LoneStarStomp

Gabriel with the Seven Inch Reel

2012-02-25T10:07:00.000-06:00

GABRIEL WITH THE SEVEN INCH REEL - Lisa's Boy b/w I Want To Feel You (Zay Dee 209)

Poppy folk. Nine sixty-somethin'. Lubbock, Texas. Publishing carried by John Sands of Plainview who ran the Ohn-J label which best known for the post String-a-Longs work by Keith McCormack and the Strings of Fortune. Otherwise, an unknown.

I was first attracted to the downer "Lisa's Boy", but am now rather enjoying the sprite, orchestrated flip.

Tortilla Factory, San Angelo

2012-02-16T21:00:00.001-06:00

TORTILLA FACTORY - Cookin' and La Malaguena (from Tortilla Factory, GC Records)

On January 10 of 2011 Tony "Ham" Guerrero passed away. To fans of Tejano music Tony is a legend as both a player- trumpet- and a band leader. While he first gained fame working out of Temple with the famed Hernandez brothers and their Latinaires, which later grew into the legendary La Familia, Guerrero's groups on either side of the Hernandez brother projects have deep West Texas roots.

Tony Guerro grew up in the community of San Angelo, a military, college, and agricultural community that sits at the edge of two important Texas regions. To the west and north lie the Permian Basin and the plains. To the east is the beautiful Hill Country. Cotton farming, ranching, defense, education, trade, size and more made (and make!) San Angelo an important crossroads in Texas.

Tony took to the trumpet early on eventually going to the Berkley School of Music to train and study before returning to Texas and forming the Tejano Brass. By the late 60s Tony was making the 400-mile round trip between San Angelo and Temple, Texas to rehearse with Little Joe, Johnny, and Rocky Hernandez and their group the Latinaires which eventually became the group most synonymous with tejano, La Familia.

In 1973 Tony, Joe Gallardo, and a number of other members of La Familia split and regrouped as the Tortilla Factory, naming themselves after a San Angelo, well, tortilla factory as the legend goes. Also along for the ride were Gilbert "El Coyote" Deanda (guitar, vocals) and Gilbert Sedeno (organ), both of whom two had played with Tony in the Tejano Brass. The Brass was Ham's first recording combo and issued a handful of singles for the Hernandez Brothers' Buena Suerte label (more on the Tejano Brass can be seen HERE on their official website). Along with Dwayne Daniel on trumpet the factory had a heavy San Angelo presence. Also present was the famed El Charro Negro, Bobby Butler from the Latinaires days.

As the 60s came to a close and the 70s opened, the Onda Chicana movement was in full swing nationwide as Mexican-Americans began to look more closely at where they had come from and where they would be going. Not only was this change be seen in the political activism of the day, but it could be seen in the music contemporary to the era as well. Groups were bridging the proud and iconic Hispanic sounds of decades previous with jazz, funk, and rock grooves of the present. "Ham" wanted the Tortilla Factory to be big and he wanted them to be the best. At everything.

In August of 1973 Tony Guerrero and the members of Tortilla Factory entered Manny Guerra's Amen studios in San Antonio. The final product, named after the band, was released the following fall on Guerra's GC label. (Manny was like a Chicano Bill Smith or Huey Meaux in that he seemingly had a label for a each day of the week). The group recorded 9 cuts, leaning heavily on traditional Mexican rhythms but incorporating elements of jazz and funk as well.

The uptempo "Cookin'" stands as the best known track from the lp- en el mundo de los jueros. The only English language number on the album, "Cookin'" is a pulsating mix of funky bangin' drums, wah-wah'd guitar, stabbin' horns, and good time vocals which has made the track a favorite among funk and soul DJs, driving the price of the record up into the lower 3 figure range.

The majority of the album is Spanish language tunes... at times jazzy, sometimes breezy, and still traditional. The group's update of "La Malaguena" with a vocal from el Charro Negro is a good example of the Tortilla Factory sound heard throughout the rest of album.

There group would work through the 70s shifting from label to label, including the long-running Falcon brand, making a bunch of money and moving many feet along the way.

The El Paso Premiers, El Paso

2012-02-11T13:11:00.003-06:00

THE EL PASO PREMIERS - This is the Beginning b/w Let Me Call You Darling (Frogdeath 66/2)

Bobby Rosales and his El Paso Premiers had been roming El Chuco for a few years before they recorded this record for dj Steve Crosno's great Frogdeath label in 1966. According to a labelhand the Frogdeath label design was wholeheartedly inspired by RCA's Nipper logo. "This Is The Beginning" features a vocal from the band leader and is a nice Chicano slowie... great from bumping and grinding with your baby in the corner of the gym/VFW/Knights of Columbus hall. A Mr. James Patterson takes the lead on the uptempo flip, "Let Me Call You Darling". James's name, though common in the big scope of the name game, does ring a bell in the context of El Paso / Las Cruces music. I know I've seen the name before, but just can't quite place where.

From here the Premiers signed on with C.L. Milburn for a pair of releases on his r&b label Souled Out of Texas and then there was a Spanish-language 45 on the B. Rosales Records label based out of Odessa, Tx.

I am curious about the publishing connection to Linjo Music. There was the Linjo label, of course, but I've noticed the publishing on other El Paso record labels as well.

Please excuse the condition... the band seems to have been recorded a bit hot in the studio- par for the course with the chicano combos who pushed their horns to the front and center- but the vinyl is quite sub par as well.

Mary Lydia Esther and Phillip, Lubbock

2012-02-05T01:38:00.007-06:00

MARY, LYDIA, ESTHER, PHILLIP - Feeling Mighty Fine (El Programa de fe Rev. Ruben B. Garza PDF-91671)

A bit of Sunday Gospel for you in the form of a remake of the Statler Brothers standard. From Lubbock, but worked up by Jeff Smith and his Texas Sound Studio down in San Antonio. 1971?

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Over at Diggin' It!!! I have up a set of 30 somethin' 45s I found in 2011. Lots of cool LoneStarStomp 45s like Ken Cook on Phillips, Orville Fox on Ellis, Ray Rush on Aura, and more. Check it out HERE...

BFTB...

2012-01-16T13:00:00.009-06:00

... or Back From The Bend you might say. (click on pics for better view... worked this up mostly from an iPhone using the blogger app which doesn't allow for image resizing as best as I can tell)

Camped at the scene of an unsolved murder on the back slopes of Nugent Mountain (Laurence Parent's Death in Big Bend is a can't-put-it-down page turner)...

... and saw amazing sights on an overnight trip to the famed South Rim of the Chisos. That first view will take your breath away...

(please excuse the goofy, breathless commentary in the above YouTube clip)

... as is a sunrise from the cliffs at near the campsite at Southeast Rim #3.

On the way down we saw the rock 'boot' in Boot Canyon, another first for me...

... and great views of one of our favorite Chisos Peaks, Casa Grande.

We got creeped out by a skinny dippin' assault weapon totin', sotol drinkin' loner we met on a late night trip to the Langford hot spring. Cat even stalked us a bit and is probably destined to some day take up a chapter or two in Parent's follow up. Beers were drunk. Ceegars smoked. Whiskey imbibed. And ribeyes and porterhouses consumed.

Nugent Mountain was 'conquered', and the greatest panoramic view of the east side of Big Bend National Park was taken in.The Nugent summit views of Mexico's Sierra del Carmen were amazing. But will Westex and his camping gang ever summit the ominous Schott Tower, aka "El Pico"?
24 hours after my return Casa Westex looked like this...

Explorer Westex is fullfilled... until next year.

I'll be back with more West Texas music... like the New Roadrunners, Orville Fox, Tortilla Factory, Ken Cook of "Crazy Baby" fame, and finally(?)the Knights Bridge as well as updates on Ray Rush and Montie Mead.

GTTB...

2011-12-30T19:21:00.011-06:00

GTTB... Gone To The Bend, that is.

Once again it has come that time when I make my annual trek south to that Great Bend in the Rio with my camping gang, the Brave6. Thirteen trips since Easter Weekend of 1997 and the twelfth in a row... always the same 6 gents. I look forward to beer, Kuba Kubas/La Glorias/Cohibas, talk, hikes, and multi-hour soaks down at the hot spring while staring up at the the greatest display of stars in the whole of Texas.

Here's a clip I put together back in 2008. Please forgive the choppiness and timing... it was the first time I had ever done one of these. The music is the amazing "Highways of Your Mind" by the amazing Joseph Brunelle, formerly of Midland. Not the first time it's been here...

Big Bend photos include the ruins of Terlingua Abajo, a failed attempt to make it to the top of Mesa de Anguila via the Brujeria Canyon pour offs, and finally Tuff Canyon. From there it is out of the park and down the river road to Presidio and on to Ruidosa and Candelaria and the famed Chispa Drive which took us through the most ruggedest part of Texas and our destination of Capote Falls, the highest continuous waterfall in the Lone Star state. I'd guess we were probably the last bunch to visit that spot who weren't either ranch family or drug runners. It wraps up with the "road to nowhere" past the Chinati Mountains, the breathtaking climb to the Marfa Plateau, and finally on to Marfa proper. (Marfa would be the home to Little Danny... host of the BRILLIANT 45 blog Office Naps as well as dreamy Exotica Project web site.)

Hasta...

The Roadrunners, Odessa

2011-12-04T22:56:00.022-06:00

THE ROADRUNNERS - Mercy Mercy, Hitch Hike (unreleased, from original tape... these clips are edited)

It would seem that in just about every corner of every teen center in every city in the 1960s you could find a combo billing themselves as the Roadrunners. Some were inspired by the Bo Diddley standard. Some took their name from that speedy little bird often seen across the southwest. Others took their name from the Saturday morning cartoon ("BEEP BEEP"). No doubt some felt the name aptly described the amount of time their little group spent out on the blacktop.

The Roadrunners of Odessa, Texas first came together in 1964 and though a number of people moved in and out over the years, the core of the group included Ben Durall (guitar), Jeff Colvin (drums), Stu Bailey (guitar), Eddie Grice (keyboards), and Charlie Byford (bass). Made up mainly of Permian High School students the group focused on then current R&B and top 40 hits of the day. For a time the Roadrunners also included female vocalist Beverly Toone who joined two of her sisters in the Great Grannies and released two singles on Roland Pike's Corridor label.

The group worked a full schedule of dates across West Texas and the far eastern edge of New Mexico. The mid-60s were a different time... 14- and 15- year old kids could take off on a Friday afternoon in a van and cover 400 miles in 48 hours playing victory dances, church functions, clubs, and roadhouses while making loads of memories and pocketfuls of spending money along the way. Times have certainly changed as have the kids... I just don't think the kids of today have got it in 'em.

The Roadrunners eventually got the attention of local deejay Jon King who signed the band up with his Kingco Production company. Jon worked the airwaves for radio station KCRS in Midland while running Kingco Productions on the side booking around a half-dozen bands from the Midessa area including The Sensationals (aka the Sensations Sound), the Chessmen, and Al Nelson and the Screaming Skulls (!!!!) while also organizing events at local teen centers. On any given weekend Kingco bands could be found shakin' up local teen haunts like Snug Harbor and the Aristocrat in Odessa, Midland's Intrepid Teen Center, and Jon's own King's Castle in Big Spring. Road trips included excursions north to Lubbock's famed Music Box and on to Amarillo. To the west/east/south the towns of El Paso, Abilene, and Alpine represented the remaining boundaries of Kingco's booking.

Durall remembers King as a manager who really pushed the Roadrunners, not an easy task when dealing with high school kids that were out for kicks as much as for gigs. Jon recalled occasionally showing up for the after-hours weekly rehearsals held in an east side barber shop. With KingCo's connections the boys were able to get gigs opening for bands as big as Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels and the Beach Boys (with Glenn Campbell taking Brian Wilson's place).

The Roadrunners built a solid reputation in the region through hard work and a heavy schedule. If you booked the Roadrunners, you booked a solid three hour show. For a time the boys even emulated the fabulous Paul Revere & the Raiders by doing a set complete with tri-corner caps and dance steps.

As such, there was little need and little time for the band to focus on original material. With gigs every weekend rehearsal time was at a premium and new hits needed to be plugged into the set list. There were trips to Tommy Allsup's AOK studios, but the purpose was backing other artists rather working on a Roadrunners record. Even in the role as backing band it doesn't appear that any recordings made it past the stage of tape.

The only recordings the Roadrunners made bear out the influence of what was popular at the time.

In 1965 the Rolling Stones released Out of Our Heads. As had happened with the previous release, combos across the US of A again took notice of the material the Stones had chosen, a mix of remakes and band originals including the classics "The Last Time" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". People have overlooked and even misstated the influence R&B had on American combos of the 1960s. The popular notion is that the Brits survived on a diet of American black music, while America itself ignored its own musical history, a notion held by the same school of folks that really do believe rock n' roll did not exist in years between Buddy Holly and the Beatles. But that's hardly the case. Americans weren't ignoring any part of their music legacy... they were just coming at it from a different direction. The Roadrunners, like 100s of other combos, played long sets that needed to be filled and padded with not only pop hits but the R&B hits of the day as well. The kids came to dance and bands served up familiar tunes to their shuffling and swinging clientele. If you wanted to survive as a band you gave the patrons what they wanted: the songs they new from the radio or the big selling lps. But while U.S. teens kept their eyes largely on the charts, their British counterparts were watching the hits and pilfering the used racks of vinyl shops looking for overlooked and forgotten gems. Combos like the Yardbirds and Rolling Stones had a knack for taking more obscure American blues and r&b tracks and stamping them with their own flavor. On their previous two albums the Stones made Americans take notice of songs like "I'm A King Bee" and "Time Is On My Side" and "Route 66", songs that might have otherwise been largely forgotten by popular culture. But instead of slipping into obscurity Mick Jagger and company turn the songs into set list staples for garage bands across the country. With Out of Our Heads the Rolling Stones did the same with Don Covay's "Mercy Mercy" and Marvin Gay's "Hitch Hike".

In 1966 the Roadrunners entered Tommy Allsup's AOK studio in North Odessa where they cut their own versions of "Mercy Mercy" and "Hitch Hike". Though neither side was ever released, the recordings would have made a fine addition to the brief catalog of KingCo 45s. "Hitch Hike" is a bit funky, but receives a fairly straight reading... no doubt sweaty palmed and nervous 13 year olds in attendance at Odessa's Aristocrat teen club would have recognized the first few notes of the number and jumped to the floor to jerk and swing, or as is more likely the case with teens... just plain ol' spazz out. On the other hand "Mercy Mercy" absolutely pops with the Roadrunners turning in a rather spirited version of the song. It is the sound of a group of seasoned performers rather than high school kids... the vocals are tight and Colvin's drumming is great. How much of a Stones influence would have been present had the Roadrunners ever made it back to AOK to lay down original tracks?

By 1967 the Roadrunners were beginning to shift directions. Charlie Byford and Stu Bailey joined Bob Bailey and Donnie Butler in a Houston-bound version of the Shades (soon to be Shayde and under contract with International Artists). Drummer Jeff Colvin joined the New Image along with guitar/steel guitar virtuoso Al Perkins (formerly of the Mystics and the Shades and futurely in Foxx and Manassas) and was doing the Midessa hop for weekly gigs at the Pussycat A-Go Go. Jeff would eventually go on to keep time for the locally (in)famous American Embassy as well as Foxx, Sweet Briar, and Blazed Glory which also included Steve Smith, formerly of the Knight's Bridge.

With the original Roadrunners splitting and a handful of bookings still on the Roadrunner calender Ben called on the recently relocated Bob Simonetti and His Agents for assistance and once those bookings were fulfilled Ben moved on to other projects, including the locally famous Roxgarden. Bob Simonetti, seeing the value of an established local name, dropped the Agents moniker and continued to take bookings as the Roadrunners.

These new Roadrunners eventually became the New Roadrunners who recorded one sole 45 for the AOK label.

Their story is coming shortly...
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Thanks to Scott Schenkel- a wealth of information on the post-'66 Odessa music scene. It was Scott who put me in contact with Brett Bates of the New Roadrunners and then Brett's contacts with other members of the New Roadrunners eventually led me to Jeff Colvin and Ben Durall, of the original Roadrunners. Big thanks to Ben for sharing memories and the clips of "Mercy Mercy" and "Hitch Hike" Thanks also to Jeff for the pictures of the original Roadrunners and New Image and putting up with a storm of emails.

In the next month or two I'll pick up where I left off and cover the New Roadrunners.

I'm still working on Scott's old band, the Knight's Bridge, as well.

Andy Schroder and His Western Band, Odessa

2011-11-27T08:54:00.003-06:00

ANDY SCHRODER AND HIS WESTERN BAND - Prairie Dog Ramble b/w Red River Shore (Ace 101)

Not too long after the close of WWII fiddler/violinist Cecil Brower brought his Cowboy Band to West Texas. Cecil's history is long and, well, historic, taking in names like Bob Dunn, the Light Crust Doughboys, and Bob Wills. Along for the ride much of the way was steel guitarist Andy Schroder. Andy had played alongside Cecil in a number of north Texas combos including Red Woodward's Red Hawks, Ocie Stockard and the Wanderers, and the mighty Hi-Flyers!

Upon arriving in the Odessa area the newly rechristened Kilocycle Cowboys took to the stage at a number of local honky tonks including the Ace of Clubs and the Oasis, as well as KECK radio. (A KECK broadcast can be heard HERE). The group, billed as Cecil Brower's Western Band, even won a Billboard "Local Program" contest in 1948.

By 1949 Cecil was off again and Andy Schroder was leading the Western Band, doing so for at least two releases on the Odessa-based Ace label.

The instrumental "Prairie Dog Ramble" references the famed critter of the Plains, at once both cute and cuddly and a pest... an animal that can at once draw "oohs" and "aahs" from the young and old and a blue streak of four-letter words from ranchers and farmers. Led by Andy's steel the number has a certain sorta lope to it, not unlike the waddle of a lazy cynomys.

On the flip Andy himself takes the vocal on a western number regarding a Red River area cowpoke who pines for a fair Indian maiden, a union frowned upon by her daddy. The song ends on a strange hitch... the little gal's daddy puts together an army of warriors to put a stop to the affair which results in a battle. The protagonists lives to tell of a single bullet fatally felling 6 his adversaries and the wounding of another 7 hired-ons. Though he continues to boast of his love and devotion, we still don't know if this particular couple will ride the trails happily ever after.

After a second release on Ace Andy Schroder and his steel guitar seem to have disappeared.

Jack Jordan traded in his upright for a smoker and started up Jack Jordan's Bar-B-Que in the early 50s. Many a family still breaks bread around a pile of J.J.'s brisket.*
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Picture Credits:
Cecil Brower band photo: Band Playing, Photograph, 1947; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth50144 : accessed November 22, 2011), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Library and Hall of Fame , Midland, Texas.

Andy Schroder photo: Man with Steel Guitar, Photograph, 1947; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth50152 : accessed November 22, 2011), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Library and Hall of Fame , Midland, Texas.

Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River photo from Wikipidea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Dog_Town_Fork_Red_River)

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*Odessa, Texas is starved for the type of brisket made famous by the rest of Texas. In 14 years of living here I've yet to have really good brisket from a local restaurant. We can do an ok steak (the Barn Door) and amazing Mexico food (where do I even begin?), but bbq comes up short. Perhaps I got spoiled living in Abilene during the mid-90s when there were at least 4 restaurants in the area serving great brisket.

Wendell Gregory of Friends of Mind

2011-11-11T05:06:00.002-06:00

People pass on from this world often. While scratching and digging for information about local musicians I often hear that some fellow or another just died and think "Aaaaahhh... the missed opportunity!" A bit impersonal to be sure. I found out just this week that Wendell Gregory passed last weekend. Wendell and Ken Tumlin sat with me on a sunny Memorial Day weekend in 2010 and told me about their folk group Friends of Mind.

Sometimes stories are better left untold and names better not mentioned. Not so with Wendell Gregory and Ken Tumlin of Odessa who were extraordinarily open and extraordinarily generous in regards to their old folk combo. They were genuinely nice people and though they were no longer performing together Ken and Wendell had maintained a friendship that came close to spanning a lifetime. I wrote about their singing group Friends of Mind in May of 2010 based on an afternoon interview and a series of emails (story HERE).

Wendell reminded me of a lazy teddy bear, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Just sweetheart of a man. Very laid back, a peaceful soul. His demeanor and voice were of the sort that put you at ease almost immediately.

What is heard here are a couple of the tunes that Friends of Mind recorded at the former AOK studios after the Insounds 45, but were never released. In fact until a transfer last year these songs had not been heard in quite some time.

"From Here To Sundown" is a Ken Tumlin original and gives us another opportunity to heae Ken and Wendell's voices together in a rather sparse setting. "But You Know I Love You" is the Kenny Rogers/First Edition hit and more like the sound an audience would have heard during a Friends performance. We get to here Friends member Marietta Weaver singing along here. And there's Wendell's ever present tambourine, which he joked about more than once. I don't think he understood how important it was to the Friends of Mind sound.

And once again... "Moving Through Your Mine"... so good. One of my favorite records to have ever come out of little ol' Odessa, Texas.

Thanks again, Ken. And my thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Wendell's family. He seemed to be a heck of a man.

