Backforty Bunkhouse Newsletter Distributed by BACKFORTY BUNKHOUSE PRODUCTIONS Home of the Backforty Roundup & CD Chorale 106 Roswell St Ruidoso, NM 88345 (575) 257-3955 Backforty Bunkhouse Publishing BMI Venue / Show Productions Western Music Radio Marketing www.backfortybunkhouse.com news@backfortybunkhouse.com www.myspace.com/backfortybunkhouse Joe Baker - Publisher December, 2007 The Backforty Bunkhouse Newsletter is sent to over 500 email subscribers periodically and is growing every day. These are DJs, artists, and fans whose interests are Western Swing, Cowboy Poetry, Cowboy Heritage and Texas Honky Tonk music genres. We solicit your comments, suggestions and ways we may better serve you. If you do not want to receive this newsletter and want to be removed from our mailing list, reply to this email by entering UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject box of the email. Published By Joe Baker Cowtown Society of Western Music Hall of Fame Academy of Western Artists Disc Jockey of the Year. Cowtown Society of Western Music Disc Jockey of the Year Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame Membership Director Cowtown Society of Western Music Editor: Howard Higgins Backforty Bunkhouse Trivia Congratulations to Lanny Sparks for the correct answer to November s Trivia Question. He will be receiving Brady Bowen s In My Spare Time CD November s Question: Who wrote the song There s Still A Lot of Love In San Antone Correct Answer: Lou Rochelle This Month s Trivia Question for a Triple CD Set Narration and Music of, The Bob Wills Story by James Holley. (3 hours of Western Swing History) Question: Who was Bob Wills left-handed fiddle player? Answers only accepted by email through Joe s website trivia form. Go to www.backfortybunkhouse.com and on the opening page click on the link to Trivia. It will take you to a page where you can enter your answer/s through a preset secure form. The winner will be determined by an independent drawing from a list of all correct answers. Remember to enter your answers by the form on Joe s website. Joe Baker's KNMB Top 10 Western Swing Albums 1. Asleep At the Wheel, Reinventing The Wheel 2. Brady Bowen, In My Spare Time, Vol.#4 3. Bobby Flores, Neon Nights 4. Jerry Webb, Red Lips and Honkytonks 5. Jeff Griffith, If It Ain t One Thing It s Another 6. Red Steagall, Here We Go Again 7. Joe Paul Clark, Joe Paul Clark 8. Carolyn Martin, Swing 9. Johnny Lyon, The Austin Sessions 10. Johnny Johnson, Angel s Don t Lie Joe Baker's KNMB Top Western Music/Cowboy Poetry Albums 1. Joe A Green, Back to the Good old Days 2. Jean Prescott, Sweethearts In Carhartts 3. Gil Prather, Last of the Border Cowboys 4. Yvonne Hollenbeck, Pieces Of The Past 5. Susan Parker, She Rode A wild Horse 6. Andy Nelson, Full Nelson Shoeing 7. Bar D Roundup, CowboyPoetry.com 8. Gary Prescott, Rough Country Wild Cattle 9. Marci Broyhill, Windows Of Memories 10. Yvonne Hollenbeck, What Would Martha Do Be sure to check out the Backforty Roundup Volume 24 and listen to all the artists songs. There are 10 Christmas songs along with 12 standard songs. You don t need to download a special player, BB40 has its own player, go to the backforty website www.backfortybunkhouse.com Joe Baker s Backforty Bunkhouse Show is broadcast on 100,000 watt KNMB, 96.7FM New Mexico s Bear & 100,000 watt KWMW, 105.1FM, Regional Radio W-105 every Saturday morning 6 am to 10 am In Ruidoso, New Mexico covering New Mexico & West Texas. Member: Western Music Broadcasters Association (WMBA).
Mike Gross WVOF-FM Fairfield, CT Swingin West Mike s Top 10 Picks Songs: 1. Here in Old Fort Worth - Jerry Webb 2. I Left the Best Part of Texas in Tennessee- Red Steagall 3. Lost My Baby Blues- Reid Wells & Segovia 1862 4. Texas to a T- Carolyn Martin 5. More Than I Ever Bargained For- Reid Wells & Segovia 1862 6. She Loves to Dance- Stardust Cowboys 7. Texas Eyes- Cornell Hurd Band 8. The Prettiest Girls in Texas- Brian Burns 9. Gotta Keep Em Movin Along- Billy Mata 10. Nobody- Wild River Band KGAF 10 Most Requested Songs Cass Reasor KGAF 1580 AM Gainesville, Texas 1. That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine - Gene Autry 2. All Around Cowboy - Les Gilliam 3. The Auctioneer - Justus & Montanas 4. Digging Billy - Jim Jones 5. Echoes Of The Trail - R.J. Vandygriff 6. Fair Blows The Wind - Judy James 7. Dining Out - Yvonne Hollenbeck 8. Bucking Horse Moon - Wylie/Wild West 9. Cowboy Saturday Night - Gary Prescott 10. Dancing With Daddy - Burson Family KGAF is on the internet at www.kgaf1580.com. Albums 1. Swing- Carolyn Martin 2. Don t Ever Take Our Picture Down- River Road Boys 3. Jumpin Time- The Time Jumpers 4. Here We Go Again- Red Steagall & Friends 5. Segovia Road- Reid Wells & Segovia 1862 6. Reinventing the Wheel- Asleep at the Wheel 7. Neon Nights- Bobby Flores 8. Domino Effect- Billy Mata 9. Old Boots New Steps- Wild River Band 10. Show Me- The Jazzabillies 2007 s Top 10 Songs 1. Lost My Baby Blues- Reid Wells & Segovia 1862 2. More Than I Ever Bargained For- Reid Wells & Segovia 1862 3. Gotta Keep Em Movin Along- Billy Mata & Texas Tradition 4. Here in Old Fort Worth- Jerry Webb 5. The Prettiest Girls in Texas- Brian Burns 6. Texas to a T- Carolyn Martin 7. They Don t Call Me Darlin - Ginny Mac 8. Eleven Eighteen Nadine Lane- Joe Paul Nichols 9. Dear Hearts & Gentle People- Swing Commanders (UK Import) 10. The Right Time- Jerry Webb Mike Gross www.swingingwest.com Skeebo Norris KBAL Top Playlist www.kbalradio.com. San Saba, TX KBAL