The Lost Gonzo Band 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 ...

band which was founded in 1972 and toured and recorded with some of the most iconic and colorful musicians in Texas including

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He was best ...

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs' ...

and

Ray Wylie Hubbard Ray Wylie Hubbard (born November 13, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Hubbard was born in the town of Soper, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in southwest Dallas, Texas, in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High Schoo ...

. They were the musicians on such quintessential albums as Murphey's Geronimo's Cadillac and Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir and Jerry Jeff's

Viva Terlingua ''¡Viva Terlingua!'' is a progressive country album by Jerry Jeff Walker and Lost Gonzo Band, The Lost Gonzo Band. It was recorded in August 1973 at the Luckenbach Dancehall in Luckenbach, Texas, and released three months later, in November 197 ...

. The original members of the band were

Bob Livingston Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. (born April 30, 1943) is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1977 to 1999. A Republican, he was chosen as Newt Gingrich's successor as Speaker of the U.S. H ...

Gary P. Nunn Gary P. Nunn (born December 4, 1945) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is best known for writing "London Homesick Blues", which was the theme song for ''Austin City Limits'' from 1977 to 2004 (seasons 2–29). Nunn is also consi ...

, John Inmon, Kelly Dunn, Tomas Ramirez and Donny Dolan. Over the years, the band has also included Paul Pearcy, Craig D. Hillis, Herbert Steiner, Mike Holleman, Michael McGeary, Bobby Smith,

Lloyd Maines Lloyd Wayne Maines (born June 28, 1951) is an American country music record producer, musician and songwriter. He was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame as one of the first three members, the other two being Willie Nelson and Stev ...

Radoslav Lorković Radoslav Lorković (born September 3, 1958) is a Croatian born and classically trained folk and blues musician, known in particular for his flair on the piano and accordion. He has six solo studio recordings, three live albums and has recorded a ...

and Riley Osbourn. The Lost Gonzo Band released three albums in the 1970s: ''Lost Gonzo Band'' (1975) and ''Thrills'' (1976) on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

, and ''Signs of Life'' (1977) on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The band appeared on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

program ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

'' in 1976, 1978 and 1986. In the 1990s, the band recorded two CDs for Vireo Records: ''Rendezvous'' in 1992 and ''Hands of Time'' in 1995.

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

, a company based in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, released a compilation CD of the first two MCA records entitled, ''Dead Armadillos'' in 1998. Reviewing ''The Lost Gonzo Band'' in 1975, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote: All of the members of the original band still have active music careers and occasionally reunite for concerts. Under the direction of manager, D Foster, The Lost Gonzo Band returned to the stage for the first time in nine years for a sold out show at Gruene Hall Oct 22, 2021. The lineup included original members Gary P Nunn on guitar, Bob Livingston on bass, John Inmon on lead guitar and Steady Freddie Krc on drums. Texas musicians Steve Layne on guitar and David Webb on keyboards rounded out the group. More shows are being planned to coincide with the approaching 50th anniversaries of both the Lost Gonzo Band, Murphey's Geronimo's Cadillac and Jerry Jeff Walker's Viva Terlingua in 2023.

Discography

*''The Lost Gonzo Band'' (

); 1975 *''Thrills'' (

); 1976 *''Signs of Life'' (

); 1977 *''Rendezvous'' (Vireo); 1992 *''Hands of Time'' (Vireo); 1995. *''Dead Armadillos'' (

); 1998

References

External links

The Lost Gonzo BandBob LivingstonJohn InmonGary P. Nunn
{{Authority control 1972 establishments in Texas 1998 disestablishments in Texas American country rock groups Musical groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1998