Harry Bray & the Wheels, Plainview

2011-10-17T22:08:00.007-05:00

HARRY BRAY AND THE WHEELS- When Gabriel Blows His Horn b/w A Drink of Mescal Wine (Twixt Tween 1117)

Texas, as well as anybody, has a penchant for turning out music folk who don’t seem to work, create, or live in the same world as the rest of us. Lubbock, Texas birthed Norman Odom whose vision was so at odds with all that was acceptable in the Hub City he almost turned his crazed wailings into a hit as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. He made such a racket he even influenced David Bowie. There was Fort Worth promoter Major Bill Smith whose story if properly told would jump from names of hit makers like Paul and Paula and Bruce Channel to 100s of well as never-made-its like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy himself and then onto an unbelievable tale about Elvis in hiding. And what about Bennie Hess from southeast Texas who never really understood what the current world of country music needed or would accept, but lived his life giving it a go regardless.

And then there’s Harry Bray of Plainview, Texas… songwriter, player, producer, used car salesman. There is little publicly known of Mr. Bray aside from the information that can be gathered from the handful of records he released on his labels Twixt-Tween and Satin. And there is the interesting detail about an underground, cinder block storage room on the property of his used car lot that Bray himself converted into a recording studio. Much of what we do know comes from Amarillo-area music historian Robin Brown (who once actually auditioned for Bennie).

Harry Bray was born in 1914 and had attended High School in Turkey,TX. There is some mention of him playing a horn in the high school band and with an old friend, Otho Arnold. He also later played with a local guitar player named Archie Montgomery and they may have had a trio with Arnold, at one time.

After raising one son (Ronald) and being in the laundry business for a number of years Harry decided to get back into music. This time he bought a 4-string tenor guitar and learned to play it, basically on his own. By c. 1960 he had decided to do some recording with another trio he had formed in Quitaque,TX. For the next several years he practiced with various local musicians but first recorded with Garrett Morrison (Quitaque) and Dick Polk (Silverton). He also began writing songs to use on his recording ventures.

By approximately 1961 Bray had recorded two instrumentals that he thought might be commercial. Somehow he heard of a record company in Houston and he seems to have traveled there to promote his tapes. It was at the Allstar company that he learned the sad news: he needed better recording equipment and better recordings! (Allstar was a record label created by dj/musician Dan Mechura in the mid-1950s. In the label's decade-long history it had releases on everybody from Eddie Noack and Link Davis to folks like Red Mansel of Amarillo. It would not be too much a stretch to assume that perhaps Bray found out about Allstar after a local encounter with Mansel. It is even more likely that Bray caught one of Allstar's send-in-your-songs advertisements in a sheet music rag of the day.) At home again, he received a recorder to use in his make shift studio. This time he was able to do sound-on-sound recordings and with Garrett Morrison's help he also learned how to create 'echo effects' with the new recorder. Almost overnight the trio's recordings began sounding more commercial! It was not long after this that Bray and his two partners had their only release on the Allstar label. Harry had attached his name to both songs as the sole writer. The two songs, both instrumentals, were titled "Guitars" and "So Lonely."

The first place that Harry got his new record played was on the jukebox at Mrs. Netherland's Drive-In in downtown Quitaque (any LoneStarStomp readers wanting to visit this Harry Bray holy spot just holler for directions... I would hate for you to get turned around downtown and wind up lost). Since Harry lived right behind the hamburger stand he knew every time one of his songs was played. Some of the local teenagers got a kick out of playing it, mainly because it was by Harry, Garrett, & Dick. One of the few radio stations in the area that played Harry's first record was KFLD in Floydada. Truth is, very few stations ever gave Bray's records a spin because his music was steeped in the sounds of the music of the thirties and forties.

In the mid-60s Harry and his wife Zula moved up atop the Caprock to the town of Plainview where they took up residence on the southeast side of town and Bray got into the used car business. It was at about began to focus on producing records for not only himself but other locals acts as well, a task that was supposedly undertaken in an underground studio on the property of his used car lot. Working with local area acts such as the Coachmen and soul man Jackie Johnson (Stomped HERE) Bray released a series of records on Twixt-Tween and Satin labels.

Even in production Harry's touch was a tad bit primitive, perhaps too much so for some locals. Unhappy with their first Twixt-Tween release the Coachmen headed south to Tommy Allsup's studio in Odessa to record a second single which was released by Bray as Buzz Barnhill & the Four Counts(story to come). Other releases on the label are stamped with odd rhythms and even a drum machine.

Of what I’ve heard from Bray himself, little could be considered ‘of its time’. Bray's own releases on his labels continued to feature trebly, multi-layered instrumentals that carried an almost pixie-like quality. His instrumentals-whether from the 60s or 70s- have a sound that was no longer en vogue with current trends, sometimes sounding like a poor man's attempt to mimic the likes of Les Paul. Other tracks sounded ahead of their time. And then there's that drum machine to contend with.

"When Gabriel Blows His Horn" from 1969 might stand as Bray's most interesting release. I can almost imagine Bray, inspired by the Sunday sermon, heading to his basement studio to carry out the Lord's work in some small way. According Robin Brown, the session was shared with the three individuals whose names are listed on the label pictured above: son Ron Bray on bass, Dick Polk on guitar, and Joe Birchfield on drums. While this may be true there's something almost romantic about the thought of a lone Harry sitting in a dimly lit studio brewing up "When Gabriel Blows His Horn" one instrumental passage at a time and wrapping it around an Apocalyptic lyric. This is the religion of someone who knows the church and knows the gospel, but whose view of Christianity has been more greatly shaped by Revelations rather than "Go ye unto all the world..."

On the flip Bray serves up a song that- at least lyrically- might be considered to be more traditional country. Laced with a shot of Oaxaca, Mexico's most famous export, Mescal Wine, the song breaks no new thematic ground. But it sounds like you feel after a night of imbibing.

Does it even need to be said... neither side of this single were a hit.

Harry Bray passed away in 1984.

Sunny Molina & the Pacesetters, Roswell

2011-10-11T08:01:00.006-05:00

SUNNY MOLINA & THE PACESETTERS - A Star of Wonder b/w I Have A Dream (La Discoteca 1001)

Let me tell you everything I know about Sunny Molina & the Pacesetters, a chicano combo out of Roswell, New Mexico. In the 1960s the group turned in these two sides that would be best described as having what Andrew Brown once referred to as "local charm". There was a second release as well but I do not recall titles.

Thanks for reading.
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Check Andrew Brown's two excellent blogs dedicated to artists full of local charm...
Wired for Sound and 1966: Texas Music in the Sixties.

Susano Landeros & the Royal Notes, Colorado City / Sweetwater

2011-09-25T07:54:00.003-05:00

I was recently contacted by George Rivera who played with Colorado City's Royal Notes. George was able to add a little bit of additional information to what I had previously posted about their Gaylo 45.

SUSANO LANDEROS & THE ROYAL NOTES - Take It Easy b/w Yesterday (Gaylo 114)

Ben Hall was catching all sorts of sounds through his Big Spring-based High Fidelity House studio and Gaylo record label. Teens, country boys, rock n' rollers, and even Tejanos.

Susano Landeros came out of a small Colorado City, Texas 'barrio' Juarez. Save the drummer and sax player, both of Sweetwater, the rest of the Royal Notes were Colorado City boys as well.

In 1962 the Royal Notes recorded two originals at Ben Hall's Big Spring studio. "Take It Easy" is an okay instrumental rocker. The number doesn't stretch too far building to a brief n' tame sax workout in the last quarter. A bit repetitive too be sure. "Yesterday" sounds a bit more south-o'-the-border with the trumpet out front and a slightly exotic rhythm. This one shimmers just a bit like the West Texas heat.

Susano left the Royal Notes not too long after the release of the 45 and recorded at least one additional single which was released on the Corona label of San Antonio.

The remaining Royal Notes continued on, patterning themselves after successful Tejano acts like Little Joe & the Latinaires and Sunny & the Sunliners. Within the Royal Notes was a small group called the Midnighters which played popular rock hits of the times.

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Thanks to George Rivera who sent in information regarding Susano and the Royal Notes. George played bass for the Royal Notes/Midnighters after Susano's departure.

The Raiders, Lubbock / Connections

2011-08-20T20:04:00.009-05:00

THE RAIDERS - Hocus Pocus / Yoo Hoo (Andex 4015)

In the mid-1950s Nova Scotian-born Graham Turnbull packed up his Fender Strat and headed southwest to Lubbock, Texas to pursue graduate studies at Texas Tech and teach at Lubbock High School. According to legend it was in the halls of Lubbock High where he first met Buddy Holly and two soon began hanging out, eventually splitting writing credits on a dozen or so songs (I don't believe any of these efforts were ever recorded).

While attending Tech Turnbull, who took went by Scott Turner, met aspiring singer Hal Goodson and the two began working under the name of the Raiders, no doubt a tip of the hat to Texas Tech. In the summer of 1957 Turner, Goodson, rhythm guitarist Jerry Dereyer, and bassist Leon Bagwell visited Norman Petty studios. Lacking a drummer Petty called on Jerry Allison to play on the four sides. "Who's Gonna Be The Next One Honey" b/w "Later Baby" were issued soon thereafter on the west coast Solo label. The 45 managed to become a minor hit, almost cracking the top 100 (the remaining tracks were unissued until a 1990 when they were released by Rollercoaster Records) .

With success at hand the Raiders were called to the West Coast. Hal Goodson remained in Lubbock. The remaining Raiders signed a contract with Andex records and in June of 1958 released their sole 45 which paired "Hocus Pocus" with "Yoo Hoo". "Hocus Pocus" came from the songwriting team of Cliff Goldsmith and Fred Smith and had been recorded by both Ben Joe Zeppa and Specialty wild man Larry Williams in 1957, though both sessions remained unreleased for a number of years. Opening with a stinging guitar lead from Raider Scott Turner, "Hocus Pocus" charges along for a full two-and-a-half minutes. Turner never lets up while Leon Bagwell slaps along to the beat, likely kept by drummer Hal Blaine. It's a a great piece shake n' wiggle rockabilly and still a favorite with jivers for whom the big beat never did die.

The flip side rockaballad "Yoo Hoo" is one of the earliest efforts from songwriting partners Herb Albert and Lou Adler.

In short order the Raiders found themselves lending support to up-n'-comer Tommy Sands, received co-billing on his "Blue Ribbon Baby" release on Capitol, backed Sands on "The Worryin' Kind", one of the greatest strollers of all time, and toured Australia.

After leaving Sands, Scott Turner spent the better part of the next three decades playing, writing, and promoting music, stringing together an impressive list of achievements along the way. Turner passed away in 2009.

I have no idea about the whereabouts of the remaining Raiders, but would welcome any leads.

Hal Goodson passed away in Midland in 2000.
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Sources...

Hal Goodson's nephew posted a few bits about Hal at a Telecaster forum which can be seen in full HERE.

Johnny O'Keefe biographer Damian Johnstone wrote a nice eulogy on Scotty which can be read at the Spectropop newsgroup.

Brian Sheppard's liner notes to Hal Goodson & the Raiders' "Texas Rockabilly" EP on Rollercoaster Records (1990).

A short list of Turner's songwriting accomplishments can be found HERE. There are a few early pictures of Scott and Hal Goodson.

Red Mansel & His Hillbilly Boys, Amarillo

2011-08-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

RED MANSEL AND HIS HILLBILLY BOYS - I've Crossed You Off My List (Starday 45-523)

Red Mansel worked the country circuit in and around the Panhandle town of Amarillo, Texas in the 1950s where local dates fronting his own Hillbilly Boys were promoted twice-weekly on a 15 minute spot on local tv station KFDA. Red also played guitar for local honky tonker Virgil Humes.

1955 saw Red Mansel released his first record using Starday's custom series. The disc paired two originals including the mid-tempo honky tonk shuffler "I've Crossed You Off My List" on the A-side. As was the case with pretty much every other pressing in the series there was no hit for Red and his Hillbilly Boys.

In April of 1956 Billboard Magazine announced that Red Mansel had inked a two-year deal with Dan Mechura's Houston based Allstar label where he would go on to release three records. Despite steady Billboard mentions through the spring and early summer of 1956 Red's first for Mechura's imprint was panned by the trade rag as was another later release.

Red doesn't seem to have recorded again after the close of the 1950s. According to Kevin Coffey Mansel lived his last years in Hurst, Texas.
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Thanks to Kevin Coffey for the use of the Virgil Humes photo.

Amarillo postcard from the Vintage Chrome postcard blog.

The Circus, Odessa

2011-07-29T07:20:00.007-05:00

The Circus and their Offe 45 have been a small source of speculation over the years in the community of 60s garage collectors. It being a Houston Records pressing the obvious conclusion was that "Bad Seed" must have been born outta the swamps of east Texas or southwest Louisiana. Or maybe as far north as Oklahoma or even Arkansas. A second assumption was that the Circus had to have been some maniacal band of raving teens. One listen to the record and it is not hard to imagine a pack of ranting and raving mop topped kids wearing black sweaters and bone necklaces while spitting in the face of all that was moral, true, and good. Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Larry Poynor caught the entertainment bug early on, not a terribly difficult thing to do growing up in a place like Abilene.

Aside from being a strong market for country music thanks to the tireless efforts of Slim Willet and others, Abilene locals were also quick to latch on to the new rock n' roll sound and the Key City was probably one of the first towns to get behind Elvis.

One of the first local artists to make the jump from country music to rock n' roll was the "West Texas Wildman" Dean Beard. Dean and his Crew Cats were a mainstay of the Abilene music scene for a number of years and many a Big Country local remembers Dean and his group. For Larry it was a show at the Paramount Theater in downtown Abilene that stands out. When the piano pounding Beard took the stage he groped, err... grabbed, the microphone in such a way that he drew both the ire and applause of those in attendance. Music, it would seem, can certainly make people take notice and react.

Another memorable experience came a year or three later when Larry caught the Spirals at the Taylor County Fair. Part way through the show the drummer moved to the front of the stage, turned his back to the audience and then pulled a comb from his pocket to fix his DA before leading the combo through a rendition of "Fools Rush In". Larry, a drummer himself, thought that was a pretty slick little move.

Within a short time the stage and studio would become Larry's life. It's hard- really hard- to keep track of everywhere Larry has been and everyone he has played with over the years. He even played a stretch with Glen Goza just after "Goshamody, Whatabody" stopped hitting regionally. But his first gig of note was as the drummer for a regional group known as the Feathers and that might be as good a place as any to start.

THE FEATHERS

The Feathers were a group that seems to have 'taken flight' in the West Texas town of Abilene in 1963. Aside from Larry Poynor on drums, the group also included brother Gary Poynor on bass, Pepper Martin on lead guitar, Bill Cleaver on rhythm guitar, and Bill Ray playing sax. Sometime in or around 1964 the Feathers had found themselves booked into an extended stand at the Bel Aire lounge in Hobbs, New Mexico. Bill Cleaver was not long for Hobbs and bowed out shortly after the Feathers touched down.

The honky tonks and night clubs of Hobbs weren't for the faint of heart. The stage might start off as a rush, before slowly becoming a grind. And the clientele could be a bit demanding. Getting booked into an engagement in Hobbs - which might last up to a month or even longer- was like a tour of duty in a sand blasted combat zone. Patrons, some still reeking of oil as they barreled through the door in a sprint for the bar, could sometimes care less who was on stage. They were wanting to forget the rig they had just come off of and would be going back to in short order. The band was a distraction to dance to. Or fall in love to. Or fight to. A group like the Feathers were the defacto crowd control as much as they were crowd pleasers. Some of these places were the sort that closed long enough for the staff to sweep out the trash along with the comatose and restock the coolers before starting up for the next crowd. The money was good. A band learned to be a band. You did not, however, become famous. A month straight at Al's State Line didn't catapult anybody to overnight stardom. It could be a grind for sure.

The Feathers' manager brought in a replacement who took over on drums and Larry- one of those guys that tick you off to no end because they can play ANYTHING- took up the vacant rhythm guitar spot. The new drummer for the Feathers was Teddy Neely, formerly of Taylor County Fair stars the Spirals. No idea if Teddy's comb made any appearances at the Bel Aire.

Once the Feathers had wrapped up their engagement in Hobbs they headed north to see Norman Petty, but before they had even put a foot in the door of the fabled Clovis studio they were convinced to head down to Odessa where Herb Graham was branching off from the nightclub business into music production with his Summer Star production company. The well-rehearsed Feathers left Summer Star studios having recorded two tracks, "Them Onions" (co-written by Larry and Teddy) and "The Dummy" (a Poynor original).

The band was then off to Las Vegas where a job had been lined up to back Sue Thompson, hot on Hickory Records at the time. While the band waited for Sue they took a job at the Pussycat A-GoGo and once it became apparent that the tour was not going to come together the Poynor brothers moved on.

THE FEATHERS - Them Onions b/w The Dummy (Veep 1200)

After the Poynors had exited, Graham managed to place the Summer Star recordings with D/FW mover, shaker, and snake oil salesmen extraordinaire Major Bill Smith who then struck a deal with the nationally distributed Veep label. The single appeared in 1964 and disappeared almost as quickly.

The group then became the Teddy Neely Four, lasting for one early 1966 release on Graham's own Zola label ("Comin' Home" practically defines the term BIG BEAT). In the spring of the same year a second Zola single was issued as the Sonics. Neely was soon off to California and a recording contract with Capitol before becoming Ted Neeley and eventually taking a career(life?) defining role as the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar. Pepper Martin went on to play in Foxx, another "Graham band" as the locals say.

After Las Vegas Larry returned to Odessa, Texas where a gig led to a Denver engagement for him and his combo. The trip to Denver fell apart before it even really got started. "I was the only one over 21,” said Larry. “Before we finished our first night in Denver, the cops came in and checked IDs. I was the only one not arrested because of my age." Once the guys were bailed outta jail it was back to the road.

THE DUKE CITY

By 1966 Larry and Lynne Poynor were living in Albuquerque. And what a time to be in Albuquerque! The Duke City scene was absolutely exploding in '66. All across the city there were dozens of excellent combos making noise, gathering fans, and issuing records, among them the Striders, the Saliens, King Richard & the Knights, the Kreeg, the Choab (aka Chob) and the Plague. Aside from all of the local companies national record labels like Challenge, Look, and Columbia were signing local bands and artists to deals. With all of the attention that Albuquerque was getting it was as good a' place to be as anywhere else.

Albuquerque gave Larry the opportunity to focus on music, both writing and playing. He and his wife Lynne picked up steady work at the Fireside Inn. Located on busy east Central Avenue, the Fireside Inn was one of the first watering holes to greet white-knuckled drivers finishing the 20 mile drive through Tijeras Canyon. And according to Larry a stop at the Fireside Inn could be interesting, to say the least.

"Johnny, the owner of The Fireside Inn, was quite a character. One day I came into the club and there were holes around the clock on the wall. Johnny and a pal were drunk after the club had closed for the night and used the clock for target practice.... the clock was never hit."

"Another time some customers at a table were messing with one of the go-go dancers so Johnny takes his pistol (it was so big it looked like a cannon) and told them to leave the girls alone as he's waving the pistol in their face. We never had any more trouble with them."

Not all Fireside Inn stories involved guns. There were hippies, too.

"Johnny hired a waitress. She looked like a hippie and lived up in the mountains around Albuquerque. Her husband was just as weird. One day he brought in a sheet of plywood upon which he had painted a collage and propped it up against the back wall of the club. He said it was for sale. It sat there about a month and one night he came in and stood back and gave it a long look. Finally he said 'Well, no wonder. It's upside down.' The painting never sold."

Local characters aside, the Fireside Inn also drew a few celebrities.

"One night we were doing a set and some musicians came in the door and sat down. Well, on our break they asked if they could sit in. I told 'em yeah and they asked if they could bring in a couple of amps. So when they got ready I asked the name of their group.... he tells me Dion and the Wanderers. I announce them and off they go. I'm sitting in the audience listening and somebody taps me on the shoulder and asks if that's Dion of the Belmonts . Well I didn't know what Dion looked like so I asked him if he was the one with the Belmonts and he said that all he could say was that he was Dion and they were on their way to L.A. to be on Where The Action Is. So I never gave it another thought. About 3 weeks later I'm watching Where The Action Is and here is the group, Dion and The Wanderers, formerly Dion and The Belmonts. I was really surprised."

In 1966 another interesting visitor stopped by the Fireside. Gene Vincent and his wife Jackie had come to Albuquerque to visit Gene's parents and have Gene's leg looked at the local Veteran's Administration Hospital. Gene introduced himself and said that he would soon be going to England. "He wanted to know if I wanted to go and be the opening act," remembers Larry. "I'd heard a million of these stories, but I was nice and sorta played along. He said that first he had to go in the hospital and have his legs operated on and told me to come up to the hospital and visit and we'd talk over the tour. So I said sure and went on my way. I never went to the hospital because I figured he was just another quack." Gene, always nervous about his crippled leg, got scared when his doctors started talking about amputation so he jumped town. "About 6 months later I was reading Billboard magazine. It was an article about Gene Vincent and he was about to go on tour in England. It said he had just got out of the hospital after having his legs operated on. I was too young to eat a gun so it was just an 'Oh Well'. I had a shot and blew it." Probably for the best... Gene's tours by this time had a way of imploding.

One area Larry didn't blow it in was lacing his songs with other local Albuquerque artists, though none of his songs were hits. The Saliens recorded a song called "Black Leather Britches", which still remains unreleased. Another Poynor original, "Animal Crackers" by the John Wagner Foundation, was placed on the nationally distributed Look label.

