(Vocal/instrumental group, 1971–present) Three former members of The Country Gentlemen – John Duffey, Tom Gray and Mike Auldridge (dobro, b. 1938) – co-founded The Seldom Scene in 1971 with John Starling (vocals, guitar, b. 1940) and Ben Eldridge (banjo, b. 1938). Several of them had white-collar careers so they could play infrequently (thus the name) ...
Princeton, New Jersey native Trey Anastasio (b. 1964) became the star of the jam-band resurgence through his prolific work both with his band Phish and a multitude of side projects. Phish’s initial touring and recording life spanned from 1983 to 2000, experienced a hiatus from 2000 to 2003 and dissolved in 2004, before regrouping in 2009. Inheriting the ...
Although one tends to think of Nashville as the primary source for country music, many other regions contributed to this music’s growth, especially the West Coast, where migrant workers from Oklahoma, Texas and other regions of the Southwest played a vital role in putting California on the country-music map. With Los Angeles as its focal point, ...
Like the USA itself, country music in California was built upon migrant forces, in relation to both musicians and audiences. Unlike Nashville, whose growth was mainly dependent upon local musicians, the Golden State scarcely produced any homegrown talent but, rather, was dependent upon the influx of migrant workers from other states. The greater number of ...
The singing cowboys did not have the monopoly on country music on the silver screen, although it was their breed that first caught Hollywood’s attention. By the time the 1940s rolled around, several of Nashville’s top stars found that they could expand their careers by bringing their talents to the vast new audiences. Singing Stars In the earlier decade ...
In the Bakersfield family tree, the likes of Bill Woods and Wynn Stewart set the stage, Buck Owens put the town on the map, and Merle Haggard was the heir apparent. ‘The Hag’, as he is often known, also had the distinction of actually being born in Bakersfield, on 6 April 1937. His parents, James ...
Although Bakersfield had already played host to a number of country-music artists, it was Buck Owens (1929–2006) who not only put it on the map, but also spread its name around the world. So great was his impact, some even called it ‘Buckersfield’. The Road To Bakersfield Hailing from Sherman, Texas, and born Alvis Edgar Owens ...
Singing cowboy Tex Ritter enjoyed two distinctive careers, the first as ‘America’s most beloved cowboy’ (a title bestowed on him by a Hollywood publicist), and second as a recording artist and stage performer, albeit still making occasional film appearances. He also recorded one of the most memorable western themes of all time – ‘High Noon’. A Screen Icon Born ...
Merle Travis was both a vital cog in the development of the West Coast country scene and a major influence on a whole generation of guitarists. Highly innovative, he had a style of three-finger playing named after him – ‘Travis picking’ – and the equally skilled Chet Atkins well acknowledged the Travis influence, although the latter modestly shrugged off ...
(Vocals, actor, narrator, 1920–99) The last of the singing cowboys, Arizona-born Rex Allen made 19 movies for Republic before the genre ended with his The Phantom Stallion (1954). His powerful voice ensured several chart successes – the highest being ‘Crying In The Chapel’ (1953) – and a long career as a narrator for several Disney documentaries. The ...
(Vocals, guitar, 1915–78) Oklahoma-born Johnny Bond originally formed a trio with Jimmy Wakely and gained national attention on Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch radio show. He made appearances in several singing-cowboy movies, first as a member of The Jimmy Wakely Trio, then leading his own group, The Red River Valley Boys. A prolific songwriter, he is ...
(Vocals, comedienne, actress, 1916–83) Beginning her professional career with brother Leon and sister Diane in Florida, Judy Canova appeared on New York’s Broadway in the early 1930s before beginning her 15-year, 17-movie career with Scatterbrain (1940). She was Republic Picture’s top female attraction, and one of several country-orientated comedy acts to enjoy a substantial film ...
(Vocals, songwriter, 1911–94) Much underrated and overlooked, Zeke Clements combined cowboy songs with fine yodelling, and moved around the nation’s radio stations – WLS (Chicago), WSM (Nashville) and other locations – before arriving in Hollywood and voicing the cartoon character Bashful in Walt Disney’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937). After several movie appearances, he ...
(Vocals, guitar, songwriter, 1930–2000) One of the earliest pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound, Oklahoma City-born Tommy Collins (Leonard Raymond Sipes) began activities on the West Coast thanks to the encouragement of dj Ferlin Husky. Securing deals with Cliffie Stone’s Central Songs and Capitol Records, he began putting Bakersfield on the map with nationwide humorous hits like ...
(Violin, vocals, bandleader, 1910–69) When Bob Wills set up business in the San Fernando Valley, he found strong competition from Spade Cooley, an Oklahoma-born fiddle player who initially worked as a singing-cowboy stand-in and musician before becoming bandleader in the Venice Pier Ballroom. There he attracted sell-out business with his band, which numbered 22 members ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.