Little Texas | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
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Website | littletexasonline |
Little Texas is an American country music band started in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Porter Howell (lead guitar, vocals), Del Gray (drums), Dwayne O'Brien (rhythm guitar, vocals), and Duane Propes (bass guitar, vocals). They, along with Tim Rushlow (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Brady Seals (keyboards, vocals), formed the band in 1988. Signed to Warner Bros. Records Nashville in 1991, Little Texas released its debut album First Time for Everything that year. The album's lead off single, "Some Guys Have All the Love", reached a peak of No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Little Texas charted thirteen top-40 hits between then and 1995, including the number one "My Love" in 1994. Their debut album earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while 1993's Big Time was certified double platinum and 1994's Kick a Little was certified platinum.
Seals left the band in 1994 and was replaced by Jeff Huskins soon after. After a Greatest Hits package and a self-titled fourth studio album, the group disbanded in 1997. Seals went on to record three solo albums and one as the lead singer of Hot Apple Pie, while Rushlow recorded one solo album and one as the lead singer of Rushlow. Gray, Howell, O'Brien, and Propes re-established Little Texas in 2004 with new lead singer Steven Troy, who quickly left the band and resulted in Porter Howell taking over as lead vocalist. Under the four-piece lineup, the band has recorded two albums for Montage Music Group: The Very Best of Little Texas: Live and Loud and Missing Years .
Little Texas was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1988. Prior to the band's formation, Tim Rushlow and Dwayne O'Brien began playing together in Arlington, Texas, in 1984. Porter Howell and Duane Propes got together while they were in high school in 1983 and moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University. Brady Seals and Del Gray played in the backup band of country music singer Josh Logan. [1] Rushlow, O'Brien, Propes, and Howell first started making music at Opryland as a 1950s show band. With both Rushlow's first wife and Howell's wife, plus two other members, they took the show band on the road, naming their act "The Varsities".
When two of the members left to pursue other interests, they contacted their old friends Gray and Seals, whom they had met while playing in Springfield, Massachusetts, in hopes of forging a more country/Southern rock sound. All six members eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they started playing together. The band played at venues across the United States (around 300 dates a year), eventually catching the attention of Nashville's division of Warner Bros. Records.
Warner Bros. signed Little Texas in 1989, and two years later, the band released their debut single "Some Guys Have All the Love". [1] This song, which reached No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard country singles charts, was the first of five singles from their debut album First Time for Everything . After the debut single came the album's title track at No. 13, "You and Forever and Me" at No. 5, "What Were You Thinkin'" at No. 17 and finally "I'd Rather Miss You" at No. 16. [2] The album was certified gold by the RIAA for shipping 500,000 copies in the US.
Little Texas' second album, Big Time , was issued in 1993. Their most successful album, it was certified 2×Platinum by the RIAA and gold by the CRIA. It also produced a minor crossover hit in leadoff single "What Might Have Been", a No. 2 country hit that also reached No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 16 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. After it came "God Blessed Texas" and their only number 1 hit on Billboard, "My Love", both of which were also minor Hot 100 entries. The latter also featured Seals on lead vocals. [1] Finishing off Big Time was the No. 14 "Stop on a Dime". In late 1993, the band contributed a cover of the Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to the multi-artist compilation album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles . The rendition featured O'Brien on lead vocals, with Denny Dadmun-Bixby of Great Plains on bass guitar and no involvement from Seals. [3] The rendition peaked at number 73 on the country charts. [2]
Kick a Little , the band's third album, was certified platinum by the RIAA. Leading off this album was its No. 5 title track, followed by the No. 4 "Amy's Back in Austin" and No. 27 "Southern Grace". After the album's release, however, Seals left for a solo career on Reprise Records, and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Jeff Huskins, a former backing musician for Clint Black, for their tour to promote the album. [1] Huskins made his first appearance on "Life Goes On" and "Country Crazy", two new tracks that the band recorded for their 1995 Greatest Hits . Both of these songs were released as singles. The former became their final Top 40 hit with a peak of No. 5, while "Country Crazy" stopped at No. 44. Also in 1995, the band sang on the track "Party All Night", a musical track which featured snippets from a Jeff Foxworthy sketch and a sung chorus by the band. This song reached No. 53, and later appeared on Foxworthy's 1996 album Crank It Up: The Music Album .