has purchased additional bandwidth to accommodate an unlimited listener base for our internet stream, everyone is welcome to tune in 365/24/7...Thanks to our "Big Kahua".. www.kbaladio.com "The Skeebo Show" 9 til noon...m-f...cst..."country Gold, Nashville Hits, and New Artists" Favorites Bobby Flores - Neon Lights Jake Hooker - The Outsider Carolyn Martin - Swing Justin Trevino - The Scene Of The Crying Dugg Collins - Sounds Like Texas Jerry Webb - Red Lips And Honky Tonks Billy Mata - Keepin' The Tradition Jody Nix - When It's All Said And Done Curtis Potter - Walkin' On New Grass Buddy Emmons - We're Steel Swingn' Judy James Cowboy Jubilee Show Top Ten Cowboy Jubilee stations: KSQX 89.1 FM -Springtown and Weatherford, KMQX 88.5 FM - Mineral Wells, KEQX 89.1 -Stephenville, 93.7 FM in Granbury 93.3 in Graham. Saturday mornings from 7:30 to 9:30 Trails and Rails - The Ghosts of Tombstone Kip Calahan - Cowgirls, Roundups & Rodeos Buck Ramsey - Rolling Upstream from Texas K R Wood - Davy Crockett Fiddle Plays on: Live at the Alamo Gary Prescott - Rough Country, Wild Cattle Dave Stamey - If I Had a Horse Red Steagall - Born to This Land Jean Prescott - Sweethearts in Carharts Juni Fisher - Cowgirlography Judy James - Beneath These Western Skies www.judyjames.com Graham Lees Top 10 Songs and Albums HWD Radio United Kingdom Top 10 CDs 1 Swing - Carolyn Martin 2 Thanks A Lot - John England 3 Neon Nights - Bobby Flores 4 Jangles - Hick Jazz 5 Sisters Of The Silver Sage - Sisters Of The Silver Sage 6 Cowboy Girl - Katy Moffatt 7 Cause I Always Wanted To - Lon Hannah 8 Keep The Light On In The Window Tonight - Bobby Boatright 9 Writes & Co-Writes - Les Buffham 10 If I Hadn t Seen The West - Joyce Woodson Top 10 Songs 1 A Stranger Was Here - Bobby Flores 2 The Cold Wind Blows - Sisters Of The Silver Sage 3 Three Little Words - Carolyn Martin 4 Thanks A Lot - John England & Western Swingers 5 Adobe Hacienda - Bobby Boatright 6 Neon Bible - Red Jenkins & Johnny Bush 7 50 Years - Lon Hannah 8 Magdalene and the Jack Of Spades - Katy Moffatt 9 Working On The Rig - Joe Green 10 I Should Have Lied - Desperados graham@grahamlees.co.uk www.cowboypoetry.com www.mountainannies.com www.duggcollins.com
Cowboy Poetry CD Review Review by Margo Metegrano, CowboyPoetry.com Pat Richardson Strikes Again with Duckin' the Law and Many More "Strike" and "duck" and "Pat Richardson" have probably been used in the same breath more than once. The title of Pat Richardson's new CD, Pat Richardson Strikes Again with Duckin' the Law and Many More, gives a good warning of what is to come in this collection of 16 previously unrecorded original poems (two are by his brother, Jess Howard, and there is one collaboration by Pat and Jess). "Original" is the right word for Pat's work and his muted, deadpan delivery. He has no match when it comes to humor, and no reciter doing his material (something he discourages) can reproduce the hilarity of his powerful, side-splitting affect on audiences. Known as "the bad boy of cowboy poetry," Pat Richardson's newest CD is full of the poems that deliver on that promise. No one is safe and nothing is sacred, with most of the pointed jabs directed at cowboys or himself. What makes him such a pro is that he's not just funny, he is also a master of metaphors, colorful adjectives, meter and rhyme, and, full of surprises. He works harder than most on the editing and refining of his work. His friend Baxter Black, however, may not have been referring to that when he commented, "If you boiled cowboy poetry down to what's worth savin', this is what the stew would smell like." "A Friend in Need" is an example of twisted cowboy compassion, "Cowboy Logic" is a look at the breed from women's point of view, "Henry the Cook" evokes the same sort of graphic groaners and descriptive assaults on the senses as Pat Richardson's infamous poem, "The Donner Party." Long-time fans will welcome another Benny Meyers story ("The Lover") and another assault on his friend and frequent target, popular North Dakota poet Rodney Nelson ("Repulsive Trophy"). "Bigfoot," which will be included on The BAR-D Roundup; Volume 3 (2008) from CowboyPoetry.com, is an inventive and wacky windy about the creature who shows up at the cabin door with a splinter, which the narrator pulls out with his shoeing nippers. Bigfoot speaks with a lisp. "Mississippi gave him problems with all the esses it contained, and he'd dribble little spitballs on his fur; I tried tongue depressors, enemas, and books by Baxter Black, but I never seemed to come up with a cure." The rest of the story is as unpredictable as the poker hands the beast draws. Jess Howard's comical and inventive "Uncle Ned" is a story out of the brothers' colorful and dysfunctional family, the rich source for a number of Richardson/Howard tales, and Jess Howard's "Duckin' the Law" is a frequently-requested favorite of audiences. A strange sibling harmony makes the co-written "Zeke and the Bull" sing in its own outrageous strangeness. As a bonus, the real music comes from another generation, in introductory and final music by Pat Richardson's talented grandson, Brandon Richardson. Pat Richardson comes across so comfortably reciting and introducing his poems, that he makes a listener feel like they are sharing barstools in some friendly, broken down cowboy saloon. Pat spent plenty of time in such places. He was born and raised with livestock, he rode colts, rodeoed, cartooned for "The Pro Rodeo Sports News," and did his share of ranch