DEWAYNE QUIRICO
Another Fireside Inn visitor and recent transplant to the Duke City was north Texas drummer DeWayne Quirico (pronounce Care-ico), fresh off a crazy year on the West Coast. DeWayne's first professional gig was as a member of Sam Gibbs' Musician Service. Sam booked out of Wichita Falls, Texas- his biggest act being the Miller Bros.- and sent his entertainers out on long tours and engagements at fairs, military bases, and casino lounges. In the early 60s DeWayne picked up a spot with Doug Bowman and the Roadrunners, no strangers to the Hobbs nightlife, and spent a bit of time playing drums in the group. Doug ran his Roadrunners hard and DeWayne eventually walked away from the group in Nevada.

By late 1964 DeWayne, and his drums, were in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he ran into guitarist Billy Webb. Billy and drummer Lloyd Dalton had just taken leave of the Fuller brothers down in El Paso. As soon as he could find a ride DeWayne piled his entire kit into a Mustang and was headed south for El Paso where he met up with Randy Fuller at the Red Rooster Drive In and talked about joining Randy and Bobby. The next day he auditioned with Bobby himself and after a few practices in the famed Fuller home the new group was off to California and on their way to stardom.

In their rather short existence the Bobby Fuller Four would go on to become one of the greatest American bands of all time, a perfect merger of sight and sound. And what a sound! These guys cut one of the greatest rock n' roll songs ever when they remade "I Fought The Law". Regardless of the original source "I Fought The Law" will ALWAYS be a Bobby Fuller Four song. The legs may belong to Sonny Curtis and Crickets, but face it... the heart and soul belongs to the combo that cut it in Bob Keane's LA studio in 1965. And a big part of the credit for making the song what it is belongs to DeWayne Quirico and his incredible drumming... you know that what's coming is gonna be good as soon as you hear that drum roll at the intro.

DeWayne is also heard powering the BF4 through such classics as the outstanding "Let Her Dance", “Another Sad & Lonely Night", and "Never To Be Forgotten". The genius thing of Wayne's drumming was that he was often heard beyond the standard 4/4 beat or shuffle. There were always extra little rolls or snaps of the hi-hat or switched up beats thrown in that kept things interesting.

1965 was a big year for the boys from El Paso. There were TV appearances, an album, high profile concerts, a big engagement at PJ's, and songs on the radio. And 1966, with "I Fought The Law" climbing the charts, stood to be even bigger. But if it was up to Keane and Bobby it appears as if '66 was destined to be the year of Bobby Fuller, rather than the Four so DeWayne was up and gone and decided Albuquerque was the place to be.

Albuquerque was a time of 'transition' for DeWayne. After a couple of years of constant appearances and gigs and studio work he found the Duke City to be a more laid back affair, the only constants being his drums and his girlfriend. And then in mid-July the news of Bobby Fuller's death broke.

While in town DeWayne had a few things going on including a short lived gig with a blind piano player and a stint at Caravan East, but his goal was to just take a break and play with a long range goal of staying busy as a session player. Somewhere around town he met Larry and the two began working together. For a time the Poynors even took in DeWayne and his girlfriend allowing them to share their apartment.

THE BAD SEED

THE CIRCUS - Bad Seed (You're A Bad Seed) b/w Burn, Witch, Burn (Offe 101)

Armed with a handful of songs, Larry and DeWayne hit John Wagner's basement studio sometime between the fall of 1966 and early 1967. Larry hoped to get a couple of his compositions on tape with a secondary goal being the creation of his own publishing company and this would be done under the name Po Dunk. In tow were one or two members of local combo the Plague, responsible for the the INCREDIBLE "Go Away" on Epidemic, and another local musician named Herman Tower. Herman, a lone wolf of sorts, was always on the move between groups and gigs.

Of the songs that made it into Wagner’s studio, Larry’s most ambitious idea was a song called "Bad Seed". There was also a song about a witch, based on a poem Larry had written in junior high called “The Day the Yaks Came To Town”.

"Bad Seed" opens with an almost excruciating harp jab from Herman Tower before giving way to a hypnotic rhythm line from Larry's bass and the organ, likely played by a member of the Plague. And then comes Larry's snarling opening- I was born in a taxi in a thunder storm... I was... and right away they sent me to the Parchman Farm- and what follows is line after line detailing the struggle of one who is born into the worst of circumstances and forced to live tough and live to survive. This ain't no charmed life. The pulsing, rolling go-go rhythm is punctuated throughout by bluesy harp wailing while Quirico's drumming is steady and unrelenting and jazzy. There's almost too much going on, at times bordering on chaos. But just when you think the train has done run its course, just as it seems it's run out of steam, a snap of the hi-hat pulls it all back on track and it barrels on along. I would almost hesitate in using the word "punk" when describing "Bad Seed" as it is a term so overused that it is almost generic and meaningless at this point. But with attitude to spare, both lyrically and instrumentally, this is just about as punk it got in the 60s.

While Larry and his assembled caste eased the pace just a bit on "Burn Witch Burn" the lyrics are no less shocking. If "Bad Seed" is a warning then "Burn Witch Burn” is a reflection of deeds done.

I grabbed the old hag and I threw her on the ground,
Made sure that she was gagged and bound
Just before I killed 'er I heard her say
“Gonna see the devil on Black Wednesday”

"Burn Witch Burn" employs one instrument not heard on "Bad Seed"- a rhythmic clinking sound. "That was an empty Heineken beer bottle" recalled Larry and was played by DeWayne during one of the dub-ins. Details are fuzzy, but the bottle was probably DeWayne's idea. Randy Fuller had played an empty Coke bottle during the BF4's "Let Her Dance" session at Bob Keane's studio in 1965. The empty soft drink bottle on "Let Her Dance" sounds happy. An empty beer bottle on "Burn Witch Burn" sounds ominous. (I've included a YouTube clip of the Bobby Fuller Four performing "Let Her Dance" below) And the blood curdling scream... according to Larry it was an impromptu addition from Herman who thought it fit.

As for the subject matter... "I write off the wall stuff," says Larry. I should say so.

THE CIRCUS COMES TO ODESSA

In early '67 the Poynors returned to Odessa and Larry assembled a group including himself, Lynne (vocals), brother Gary (bass), and Abilene boys Hubert Giddens (organ) and Paul Westbrook(soon replaced by Tommy McCamey on drums), called the group The Circus, and sent the tapes of "Bad Seed" and "Burn Witch Burn" off to Houston Records where the record was pressed in March of 1967. "(I thought) having a record out would make us all stars... Ha!"

"The people that pressed the 45 came up with the name for the label," says Larry of the Offe single. "I don't remember how many copies were pressed, but it was the bare minimum." I would guess that to probably be 100. The records received by the band were either given away or sent out to a few radio stations. With the band acting as distributors by handing out singles to friends and radio disc jockeys the record never made it to any stores or any of the jukebox one-stops. Add to the lack of distribution the band's short existence and you have a record that is as easy to find as water in West Texas. Whatever copies of the 45 weren't given away in 1967 were destroyed in a flood in the early 80s, save couple of salvageable copies (one of the nicer ones featured here).

The next stop was a television show in Dallas. "I had arranged with a booking agent back east to book us. The day that we were supposed to leave, the entire band quit. None of them wanted to leave town so Lynne and I migrated to Las Vegas." And the Circus, a band that had never really even got off the ground, was done.

Lynne and Larry separated after she joined Wayne Newton as one of the Jive Sisters.

And Larry... the man never has stopped.

Larry developed a partnership with former Circus drummer Paul Westbrook, including partially funding a studio Reid ran out of Cleveland, Mississippi. At least one recording is known to have been released from this venture- The Comin' Days' nifty remake of "Last Time" on Peak. While he receives production credit for the single Larry's only involvement was studio funding and the writing credit for the record's flip side, "Mr. Earth Man".

There was also a release on Track Records, another Westbrook label, under the name Buck Shot and the Incredible Barb-Wire String Band. The single includes a remake of "I Fought The Law" with a rural flair b/w the hard rockin' "Stone'd Again". I'll have to came back to that one at a later date.

In the mid-70s there was another stint in Odessa, this time in a combo called OAK with Larry Brumfield, Jan Lessard, and Don Stice. Another Lessard/Poynor act was the Measles, billed as “the most contagious band in West Texas.”

At present Larry and his wife live in East Texas. He's still constantly writing songs and still constantly recording.
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The Bobby Fuller Four 'perform' the AMAZING "Let Her Dance" on Shivaree, July 3, 1965. DeWayne Quirico on drums.

________________________________

*Thanks to Larry Poynor who endured what must have seemed like a million questions regarding this very short period of time in his life. I've talked to a few movers and shakers from the West Texas music scene and 99% of them have been extraordinarily patient, generous, and gracious. Larry has gone above and beyond even that. Whatta guy! Thanks as well for use of the photos and the record.

*Thanks to DeWayne Quirico who was nice enough to share his stories regarding Doug Bowman, Albuquerque, Bobby Fuller and LA, and so much more. DeWayne and Randy Fuller will be playing the Norton Records 25th Anniversary shindig in New York this November.

*Thanks to Dick Stewart for the use of the John Wagner advertisement from the Lance. Dick's Lance Records website can be found HERE. There's lots to look at and buy, including original 45s and copies of the Lance. Dick continues to produce the Lance Monthly and has also recently published a book, Eleven Unsung Heroes of Early Rock and Roll. Dick Stewart also provided details on Herman Tower.

*Thanks to Mike Dugo of 60s Garage Bands who spent a bit of time pouring through issues of the Lance and provided the Wagner Studio scan. Mike's site is the BEES KNEES.

*Thanks as well to Steve Erickson of the Plague and John Wagner who took time to answer questions.

*And thanks to "MopTop" Mike Markesich for some background information as well. Mike was the first person to track Larry down in regards to the Circus a few years back. Be watching for his Teen Beat Mayhem tome. Someday it shall happen.

*Judith Richards Shubert of the Geneology Traces blog (found HERE) was kind enough to allow me the use of the Red Rooster Drive Inn postcard.

Buddy Shaw, Snyder

2011-07-07T13:07:00.004-05:00

BUDDY SHAW - No More b/w The Breath of Life (Starday 618)

Located one hour south of Lubbock, Texas the community of Snyder got its legs as a trading post in the 1870s with buffalo hides being a big commodity. As the settlement grew and the buffaloes disappeared ranching and farming began to drive the economy. Then oil was found north of town in 1948 and for the next few years Snyder absolutely boomed and though ranching and farming were important, so was petroleum exploration. Snyder grew from a small south plains city of 4,000 to almost 16,000 during the boom period. When the boom busted a lot of folks left. And a few thousand stayed on as oil became a new Texas tradition, alongside the old traditions of ranching and farming.

And with the booms come the honky tonks and the late 40s and early 50s were an incredibly fertile period for both activities. With all those roughnecks and tool pushers pulling in the folding money, drinking establishments popped up all over from Hobbs to Kermit to Odessa to Lamesa to Big Spring. I have little doubt that Snyder was home to more than a few such establishments, and a breeding ground for a few local honky tonkin' hopefuls. Radio station KSNY and dj's like Mark Johnson and Wink Lewis kept listeners' toes a'tappin' with the latest releases in the country & western field. Lewis even gave a few locals the opportunity to issue their own recordings on his Queen label.

By the time local Buddy Shaw started recording Wink Lewis had moved on to his next deejay gig back east.

There is little info about Buddy Shaw. But what do we got besides the 45s? An advert in an old hillbilly rag allowed folks with a spare buck to join a fan club based out of Snyder. And then there's a handful of mentions in Billboard.

I first heard "Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me" and "No More" on Ace's Rarest Rockabilly & Hillbilly Boogie release some 15 years back. It was easy to hear Buddy's sound and immediately, peg him as some sorta rotund inveterate singer straight outta some unnamed Kentucky hollow. "Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me" sounded almost rockabilly led on by a couple of hep guitar breaks, but the accompaniment still lent itself to an older hillbilly style. One listen to that voice and the Kentucky guess wasn't too hard to imagine. Lucky for ol' Westex Buddy wound up being a local boy.

The first half of 1957 appears to have been a busy a time for our boy. Billboard notes three releases, all custom pressings on Starday, coming out in rather rapid succession, each sharing songwriting credit with a Ruth Snider. Though Billboard's reviews didn't quite lead to a Buddy Shaw boom it must have been at least heartening for him to see that despite a lukewarm review or two his efforts weren't completely panned. As the singles were released so quickly it seems likely that all 6 sides were cut in one single session, most likely in the winter of 1956, the where's and who's probably long forgotten.

"No More" b/w "The Breath of Life" was Shaw's second release and reached Billboard in April. "The Breath of Life" is a rather standard weeper saved by the steel guitarist who shines as he makes the strings cry and moan. "No More" was Buddy's first uptempo number and mayhaps the chuggin' rhythm was inspired in part by the sounds of the Roscoe, Snyder, and Pacific rail line which carried its cargo through Snyder. The backing reminds me a bit of the Miller Brothers' "Loco Choo Choo" which had been released by 4 Star just a few months prior (Stomped HERE).

"Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me" came out in July and was Buddy's third and final release. I don't believe there to have been any more recordings issued under the Shaw name. Perhaps he drifted to the background and finished his days backing up some other local hopefuls.

Where'd ya' go Buddy?

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Snyder Postcard from the Texas Genealogy Web Project...

Thanks a million to Malcolm Chapman who gave me permission to use the Buddy Shaw picture from his posting on Buddy over at his EXCELLENT Starday Custom blog. Make sure you check that out HERE.

Bobby Price & the Country Ramblers, Andrews

2011-06-06T14:34:00.003-05:00

BOBBY PRICE & THE COUNTRY RAMBLERS - Rush On For the Moon (Unijon 1013)

Here's a strange little record out of Andrews, Texas by Bobby Price and the Country Ramblers from the late 60s. This Unijon production represents one of the earliest recording efforts by John Rowe who would create the Hare label which was home to the fabulously hard rocking combo Lynx ('Stomped HERE)

"Rush on For the Moon" is a moody country psych number that deals in the seemingly always current topic of the Apocalypse. Bobby puts his voice in low gear for the piece, but his voice can't quite cut it the whole song through.

In Bobby's world a colonization of the moon is the answer. Life on the moon will take us away from all of the shootings and riots that will come as "they" invade us. But who might the "them"? These nameless controllers that that will brainwash and possibly torture our sons and daughters? Aliens? Commies? Or worse yet... Democrats? OH, THE HORROR!

The Westex Publishing means that the record was likely done in Odessa at the AOK studios. The flip is straight country.

The Knightsmen, Las Cruces

2011-06-01T22:42:00.002-05:00

Not thrilled with condition, but still happy to have added a record that has sat atop my regional want list longer than any other. I first became aware of the Knightsmen on Bocaldun pver 10 years back and the hunt has been on ever since.

This goes out to the DJ duo Cult Heroes, aka Danny Salas and Reuben Salazar, of El Paso (read a piece on them HERE).

THE KNIGHTSMEN - Pistol Packin' Mama (feat. Sue Black) b/w Darling Why? (feat. Johnny Trujillo) (Bocaldun 1006/1005)

When talking El Paso, Tx ca. 1960 people tend to hang up on just a couple of combos - the Rock Kings and Bobby Taylor's Counts come to mind, as does Bobby Fuller a few years later- while forgetting there were dozens of other groups hitting on the popular sounds of the time. And most popular among the teen scene of El Paso and Las Cruces/Mesilla were the R&B sounds. A look at releases spread across area labels such as Yucca, Gum, F-G, and Bocaldun bears out this trend.

The origins and endings of the Bocaldun itself are a mystery. The imprint began with the re-release of the Gatorvettes's OUTSTANDING "Midnight" from the Thunder label as Bocaldun 1001/1002 ('Stomped HERE). The second 45 on Bocaldun is an unknown assuming it follows the pattern with numbers 1003/1004. In 1961 the label reappeared with an Odessa Texas address for its last release.

Las Cruces area native Johnny Trujillo got his feet wet in the El Paso/Las Cruces scene of the late 1950s and the Knightsmen were founded soon after. Johnny was a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and a fine, fine vocalist as can be heard on the excellent "Darlin' Why?". The Chicanos- in this case the Knightsmen- prove once again that there was not some arbitrary 1950-something cutoff date for doo wop. Throughout the 1960s the 'oldies' remained popular in Knights of Columbus halls, gyms, and armories all across the southwest and "Darlin' Why?" is a nice teaser for the style that remained popular for so long.

On the uptempo flip the Knightsmen backed a Miss Sue Black on a raucous gal'd up remake of the standard "Pistol Packin' Mama" which seems to have gotten its legs from Gene Vincent's 1960 version rather than the Al Dexter original. A few liberties are taken with the song, but all seem to set well with the sassy and confident Sue. Ol' Westex is particularly fond of the final verse wherein our gal raps "... I'm a real live Texas chick, I know what love's about...". Hispanic combos were more about the brass than strings so rather than some guitar slingin' at the break the listener is treated to a bit of wailing sax.

Perhaps due to the label being located a world away from El Paso in Odessa neither side seems to have done any real damage chartwise, though promotional copies were issued on red vinyl.

The Knightsmen would continue on through the 1960s from their base in Las Cruces with at least one other release on El Paso's Coronado label near the close of the decade. Johnny Trujillo would go on to front a few traditional groups before passing away.

No idea at all about Sue Black.
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What little info I have on Johnny was pulled from a blog on his nephew's MySpace page HERE. Would be grateful for any/all info about Johnny, Sue, and/or the Knightsmen.

Tommy Allsup & the Raiders, Odessa / Connections

2011-04-18T21:42:00.002-05:00

Tommy Allsup had a big hand in Odessa and West Texas in general through the 50s and 1960s. He fronted a western swing outfit in the 50s, worked a steady clip at Petty's place in Clovis, and even put together the Crickets line-up that backed Buddy Holly on the Winter Dance Party Tour(bass player Waylon Jennings and drummer Carl Bunch bunch of Odessa who passed away on March 25). In the mid- to late- 60s he stayed busy producing a whole mess of West Texans for AOK and other one-shot labels. Between the Winter Dance Party and his return in the mid-60s Tommy spent a stretch in California, working real heavy with Liberty Records.

Tommy has recently released a book with Guy Logsdon titled The Flip of a Coin and while I've not yet read it, I understand that he barely references his Odessa stays. I'll read regardless, but his days at his northside Odessa studio deserve mention like the rest of his career.

THE RAIDERS featuring TOMMY ALLSUP - What Time Is It? (Liberty 55393)

At the behest of former Lubbock boy Snuff Garrett former Oklahoma/Texas boy Tommy Allsup put together the Raiders in 1961. LP-wise their sole release was Twistin' The Country Classics from 1963. "What Time Is It" b/w "Dardanella" was issued in 1961. Coming in right after some rotary dial action Tommy Allsup's guitar is absolutely jarring. It eventually breaks off in a Bill Justis direction with the sax, but Tommy comes back to save the day. Fierce guitar... but where's the drummer?

Aside from his years at Liberty Tommy's guitar playing on record, though solid, was largely nondescript session work as it wasn't his intent to steal the show. Shame there aren't more "Tommy Allsup" records from the 50s and 60s out there.
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Pick up Tommy's bio The Flip of A Coin HERE.

Curt & Faye Bartmess, Midland by of way of Oklahoma

2011-04-14T00:06:00.005-05:00

CURT & FAYE BARTMESS - The Downward Road b/w Walking By the Sea (State 4001)

Curt & Faye Bartmess were based out of Oklahoma in the mid-50s where at some point they became associated with the presumably Texas-based State label. While the label is far from well known, it did turn out a great release from general East New Mexico/West Texas gadabout Bob Tucker & his Sky Riders. State 4002 features the swingin' "Little Red Wagon" update "Quit Draggin' Your Feet" and a nice vocal from Virgil Hume who would go on to work the Amarillo, Tx honky tonk and radio circuit for a in the mid- to late- 50s. (both sides of Bob Tucker disc can be heard HERE at the fine n' dandy Wired For Sound blog.)

On their own State release Curt and Faye update two standards from the gospel community, both featuring fine mandolin. "Walking The Sea" is based on the story of Jesus walking the stormy Sea of Galilee to find his disciples gripped with fear. The origins of the heavy handed "The Downward Road" stretch back further as a black spiritual. In the hands of the Bartmess duo "The Downward Road" is powerful piece of old timey mountain gospel and not too far off from the sound that would make the the mighty Louvin Brothers so popular a few years later.

Curt and Faye would later issue a single on their own Evangelistic Records, pressed by Starday in 1955. Malcolm Chapman featured this later release on his Starday Custom blog a few years back (read it HERE) and notes that the liners for the Flyrite cd Hillbilly Gospel make mention of Evangelistic being formed as a result of non-payment from a Texas record label they had previously been associated with. I would guess it to perhaps be this State release from which the Bartmess's saw no return. Somehow the Bartmess's were broadcasting over KJBC radio in Midland, Texas at around the same time of the Evangelistic single. I found this particular 78 in Midland recently... no idea if there is any actual physical connection between Curt & Faye and the Tall City. It's quite possible that the couple KJBC offerings wered disc'd up and shipped out from Oklahoma each week.

Faye has since passed on, but Curt is still involved in various ministerial capacities in east central Oklahoma.

The Sherry Stevens Trio, Midland

2011-04-05T20:00:00.007-05:00

This ain't pretty looking or sounding...

