I. Chronology:
1957 - The York Brothers (Primarily Bass, also some Rhythm Guitar and Lead Vocals)
1957-58 Johnny Dollar (Bass) (note--this appearance is unconfirmed but highly likely)
1958 - Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps (Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Clapper Boy, Background Vocals)
1958 - Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids (Bass)
1959 - The Spinners (Bass, Rhythm Guitar)
1959 - Johnny Carroll (Bass)
1960 - Scotty McKay (Max Lipscomb) (Bass)
1960-1963 The Joe Barber Trio (Bass)
1965 (circa) - The Riels (Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Background Vocals)
1966 (circa) - Toured as a duo with guitarist/songwriter Wayne Waller
Late 1960s to Mid 1970s - The Levee Singers (Bass, Background Vocals, Occasional Lead Vocals)
1950s to Early 1990s - Misc. Solo Work
II. Detail on the Groups
The York Brothers
The York Brothers were a country music guitar duo active from the late 1930s through the 1950s who featured close harmony singing in their performances. Their country boogie style combined elements of hillbilly, jazz, and blues music, and is said to have been a precursor to rockabilly, i.e. the original 'rock and roll.' They were originally from Kentucky, though they gained great faim in Detroit, where they were based for several years. By the time Grady worked with them they were based in Dallas and had reached the tail end of their careers.
Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps
Gene Vincent is perhaps one of the most mysterious and misunderstood figures in rock and roll history, and certainly one of the most underrated. Although wildly popular during his heyday in the 1950s, and of course later in Europe, he has largely been forgotten these days. This is a tragic shame, as he was responsible for some of the most formative, influential and powerful rock and roll ever created. His persona of leather-clad rocker and out-of-control wild man was borrowed or stolen by a bevy of later rock icons, (even Elvis took his black leather look for his 1968 comeback special) and his lifestyle and antics would pre-figure the sex-drugs-rock-and-roll culture of the 1960s and the later punk movement. While many of the original hard core rock and roll artists of the 1950s softened and became clean cut pop stars, Gene never compromised in such a way and was true to his roots until the end, which came all too early in 1971, when he was only 36 years of age.
Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids
Buddy Knox was a singer/songwriter from the Texas panhandle area who achieved some moderate success in the late 1950s, particularly with his hit 'Party Doll.' Despite being eclipsed by better-known performers such as fellow Texan Buddy Holly, Knox was a pioneer of Rock and Roll and the Tex-Mex sound, and he carved out a long and successful career after his brief 1950s national fame.
Johnny Carroll
Johnny Carroll was another pioneer of Rock and Roll and achieved some moderate regional success in the second half of the 1950s and the early 1960s. With several local hits and even a rock and roll movie to his credit (Rock, Baby, Rock It) he gave Gene Vincent a run for his money as a rock and roll wild man, but he didn't really achieve national level success during his heyday in the 50s. According to Wikipedia: Johnny Carroll was born John Lewis Carrell (Carrell was printed incorrectly as Carroll on record labels), Carroll began recording for Decca Records in the middle of the 1950s. He released several singles, but none of them saw significant success, though they are now critically acclaimed. His records were eclipsed by the success of other rockabilly and early rock & roll musicians such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash.
His career ended toward the end of the 1950s, but he made a comeback in 1974 with a Gene Vincent tribute song. He continued to record well into the 1980s
The Spinners
The Spinners were a sort of side project for Johnny Carroll with Texas musicians Grady Owen, Howard Reed, Bill Hennen and Royce McAfee. They lasted basically for the year of 1959 and into early 1960 before breaking up when Johnny quit performing. They sometimes performed as Johnny's backup band, and sometimes on their own without Johnny. They are practically forgotten today, and there is very little info to be found about them, particularly since there was later a much more well-known group with the name The Spinners. This Mo-Town group actually predated the Texas-based Spinners, but were originally called The Domingoes, and (as far as I can tell) only became famous under the Spinners name after 1961.
Scotty McKay (Max Lipscomb)
Scotty McKay--real name Max Lipscomb--was a Texas born guitarist, pianist and singer who got his start as a rhythm guitarist for Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. He later played piano for them briefly, then served as a 'clapper boy' along with Grady Owen on a 40-day Canadian tour in 1958. After this time with Vincent, he decided to pursue his own solo career and traveled to New York with Grady Owen to seek out producers Frank Slay and Bob Crewe of Swan Records. It was these two who suggested his name change to Scotty McKay, which would be his professional name henceforth. With his blond, clean-cut good looks and musical talent, Scotty had some moderate success in rock and roll and even and appeared in a couple of B-movies in the 60s.
The Joe Barber Trio
I found absolutely nothing on this musical group, and know of them only because Grady mentioned them in his letters to me. The seemed to be a somewhat popular act in the local Dallas/Fort Worth area, playing the club and lounge scene in the early 1960s. As Grady played with them for over three years, they seem to have had some stability and staying power.
The Reils
This was a girl group of two or three women, perhaps sisters, who performed and recorded during the mid-1960s. I could find virtually no info on them, but they are known to have recorded for producer Jimmy Crisp and had at least one 45 release on the Laurie label.
Duo with Wayne Waller
Wayne Waller was an eighteen-wheeler truck driver who also sang, played guitar and wrote songs. He recorded a few of his own songs, and Grady Owen recorded some of them as well. He and Grady toured together for a time in the 1960s around the state of Texas, appearing in various bars, clubs and lounges.
The Levee Singers
The Levee Singers formed in 1961 in Dallas and became a staple of local and regional entertainment throughout the sixties and seventies. They had a sort of nostalgic sound even for that time, playing classic Americana, ragtime and standards on their banjos. During Grady Owen's tenure with the band the other members included Ed Bernet, Smokey Montgomery and Ralph Sanford. The band, with original members Bernet and Sanford, still perform as of 2017 in Dallas. See their website for details.
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