Plugging Into Lexington’s Musical Matrix
This tribute to Matrix is marked by sadness over the death of Stan Gibbons. I had started this late last summer and finally had the...
Category: Artists
University of Kentucky’s Avo and Ray – Living Their Best College Life
Even during the time of the British Invasion nearly ever college town boasted a strong folk scene and Lexington was no exception. A genre largely...
Network – Tuning In To Mt Sterling’s Hottest Dance Band
Network was unapologetically a show band, dance band, and cover band and each weekend brought it in style to stages around the Central KY area....
Harrodsburg Hotshots – The Vandells
The British Invasion swept through every hill and holler in Kentucky and dozens of teen bands emerged in the wake. The small town of Harrodsburg...
Daniel Turner’s Dark Musical Journey
The hunt for Daniel Turner (like so many other artists on this site) spanned many, many years. You would not believe how many Danny /...
Sleight of Band – The Musical Magic of the Fabulous Illusions
Easily one of the hottest rock bands to ever emerge from the small town of Winchester, Kentucky, the Fabulous Illusions were a true mystery for...
Vision’s Quest for AM Radio Gold
I’ve been strangely enamored with Vision’s record since picking it up at a flea market back around 1998 or so. Released during Lexington’s transitional period...
Hank England – Falmouth Farm Boy to Lexington Country Music Legend
Pro tip: If you are ever dating someone and that person has a copy of Hank England’s “My Little Kangaroo” – you should marry ’em...
The Volcanic Eruptions – Ashland KY’s Hot Soul Flow
This is my third entry in an ongoing Beyond the Bluegrass series where I take a look at a band outside the central KY area...
Them U.S.A. – Scouting Out Louisville’s Lost Rockers
In the digital age there seems to be fewer and fewer musical mysteries, but amazingly enough the origins of Them U.S.A. has stumped many music...
Bonnie and The Little Boys Blue – From Street Corner Singing to Nikko’s Legendary Swan Song
The search for Bonnie and the Little Boys Blue felt for many years like chasing down the Loch Ness monster. This legendary vocal group from...
The Soul Syndicate, Inc – Bosses of Mt Sterling’s Soul Scene
The search for THE Soul Syndicate, Inc behind the gem of a two-sider 45 instantly became an obsession with many false leads – including a...
Tommy Baldwin – Remembering REM’s Rocker
Tommy Baldwin was among the first generation of rock ‘n rollers gracing the REM label, but historically has been overshadowed by his peers in the...
Bruce Marvello – If Looks Could Thrill
Lexington’s own teen idol Bruce Marvello had a don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it musical career and slipped under the radar of most local music fans. I’ve always dug his...
Daryl Lykins – The Whirlwind Heart of a Country Ranger
The breeze is Texas-hot, but so far it is the only one on this stifling Kentucky summer day and not to be missed. The young...
Waxletes – Central KY’s Sporting Life at 45 RPM
Who’s in your Vinyl Four? Thumbing through my Lexington / central KY music collection it dawned on me how many sports related 45s I had...
Sir Arthur and Company – Calhoun’s Knights of the Turntable
This is the first in my Beyond the Bluegrass series where I will occasionally feature a band outside the central KY area that are of...
The Acrosonics – Off the Record with Frankfort’s Pioneering All-Girl Band
The four Frankfort teens that made up the Acrosonics were undoubtedly the first all-girl rock band in the central Kentucky area and possibly the entire...
Kendall Hayes – The Golden Pen of Perryville
There have been numerous articles written about Kendall Hayes and his worldwide smash composition “Walk On By” but shamefully few references to his own recording...
The Dimensions – Tates Creek’s Teen Rockers
By the mid-1960s several of Lexington’s record labels boasted at least one young performer: Little Jacky Wayne for REM, Little Lambsie Penn (a Miranda Records...
The Elite UFO – Stanton’s Invaders from Planet Garage
Highly prized and equally highly priced, the Elite UFO’s 45 has arguably become THE quintessential Kentucky garage record. This is the story, which I started...
Feeling The M’Pax – Lexington’s Unsung Garage Rockers
The tale of the M’pax should have been far easier to tell, but like many artists on my research “wish list” the wanting and knowing...
Ray Watts and the Questions – Finally Some Answers
When I interviewed Bill Stamper’s widow in 2010 I hoped she could tell me about Ray Watts. At that point it had been maybe a...
I’ll Go Wandering – The Search for the Saxons
I had heard rumors of the Saxon’s REM recording for years. It was supposed to be a great rock record. I heard more rumors. None...
One of Hours – Lexington’s Timeless Psych Pop Group
Watching a project go from rough idea to full fruition is always exciting, but when it involves a great band like One of Hours it...
Little Jacky Wayne – The Kid Under the White Felt Lid
I could write a whole story about my search for the elusive Little Jacky Wayne, but I will save that for another day. I will...
Intimate Cyrcle – Bringing the Upbeats to Downtown
The first time I heard the Intimate Cyrcle’s Chetwyd single was a bit of a shock. I knew it was the label’s last 45 release,...
The Pratt Brothers – A Restless Wind Sweeps Richmond’s Land
The needle tracks the groove and a plaintive voice begins to tell of a lost love… Sadly, the Pratt Brothers only waxed one 45, but...
Frank Atkins – A Reds Rose in the Bluegrass
I think it was around 1994 the first time I chanced upon one of Frank Atkins’ records at a thrift store. The label reminded me...
Active Ingredients – Contains: Punk Rock and Monosodium Glutamate
Seldom will this site venture into the 80s, but Active Ingredients sure warrant a quick dip into the decade. The AI releases remain local classics...
Bill Stamper – Winchester’s Rock Royalty
The Winchester music scene of the mid 1960s featured many talented singers, but the scene had an almost exclusively country focus – Bill Stamper was...
Tommy Jackson – The Kentucky Drifter
Winchester’s own Tommy Jackson was country through and through. Tommy died more than a decade before I began documenting the music of the region, but...
Don Agee – High RPMs on the Turntable Tachometer
It is easy to see how Donald Agee could have had a career on stage in one form or another. When I met Don back...
Kenny Whalen & The Travelers – A Half Century of Music
Kenny Whalen and his group of Travelers have entertained Kentuckians for nearly 50 years – with Kenny’s contributions stretching back even further into the musical...
Baldwin “Ichabod” Powell – The Fiddlin’ DJ
Richmond area music fans of an older generation will remember Ichabod in one way or another – either for his fine fiddle work or for...
The Jimmy Lee Ballard Story
During his heyday in the 1960s, Jimmy Lee Ballard was a staple on the central Kentucky music scene. His effortless delivery and Southern drawl suited...