work. He's an impressive artist and has produced other award-winning CDs and his book, "Pat Richardson Unhobbled, Cowboy Poetry, Stories, and Outright Lies" received the Will Rogers Medallion award. These days he's found at the top gatherings and events, and is a frequently invited performer to the Western Folkife Center's National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. When you're not in his audience, Pat Richardson Strikes Again with Duckin' the Law and Many More is the newest, next-best-thing to being there. The CD is available for $18, postpaid from Pat Richardson; 562 Breeze Avenue; Merced, California 95348; 209/722-4612; www.patrichardson.com. Around the Campfire 1. The Gift - A tribute to Ian Tyson - Various Artists 2. Oklahoma...Where the West Remains - R.W. Hampton 3. Astraddle a Saddle - Patty Clayton 4. Way Out in the West - Grady Lee 5. If I Hadn't Seen the West - Joyce Woodson 6. Ghosts of Tombstone - Trails & Rails 7. Born to be a Cowboy - David Anderson 8. Way Out West - Hank Cramer 9. Bucking Horse Moon - Wylie & the Wild West 10. Here Comes a Change - Jim Garling Marvin O'Dell Around the Campfire meoteo@aol.com Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year! Howard Staub s KOTS 1230 AM Deming, New Mexico Top Ten on "The Real West from the Old West" Cowboy/Cowgirl Music 1. Women in Texas Dan Roberts. 2. Room Full of Roses Call of the West. 3. I Didn't Know the Gun Was Loaded Patty Clayton. 4. Pickup Truck Café Brenn Hill. 5. Wild Horse Scotty & the Silverscreen Ranchands. 6. Hey Cowboy Tom Hiatt. 7. The Cowboy Ain't Dead Yet R. J. Vandygriff. 8. Al Valle de Animas Kip Calahan. 9. She Always Smelled Like Lilacs Jean Prescott. 10. The Cowboy & The Lady Cindy Rae. Cowboy/Cowgirl Poetry 1. As Birds Fly from the Next Yvonne Hollenbeck. 2. Spellbound on the High Lonesome Donna Hatton. 3. Pasture Cuisine Marci Broyhill. 4. Neighbor Thompson Linda Kirkpatrick. 5. The Bunny Poem DW Groethe. 6. Out Where the West Begins Jim Thompson. 7. Sheep Dip Salesman Biscuits O'Bryan. 8. The Flag Out On the Ranch Yvonne Hollenbeck. 9. Ranch Mother Susan Parker. 10. A Cowgirl's Rules for Happiness Andy Nelson. Swing Style Cowboy/Western Music 1. Keepin' Your Head Above the Water Devon Dawson 2. The Sweet Desert Rose Scotty & The Silverscreen Ranchands 3. Tennessee Saturday Night Carolyn Martin. 4. Roly Poly Flying J Wranglers. 5. Waltz of the Rainbow Eddy Harrison. 6. Lone Star Beer & Bob Wills Music Red Steagall/Toby Keith. 7. Big Blue Diamonds Lembo Allen. 8. Arizona Moon Ranch Romance. 9. Cowboy Connection Gil Prather. 10. Full Moon of Love Christina Ortega. Instrumental Music 1. The Blue Goose Texas Trailhands. 2. Judy's Waltz Junior Daugherty. 3. Old Sport Fiddlin' Johnny. 4. The Magnificent Seven Al Caiola. Howard Higgins, Editor
Cowtown Society of Western Music Update By Joyce Miller THERE WILL NOT BE A MEETING FOR DECEMBER DUE TO HECTIC HOLIDAY SCHEDULES. WE WILL HAVE A REGULAR MEMBERS MEETING ON MONDAY JANUARY 7, 2008 AT 7:00 P.M. PLEASE BRING NOMINATIONS FOR CONSIDERATION FOR 2008 SWINGFEST HEROES. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE NEW YEAR'S EVE DANCE IN JACKSBORO, TEXAS AT VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS BUILDING.) SEE BELOW. New Year s Eve Dance & Fundraiser for the Museum Join us in Jacksboro, Texas December 31st at the VFW, for a New Years Eve dance featuring Brady Bowen & Swing Country with Grammy award winner Tommy Allsup along with hall of famers Bobby Boatright, Billy Doshier, Wayne Glasson, Larry Reed, George Uptmore, Derwood Strube, Bobby Koefer, Neil Butler and former Asleep At The Wheel Drummer, Chris York along with the Cowtown Society of Western Music Hall of Famer Joe Baker for an evening of dancing to bring in the brand new 2008. The Cowtown Society of Western Music will also have a fundraising auction to benefit the Society's museum in Mineral Wells, Texas. If you have an item that you would like to donate to the CSWM to help support the museum please bring it along for the auction. We are also expecting a few surprise performers at this New Years Eve Gala so you won't want to miss this one for sure. DANCE FROM 9 PM TO 1 AM at the VFW in Jacksboro! Contact Gary Beaver at 817-240-4580 or Joe Baker at 575-808-4111 or Email joe@backfortybunkhouse.com www.cowtown-swm.org Joyce Miller Treasurer - CSWM For more information, call 817-558-87580 or e-mail joyce@accentwholesale.com. Houston s Historic Sons of Hermann Hall Closing January 1st The RIVER ROAD BOYS' Houston home base, The Sons of Hermann Lodge, 120 Yale St., in Houston, has been sold to developers and is closing at the end of the year. This prestigious hall has been in business since 1938, and was rebuilt in 1965 after a fire destroyed the original building. We have been playing there regularly since 1995. It has been the venue to many celebrities, numerous bands and orchestras, private parties, benefits, and various other activities over the years. Our final dance there is December 22, which also will be the night of our annual Christmas party, always a fun and exciting night. As always, we hope you will call Clyde (281) 356-7174 or the Sons of Hermann (713) 862-0018 and make your table reservations. As this old hall passes into history we want you to come and celebrate its final days with us and let's close this old place down properly and give it a BIG send-off. The River Road Boys want to express our gratitude to the Sons of Hermann for allowing us to play there regularly over the past 12 