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| New Western Swing Single Susie Blue & the Lonesome Fellas Chicago's Award Winning Western Swing band Susie Blue & the Lonesome Fellas releases an Authentic Western Swing single in honor of Chicago's WLS Barndance and the PBS documentary "Country Music" by Ken Burns For their long awaited second album, the band is preparing to release a new collection of Western Swing and Retro Country songs from the 1940's & 50's this Winter. Listen to a sneak preview with their new single "I Hear You Knockin'" - a Western Swing standard originally recorded in 1942 by the renown Milwaukee Western Swing band Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys Most people think of the Grand Old Opry when they think of old time Country and Western Music, but Chicago's radio station WLS and their National Barn Dance was one of the first major radio stations to feature Country and Western Music going live over the airways during the late 1920's, long before the Opry came into being. WLS syndicated their shows on dozens of smaller radio stations across the Mid and Northwest regions, spreading Country Music all over the US, bringing it into people's homes. The new album by Susie Blue will feature tunes from the bands that performed on the Barn Dance, played by a stellar group of musicians heralding not only from the Chicago area but from Austin, TX and Los Angeles as well. The new single headlines some fast and frisky fiddle starring one of Austin's best violinists Javier Chaparro who keeps this lively tune capering all the way through. Los Angeles Jazz Writer and Critic Scott Yanow, who was an early supporter of the band's Western Swing, performs a romping Melodica solo between verses, and there is a real Cowboy vocal duet which joins Austin singer Keith Weber from the band Cadillac Drive with vocalist Solitaire Miles. They trade disparaging verses in a waggery quarrel of a Cowboy and his Ladylove that seems to come right out of a script from a Silver Screen Hollywood Cowboy romance. There is also an bonafide retro country guitar solo by the band's musical director Neal Alger. Susie Blue and the Lonesome Fellas is one of the few current Western Swing bands who genuinely presents America's musical history, recording and arranging classic songs in an authentic manner, re-creating the past with highly enjoyable and entertaining tributes to the bands and songwriters of the genre. Their new single has already been put into rotation by BBC Radio and is getting airplay internationally as many await the release of the new album this fall. - JM Reid write your comments about the article :: © 2019 Jazz News :: home page |