SHERRY STEVENS & TRIO - Boogie Blues (R.B. 63-301)

The R.B. label out of Midland, Texas seemed to have focused on jazzier sounds. And the idea of jazz in West Texas feels a bit odd.

Teen garage bands? Sure.

Full tilt rockabilly? Yep.

Honky tonk? For sure.

But the sounds heard on R.B. releases from music teacher Del Mourning (swingin' big band sounds ala the Goodman's or somesuch), croaky Robert Baugh, and the Sherry Stevens Trio are the sounds of a lounge or supper club somehwere. And it's late. The matrix correspond with years of release and from what I've seen that means the early 60s.

Sherry Stevens and her Trio cook like a 40s or early 50s combo but that ain't the case. 1963 would be the year of release and I can well imagine Stevens and her trio playing to the patrons of Midland's Egyptian Club. And I do believe this record to actually be a live recording though the label bears no mention of it as such. I do wonder who might be that Satchmo sounding cat in the background. Possibly Robert Baugh who gets a bit croaky on his own R.B. release. Pretty sure it is actually Robert's electric piano heard here. And the drummer? Certainly no Gene Krupa. But it is interesting that even in 1963 in Midland, Texas Gene was still big enough that people were cutting his songs. This certainly wasn't based on Anita O'day's second go-round with "Boogie Blues" from 1961.

In July of 1964 Billboard mentioned that a Sherri Stevens would soon be appearing at the Admiral Community Inn in Arlington, Texas. Surely the same Stevens.

Mike Malone, Midland

2011-03-26T06:27:00.002-05:00

MIKE MALONE - Don't Lecture Me b/w Left, Right (Walking Back Home) (Sims 266)

While he might not have considered himself a major player in the mid-60s Midessa music scene Mike Malone was certainly busy as his name can be found on a number of songs from the area. As far as I know Mike had just two releases on his own. He recorded the excellent "It Must Be Raining" in the early 60s on the Token label out of Midland and had a second single on the Sims label.

The Sims label was started by Russell Sims and Fabor Robinson in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s with their focus being on country music. Being the 1950s this meant releases from Dub Dickerson and brassy mama Ann Jones were pressed up next to rockin' platters from Easy Deal Wilson, Jimmy Patton, and Jackie Lee Cochran. In 1965 Russell and the Sims label headed east to Nashville and the label was releasing as many country 45s as was it was soul 45s(Wallace Brothers, Kelly Brothers). It was in the spring of this year that Atlantic began distributing Sims product nationally.

Westex was set up in 1965 and tied in with Gorman Maxwell's AOK label and Tommy Allup Studios and many releases from Odessa/Midland and the surroundings areas released between the years 1965 and 1968 carry the Westex imprint. An agreement with Sims saw a number of Tommy Allsup produced singles issued 1966 and 1967 allowing westies like Dean Beard, bank robber Rick Sikes, Edna Lee, and Gene Morris & the Lackey Brothers an opportunity at national exposure. It was Mike Malone, though, who who had the first release in the deal.

In either late 1965 or early 1966 Malone was called on by Allsup to create lyrics and vocals for a couple of tracks that had been created in his studio. With the AM waves getting edgier and British bands like the Rolling Stones and Animals gaining popularity it's not out of the question that Allsup might have had the idea to have a go at the sound himself with a few local session players. Or perhaps it was a unfinished track from a local group such as the Roadrunners.

Whomever the players may be the group does a nice job of catching the then current sound. "Don't Lecture Me" opens with with a moody reverbed sound, makes note of the me vs. them plight of sixties teens, and carries a few Orbison-esque changes to boot- each time the chorus comes around one might one's self thinking "Pretty Woman". "Left Right" is a bit more uptempo and catches Malone straining his vocal just a bit. Had this release been a collaboration rather than an after-thought as it seems to have been- perhaps there would have been a nifty guitar break or even a little scream.

Sims 266 was released in early 1966 with no support and no mention in Billboard. Not surprisingly the record little if any attention anywhere. In fact, the record received so little attention that even Mike Malone himself was unaware that it had been released nationally.
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*Thanks to Mike Malone for the tidbits about himself. He was actually one of the very first artists to contact me after I began posting my email a couple of years back. Pretty exciting to check your email and see a message from someone you've blogged.

**Tommy Allsup has a recently released biography titled "The Flip of A Coin"... though I' have not yet read it I do understand that his different stints in Odessa are again overlooked.
http://tommyallsup.net/htmls/tommy-allsup-book.html

Sydna Taylor, Lubbock

2011-03-18T11:45:00.006-05:00

Here's an older post that I'm re-running after receiving additional information.

SYDNA TAYLOR - Sometimes I Love Him, Sometimes I Hate Him b/w It Doesn't Matter (Desire 20/21)

After collecting local records for 10+ years I've learned never to be surprised by what's in the grooves. It might be an early take on rap, crunching metal from high school kids, or a bordertown 'wall of sound' sound as heard on this record from Sydna Taylor. It's almost as if Phil Spector moved his operation to some shack down on in El Paso or Del Rio .

Little is known of Sydna Taylor within the local circles of former players, producers, and writers. Those that remember her vaguely remember the name, but have no other recollection. Others that might have known her have either passed away or just plain ol' disappeared. Sydna herself shows little interest in re-visiting her days as a singer.

I'm fairly certain Sydna was from the Lubbock area and it was there in the Hub City that Odessan Roland Pike became acquainted with her, possibly while he was in Lubbock himself attending Texas Tech during the late 1950s. Pike was probably introduced to Taylor via local musician David Box.

In the early 60s David began coming to Big Spring, Texas to record at Ben Hall's High Fidelity House studio which had become the popular recording hangout for locals like Mike Malone, Joe Melson, Ted Groebl (owner of Joed Records), Bob Osborn, Ray Roberts, Jack C. Smith, Jim Robinson, Mike Combest, and Roland.

It was here that Roland and David brought Sydna in early 1963 and split a session with another Texas Tech alum, Dow Patterson. David led the original session, playing guitar, and coming back later to add the strings. The remainder of the group included Ben Hall's Ramblers. Taylor recorded but three songs. "You Only Pass This Way One Time" and "Joy of Love" were pressed up for release on the Desire label. The 'left-over' cut was "Sometimes I Love Him, Sometimes I Hate Him", written by Roland Pike, found its way onto a second Desire 45. In addition to writing "You Only Pass This Way One Time" Roland also the session- Mike Malone was evidently not present. (Interesting to note that the publishing for "Sometimes..." goes to Big Bopper out of Southeast Texas. I'm not quite sure who controlled Big Bopper at this point.)

Though not musically inclined himself Roland was good with lyrics and seems to have had a penchant for the production and promotional ends of music managing a few acts including the Great Grannies (Corridor) and Sydna Taylor. The Pike name can be found on quite a few locally produced records, usually as a writer, from the early to mid-60s and often with co-writer Mike Malone. Their collaboration "Baby, The Magic Is Gone" was featured in a gorgeous arrangement as the A-side to the final Velvets single which was released by Monument in 1966, two years after the group's successes- however limited they were - had passed them by.

For whatever reason Pike then took Sydna to Ron Newdoll's Accurate Sound studio in San Angelo where Light Crust Doughboy and Major Bill Smith utility guy Marvin Montgomery arranged "It Doesn't Matter" by a Virginia Phelan. Pike had previously placed a song with the Doughboys and the Pike-Malone team also saw one of their songs released on one of Bill Smith's ubiquitous instrumental singles under the The Texans moniker on Charay.

Aside from Jack C. Smith playing guitar other session details aren't known, but the horn player lends the song a Mexican flavor. And like the David Box side from Big Spring strings are once again brought in giving the record a sound not too far off from a New York or Phil Spector production of the time.

Sydna would go on to record a 45 on Ron Newdoll's Askel label as well two releases on the Pepper label before moving on to religious music.

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Many, many thanks to John Davis-White for most of the details above regarding Sydna, David, and Roland. Much of John's information came from David and Roland's families and Dow Patterson.

Big Boy Williams, Amarillo

2011-03-12T13:43:00.003-06:00

Here's an old post from way back in the early days of LoneStarStomp. I like to fish these back to the front on occasion just to see if I catch anything...

BIG BOY WILLIAMS - Welder's Test b/w 16 Tons (Juanita 002)

Welding goes hand in hand with pulling oil outta the ground and right now there's as big a demand as there's ever been in the Permian Basin for torches especially with the recent activity out in what's become known as the Wolfberry Play or Trend a narrow strip of land running in a north/south direction right between Midland and Odessa, Texas. With money in the ground, there's lots to go around.

I don't figure on there being too awful many records about the welding trade but here one right here from a J.J. "Big Boy" Williams from the one-time helium capital of the world- Amarillo, Tx. Based on sound and label I'd guess it to have been issued in the mid-1960s. Lots clangin' pipe sand a bit of heavy duty guitar with a bit of country in the push. The flip is a chuggin', almost psychedelic version of the old Tennessee Ernie Ford standard "16 Tons". I don't figure Merle Travis ever had anything so hairy in mind when he first penned the song, but when you're looking at lyrics like "muscle and blood and skin and bones" and "I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine" all of a sudden it don't seem too far a stretch.

What came previous on Juanita I do not know. Anything after? And who was this J. J. "Big Boy" Williams? And what of the Ruidosa publishing... perhaps a central New Mexico connection?

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I'd like to welcome my pal J. Chronis to the blog world with his On the Road South site. I figure on Texas being his main focus and also figure on him having some nice tales to tell. There's some arm-twisting going on as I try and convince him to put together the first ever story on Midland's teen sensations The Clue ("Bad Times" on Byron) for LoneStarStomp.
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Oil Rig photo from: Wes-Tex Drilling Co., Photograph, 1960; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth59189 : accessed March 12, 2011), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library , Abilene, Texas.

The Tune Masters, Pecos

2011-03-05T20:38:00.005-06:00

THE TUNE MASTERS - Mad Twistin' Fever b/w Sometimes It Hurts (Hama no#)

The The Tune Masters were a quartet based out of the west Texas town of Pecos in the early 1960s. Group members were Richard Klein on bass(now deceased), Mike Hanyan and Sonny Matta sharing vocal and guitar duties, and drummer Archie Hogue. While today they are best known for their double-sided rocker on the Askel label of San Angelo, a second release on their own Hama label paid tribute to that early 60s phenomenon known as the twist.

Few areas escaped the craze, but twist records are none too common among releases from the wilds of West Texas. Not so uncommon for West Texiteens to be a bit late to the dance, so to speak. The Tune Masters like every other hard working regional band of the time played to and for the crowds and this was done by playing the popular tunes of the present as well as the popular standards of recent memory. By the time The Tune Masters released "Mad Twistin' Fever" in 1964 the dance had done run it's course twice (Checker topped the charts in '60 AND '62 with his reworking of the Hank Ballard number) so finding a 'twist' number in a band's set list in '64 would not have been all too surprising. But releasing a twist-style record in 1964?

On the ballad flip Sonny Matta turns in a nice ballad with a big Roy Orbison influence, a sound they also went to when they re-recorded Orbison's Sun era-"Go Go Go" as"Down The Line" and the the Orbi-styled band original "Why" for the previously mentioned Askel label.

The Hama 45 was recorded at Ben Hall's High Fidelity House in Big Spring.
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Pecos postcard from the TexGenWeb Project.

Tune Masters picture grabbed from Youtube clip of their Askel 45 put up by Archie's daughter who I had originally contacted. Band member names came from the clip as well.

*The Youtube clip notes the Askel recordings were done in February of 1963. The Rockin' Country Style website notes that the release came in 1964 and I would assume the information to have come from Mike Hanyan who is given credit on the site for info. My dating for the Hama release is based on other records bearing SON (Sound of Nashville) matrixes.

Gene Morris w/ the Pages, Abilene

2011-02-19T09:37:00.029-06:00

When Elvis Presley hit East Texas in late 1954 the fuse was lit and by god it was one short fuse. In January and February of 1955 that fuse burned down, hit powder, and the Big E exploded in a fireball all across the great state of Texas-- there wasn't a gym, co-op, city coliseum, or even gas station parking lot safe from the Memphis fireball. For better or worse, the kid absolutely changed people's lives.

It was in early 1955 that Elvis Aaron Presley was introduced to West Texans as a "Special Added Attraction" courtesy of Hank Snow. West Texans- as much as and maybe more than anybody- latched on to Elvis and his sound. The kids, and even a few 18+'ers, went nuts in Odessa, Midland, Wichita Falls, Big Spring, Alpine, Breckenridge, Lubbock, Cisco, and Abilene. West Texas loved Elvis and just went plumb crazy for the boy. Heck... legend has it that after his February '55 show in Abilene Presley was chased into a phone booth and had to kiss his way out.

And when we look back we see the screaming and crying girls all swept up in the commotion. As for the boys that were there... we want them to play the part of the jealous boyfriend lying in wait in the shadows of the backdoor exit, hoping for the chance to put that Elvis punk in his place. And while that scenario played out in a few locales, it most surely wasn't just the gals getting caught up in the pandemonium. Royce Porter and Ray Doggett were watching in Sweetwater. Buddy Holly saw the whole thing in Lubbock. Abilene's Slim Willet first caught a glimpse of the hysteria himself up in the Hub City. Roy Orbison, Montie Meade, and Ken Cook were knocked out in Odessa. And in Abilene Gene Morris was watching. And while he may not have been privy to the telephone booth encore he certainly did see the Hillbilly Cat tear up the Fair Park stage. Heck... he even took the kid across the street and bought him a hamburger.

Gene Morris was born in Quanah, Tx to a large family with Arkansas roots in 1934. The family was a hardworking clan farming the land and even establishing their own popular brand of catfish "stink" bait.

By the 1950s the music bug had done bit Gene. Radios and jukeboxes across the state of Texas had made a star out of Big Spring honky tonker Lefty Frizzell who hit in a massive way with "If You've Got the Money" in 1950. When 18 year old Gene had his first publicity photo made- with a tip of the hat to his dapper hero- Lefty had been ruling radio for well over year. In that very same year- 1952- Morris even had the opportunity to open a show for Frizzell up in Vernon, Texas.

Gene Morris first joined up with Abilene's cadillac cowboy Slim Willet after a try-out in 1955. Slim, a graduate of Abilene's Hardin-Simmons (us ACU kids called 'em Hardened Sinners... and we were, of course, called Almost Christian University), had first hit big in 1952 with the massive "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" on California-based Four Star Records. Though Slim never had any more significant hits of his own he did continue to record. As a dee jay and promoter himself he was constantly on the look for new talent. He was a tireless supporter of country music running the Big State Jamboree from the stage of the Fair Park auditorium every Saturday night for years. And when television gave people a reason to stay home, Slim began to run a weekly half-hour on Wednesday nights on KRBC-TV. According to Joe Specht the show ran for just shy of three years beginning in 1954.

By 1956 rock n' roll was changing the look and sound of country music. Any young artist wanting to keep up had to change with it. Some went whole hog adopting the style. Others knew the style to be a way to stay current, but didn't go all in. In a city like Abilene, Texas one wanted to appeal to the kids but a performer also knew the parents wanted to hear a good ol' western melody. Gene Morris was a likeable fellow with country-boy good looks who carried a good bit of talent to boot, and was quite adept at playing the role of both hepcat and a western crooner. Going uptempo just a bit was not a big step.

Edmoral was Slim Willet's earliest label venture involving artists other than himself, morphing into the better known Winston label in 1957. Prior to that change, Slim released around a dozen singles including sides by Ray Mallon (so very bad), Arch Jefferies, and himself. The final two releases went beyond the regional lines of West Texas. In March of 1957 Slim issued Dean Beard's third single. Dean was a Coleman, Texas boy with a heavy presence on the Key City scene and had managed two previous swingin' hillbilly 45s on the Fox label. For "Rakin' And Scrapin'" Dean was full on rock n' roll and the single was picked up by Atlantic within the month and given a national release. And in the same month that Beard went national Slim also issued Gene Morris's 1st 45.

In the spring of 1957 Gene and the Pages from Abilene Christian College were most likely recorded in what a studio set up in a downtown ice cream shop in which Slim had a financial interest. The Pages were made up of four vocalists, two guitarists, and a bass/sax man. At the very least some members of the septet added their vocals to the session and at most the Pages might have served as the complete band (the Pages and their releases of "Donna Marie" b/w "The Wind" were stomped HERE).The two songs issued from that session in the following April were to be the final release for Slim's Edmoral label.

GENE MORRIS & THE PAGES - Lovin Honey b/w I've Got A Love (Edmoral 1012)

“Lovin Honey” is the side best known today. Opening with a jarring series of lyrics, most likely from Pages’ guitarist Charles McLeod, and Gene’s “I gotta bop”-line the song barrels away for a full two minutes, the guitar hardly letting up for a second. This is the sound of someone who has seen the live version of that hillbilly cat Elvis, which Morris had done on Presley’s first tour through Abilene in 1955. And though Elvis had swept through, conquered, and owned gyms and bandstands and co-ops across the South in ’55 and ’56, by the Spring of 1957 he had moved on and was slicking up a bit under the watch of RCA. Gene, like countless others, was still under the influence of the wilder Elvis. “Lovin’ Honey” was all go and a ranks as a favorite among fans of Texas rockabilly though it's a little less loved these days around the Morris household.

The flipside of Edmoral 1012 featured a western-sounding ballad co-written with frequent associate Glen Goza. Titled “I’ve Got A Love” the song once again bears a heavy influence from Presley, but this time it’s bit of “Loving You” and it’s pieces of “Lonesome Cowboy” from the as yet unreleased Loving You. It’s as if Gene was channeling the future.

No sooner had the single hit record racks and deejay stacks than Billboard was announcing that Gene had been signed to ViK Records, a new subsidiary of RCA-Victor. That following summer Morris was sent to Nashville where he re-recorded both “Lovin’ Honey” and “I’ve Got A Love”. Despite the sound and despite the label credit, David Morris says that Abilene’s Pages were not part of the ViK session, which I don’t doubt as the summer months would have pulled the ACU students all over Texas. I would not be surprised to find that the guitarist on the session actually might have been Charles McLeod of the Pages, though.

GENE MORRIS & THE PAGES - Loving Honey b/w I've Got A Love (ViK 4x-0287)

Regardless, the new takes of “Loving Honey” and “I’ve Got A Love” did not rake in huge sales. It did- somehow- become something of a hit in Europe as the Morris mailbox saw more than a few overseas royalty checks in the early 60s. But whatever action the single might have stirred it was not enough for RCA / ViK as there was no follow-up.

Gene was back with Slim Willet and his new Winston label the following April with the pop rocker "I Need It"-penned by buddy Billy Walker- and the excellent "I Craw Fished" in the spring of '59. There would be a few more releases for Winston as well as works for other assorted Texas outfits through the 60s and 70s.

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Thanks to David Morris for the use of the two promo pictures of his father as well as all of the information.

Gringo Honeymoon

2011-02-13T23:01:00.006-06:00

Bear with me as I strike off in a different direction for a post and then attend to some "administrative" matters.

I'm not a huge fan of "new music". Neither do I care to review new music. My tastes lie in the sounds of yesteryear as evidenced by what I cover between my three blogs. But Texans Robert Earl Keen and Charlie Robison are common ground for me and the missus and when we found out the two were sharing a bill at Dos Amigos Cantina (barroom brawls when Hank Williams III stops through and bull riding on Sundays!) me and Mrs. Westex snatched up tickets pronto for a rare night out this past Friday.

One of our first dates was actually a concert that Charlie Robison shared with the Derailers at Dos some 10 years back so the man has always held a special place in our hearts. I've not all together followed Charlie's career the past 10 years but do have favorites including his great update of Lubbock boy Terry Allen's "Flatland Boogie" from 2004's Good Times while our 4 year old is a fan of the minor hit "El Cerrito Place" from the same album. 2009's Beautiful Day, born out of the split with Dixie Chick Emily Erwin, on Dualtone Records is his strongest effort so far. "Feelin' Good", "Got Nothin' Better To Do", "Yellow Dog Blues", and the title track are sure-fire windows down, volume up favorites.

Though Charlie never touched most of our favorites in his short Dos Amigos set a highlight was when he hit the opening to "Loving County" from his first full length album "Life of the Party". (youtube clip of "Loving County" from a gig in McKinny, Tx last year)

Hearing a room full of Odessa roughnecks and roustabouts yell along was certainly something...

"Well, I loved a girl
She lived out in Pecos, and pretty as she could be
And I worked the oil rigs out in Odessa
To give her whatever she needs

But that girl, she ran with an oil company bum
'Cause the diamond was not on her hand
And he left her soon 'neath the big loving moon
To go out and X-ray the lands

Now I sit in my car at the New Rainbow Bar Downtown
And the frost on the windshield shines towards the sky
Like a thousand tiny diamonds in the lights of Loving County"
-LOVING COUNTY by Charlie Robison

As for Robert Earl Keen... he gets passed off as country music for the Range Rover crowd and fodder for the frat boys - a scene he certainly he cut his teeth on- but the man can write and will someday probably take his place next to other Texas songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Willie Nelson. On this Friday night and in this place REK and his group were the best band in Texas... rock, country, boogie, psych, folk. They were good, tight, and way down in the pocket for their 90 minute set.

I was flying high when Keen hit "Gringo Honeymoon"...

