Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys is an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

and

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

band from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

composed of Robert Williams, alias Big Sandy, Ashley Kingman, Ricky McCann and Kevin Stewart. The band is known for its eclectic style, which encompasses rockabilly, Western swing,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, bluegrass,

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

, swing and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

. Robert Williams grew up listening to

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

records from his parents' collection, and subsequently performed with

neo-rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

bands in southern California in the 1980s before forming the Fly-Rite Boys band as a trio in 1988. After recording two albums as Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Trio, the band expanded its line-up and released its official debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Jumping from 6 to 6'', in 1994. ''Swingin' West'', the band's second album, was released the following year, and featured more prominent Western swing influences than the band's debut. After releasing a more eclectic sounding album, ''Feelin' Kinda Lucky'', in 1997, the band went on hiatus, and released the instrumental album ''Big Sandy Presents the Fly-Rite Boys'' in 1998, followed by the Big Sandy solo album ''Dedicated to You'', a

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

consisting of R&B and

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

songs, before the band reunited in 1999 to record the EP ''Radio Favorites''. Former members include Joe Perez, Jeff West, Bobby Trimble, TK Smith, Carl Leyland, Lee Jeffriess, and Wally Hersom. The band has been inducted into the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Jumping from 6 to 6'' (

Hightone Records HighTone Records was an American independent record label based in Oakland, California, United States. HighTone specialized in American roots music including, country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. The label was created by Larry ...

, 1994) * ''Swingin' West'' (Hightone, 1995) * ''Feelin' Kinda Lucky'' (Hightone, 1997) * ''Night Tide'' (Hightone, 2000) * ''It's Time!'' (

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul We ...

, 2003) * ''Turntable Matinee'' (Yep Roc, 2006) * ''What A Dream It's Been'' (

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

, 2013) ;Other albums * ''Fly Right with Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Trio'' (Dionysus, 1990) * ''On the Go'' (No Hit Records, 1993; re-released on Jeems Records, 2002) * ''Big Sandy Presents the Fly-Rite Boys'' (Hightone, 1998) * ''Dedicated to You'' (Big Sandy only; Hightone, 1998) * ''Radio Favorites'' (EP; Hightone, 1999)

References

External links

Official web page
*
Turntable Matinee review
at ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

''
Inductee in Rockabilly Hall of Fame
American bluegrass music groups American folk musical groups American mariachi musicians Bluegrass music groups Cajun musicians Country music groups from California Rockabilly music groups Swing revival ensembles Western swing musical groups {{US-rock-band-stub

Discography

References

Further reading

External links