School's Out for the Summer!!!

THE COACHMEN- Summer Should Bring Happiness (Sea Ell 106)

Summer has begun. Quite happy and excited, too say the least.

Nothing much to type since I'm on vacation and all... for the next two and a half months. Probably the big money record on this label, but not necessarily the best record. Plan to have the full story from former Westie and Sea Ell/Souled Out of Texas mulah C.L. Milburn sometime over the summer. Fingers crossed.

Dan Dunagan, Monahans

DAN DUNAGAN- I'll Wait b/w Baby (Dandy 1001)

Monahans, Texas is a hole-in-the-desert whose fortunes are based on traffic from I-20 and scattered oil field drilling. And that's what it's always been, really. The biggest blip on the music radar- and one of the only blips- is Orville Fox's waxing of the great honky tonk-rockabilly hybrid "Honey, You Talk Too Much" on Ellis. Until November of 2005 this disc by Dan Dunagan was largely unknown by many... uncomped and not real high on anybody's want list. I didn't know about it until working a trade with a local. I had assumed this was going to be a country record, which wouldn't have been too much of a stretch given the label's location.

So how did a kid from Monahans come to record something so out of step for a place like Monahans? He knew Fred Crawford's son.

Fred Crawford was probably one of the best honky tonk singers to come out of West Texas. His sides for Starday were consistently some of the best the label produced (got a handful up on the 'Stomp HERE). He also recorded for Westex, AOK, and a handful of other labels into the 70s. Fred was a dj at the time and had heard Dan's songs and told Dan they were too good to not use and "some folks in West Texas will not like your music, but don't pay that any mind."

So in late 1966/early 1967 Fred and Dan headed east to Big Spring where Ben Hall had run a series of studios over the years. Some of the artists Ben recorded wound up on his own Gaylo label and for those that didn't Ben Hall usually holds the publishing on those records. I had suspected, and Dan confirmed, that the backing group on the Dandy release were Abilene's Continentals. It is the Continentals who have the distinction of not only having the last record released on Gaylo, but also have the most desired and valuable.

The night of the recording was Dan's only meeting with the Continentals which would possibly explain the lack of a guitar break on either side of the record. The session finds the Continentals in a transition from the snotty guitar punk of "I'm Gone"(Stomped HERE) to the organ driven "Take Me" on AOK.

The female? Dan's not sure but says she was a country artist who was a friend of Fred's who came out to help. My guess would be Ramona Reed.

The songs were "unveiled" at the Monahans High School spring talent show under the moniker of the 69th Street Sewage Department. And they won. Dan's mother financed the record and according to an article in the February 23, 1967 issue of the Monahans paper it was receiving airplay on stations in Kermit, Odessa, Monahans, and that cultural barometer of Texas- Dairy Queen.

After high school graduation Dan formed a group called the Young Americans. It seems that a certain presidential hopeful named George Wallace was looking for a connection with the youth who might attend his American Independent Party rallies in West Texas. Once done the Young Americans, who never released anything themselves, played around the southwest for the next few years.

Mike Dunagan added the following in the comments section on the original post:
The Sixty Ninth Sewage Department evolved into the Young Americans. Members were Dan Dunagan-Lead Guitar/Vocals, Mike Dunagan-Rhythm Guitar/Vocals, Bruce Madison-Bass Guitar/Vocals and David Lewis-Drums/Vocals. Mike Calhoun replaced Lewis later on the Drums. We played all over West Texas, Monahans, Crane, McCamey, Fort Stockton, Alpine, Marfa, Kermit, and Odessa. Our furthest gig was Wharton, Texas. In the late 60's bands played rock, and kids had a real need to dance. There were dances every weekend. We played Victory dances after Monahans football games. The dances were at The Monahans Youth Center. Fred Chaney was the Manager

Eventually Dan settled into life in Alpine, Texas ((former home of the Believers (one of Dan's favorite bands) and Bob & His Agents on AOK, both of which were 'Stomped HERE)). There would be a a couple of gospel lps released in the 80s. Today he is involved with youth ministry and Sul Ross University and works with the Baptist church in Marathon, which got a favorable write up in Texas Monthly a few years back.