We were standing on a mountaintop
Where the cactus flowers grow
I was wishing the world would stop
When you said we'd better go
-GRINGO HONEYMOON by Robert Earl Keen

(youtube video below from a Lubbock show)

I first learned of Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico in a 1997 issue of Texas Monthly. It was an interesting piece on the struggles of the small town located across the river from Big Bend National Park. Used to be- in the days before 9/11- one could cross easily enough into Boquillas. You weren't supposed to, but nobody cared. The beauty was it wasn't Juarez or Matamoros or even OJ, all locales full of hustle and bustle. Spots like Boquillas and Santa Elena just up the river were all about being laid back while sipping a beer and eating tiny tacos. Keen's "Gringo Honeymoon" is probably the only song ever written about Boquillas. Everytime I hear it I see a lot of places and a lot of faces.

I've not been back to Boquillas in some time, but I can't get enough of the Big Bend. Every year back I go...

Anyhow... a pleasant, if boisterous evening.

Other things...

I frequently get asked for MP3s and downloads. Unless it's someone related to the recording/artist or we're pals I'm not out to offer free downloads of the music I feature here, over at Diggin' It!!! or on Country. & Western. I understand that some bloggers have built huge followings based on just giving everything away whether it be a major label release, a bootleg, or something Norton or Bear Family just released. I'm not 'down with that'. You want those unrestricted downloads... find people that are in that game. That's not me.

Go buy records. Or buy stuff released by Bear Family, Ace/Big Beat, Norton, Numero Group, Riverman, or Yoga or whoever. Support the guys that support the artists.

I've got good stuff in the works... hang tight.

The Sensations, Midland

2011-02-06T13:00:00.003-06:00

THE SENSATIONS SOUND- Sweet Little Rock And Roller (Kingco 0001)

Kingco Records was a short lived venture run by deejay Jon King of radio station KCRS out of Midland, Texas. On a grander scale Jon booked local bands like the Roadrunners, the Chessmen (later the Clue), Al Nelson and the Screaming Skulls (!!!!), and the Sensations under Kingco Productions. Kingco bands ran all over West Texas with bookings from Abilene to El Paso, and Alpine to Amarillo. In the local area they were regulary booked into King's own King's Castle in Big Spring, Snug Harbor in Odessa, and the Intrepid Teen Center in Midland.

The Fabulous Sensations were born in 1963 out of the ashes of the Mystics which had been a hot Midessa area act that had recorded a pair of fat and greasy instrumentals on Steve Drummond's Coin label in the early 60s. The Sensations were made up of John Payne (guitar, vocals, harmonica), Bill Thomas (bass), Byron "Bo" Barber (drums), and Dennis "Wemus" Grubb (guitar, vocals). In 1965 the group entered Tommy Allsup's studio in north Odessa to record two popular R&B standards of the day-- Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man" and Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Rock and Roller".

As it was in many cities across the country local acts made bookings and money because they played music for the kids to dance to. To that end band repetoires were largely made up of popular material, with most local 'garage' bands rarely if ever playing the songs we love and remember them for today. Songs by the likes of Jimmy Reed and Chuck Berry were easy to learn and were surefire dancefloor fillers. And a full dance floor meant repeat and further bookings thus extending the life of a band. This is obviously something the Sensations had down to a 'T".

I've chosen to forgo the Sensations remake of "Big Boss Man" - featuring vocals and harmonica from John Payne- as I've never been a big of the number, but it does not deviate much from the standard formula. The Sensations do turn in a powerful version of the "Sweet Little Rock n' Roller" with a fine vocal from Wemus as well as a nice stingin' guitar break. Bill Thomas's bass barrels away throughout.

In 1967 Jon King sold his interest in Kingco to another Midland deejay and headed to El Paso where he began working in the insurance business. Bo Barber released the excellent "Bad Times" by the Clue on his Byron label in 1966 and eventually headed to San Marcos where he dj'd and continued to work with the Clue. Dennis "Wemus" Grubb headed for Texas Tech where the Sensations added horns and more members and became the Soul Sensations. The name Wemus still carries a bit of weight with musicians in the area as well in the entertainment business where he still works to this day.

Thanks to Jon King (only a deejay name) for information about Kingco. Many thanks to Dennis Wemus Grubb for taking time out to answer questions about the Sensations, Mystics, and Midland music in the 1960s. And thanks to Wemus for the Sensations pics as well. Thanks to Jason Chronis for a few bits and pieces. Thanks also to Tome Rehders of the New Roadrunners for the use of the photo of the Crypt Kicker V. I've had a story about the New Roadrunners on the burner for some time, but hope to get that band taken care of in the next month or two.

Jan Lessard, Odessa

2011-01-24T00:17:00.006-06:00

JAN LESSARD - I Just Met You (Coronado 111)

Charles "Hoot" Gibson came to Odessa in the mid-60s and opened up Coronado recording studio in a strip mall across the street from Odessa College. The first record released by Hoots was Johnny "Peanuts" Wilson's "Twilight Zone" b/w "Little Miss Fortune" on the misprinted Coronodo label. While the former Teen King found no national success with the double sided rocker, Hoot and Johnny were able to move quite a few copies in the Midessa area.

The first release on the re-christened Coronado label came from Jan Lessard in 1964. Jan and Peanuts co-wrote the mid-tempo rocker "I Just Met You" which sounds like a Roy Orbison number as done by Charlie Rich. The flip, "Faithful Fool", is a more straightforward cop of Roy Orbison and not particularly memorable though it is notable for featuring the Shieks as a backing combo. The Sheiks would show up again on the second (and final?) Coronado release, a pair of excellent R&B numbers from an Eddie Williams.

Johnny & His Blue Diamonds, Lubbock

2011-01-13T23:08:00.004-06:00

JOHNNY AND HIS BLUE DIAMONDS - Let's Go Steady b/w Mercy Mercy Mercy (Jilguero 150)

The Jilguero label had quite a run. According to Arhoolie's amazing Frontera Encyclopedia this South Plains imprint might have released well over 100 singles making it the most prolific Spanish lengua label from west Texas. Though it possibly began in Shallowater for much of it's 10+ years Jilguero- Spanish for the goldfinch bird- was based from Lubbock.

Johnny and the Blue Diamonds had three releases on Jilguero with "Let's Go Steady" b/w "Mercy Mercy Mercy" being their last. Both sides of this single from 1967/8 are reworkings of then popular songs and the performances on both sides are credited to the duo of Leroy and Mauricio. "Mercy Mercy Mercy", which got its start in '66 as a jazz instrumental, comes in almost ska-like before quickly giving way to a grittier workup of the top #5 hit for Chicago's Buckinghams. The Blue Diamonds probably heard "Let's Go Steady" riding backside to Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music" and the horns are a dead giveaway to the the group's Chicano-aucity (that a word?).

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Dig the picture above... that's a shot of Mexico's Sierra del Carmens about 30 miles off in the distance. Just below those mountains lies the small Mexican border village of Boquillas del Carmen which was immortalized in Robert Earl Keene's "Gringo's Honeymoon" and recently made news after the Secretary of the Interior announced the reopening of the local border crossing. The crossing was closed under threat of imminent invasion from Muslim terrorists 9 years back. For a huge hunk of last week this was pretty much my view while camping on the lower slopes of the Chisos Mountains. I enjoyed my time, not thinking about this blog too awful much and came back not really wanting to mess with LoneStarStomp for a bit. I do believe I may now take short break from regular posting and focus on some re-writes (Gene Morris) and stories that have been in the pre-write phase for far too long (The New Roadrunners and Knights Bridge as well.... holler at me Ted Franklin and Steve Smith!!!)

Hasta...

Bob Taylor & the Counts, El Paso

2011-01-05T01:10:00.004-06:00

BOB TAYLOR AND THE COUNTS - Thunder b/w Taylor's Rock (Yucca 102)

Rock n' Roll instros from the 1950s don't get much wilder. Usually they're nowhere nearly as wild and often wind up feeling more like an afterthought. Or they seem to be some throwaway riding piggy back to mid-tempo rocker or a slow lip lockin' smoocher. Nothing like that here. Pick a side... any side.

If you've read the excellent Miriam Linna penned shakedown on Bobby Fuller in KICKS #6 then you will recall Jim Reese's talk of joining the brand new Counts combo right after getting turned down for a guitar job in the top dog El Paso combo the Rock Kings. Just getting off the ground the group included local tough guy Bobby Taylor on lead guitar, his brother Glenn on acoustic guitar, Willie Wilson on drums, and Jim plinking away on piano. In the beginning there was no bass player.

In 1958 the Counts headed north for Alamogordo, New Mexico and radio station KALG where they recorded "Thunder" and "Taylor's Rock" for Calvin Boles' brand new record label Yucca.

"Thunder" opens with a crashing cymbal before giving way to the a near hypnotic pummeling from the other Counts. Jim hammers out the bass line on the piano while Bobby Taylor just rips right on through on guitar and Willie Wilson pounds away on drums. And just about 3 minutes later a crashing cymbal shuts "Thunder" back down.

Rather than put a radio-ready slow number of the flip the band up'd the jump just a little bit for "Taylor's Rock". Cut from the same cloth as "Thunder" the number is again anchored by a slight chuka-chuka rhythm from Glenn Taylor on guitar and Reese's rolling piano bass line. Bob's lead guitar stings just a bit more. And Willie does a fine job with the beat.

Yucca 102 is GREAT 45 and one of the best two-siders to come from the city known as El Chuco and it no doubt gave the foursome a bit of local clout. They added a couple of vocalists (Jerry Bright and Googie Dermeyer) and a bassist to the lineup. And in the spring of 1959 they recorded a second 45 for Yucca featuring a great Bob Taylor vocal on "Don't Be Unfair". The city of El Paso also began to help the Counts set up shows to kinda corral local teens and keep them off the streets on weekend nights.

After a short while Reese, Googie, and Bright (sounds like a swell name for a law firm) left the Counts, morphing into a combo called the Embers. Billed as Jerry Bright and the Embers the group cut a pair of 45s for Yucca and included Dalton Powell on piano and Bobby Fuller on drums. With Jim on guitar it was two steps and a shake away from the greatest rock n' roll combo to come from West Texas in the 1960s. (a little Stomp HERE.)

"Thunder" would reappear as "Thunder Reef" on the first Bobby Fuller Four release on Mustang in 1965. But as the Shindigs. Dig???
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BUY BUY BUY issue 6 of KICKS. The rundown on Bobby Fuller is great. And Miriam is working on a full blown Bobby bio as well. Keep up to date with her Bobby Fuller blog.

Will & James Ragar, Midland / Louisiana

2010-12-29T09:19:00.013-06:00

I must admit to being underwhelmed upon my initial introduction to Will and James Ragar. When their long player on the NoMountain label first came to my attention it was not without a bit of hype- over and over again it was being pushed as some kind of psych-folk monster and the going rate often passing the $100 mark. And without ever having actually heard Will & James I bought in. This surely had to be something special... how else could you explain all of the attention being paid to a 1980-something record from Midland, Texas?

I was able to procure a copy of the Will & James Ragar lp from a stash that Douglas at Yoga had come into about a year after first hearing about it. I remember excitedly ripping the shrink from the album and throwing the lp on the hi-fi. I was not met with phased out guitars or acidic vocals. This was largely an acoustic affair with an occasional woodwind, bongos, organ, and an overall sun baked jazziness. The closest it got to psych was a reverb'd quality about the vocals which probably had more to do with the production of Nick Carlton than anything else. I think I was expecting something akin to a late blooming Elevators and instead got private press James Taylor.

Just as I didn't hear the psychedelia in the grooves neither did I hear the money. I shrugged my shoulders, filed it next to my other NoMountain records (Shine, Preston Springer, and the Marbles at the time) and walked away. Every once in a while I would see mention of the album and pull it from the shelf for another go round hoping to get it.

I finally got it during a midnight windstorm just below the Candelaria Rim, deep inside the most remote area of Presidio County in far southwest Texas. We had spent an early winter's day in 2008 driving the whole stretch of highway along the Rio Grande from the western entrance of Big Bend National Park to Study Butte, Terlingua, Lajitas and along the famed River Road to Presidio. From Presidio it was on to the loneliest and smoothest road in the whole of Texas-- FM 170-- which took us on to Ruidosa(NOT to be confused with Ruidoso in New Mexico) and Candelaria and the road's end at Chispa Drive. From there it was dirt roads, stream crossings, and some of the roughest terrain in the state... the last of the untamed lands in Texas. These are (private, gated) roads traveled by coyotes and illegals, narcotraficantes, federales, utility repair men, and the occasional rancher or landowner. After some time and some miles we eventually managed our destination, a trail head of sorts that would guide us to the highest year-round waterfall in Tejas. The six of us followed a faint path running beside the cliff face along the stream, past old adobe ruins, over boulders, through thick vegetation. As the size of boulders grew and as the canyon narrowed we kept waiting for the payoff. Around every bend in the stream we anticipated the 'finale'. When it finally appeared after 3 miles of scrambling it was spectacular...

"THE FALLS" drop over 180 feet from the grasslands of the Marfa Plateau, into a small canyon pool which feeds a stream that meanders through scorched desert before eventually making it to the Rio Grande. "THE FALLS" are a thing of absolute beauty in an otherwise barren place. Our actual time at the falls was limited by the day's end and it was hard in those few moments to really appreciate the opportunity we had been blessed with. The falls are a place spoken of in certain circles with awe and reverence, mainly because visits to the Falls are a rare thing. As well they should be. This is a fragile and private place. We took in what we could and moved on.

The hike out was rushed by the setting sun. Every so often we would crawl over a boulder or turn a bend in the stream and be blessed with beautiful landscapes like the sun lighting up gold and amber leaves that had never fallen to the ground. Or the escarpments along the Candelaria Rim aglow in the dusk.

We set up camp next to a quonset warehouse we had been given permission to make use of for the evening. The hulking WWII artifact revealed itself to be a retreat for hunters, a hiding spot for illegals, and a den for a mountain lion of some size. While waiting for 16 oz. ribeyes to finish up on the grill a windstorm blew in out of Mexico forcing our expedition party to beat a retreat into the shelter of the cavernous warehouse where we circled our "wagons" so to speak and chowed down in a daze, listening as the aluminum and steel of our confines stressed and rattled in the wind. Once steaks, beer, a 27-coal cobbler, and La Gloria's had been consumed we broke company and headed for tents. I spent the next few hours drifting between awake and asleep while listening to a howling wind and an iPod playing a mix of David Crosby ("Traction In the Rain"), Townes Van Zandt ("Flying Shoes"), Bob Desper, Fred Neil ("The Dolphins"), and Will & James Ragar. The music would sometimes mask the sound of the gusting wind and sand pelting the tent walls. A lot of listless time was spent worrying about what exactly the winds and dusts might be hiding... what creatures lurked out there, drawn in by the uncommon aromas of grilled fat and baked butter? Were we under the gaze of coyotes of SOME kind? Or a cat anxious to bed down? At some point a particularly violent gust brought the tent down around our ears and I awoke to "As the Day Grows Tired". Or maybe it was "Just A Wanderer" or "Louisiana Falls". Regardless... at that moment I started to get it. Between the gusts of wind and sounds of David and Townes, the Ragars had finally started to make sense.

We finished off the trip the next morning by traveling the "road to nowhere" out of Ruidoso. Across the desert in the shadows of the the Chinati Mountains and up through Pinto Canyon, almost and seemingly touching the sky we finally crested atop the Marfa Plateau. The Ragars were far from my mind at that point... food in Marfa, getting rid of trash bags, and an impending stop by the border patrol weighed more heavily on my mind. (see U.S. v Guillermo Rodriquez Martines and Auscension Rodriguez De Leon)

The weekend following my return from the border expedition I acquired a couple of copies of Joseph Brunelle's EXCELLENT NoMountain release Round To It (stomped HERE) from a local collection. Listening to Midlander Brunelle pick and sing/speak through a dozen laid back acoustic numbers, combined with my midnight storm experience at the falls, prepped me for another session with the Ragars. My initial approach was tainted. The 'hype' of the record had clouded what I heard. Joseph Brunelle's folky singer/songwriter style provided a better angle... my palette had been cleansed.

Will & James Ragar released two records for Nick Carlton's No Mountain (sometimes seen as NoMountain) label in 1980. According to the liner notes penned by James for the reissue the brothers had run into Nick at their first gig in the Midland area and he offered to record them in his new studio. What was put to tape by Nick eventually became the self-titled lp and 3rd release on No Mountain.

The album is made up of 11 original numbers penned by one or both brothers. The backing combo sounds like a band that has honed their sound playing to happy hour crowds... like a cosmic lounge act. I would guess them to have all been local players rather than steady supporters of the Ragars. Songs like the instrumental "Melting Pot" and "She's Laughter" lock you in in a bob-your-buzzin'-head sorta way. "Just A Wanderer" and "Louisiana Falls" have a burnt, late night groove to them. Or maybe it's sunrise music for people that haven't quite stumbled to bed yet. And "As The Day Grows Tired"... a member of the waxidermy forum described it as "redonkulous" and I tend to agree. Most of it sounds like the rays of a rising or setting sun. Just like the publicity photo back at the top.

Before the album had even been pressed Will and James returned to their native Louisiana where they recorded two more songs, "Bayou Paradise" and "Forever", which became the very first release on No Mountain.

"Forever" seems a bit bigger than anything from the album. The sound has more 'punch' to it and seems as though the return to their Louisiana environs was also a return to their rock roots. While not cut from the same cloth as the material from the NoMountain sessions "Forever" obviously has the Ragar groove and it's easy to imagine the number being tapped for the distance in a live setting... just on and on and on. And while it is closer to a rock sound, I'm still not hearing the 'psych' sound so often associated with the group. Hippy AOR? Yes. Happy hour SSW? Sure. Cosmic folk? Okay. Trippy dawn and coffee pop? Yep. But psych? I ain't buying.

The Ragars spent some time after the No Mountain releases touring across Texas but were never able to break through. Their popularity is evident as their albums turn up occasionally along the Interstate 20 corridor in Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, and Midland (my filed copy of the album features a note thanking the proprietor of Midland's Museum of the Southwest for choosing the brothers to perform for a fundraiser).

Hard to believe that it's been 30 years since these sides were first released, but it has now been re-issued by Riverman Records out of Korea on cd and in the digital format via Douglas's excellent Yoga Records. The sound is INCREDIBLE and the package itself is fine. The cd is readily available online (HERE through Forced Exposure, for example). The album can be downloaded through the excellent Other Music site HERE for purt' near nothing.

And visit Yoga Records HERE while you're at it.

Please don't head out to Ruidosa with thoughts of a quick trip to Capote Falls. This is privately owned land and shortly after leaving FM 170 a locked gate limits further access.

"Nature" photos and scans by Westex... Ragar Brothers photo from Yoga with a slight edit.

Ole Santa Is Coming To Abilene Town

2010-12-23T01:09:00.008-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

BUDDY THORNTON - Ole Santa Is Coming To Town b/w Lonely Christmas Eve (Thornton Records OP -186)

Milton "Buddy" Thornton passed away in Abilene, Texas in 2001. At the very least Buddy left behind three records. There was this mid-50s Christmas 78, pressed by 4 Star Records as a part of its "Other People" series. In 1958 he had a second single on the Abilene based Ebony label which was also home to a couple of great Don Feger releases which are high on the Westex want list. And lastly Buddy held a record in the mid-80s for the "most instruments played at one time" or somesuch.

"Ole Santa Is Coming To Town" opens with a rinky dink sounding piano before Buddy jumps in, showing himself to be a fine vocalist in the style of Webb Pierce. The band is decent enough on the recording while following the lead sheet arrangements real close. Not a bad little Christmas number. On the flip, "Lonely Christmas Eve", Thornton veers off into Lefty Frizzell territory with just a hint of Ray Price.

All in all not too shabby for what probably amounted to a give away for Thornton to his friends, fans, and family.

Merry Christmas from West Texas and the Westex Family....
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Christmas Tree, Photograph, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth55581 : accessed December 11, 2010), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library , Abilene, Texas.

First Baptist Church High School Choir, Monahans

2010-12-20T08:12:00.010-06:00

UNKNOWN MEMBER OF THE MONAHANS FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH CHOIR - Without Jesus (from Eternity, United Sound 4285)

There are literally tens of thousands of these records filling thrift bins across this great nation. And when i say "these records" I don't mean this particular release, but Christian and gospel records in general. It's the reason custom outfits like Century and United Sound existed. The people that owned the various regional custom franchises didn't expect to find stars, but were more than willing to take your check and master tapes (or record you themselves) and press up a few 100 or few 1000 copies of your effort. It was up to the artists or organizations themselves- usually churches or schools- to actually distribute the release. There was not really any type of quality control involved as far as talent went. Money talked.

This early 70s release on the United Sound imprint comes from Monahans, Texas. Of the 13 tracks all but just one are youth group choral efforts and that one is a nice acoustic folk original titled "Without Jesus" that is uncredited. Certainly not amazing, but interesting for an original song by a teen kid with a guitar from Monahans.

As a sidenote... John Hildreth of Lubbock is listed on the label as the United Sound agent. In the 60s Hildreath had been the regional rep for Century Customs.

Also... as noted by Lisa Wheeler in the comments below these Monahans teens didn't have to travel far for the cover photo. Bordering the east side of town and stretching from the south all the north into Nuevo Mexico is a line of sandhills. Some of the biggest and grandest hills fall outside of the Monahans Sandhills State Park. But the park is hard to beat as a place to spend an afternoon digging holes and surfing sand.

