Country Gazette was an American

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

and

progressive bluegrass Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it lar ...

band, formed in 1971 by

Byron Berline Byron Douglas Berline (July 6, 1944 – July 10, 2021) was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock. Life and career Berline was born in Caldwell, Kansas ...

and

Roger Bush Roger Bush OBE (1918–2000) was a British-born Australian Methodist minister and media personality. Early life Bush was born in England and his family migrated to Sydney, Australia, the following year. He was the oldest of a family of four ...

. They played traditional bluegrass and contemporary songs on acoustic instruments.

Biography

When the members of the

ensemble

Dillard & Clark Dillard & Clark was a country rock duo which featured ex-Byrds member Gene Clark and bluegrass banjo player Doug Dillard. History The group was formed in 1968, shortly after Clark departed the Byrds and Dillard left the Dillards. It was consid ...

went their separate ways in 1971, bluegrass fiddler

and guitarist/bass player Roger Bush formed the band Country Gazette. Guitarist Kenny Wertz and banjo player

Alan Munde Alan Munde (pronounced "mun-dee") (born November 4, 1946) is an American five-string banjo player and bluegrass musician. Biography Born in Norman, Oklahoma, Munde learned banjo from a well-regarded Oklahoman banjo player, Ed Shelton. He frequen ...

soon joined.

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944 in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including Country music, country, ...

wrote songs and was a guest artist on Country Gazette records, but did not tour with the band.

''A Traitor in our Midst''

Country Gazette recorded their first album ''A Traitor in our Midst'' in 1972, produced by Jim Dickson. Herb Pedersen, Skip Conover, and Chris Smith were guest artists. The

Sierra Records Sierra Records is an independent record label based in Etiwanda, California. History Sierra Records founder John Delgatto first launched Briar Records, which released folk and bluegrass music by artists including Leslie Keith; the Doc Watson F ...

compilation ''Silver Meteor'' (released in 1980 and reissued with additional tracks in 2010) contained two unreleased songs from these sessions: "All His Children" and "The Great Filling Station Holdup."

''Don't Give Up Your Day Job''

After tours of Europe and the U.K., Country Gazette recorded their 1973 album ''Don't Give Up Your Day Job'', again produced by Jim Dickson. Guests included

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrd ...

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

, and

Al Perkins Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944) is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in ...

''Live''

In 1973, Kenny Wertz left Country Gazette, and

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

(mandolin, guitar) joined up. Country Gazette released ''Live'', an album recorded in November 1974 at

McCabe's Guitar Shop McCabe's Guitar Shop is a musical instrument store and live music venue on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California, United States. Opened in 1958 by Gerald L. McCabe, a well-known furniture designer. McCabe's specializes in acoustic and folk i ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. The album was produced by Jim Dickson and released on the

Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

label. Skip Conover guested on dobro.

''Out to Lunch''

Byron Berline left Country Gazette in 1975, and soon Kenny Wertz returned, along with fiddler Dave Ferguson. They recorded the 1976 album ''Out to Lunch'' for

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...

(Ferguson was listed as a guest artist). Jim Dickson produced, and Al Perkins played pedal steel.

''What a Way to Make a Living''

Kenny Wertz, Dave Ferguson, and Roland White left the group. Alan Munde and Roland White were the only members of Country Gazette in 1977, when they recorded the album "What a Way to Make a Living" on the Ridge Runner record label. Guest musicians included Byron Berline, Skip Conover, Mike Richey, Richard Greene, and Bill Bryson.

''From The Beginning''

''From the Beginning'' was released in 1978 by Sunset Records, located in London, England (Album SLS50414). In the band for this recording were Byron Berline, Roger Bush, Kenny Wertz and Alan Munde.

''All This and Money Too''

Joe Carr and Michael Anderson joined Country Gazette in 1978. The band released the album, ''All This and Money Too'', in 1979, on Ridge Runner with guests Dave Ferguson, Slim Richey, Tommy Spurlock, Mike McCarty and Michael J. Dohoney.

