Confederate Railroad
Encyclopedia
Confederate Railroad is an American country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...

 band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...

 by Danny Shirley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...

), Michael Lamb (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

), Mark Dufresne (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 ....

), Chris McDaniel (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

), Warren "Gates" Nichols (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...

) and Wayne Secrest (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

). After serving as a backing band for outlaw country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...

 act David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe is an American outlaw country music singer who achieved popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He has written and performed over 280 original songs throughout his career...

, the band signed to a recording contract with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

, releasing their self-titled debut album that year. Throughout the 1990s, they released four more albums for Atlantic.

Confederate Railroad has released six studio albums. In addition, more than twenty of their singles have entered 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...

Hot Country Songs
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...

 charts. Only two changes in membership have occurred, both in the late 1990s-early 2000s: Michael Lamb was replaced by Jimmy Dormire on lead guitar, and Cody McCarver took over for Chris McDaniel, the band's original keyboardist. In addition to his work with Confederate Railroad, McCarver has released one solo album and two singles. Dormire was replaced in 2008 by Rusty Hendrix.

The band's most recent studio album, a compilation of cover songs entitled Cheap Thrills, was issued on the independent Shanachie
Shanachie Records
Shanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic...

 label in 2007. The band released their first live album, Confederate Railroad Live: Back to the Barrooms, on the E1 Music
Koch Entertainment
Koch Entertainment was a music, film and television distribution company. It was purchased by E1 Entertainment in 2005 and now operates under the name E1 Entertainment.-History:The company began in 1975 as Koch International...

 label on June 15, 2010.

History

Confederate Railroad was founded in 1987 by Danny Shirley, Michael Lamb, Gates Nichols, Chris McDaniel, Wayne Secrest, and Mark Dufresne. The six members began playing at bars in and around Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. Over time, they also worked as a road band for David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe
David Allan Coe is an American outlaw country music singer who achieved popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He has written and performed over 280 original songs throughout his career...

 and Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...

. Shirley had previously been signed to the Amor record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 as a solo singer, charting five times on the country charts between 1984 and 1988.

After several years in the Atlanta area, the band signed with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 in 1992 and released its self-titled
Confederate Railroad (album)
Confederate Railroad is the self-titled debut album of the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It peaked at #7 on the US country albums chart, and #19 on the Canadian country chart. It was certified 2×Multi-Platinum by the RIAA...

 debut album. The album produced six hit singles and was certified 2× Multi-Platinum in the U.S. In 1993, Confederate Railroad was awarded Best New Group at the ACM
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

 awards. In order of release, these singles were "She Took It Like a Man", "Jesus and Mama", "Queen of Memphis
Queen of Memphis
"Queen of Memphis" is a song recorded by the country music band Confederate Railroad. It is the third single released from their 1992 self-titled debut album Confederate Railroad. It peaked at #2 the United States, and #3 in Canada. It is the band's highest-peaking single.-Chart positions:...

" (their highest chart peak, at #2), "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back", "Trashy Women
Trashy Women
"Trashy Women" is a song recorded by country music singer Jerry Jeff Walker in 1989 and later by the band Confederate Railroad. It was a #63 single on the U.S...

" and "She Never Cried".

Notorious
Notorious (Confederate Railroad album)
Notorious is the second studio album released by the country music band Confederate Railroad. It was released in 1994 by Atlantic Records Nashville. It peaked at #6 on the US country albums chart, and #13 on the Canadian country albums chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA...

was the title of the band's second album. Released in 1994, it was certified platinum as well. The album was led off by the #9 "Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind
Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind
"Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind" is a song recorded by the country music band Confederate Railroad. It is the lead-off single released from their 1994 album Notorious. It peaked at #9 the United States, and #7 in Canada. It is their last top ten in the United States to date, while they'd have...

", followed by the #20 "Elvis and Andy" and finally "Summer in Dixie", which failed to make Top 40.

One year later, the band released its third album, 1995's When and Where
When and Where
When and Where is the third studio album by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was issued by Atlantic Records in 1995...

. This album failed to sell as well as its predecessors, and was less successful on the charts as well. Lead-off single "When and Where" reached #24, while the other three singles — "Bill's Laundromat, Bar and Grill", "When He Was My Age" and "See Ya" — all failed to reach Top 40. A Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Confederate Railroad album)
Greatest Hits is Confederate Railroad's first compilation album. It was released on June 18, 1996 by Atlantic Nashville. It peaked at #60 on the US country albums chart.-Track listing:# "Queen of Memphis" – 3:20...

package followed in 1996.