Charline Arthur, Kermit

CHARLINE ARTHUR- Anything Can Happen; I've Having A Party All By Myself (Country & Western Caravan RCA LPM-3220)

According to the liner notes, for this 10" lp, the RCA Country and Western Caravan set off across the mid-south in April/May of 1954 hitting cities such as Wichita, Omaha, Tulsa, OKC, and Mobile. MC'd by the Opry's Eddie Hill- heard here on the intro- the show supposedly ran a good 2 1/2 hours, with this well recorded lp featuring a much abbreviated set recorded at the last show in Little Rock, Arkansas.

"Charline Arthur sets the opening pace with two torrid numbers," say the liners. The discography found in Charline's EXCELLENT 1998 Bear Family release Welcome To the Club(get it HERE) lists the band as Chet Atkins (lead), Ray Edenton (rhythm), Bud Isaacs (steel), Bob Moore (bass), and Donald Slayman (fiddle). Them's some mighty big dogs there. The first track, "Anything Can Happen", had been waxed in a more subdued manner in Dallas in February of '53 and coupled with "I Kept It A Secret" for single release. Bud's steel playing highlights the track, which also features some nice growling from former West Texan Charline . Charline's own "I'm Having A Party" had been recorded in September with both Ray and Chet along for the ride. "Party" gives fiddleman Slayman a chance to shine a bit, but the whole affair sits in the shadow of "Anything Can Happen".

Someone has put up a myspace page for Charline, from which I grabbed the rather fitting photo above. And though out of print, Bear Family did reissue this lp some years back.
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The stomp has featured one-time Kermit resident Charline Arthur once before.
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David Dennard has put a couple of Charline Arthur home videos up on Youtube, including the one below which kicks off with my favorite song by this gal... gives be the chills.

Bud Landon, Seminole

BUD LANDON AND THE RHYTHM MASTERS- Get Away (Belle 109)

I found a copy of Bud Landon's "Running Man" not too long after moving to this area. Three things jumped out at me about that record.

#1- THE ADDRESS That 'Drawer KKK, Denver City' thing makes just about everybody stop for a second look. And though there's nothing to it, it is certainly a curious thing.
#2- THE SOUND "Running Man" carried a Johnny Cash-styled chugga-chugga-thump to it.
#3- THE DATE Why would anybody be carryin' on like Sun-era Cash in the year nineteen and sixty-seven?

I've traveled to Denver City- on purpose- a couple of times. Ruidoso, New Mexico and oil are the reason most people head that direction. I thought I might find Bud's ghost. But the town's so small there's not much room for it. (Charles Duane 'Bud' Landon passed away just up the road in Seminole in February of 2008 for what it's worth)

(pumpjack north of Denver City)

There's an odd thing about each record on the Belle label. Despite release dates (1966-1967 based on information on the RCS website) these things are primitive, sounding ancient the day they were released. "Get Away" barely sounds '57, much less 1967. A Belle insider was recently stumbled upon in the area and when asked about the sound of the Rhythm Masters and other Belle artist mentioned that that sound is what sold records. In in 1967 people at the dances and honky tonks wanted to hear THAT sound buying handfuls of Belle singles at the close of the night, so why change a money making formula.

The Belle releases would be some of the last productions done in Big Spring with Ben Hall. Amazing to think that "Get Away" was recorded at about the same time/place as "I'm Gone" by the Continentals or "Bad Times" by the Clue. The Clue and Continentals were getting loud, and Bud and his Buddies were hung up on the Johnny Cash sound from 10 years prior.

There is no connection with the Buddy Landon that recorded "Raunchy Little Baby" for Jaguar.