Roadhouse Rags
Gary Stewart's early stuff comes to light
By Jim Caligiuri, 3:16PM, Wed. Nov. 10, 2010
Mark Linn and Nashville’s Delmore Recordings have done it again. Linn, the man responsible for unearthing early publishing demos of Kris Kristofferson, Love’s 1971 CBS sessions, and a couple of discs worth of Karen Dalton, one of Dylan’s favorite singers, has found another gem.
This time it’s an obscure band from Michigan dubbed Riley, after leader Riley Watkins, and their 1970 record Grandma’s Roadhouse. What is particularly interesting is that it features some early recorded work by Gary Stewart, known among hardcore country fans for hits like "She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)” and “Drinkin’ Thing.”
Recorded at the famed Nashville studio Bradley’s Barn, where Stewart was working as an engineer’s assistant, Grandma’s Roadhouse is a trip into a past that reeks of patchouli yet is deeply rooted in the South. While only 500 copies of the record were ever pressed, some still languish in band members' attics decades later.
“I stumbled upon Grandma's Roadhouse while researching a comp of unreleased Gary Stewart that's in red tape land,” Linn explained via e-mail. “Gary's songs 'Drinkin' Them Squeezins' and 'Love, Love You Lady' were among the large number of publishing demos and other stuff I was going through, but I didn't realize they were part of an album project. Someone burned one of the original records which made its way to me on fabulous mp3 and led me on a wild goose chase to find the guys.”
What he found was the story of a band that backed up Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Shannon, and Ray Stevens before Stewart came along. One whose shot at glory was a little too “out there” for Nashville. They relate that producer Owen Bradley was reportedly looking for Nashville’s answer to Creedence Clearwater Revival at the time, when they were more a combination of Moby Grape and the Band.
One of Riley’s songs, “Funky Tar Paper Shack,” does possess a CCR circa Willy and the Poorboys vibe, but the rest is mix of straight country rock, swampy funk, psychedelic guitar, and radiant harmonies that deserves to be heard, whether you’re a fan of Gary Stewart or looking for music from what seems like a simpler time served with spunk and fire.
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