''Texas Rock for Country Rollers'' is the third album by American country-music singer

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important per ...

. Sahm composed for the album seven original songs, while covers constituted the rest of the album. It was released by ABC-Dot in 1976.

Recording

The album was recorded at SugarHill Recording Studios, in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The session was produced by

Huey P. Meaux Huey Purvis Meaux (March 10, 1929 – April 23, 2011) was an American record producer and the owner of various record labels and recording studios including Crazy Cajun Records, Tribe Records, Tear Drop Records, Capri Records, and SugarHill R ...

and engineered by Mickey Moody. Meaux financed the costs with the success of his Freddy Fender recordings. In addition to vocals, Sahm contributed to the album by playing the lead guitar, fiddle and piano. The backup band consisted of

Augie Meyers August "Augie" Meyers (born May 31, 1940) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, performer, studio musician, record producer, and record label owner. He is perhaps best known as a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas ...

(keyboards, organ, piano, vocals), Atwood Allen (backing vocals), Harry Hess (steel guitar), Jack Barber (bass) and George Rains (drums). Covers in the album included Allen's penned "I Love the Way You Love (The Way I Love You) ",

Merle Kilgore Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time of his death, he was the personal manager of Hank Wil ...

Claude King Claude King (February 5, 1923 – March 7, 2013) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain". Biography King was born in Keithville in southern Caddo Parish south ...

's "

Wolverton Mountain "Wolverton Mountain" is a country music song and 1962 crossover hit that established Claude King's career as an American country singer-songwriter. The song was a rewrite of the original version by Merle Kilgore, which was based on a real person n ...

", and a

Gene Thomas Eugene "Gene" Warren Thomas (September 1, 1942 – August 27, 1993) was an American football fullback and halfback in the American Football League and played in Super Bowl I. He attended North High School in Akron, Ohio, and played college f ...

-medley of "Cryin' Inside"-" Sometime". The rest of the songs were seven Sahm-written originals. Sahm played the ballad "I'm Missing You" inspired in the style of

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

, while "You Can't Hide a Redneck (Under That Hippy Hair)" featured an intro based in Bo Diddley's " I'm a Man".

Release and reception

Two singles were released promoting the album: "Cowboy Peyton Place" / "I Love the Way You Love" (ABC/Dot 17656) and "Cryin' Inside- Sometime" / "I'm Missing You" (ABC/Dot 17674). The ten-track ''Texas Rock For Country Rollers'' was released in August 1976 by ABC-Dot Records (Dot DOSD 2057). Upon its release it did not earn major sales, but garnered positive reviews. It was credited to Sir Doug and The Texas Tornados. The band featured in the record is not the later

Texas Tornados Texas Tornados is a Tejano supergroup, composed of some of country music's biggest artists who modernized the Tex-Mex style including Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm, and Freddy Fender. Its music is a fusion of conjunto (German and Norte ...

, the tejano

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

that Sahm and Meyer joined in 1989. ''

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 ...

responded favorably to the country influence on the first side but lamented the use of the steel guitar. Meanwhile, he praised the second side, calling it "redneck hoohah".

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

opened his ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' critic by calling Sahm "the greatest of country-rockers". He considered that the country-themed album "flatten(ed) out" his usual blend of "rock, Mexican and country influences". While he praised song "You Can't Hide a Redneck (Under that Hippy Hair)" and the Thomas medley. He concluded that "Sahm owes himself, and us, better than this". ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' rated the album with four out of five stars. The review concluded that the album had "good playing and better vibes" but criticized the producer by declaring that "there is the feeling that somebody was asleep at the wheel".

Track listing

Personnel

*Doug Sahm - vocals, lead guitar, fiddle, piano *Atwood Allen - rhythm guitar, vocals *Harry Hess - steel guitar, slide guitar, harmonica *Jack Barber - bass guitar *

- piano, organ *George Rains - drums *"Uncle" Mickey Moody - acoustic guitar, engineer

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{Doug Sahm 1976 albums Doug Sahm albums Dot Records albums