1974 - 1977: Nashville Playboys
Some time in 1974 a bar was opened in Hannover where the dominant music was Country & Western. Naturally it was named Nashville. There was a small stage and everybody was invited to produce himself or to join in a session. Someone told me they needed a bass player, so I dropped in. Others did so too and finally the Nashville Playboys were formed.
Here you can see the Playboys standing in front of a tipi.
It was a great time for Country & Western. Seemed like everybody wanted it. A lot of concerts followed, and one larger tour into the southern part of Germany.
In February 1975 we decided to record a real vinyl disc. So off we went into one of Hannovers emerging small studios, the "Ton Kooperative". As we had done some good deal of practicing it did not take long and the record was available, yes real vinyl. Here are a few foto impressions with the Nashville Playboys on stage and from the recording session:
These are the 12 songs on the LP record:
- Orange Blossom Special (feat. Ernst on Harmonica)
- Singing the Blues
- Roll in my Sweet Baby's Arms
- Detroit City
- Jambalaya
- I Walk the Line
- Folsom Prison Blues
- He's Got the Whole World
- Cotton Fields
- Ring of Fire (feat. Dieter Richter on trumpet)
- Oh, Lonesome Me
- Six Days on the Road
And these are the musicians performing on that LP:
- Bernd Schämpp, vocal
- Udo Lander, lead guitar
- Peter Rehak, guitar, vocal, harmonica
- Werner Kuckuck, 12-string guitar, vocal
- George F. Schreinzer, steel-guitar, bass
- Ernst F. Schroeder, bass, vocal, harmonica
- Hans-Heinrich Schalkowski, drums
- Dieter Richter, trumpet