Hank Harral, Big Spring

2010-12-11T21:15:00.002-06:00

HANK HARRAL - The DJ Blues (Caprock 102)

By the time Hank Harral made it to radio station KHEM in Big Spring, Texas in 1957 he had been on the mic for over a quarter of a century at radio stations all over West Texas and New Mexico, from Amarillo to Clovis to Las Cruces. At KHEM Harral was running both morning and afternoon radio shows (the "Hank Harral Show" in the am and "Howard Country Hoedown" in the pm) while also heading up his own label Caprock, the name a reference to a prominent geographic feature that stretches over a fair portion of West Texas.

Caprock was inaugurated within a few months of Hank arriving in Big Spring. Caprock 100 featured Hank's first recordings, Fabulous Oklahoma b/w Picture In My Heart, in quite some time, perhaps the first since Harral's days with the Dallas based Star Talent. A waxing from Snyder High gal Dixie Rogers followed in the spring of 1958 (check this one out over at Andrew Brown's excellent Wired For Sound blog). Hank was quick to follow the Rogers disc with another release of his own.

Caprock 102 featured Hell Bound Train b/w The D.J. Blues. Hell Bound Train is a recitation on the everlasting ramifications of a misled life. On the flip Harral puts his +25 years of on-air experiences to use on a lazy, mid-tempo bopper. And after listening to these experiences one might wonder why the hell anylittlesoandso would ever want to spin platters on the air for a living. DeeJay Hank's days are filled with complaints about all the country "corn" he plays, thankless and anonymous song requests from listeners, and even a suggestion or two to off himself. The biggest threat Hank can muster is the threat of leaving the radio for tv. Or just goin' back to the house to fish in his catchfish hole.

Fine backing combo.

April Morning, Abilene

2010-12-08T09:03:00.010-06:00

Here's another old post being brought back to the front of the line and my second Abilene Chistian group to get stomped in the past month... One day up and I've already gotta throw thanks to Lisa Wheeler of the fine Pueblo City Limits blawg who reminded me to dig on through the online copies of Abilene Christian University's newspaper, the Optimist.

APRIL MORNING - Watch Your Step (Capricorn 1266)

I have no idea where I might have acquired this record by the April Morning of Abilene. For a long time I didn't really care much for it and am still kinda sorta on the fence. But I was taken by the fact that I shared the block with the address on the label for a few years in college... the two story house was actually our "big red" monster once spring midnight whiffle ball season kicked in. We even used to pick up our mail in the stairwell. And with me being big on personal attachment and emotional connections and all...

Prime front page space was given to Abilene Christian College's April Morning in the April 9, 1971 edition of the campus newspaper The Optimist. The year-old trio of Leon Butts, Laura Hoch, and David Snook had just released their debut (and only?) record "Moment in a Lifetime" b/w "What Your Step" on Capricorn Records. While the article pays much attention to the soft n' gentle David Snook penned a-side, I'm a bit more partial to the mid-tempo flip. "Watch Your Step" was written by Leon Butts and rocks just about as hard as one might expect early 70s Church of Christ Jesus rock to rock. I imagine in a live setting it was probably a pretty far-out number, but the muddy production softens some of the punch. It could have also used a more creative break or perhaps just a bit of fuzz. Regardless, "Watch Your Step" foreshadows the direction Xian folk and rock were headed in the mid-70s.

According to a later Optimist article April Morning stayed to together for around 5 years. By '74 Snook and Butts formed another, larger group called Silk n' Steel.

Not too far off from Central Texas combo Redemption (can be dug HERE).

I miss midnight whiffle ball.

Bill Mack, Wichita Fall

2010-11-28T20:28:00.011-06:00

BILL MACK - Ain't It A Shame b/w When The Sun Goes Down (Imperial 8167)

Bill Mack grew up way out in the east Texas Panhandle in the old Route '66 stop-spot of Shamrock. In the late 40s Bill was working at radio station KWFT over in Wichita Falls. When not spinning discs over the radio Bill was one of those tireless fellows who took part in various regional country caravans and worked hard promoting other artists as well as country music in general. Billboard reported the signing of Bill Mack to Imperial records in the summer of 1951 and over the next 4 years Mack would cut a whole mess of sides for label including the H-O-T "Sue Suzie Boogie" ('55) and "Play My Boogie" ('52). And while today Bill might be most revered in record collecting circles for the Imperial boogies and his rockabilly singles on Starday his true strength was the low down, broken hearted wail. Over and over Bill would cry out his broken heart.

Imperial 8167 was released in the late fall of 1952 and featured "Ain't It A Shame" and "When the Sun Goes Down". "When The Sun Goes Down" gets an almost gospel touch... had backup singers been brought in it might have crossed over into the realm of a hokey hymn. It does show the roots of what might be the greatest record Bill ever sang on, "Loneliest Fool In Town", which was recorded for Starday while Bill was working in Lubbock (stomped HERE). On "Ain't It A Shame" Mack really nails the feeling of dejection and loss... sad, sad, and broken hearted. Even the piano and steel cry.

Cut at Nesman studios in Wichita Falls?

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Kinda got a little 'theme' going. Check in at Diggin' It!!! where I've got another Imperial 78 up from Dallas blues man Lil' Son Jackson. And over at Country. & Western it's a great number from central Texan Jimmie Heap and His Melody Masters.

The Pages, Abilene

2010-11-21T23:29:00.012-06:00

My fascination with rockabilly began while I was attending Abilene Christian University back in the mid-90s. Oh how I wish I'd paid more attention back then... I was digging stuff like Darrell Rhodes and Don Feger and Wayland Seals from Buffalo Bop comps at the time without even knowing these cats were local boys! Abilene was full of hep history from swingin' country boys to raging 50s rockabillies on up through stomp n' jangle 60s teen combos and I didn't even know it. While working on a piece on Abilene rockabilly Gene Morris I was hipped to the fact that the backing group on Gene's Edmoral 45, the Pages, were actually Abilene Christian boys!!! Purt cool stuff there...

THE PAGES - Donna Marie b/w Wind (Eagle 1005/1006, Don Tan 0001)

At a time when church groups across the country were boycotting rock n' roll and burning Little Richard and Elvis records there was a group of Abilene Christian College boys- and I would guess them all to have been members of the staunchly conservative churches of Christ- creating just a slight bit of racket themselves. They weren't wild rock n' rollers ala Jerry Lee Lewis (who destroyed a piano while on an Abilene tour stop in the 50s) or the legendary Blue Caps. Not even close. But a group of kids from Abilene Christian cuttin' records with a beat and entertaining dancers was every bit as rebellious as Jerry Lee's piano pounding escapades. Maybe even a tad bit more so.

First some background... Abilene Christian University has a long history of affiliating with the 'unaffiliated' Churches of Christ. While not as liberal as Pepperdine nor as conservative as York College in Nebraska, ACU is the best known school affiliated with the non-denominational Church of Christ, uh... denomination. When you go to ACU you accept curfews and no co-mingling with the opposite sex in dorm rooms. It means no dancing and no drinking and avoiding places where those things happen. When I attended from '92 to '97 you could still get called in and even fined for missing too many days of chapel (hello slide and glide). There's also the whole avoidance of musical instruments within worship which is such a huge part of the identity of the C of C. I can't even imagine a group of kids coming from a 1950s church background and attending ACC actually playing and recording rock n' roll. A singing group sure... but that rock n' roll music?

Had you traveled the Abilene Christian College campus in the 1950s you might have bumped into any number of vocal groups. Perhaps you would have heard them rehearsing in the music building. Or in the halls and stairwells of Mabee dorm. Some groups were more professional than others having the opportunity to perform for different civic functions in the Key City and surrounding area as well as campus related gatherings like club socials (Drink Milk!) with repertoires that included long popular standards, current pop hits, and classic hymns- acapella, of course. Some acts, like the Highlanders, were sponsored by the ACC student activities group and would take periodic, short tours through Texas or to Kansas or Oklahoma as school ambassadors.

The Pages came together in the fall of 1956 and were different than most other ACC groups as they also included instrumentation. Group members included vocalists Hal McGlothlin, David Pullias, Phil Smith, and Billy Lyon (of the previously mentioned Highlanders), guitarists Charles McLeod and Reford Schmitton, and Edwin George on sax and "bass fiddle". By early 1957 the group had managed enough local clout to be called on to back local rockabilly Gene Morris on his first trip in to a studio. Gene had hooked up with Slim Willet in 1955 and had been steadily gaining popularity through his appearances on Slim Willet's weekly television show on KRBC. Though Gene himself doesn't recall the exact circumstances of the Pages meeting, I don't think it would be all that surprising to find that the union was brought on by Edmoral owner Willet after he had featured the Pages on his Wednesday night tv show or met the group at a local Abilene event.

In April of of 1957 Edmoral 1012 by Gene Morris with the Pages featuring "I've Got a Love" and "Lovin' Honey" was released. While the Elvis-y ballad "I've Got A Love" was the side that got the push it is the frantic flip that is most often associated with Morris today, much to Gene's dismay. "Lovin' Honey" kicks off with stinging, amped up guitar before an almost snarling Gene follows it up with "I've Gotta Bop". The two minutes that follow are a steady mess of brushes snapped against a snare, ringing guitar, and "whop whop"'s from the Pages... quite possibly the wildest thing heard on Abilene radio that year. Slim Willet must have worked the record fast because no sooner had the Edmoral waxing hit record racks than Billboard was announcing Morris to be one of the latest members of the RCA-Victor family. Gene was soon whisked away to Nashville for a session where he re-recorded both sides of the Edmoral 45 for a release on ViK in August. Though billed as Gene Morris with the Pages again, David Morris says that it is not the Abilene Pages on the ViK single. Our Pages would have been spread out all over Texas at the time of the summer recording session.

The group managed to stay busy through the fall of 1957 and well into 1958. A February 1958 article in the Abilene Christian College Optimist mentioned performances across the state including a spot on Fort Worth television. The Pages also had a chance to play at the swankiest spot in the whole of Abilene: the Paradise Room in the newly opened Sands Hotel. The Sands complex greeted east bound car travelers on their approach to Abilene and must surely have been the biggest eye grabber to hit the horizon since El Paso or Lubbock. I'm not so sure what the libatious status of the Paradise was, but gotta figure drinks and dancing were usually part on the nightly agenda. As a result I don't guess the Paradise was advertising too many college nights for the students from Abilene's three Christian Colleges.

In early 1958 the Pages were invited to Dallas for a recording session with Chuck Edwards of Eagle Records. The masters were quickly shipped to Monarch in LA.

Released in the Spring of 1958, Eagle 1005 featured two compositions from Pages guitarist Charles McLeod (misspelled on the record label). The record's a-side "Donna Marie" kicks in almost note-for-note like a tamer take on Gene Morris' "Lovin' Honey" with the vocals at times mirroring the "whop whop"'s of the earlier song. There's no record of who played guitar on "Lovin' Honey" and Gene doesn't recall who it might have been, but perhaps it was Charles McLeod himself. The b-side was a dirgey, atmospheric slowie titled "Wind".

Chuck Edwards worked to get the attention of major labels like Imperial and Dot, only to turn down offers in hopes of something bigger for the group.

By the fall semester the book had pretty much closed on the Pages. A story from the October 3, 1958 issue of the Optimist mentions Billy Lyons and Phil Smith having moved to New Mexico and Houston respectively. Hal McGlothlin was preparing to join the military. Edwin George's name was absent from the article altogeher, leaving only Pullias and guitarists McLeod and Schmittou on campus. And yet the article was also touting a new release from the group. Perhaps a reference to the odd reissue of "Donna Marie" and "Wind" on the Don Tan label out of San Antonio, custom-pressed by Wildcat. No hit there either.

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Many, many thanks to David Morris. I've been communicating with David in regards to his father Gene Morris for short spell now. It was David who first turned me on to the Pages and their connection to my alma mater- Abilene Christian. David went digging about in the back issues of Optimist in the Brown Library to find the information about the Pages. Since then those issues have come online as a part of the excellent UNT sponsored Portal To Texas History site (HERE). Through that the UNT portal I was able to find both the February 28 and October 3 issues of the 1958 Optimist and the the photo of the Crew Cuts performing at Abilene's Sands Hotel. A million thanks David... I'll have a story up on his dad Gene Morris shortly. And thanks to Joe Specht of Abilene... Joe knows Slim Willet inside and out and corrected a mistake I had made regarding which night of the week Slim's television show ran.

If you are/were a Page or are the child or grandchild of a Page drop me line please! Would love to see pictures of this combo if such a thing were to exist.

Billy Briggs, Amarillo

2010-11-08T21:28:00.007-06:00

BILLY BRIGGS - Honky Tonky Baby (Imperial 8143)

The Honky Tonky Baby, as so described by Amarillo boy Billy Briggs on his Imperial disc of 1952, is the gal of the every man dream. She might not necessarily be what you would want to come home to each night, but the honky tonky baby is certainly the type of gal a guy might flit about with on the weekend. She ain't a complainer, she ain't a whiner... she's the gal that's always ready to go. And when she gets all wound up and "does the boogie" she'll even one up the big attractions of the 1936 fair in Ft. Worth-- Miss Sally Rand and her fans.

Richard Patterson, San Angelo

2010-10-31T13:30:00.003-05:00

RICHARD PATTERSON - I'm Shy b/w More Of A Woman (Sangelo 101)

Sangelo seemed to be Ron Newdoll's country label. Ron is probably most famous for recording the "Last Kiss" session for J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers at his Accurate Sound Studio in San Angelo. From this same studio he also ran the teen-oriented Askel label, home to top notch discs from the Chevelle V, Outcasts, Tune Masters, and the Remaining Few.

Despite Texas Sound etchings in the deadwax that identify this as being from October of '65 this release from Richard Patterson sounds much earlier (and despite the 101 on the label this was not the first Sangelo release... Dean Beard's "Party Party", which has no #, was reviewed in Billboard at the beginning of 1965). Richards' band has got a super-primitive stomp to it and- if this be his regular combo- they could probably shake 'em down sumpin' fierce at San Angelo's Boots n' Saddle Club or wherever else they may have roamed. I'm trying to picture these guys- cowboy hats and western shirts with the sleeves rolled up or knock off Nude suits with rhinestone bolos.

"I'm Shy" chugs along with a hypnotic and ringing single picked lead and an almost guttural tongue-twisting moan from Patterson. As mentioned this COULD be 1965. Or it could have just as easily been 1960. Regardless, this ain't no slicked up Nashville sound for sure. Sounds much more like a group that's stood their time behind a chicken wire fence or two while watching a west Texas barroom full of roustabouts and cowpunchers blow off a week's worth of steam. The boastful "More Of A Woman" echoes the blues and is no less primitive, though perhaps not as catchy.

The Gore Brothers & Cool Water, Lubbock

2010-10-23T05:40:00.008-05:00

Another old post from a few years back...

Who'd think that bluegrass would find a home in- of all places- West Texas?

GORE BROTHERS AND COOL WATER - "Hope In the Country" and "Knocking On Heaven's Door" (self-titled, Gore Brothers Records)

It has and carries a devoted following as can be seen in the many bluegrass festivals scattered all over the region at all times of the year. Up at South Plains College in Levelland they actually host a summer camp AND even offer college credit in the field of pickin' n' a'grinnin'. Odessan Billy Myrick played out in front of the Mayfield Brothers in Lubbock in the 50s. The boys got big and were were well on their way to gettin' bigger at the Louisiana Hayride before father Bill Monroe came along drafted himself a feller from the combo. Big Spring boy Tex Logan made a good run of bluegrass fiddling on the east coast when he was plus'ing and dividing numbers. (More on West Texas bluegrass and Texas bluegrass in general can be read HERE in an article by Rod Moag in the Journal of Texas Music History... great photo of Abilene's Black Mountain Boys stumping with the elder Bush on a campaign stop in the 1960s)

And yet there's not actually that much out here to actually hear. I'm not aware of any acts in the area breathing new life and lyrics into the style. Local groups bide their time running through the same set of standard breakdowns, waltzes, and hymns. Very little original music comes from the scene. I don't suppose that's any different from most other areas outside of Baltimore/D.C. and them old Kentucky hills.

The Gore Brothers and Cool Water worked out of Lubbock in the 1970s and 80s. At the time of this 1978 recording the band included Ron Gore on mandolin, his brother Gary on bass, Bruce McBee on banjo, and Glenda Knipher on guitar. According to "The History of Early Bluegrass in Texas" (linked above), the group was not a bluegrass combo in the strictest sense... as much as they were bluegrass they were also pop and easy country (Gary Gore can be seen "hiding" an electric bass behind Knipher in the photo above). On their self-titled release Cool Water does run through a couple of standards, but sounds like a folk-influenced newgrass group as you get "Hot Burritto (sic) Breakdown" rubbing shoulders with "Sitting on Top of the World". Side 2 opens with Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", a tired dog to be sure, but I really enjoy Ron Gore's mandolin leads here.

Gary Gore turns in the strongest cut on the album, an original titled "Hope In the Country"... counting the blessings of a simple life out away from that hectic Hub City life. Funny how that idea of an easy life in the country is always around. The more things change...

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Caprock photo above 'borrowed' from HERE and run through an iPhone app.

Fred Crawford, Monahans

2010-10-15T14:35:00.006-05:00

FRED CRAWFORD - Go Green Go/Monahans Vs. Dumas (Lobo ML-100)

Texans are nuts for their high school football. Like seriously. On Friday nights from the late summer through late fall tiny and big stadiums all across the state are full of frito pie eatin' Texans cheering on their boys. No matter the heat and no matter the cold the fans are there. I've often heard it described as a religion and during the season that's really not too far off. It's not something you can really describe to the uninitiated. Until you've been it's really hard to grasp. And some people are extraordinarily dedicated followers of their hometown boys. I can't count the number of times I've seen gruff ol' men sit themselves down with complete strangers for coffee and breakfast after one of them is asked "How about them _______ last night?" .

Fred Crawford is best known to LSS readers for his incredible string of records for Starday... I'm certainly not alone in the thinkin' that Fred might have been the most consistent artist in that deep yellow-hued catalog. In addition to country music, Fred was also a big supporter of his beloved Monahans High School football team. I recall hearing from one source or another that during the 60s Fred called the games as announcer. The "Go Green Go" single on Lobo features one side about a match up with Dumas (heard here) and another about a game against Vernon(sounds just about the same). Under the cheers you can hear a pretty good guitarist, but I'm not sure who that might have been. I have no idea on a date, but based on the look of the label I would guess early 60s. The deadwax provides no real clues other than a handwritten scribble of "Nashville Matris"(sic).
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Lobo logo and Lobo Mascot both 'borrowed' from the website for the Monahans Class of '65.

The Elgins & The Mirrors, Big Spring

2010-09-28T22:15:00.006-05:00

Here's a couple o' more oldies but goodies. I first posted up this pair of possibly related, possibly West Texan doo wop doo wop 45s a little over two years back. Let's dust 'em off, and see if anything new can be added.

I first met the Elgins 6 years ago in stack of records that I had pulled out of a barn at a central Odessa estate sale. Without a doubt it was one of the most interesting stacks of records I've EVER seen at an estate sale-- Tutor Boatman on Gaylo, Bill Taylor's "Little Jewel" on Fame, "By the Mission Walls" from Fred Crawford on Starday, the Mystics on Coin, an autographed copy of Peanuts Wilson on Coronado, a weird little disk by Jimmy Heap with an Asian feel but bearing publishing by Slim Willet of Abilene. And the Elgins on Joed. Joed was a Big Spring label. But the Elgins didn't sound like anything else local. The disc very quickly found its way into another Texas collecton. I kinda regretted it later, but did get some cool rekkids for my Texas collection.

The next spring I was running through a small collection of 45s at a garage sale, but at $4 a throw I wasn't tempted by anything. Except a VG++ copy of the Elgins bearing autographs by the entire combo. A pile of money later I was missing the Elgins again. But hey... two copies in less than a year. Can't really be all that rare a record... Right?

A post on Ray Rush a few years ago drew a response from a Houston area collector who had come across an interesting stash containing multiple unplayed copies of the Elgins on Joed, as well as Ray Rush and the mega-obscure Mirrors on Gina. Within two weeks all of the records had disappeared into collections and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to once again procure a copy of the Elgins, mint up on Ray Rush, and add the unknown Mirrors as well.

Little is known about the Elgins. Both Ted Groebl and Ray Rush recalled the group as being residents of Big Spring and Webb Air Force Base courtesy of Uncle Sam. Joed 716 was wax'ed in 1962 at Ben Hall's High Fidelity House studio in Big Spring. Whether they were a vocal group only or a complete unit (guitar, horns, drums, etc.) is not known but there were at least five members based on the garage sale record I found some years back. I would also assume that the group leader was Woody, the only member who signed just with a first name or nickname.

"The Huddle" is a bit of throwaway... every group in the 60s needed a 'dance' number to follow the mashed potato, the twist, the stanky leg, the UT, or whatever else was popular locally. The Elgins' Huddle seems to be a mish-mash of all the hot steppers of the day. "Once Upon A Time" is the gem. A bit ragged to be sure. And though from dusty west Texas the song sounds very east coast. Very Philly. And very nineteen-fifty somethin'. It also bears more than just a passing resemblance to "Once Upon A Time" by Rochelle & the Candles from 1960.

As an aside... these Elgins have NOTHING to do with the combo who backed Marv Johnson on his waxing of a completely different song titled "Once Upon A Time". Them cats later became... the Elgins on VIP.

