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Special thanks to Tom &
Billi Johnson and Don
& Pam Vaughan! Without these two wonderful couples and their love of
country music - this project would not have been possible!! Also thanks to
Brad Edwards at Audio Loft Recording Studios.
The Jazzabillies were formed
2003 at Lake of the Ozarks by Jimmy &
Starla Queen. Each band member worked with other groups in the lake area
and Sunday soon became "FUNDAY", the day the musicians got to play what
they loved the most - western swing! The club were they performed
started to pack 'em in with folks saying it was better than Branson! The Jazzabillies have backed many
artists including: Jack Greene, Ferlin Huskey, Leona Williams, Narvel
Felts, Leon Raush, Jeannie Kendall, Stan Hitchcock, Ron Williams, and
others. The Jazzabillies have also been part of the Missouri Country Music
Hall of Fame Staff Band.
Jimmy Queen
is an amazing versatile musician, playing several instruments
including guitar, steel guitar, sax, trumpet, harmonica, keyboard,
bass and drums . If you haven’t seen Jimmy play two trumpets at
once – You’ve got to check it out! Not only is Jimmy the bandleader of
the Jazzabillies, Jimmy is a world renowned drummer, playing drums
annually for the international steel guitar convention. He also hosts the
annual International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame Show in St Louis and has
backed the steel guitar greats such as Herby Wallace, Cindy Cashdollar,
Herb Remington, Buddy Emmons, Tom Morrell, John Hughey, and many
more! Jimmy has also played drums for other various steel shows including
the Choo Choo Reunion Show in Chattanooga, TN, the Cajun Steel Show
in New Orleans, and the Legends of Western Swing festival in Snyder, TX.
He has performed with legends such as Ray Pennington, Ray Price,
Wade Ray, Johnny Bush, Curtis Potter, Sammi Smith, Johnny Paycheck, Ronnie
Milsap, Waylon Jennings, and many others. He was the music director for
TNN’s “Pappy’s Place”. Not only is he an awesome musician, Jimmy
is an outstanding vocalist. He sings from the soul and will touch your
heart. Jimmy’s experience as a comedian and radio personality adds flair
to his vocal and entertainment ability. Jimmy was destined to be a great
entertainer following in his father’s footsteps, the legendary
“Grandaddy of Country Music” Roy Queen of St Louis. At the
tender age of 13, he played his first gig as drummer for his father's
band. Several years ago, Jimmy and his wife Starla formed the "Jazzabillies".
Jimmy is a former member of the Lake Ozarks Blues Society and a former
board member of the Lake of the Ozarks Jazz Society. His professional attitude and ability is why he received the St. Louis
Entertainer of the Year, St Louis Drummer of the Year and Band Leader of
the Year. Jimmy Queen – Entertainment at it’s best.
Starla
Queen has earned the name
"Queen of Western Swing”! Some people work hard to learn a
trade but for Starla – it’s a god given talent. Her father Virgil
Watts, who is the one of the best non-pedal steel players in the
state of Missouri, gave her the ability and her love of western
swing music! Starla plays several instruments and is the rhythm guitar of
the Jazzabillies, but you ought to hear her sing! Starla decided to follow
in her father's footsteps in 1996 when she began performing at the Mark
Twain Country Music Show in Hannibal, Mo. Then she appeared as a special
guest at various shows in the Mark Twain Lake area until 1998 when she
started her own show “The Pike County Jamboree”. She also put
together an all female band, "Country Angels", the first of
it's kind in the area. Starla ranked in the top at the local “Jimmy Dean
Country Showdown” and was a regional finalist where she performed her
original tunes. In 2000, Starla relocated to the Lake of the Ozarks and in
2002 she married Jimmy Queen. She and Jimmy host a western swing
radio show "Swingin' with the Queens" on steelradio.com. She has
had the honor of sharing the stage with Johnny Bush, Curtis Potter,
& "texas playboy" Leon Rausch. Starla appears annually on the International Steel
Guitar Hall of Fame Fundraising Show in St Louis. Starla & Jimmy have
co-hosted three radio shows. Starla is a former member of the Lake
Ozarks Blues Society, former board member of the Lake Ozarks Jazz
Society, and former board member of the Missouri Country Music Hall of
Fame. Most recently, Starla
was nominated for the 2007 Female Western Swing Artist (Will Roger's
Awards) presented by the Academy of Western Artists. She received the AWA
2007 Will Rogers Western Swing Song of the Year Award for her song "Show
Me".
