boys "Volume II: Western Wisconsin's Valley Boys" (Audiotek/VB Records, 197--?) (LP)
The same lineup, and same format: polka on the first side, country on the flip. The country covers are again heavy on contemporary hits, such as "For The Good Times" and "Me And Bobby McGee," and "The Key Is In The Mailbox," similarly suggesting a release date around 1971-72, though it could have been a few years later. (Footnote: David Feyereisen, who joined the band in 1978 later, along with his brothers, formed a '90s country band called Stampede; the group recorded an album in 1991. After the Valley Boys broke up, guitarist Dennis Thorsen started a less formal group called Hunyuks, which also played in the Hudson/River Falls area.)

The Valley Boys "Volume Three: Twenty-Five Years" (JBM Sound Production, 1982) (LP)
One side polka, one side country. Along with oldies by Merle Travis ("Sioux City Sue") and Ernest Tubb ("Waltz Across Texas") they cover Waylon Jennings' "Good Hearted Woman" and other faves. The back cover shows the band posed outside the same barn they first performed at in 1957, including their newest member, drummer David Feyereisen, who had joined the group three years earlier.

Wes & The Plainsmen "Live" (1981-?) (LP)
These guys hailed from Kenosha, Wisconsin and played regularly around Chicago for several years. Led by singer Wes Cox, the band was together at least as early as 1973, but this album seems to be from around 1980-81 or so, judging from the covers of Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Livin' Long Like This" and "Elvira," which were in vogue around then... The band included Bob Fenrich (drums), Drexel Hurley (bass), Vern Markee (electric guitar) and Pam Williams (vocals) -- bass player Drexel Hurley (1930-2012) worked for American Motors in Kenosha; he seems to have retired to Texas later in life.

The Whiskey River Band "Blended Whiskey" (Noteworthy Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Tim Hale & The Whiskey River Band)
Geez. Another one! With a slightly longer name to differentiate them, the Whiskey River Band was a group from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin and included Al Blau (piano, guitar), Jim Peronto (bass), Mike Soffa (pedal steel, lead guitar) and Scott Strandell on drums. The album is made up of all original material, with most songs written by the band members, and though the picking is pretty solid -- particularly the pedal steel -- the vocals are almost universally pretty iffy. Some interesting lyrics, though, with one album highlight being the novelty number "The Temptress," in which the narrator tells of a middle-of-the-day motel rendezvous, where he's worried he'll get spotted, and is particularly worried that his boss will find out about it, since it's in the middle of his work day. (Turns out the temptress of the title was... his wife!!) Overall, I'd say this was an ambitious set of original material, though the execution was a bit clumsy... maybe they just needed more time in the studio(?) Guitarist Mike Soffa was also the owner of a popular local music store, Mike's Music and Sound, which he opened in 1974, and sold in 2002. The guys in this band seemed to have dispersed, with many moving to other states, though some version of the band recorded a digital-era album a couple of decades later... Not sure if that was a reunion gig, or if Al Blau kept the band together in between.

The Whiskey River Band "Live At The Holiday Inn" (2001) (CD)
A live recording by a latter-day edition of the Wisconsin band which included Al Blau, Brian Boehlen, Vince Boehlen, Brent Clauson, Bonnie Peronto, and Jim Peronto. This was most likely a tape of a reunion concert, but don't quote me on that.

Sonny Williams "Sonny Williams" (Country Sound Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by John Carver & Les Ladd)
Not a ton of info about this guy, though researching his legacy is complicated as they seem to be multiple people using the same nickname. There was a singer from Memphis -- James Kirby "Sonny" Williams -- who played with Gene Williams and Eddie Bond, but he's a different guy. Other sources mention a fella named Clyde Harley Bowie (1933-2008) who went by the stage name Sonny Williams, although there may still be a mixup about Mr. Bowie's identity, and a lack of clarity about that of Sonny Williams. Here's what the record shows: there was a Sonny Williams (this artist) who released several singles in the late 1950s and early '60s including songs that were composed by some of the same songwriters credited here, notably Frank McNulty, whose song "Bye Bye Baby Goodbye" was a Sonny Williams single in 1958, and is featured (re-recorded) on this LP. Similarly, other songs from his back catalog are included here, including some by producer and longtime associate John Carver, as well as several credited to Sonny Williams and one(!) with C. Bowie listed as the songwriter. The liner notes tell us Williams was from Virginia, while the Clyde bio has Mr. Bowie born in Pisgah, Maryland. Was there an error in translation, or were they two different people who worked together over the years? I dunno. Another wrinkle is that apparently Mr. Williams spent much of his career in Wisconsin, and released this LP on a label from Milwaukee, though this set was recorded in Nashville with a crew of Music City super-pickers: steel player Pete Drake, guitarists Jimmy Capps, Jim Colvard and Jerry Shook, Ron Oaks (piano), Billy Linneman (bass) and Willie Ackerman on drums. At the time this album came out, Williams was riding high on having Tammy Wynette record a song he co-wrote with Merle Kilgore, "Fire In Your Heart," which was included on the Five Easy Pieces soundtrack; his own version is heard here, along with a slew of original tunes. Several tracks on this album mirror the sometimes overly amped-up manic pop grafts given to to countrypolitan hits of the era, though Williams soon reverts to an earthier tone, more in line with Merle Haggard or the more rugged country crooners of the era. Pretty good record overall, with some swell steel guitar. Definitely worth a spin!

