Hank Harral, Big Spring

HANK HARRAL - The DJ Blues (Caprock 102)

By the time Hank Harral made it to radio station KHEM in Big Spring, Texas in 1957 he had been on the mic for over a quarter of a century at radio stations all over West Texas and New Mexico, from Amarillo to Clovis to Las Cruces. At KHEM Harral was running both morning and afternoon radio shows (the "Hank Harral Show" in the am and "Howard Country Hoedown" in the pm) while also heading up his own label Caprock, the name a reference to a prominent geographic feature that stretches over a fair portion of West Texas.

Caprock was inaugurated within a few months of Hank arriving in Big Spring. Caprock 100 featured Hank's first recordings, Fabulous Oklahoma b/w Picture In My Heart, in quite some time, perhaps the first since Harral's days with the Dallas based Star Talent. A waxing from Snyder High gal Dixie Rogers followed in the spring of 1958 (check this one out over at Andrew Brown's excellent Wired For Sound blog). Hank was quick to follow the Rogers disc with another release of his own.

Caprock 102 featured Hell Bound Train b/w The D.J. Blues. Hell Bound Train is a recitation on the everlasting ramifications of a misled life. On the flip Harral puts his +25 years of on-air experiences to use on a lazy, mid-tempo bopper. And after listening to these experiences one might wonder why the hell anylittlesoandso would ever want to spin platters on the air for a living. DeeJay Hank's days are filled with complaints about all the country "corn" he plays, thankless and anonymous song requests from listeners, and even a suggestion or two to off himself. The biggest threat Hank can muster is the threat of leaving the radio for tv. Or just goin' back to the house to fish in his catchfish hole.

Fine backing combo.