Sometimes artists come around that are so original we don’t know what to do with them.  Today, we look at The Kentucky Headhunters.  This group enjoyed limited chart success but had a great fan base.

People get off the bus in Nashville and have big dreams of stardom, but the reality is, only a tiny handful get to live out the dreams they have.  There is so much talent and so little room, it’s a tough biz.  But they were so original, they temporarily found a space, even it it wasn’t next to many of the other stars of the day on the charts.

The Kentucky Headhunters 

These guys were cut from a very different cloth, and for a couple years had some real success.  They can be traced back in one way shape or form to the late 1960’s, but they finally hit the charts in the late 80’s.  Bands in country were starting to make a name a this time as  Shenandoah, The Desert Rose Band, Southern Pacific and others had joined Alabama who had previously had a monopoly on the “country band thing”  for a decade.  But these guys were sort of Country’s “Hair Band”

A Classic Old School Bill Monroe Song  (Top 25) 

Their Pickin’ On Nashville album had a few singles off it with only one went top ten. But somehow this album sold about 3 million.  A feat exceedingly tough to do without a major hit song.  This album included a bunch of very Old School Songs, brought back to life by this Southern Rock/Country band.  It won a Grammy in 1991.  It also won the hearts of many fans.

Fans LOVED This Song  –  #15

Truth is, fans liked them even if the charting success wasn’t there. The phones rang, especially for Dumas Walker, a real fan fav.  They “rocked it” and I know by today’s standards that sounds strange to say, as we do a lot of that today.  But not then, not really at all.  They were very different, not as polite musically as most.  The other bands would wipe their feet off when they walked in your house, the Headhunters – well, maybe not.

The Old School Don Gibson Classic   #8 For Them

Even though their chart run was short they had a big, big following, so big they still tour today, and will be at Neon Nights next week.  The Kentucky Headhunters, everything single thing about them was absolutely original.

LAST WEEK – THE ORIGINALS – THE TRACTORS