The Wisconsin Idea Theater "Badger Ballads" (Wisconsin Idea Theater, 1965) (LP)
(Produced by Robert E. Gard & L. G. Sorden)
Not all that "country," but definitely, for-sure very Wisconsin. A bunch of clean-cut, well-meaning collegiate folkies singing old-fashioned sentimental tunes like "After The Ball" and "Silver Threads Among The Gold," as well as a slew of Wisconsin-specific ditties such as "Away To Wisconsin," "The Big Eau Claire" and "On The Banks Of The Little Eau Pleine." Various soloists, no pedal steel.

Wisconsin Opry "Live Country Music Show: Wisconsin Dells' Newest Family Attraction" (1979?) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Lake & Kent Kesterson)
A souvenir album from the Wisconsin Dells tourist attraction which in the late 1970s added a country music show to its entertainment menu... The band on this first album included three lead vocalists, Jerry Beschta, Julie Keller and Ellie Peters who take turns singing on a mix of classic oldies and newer tunes, including some hip and mildly surprising modern selections. Keller takes a pass at a cover of the old George Jones hit, "He Thinks I Still Care" and Emmylou Harris's "Boulder To Birmingham, while Peters closes the album out with a version of "The South's Gonna Do It Again." I think these folks were fairly young musicians who were probably happy to have the gig -- apparently they traveled to Missouri to record the album at the KBK/Earth City studios in Saint Louis.

Wisconsin Opry "Live" (1979?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Schulenberg)
As on the first album, the musicians at the Dells seem to have been allowed to play stuff they liked, and made some pretty hip selections: they cover several songs that Emmylou Harris recorded in the late '70s, along with some Hank Williams, a version of "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" (which I'm guessing they got off the Asleep At The Wheel version, not from Louis Jordan) as well as "Crazy," and... wait for it... wait..... wait... "Viola, An American Dream," which was a huge hit for Starland Vocal Band, but it also technically a Rodney Crowell song. The only distinctive track, really, is the novelty tune, "400 Hogs," which is sort of a shout-out to the 4H crowd. No release date on the record, but I'm guessing 1979, or maybe '80, based on the set list. Nothing special here, really, but I guess if you were at the Dells back then, possibly working as a candystriper, this might be a nice whiff of Dairyland nostalgia.

Wisconsin Opry "Live Country Music Show, v.3" (1985-?) (LP)
This has mostly the same band as the previous albums, although the Beschtas seem to have left the show... This edition of the group includes Cindy Dickenson on lead vocals, Virgil Dickinson (banjo), Bill Herrewig (steel guitar), Julie Keller (lead vocals), Ellie Peters (lead vocals), Mike Powers (lead vocals, piano), Dennis Reifsteck (fiddle & bass) and Dan Soma (vocals and guitar). The set list has a bunch of oldies, stuff like "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On" and "Walking After Midnight," along with newer stuff like "All The Gold In California" and "Thank God And Greyhound You're Gone."

Wisconsin Opry "Live Country Music Show, v.4" (1985-?) (LP)
(Produced by Virgil Dickenson & Dennis Reifsteck)
Baraboo's finest. Although there's some continuity in membership, the Dickensons seem to have really taken over the show, adding a couple of more family members, Ken Dickenson and Liz Dickenson (both on fiddle), along with a new steel player, Tom Dehlinger, singer Joette Rockow and a new drummer as well, Greg Wanda. Powers, Reifsteck and Soma are all still on board, and the album has the same mix of old and new. , from "Orange Blossom Special" and "I've Been Everywhere" to "Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer."

