BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) 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 ...

band founded in 1993. It originally consisted of Gary Bennett (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar), Don Herron (steel guitar,

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...

, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar), "Smilin'" Jay McDowell (upright bass),

Chuck Mead Charles Lynn Mead is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and musical director. He is a founding member of the country rock band BR5-49. Mead has performed and recorded as a solo artist since 2009 and acted as musical director/sup ...

(lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar), and "Hawk" Shaw Wilson (drums, background vocals). Bennett and McDowell left the band in 2001, with

Chris Scruggs Chris Scruggs (born Christopher Alan Davies-Scruggs December 16, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who plays a variety of instruments including guitar, steel guitar, bass, mandolin, fiddle, and drums. He is the ...

and Geoff Firebaugh respectively replacing them. Both Firebaugh and Scruggs later left the band as well; Mark Miller has become the band's third bassist. The name of the band is taken from a mangled phone number from ''Hee Haw'' comedian

Junior Samples Junior Samples, born Alvin Samples Jr. (April 10, 1926 – November 13, 1983) was an American comedian best known for his 14-year run as a cast member of the television show ''Hee Haw''. Early years A sixth-grade dropout, Samples was a stock car ...

' car salesman skit. BR549 released six albums and two EPs, including three albums on

Arista Nashville Arista Nashville is an American record label that serves as a wholly owned division of Sony Music, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks ...

and two on Dualtone Records. The band's self-titled debut album produced three singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts in 1996. The band was nominated three times for the

Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: * In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group * From 1971 to 19 ...

, in 1996 ("Cherokee Boogie"), 1997 ("Wild One") and 1999 ("Honky Tonk Song").

History

Before moving to Nashville and forming BR5-49, Chuck Mead played in a band called Homestead Grays, a roots-rock outfit based in his hometown of

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

. Gary Bennett, meanwhile fronted an informal band that played at Robert's Western Wear, a clothing store in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, when he met Mead at a nearby bar. The two then decided to form a band officially, and completing the lineup were electric bassist Jim "Bones" Becker, then

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

ist "Smilin'" Jay McDowell (formerly of another band called Hellbilly), multi-instrumentalist Don Herron, and drummer "Hawk" Shaw Wilson. They assumed the name BR5-49 (from the telephone number of a used car dealer in a running

comedy sketch on the television series ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...

''), and began playing for tips at Robert's.

1995-2000: Arista Nashville

They were signed by

in September 1995. The band's first release for the label was an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

entitled ''Live at Robert's'', which comprised originals and cover songs. Following it in 1996 was their full-length debut album, also titled ''

BR5-49 BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) was an American country rock band founded in 1993. It originally consisted of Gary Bennett (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar), Don Herron (steel guitar, resonator guitar, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic gu ...

''. Despite minimal support from country radio, the album's lead-off single "Cherokee Boogie" (a cover of a

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

song) reached No. 44 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' country singles charts in the US, and No. 21 on the '' RPM'' country charts in Canada. Following this song were "Even If It's Wrong" and "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)", which respectively reached No. 68 and No. 61 in the US. The album itself was a No. 33 on the

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart. The band also toured with

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American country music band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band ...

Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown (born June 12, 1952) is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released twelve studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the ''Billboard'' country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is t ...

, and

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...

and played on the PBS music 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 to ...

'' in 1997. According to the All Music Guide to Country, BR5-49's recording of "Honky Tonk Song" on the BR5-49 album should be considered an essential country song, although it does not consider either the album itself, or the group essential.Vladimir Bogdanov, et al, editors ''All Music Guide to Country'', 2nd Edition, Ann Arbor: AMG, 2003 BR5-49's second album, ''Big Backyard Beat Show'', was released in 1998. Despite not producing a chart single, this album reached No. 38 on the Top Country Albums chart. After touring with

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

, the band issued a live album, ''Coast to Coast'', in 1999 on Arista as well. The band left Arista in 2000 after the label was merged with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

2001-present

After being dropped from Arista, they signed to Lucky Dog Records, a subsidiary of

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

. Their first release for the label, 2001's ''This Is BR549'', also eliminated the

hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figure ...

from the band's name. Its only single, "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal", peaked at No. 11 on Country Singles Sales but did not enter the country singles charts proper. After this album, both Bennett and McDowell left the band, with Geoff Firebaugh succeeding McDowell as upright bassist, and

taking over on guitar and vocals. The new lineup made its first appearance in 2003 on their self released album ''Temporarily Disconnected''. In 2004, they signed with Dualtone Records and released ''Tangled in the Pines''. Scruggs left the band to tour solo in 2005. Firebaugh also left to start his own band, Hillbilly Casino. Mark Miller replaced Firebaugh. A second album for Dualtone, ''Dog Days'', was released in early 2006. Since 2013 the band has been on hiatus, with Chuck Mead working solo with Mark Miller playing bass, and Don Herron touring with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. On July 12, 2012, Jay McDowell announced on his personal Facebook page that the original line-up of BR5-49 would open for