years. Also, thanks to all who have patronized this wonderful establishment over the years and have made it such a storied part of Houston's history. Please check our website (www.riverroadboys.com) regularly for schedule updates and news about some exciting events coming up in the near future Andy & Jim Nelson s C.O.W. Radio 4-Week Playlist 11/24/07, Thanksgiving Sons & Brothers: Broken White Line Statler Brothers: More Than a Name on a Wall Sons of the Pioneers: Oh Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie Prickly Pair: An Old Puncher's Prayer Georgie Sicking: To Be a Top Hand R.W. Hampton: For the Freedom 11/17/07, How to Yodel Wylie and the Wild West: Yodel Boogie Wylie and the Wild West: Eltopia Yodel Ray Price: Release Me Wylie and the Wild West: Cannonball Yodel Baxter Black: Cow Committee Wylie and the Wild West: Yodeling Fool 11/10/07, Chicken Roping Dan Roberts: Roll Out the Barrel Juni Fisher: Me and Martha Jane Roger Miller: Engine, Engine #9 Bar J Wranglers: Wyoming Wind Peggy Godfrey: Country Graft Dana Lyons: Cow With Guns 11/3/07, John Addison Hunt Kevin Davis: Underneath a Wide West Texas Sky Due West Trio: Rainbow on the Rio Colorado Tennessee Ernie Ford: Kissin' Bug Boogie Gil Prather: As the Wild Wind Blows Darrell Arnold: Cowboy Poultry Gatherin' Bill Barwick: Wayward Wind Clear Out West Radio Show PO Box 1547, Pinedale, WY 82941 Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year Brady Bowen & Swing Country Dugg Collins KFTI Western Swing Album Playlist Wichita, KS CD S FEATURED ON THE DUGG COLLINS SHOW. DON T SEE YOURS LISTED? MAYBE YOU HAVEN T SENT IT TO ME. Jumpin Time The Time Jumpers A Case of the Gimbles The Gimbles Elana James Elana James Wishing River Ginny Mac Faded Lights Jake Hooker Domino Effect Billy Mata Blanco County Bobby Flores Stay Out Late With The Lucky Stars Lucky Stars Salute To Bob s 100th Texas Playboys Western Boogie Dave Alexander Reinventing the Wheel Asleep At the Wheel Something To Swing To Jody Nix Alive And Swingin Dan T Chambers Strange Leighan Cortes Spare Time Vol 4 Brady Bowen Billy Keeble Sings Wynn Stewart Billy Keeble Don t Ever Take Our Picture Down River Road Boys dugg@duggcollins.com
Bill McCallie s Cowboy Jubilee Radio Show Classical 90.5 WSMC-FM Chattanooga, TN November is always a busy month for the Cowboy Jubilee Radio Show. We did our live show on Sunday Nov. 18th in the Ackermann Auditorium on the campus of Southern Adventist University. We have seating capacity for a studio audience of 225. We pulled out and extra 25 chairs and put the folks on the stage with us and maxed out with 250 people, which is a really great situation for the musicians and the adrenaline was flowing and the music was great. So thanks to all who helped out with that project. Bill s Playlist The Denham Brothers - Hello' Mary Lou Asleep at the Wheel - Bob's Breakdown Carolyn Martin - Exactly Like You, Carolyn Martin - Put Yourself In My Blues Carolyn Martin - Crazy Cause I Love You Lone Prairie - So Long To The Red River Valley Tim Ryan - Tried True and Tested Ray Pennington and Buddy Emmons - Anytime Buck Page - Lay It On The Line Various Artist from Grammy Award Winning CD "The Great Dobro Sessions" Gene Wooten - Poison Love Curtis Birtch - Rainbow Bridge Josh Graves - Just Joshing Tune in to Cowboy Jubilee in December for a special show with all Time Jumpers from the CD 'Jumpin Time". This CD is a two disc set and I am doing one complete show from Disc one and after the first of the year I'll do another special show on Disc Two. Also you can be listening for a couple of really great shows. I'll do a complete show and possibly a complete second show with R W Hampton and Oklahoma...Where the West Remains and hopefully we'll get a phone interview with R W Hampton as well as Dan Roberts as we spotlight his new CD called " Beyond the Brand". Both of these guys are great and write great songs. I do want to encourage you to give a listen to a song the Dan wrote on his new CD called " What am I doing about today". This is a GREAT song and if it doesn't touch your cowboy heart...then you ain't a cowboy. Christmas Special on Sunday Dec 23rd and our After Christmas Special on Dec. 30th will round out the month of December. Special thanks to Jody Nix for getting me some music so I can spotlight him in the western swing portion of the show. Also got a great CD from Hank Cramer and we'll get him some airplay too. You all have a great Christmas Holiday, be safe and tune into www. cowboyjubilee.com and give us a listen Sunday evenings at 6pm est. Bill McCallie, Snuffy, Cactus Jack and Franklin the Wonder Dog II. You Can Contact Bill at: bill.mccallie@gmail.com Sundays at 6:00 pm www.wsmc.org/webstream.html SEATTLE WESTERN SWING MUSIC SOCIETY UPDATE By Bill Bailey Christmas Party December 9, 2007 at Normanna Hall We rang in the Christmas season today with our Open Jam and all the wonderful musicians that were here to celebrate the season. It was great to hear the Christmas songs sung with such enjoyment. Starting out on the stage was LeRoy King on bass and vocals, Dave Wheeler on drums, Judy Collender on keyboard and vocals, J.C. Smith on guitar and vocals, and Paul Anastasio with Rus Davis on their fiddles. This group kept the dance floor busy and it was a good way to keep us warm on such a chilly day! Ray Shawley joined the group by replacing Dave Wheeler on the drums and Lloyd Hooper gave LeRoy a break by coming on with his bass and singing some songs. Also coming on stage was Darrell