Little Texas' fourth album was self-titled. Lead-off single "Bad for Us" peaked at No. 45, followed by their two lowest-charting singles, "Your Mama Won't Let Me" and "The Call" at No. 64 and No. 71 respectively. The band also charted that year with a cover of "Kiss the Girl", a song from the Disney film The Little Mermaid which they recorded on The Best of Country Sing the Best of Disney . Seals also charted his only Top 40 solo hit that year, the No. 32 "Another You, Another Me". Seals would record a total of three albums between then and 2003. After Little Texas, the band broke up.
During the band's hiatus, Del Gray co-wrote Trace Adkins' 2000 single "More". Former frontman Tim Rushlow signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist that same year, releasing a self-titled album. Although it accounted for four singles, including the No. 8 "She Misses Him", Atlantic closed its country music division in 2001. Rushlow then founded a second band, Rushlow, whose members included his cousin Doni Harris. Rushlow released two singles and one album ( Right Now ) on Lyric Street Records, but disbanded by 2004. Seals founded the band Hot Apple Pie, which released a self-titled album and three singles in 2005, while Rushlow and Harris founded the duo Rushlow Harris a year later. In addition, Howell recorded one album in the band Hilljack, which also included former solo artist Paul Jefferson. [4]
Duane Propes, Del Gray, Porter Howell, and Dwayne O'Brien decided to reunite Little Texas in 2004. When Little Texas reunited, Rushlow and Huskins made a legal attempt to keep their ex-bandmates from using the Little Texas name. [5] As the other four members felt uncomfortable singing lead vocals in Rushlow's and Seals's absence, they recruited Steven Troy as new lead vocalist. [6] However, O'Brien was critical of Troy's performance as lead singer, stating that it "just didn't feel authentic"; as a result, he exited the band in 2006. [7] By the time the band had signed to Montage Music Group in 2007, producers for the label had suggested that Howell take over on lead vocals instead. Their first Montage Music release was the live album The Very Best of Little Texas: Live and Loud . They promoted this album on the Triple Threat Tour that year, which included both Restless Heart and Blackhawk; touring guitarist Mark Sutton accompanied the band on both the tour and the live album. [6] This was followed one month later by the studio album Missing Years . This album produced three singles, although only one — the title track — made the country charts, peaking at No. 45.
Another studio album with Howell on lead vocals, Young for a Long Time, followed in 2015. [8]
Little Texas has continued to tour constantly averaging 65 shows a year. In 2022, they are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album, First Time For Everything. [9]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1994 | "God Blessed Texas" | Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | Nominated |
1996 | "Amy's Back in Austin" | Nominated | |
1997 | Hope: Country Music's Quest for a Cure (with John Berry, Terri Clark, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Tracy Lawrence, Neal McCoy, Tim McGraw, Lorrie Morgan, Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt, and Trisha Yearwood) | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals | Nominated |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1994 | Little Texas | Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group | Nominated |
1995 | Nominated |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1993 | Little Texas | Top New Vocal Group or Duet | Nominated |
Top Vocal Group of the Year | Nominated | ||
1994 | Won | ||
"What Might Have Been" | Video of the Year | Nominated | |
Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
1995 | Little Texas | Top Vocal Group of the Year | Nominated |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1994 | Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles | Album of the Year | Won |
Little Texas | Vocal Group of the Year | Nominated |
Hot Apple Pie was an American country music band founded in 2002. The band consisted of Brady Seals, Keith Horne, Trey Landry (drums), and Mark Matejka (guitar). Matjeka was replaced in 2006 by Kevin Ray. Seals was initially co-lead vocalist and keyboardist of Little Texas until 1994. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 2005, Hot Apple Pie released its self-titled debut album that year. This album produced three chart singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the No. 26-peaking "Hillbillies."
