Recently we reported news of the release of the Country Gentlemen Reunion Band CD – Adcock, Gaudreau, Waller & Gray.

At the time the fledgling link-up didn’t have a website. It does now! Go to the new website to see the liner notes, bios, and more about the CD – plus sound clips.

As an aside, Martha Adcock told me how the name RadioTherapy Records was chosen. I thought I would share the thought process involved …

“In thinking of a name for our own record label, I thought it was best to check the www.allrecordlabels.com site to see if any of our choices had been taken, to avoid the possible confusion of our label having the same name as another. Lo and behold, all the ones we had chosen were already in use; I have a whole page of them that I systematically checked off on the list. So I resorted to the dictionary for inspiration. I like alliteration, so the R’s were consulted first; and when I came upon the word ‘radiotherapy,’ meaning ‘therapy effected through the use of radiation (the definition of the term ‘radiation’ includes sound waves) I thought it would do very well to call our label RadioTherapy Records ‚Äî because of course music is good for you!”

Great story, isn’t it?

The Country Gentlemen Reunion Band has announced the release of their self-titled CD on RadioTherapy Records, a new label established by Martha and Eddie Adcock.

The Country Gentlemen Reunion Band features Randy Waller, son of Charlie Waller, who, like his father, sings lead and plays guitar; Eddie Adcock (banjo, lead and baritone vocals), Tom Gray (upright bass, bass and baritone vocals) and Jimmy Gaudreau (mandolin, lead and tenor vocals). They have been making several personal appearances, most notably to mark the 50th anniversary, last year, of the formation of the original Country Gentlemen.

Adcock, Gaudreau, Waller & Gray – The Country Gentlemen Reunion Band (RTR-CD-001) has 13 tracks, four of which, including the opening song Widow Of The Glade, are by the late lamented Randall Hylton. Remember the Country Gentlemen’s other ghost stories? Well, this is a modern counterpart to Bringing Mary Home. Older songs to get the Country Gentlemen treatment include I Hope You Have Learned, Grave In The Valley, Little Box Of Pine, Sundown And Sorrow and Some Old Day.

Other notable numbers are White Line Fever from Merle Haggard, Sweet Georgia Brown and a jazzy new instrumental composed by Gaudreau, El Doggo.

Co-producer Martha Adcock comments …..

“After Monroe, if anyone can be said to have turned bluegrass in a new direction, it was without a doubt the ‘Classic’ Country Gentlemen: John Duffey, Charlie Waller, Eddie Adcock and Tom Gray. No one else did as much to re-popularize and reinvigorate the genre, taking it to city-folk audiences, and onto hip college campuses, to large theaters and coffeehouses, and eventually to Carnegie Hall. Their musical creativity, individually and synergistically, coupled with their hip irreverence and loose attitude onstage, was a quantum leap from the past, and it brought about a sea change in bluegrass, a dramatic expansion of the genre.” (more…)

Randy Waller and the Country Gentlemen are making a break for it. No, they’re not fugitives from justice, but those interested in catching fugitives will be hearing their music this weekend.

It seems one of the producers of America’s Most Wanted is a bluegrass fan. He heard Randy Waller and the Country Gentlemen perform at the Birchmere, and after the show he made the effort to meet the band. After visiting with them for a while, he walked away with a couple of CDs. A day or two later Randy received a phone call inquiring about using a couple songs in the soundtrack for an episode. He agreed, visited the studio and signed the contracts.

Producers of the show have chosen “Little Red Shoes”, “Vision”, and “Blueridge” for use in the soundtrack of Episode #907 which will be televised on Saturday, September 8, 2007. All three songs were written by Randy.

The show airs on the Fox Television Network, and you can check show times here.

Hat Tip: Crawdaddy Dave

The Country Gentlemen 50th Anniversary Celebration concert took place last weekend and it seems the show was taped. No word yet as to whether there will be a DVD release, but it seems likely.

Randy Waller’s website has a video available of the reunion band playing the Country Gentlemen classic Rebel Soldier. What a great sound. Randy sings lead with Doyle Lawson cutting the tenor.

The video is in Windows Media format and the clip is 37 MB, so those with a slow connection will need to be patient. It’s worth the wait though.