Glenn Yarbrough "Yarbrough Country" (Warner Brothers, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen, Eddie Brackett & Richard Burns)
Milwaukee-born folk-pop singer Glenn Yarbrough (1930-2016) was best known as a founding member of the Limelighters folk trio and for a solo career which included a long association with poet/pop-auteur Rod McEuen... He also dabbled in country material, at least a certain major-label version that floated around in the early countrypolitan era. The material on this album is more in a folk-pop vein, although pianist Glen D. Hardin provides the arrangements, and it seems possible that some of his TCB bandmates were involved as well. However, the album only credits the "Jimmy Bowen Orchestra and Chorus" as the musical backing... whoever that was!

Glenn Yarbrough "...The Havenstock River Band" (Impress Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Alex Hassilev & James Lowe)
A florid yet curiously brash folk-rock set... Yarbrough had definitely tuned in and turned on by the time this hippie-era extravaganza came out, and he's backed by a longhaired country-rock band from LA that was discovered by ex-Limelighter-turned-record-producer Alex Hassilev, who recommended them to Yarbrough. The group included guitarist/vocalists Gary Clontz and Archie Johnson, Geoffrey Pike on piano, bassist Gordon Curry, and Jeff Warren on drums -- Yarbrough worked with the Havenstock River Band for most of 1971, touring the West Coast and recording this album, which was released on Hassilev's own independent label. Hassilev also offered the band an album deal, and cut an even more rock-oriented record which got some traction before the label folded and Yarbrough went into semi-retirement. The band eventually broke up after that, with most members leaving the music business behind. However guitarist Gary Clontz toured with Glenn Yarbrough years later, as a backup musician during the late '70s and early '80s. Although most of the songs fall into the pop-folk field, there are a few twangier, more uptempo tracks, though you can definitely feel the Havenstock lads champing at the bit and yearning to cut loose. There's also a religious undercurrent to Yarbrough's music, not explicitly Christian, but definitely "spiritual," so this may be of interest to fans of hippie gospel music. Not super country-sounding, but country enough to mention here.

Jim Yunek "Jim Yunek Presents The Jim Yunek Combo" (Unique Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Lodholz)
A regional band based in Wausau, Wisconsin, with a background in polka and ethnic dance music... Bandleader Jim Yunek was still playing an acoustic accordion when this album came out, though like many polkateers he later adopted an electrified approach. He's joined by band includes Wally Borth on guitar, drummer John Myers, and Jerry Reynolds on saxophone, working through a mostly pop and polka repertoire, playing standards such as "Elmer's Tune," "Harbor Lights" and "Spanish Eyes," though there are also some arguably twangy tunes int he mix, such as Jim Croce's "Bad Leroy Brown" and "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," which had been revived by Willie Nelson. There are a couple of songs that might have been originals, but no composer credits to confirm this. It's really Yunek's subsequent album (below) that qualifies these guys as a country act, though like many Great Lakes dance bands, they played what was popular, including a country tune or two.

Jim Yunek "Something Old, Something New" (Unique Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Kim Jensen & Jim Yunek)
On this album, Yunek and his band concentrate pretty exclusively on country material, including chestnuts like "Crazy Arms," "Green, Green Grass Of Home" and "You Are My Sunshine" along with newer material such as "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," "Never Ending Song Of Love," and Tompall Glaser's infamous male chauvinist anthem, "Put Another Log On The Fire." One song is called out as an original, Wally Borth's "I Just Can't Get Over You," and Borth once again helps anchor the band. The lineup changed a little, but the core members remain: along with Jim Yunek on Baldovox electronic accordion, the group includes Wally Borth (guitar), Tom Wakeen (guitar), Tom Wrysinski (drums and vocals), Jerry Reynolds (saxophone). I'm not sure if they made any other albums, but any info about these folks is certainly welcome.

Alex Zanetis "Ballads Of The Oil Fields" (RIK Records, 1964) (LP)
This is an entire album of songs about oil drilling in the American South and the Panhandle, penned by the then-unknown pop-country composer Alex Zanetis, with backing by several A-list Nashville studio pros, including the early-'60s edition of the Jordanaires. Zanetis certainly had a colorful career: he was born in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin and early in life sang baritone with the Chicago Metropolitan Opera. He abruptly changed gears in 1955 to devote himself to songwriting, eventually moving to Nashville. Mr. Zanetis had remarkable success, with numerous songs recorded by top Nashville stars including Bill Anderson, Brenda Lee, Jim Reeves, and Faron Young -- one of his first hits was "As Long As I Live," a Top Five duet recorded by Red Foley and Kitty Wells back in '55. His song "Snap Your Fingers" was a crossover success, first in the R&B/pop vocals field, later covered by various country artists in the '70s and '80s. Zanetis also was involved in Southern politics, working as a staffer for governors Jimmie Davis, George Wallace and Lamar Alexander. One odd footnote to this already quirky album: a decade later a guy named Sam Thompson would record a song-by-song remake, with one song re-credited to include the '70s-era producer. Go figure. Hmmm... maybe Thompson was actually Mr. Zanetis, re-releasing his own album incognito? Could be! Stranger things have happened.

