BR5-49
Encyclopedia
BR549 is an American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 band. Founded in 1993, the band originally comprised Gary Bennett (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar
Steel-string acoustic guitar
A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...

), Don Herron (steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...

, Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...

, fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

, acoustic guitar), "Smilin'" Jay McDowell (upright bass), Chuck Mead (lead band background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

), and "Hawk" Shaw Wilson (drums, background vocals). Bennett and McDowell left the band in 2001, with Chris Scruggs and Geoff Firebaugh respectively replacing them. Both Firebaugh and Scruggs later left the band as well; Mark Miller has become the band's third bassist.

BR549 has released six albums and two EPs, including three albums on Arista Nashville
Arista Nashville
Arista Nashville is an American record label that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood...

 and two on Dualtone Records
Dualtone Records
Dualtone Music Group, Inc. is an independent entertainment companybased in Nashville, TN. The staunchly independent label has beennominated for thirteen GRAMMY awards, garnering three wins...

. The band's self-titled debut album
BR5-49 (album)
BR5-49 is the self-titled debut album of the American country music band BR5-49. The album was released in 1996 on the Arista Nashville label. Three singles were released from the album, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...

 produced three chart singles on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

country charts, of which the highest is the #44 "Cherokee Boogie" in 1996.

History

Before moving to Nashville and forming BR5-49, Chuck Mead played in a band called Homestead Grays, a roots-rock outfit based in his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...

. Gary Bennett, meanwhile fronted an informal band that played at Robert's Western Wear, a clothing store in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, when he met Mead at a nearby bar. The two then decided to form a band officially, and completing the lineup were electric bassist Jim "Bones" Becker, then upright bassist "Smilin'" Jay McDowell (formerly of another band called Hellbilly), multi-instrumentalist Don Herron, and drummer "Hawk" Shaw Wilson. They assumed the name BR5-49 (from the telephone number of a used car dealer in a running Junior Samples
Junior Samples
Junior Samples, born Alvin Samples Jr. in Cumming, Georgia was an American comedian best known for his 14-year run as a cast member of the TV show Hee Haw.-Early Years:...

 comedy sketch on the television series Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...

), and began playing for tips at Robert's before being discovered by Arista Nashville
Arista Nashville
Arista Nashville is an American record label that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood...

 in 1995.

1995-2000: Arista Nashville

The band's first release for Arista Nashville was an extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 entitled Live at Robert's, which comprised originals and cover songs. Following it in 1996 was their full-length debut album, also titled BR5-49
BR5-49 (album)
BR5-49 is the self-titled debut album of the American country music band BR5-49. The album was released in 1996 on the Arista Nashville label. Three singles were released from the album, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...

. Despite minimal support from country radio, the album's lead-off single "Cherokee Boogie" (a cover of a Moon Mullican
Moon Mullican
Aubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...

 song) reached #44 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

country singles charts in the US, and #21 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

country charts in Canada. Following this song were "Even If It's Wrong" and "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)", which respectively reached #68 and #61 in the US. The album itself was a #33 on the Top Country Albums charts. The band also toured with The Mavericks
The Mavericks
The Mavericks is a country music band founded in 1989 in Miami, Florida, United States. Between 1991 and 2003 they recorded six studio albums, in addition to charting 14 singles on the Billboard country charts...

, Junior Brown
Junior Brown
Jamieson "Junior" Brown is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released nine studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the Billboard country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel" double neck guitar, a hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel...

, and The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...

 and played on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 music program Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...

in 1997.

BR5-49's second album, Big Backyard Beat Show, was released in 1998. Despite not producing a chart single, this album reached #38 on the Top Country Albums charts. After touring with Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...

, the band issued a live album, Coast to Coast, in 1999 on Arista as well. The band left Arista in 2000 after the label was merged with Sony BMG.

2001-present

After being dropped from Arista, they signed to Lucky Dog Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

. Their first release for the label, 2001's This Is BR549, also eliminated the hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...

 from the band's name. Its only single, "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal", peaked at #11 on Country Singles Sales but did not enter the country singles charts proper. After this album, both Bennett and McDowell left the band, with Geoff Firebaugh succeeding McDowell as upright bassist, and Chris Scruggs taking over on guitar and vocals. The new lineup made its first appearance in 2003 on their self released album Temporarily Disconnected. In 2004, they signed with Dualtone Records
Dualtone Records
Dualtone Music Group, Inc. is an independent entertainment companybased in Nashville, TN. The staunchly independent label has beennominated for thirteen GRAMMY awards, garnering three wins...

 and released Tangled in the Pines. Scruggs left the band to tour solo in 2005. Firebaugh also left to start his own band, Hillbilly Casino. Mark Miller replaced Firebaugh. A second album for Dualtone, Dog Days, was released in early 2006. The band is currently on hiatus, with Chuck Mead working solo with Mark Miller playing bass, and Don Herron touring with Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

.

Musical stylings

Initially, BR549's sound was influenced by 1950s honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...

, as well as Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...

, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

 and Bakersfield sound
Bakersfield sound
The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. The many hit singles were largely produced by Capitol Records country music head, Ken Nelson. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly produced, string...

. Steve Huey of Allmusic described their sound and appearance as "unabashedly retro", as the band's members dressed in "old, budget-friendly clothes".