Haddock on guitar and Darrell Anderson on fiddle and vocals. Lloyd called his daughter, Cindy DeLeon to the stage to sing a few songs. Cindy joined in with her father to sing a duet or two. Lou had the music take a break so that door prizes could be won by some lucky people. A few people walked away with some very nice things. Then it was time for the Split the Pot drawing. The lucky winner today was Imelda Martinez. Congratulations Imelda! When the music started in again Gill Barbee was on the drums and Dave Wheeler was on the guitar. Jim Sanderson came on stage to sing a few songs. Next up was Dave Enslow to favor us with some numbers. Then Kenny Owens sang a couple of songs, one of them his version of Cattle Call. Everyone loves the way he sings that song. The music went on until it was time for everyone to head home. It was a very enjoyable day for all. Be sure to join us on Sunday, January 13, 2008 to ring in the New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone from the Seattle Western Swing Music Society. See you next year!! Contact Bill Bailey eagle032@aol.com www.seattlewesternswingmusicsociety Tommy Alverson Country To The Bone CD Review By Joe Baker Tommy Alverson's Country To The Bone celebrates his 10th Annual Gathering and thanks to Chris Thomas and all the folks at Palo Duro Records, this long time project has become a reality. I think Alverson is one of the under rated performers today, his versitility and roots takes him through the country years and right into western swing music. When it comes to his selection of players, Tommy knows talent and here's the proof. Ray Austin on the steel, Reggie Rueffer and Heather Woodruff on fiddles, Justin Alverson on lead guitar, Ron Thompson, drums, My good friend Andy Frye on piano and organ, Mike Basden on piano, Jerry Abrams on bass, Jorge Ginorio, percussion, Sue Manois on steel drums, Martin Stinnitt on the mandolin. Tommy Alverson on gutiar and vocals along with our friends Pauline Reese, Randy and Melissa Brown, Jerri Lynn Robinson, Reggie Rueffer and Amos Staggs doing the background vocals. David Perez with the accordian. Patrick McGuire on acoustic bass and Thurston Selby on fiddle. Country To The Bone is produced by Tommy Alverson and Patrick McGuire and recorded at Patrick McGuire recording Studio in Arlington, Texas. Here's a sample of some of the songwriter greats Alverson recorded on this CD, Walt Wilkins, Brian Burns, Jerry Max Lane, Amos Staggs, Jim Lauderdale and the late Mickey Newbury, as Tommy puts it...wow!! Joe Baker and Backforty Bunkhouse Productions salute Tommy Alverson's Country To The Bone and Palo Duro Records for keeping the tradition alive in Texas and the world. To purchase Country To The Bone and past CD's, go to: www.tommyalverson.com or www. palodurorecords.com The 3rd Annual Cowboy Christmas Ball A Huge Success in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Posse and Backforty Bunkhouse Productions presented the third annual Cowboy Ball and for the third consecutive year, Jody Nix and his Texas Cowboys provided a top notch performance to a near sell out crowd of cowboys and cowgirls. The Texas Cowboys included Nix along with Robert Weeks supplying twin fiddles, Johnny Cox on steel guitar, Larry Nix on the bass and Dixie Hankins on the drums. As the organizers of the annual event, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Posse presented a professional dinner and dance with a silent auction and a smooth operation to insure everyone had a great meal and a fun dance. Thanks to the Alto Lakes Golf and Country Club for the dinner and the use of their pavilion. Their hospitality has always been unsurpassed. Joe Baker Backforty Bunkhouse Productions
LEESWING88 TOP TWELVE CDs Kountry Korral Magazine Bennerstigen, Sala, Sweden TOP TWELVE CDs 1. BOBBY KOEFER Thumbin It 2. BOB WILLS & His Texas Playboys Live In San Antonio 3. GAYLYNN ROBINSON Songs By A West Texas Songstress 4. GIL PRATHER Last of the Border Cowboys 5. JEFF GRIFFITH If It Ain t One Thing It s Another 6. JIM GARLING Cattle, Trails & Romance 7. JOHNNY JOHNSON Angels Don t Lie 8. KELLI GRANT Swing Like That 9. MIKE BLAKELY & Whiskey Traders Live At The Uptown 10. MILLER BROTHERS The Miller Brothers 11. TEXAS PLAYBOYS Live In Pawhuska 12. TOM MORRELL & BOBBY KOEFER No Peddlers Allowed TOP TWELVE SONGS 1. Don t Mess With Texas Kelli Grant 2. Fat Boy Rag Swing Shift Band 3. Wish It Was That Easy Going Home Curtis Potter 4. Last Comanche Moon, The Mike Blakely 5. Mira Las Palomas Geronimo Treviño 6. Old Cantina, The Mike Blakely 7. Ridin Down That Ol Lonesome Trail GayLynn Robinson 8. Snap Your Fingers Johnny Johnson 9. Sugar Moon Kelli Grant 10. Tumbling Tumbleweeds Jim Garling 11. (Turn me loose and) Let Me Swing Pennington & Emmons 12. Waltzing With Judy Bobby Koefer Lillies Ohlsson Leeswing88@sheab.net Enola Gay Mathews KSST Radio, Sulphur Springs, TX 1. Gene Autry "32 Feet And 8 Little Tails" 2. Joyce Woodson "If I Hadn't Seen the West" 3. Joe Paul Nichols "The Christmas Guest" 4. Dave Alexander "I'll Be Home For Christmas" 5. Dale Sourdough Myles "Home Grown Tomatoes" 6. Janet McBride "Santa's Yodeling Song" 7. Michael Martin Murphy "Christmas Cowboy Style" 8. Joe Green "Back To the Good Ole Days" 9. Hanna Kirby "Grownup Christmas Wish" 10. Merle Haggard "If We Make It Through December" For KSST listeners, Christmas time means special Morning Shows where you can hear songs that mean something. As reflected in my playlist, some requests are for funny novelty