Various Artists "THE COUNTRY COLLECTOR'S ALBUM" (Cuca Records, 19--?) (LP)
A late-1960s(?) collection featuring country artists from Wisconsin, mostly locals associated with the long-lived regional label, Cuca Records. Producer Jim Kirchstein started the custom label in 1959 and before long business was booming. He recorded all kinds of artists -- pop, polka, blues, et.al. -- but those northern woods also hid a surprising amount of country talent. This LP features little guys like Bobby Hodge, The Rice Family, Dick Sherwood, Curly Fields, the Country Cousins, the Goose Island Ramblers, Jack Leonard, Ed Cree and Joan Whitney, as well as big-timers Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart (King was originally a Wisconsinite, while his singer Redd Stewart was not... But hey, who's gonna tell Redd to leave the studio?) Digging even deeper, you digitally-oriented listeners might enjoy the Cuca collections below...

Various Artists "DRIFTLESS DREAMERS IN CUCA COUNTRY, v.1" (Numero Group, 2018) (LP)
One of several digital-only releases covering the Cuca label's prodigious country output... Some of these artists, such as Gene Ski, eked out full albums of their own, while others were singles-only kinda musicians. This collection includes tracks by Georgette Beltran, Big Jim & The Country Clan, Julie Durocher, Arty Minz, Sam Podany and others. Alas, it's a digital-only release, but many thanks to The Numero Group for keeping this stuff floating around!

Various Artists "DRIFTLESS DREAMERS IN CUCA COUNTRY, v.2" (Numero Group, 2018) (LP)
A second volume of Great Lakes-adjacent twang, with some artist overlap from Volume One, as well as a few "new" artists, including Dave Davis, Duane And The Drifters, Gary Reinke, and the awesomely-named Patti Whipp. This also includes a couple of tracks by Curley Fields, "Biggest Clown In Town" and the super-groovy "Frisco Flower Tale" a cautionary tale about a "mixed up little girl" from a broken home who goes a little wild when she goes out west and winds up in San Francisco, "where beads and beards and flowers were in style." When her super-concerned and lovingly patronizing boyfriend finally finds her, she can only stare out glassy-eyed, presumably on drugs, though he ascribes it to the Devil having got his hooks into her. Great stuff. Anyway, Curley Fields is one of the Cuca country artists who also managed to cut a full album in the late 'Sixties, though I think the tracks here came a little earlier. (Available through The Numero Group, digital only.)

Various Artists "DRIFTLESS DREAMERS IN TOP GUN COUNTRY, v.1" (Numero Group, 2020) (LP)
More obscure Badger State twang from the folks at Cuca, this time from their Top Gun country imprint. There's some overlap of artists from the other two Driftless Dreamers collections above -- singers such as Julie Durocher and Curley Fields appear to have recorded prolifically for the label(s), though in essence this remains pretty obscure stuff. Cuca of course captured all sort of regional music; along with the local polka kings, there were a lot of rock and pop bands such as the Fendermen, etc. and even some groovy blues and R&B, if that sort of thing appeals to you.

Various Artists "FOLK MUSIC FROM WISCONSIN" (Rounder Records, 2001)
Of course I couldn't resist checking out this disc of old Library of Congress recordings... It's all good stuff, although I was surprised by the preponderance of English and Celtic material, and the absence of German and Nordic folk songs... Does this reflect the cultural bias of the folks who collected these recordings in the 1940s, or is there perhaps another volume in the works? At any rate, if you like old-timey stuff, this disc holds up pretty well... even includes a few logging songs of local origin!

Various Artists "WISCONSIN ROUND-UP" (BACM) (CD-R)
Rarities from Jimmie Dawson, Andy Doll, Dave Farley, Dick Hiorns, Laurel & Miles, Larry Lee, Bob Martin, Les Waldroop, and others. Of course, Wisconsin's finest, Dave Dudley (a native of Spenser, WI) is represented as well... This collection includes his first single, "Nashville Blues"/"You Don't Care," from way back in 1952.

Hick Music Index