MUSIC AND LIFE UP TO THE MID 1980s

I started sneaking out and over to the black section of Americus, GA when I was a kid to listen to music around 40 years ago. There were a couple of night spots and one of them had a Hammond organ player. That was some fine sound. I guess that was what got me interested in playing music. I always tried to be in a band and working. My family always tried to have me getting a real job but I've had few outside the entertainment industry where odd-balls like me can fit in. Music and sound continue to be the center of my life along with my family and friends.

Rock Blaxton (behind amp rack), Nick Blaxton, Tabby Crabb (behind Willie), Willie Nelson, Richie Albright and a member of Willie's road crew onstage before an outdoor show in Plains, GA

-SOME FAVORITE PEOPLE THESE FELLOW BANDSMEN-

Memphis (piano, pedal steel and banjo)
Urban Cowboy Band (piano, acoustic guitar, banjo, piano)(Warner Special)
Johnny Lee (that's me playing piano behind Johnny in the photo)
Bayou City Beats (piano)(Gilley's Records)
Becky Hobbs and Oklahoma Heart (pedal steel, bgv)
The Brown Brothers Band (piano)(Red Dot Records)
Andy May-Texas Tabby Crabb Band (banjo, guitar, pedal steel)
Medicine Wheel (piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, fiddle)
Swamp Grass (bluegrass band toured Vietnam during the conflict)
The Strange Bedfellows (piano, organ)(SSS Intl' Records)

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places T.C. and Johnny Lee in 1979

Saturday Night At Gilleys (Warner Special) The Urban Cowboy Band
Sam Neely (Gilley's Records) Sam Neely
Cowboy Blue (Red Dot) The Brown Brothers
Floyd Tillman (Gilley's Records) Floyd Tillman
Among Grandma's Souvenirs (Lobo) Tabby Crabb (Pick Hit/Billboard)
Annabelle Lee (Lobo) Tabby Crabb (Billy Aerts really covered me on this)
I Hope We Have A Bigger Bomb (Bantam) Tucker White
The Night Porter Wagoner Came To Town (db) Tabby Crabb (Top100/Cbox)
Angel Wings (Doctor Bob) Tabby Crabb (Top 100/Cashbox)
What A Lie (db) T.C. Roberts (Top 100/Cashbox)(produced by Greg Kane)
I'm A Little Boy Again (db) T.C. Roberts (Top 100/Cashbox)
River Song (db) T.C. Roberts (produced by Richie Albright and Greg Kane)
Concrete and Steel(db) Mercedes (Top 100/Cashbox)
Southern Comfort (db) The Brickers (Top 100/Cashbox)
Christmas With The National Boychior of America (Rama)
Keeper of Fools (db) Moldyer (4 song ep)
Santa Drives A Peterbilt (db) Lowell and The Roadcrew
Man In The Moon (db) Mercedes (Top 100/Cashbox)
Heavens Break (db) Quade
The Party Never Ends (db) Catch-22

-THE SATCOM IV EXPERIMENT-

The Tidewater Report (National Public Radio) producer Tabby Crabb. Featured eclectic folkism for 18 months on many NPR and APR radio stations and carried on the Satcom IV satellite.

-COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION-

The Night Porter Wagoner Came To Town
(CMT Top 5 1985)
produced by Rick Sanjek and Bob Jaros. Also popular on TNN and often featured by Shotgun Red. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Shotgun!

My intro into "Porter's World" which is like nothing else. He was going to be in the video but went fishing instead. When I took my son by to meet Porter he yelled at us, "Hoss, how 'bout moving your car!!!!" Johnny Lee said the video made me look like a fool and they kept calling from The Nashville Network to come be on tee vee. My grandma left me her house so we went to the seashore for awhile till it blew over. That's when I met the boys from Bonepony. That's another story. The photo is of the Willie Nelson Picnic in Plains, Georgia with the Jimmy Carter family.

-THE BIG SCREEN-

Urban Cowboy (Paramount) starring John Travolta and featuring the music of The Urban Cowboy Band , CDB, Boz Scaggs and others. I joined the band around this time but mostly spent my time as a Cotton-Eyed Joe dancer during the filming. I did sit next to Jim Bridges (the director) during the screening in Houston for the Gilley Bunch. Being even a small part of the Urban Cowboy was a very positive experience. Mickey, Johnny, Norman Carlson, Rocky Stone, Mike Schallacci, Sidney Pomonis, Ron Levine and road manager Terry Rhinehart and later on Eli Nelson were great guys to work with. I'll never forget the good times. Thank you all for the inspiration and friendship!

Among Grandma's Souvenirs (with Jeff Raymond)(Boo Music)
Billy Goat In The Bitterweed (with Robert Herridge)(Red Rose Music)
Storm Dancer (with Andy May, Jeff Raymond, Ron Levine, Jeff Gilkersen)(Boo Music)(Lobo Records)
River Song (Ancient Springs Music)
Billy And The Kid (Ancient Springs Music)
Cowboy Lost In Space (with Don Goodman)
Concrete Jungle (with Bonepony)(Warner-Chappell)
I'm Not Over You (Curb Records) Johnny Lee (written by Sam Neely)
Southern Comfort (db Records) The Brickers
Stomp Revival (Capitol Records) Bonepony
The Party Never Ends (db) Catch-22
Heavens Break (db) Quade

Tennessee Deluxe. From the left: Chuck Leonard, Ken Posey, Nick Blaxton, Tabby Crabb and David Ragsdale (now with Kansas).

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