In 1998, the band released its fourth and final studio album for Atlantic, entitled Keep on Rockin. Its only two singles were "The Big One" and "Cowboy Cadillac", which both failed to reach Top 60 on the country singles charts. After another compilation entitled Rockin' Country Party Pack (which produced another chart single in "Toss a Little Bone", previously from When and Where), the band exited Atlantic.

One year later, Confederate Railroad signed to Audium/Koch Records (now E1 Music) for its fifth studio album,
Unleashed. It was led off by the #39 "What Brothers Do". Although this was the band's first Top 40 country hit since "When and Where" in 1995, the other singles — "She Treats Her Body Like a Temple" and "White Trash with Money" — both failed to reach Top 40 as well.

The band did not record again until 2007's
Cheap Thrills, an album composed of cover songs. This album was led off by a cover of "Please Come to Boston
Please Come to Boston
"Please Come to Boston" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Dave Loggins. It was released in May 1974 as the first single from Loggins' album Apprentice and was produced by Jerry Crutchfield. The song spent two weeks at number five on the Billboard Hot 100...

", which failed to chart.

Confederate Railroad signed a Record Deal with E1 Music in 2010 and will release their first ever Live CD called "Confederate Railroad Live: Back to the Barrooms". Cody McCarver of Confederate Railroad also is signed to that label and has recently had success with Confederate Railroad's song "White Trash with Money" which was written by Confederate Railroad's Danny Shirley with songwriter Buck Moore. The Video by Cody also featured Jimmy Dormire who left Confederate Railroad in 2008. Cody McCarver is also set to release a new single and video called "I'm America".

Musical stylings

Described vocally as a "gruff, reliable twanger", lead singer Danny Shirley cites outlaw country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...

 acts such as Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...

 as his major influence. According to him, the band's music is "straight-ahead outlaw country", although their image has also drawn comparisons to Southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...

.

Confederate Railroad's novelty numbers, such as "Trashy Women", show a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. A reviewer for New Country magazine wrote that they are "one of the few bands who can pull off a song about how they prefer trashy women and sound like they really mean it". A more serious side of the band is shown in their ballads. Those on Notorious, for instance, were described by New Country magazine as "show[ing] men left stunned and confused by a world that changed faster than they could follow".

Member changes

Lead guitarist Michael Lamb, one of the group's original members, left in the mid 1990s and was replaced with Jimmy Dormire. Chris McDaniel, the original keyboardist, left and was replaced with Cody McCarver. McCarver has released a solo album, although he continued to tour as a member of Confederate Railroad up until his last show with them at the Putnam County Fair in Eleanor, WV on July 16, 2010. In June 2008, Jimmy Dormire announced that he was leaving Confederate Railroad to continue his solo career, he continues as a member of Cody McCarver's Band. He was subsequently replaced by Rusty Hendrix. Gates Nichols retired from Confederate Railroad in December 2008, and in July of the following year, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He succumbed to the disease on the morning of August 14, 2009, at the age of 65. Nearly two years later, in January 2011, Bobby Randall became the newest member of Confederate Railroad, playing steel guitar and fiddle. Randall was one of the founding members of fellow country group Sawyer Brown
Sawyer Brown
Sawyer Brown is an American country music band founded in 1981 in Apopka, Florida, by five members of country pop singer Don King's road band: Bobby Randall and Jim Scholten , both from Midland, Michigan; Joe Smyth , Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard , and Mark Miller...

, having played lead guitar in that band from its formation in 1981 to his departure 10 years later.

Solo contributions

In addition to his work in the band, frontman Danny Shirley made a guest appearance alongside Mark Collie
Mark Collie
George Mark Collie is an American country music artist and occasional actor. He has released eight albums, and has charted 16 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His highest peaking singles are "Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'" at #5, and "Born to Love You" at #6, from 1992 and...

 on the song "Redneck Heaven" from Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...

' 1994 album Storm in the Heartland
Storm in the Heartland
Storm in the Heartland is the third album from country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus. Released in 1994 on Mercury Records, it produced the singles "Storm in the Heartland", "Deja Blue", and "One Last Thrill", the first two of which entered the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...

, a song which Collie and Shirley co-wrote. Cody McCarver released a self-titled solo album for the Aspirion label in 2006, which produced the non-charting singles "Red Flag" and "Through God's Eyes". He released another single, "Look What You've Done", in 2009. His 2010 single "White Trash With Money" was written by fellow band member Shirley along with songwriter Buck Moore. "White Trash With Money" was followed by "I'm America".

