Tommy Allsup & the Raiders, Odessa / Connections

Tommy Allsup had a big hand in Odessa and West Texas in general through the 50s and 1960s. He fronted a western swing outfit in the 50s, worked a steady clip at Petty's place in Clovis, and even put together the Crickets line-up that backed Buddy Holly on the Winter Dance Party Tour(bass player Waylon Jennings and drummer Carl Bunch bunch of Odessa who passed away on March 25). In the mid- to late- 60s he stayed busy producing a whole mess of West Texans for AOK and other one-shot labels. Between the Winter Dance Party and his return in the mid-60s Tommy spent a stretch in California, working real heavy with Liberty Records.

Tommy has recently released a book with Guy Logsdon titled The Flip of a Coin and while I've not yet read it, I understand that he barely references his Odessa stays. I'll read regardless, but his days at his northside Odessa studio deserve mention like the rest of his career.


THE RAIDERS featuring TOMMY ALLSUP - What Time Is It? (Liberty 55393)

At the behest of former Lubbock boy Snuff Garrett former Oklahoma/Texas boy Tommy Allsup put together the Raiders in 1961. LP-wise their sole release was Twistin' The Country Classics from 1963. "What Time Is It" b/w "Dardanella" was issued in 1961. Coming in right after some rotary dial action Tommy Allsup's guitar is absolutely jarring. It eventually breaks off in a Bill Justis direction with the sax, but Tommy comes back to save the day. Fierce guitar... but where's the drummer?

Aside from his years at Liberty Tommy's guitar playing on record, though solid, was largely nondescript session work as it wasn't his intent to steal the show. Shame there aren't more "Tommy Allsup" records from the 50s and 60s out there.
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Pick up Tommy's bio The Flip of A Coin HERE.

Curt & Faye Bartmess, Midland by of way of Oklahoma

CURT & FAYE BARTMESS - The Downward Road b/w Walking By the Sea (State 4001)

Curt & Faye Bartmess were based out of Oklahoma in the mid-50s where at some point they became associated with the presumably Texas-based State label. While the label is far from well known, it did turn out a great release from general East New Mexico/West Texas gadabout Bob Tucker & his Sky Riders. State 4002 features the swingin' "Little Red Wagon" update "Quit Draggin' Your Feet" and a nice vocal from Virgil Hume who would go on to work the Amarillo, Tx honky tonk and radio circuit for a in the mid- to late- 50s. (both sides of Bob Tucker disc can be heard HERE at the fine n' dandy Wired For Sound blog.)

On their own State release Curt and Faye update two standards from the gospel community, both featuring fine mandolin. "Walking The Sea" is based on the story of Jesus walking the stormy Sea of Galilee to find his disciples gripped with fear. The origins of the heavy handed "The Downward Road" stretch back further as a black spiritual. In the hands of the Bartmess duo "The Downward Road" is powerful piece of old timey mountain gospel and not too far off from the sound that would make the the mighty Louvin Brothers so popular a few years later.

Curt and Faye would later issue a single on their own Evangelistic Records, pressed by Starday in 1955. Malcolm Chapman featured this later release on his Starday Custom blog a few years back (read it HERE) and notes that the liners for the Flyrite cd Hillbilly Gospel make mention of Evangelistic being formed as a result of non-payment from a Texas record label they had previously been associated with. I would guess it to perhaps be this State release from which the Bartmess's saw no return. Somehow the Bartmess's were broadcasting over KJBC radio in Midland, Texas at around the same time of the Evangelistic single. I found this particular 78 in Midland recently... no idea if there is any actual physical connection between Curt & Faye and the Tall City. It's quite possible that the couple KJBC offerings wered disc'd up and shipped out from Oklahoma each week.

Faye has since passed on, but Curt is still involved in various ministerial capacities in east central Oklahoma.

The Sherry Stevens Trio, Midland

This ain't pretty looking or sounding...


SHERRY STEVENS & TRIO - Boogie Blues (R.B. 63-301)

The R.B. label out of Midland, Texas seemed to have focused on jazzier sounds. And the idea of jazz in West Texas feels a bit odd.

Teen garage bands? Sure.

Full tilt rockabilly? Yep.

Honky tonk? For sure.

But the sounds heard on R.B. releases from music teacher Del Mourning (swingin' big band sounds ala the Goodman's or somesuch), croaky Robert Baugh, and the Sherry Stevens Trio are the sounds of a lounge or supper club somehwere. And it's late. The matrix correspond with years of release and from what I've seen that means the early 60s.

Sherry Stevens and her Trio cook like a 40s or early 50s combo but that ain't the case. 1963 would be the year of release and I can well imagine Stevens and her trio playing to the patrons of Midland's Egyptian Club. And I do believe this record to actually be a live recording though the label bears no mention of it as such. I do wonder who might be that Satchmo sounding cat in the background. Possibly Robert Baugh who gets a bit croaky on his own R.B. release. Pretty sure it is actually Robert's electric piano heard here. And the drummer? Certainly no Gene Krupa. But it is interesting that even in 1963 in Midland, Texas Gene was still big enough that people were cutting his songs. This certainly wasn't based on Anita O'day's second go-round with "Boogie Blues" from 1961.

In July of 1964 Billboard mentioned that a Sherri Stevens would soon be appearing at the Admiral Community Inn in Arlington, Texas. Surely the same Stevens.