Don Woody (born June 29, 1937) is an American rockabilly drummer and comedian. Woody recorded six sides in the late 1950s with his song "Barking Up the Wrong Tree" receiving the largest amount of commercial success after being reissued 20 years following its initial distribution.
Woody was born in the small town of Tuscumbia, Missouri. He started a career as a disc jockey in junior high school, and had a comedy routine Woody performed at local clubs. Also during this time, Woody became an accomplished drummer in his high school band. After graduation, he attended Southwest Missouri State University where he took a position as a DJ for the campus's "Top 40" rock and roll radio station. [1] While enrolled in college, Woody wrote a dozen songs with Paul Simmons which the two demoed. All the while, a producer for the television program Ozark Jubilee caught Woody's comedy routine at a night club, and invited him to present the warm-up session for the show. As a result of the show, Woody met Gary Walker, who became his manager, and showcased his demos to Decca Records. One song, "Bigelow 6-200", was recorded by Brenda Lee on September 16, 1956 for the B-side to her debut single. [1] [2]
Record producer Paul Bradley enticed Woody to record his own sides at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, with session musician Grady Martin and the Slewfoot Five. He recorded four songs for Decca, but only "Bird Dog" and "Barking Up the Wrong Tree" were released in 1957 on a single. The release sold moderately well however Decca did not renew their recording contract with Woody, which left the other two songs unissued. [3] With Walker producing, Woody established the independent record label, Arco Records, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to release a followup in 1958. However, the label was too small to effectively promote the single and was a commercial failure. [4]
In 1961, Woody retired from the music industry, taking a job in retail management to financially support his wife and child. On April 9, 1976, MCA Records reissued "Barking Up the Wrong Tree" backed by "Peanuts" Wilson's "Cast Iron Arm". It received extensive airplay in the UK, especially on Capital Radio, and bubbled under the UK Singles Chart. Also in that year, the English band Matchbox covered Woody's unreleased track "Make Like Rock 'N' Roll" on their debut album Riders in the Sky. Woody's Decca recordings have been compiled on the compilation albums That'll Flat Git It! (volume two and six) as well as some European compilations. His Arco songs were released on the Eagles Records release The Chicken Are Rockin', Volume 2. [2] [3]
In 2007 Woody returned to the stage for the first time in 45 years as a headliner at the "Viva Las Vegas" rockabilly festival in Las Vegas, Nevada[ citation needed ]. He has since then performed on several other occasions at that venue and at rockabilly festivals in Europe.
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group recorded nine Top 20 singles, one of which was number one and three that were Top Ten. The single "Rock Around the Clock" was the best-selling rock single in the history of the genre and maintained that position for several years.
The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is So Long, Astoria (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting single is their cover of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" from So Long, Astoria. The only constant member throughout their history has been singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher "Kris" Roe.
Jake E. Lee is an American musician best known as lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne between 1982 and 1987 and later as a member of the heavy metal band Badlands with Ray Gillen. He formed the band Red Dragon Cartel in 2013, and their debut album released in January 2014 entered the Billboard Album Chart at number 69. He has also recorded solo works under his own name—examples being the instrumental album A Fine Pink Mist (1996) and cover album Retraced (2005).
The music in Nevada is often associated with the Rat Pack and lounge singers like Wayne Newton playing in Las Vegas, Reno, and Carson City. However, Nevada has launched many other notable artists and bands from a variety of genres.
Pentagram is an American heavy metal band from Alexandria, Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of heavy metal, and the sub-genre of doom metal in particular. As such, they are considered one of the "big four of doom metal," alongside Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Trouble. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until re-forming in the early 1980s with an almost completely new line-up. Throughout the band's history, the only constant member has been vocalist Bobby Liebling. The revolving line-up of Pentagram has featured many well-respected musicians in the local doom metal scene, with members spending time in other acts such as the Obsessed, Place of Skulls, Internal Void, Spirit Caravan, among many others. The band's current line-up consists of Liebling (vocals), Matt Goldsborough (guitar), Greg Turley (bass), and "Minnesota" Pete Campbell (drums).
William Owen Bradley was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.
"Walkin' After Midnight" is a song written by Alan Block and Don Hecht and recorded by American country music artist Patsy Cline. The song was originally given to pop singer Kay Starr; however, her label rejected it. The song was left unused until Hecht rediscovered it when writing for Four Star Records. Originally Cline was not fond of "Walkin' After Midnight", but after making a compromise with her label she recorded it. However, the first released recording was by Lynn Howard with The Accents, released in August 1956.
Mark–Almond was a jazz-influenced English pop group of the 1970s and early 1980s, sometimes also called The Mark-Almond Band. The core members were Jon Mark, who sang lead and played guitar, percussion, and harmonica and Johnny Almond who played saxophone, flute and bass flute and sang back-up. Various other musicians recorded and toured with the duo at various times, notably including drummer Dannie Richmond, a long-time associate of jazz bassist Charles Mingus.
Thomas Grady Martin was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly.
Maydie Myles is an American soul and jazz singer who is highly acclaimed for her recordings in the 1960s and 1970s when she was known professionally as Debbie Taylor. Her most successful record, "Never Gonna Let Him Know", reached the Billboard pop chart in 1969.
"The Race Is On" is a song written by Don Rollins and made a hit on the country music charts by George Jones and on the pop and easy listening charts by the unrelated Jack Jones. George's version was the first single released from his 1965 album of the same name. Released as a single in September 1964, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1965. Jack's version topped Billboard's Easy Listening chart and reached number 15 on the Hot 100 the same year. The two recordings combined to reach number 12 on the Cashbox charts, which combined all covers of the same song in one listing and thus gave George Jones his only top-40 hit. The song uses thoroughbred horse racing as the metaphor for the singer's romantic relationships.
Alex Chilton was an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.
Benjamin Eidson, known professionally as Benny Joy was an American rockabilly guitarist and singer who released three singles in his recording career, and was popular regionally in Florida. As a result of the rockabilly revival in England, Joy's material was met with renewed interest.
Bill Haley & His Comets recorded many singles and albums. The following list references only their original release and generally does not include compilation albums or single reissues. This list does not include releases on which the Comets worked as session musicians, and primarily focuses on releases during Haley's lifetime.
Blue & Lonesome is a compilation album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1964 on the Mercury Records label.
James Faye "Roy" Hall, also known by his pseudonym "Sunny David", was an American rockabilly pianist and songwriter. Hall was an uncredited co-writer of the rockabilly classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", a song recorded by Hall himself and later popularized by Jerry Lee Lewis. Although his writing claim was initially disputed, later reissues of the song credit Hall for his role in its conception.
"I've Cried " is a song written by Loretta Lynn that was recorded by her sister, American country music artist Crystal Gayle. It was released as her debut single in 1970, becoming a minor hit on the Billboard country songs chart. Despite not becoming a major hit, the song is identified with Gayle's early career persona and has been considered among her essential songs in her recording career.
The Bill Anderson Story: His Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released in March 1969 and was produced by Owen Bradley. The Bill Anderson Story was a double compilation album that contained his singles released on the Decca label up to that point. It featured many recordings Anderson had issued over the last decade, including several number one hits and top ten hits.
"Let the Teardrops Fall" is a song composed by Charles Jiles that was originally recorded by American country singer Patsy Cline. It was released as a single in 1958 via Decca Records.
"Gotta Lot of Rhythm in My Soul" is a song first recorded by American country singer Patsy Cline. It was composed by W.S. Stevenson and Barbara Vaughan. It was released as a single in 1959 via Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was among a handful of singles released on the Decca label that were unsuccessful for Cline following a major hit in 1957.