Brady Seals is an American country music artist. He is the cousin of Jim Seals and Dan Seals, Johnny Duncan, the nephew of Troy Seals. Seals made his debut in 1988 as co-lead vocalist and keyboardist in the sextet Little Texas, with whom he recorded until his departure in late 1994. Between then and 2002, he recorded as a solo singer, releasing three studio albums and charting in the Top 40 on the country charts with "Another You, Another Me". In 2002, Seals formed a quartet called Hot Apple Pie, in which he has recorded one studio album and charted three singles. A fourth solo album, Play Time, was released in 2009 via Star City.
First Time for Everything is the debut studio album by American country music band Little Texas. Released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records, the album was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies. Five singles were released from it: "Some Guys Have All the Love", the title track, "You and Forever and Me", "What Were You Thinkin'", and "I'd Rather Miss You". Respectively, these reached Nos. 8, 13, 5, 17 and 16 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
Big Time is the second studio album by American country music band Little Texas. The band's breakthrough album, it was released in 1993 on Warner Bros. Records, and produced the singles "What Might Have Been", "God Blessed Texas", "My Love", and "Stop on a Dime". Respectively, these peaked at numbers 2, 4, 1, and 14 on the Hot Country Songs charts. "What Might Have Been" was also a crossover hit, reaching 16 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts.
Kick a Little is the third studio album by American country music band Little Texas. Released in 1994 on Warner Bros. Records, it was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of one million copies. Three singles were released from this album: the title track, "Amy's Back in Austin" and "Southern Grace"; respectively, these reached #5, #4, and #27 on the Hot Country Songs charts. This was also the band's last album to feature keyboardist and co-lead vocalist Brady Seals, who left later that year to pursue a solo career, prior to the band’s tour to promote the album.
Sons of the Desert was an American country music band founded in 1989 in Waco, Texas. Its most famous lineup consisted of brothers Drew Womack and Tim Womack, along with Scott Saunders (keyboards), Doug Virden, and Brian Westrum (drums). The band released Whatever Comes First for Epic Records Nashville in 1997, and recorded a second album for Epic which was not released. Change followed in 2000. Counting two singles from the unreleased album, Sons of the Desert charted eight times on Billboard Hot Country Songs, including the top ten hit "Whatever Comes First"; they were also guest vocalists on Lee Ann Womack's 2000 hit "I Hope You Dance" and Ty Herndon's "It Must Be Love", both of which reached No. 1 on that chart. Following the band's disestablishment, Drew Womack became a solo artist; he would join Lonestar in 2021.
Timothy Ray Rushlow is an American recording artist. Between 1991 and 1997, Rushlow was lead vocalist of country music group Little Texas, which recorded four albums and a Greatest Hits package, in addition to charting more than fifteen singles on the Billboard country singles charts during Rushlow's tenure as lead vocalist.
Rushlow was an American country music band founded in 2003. Its members were Tim Rushlow, Doni Harris, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Rich Redmond (drums), and Billy Welch (keyboards). Prior to the band's foundation, Rushlow was lead singer of Little Texas until 1997, and a solo artist between then and 2001.
Little Texas is the fourth studio album released in 1997 by the country music group Little Texas. It was their last album for Warner Bros. Records. "Bad for Us", "Your Mama Won't Let Me" and "The Call" were all released from this album, peaking at numbers 45, 64 and 71, respectively, on the Billboard country charts, making this the first album of Little Texas' career not to produce any Top 40 country hits.
Missing Years is the fifth studio album by the American country music band Little Texas. Released in 2007 on Montage Music Group, it is the band's first studio album for that label, and its first new studio album since 1997's Little Texas. It is also the first studio album not to feature former co-lead vocalists Brady Seals and Tim Rushlow. Here, lead guitarist Porter Howell serves as lead vocalist, and the other three remaining members are retained.