''American & Clean''

Their next album ''American & Clean'' was produced by Slim Richey and featured guests

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

, Dahrell Norris and Slim Richey. It was released in 1981 by

Flying Fish Records Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to Rounder Records. Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of ...

''America's Bluegrass Band''

Michael Anderson left the band and was replaced by Gregg Kennedy and then Bill Smith. They recorded ''America's Bluegrass Band'' in Nashville with Herschel Freeman assisting in production.

''Keep on Pushing''

For the 1991 album ''Keep On Pushing'', the Country Gazette line-up was Alan Munde (banjo), Dawn Watson (mandolin), Steve Garner (bass), and Dave Hardy (guitar).

Other projects

Country Gazette recorded several songs for the 1971 film ''

Welcome Home, Soldier Boys ''Welcome Home, Soldier Boys'' is a 1972 American drama film directed by Richard Compton and starring Joe Don Baker, Paul Koslo, Alan Vint, Elliott Street, Jennifer Billingsley and Billy "Green" Bush. Written by Guerdon Trueblood, the film was r ...

'', including "Further Along." The members of Country Gazette joined the

Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

to record their live album '' The Last of the Red Hot Burritos'' in 1972. Byron Berline and Alan Munde were among those performing with Clarence White on April 4, 1973 at Bob Baxter's "Guitar Workshop" TV show. Video of this show was released by Sierra Records in 1998 as ''Together Again For the Last Time'' (later reissued on DVD as ''Clarence White: The Video''). Note: most Country Gazette members released solo and collaborative recordings which featured other Country Gazette members. This article does not attempt to list or describe these for the sake of repetition and article length.

Discography

Albums

* 1972: ''A Traitor in our Midst!'' (

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

) * 1973: ''Don't Give Up Your Day Job'' (United Artists) * 1975: ''Out to Lunch'' (released in 1976 by

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

), released in 1975 as ''The Sunny Side Of The Mountain'' by

) * 1975: ''Country Gazette Live'' (

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

/ Ariola / Transatlantic) * 1977: ''What a Way to Make a Living'' ( Ridge Runner) * 1978: ''From The Beginning'' (Sunset Records) * 1979: ''All This, and More Money, Too'' (Ridge Runner) * 1981: ''American and Clean'' (Flying Fish) * 1982: ''America's Bluegrass Band'' (Flying Fish) * 1986: ''Bluegrass Tonight'' (Flying Fish) * 1987: ''Strictly Instrumental'' (Flying Fish) * 1991: ''Keep On Pushing'' (Flying Fish) with

Compilations

* 1979: ''From the Beginning'' (United Artists) compilation of ''A Traitor in our Midst'' and ''Don't Give Up Your Day Job'' * 1991: ''"Hello, Operator....This Is Country Gazette"'' (Flying Fish) * 1995: ''Traitor In Our Midst / Don't Give Up Your Day Job'' (BGO) * 2013: ''The Four Album Collection'' (

) compiles ''Live at McCabe's'', ''Out To Lunch'', ''What a Way to Make a Living'', and ''The Archives Album: Unreleased Rarities 1973-1977'' (not otherwise released)

Singles

* 1972: "Keep on Pushin'" / "Hot Burrito Breakdown" (United Artists) * 1972: "Swing Low Sweet Charriot" / "I Wish I Knew" (United Artists) * 1972: "Sound of Goodbye" (United Artists) * 1973: "Honky Cat" / "My Oklahoma" (United Artists) * 1973: "My Oklahoma" / "Down the Road" (United Artists) * 1973: "Teach Your Children"/ "Huckleberry Hornpipe" (United Artists) * 1973: "Honky Cat" / "Down the Road" (United Artists)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Country Gazette American country rock groups Musical groups established in 1971 Flying Fish Records artists Progressive bluegrass music groups