As for the Joed label itself it was the most successful of a handful of labels run by the late Ted Groebl of Midland. Despite mentions elsewhere (such as the AOK discography) Joed never did actually move to Houston or Philadelphia though there were connections to both cities.

A year after the Elgins release on Joed the Mirrors appeared on Ted's Gina label.

Gina is an interesting label. As best as I can tell all of the artists- save possibly the Companions- were from Texas. Ray Rush- part of Zenith Productions with Ted- had at least two releases. Another release came from Dean Beard who also recorded for Joed as well as another by guitarist Jack Smith of Odessa. Little Herman (of Houston?) also had his first release on the label before being picked up for national distribution through Arlen.

It's interesting to see that the writing credit for "Time" belongs to Wood. Just like the writing credit for "Once Upon A Time" by the Elgins. Could that be Woody of the Elgins? Is this just an updated Elgins? David Box's sister recalled her brother mentioning the group as being from Webb AFB, so quite likely that at least some of the members were also Elgins.

"Time" is a haunting slow doo wop number that once again sounds much earlier than the actual release date of 1963. And the combo REALLY cooks with a latin-fueled remake of "Three Coins". Like seriously cooks, kids. Muchly dug around here for some time. MUCHLY dug.

The Mirrors would also be credited on a 1963 Joed release by David Box... "Sweet Sweet Day" and "If You Can't Say Something Nice".

Jack Tate and The Sandy Land Play Boys, ????

2010-09-20T22:00:00.004-05:00

Andrew Brown's recent posting of the Dixie Rogers single on Caprock on his excellent Wired For Sound blog reminded me that I had been sitting on a Caprock single of my own for some time. Oddly enough it will be my first posting on this Hank Harral label from Big Spring... so let's get to stomping.

JACK TATE AND THE SANDY LAND PLAY BOYS - Casanova b/w Maybe I Won't Need You Anymore (Caprock 111)

We ain't got the best of soil out this way. From Midland out east to the Caprock's edge near Stanton there's fairly nice soil in spots. North of Andrews heading into Seminole the land lays fairly nice with good farming soil. But from Odessa west and south it's just ruff stuff, seemingly more barren and useless the further west and further south you go. Calling it "sandyland" isn't too far of a stretch. Some of the land, especially in the Monahans area and back up north towards Roswell and beyond is just dunesville. Elsewhere, like the Rancho Westex backyard, it's a mix of rock and useless sand. It gets in everything and just won't come out.

But enough about dirt.

Aside from having released this 45 on Hank Harral's Big Spring-based Caprock records I know nothing of Jack Tate nor the Sandy Land Play Boys. I would guess they might have been from Odessa, Monahans, or even Kermit based on the band moniker. "Casanova" shows some mightee fine picking from both the guitarist and the steel guitarist, who I would have loved to have heard more from. The uptempo proceedings nicely suit Jack's voice as well, though it doesn't fair quite so well on the so-so flip "Maybe I Won't Need You Anymore".
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Another big West Texan "Thanks" to Little Danny of the might fine Office Naps blog for sending this 45 along some time last year or the year before last. Good to see Danny's incredible blog up again. He's also got an excellent new site dedicated to his vision of the exotica genre, called the Exotica Project.... check it out HERE.

Southside Singers, Midland

2010-09-18T22:42:00.008-05:00

THE SOUTHSIDE SINGERS - "I've Already Been To the Waters," "I'm Going Through," and "Walk In The Light" (from Walk In the Light, ACR RHS-7223)

Almost no fidelity whatsoever on this live sounding gospel recording from Midland, Texas. The record label itself states "In Concert", but the audience must have been small, completely off mic, or just plain ol' dead. I would guess it to be more likely that the 35+ members of the Southside Singers huddled up around a mic or two in an empty tabernacle for this recording. Despite the liner notes labeling the group as "gospel soul", without the benefit of a full band backing most of the album has a rather ho hum feel to it. The standouts include an update of the Wynans family classic "Already Been To the Water", an update of the standard "I'm Going Through", and a straight reading of the title number. Not bad, but certainly not amazing. Guitar, drums, and horns would have taken this to a whole new level.

Johnny Brown & the Plainsmen, El Paso

2010-09-11T15:45:00.002-05:00

I've got a few stories sitting around I've been prepping off and on for some time now. And as my time goes to those, I've decided to just pull a post from the back pages of LoneStarStomp. Hopefully someone out there will be familiar with this Starday Custom out of El Paso that I originally Stomped way back in June, 2008.

JOHNNY BROWN AND THE PLAINSMEN W/ SAMMY - Shame (Big State 45-718-A)

One of the greatest labels of the 1950s was the Jack Starnes and Pappy Dailey creation Starday. As a record collector there are few greater feelings than turning up those yellow labels with the black script fonts. It's a label with killer side after killer side after killer side. Bill Mack, Sonny Fisher, Link Davis, Amos Como, Patsy Elshire, Bob Doss, Glenn Barber, George "Thumper" Jones, Fred Crawford, and on you go. Whether it swung, stomped, or bopped Starday had it covered. There's even a bit of doo wop in there. And one of Buddy Holly's tastiest bits o' guitar playing, too.

When Don Pierce made the move from California and 4 Star to Houston, Texas and Starday he brought with him the idea of a division that would offer up custom pressed records to any hopeful stars with a little bit of pocket $$$. In exchange said hopeful artist would receive a few hundred copies of a record on a yellow Starday label. For more information on this part of the Starday empire please take a look at Malcolm Chapman's excellent website on the Custom series. The proper Starday Custom label is-like the main series- full of amazing recordings. Lucky Wray (with Link on Guitar), Jimmy Johnson, Frank Evans, Arnold Parker, Truitt Forse, Lloyd McCulloch, Rocking Martin, and Hal Payne.

In some cases artists would send along a label name and the company would produce a label from one of a handful of basic designs. Such is the case of Big State label. There seem to have been a number of Big States scattered all over the place. There is a listing for a Big State release from Wichita Falls. There's the wild Roland Faulk Big State 45 from down on the Gulf Coast. There's also a couple of Big State releases by Johnny Payne out of Houston, but they are part of the 4 Star custom series.

In June of 1958- so sayeth the Chapman Custom site- Johnny Brown and the Plainsmen and vocalizer "Sammy" (Smith?") released their offering of "Shame" b/w "My Little Darling" on a Big State label with an El Paso address. We'll mention no more of "My Little Darling".

The A-side "Shame" bops along nicely. And it IS a bopper. A PRIMITIVE bopper. A primitive HILLBILLY bopper. The real deal. Not a tag thrown on some intranet auction to reel in bidders. While it may not be much of song- there's some words, but not many- it does move and chug along nicely with the steel player taking in a break after each verse/chorus. And what is that... three steel breaks? Certainly no shame there.

One other thing... this is one of just a handful of SCP's that was actually pressed up by Rite. And also just one of two Starday related 45s from El Paso that I'm aware of, the other being the 45 by the early El Paso favorites the Rock Kings.

In addition of the Starday Custom website Malcolm Chapman also runs a blog about the same subject... check it out HERE.

The Deuces Wild, Amarillo

2010-09-06T16:10:00.003-05:00

DEUCES WILD - Come Easy Go / Hey Little One (Deuce Records DW-101)

Amarillo has long served as a sort of crossroads. Surrounded by energy, farming. and ranching concerns the city is an old outpost of Panhandle culture, business, transport and transportation, and that famed cowboy mythos. On the western edge of the city is the famed Stanley Marsh 3's infamous Cadillac Ranch. Travelers headed west on I-40 are greeted by the big n' gaudy Big Texan (being more about quality than kitsch I would be hesitant to recommend this place for actual food... stop to see it, but just don't eat it). Out north of town black suburbans loaded with well-equipped employees of P antex sneak around protecting and updating our nation's nuclear stockpiles. The "highway that is best", Route 66, still motors through the city's north side, its glory days all but completely behind it. As the largest city in the region Amarillo draws business and attention from the panhandles of both Texas and Oklahoma as well as New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.

In the 1960s Amarillo was a go-to point for teen-oriented combos of the area, native Texan and otherwise. I-40/HWY 66 was still bringing touring combos through the city. The local Amarillo scene was shakin' away on its own with action by the Cinders, Hysterical Society, and the Tiaras along with countless other combos. Ray Ruff's Checkmate Studio was THE recording spot, splitting between local acts like the infamous Ya'lls and and outta-staters like the good ol' Blue Things and the wacky Dinks. Even a Van Morrison-less THEM hooked up with Ruff and his Sully/Ruff stable using Amarillo as a base of operations for a short time.

As far as I know the only other local studio that provided any type of recording services for for teen beat combos was a studio run by KPUR deejay Larry Cox, which was most likely opened in late 1965 or 1966. Probably the best known release to come from Larry's studio was the Undertakers single on Studio 7 which paired a fuzzy, pounding remake of "Unchain My Heart" with "It's My Time"'s dive bombing organ. The other three Larry Cox-related discs that rock a bit are the Notations on Beverly, the Renegades on Souled Out, and the Deuces Wild on Deuce. Larry evidently believed pink would grab attention and sell records as all three labels share the same pastel hue.

Larry Cox eventually motorvate'd west himself where he went on to produce chart toppers Climax as well as Jefferson Starhip's run of 70s hits before dropping out of the music business in the early 80s. Larry tooled about California for the next couple of decades, before eventually returning to Texas. He passed away just last year (Dec., 2009)

The recordings by Notations and Deuces Wild are interesting in that both go back to the early 60s for one of their sides. On the Notations take up Dick Dale's version of the quick-picking "Miserlou" on their Beverly release... amazing to think that in 1966 bands were still pulling this sound on record. I would be willing to guess that the Notations went on to become the Deuces Wild as the Deuces single is loaded with plenty of reverb as well.

The Deuces Wild 45 was likely pressed either in late 1966 or even 1967. Its got a surf feel. But its also got a lite touch of psychedelia strung through both sides. "Hey Little One", a huge hit of for Dorsey Burnette in 1962 and a garage and soul band staple ever since, is okey dokie enough and gave the local teens who showed up at the dances a chance to grope and sway in the darker corners of the gym. The band's moody original "Come Easy Go", penned by a Freddy Johnson, mixes the reverberated sun n' surf sound with acidic vocals and fuzz.

The K-PUR handbill, Larry Cox ad, and dance picture all came from the interesting Amarillo Graffiti website. Check it out HERE. Anyone with more info on the Deuces Wild, Notations, or Renegades please drop me a line.

Permian Band, Odessa

2010-08-27T21:46:00.009-05:00

PERMIAN BAND - "Fight Song" & "Hawaii Five-O"( from Mojo Spirit ep)

School has begun again and it is this year that Odessa's beloved Permian High celebrates its 50th year, a year that sees the oldest Westex child enter in to the school's famed halls as one small part of the tradition of MOJO.

This particular 7" release came about in the late 1960s I would guess, possibly the year after the team's first state championship in 1965. The Permian band leads a spirited PHS crowd through the School Fight song and then whips back around for a take on "Hawaii Five-O". Has any school band NOT beat this horse to death?

I had heard of Permian and the MOJO spoken of with a hushed reverence during my own high school years in down in Central Texas in the 80s/90s. Their fans were loud, devoted, and strong in number. They would follow their Panthers, black and white cowbells in hand, to the ends of God's oil-blessed earth. Having grown up in Clovis, New Mexico as a devoted fan of the AAAA powerhouse Wildcats I could understand. Clovis bled purple and white. But the mystique of Permian seemed to be above and beyond anything that little ol' Clovis could muster.

My freshman year of college in Abilene I saw that Permian was bringing its MOJO and fans to town and a phone call later we were on our way to Shotwell Stadium. The stories were right... lots of black and white, lots of cowbells, and lots of fans. More fans had made the 190 mile trip from Odessa than had made the cross-town trip. My date for the evening was a gal who had attended a private Christian high school up Tulsa way that couldn't even muster up enough kids for a team. She had never even been to a high school football game. Needless-to-say she was a bit overwhelmed by the spectacle of the whole thing. Though she dropped out of school during our sophmore year to become a stripper I'm not quite sure that can be blamed on the mighty MOJO.

18 years later I've got a sophmore at Permian, but I ain't all MOJO'd up. I've been to but one single game in all my Odessa years, and that was because they were matched up against my ol' alma mater of Copperas Cove, themselves a powerhouse in recent years.

I do have a "P" hat though, sooooo.... "Fight, Panther Team, Fight" I suppose

The Nobles, Abilene

2010-08-14T21:48:00.005-05:00

I had really hoped I would be able to get a good piece on Abilene's teen kings the Continentals up at the Stomp in honor of next weekend's Key City happenings... I just didn't get to it. It WILL happen... but for now swing to this early 60s Abilene town stomp...

THE NOBLES - Black Widow (Selbon 1.005)

Aaah... a long sought after disc finally makes it to Rancho Westex. Not particularly rare, but it is fairly great. 1963 or 1964 perhaps? I know nothing more... perhaps they went on to become the Noblemen?

I've made mention of this before... but this coming Saturday... August 21... Garage Band Woodstock is on tap.
The Livin' End (cut the INCREDIBLE "Pine Street Boys"), the Continentals ("I'm Gone"), the Chevelle V ("Come Back Bird") and others will be getting together for a reunion. I really wish I could be there and have even gotten three different "heads up" emails from the Continentals camp, but sadly it isn't meant to be... ol' Westex returns to the classroom for another year of teaching on the following Monday and will be needing the weekend to get ready for a new batch of 8th graders. Aaaaargh!!!!

The Stone Sisters, Lubbock

2010-08-03T21:41:00.012-05:00

THE STONE SISTERS - Between Ten And Twenty b/w Te Amo Hawaii, Te Amo ( Top Records TLT-504)

Oddball TNT custom pressing here.

The Stone Sisters are youngish sounding pop gals backed by what sounds like a straight hillbilly band which happened to have a fine sounding steel player. Based on the label's location perhaps a Lubbock group, though I would have no idea who. LoneStarStomp reader Robin Brown suggests that the guitar player may be Lubbock guitarist Clyde Hankins with other players possibly coming from the Bernie Howe Trio. Robin further suggested that the recording had been done in one of the local radio stations.

Despite being one of the largest cities in the region, the closest professional recording studio in the 1950s was Norman Petty's operation up the road in Clovis. I don't suspect this to have been a Clovis venture as that would have surely been established by this point in time. Though it is a possibility that the Stone Sisters could have traveled to San Antonio to record (the backing group doesn't strike me as a familar Lubbock area group) it is more likely for the group to have sent the recordings in to TNT to be pressed. Based on what is heard in the grooves TNT received a master that was recorded just a bit in the red. Add to that the the TNT touch and you get the usual no-fi experience so often associated with Tanner N' Texas.

TLT-501 wasn't the only TOP Records Release. Lisa Wheeler (of the excellent Pueblo City Limits blog) noted a blurb in Billboard Magazine (March 14, 1960) that referred to Vance Zuin of Top Records recording at RCA's Nashville Studios. It is likely that Billboard is actually referring to the 'gospel giant' Vance Zinn who released a 45 on Lubbock's DEB, a label best known for two Jim Solley 45s. The Zinn 45, which carries the number TLT-101, is a 1960 RCA Custom pressing. Aside from the TLT matrix both sides also carry the same songwriting credits as what is found on the Stone Sisters 45. The songwriting is partially credited to a Grussendorf which would seem like an easy lead, but the influx of German farmers to the western part of the state renders the name kinda sorta semi-common.

I doubt the Stone Sisters would have given the either the Davis Sisters or Abilene's own Starlight Sisters a run for their money, but as far as local kiddie combos go they're not too terribly bad. They were probably the cat's meow at the area country jamborees and probably performed at their share of supermarket openings. I actually get a small kick outta their TexMex'd take on hula rhythms with "Te Amo Hawaii." I think it's cute.

Update

2010-07-31T15:14:00.010-05:00

Greetings,

I would first of all like to thank all of the LoneStarStomp readers. Your comments both here on the blog and in private emails are greatly appreciated. It's nice to know people enjoy what I'm doing and it's also nice to hear little stories and insights from people that were there so to speak.

I had begun my summer thinking I would take LoneStarStomp to its own domain as well as set up a better host for audio. DivShare has been dropping files and so there are a number of dead links throughout the Stomp's back pages. At this point that will probably have to wait until Christmas or even next summer.

I also thought I was just going to be knocking off one big story after another. I have stories that I've been wanting to do for over a year (Lubbock's Traveling Salesmen) and other stories that are just popping up (the Soundrifters of Turkey and Midland's Clue) . But 'twixt rennovations, travel, and general laziness summer time certainly gets away from a fellow. It's a case of 'too many irons in the fire' and not enough sense to get rid of a few.

I've spent oodles of time talking to members of the New Roadrunners and the Knights Bridge. My goal was to have the tale of the Knights Bridge told early on in the summer, but real world events got in the way. I've also not given up hope on finding surviving members I've not yet talked to. Where are you Randy Williams and Ted Franklin?!?! I'm waiting on an early picture of the group and as a result the story will more than likely have to wait until late September. I'm much closer to finishing up the New Roadrunners after a couple of more interviews this week. All of the Roadrunners were extraordinarily kind and generous. These guys were one of THE hardest working bands in the Permian Basin back in the day.

A bit sadder... West Texas lost a few stars in the last few months. Ted Groebl, owner/producer of Joed Records out of Midland, passed away in the spring. I had really hoped to talk with Ted and get a good piece on him and Joed for the Stomp. Keith Ward, long time mover and shaker on the Midessa country/western radio scene, passed away at the beginning of the summer. And this week Odessa lost Ben Mancha. Ben spent decades working hard to bring the different cultures and people of Odessa together. I make sure the family's restaurant Ben's Little Mexico gets recommended to all Odessa-bound travelers. That joint served as a place where the Westex family broke bread 100s of times. The restaurant will go on one would hope. I'll have the #14.

One last thing... Danny and David of Abilene's Continentals (recorded for Gaylo and AOK) passed along word that a big 60s-era homecoming is happening in Abilene on Saturday, August 21. I wish I could make it, but that is probably the worst weekend of the year as the school year kicks back in the following Monday. Woulda been a hoot no doubt as they're advertising the Coachmen, Chevelle V, and Continentals as well as a couple of bands whose names DON'T start with the letter C. More info including cool pictures can be found here: http://garagebandwoodstock.com/

And make sure and check out my other blawgs Diggin' It!!! and Country. & Western.

Thanks Everybody,
Westex
Odessa, Tejas

Friends of Mind, Odessa

2010-07-20T19:11:00.006-05:00

Every record has a story. I first became aware of a single on InSounds by Friends of Mind via John Ingman's regional discography A.O.K.: Record Labels of West Texas & New Mexico. The disco listed the record with an Odessa address. I had known the InSounds label through a 45 by an Angie Carroll, but it was not until Danny over at the seemingly defunct Office Naps posted a side that I actually heard the Friends of Mind. Ken Tumlin emailed Danny soon after and I was eventually able to sit with Wendell Gregory and Ken Tumlin, the Friends of Mind, 40 years after they recorded "Moving Through Your Mind".

THE FRIENDS OF MIND- Moving Through Your Mind / Not Much Lovin' (InSounds 111)

Wendell Gregory and Ken Tumlin became friends as upperclassmen on the south side of Odessa at Ector High School in 1960 singing together in choirs at school and at church. Though there was an impressive rock n' roll scene around them made up of the likes of the Starfires, Ronny Smith and the Poorboys, Peanuts Wilson, Ken Cook (a classmate at EHS), and Montie Mead, both Ken and Wendell were more in tune with the folk scene coming to the nation's attention, a scene normally associated with coffee houses and college campuses rather than high schools. Both Ken and Wendell went to North Texas State in Denton after finishing high school and both eventually returned to Odessa.

"In August of 1965, I auditioned for a local group of singers called the Rhythm Folk, which was formerly called the WD Singers, led by Walter Dixon Bowles," Ken told Danny Shiman of the late, great Office Naps. "I became a part of the group and in June of 1966, we moved to Hollywood, CA, and became associated with Dan Blocker of Bonanza fame. He let our group use his name and we became The Dan Blocker Singers, performed on three Milton Berle Shows on ABC, and performed in Reno, Nevada for 2 weeks with Ray Bolger. I had a great, fun experience with the Singers."

Dan Blocker, of course, played the rather large character Hoss from the Bonanza tv show. Born on the other side of Texas, Blocker enrolled at Sul Ross College down in Alpine where he played football and studied to become a teacher, a profession he worked at in various locales in both Texas and eastern New Mexico.

In 1968 Walter Dixon called together the Dan Blocker singers and announced a move to a commune setting along the Big Piney River in Arkansas (a 1971 article about the commune can be read HERE). Ken had no interest in moving to Arkansas so he returned to Odessa where he joined back up with Wendell and participated in the theater at Odessa's Permian Playhouse.

While working at the Permian Playhouse they drew the attention of a local eye doctor named John Sheets whose wife Carroll was a member of the Playhouse actors group. Sheets invited Ken and Wendell to come to his home in far east Odessa where he had set up a small studio. In exchange for backing his wife on a few tracks (1) the duo would be given access to his home studio(2).