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, '' Remedy'', released in 2014, won the ...

at Woods Amphitheater in Nashville, TN on July 28. On July 27, 2012 the (reunited) original lineup recorded an original Gary Bennett song called "A Truck Stop Christmas" at the East Nashville Studio of Phil Harris, which was released on the 2012 Christmas compilation ''An East Nashville Christmas''. On May 9, 2013, it was announced that the original lineup would play together live once again, this time at the Havelock Country Jamboree in Canada on August 17, 2013.

Status of former members

Original co-frontman Gary Bennett released his solo debut, ''Human Condition'', in February 2006. In October 2010 Raucous Records released Bennett's follow up album ''My Ol' Guitar'' co-produced by Kenny Vaughan and including several BR549 re-recordings. Smilin' Jay McDowell has gone on to work in post production in the music video world. He is now in charge of the video department for the

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (MHOF) in Nashville honors all musicians regardless of genre or instrument. The MHOF timeline starts with the beginning of recorded music and inductees are nominated by current members of the American Feder ...

in Nashville. He directed a DVD project for Gary Bennett titled ''Inside and Out''. Former bassist Geoff Firebaugh founded a

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 b ...

band named Hillbilly Casino that are a crowd favorite in downtown Nashville on lower Broadway. Chris Scruggs released a solo album titled ''Anthem'' in 2009. As of 2015, he is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist in

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as ...

’s backing band, The Fabulous Superlatives. Chuck Mead released ''Journeyman's Wager'' in 2009 and toured with his Grassy Knoll Boys in support of the release; this was followed by the classic-country covers album ''Back at the Quonset Hut'' in 2012 and ''Free State Serenade'' in 2014. In 2006 Chuck began his association with the hit Broadway Musical ''

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...

'' beginning in Florida as the Musical Arranger and Musical Director; he has also worked with the cast at The

Village Theatre Village Theatre is a major regional theatre located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. The theatre was founded in Issaquah, Washington, in 1979 and built a second lo ...

near Seattle, Washington, The

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the la ...

in Chicago and The Nederlander Theatre on Broadway in New York City. He is currently working with the new cast in England as they prepare to open at The

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

. Mark Miller was a founding member of The Ex-Husbands, formed in New York City in 1993 with lead singer Anders Thomsen and drummer Michael Smith. The band released two critically acclaimed albums on Tar Hut Records – a self-titled debut and the follow-up, ''All Gussied Up''. Both made the Gavin Americana top 20 and the latter reached that chart's top 10. Miller released the solo record ''Dodsen Chapel'' in 2005. Original bass picker Jim "Bones" Becker is now retired and says, "I'm not doing anything now, and I'm getting damn good at it!"

Musical style and influences

According to ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', while

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

bands typically try to emulate the sound of pre-

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

era country music, BR549's sound draws from post-rock and roll styles, "when honky tonk,

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

, bittersweet storyteller swill and Sheb Wooley all commingled in search of proper homes in the evolving

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, whi ...

landscape." BR549's sound encompasses alternative country, Western swing, Bakersfield sound, rockabilly and

. According to ''Trouser Press'', the band "poised themselves as authentic defenders of the faith, but a name taken from a recurring Hee Haw skit and a predilection for campy vintage clothing threatened to make them alt-country’s answer to

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

." Steve Huey of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

described their sound and appearance as "unabashedly retro", as the band's members dressed in "old, budget-friendly clothes".

Members

* Chuck Mead –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, vocals * Gary Bennett – guitar, vocals * Shaw Wilson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

, backing vocals * Don Herron –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conv ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson (guitar company), Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

* Smilin' Jay McDowell – upright bass

Former members

* "Bones" Jim Becker – electric bass * "Buggs" Tex Austin (Mark Ude) – saxophone * Chris Scruggs – guitar, vocals * Geoff Firebaugh – upright bass * Mark Miller –

, vocals

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Chuck Mead's official solo siteGary Bennett's official solo siteJim "Bones" Becker official "solo" siteJay McDowell Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:BR549 American alternative country groups American country rock groups Arista Nashville artists Arista Records artists Country music groups from Tennessee Dualtone Records artists Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Rockabilly music groups