songs and most have (decent) lyrics that common folks relate to. Some want to hear local artists, like Hanna Kirby, a Sulphur Springs middle-school singer and fiddler. But mostly, listeners want a friend. Some have told me I "wake them up" every morning when I come on at 6am! Others have said I have been there for them during icy, frozen-in winter days when power was out and their only outside contact was by battery-powered radio set to KSST! For whatever reasons, I am most blessed because I get to have many, many friends to share my days and my years with. After 20 years at the job, I still can't wait to get to the radio station every morning! Recently when Doc West stopped by, he asked me if I knew how rare it is to be a DJ with control over your own music choices? I didn't think about it much before, but I include that now when I count my blessings. This Christmas, I'll spend the morning shift on the air with the listeners before I travel to my family. And knowing that time might brighten one person's Christmas Day would be the best gift I could receive. In the New Year, let's keep the faith, and believe in the music. See ya in 2008! Enola Gay enolagay@ksstradio.net The Big Fred Walker Show Christmas Special WOES Owosso, MI THE BIG FRED WALKER SHOW has been on the air for the last five years. The 1st. hour is "The Best In The Country" (Traditional Country) and the 2nd. Hour is "The Best Of The West" (Western Swing & Cowboy Music). Top Seven Songs 01 Melinda Marie The Next Voice You Hear 02 Curly Musgrave Christmas Cookies 03 Dicky Overby & Bobby Flores Silver Bells 04 Andy Griffith The Christmas Guest 05 Dave Alexander Frosty The Snow Man 06 Gene Autry Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer 07 Jerry Webb Christmas On The County Line 06 Gene Autry Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer 07 Jerry Webb Christmas On The County Line Top Five CDs 01 Walter Brennan T was The Night Before Christmas 02 Melinda Marie All Of Me 03 Jane Morton Turning To Face The Wind 04 Randy Brown Hard Face To Face 05 Pat James Some Like It Country Happy Holidays, with a HO, HO, HO From The Big Fred Walker Show Don Edwards djcountryone@charter.net Cowboy Bills Top 10 Playlist Top 10 Most Requested Songs 1. If I Had My Boots - Lynn Anderson 2. Ride Cowboy Ride - The Booher Brothers 3. Cowboy Kinda Girl - Susan Parker 4. Oklahoma Hills - Bill Mc Callie 5. T-4-Texas - Cindy Smith 6. The Roughest Ride - J Lee 7. In America - T.J. Casey 8. Great American Cowboy - Judy James 9. Faded Love - Tailor Made Band 10. When The Work s All Done This Fall - Events The cowboy fun is still alive in Georgia. The Cowboy Way Radio Show was honored once again to be asked to host the Cowboy Theatre at the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame Awards program on 11/24/2007. What a great day that was. We had all kinds of cowboy entertainment there including special guests Bill Mc Callie, songwriter and DJ of his own radio show in Tennessee called The Cowboy Jubilee; Woody Woodruff, Cowboy Poet of the Year 2005; Mike Lawrence, recording artist from Nashville; Joel Hayes, Cowboy Poet; and Jerry Warren, Cowboy Poet. We had a great time keeping the Cowboy spirit going and the icing on the cake was when it was announced that the awards this year were dedicated to The Day of the Cowboy in Georgia and honoring what was proclaimed by the Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue for last July 28th. Cowboy Bill was presented the official dedication and the proclamation about the Day of the Cowboy in Georgia was read to all the folks attending. Photo L-R Wrangler Marv, Woody Woodruff and Cowboy Bill at the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame Awards program. Cowboy Bill Can be contacted at: wilrand@comcast.net
All Things Country Top Ten CDs Rowena Muldavin 1. Ginny Mac - Wishing River 2. Roger Wallace - It's About Time 3. Cornell Hurd - Beyond The Purple Hills 4. Justin Trevino - Take One As Needed For Pain 5. Bobby Flores - Neon Nights 6. Jason Arnold & The Stepsiders - With Friends Like These 7. Lucky Tomblin Band - In A Honky Tonk Mood 8. Don Walser & The Pure Texas Band - The Archive Series, Volume 1 9. Ron Williams - Texas Style 10. Elana James - Self Titled The station can be heard either via Shoutcast or at either of its two websites: www.classicheartland.com (where the schedule and guest book are), and www.heartlandpublicradio.org All Things Country email address rowena@classicheartland.com 2007 A Wonderful Year By Howard Staub From the southwest corner of THE LAND of ENCHANTMENT. Translation. For those that live in places where weirdo s start fires, angered Mother Nature drops ten years of rain water in two days, where mere trickling streams take on Missi-sloppy proportions, where costly motor boats sit in drive ways adjacent to flooded streets, snowmobiles are part of your life and anything snow means dollars or fun my heart goes out to you and yours. Reason enough to call our corner of The Land of Enchantment home. By the way, the phrase Land of Enchantment is attributed to early western story writer Eugene (Gene) Manlove Rhodes, an east coast import to New Mexico who is buried on what is now White Sands Missile Range, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. If you are of the opinion that Governor Bill Richardson coined the phrase Land of Enchantment, that is an untrueism. Now look up Eugene Manlove Rhodes on your computer and read some REAL cowboy history! Year 2007 was a most wonderful