Preston Springer Band, Lenorah

I would like to welcome back former Midessa resident Lisa Wheeler, currently of Austin, Tx. At the moment she publishes the excellent Pueblo City Limits blog but took a break from listening to and writing about Colorado records to write about the late Preston Springer of Lenorah. Preston's Flatbroke was one of my first lp purchases 3 years back when I decided it necessary to gobble any/all local records. Things haven't been the same since. And a WARNING-- the first track, "She's Good Looking", does contain the use of the word b**** in the chorus throughout so listen with care.


PRESTON SPRINGER - Flatbroke (NoMountain 038, 1985)

In Lenorah, Texas (pop 70) Preston Springer stood out like the Seattle Space Needle on Martin County’s flat rural landscape.

With his rock-God good looks he spent the better part of his West Texas upbringing trying to find a Jimmy Page audience in a Jimmie Rodgers zip code.

“From the first time he heard Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" on the jukebox in his family's grocery store, his first love was always rock and roll,” said his wife, Susie Springer. Preston Springer’s love of music was a family affair. His mother’s cousins were Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley. Ruth would channel her genetics by playing the piano at family get-togethers, while Preston's dad, Denver, and uncle, J.T., would be there as well – playing their guitars.

“When Preston was 8 years old, his Uncle J.T. encouraged him and his older brother, Allen, to enter a talent show at Lenorah’s Grady Elementary School,” said his wife, Susie. “J.T. played the guitar for them while they sang, "Battle of New Orleans." Preston won a blue ribbon for first place. Then one day, Uncle JT came over to the house and told Preston and Allen they should learn how to play the guitar. So when Preston was 10 years old, his parents took him to Sears in Midland, where he bought his first guitar – it was a Silvertone acoustic that cost him $19.95, tax included.”

After Springer graduated from Stanton High School, in 1973, he attended Midland College – spending his summers working at the Perkins Music Store in Lubbock, along with his cousin, Preston Perkins, who was a drummer.

“He also worked at Lenorah Grocery, which his parents owned. (WESTEX Note: Many a Lenorah native remembers walking into the store in the 80s and hearing Preston and the band practicing.) He was a brick mason by trade and at one time had a full time job as a mason. He also worked on his dad's farm driving the tractor and plowing.”

The sibling duo of Allen and Preston played all over West Texas, hitting almost every bar, nightclub, dance, and party in the region. “Their first band was called Family Portrait, and featured Allen, Preston and J.T.”

In 1982, Springer played around the region in The Sharks, a three-member rock band. The gigs afforded him the opportunity to sing his own songs, amongst the cover song set lists.

Three years later he recorded an album of his own compositions, Flatbroke. The album would again pair him up with his brother Allen, who played bass and produced the LP. Crane-born and former Sharks and Lust drummer Keith Guinn rounded out the trio.

“The recording lasted about six weeks at No Mountain Studios in Midland and then went to Ardent Studios in Memphis to do the final mix,” Susie Springer said.

The cover of the album depicted his family’s grocery store. “They were trying to come up with the design for the cover and wanted to portray their childhood and the fact that it was not an elaborate lifestyle. They wanted to reflect the fact that they didn't have a whole lot of material possessions and wanted people to see that they were not high-society, but were hard-working guys who worked for a living and were trying to do their best in life.”

Maybe to appeal to a broader audience, Preston also decided to shed his rock star looks.

A total of 125 copies of the album were pressed.

“They went to radio stations in Texas and Oklahoma and asked the disc jockeys to play the songs. Some of them did, but not all. They also went to music stores and tried to get them to take the records on consignment. They did manage to get some exposure but not a great deal.”

They also sent the LP to record companies in Chicago, California, and New York. “They never heard back from anyone. The bottom line was they didn't have enough money to promote it any further than what they did.”

Realizing he had done all he could do in West Texas, he moved to Austin in the late 1980s. He almost immediately found work—playing in country bands.

In 1987, Springer would go on to play with Kris Kristofferson, as the opening act on his tour. “He left the Kristofferson tour in July 1987, and went home to be present for the birth of his daughter. Preston made the decision to put his music career on hold for the next 10-11 years, so he could raise his baby girl.”

During this time Springer and his wife Susie opened their own music store in Granbury. Tragedy would strike as his 21-year old son, and both Preston’s father and mother would die in a three-year time period. “Preston was completely torn up emotionally; he was devastated, and grieved for a very long time.”

They operated the store until 2003, when they decided to give his musical career one more shot. They traveled to Louisiana in 2005, where Preston managed a U-Haul facility and performed part-time.

Then Hurricane Katrina hit.

“We stayed in Shreveport for a few months, helping hurricane victims as much as possible. Then we traveled to Nashville, hoping to find better circumstances. Preston did the same thing other musicians did in Nashville - he played in bars and on street corners for tips. I think that Preston gave up on his dreams of a career in music in Nashville. I believe he became somewhat discouraged at that time.”

After leaving Nashville in 2005, Preston and Susie would move to San Angelo, to be closer to Preston's only daughter. “She gave birth to a baby girl, Preston's first grandchild, in January 2007,” Susie Springer said. “He held his new granddaughter on the day she was born.”

Ten days later, on February 4, Preston Springer died in his sleep of apparent heart failure.

He was 51 years old.

During the Flatbroke sessions, Springer recorded a number of songs, which have remained unreleased. Susie hopes to find a record company interested in producing the material.
_______________________

Thanks so much to Susie Springer for sharing the incredible photo of Preston as well as her time and memories. It is all muchly appreciated. And thanks again to Lisa for the story. Check her incredibly thorough South Colorado music blog Pueblo City Limits HERE.