Universal South Records and Nationwide Popularity
Cross Canadian Ragweed (Purple Album)
In 2002, the group then signed with Universal South Records and released a self-titled album also alternately known as 'The Purple Album'. It was a tribute to the band's "little sister" Mandi Ragsdale, the younger sister of the band's drummer Randy Ragsdale, who had died in an auto accident near College Station, Texas, [2] and whose favorite color was purple. The album produced charted singles "17" and the ballad "Constantly", and released a music video for the hard rock track "Don't Need You."
Soul Gravy
Ragweed's 2004 album, Soul Gravy , debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard charts. Lee Ann Womack provided background vocals on the popular single "Sick and Tired". The project also saw the re-release of the song "Alabama" (off of 2001's Highway 377) that blended sounds of southern rock, arena rock, and grunge and became very popular. "Alabama" appeared on the Billboard Charts as well.
Garage
In October 2005 the band released Garage, described by both the band and raters at AllMusic as the group's "grungiest album ever." The sound featured the traditional red dirt sound, but had a heavy sound of rock, grunge, and garage rock. Two songs, "Fighting' For" and "This Time Around" both became hits off the album. The project charted higher than any studio album the band ever released and for the first time, the band found it's way into rock radio airplay across the United States due to the song "Dimebag", a tribute to former Damageplan and Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who had been killed months earlier during a concert.
Back To Tulsa: Live And Loud At Cain's Ballroom
In late 2006, Ragweed released their third and final live album, Live and Loud At Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The band's 24 song project was well received and featured songs from their previous projects The Purple Album, Soul Gravy, and Garage. It also featured a handful of covers as well such as Neil Young's The Needle and the Damage Done and Robert Earl Keen's "Lonely Feeling."
Mission California
Cross Canadian Ragweed recorded Mission California , their fourth studio album, at the end of March 2007. The namesake of the album was due to the recording taking place in San Diego, California. The band spent 25 days in the studio; the first 5 cutting 15 tracks, the next 20 polishing each. Lee Ann Womack once again laid down background vocals on 4 of the tracks to include the Chris Knight cover "Cry Lonely." Mission California was released on October 2, 2007. AllMusic reviewed the Album and found that the project was "name appropriately, the band sounds much more a progressive and radio friendly sound that combines "southern rock, americana, and the sounds that would come from a place like California."
Happiness and All the Other Things
The band's tenth and final album, Happiness and All the Other Things was released on August 31, 2009, commemorating the band's 15th Anniversary. It featured 12 new studio tracks and three live tracks. Recorded in California, this album includes a track entitled "51 Pieces", which Canada penned with Micky Braun. The song was based on an incident where Ohio State police ransacked the band's bus after a stop in Cleveland at the House of Blues. It also featured "Blue Bonnets" which is dedicated to Cody's oldest son Dierks. Happiness and All the Other Things was officially dedicated to the late Randall Locke (Willie Nelson's long-time stage manager) who suddenly died on May 6, 2009. Other popular tracks were "To Find My Love", "Burn Like The Sun", and "Kick In The Head."
Hiatus and band break-up
In May 2010, Cross Canadian Ragweed announced a hiatus from touring. In a band press release, Ragsdale explained, "Right now, I need to be at home for my family, particularly my son JC, who has autism. He's 10 years old now and still struggling in his development. I feel the only way I can help him is to be more hands on and close to home." Despite Ragsdale wanting to "get another drummer and press on," Canada stated "We’ve always said from the start, we’re Ragweed as the four of us, or not Ragweed at all." [3] In September 2010, Canada officially announced the band was calling it quits by announcing their "Last Call Show" in October 2010 at Joe's Bar in Chicago, IL, stating "as far as that's concerned, Oct 24 is the last one, the last gig." [4]
Post break-up
Since Cross Canadian Ragweed, Canada and Plato formed The Departed with fellow Yukon-native Dave Bowen (drums), Seth James (guitar), and Steve Littleton (keyboards), releasing their debut album "This Is Indian Land" in June 2011. The band would produce 3 albums of original material, all with diverse sounds, and two albums of covers of 1990's red dirt songs and the classic country of the 1960's and 1970's. [5] Ragsdale and Cross both returned to Yukon. Ragsdale played with Stoney LaRue until 2013 and now works in the oil and natural gas industry, while Cross purchased and operates the bar that was the very first venue Cross Canadian Ragweed performed in 1994. [6] [7]
Reunion
In late 2024, the Facebook page for the band, which had remained untouched for almost 15 years, changed it's picture, exciting Ragweed fans, though there was cautious optimism as Canada had said repeatedly through the years since the breakup and as recently as 2023 that Cross Canadian Ragweed would never return. The picture changed again, this time as a picture of the bands symbol wrapped like a Christmas present, then announced that there would indeed be a reunion. The band announced their reunion in September 2024, announcing a show alongside Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Turnpike Troubadours, Stoney LaRue, and The Great Divide. The show was originally scheduled to take place on April 12, 2025, at Boone Pickens Stadium. Due to pre-sale ticket demand a second show was added for April 11, 2025. The band also played its second reunion concert on the campus of Baylor University at McLane Stadium in August 2025, and announced on stage that there would be future show in the coming year. [8] After the two shows sold out on Monday, October 7, 2024, two more shows were added later that day for the Thursday before and the Sunday after. After tickets sold out on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, a grand total of 180,764 tickets were reported sold for the weekend of April 10–13, 2025. [9]
The band played a surprise set at Mile 0 Music Fest in Key West, Florida in January 2025. This was the band's first live performance in over 15 years. [10]
Influences and sound
Ragweed's sound and also many of the other acts they have played with have led to a debate as to whether the band is a country band or a rock band. Canada said in upon the release of Garage in a 2005 interview with Lone Star Music Magazine that the band was "a rock band with some country influence...we grew up around Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson...but we are more on the rock side." The band is influenced heavily by grunge, 1990's alternative rock, along with some selected punk such as Green Day. Canada and Plato also have said in interviews with The Texas Music Scene they both grew up loving heavy metal and still listen to it and "incorporate it when we can." The band also combined the sound of southern rock acts such as The Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker Band, and Lynyrd Skynyrd along with outlaw country. Canada said that rock bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, AC/DC, and Soundgarden have all been a part of the influence on the band's sound as well as country music influences such has Haggard, Nelson, Guy Clark, and Robert Earl Keen. Due to their unique sound, the band often had a hard time getting radio airplay on either mainstream rock or country stations.
Notable appearances
The band frequently played with other stars of the Red Dirt and Texas Music scene including Stoney Larue, Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Micky & The Motorcars, Reckless Kelly, (Canada's brother-in-law) Wade Bowen, No Justice, Johnny Cooper, Seth James, and Brandon Rhyder. The band played with country music star Dierks Bentley numerous times. Bentley referenced the band in his song "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", singing that "Ragweed's rockin' on the radio".
Ragweed has toured and/or played with rock and alternative acts Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jonny Lang, ZZ Top, Sammy Hagar, The Black Crowes, Old 97's, Son Volt, John Fogerty, and Jonathan Tyler and The Northern Lights.
"Cry Lonely" is a playable track in Rock Band Country Track Pack .
The song "Boys from Oklahoma" plays as the credits roll in the movie Leaves of Grass starring Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon. [11] The film is a Stoner Comedy set in Oklahoma.
"Anywhere But Here" is played during the Season 2 Episode 6 of the NBC television series Grimm .
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