year for this ole Gringo. My bride, Totsie Slover and I became thoroughly indoctrinated into the Cowboy Music & Poetry world. Even more wonderful was our being accepted as part of the gang of great cowboy and cowgirl artists and performers. Nothing like feeling at home. My bride grew up on a ranch south of Animas, New Mexico, near where Kip Calahan calls home. My youth was sometimes spent on a quarter section of South Dakota Sandy Loam in Tripp County, South Dakota. About ten miles from where Yvonne Hollenbeck emotes away about real rural life, snow, cold, cow poop and women who swish their hair on television. Yes we call Kip and Yvonne friends. The Lordsburg/Hidalgo county, New Mew Mexico Poetry Fiesta was our first gathering and connectivity to what used to be our earlier ways of life. Besides that we became acquainted with Roughstring; Ken Moore, Skelly Boyd, Savannah and Jess Barry. The next outing was to Sul Ross University in Alpine, Texas to take in the Cowboy Poetry Gathering. What a doings! Meeting and getting to know talented people makes me feel special and also very untalented! Yvonne Hollenbeck, Linda Kirkpatrick, Jim Wilson, Washtub Jerry, Jean Prescott, Doris Daley (and her little chapeau), Stephanie Davis, and my memory is starting to fade. What comes across loud and clear to me about the present day cowboy and cowgirl singers and poets is their genuine sincerity. None of the Hollywood phoneyness and super polished (marketed to the bubblegum crowd) Nashville merchandising of what Hollyweird has made America and the world think is cowboy. Let s see, the next event was Rex Allen Days in Wilcox, Arizona. Had the pleasure of meeting a young lady by the name of Cindy Rae who in my opinion has a prosperous future singing genuine cowboy music. Meeting Marvin O Dell, Tom Hiatt, Johnny Bencomo, Jimmy Tomlinson and the Delmars, adds to my understanding of now-days cowboy music. Am like a sponge and every once-in-a-while have to hesitate and wring out the sponge to make room for fresh knowledge. Life is fun! The next event my Bride Totsie and I attended was at the Ruidoso Downs Track. The Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium is a Land of Enchantment event that New Mexico is proud to have and provided me with more fresh CDs to utilize on The Real West from the Old West which airs on KOTS/1230AM/Deming, New Mexico each Wednesday morning for two hours. Pictures galore and stories to last a life time. Red Steagall, Kip Calahan and daughter Kylie, R. J. Vandygriff, Biscuits O Brian, and the Night Mares. More memories than my brain can handle. The 2007 Western Music Association Festival held at the Marriott in Albuquerque has to be the grand finale for this year. Meeting, greeting, rubbing elbows, quaffing beers, sharing good grub with friendly and outgoing table mates, listening to world class cowboys and cowgirls sing and recite poetry and poking fun at each other is like being part of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and as colorful. Having spent three nights jabbering with Smoke Wade and Margo Metegrano is encyclopedic, to say the least. Meeting new and previously unknown to me performers was worth the price of admission. The Rocking RW bunch from Washington State are as cowboy as it gets. Those Tumbling Tumbleweeds from California are also a future cowboy singing group that will go places. Kevin Davis from Walters, Oklahoma, IS the future of cowboy music in my opinion. The Real Deal. What I ve learned in 2007 is that Cowboy/Western Music and Poetry is what adult America connects with and understands. That is my personal and substantiated opinion. My first hand experience with Cowboy/Western artists and poets cements my opinion. Folks my age (66), younger and older are whom I see in the audiences at events and are also the same people that take time to dialog with me at the local post office, big-box store, local feed store, grocery store, bank or steak house and share their thoughts on cowboy music and poetry versus what is being played on other available radio stations and still being marketed as Country music. Thanks to all the artists that have adopted me over the past 16 months. Singers, poets and CD label distributors. You can all make side wagers that your efforts are being heard over KOTS/1230AM/ Deming, New Mexico, via my Radio program The Real West from the Old West each Wednesday morning for two hours. Thanks especially to local Deming, New Mexico talent, Dave Johnson, for making The Real West from the Old West available to worldwide listeners via Real Player. You too can enjoy the greatest and most understandable music presently available by going to www.demingradio.com and clicking on the Western Music Association logo. It should go without saying; but if you are not a member of The Western Music Association, the Academy of Western Artists, the Cowtown Society of Western Music, the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest or the Seattle Western Music Society, do not support cowboypoetry.com, then it is time to rethink who it actually is that supports cowboy music and poetry. Now, how could I forget my good friend and mentor, Joe Baker, who is the Duck Tape and JB Weld of who gets the products to us Disc Spinners. Thanks Joe! In year 2008 let s emphasize the WE in WEstern and remember those that defend this, the greatest country on the planet. There ain t no made in china labels on Cowboy/Western music and Poetry. Let s keep it that way. Howard G. Staub Host and Program Director, The Real West from the Old West. KOTS Radio, Deming, New Mexico Merry Christmas Gil Prather Last of the Border Cowboys