Dave
Owens grew up with country music in Plattsburg
Mo. During his career he worked a lot of Hap Peebles tours, backing
many artists such as George Morgan, Wanda Jackson, Tex Williams, Johnny
Western, Lefty Frizzell and many others. He was a member of Charlie
Louvin’s band, David Houston, Diana Trask, and would play bass on the
road occasionally for Hank Junior. He has traveled with many of the
artists in Nashville and was even a member of a troop that included TV
Comedian Morey Amsterdam. He has done some recording sessions for such
artists as Wynn Stewart, Peggy Sue, Sonny Wright, Sheb Wooley, Jerry
Wallace and others. Dave has backed Leona Williams, Ferlin Huskey, Jan
Howard, Darrell McCall, and many more. Dave currently serves on the board
for the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1995, Dave was the recipient of
the Entertainer of the Year at the Central Country News Awards. Dave Owens
is also a Grammy nominee for a collaboration cd called "Jukebox
Saturday Night" and most recently, Dave was inducted into the
Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005!
Scotty
Henderson has been
playing music professionally since he was 15 starting in the honkytonks
of central Missouri where he developed a love for the "old
stuff". After graduating from high school, he
moved to the Oklahoma panhandle near Liberal Kansas where he worked for
Ray Rich for eleven years playing five nights a week! Country music soon
became his passion and is still going strong. In the mid-eighties Scotty
wrote a book for universal guitar called “Think B6th” (Steel Mill
Publishing). This book dealt directly with the 6th tuning of the
universal guitar. I also wrote an E9th book called “On The
Bandstand” (Hilton Publishing) In the early nineties he moved to
Wichita Kansas and played five nights a week at a club called Sam's
Place and stayed there through 1998. Taking a few years off from full
time playing he went back to being a weekend warrior with The David
Holland Band until 2003. With the music calling him back, he moved back
to central Missouri and played six nights a week at the legendary
Lee Mace's Ozark Opry. Scotty is having the time of his life meeting and
working with some great people along the way like Charlie Daniels, Wanda
Jackson, Hank Thompson, and many others. “Good friends and good music
- what more do you need!” Scotty was inducted into the Kansas Steel
Guitar Hall of Fame in 2005!
Ronnie
Blecher is a true cowboy who also knows how to
hold a band together. As the drummer for the Jazzabillies, Ronnie keeps
the tempo and sets the dynamics. Ronnie began playing drums as a child and
landed gigs throughout the Lake of the Ozarks, most notably with Billy Joe
Carnahan who owns Audio Loft Studios where Ronnie was also a session
drummer. Ronnie has toured
the United States and Canada with artists such as Duane Taylor and Johnny
Dollar. Ronnie has also worked with such greats as Morey Amsterdam, Pat
McCormick, Loretta Lynn, Roy Clark, Buck Trent, and Chuck Berry.
Ronnie says he could never be who he is today without the love and
support of his wife Sherry
and his daughter and her family. “Rompin Ron” as his friends call him
has never lost his grip of what his job is – holding the band together.
From quarter horses to quarter notes – Ronnie holds down the ranch and
the rhythm section! Ronnie received the Lake of the Ozarks fan
appreciation award in 2009.
Ernie Reed appears
courtesy of Mel Tillis' Statesiders. Ernie also traveled many years with
Ray Price and other music legends, including many appearances on the Grand
Ol' Opry.
Lonnie Patterson
appears as a special guest on the song "Show Me". Lonnie is
a Lake of the Ozarks music legend and a former Branson Male Vocalist of
the Year.
Brad
Edwards
appears as
special guest on the song "Butter and Egg Man". The cd was also recorded
and mixed at Brad's studio Audioloft.
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