Status of former members

Original co-frontman Gary Bennett released his solo debut, Human Condition, in February 2006. In October 2010 Raucous Records
Raucous Records
Raucous Records is a British record label focusing on rockabilly, psychobilly, rock and roll, and surf music. The label has released albums such as "Between The Polecats" by The Polecats, "Rock 'n' Roll Fever" by Jay Chance, "Rockabilly Express" by Gary Setzer and Barry Ryan, "The Lost Album" by...

 released Gary's follow up album "My Ol' Guitar" co-produced by Kenny Vaughan and including several Br549 re-recordings. Smilin' Jay McDowell has gone on to work in post production in the music video world. He is now in charge of the video department for the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. He directed a DVD project for Gary Bennett titled "Inside and Out". Former bassist Geoff Firebaugh founded a rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

 band named Hillbilly Casino that are a crowd favorite in downtown Nashville on lower Broadway. Chris Scruggs released a solo album titled "Anthem" in 2009.

Chuck Mead released "Journeyman's Wager" in 2009 and toured with his Grassy Knoll Boys in support of the release. In 2006 Chuck began his association with the hit Broadway Musical Million Dollar Quartet
Million Dollar Quartet (musical)
Million Dollar Quartet is a jukebox musical written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott. It dramatizes the Million Dollar Quartet recording session of December 4, 1956, among early Rock and roll stars Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis...

 beginning in Florida as the Musical Arranger and Musical Director, he has also worked with the cast at The Village Theatre
Village Theatre
Village Theatre is a 5013 non-profit professional producing musical theatre company founded in 1979. Village Theatre is based out of Issaquah and Everett, Washington, both near Seattle...

 near Seattle, Washington, The Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...

 in Chicago and The Nederlander Theatre
Nederlander Theatre
David T. Nederlander Theatre is a 1,232-seat Broadway theatre located at 208 West 41st Street, in New York City . One of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway theatres, the legacy of the theatre began with David Tobias Nederlander, for whom the theatre is named.Built by Walter C...

on Broadway in New York City. He is currently working with the new cast in England as they prepare to open at The Noël Coward Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...

 in City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

.

Mark Miller was a founding member of The Ex-Husbands, formed in New York City in 1993 with lead singer Anders Thomsen and drummer Michael Smith. The band released two critically acclaimed albums on Tar Hut Records—a self-titled debut and the follow-up, "All Gussied Up." Both made the Gavin Americana top 20 and the latter reached that chart's top 10. Miller released the solo record "Dodsen Chapel" in 2005.

Members

  • Chuck Mead - guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , vocals
  • Shaw Wilson - drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , backing vocals
  • Don Herron - fiddle
    Fiddle
    The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

    , steel guitar
    Steel guitar
    Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...

    , mandolin
    Mandolin
    A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

    , Dobro
    Dobro
    Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...

    , banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

  • Mark Miller - upright bass, vocals

Former members

  • Gary Bennett - guitar, vocals
  • "Bones" Jim Becker - electric bass
  • "Buggs" Tex Austin (Mark Ude) - saxophone
  • Smilin' Jay McDowell - upright bass
  • Chris Scruggs - guitar, vocals
  • Geoff Firebaugh - upright bass

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Country US Heat
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

CAN Country
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

BR5-49
BR5-49 (album)
BR5-49 is the self-titled debut album of the American country music band BR5-49. The album was released in 1996 on the Arista Nashville label. Three singles were released from the album, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...

  • Release date: September 17, 1996
  • Label: Arista Nashville (18818)
  • Formats: CD
    Compact Disc
    The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

    , cassette
33 11 12
Big Backyard Beat Show
  • Release date: July 14, 1998
  • Label: Arista Nashville (18862)
  • Formats: CD, cassette
  • 38 23
    Coast to Coast
  • Release date: April 4, 2000
  • Label: Arista Nashville (18909)
  • Formats: CD, cassette
  • 46
    This Is BR549
  • Release date: June 26, 2001
  • Label: Lucky Dog (85456)
  • Formats: CD, cassette
  • 54
    Tangled in the Pines
  • Release date: March 9, 2004
  • Label: Dualtone Records
    Dualtone Records
    Dualtone Music Group, Inc. is an independent entertainment companybased in Nashville, TN. The staunchly independent label has beennominated for thirteen GRAMMY awards, garnering three wins...

     (01149)
  • Formats: CD
  • 58
    Dog Days
  • Release date: January 10, 2006
  • Label: Dualtone Records (01226)
  • Formats: CD
  • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Extended plays

    Title Album details
    Live from Robert's
    • Release date: April 30, 1996
    • Label: Arista Nashville (10800)
    • Formats: CD, cassette, 12"
      12-inch single
      The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

    Bonus Beats
  • Release date: July 14, 1998
  • Label: Arista Nashville (8874)
  • Formats: CD
  • Temporarily Disconnected
  • Release date: 2003
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: CD

  • Singles

    Year Single Peak chart
    positions
    Album
    US Country
    Hot Country Songs
    Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...


    CAN Country
    RPM (magazine)
    RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

    1996 "Cherokee Boogie" 44 21 BR5-49
    1997 "Even if it's Wrong" 68 66
    "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)" 61 77
    1998 "Wild One" Big Backyard Beat Show
    2001 "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal" This Is BR549
    2004 "That's What I Get" Tangled in the Pines
    "Way Too Late (To Go Home Early Now)"
    2005 "After the Hurricane" Dog Days
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Music videos

    Year Video Director
    1996 "Cherokee Boogie" Michael McNamara
    1997 "Even If It's Wrong"
    1998 "Wild One" Neil J. Colligan
    2001 "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal" Neil Lisk
    2004 "No Train to Memphis"
    "That's What I Get" Jay McDowell

    External links

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
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