Cowboy Poetry CD Review Review by Margo Metegrano, CowboyPoetry.com Yvonne Hollenbeck's Pieces of the Past Pieces of the Past, a new CD from South Dakota's Yvonne Hollenbeck pays tribute to the lives of pioneer women. Yvonne has been named the Female Poet of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists and is the current holder of that honor from the Western Music Association. As the CD title hints, some of the poems draw on another of her celebrated talents: her quilt making and her knowledge of the craft's history. Enriching the fabric of the project, the CD weaves kindred songs among the poems from award-winning Texas singer and songwriter Jean Prescott. The poems flow into the songs, and the entire effort results in a fresh and warm wholesomeness. It is the voice of the Heartland, with an emphasis on the "heart." There are new poems, as well as favorites such as "The Red Geranium" (often recited by Red Steagall), "The Christmas Quilt," and "The Old Home Comfort Range." Two of the songs are collaborations between Jean Prescott and Yvonne Hollenbeck, including the awardwinning "How Far is Lonesome," which received the 2006 Best Collaboration of Poet and Musician award from the Western Music Association and "Her Feet Would Rock the Cradle." Jean sings the works of other top songwriters, too, including Andy Wilkinson and Steve Spurgin. The selections will please both regular fans of both of these top artists, as it will those who have the opportunity to view Yvonne Hollenbeck's traveling trunk show, Five Generations of Quilts. The show includes her family quilts and stories and poems inspired by her ancestors and other pioneer women of the Plains. The show has been offered at many venues, festivals, and cowboy poetry gatherings, including the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, Wet Mountain Western Days, the Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and the Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival. She'll present a trunk show and a demonstration at the 2007 Monterey gathering (December 7-9, 2007). The stunning CD package design-both inside and out-by Jeri Dobrowski incorporates quilts from the unique show. Yvonne has won countless awards for her own quilts, including ribbons and "best of show" honors. As the liner notes tell, the interior quilt images, with their fine stitching, are "the reverse of Yvonne's masterpiece, 'Pansies for Mama.' Done entirely by hand...it comprises 5,600 pieces and took 17 months to complete." The cover's crazy quilt "dates to 1900. The initials stand for the maker, Matia Hanson, Yvonne's greatgrandmother. Matia emigrated from Norway as a young bride, and settled on a Campbell County, South Dakota homestead." Even the disc is decorated as carefully as the quilts are stitched, with its treasured family thimble and antique scissors displayed on a handmade quilt. The CD is available for $18.50 postpaid from Yvonne Hollenbeck, 30549 291st Street, Clearfield, South Dakota 57580, 605/557-3559, www.yvonnehollenbeck.com. Very few men are blue colorblind. Who buys your CDs? Having been born colorblind with a red-green deficiency, my life has always been interesting. From my personal perspective anything printed, projected onto a screen or hidden under a wrapper that has red as the predominate color with a green background (or shades thereof) virtually drives my eyes nuts! Those plastic wrapped CDs and CD cases with colorful (red-green) inserts are a great example of what cause color-blind people's eyes to virtually stall and the owner of those eyes has to either rotate the CD case or printed inserts this way and that way to try and make the printing readable. Song titles, writer credits, musician names, etc. become blurry and non distinct. Many times the intended message is not discernable if red and green colors (shades thereof) make up the majority of colors. Old cowboy movies with bright bold red colored rolling credits on mountain and forest backgrounds are my single most distinct difficulty. Lost customers? Befuddled customers? Yes, you can bet on it. Very useful link to peruse: http://colorvisiontesting.com. The manufacturing and packaging of your Cowboy Music and Poetry CDs is impacted by the colors chosen and can impact the ultimate purchaser. Your bottom line will be affected. Howard G Sttaub New CD Titles At Backforty CD Chorale Yvonne Hollenbeck - Pieces of the Past Jeff Griffith - If It Ain't One Thing It's Another Donald Fuller - The Texas Twister Rodger Maxwell - Cowboy Promises Joe Paul Clark - Joe Paul Clark www.backfortybunkhouse.com Hey folks, Western music disc jockey's love the roundup for the mega selections of great music and poetry. You sure want to get in the saddle for the Backforty Roundup's next issue. Contact roundup@backfortybunkhouse.com Thanks For a Great Year Wishing you A Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2008. Jerry Webb Merchandising Your Cowboy Music and Poetry CDs To the Colorblind Having broached this subject at the Western Music Association membership meeting held during the WMA Festival in Albuquerque a most intelligent person asked if I would expound on the subject. Approximately 15% of the male population is red-green colorblind (color deficient). Colorblindness is hereditary and boils down to being a male/ female/genetic lineage discussion. Few if any woman are colorblind.