Groupe Country US formé à Nashville (Tennessee) en 1993 à Nashville (Tennessee) et composé de Gary Bennett, Don Herron, "Smilin" Jay McDowell, Chuck Mead et "Hawk" Shaw Wilson.

One of the most critically acclaimed alternative country bands of the '90s, BR5-49's sound, style, and even look were unabashedly retro. Dressing in old, budget-friendly clothes, the band played a mixture of classic '50s honky tonk, Western swing, boogie, Bakersfield country, rockabilly, and Gram Parsons-style country-rock. The group was founded by guitarists/vocalists Gary Bennett and Chuck Mead in early 1993, not long after they'd moved to Nashville from the Pacific Northwest and Kansas, respectively. Bennett led an informal band at Robert's Western Wear, a combination bar and clothing store on Lower Broadway in Nashville's old district, and Mead — an alumnus of roots rockers the Homestead Grays — worked at a nearby bar before joining up. They later added upright bassist Smilin' Jay McDowell, who'd previously been a guitarist in Hellbilly; drummer Shaw Wilson, a friend of Mead's from Kansas; and fiddle/steel guitar/mandolin/Dobro player Don Herron, an old cohort of Bennett's. The group took up residency at Robert's Western Wear, playing for tips three nights a week, and built a strong local following among both country and alternative rock fans, thanks to their eclectic repertoire and punkish, left-of-center attitude. They adopted the name BR5-49 from a phone number in a Junior Samples sketch on Hee Haw, and signed with Arista in 1995.
BR5-49's first release was an EP, Live at Robert's, which appeared in early 1996 and featured both originals and vintage country covers. The group built up their following via tours with the Mavericks, Junior Brown, and rockers the Black Crowes, and also issued their self-titled debut album later in the year. BR5-49 won rave reviews from both country and rock critics, and climbed into the country Top 40 with virtually no support from country radio. The same was true of the 1998 follow-up, Big Backyard Beat Show. BR5-49 toured with Brian Setzer in 1999, during which time they recorded their first full-length live album, Coast to Coast; the record was released the following year, again to excellent reviews. Unfortunately, Arista's country division was swallowed up in a merger, leaving the band without a record deal for a short time. Sony subsidiary Lucky Dog picked them up, and their label debut, 2001's This Is BR549, found them making a decided move toward the contemporary country mainstream (as well as dropping the oddly placed hyphen from their name). In its wake, Bennett and McDowell both broke ties with the band, reportedly weary of touring; amid rumors of the group's permanent breakup, they were replaced by Geoff Firebaugh and Chris Scruggs. Tangled in the Pines, which marked their first with Dualtone, appeared in spring 2004. Dog Days arrived in January of 2006.

http://www.br549.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR549

Talents : Gary Bennett : Lead & Harmony Vocals, Guitar - Don Herron : Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Dobro, Fiddle - "Smilin" Jay McDowell : Upright Bass - Chuck Mead : Lead & Harmony Vocals, Lead Guitar - "Hawk" Shaw Wilson : Drums, Backup & Harmony Vocals

Style musical : Traditional Country, Country Rock

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag3q-rstQb0

Years in activity :

DISCOGRAPHY

Singles

Albums

04/1996	CD ARISTA 18800 (US)		LIVE FROM ROBERT'S - Boot Plug (dialog) / Hillbilly Thang / 18 Wheels And A Crowbar / Bettie Plug (dialog) / Bettie Bettie / Me'n Opie (Down By The Duck Pond) / Tip Plug (dialog) / Knoxville Girl / Ole Slewfoot (finale)
09/1996	CD ARISTA 18818 (US)		BR5-49 - Even If It's Wrong / Cherokee Boogie / Honky Tonk Song / Lifetime To Prove / Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts) / Crazy Arms / I Ain't Never / Chains Of This Town / Are You Gettin' Tired Of Me / Hickory Wind / One Long Saturday Night
07/1998	CD ARISTA 18862 (US)		BIG BACKYARD BEAT SHOW - There Goes My Love / Wild One / Hurtin' Song / Out Of Habit / Storybook Endings (If You Stop Believin') / 18 Wheels And A Crowbar / Pain Pain Go Away / You Are Never Nice To Me / Goodbye Maria / Seven Nights To Rock / My Name Is Mudd / You Flew The Coop / Change The Way I Look / Georgia On A Fast Train
1998	CD ARISTA EP 8874 (US) (promo)		BONUS BEATS - Out Of Habit / Seven Nights To Rock / Little Ramona / Wild One / 18 Wheels And A Crowbar / Even If It's Wrong
04/2000	CD ARISTA 18909 (US)		COAST TO COAST - Tell Me Mama / Even If It's Wrong / Sweet Sweet Girl / Pourin' Pain / Uneasy Rider / Better Than This / Waiting For The Axe / Brain Cloudy Blues / Big Mouth Blues / Six Days On The Road / Cracker Jack / You're A Hum-dinger
2001	CD LUCKY DOG 85456 (US)		THIS IS BR549 - Too Lazy To Work Too Nervous To Steal / Price Of Love / Game / Psychic Lady / Play That Fast Thing (One More Time) / Little Good News / While You Were Gone / Look Me Up / Let's See How Far You Get / Fool Of The Century / Different Drum
06/2002	CD GRAVITY 74321923012 (US)		CHEROKEE BOOGIE - THE BEST OF BR5-49 - Cherokee Boogie / Little Ramona / Even If It's Wrong / Lifetime To Prove / Honky Tonk Song / Hickory Wind / Out Of Habit / You Are Never Nice To Me / My Name Is Mudd / Georgia On A Fast Train / A House Of Gold / You're A Hum-Dinger / 18 Wheels & A Crowbar / Seven Nights To Rock / Bettie Plug - Bettie Bettie / Me'n'Opie / Uneasy Rider
03/2004	CD DUALTONE 1149 (US)		TANGLED IN THE PINES - That's What I Get / I'm All Right (For The Shape I'm In) / Ain't Got Time / She's Talking To Someone (She's Not Talking To Me) / Tangled In The Pines / No Train To Memphis / Movin' The Country / Run A Mile / When I Come Home / No Friend Of Mine / Honky Tonkin' Lifestyle / Way Too Late (To Go Home Early Now)
01/2006	CD DUALTONE 1226 (US)		DOG DAYS - Poison / After The Hurricane / Lower Broad St. Blues / Leave It Alone / Bottom Of Priority / The Devil & Me (with The JORDANAIRES) / I'm Going Down / You Are The Queen / Cajun Persuasion / A-1 On The Jukebox / Let Jesus Make You Breakfast
04/2011	CD T-BIRD TBIRD0040CD (UK)		BRS-49 / BIG BACKYARD BEAT SHOW - Even If It's Wrong / Cherokee Boogie / Honky Tonk Song / Lifetime To Prove / Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts) / Crazy Arms / I Ain't Never / Chains Of This Town / Are You Gettin' Tired Of Me / Hickory Wind / One Long Saturday Night / There Goes My Love / Wild One / Hurtin' Song / Out Of Habit / Storybook Endings (If You Stop Believin') / 18 Wheels And A Crowbar / Pain Pain Go Away / You Are Never Nice To Me / Goodbye, Maria / Seven Nights To Rock / My Name Is Mudd / You Flew The Coop / Change The Way I Look / Georgia On A Fast Train

© Rocky Productions 12/08/2011