Ken and Wendell recorded two of Ken's own compositions, "Moving Through Your Mind" and "Not Much Loving". "Moving Through Your Mind" is almost entirely the duo's voices as well as Wendell's tambourine and Ken's guitar with the addition of a synthesizer for bass and percussion. Friends of Mind sometimes included an upright bassist named Phil Crouse and it is Phil who can be heard adding a soft bass rhythm to "Moving Through Your Mind" though he did not play on the flip. In Los Angeles Bill Cheatwood (formerly of Oklahoma folk trio The Wayfarers) added a layer of effects to "Not Much Loving". Neither Wendell nor Ken were happy with what had happened to their song, but Dr. Sheets would not change it. Luckily "Moving" escaped the same attention leaving Ken and Wendell with a nice folk number with a psychedelic feel.

Sheets found financial backing from a fellow doctor and owner of a local beer distributorship who helped defray the cost of producing the InSounds single. It is not clear how an eye doctor from Odessa, Texas came to have a partnership with the West Coast InSounds label. Insounds was a subsidiary of the Accent label which is best known chiefly for its country releases and two sought after 45s by the Human Expression.

"They made quite a few records, " said Ken. "I carried some down to Houston, dropped them off at some radio stations. It got some radio play in Seattle, Washington and somewhere in Virginia. Of course when all of our relatives and friends got finished calling in to KOSA radio we got up to number 12 on the charts here in Odessa." Wendell himself personally delivered records as far away as Oklahoma City, including the famed and powerful KOMA.

"That was the most exciting thing to hear that on the radio," proudly remembered Wendell in Ken's living room on a summer afternoon. "It was like 'Yeah!' We thought we were, well... we were good. We were really good."

Despite having a small hit in a few regional markets Wendell and Gregory were not at a place where they were able to capitalize and the radio life of the record was rather short lived.

Wendell and Ken eventually added a third member, Marietta Weaver, who came from Up With People. As a trio the group entered the former AOK studios and recorded a handful of songs that have so far remained unreleased.

Aside from sporadic gigs outside of Odessa and continued work at the Playhouse, the group never really moved beyond the local stage. At around the time of the single's release Wendell and Ken had married sisters and turned their attention to family matters. The two always remained friends. even working for the same company for many years. Ken performs occasionally with local band leader Cindy Ward.

Wendell passed away on November 5, 2011. God Bless.
_______________________________

(1) I have no idea what ever became of the work done with Dr. Sheets' wife, but there is a 45 on InSounds by an Angie Carroll with scribbles from the late Keith Ward noting that she was a local housewife. Weird record.

(2) Dr. Sheets would go feet first into running his own studio, Trans Global, around 1970. Bill Cheatwood was brought into work in the studio as well as Larry Tamblyn of the Standells! Actual releases on the Trans-Global label are few and far between as are examples of works produced by the studio. It seems the best known production is the album for Colorado's Cedar Creek Society. With no real direction the studio closed within a few years of opening.

I would like to thank Ken and Wendell for their time, and Ken for the use of the KOSA chart and the photo as well as the constant badgering via email. And a thanks as big as a Marfa sunset to Little Danny for putting me in touch with Ken in the first place and the label scan and MP3s. Though Office Naps seems to be done, Danny has a new site in the works which looks and sounds t-riff and Danny can also be heard over the West Texas airwaves at the coolest radio station in the area, KRTS (93.5) out of Marfa. Thanks also to Brett Bates and Scott Schenkel who both provided information regarding Trans Global Studios (which is not associated with Odessa production company TransGlobal Media). Stories on Brett and Scott's bands are coming up soon...

The Spiritual Crusaders, Snyder

2010-07-18T07:29:00.010-05:00

THE SPIRITUAL CRUSADERS - "I'm Going To Tell It" from We're Going To Tell It (TSC Records SLP-100)

As I've alluded to elsewhere here at LoneStarStomp I grew up Church of Christ. Many a Sunday morn n' eve as well as Wednesday night in the traditional Churches of Christ. This meant a firm upbringing in the tradition of singing done strictly acapella, without the accompaniment of instruments. So when it comes to praise and worship music my prejudices lie with the voice style rather than those featuring full bands. It's not that I necessarily feel it to be sinful to use a guitar when raising a voice to the Lord, but I so easily hear a pleading or praising purity in the lone, or grouped, voice. And don't want to go to hell because there's a guitar moving the Spirit along.

The Spiritual Crusaders came together in 1969 under the leadership of Virgil C. Mott in Snyder, Texas under the guise of acapella style praise. The group quickly began performing on local TV and radio in Lubbock, Abilene, Snyder, Post, and elsewhere. The 6 member group included C. Crayton (he sings lead on all of the songs), Johnnie Harrison, Sylvester McNight, R. J. Nelson, Tom Willis, and Billy Scott. As much as it pains me - a CoC'er- to say it, these Baptist men could really sing some praises. Crayton has a strong lead and Mott did a t-riff job producing the group in what must have been a primitive studio setting.

Los Paisanos, El Paso

2010-07-08T20:21:00.008-05:00

LOS PAISANOS - Los Paisanos (Exeter S-100)

Most people who follow West Texas records or local hero Bobby Fuller are aware of the El Paso-based Exeter records. Best known for Bobby's own "I Fought The Law" (stomped HERE), "Shakedown" (WOW!!!), and "Wine Wine Wine" Exeter also saw releases on the Sherwoods, and the Pawns. But how many folks knew there was an lp release on Exeter as well?

In the mid-60s Bobby produced an album by an El Paso based folk trio called Los Paisanos. The Paisanos (that's Countrymen for you non-bilengualists) was made up of Dan Richey, Mexico-native Clarence Cooper, and dentist Don Dixon and while the group was part of the folk boom, the guys did hit it with a decidedly southwestern twist. The 12 selections on their 1st album ranged from traditional Mexico numbers to traditional mountain selections to hits of the then-current folk boom. The trio turns in a fine reading of the standard "Lil' Maggie", while "La Bamba" is very non-Chicano (ala Valens). I'm not a big Bob Dylan fan as I've never given Bob much of my time, but the cover of "Blowing In the Wind" is as one would expect (I will come back later to fix the skips, but I'm headed out for a few days of ceegar smoking up in the Colorado mountains).

________________________________

As mentioned I'll be away a short stretch, but expect Odessa's Friends of Mind pretty soon after I get back to el Rancho Westex.

Jerry & Joe and the Border Wranglers, El Paso

2010-06-30T00:32:00.009-05:00

JERRY AND JOE & the Border Wranglers- When I Open the Door (Best 111)

Jerry Street and Joe Leaver... who were you and where did you come from? And where did you go? In 1962 or 1963 the two turned in this swift country rocker on the 'catch all' Best label out of Mesilla Park in south central New Mexico. It's got a jangle, and got a swagger, as well as a drummer that could certainly keep things on the upside of the tempo... with drum rolls even! El Paso group? Las Cruces?

All the same it's a bit of an unknown on a relatively unknown label... best known thing on the imprint is the Big Sonny & His Furys 45 and that's hardly the talk of the town. (Stomped HERE). No idea who ran production for the prolific Gum Publishing outfit which caught releases on Best, Frank Gonzales' own F-G label, and Gum among others but I would assume that Emmit Brooks of Goldust might have had at least a partial hand in the process somewhere.
__________________________
On the way...
* Odessa folk duo Friends of Mind
* an update on Abilene rockabilly boy Gene Morris
* Turkey's OTHER white meat... Buzz Barnhill & the Four Counts
* Odessa's infamous Knights Bridge... not even a private detective could find these neighborhood heroes. I'll put a myth or two to rest while creating entirely new ones.
* ... and from parts-all-over the New Roadrunners.

Gene Evans, Lubbock

2010-06-22T08:21:00.015-05:00

GENE EVANS- Tell Me b/w Big Time Ladies Man (Dart 132)

In the spring of 1960 Lubbock boy Gene Evans got his first of just a handful of record releases. Listening to "Big Time Ladies Man" there is little doubt about where Gene was drawing his influence. Something so outwardly braggadocious might have been a bit uncharacteristic for Buddy Holly himself ("Modern Don Juan" aside), but most of the other obvious trademarks are otherwise there. "Tell Me" is a fairly standard pop song for the time. Not horrible, but not terribly exciting either.

How a kid from Lubbock wound up on Pappy Daily's eclectic Dart label is a mystery. Mayhaps there is a connection with KLLL's Slim and Sky Corbin who have writering credits on both sides of this 45. Though it's a tenuous connection at best there is the chance dee jay Bill Mack of rival station KDAV might have been involved. KLLL's Waylon Jennings had a short songwriting partnership with Bill and and one of their songs, "John's Back In Town", saw release on a Mack 45 on Daily's D label. I can think of no other artists from Lubbock proper that were recording for Daily at this point (unless Jimmy Blakley had left Roswell).

It's also possible that producer Norman Petty shopped the record to Dailey on his own. Both Cliff and Jimmy Blakley had recorded records with Petty that were released on Starday (when Daily was still the 'day') and later again on the D label. Fred Crawford cut a solitary Starday side, "Mission Walls" with Buddy Holly on guitar, at Petty's studio. Amarillo hepster Lou Walker's custom Starday issues were cut in Clovis as well. Perhaps Daily had put out word that if Petty saw anything interesting he might keep D/Dart in mind.

Upon release the record did little damage anywhere and was not even reviewed in Billboard. A short time later Gene took part in Larry Holley-sponored Hollyhawks with one-time Cricket Niki Sullivan. Jubilee picked up just one 45 from the group.

For Gene there would at the very least be one last 45 on the Anchor label, one side being a remake of a song called "Slippin' & Slidin'" which had been written by a Richard Penniman.

Sorry for a lackluster sound... as clean as this disc looks it is either a crummy pressing or suffered a pass or four under the worst of styli or, more likely, needles.

The Venturas, ????

2010-06-13T07:20:00.012-05:00

THE VENTURAS - Tired of Living(This Way) (IN 101)

Who were the Venturas?

With a Westex publishing credit and Tommy Allsup production they could have been from Odessa or the surrounding area. But going by the label New Talent promotions was based out of Dallas and Dallas area band Kit & the Outlaws first release, the incredible "Fun, Fame & Fortune", was IN 102. Then there's Hub City boy Gary P. Nunn, he of the legendary Sparkles (their killer "Hipsville 29 B.C." was stomped HERE), who carries the writing credit for "Tired of Living".

According to a Doug Hanners interview with Lucky Floyd (Not Fade Away #4) the Sparkles recorded"The Hip", "Oh Girls, Girls", "Daddy's Gonna Put the Hurt On You," "Jack In the Beanstalk", and "Something That You Said" at Tommy Allsup's Odessa recording studios. This would have had to have been in late 1965 or early 1966 based on Hickory release dates. I wonder if perhaps "Tired Of Living" came with the Sparkles to Tommy's studio but did not get recorded or see release. In this case perhaps Tommy, for whatever reason, held onto the Gary P. Nunn track for later use.

Or perhaps s the Venturas were a short lived Gary P. Nunn project as there is a slight resemblance vocally. And Gary's Lost Gonzo Band was incorporating horns just a few years later. The horn players here have a strong feel for the Tejano sound, turning in a very TexMex-y song. I don't figure on the singer being a chicano- his vocal is a bit too guero- but it's quite possible that the horn players were Odessa Southsiders as they've got the feel. The Venturas also laid down an unreleased track titled "Hornets Nest" that had a Sparkles feel.

"Cry I Cried", the flipside of IN 101, came from the songwriting team of Dean Beard and Jack Smith. Jack did not know the Venturas and did not recall having heard their version of he and Dean's song. I was thinking that perhaps the Venturas might have been a studio group with Dean Beard ala Hayseed Stephens.

Whatever is going here, Tommy Allsup must have really believed in "Tired of Living" as he had the New Roadrunners re-record the song as the A-side for their 1968 AOK release. Despite what the notes to the AOK volume of Cicadelic's Texas garage series say there is no connection between Roadrunners and the Venturas. None of the Roadrunners know anything about the Venturas.

Darrell Faires, Lubbock

2010-06-06T08:49:00.010-05:00

DARRELL FAIRES- There's A World Out There (Shalom 001)

Lubbock, Texas folk release from 1967 which runs on a Xian line. Darrell's got a message and feels a bit strongly. Mayhaps a Texas Tech student?

Dennis McCluskey and the Cruisers, Abilene

2010-06-02T08:20:00.010-05:00

THE CRUISERS- Cruisin' b/w My Mary Lou (Winston 1033)

"Cruisin'" is a fairly standard stroller from what was in all likelihood Abilene producer/singer Slim Willet's rock n' roll unit: Dean Beard on piano, James Steward on guitar (where are you James?), bassist Hop Ealim (whataname!), and Dash Croft on drums. While the format and build of "Cruisin'" is straightforward, it's got an overall coating of grunge that belies its origins in quaint 'ol Abilene, Texas. (if Texas be part of the famed 'Bible Belt', then Abilene might well be the Bible Belt Buckle) . The band backs a Dennis McCluskey on the ballad flip, but McCluskey sounds a bit too grown up for the material.

Released in either May or June of 1959.

Goddard High School, Roswell

2010-05-24T00:53:00.007-05:00

GODDARD HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTS: The Stage Band (Century 29759, 1967)

Goddard High School is best known for their 1969 and 1970 releases which go a bit heavy, especially as school records go. On this 1967 release the Stage Band plays it a bit safe, though the selections are a bit beyond the normal fare of the day. Buddy Rich's "Wack Wack" doesn't stretch much, but the kids aren't horrible. Paul Mauriat's "Love Is Blue" has a sorta psychedelic folk feel to it. Sonny & Cher's "The Beat Goes On" get's a nice little schoolin' as well. Kid honkin' the sax ain't too awfully bad.

Bill Briggs & the X.I.T. Boys, Amarillo

2010-05-16T00:55:00.013-05:00

BILLY BRIGGS and THE X.I.T. Boys - The Yodeling Song (Time 110)

There are few things finer than Billy Briggs. Damned incredible voice. Genius tunesmith. Amazing steel. One of the best backing outfits in all of the west. Always dressed to the 9's.

Bill came to Amarillo from Fort Worth in the late 30s and was one of the founding members of the great Sons of the West (Stomped HERE) . The Sons lasted, mostly, up until just after the mid-point of the 40s when Billy grabbed a local ranch name and christened his new group the X.I.T. Boys and hooking up with label man / poltico Dan Allender's TIME Records out of Dalhart, where he released a string of 78s.

"I'd Rather Be Anything Than What I Am" b/w "Yodelling Song" would be one of his last releases for time and shows Briggs hitting on his two strengths... being his own worst critic ("I'd Rather Be...") and his word twistin' humor ("Yodelling Song").

As for the X.I.T.... the X.I.T. Ranch got it's start in the 1880s when a fire left Texas government with no home. A deal was struck with two brothers named Farwell out of Chicago. The brothers would back the budget on a $3,000,000 capitol building and in exchange they'd be granted 3,000,000 acres of grazing ground on the Texas Panhandle frontier. It was a weird stretch of land that jigged and jagged in a roughly 30 mile swath from from the Texas/O.K. border, south along the Texas/N.M. border, down to a spot south of Lubbock. The X.I.T. was the largest fenced ranch of it's time and also one of the most forwarding thinking outfits of the period. It was broken up in the 1920s. More info can be had at the X.I.T. Rodeo website HERE.

Dusty Dalton, Odessa

2010-05-09T08:05:00.010-05:00

DUSTY DALTON - Shotgun (Unique100)

As it says on the label ... "Shotgun" is by Dusty Dalton, from 1962, and from Odessa. Billboard gave it the prestigious "Moderate Sales Potential" rating in its November 3, 1962 issue. I doubt more will ever be known. Decent bopper...

This chick's got a kick like a 16-gauge shotgun

Not terribly difficult to imagine this being pitched in Bill Carlisle's direction as he was carrying on in just about the same style for Hickory records at about this time... and actually Bill did cut a song called "Shot Gun". Dusty's is better.

Ray Reed, Ruidoso / Roswell (part II)

2010-05-05T07:18:00.002-05:00

It's just a short stretch until the traditional Memorial Day weekend start of the new racing season up at the Ruidoso Downs...

RAY REED AND HIS BAND - Hustlin' Man (Ruidoso Racing Association )

I had previously stomped Ray Reed's 1961 Capitol custom pressing "Go Ahead On" b/w "Holiday At the Downs" HERE, two sides lauding heaps of praisin' upon the fine life of horse racing, fishing, and general lazy'ing about which visitors are afforded when hanging about beautiful Ruidoso Downs in the mountains of east central New Mexico. Just one year later Ray was at it again with a tune dedicated to the 1962 All American Futurity winner "Hustling Man". Listening to the band it would seem that "Hustling Man" is cut from almost the same cloth as the '61 release. and aside from the horn and piano, little else- including some lyrics- has changed. If "Go Ahead On" was a throwback to the stripped down western swing sound of the early 50s and out of step with 1961, then I have no idea where this leaves this 1962 release.

If you do happen to hit the Downs, lay out a five spot on a long shot for ol' Westex if'n you don't mind.

Jerry Rainwater and the Blue Rockets, Snyder

2010-04-29T23:21:00.008-05:00

JERRY RAINWATER and THE BLUE ROCKETS -Petite Fillette (Blue Diamond No#)

According to a single testimonial on the interwebs Jerry Rainwater was a rock n' roller from Snyder, Texas who on a few occasions performed at the theater in Colorado City. The address on the Blue Diamond label places him, or at the very least the label, in Snyder as well.

What Jerry left behind is an interesting record to say the very least. It's country, but it's a little bit rock n' roll too. There's an Elvis vibe. Some Jack Scott as well. And the subject matter? Well... odd, odd, odd.

There would be a late-70s lp release by Rainwater on an Odessa label as well. Big Jerry Reed (country dude, not blues guy) flavor on that album.

And as mentioned below Jerry died in November of 2011.

Royce Porter, Sweetwater

2010-04-25T01:50:00.004-05:00

Major thank you to Little Danny of the greatly missed Office Naps who sent this disc on to me just this week... muchly appreciated!

ROYCE PORTER - Yes I Do (Look 1001)

Located an hour west of Abilene and just beyond the foothills of the Edwards Plateau Sweetwater is probably most noteworthy as the site of the infamous Rattlesnake Roundup held each spring as well as its growing importance in the production of wind power. Personally I've always enjoyed the town's red brick paved streets and laid back 'good ol' days' feel. La familia Westex has actually put it on our list of summer vacation "to do's". Don't know that I'd necessarily want to live there, but it's certainly an a-ok place to spend an afternoon.

The number of artists to have come out of Sweetwater is slim. It might or might not include Starday hillbilly Buddy Shaw ("Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me", "No More"... both high on the Westex want list). But the short list definitely includes the prolific Elmer Ray Doggett and Royce Porter.

While Porter is a busy man these days, reaping the rewards and fruits of songwriting in Music City he certainly had to dig some pretty deep trenches to get there. His story originally appeared in a Goldmine article from 1983 by Adriaan Sturm titled "Rockabilly Turned Nashville Songwriter" and Strum retold the story on the Redita release Rockabilly Meeting. The Goldmine article included the following quote, which also appeared in Vol. 11 of Bear Family's That'll Flat... Git It! series:

"Rock n' roll didn't start happening for most white people, especially in Texas, until Elvis broke loose." -Royce Porter

Like so many other kids Royce Porter tuned in to the Louisiana Hayride Saturday after Saturday to get an earful of Elvis. In June of 1955 Elvis played his first and only gig in the town of Sweetwater and I have little doubt that Royce and his buddy Ray were both there, mesmerized by the greasy headed kid from Memphis. And not too long after graduating high school, inspired by the success of the new star Louisiana Hayride the pair of Sweetwater boys lit out for the Houston area where they quickly got caught up with the infamous Bennie Hess. Doggett cut a couple of singles for Bennie's new rock n' roll label Spade, debuting in 1956 with the rocker "Go Go Heart". Royce followed a few months later with the moody hiccupin' shuffler "A Woman Can Make You Blue" on Spade 1931. It was while touring Texas radio stations and promoting their own Spade releases that they met Mr. Pappy Dailey of Starday records.

Porter was placed in a Fort Worth studio in mid-'57. History just reports the back-up as being Slim Willet's right hand man Dean Beard on piano and a local group, renamed the Kounts, performing back up vocals. Dailey took publishing on both "Yes I Do" (written by Doggett) and "Our Perfect Romance" and had the songs placed on a new Mercury label tie-in called Look. "Yes I Do" is busy bopper that has a lot to look at, if you dig. There's so much going that ol' Dean Beard is almost nowhere to be found until halfway through the break. But who was that guitarist?

Though panned in Billboard the disc did develop into some type of minor hit. The Kounts became a de facto Jordanaires and they and Porter got around just a bit off the 45's short success. It was enough to get Porter placed on Mercury proper for his next release. And then he was back with Dailey on the D label for one last release, "Lookin'". For whatever reason, Dailey released the single while Royce Porter was navy'd up with Uncle Sam meaning the effort stood little chance at success.

After serving out his tour Royce returned to Sweetwater to preach for a few years but by the mid-60s he was at again. While he didn't find a hit for himself on either Houston based FED records or as part of the Tear Drop label duo The Brothers-In-Law (produced by Ray Doggett) he did find his groove as songwriter.

Since the 70s Royce Porter has racked up a nice string of hits for himself. Most famous of the bunch is the huge 80s classic "Ocean Front Property", on which Porter carries a third of the songwriting. Thirty-three percent of a George Strait tune is a nice chunka change.

More info about Royce Porter, as well pictures, can be found on Marijn Raaijmakers' excellent Black Cat Rockabilly website HERE.