Jean Wranglers

Sam Rives had a bad feeling that he would never yodel again. This was a little melodramatic, of course. But he needed a tonsillectomy, and it stuck in his mind that Ernest Tubb, a dedicated imitator of "Yodeling Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers, had lost his falsetto, his yodel and his ability to imitate Jimmie after a tonsillectomy went wrong post-op in 1939. Medical science has come a long way since then, but you never know.



And so before he got his own tonsillectomy, Sam set out to make a record based around the yodeling songs that he might not ever be able to sing again. He figured that if he was going to record this set of songs--yodel-heavy, harmony-laden inheritances from Rodgers, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, the Carter Family and others--he might as well recruit some of the best singers and players around. He brought in his dear friend from back home in Virginia, the living fiddle legend Eddie Dickerson, and another great Virginian musician and friend, Matt Bradshaw, who played harmonica and mandolin. Eddie introduced Sam to guitarist Etan Sekons, whose combination of rhythm and lead picking were indispensable to that first session. And no more than a week before Sam and the boys were scheduled to record, Eddie asked Sam to squeeze in a little bit of extra rehearsal... at someone's backyard party. Standing near the fire and surrounded by rowdy revelers, Sam and Eddie started to sing, and were surprised to discover that they had an unexpected collaborator among the partygoers: Caitlin Palmer, whose lovely voice and nimble ear made her a perfect vocal foil for the boys and an instant natural singing partner.



They made that record--Various Artists, Vol 1--and then a few months later, Sam's dreaded date with tonsil destiny arrived. But after a short period of recovery, Sam was back to singing (better than ever, he'd say). Sam and Caitlin decided that they wanted to add even more depth and range to their harmony sound, so they brought in Braden Guess and Kelly Allison, their friends and fellow musicians, to augment the band, which they decided to call Jean Wranglers. With that strong new lineup and a sound that can swing from muscular to delicate within a single phrase, Jean Wranglers are setting out to sing and play their music across the country. A gospel album and a collection of original songs are in the works. Sam yodels on, and he's not stopping any time soon.