The Very Best of Little Texas: Live and Loud is a live album, released in 2007 by the country music band Little Texas. It is the band's first live album, and it includes live renditions of several hits, as well as covers of the Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and The Beatles' "Get Back". This is the first album that the group recorded with Porter Howell on lead vocals, following the departure of Steven Troy.
Richard Vance McDonald is an American country music singer and songwriter. From 1994 until his departure in 2007, he was the lead singer of the group Lonestar, which recorded seven studio albums on BNA Records during his tenure as lead vocalist. For the first seven years of the band's existence, he alternated with then-bassist John Rich as vocalist. McDonald became the sole lead vocalist of Lonestar following Rich's departure. McDonald co-wrote several of the band's singles, and sang lead on all but one of them; he would rejoin the band in 2011 before exiting again in 2021 to perform with The Frontmen. Outside Lonestar, he has charted twice as a guest vocalist on others' songs, in addition to releasing two independent albums and four solo singles.
Tim Rushlow is the solo debut album of American country music artist Tim Rushlow, formerly co-lead vocalist of the country music band Little Texas. Released in February 2001 on Atlantic Records, it is also his only solo album, although he did release another album and two singles in the band Rushlow, as well as two more singles in the duo Rushlow Harris. Tim Rushlow accounted for four singles on the Billboard country singles charts, including "She Misses Him", his only Top 40 country hit. After Atlantic Records shut down, the album was re-released in 2002 on The Scream Recordings Label and retitled Crazy Life after the song of same. An extra track, "As Real as Forever" was included.
Right Now is the only studio album by American country music band Rushlow, a band fronted by former Little Texas vocalist Tim Rushlow. Right Now produced two singles for the band on the Hot Country Songs charts: "I Can't Be Your Friend" at #16 and "Sweet Summer Rain" at #42. Additionally, the title track was later recorded by Dean Miller on his 2005 album Platinum. "I Can't Be Your Friend" was covered by DHT on their 2005 album Listen to Your Heart.
"God Blessed Texas" is a song recorded by American country music group Little Texas. It was released on July 17, 1993 as the second single from their second album Big Time. The song was their seventh single overall. It was written by the band's lead guitarist Porter Howell, and keyboardist and vocalist Brady Seals. The song reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in December of that year. It also peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, their most successful song on that chart. It is the band's signature song, and they close out their concerts with it.
"Kick a Little" is a song by American country music group Little Texas. It was released in August 1994 as the first single and title track from their album of the same name. It was their tenth single overall, and has become one of their signature songs. It was written by the band's chief songwriters: lead guitarist Porter Howell, guitarist Dwayne O'Brien and keyboardist and vocalist Brady Seals. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and #4 on the Canadian RPM country tracks chart.
"Stop on a Dime" is a song recorded by American country music group Little Texas. It was released in May 1994 as the fourth and final single from their second album Big Time. It was written by the band's lead guitarist Porter Howell, keyboardist and vocalist Brady Seals, and rhythm guitarist Dwayne O'Brien. The song reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It also peaked at number 13 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. Before its release, it was the B-side to the band's single "What Might Have Been".
"I'd Rather Miss You" is a song recorded by American country music group Little Texas. It was released in January 1993 as the fifth and final single from their debut album, First Time for Everything. It was co-written by the band's lead guitarist Porter Howell and rhythm guitarist Dwayne O'Brien. The song peaked at number 16 on the Billboards Hot Country Songs chart and reached number 13 on the Canadian RPM country Tracks chart in 1993.
"First Time for Everything" is a song recorded by American country music group Little Texas. It was released in February 1992 as the second single and title track from their debut album First Time for Everything. It was written by the band's lead guitarist Porter Howell and rhythm guitarist Dwayne O'Brien. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboards Hot Country Songs chart and reached number 18 on the Canadian RPM country Tracks chart in 1992.
"What Were You Thinkin'" is a song recorded by American country music group Little Texas. It was released in October 1992 as the fourth single from the album First Time for Everything. The song reached #17 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The song was written by Porter Howell, Dwayne O'Brien, Brady Seals and Christy DiNapoli.
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