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...


(sales thresholds)
US Country US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

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,...

Confederate Railroad
Confederate Railroad (album)
Confederate Railroad is the self-titled debut album of the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It peaked at #7 on the US country albums chart, and #19 on the Canadian country chart. It was certified 2×Multi-Platinum by the RIAA...

  • Release date: April 28, 1992
  • Label: Atlantic Nashville
7 53 3 19
  • US
    Recording Industry Association of America
    The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

    : 2× Platinum
  • Notorious
    Notorious (Confederate Railroad album)
    Notorious is the second studio album released by the country music band Confederate Railroad. It was released in 1994 by Atlantic Records Nashville. It peaked at #6 on the US country albums chart, and #13 on the Canadian country albums chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA...

  • Release date: March 22, 1994
  • Label: Atlantic Nashville
  • 6 52 13
  • US: Platinum
  • When and Where
    When and Where
    When and Where is the third studio album by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was issued by Atlantic Records in 1995...

  • Release date: June 13, 1995
  • Label: Atlantic Nashville
  • 21 152
    Keep on Rockin'
    Keep on Rockin' (album)
    Keep on Rockin' is the fourth studio album by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was issued by Atlantic Records in 1998...

  • Release date: October 20, 1998
  • Label: Atlantic Nashville
  • 57
    Unleashed
    Unleashed (Confederate Railroad album)
    Unleashed is the fifth studio album by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was issued by Audium Entertainment in 2001...

  • Release date: August 28, 2001
  • Label: Audium/Koch
  • 63
    Cheap Thrills
    Cheap Thrills (Confederate Railroad album)
    Cheap Thrills is the sixth studio album by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was issued by Shanachie in 2007. The album is composed of cover songs by country music and Southern rock artists....

  • Release date: April 24, 2007
  • Label: Shanachie
  • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Compilation and live albums

    Title Album details Peak positions
    US Country
    Greatest Hits
    Greatest Hits (Confederate Railroad album)
    Greatest Hits is Confederate Railroad's first compilation album. It was released on June 18, 1996 by Atlantic Nashville. It peaked at #60 on the US country albums chart.-Track listing:# "Queen of Memphis" – 3:20...

    • Release date: June 18, 1996
    • Label: Atlantic Nashville
    60
    Rockin' Country Party Pack
  • Release date: August 22, 2000
  • Label: Atlantic Nashville
  • 63
    The Very Best of Confederate Railroad
  • Release date: May 6, 2008
  • Label: Rhino
  • Live: Back to the Barroom
  • Release date: June 15, 2010
  • Label: E1 Music
  • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    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...

    US
    Billboard 200
    The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

    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,...

    1992 "She Took It Like a Man" 37 41 Confederate Railroad
    "Jesus and Mama
    Jesus and Mama
    "Jesus and Mama" is the title of a song written by Danny "Bear" Mayo and James Dean Hicks, and recorded by the American country music band Confederate Railroad. It was the second single from the band's self-titled debut album...

    "
    4 14
    "Queen of Memphis
    Queen of Memphis
    "Queen of Memphis" is a song recorded by the country music band Confederate Railroad. It is the third single released from their 1992 self-titled debut album Confederate Railroad. It peaked at #2 the United States, and #3 in Canada. It is the band's highest-peaking single.-Chart positions:...

    "
    2 3
    1993 "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back
    When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back
    "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" is the title of a song written by Steve Clark and Johnny MacRae. It was first recorded by Sam Neely in 1983 for the MCA Records label.-Chart performance:-Bill Anderson version:...

    "
    14 18
    "Trashy Women
    Trashy Women
    "Trashy Women" is a song recorded by country music singer Jerry Jeff Walker in 1989 and later by the band Confederate Railroad. It was a #63 single on the U.S...

    "
    10 113 12
    "She Never Cried" 27 28
    1994 "Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind
    Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind
    "Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind" is a song recorded by the country music band Confederate Railroad. It is the lead-off single released from their 1994 album Notorious. It peaked at #9 the United States, and #7 in Canada. It is their last top ten in the United States to date, while they'd have...

    "
    9 7 Notorious
    "Elvis and Andy
    Elvis and Andy
    "Elvis and Andy" is a single by American country music group Confederate Railroad. Released in 1994, it was the second single from the album Notorious. The song reached #20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:...

    "
    20 8
    "Summer in Dixie" 55
    1995 "When and Where" 24 17 When and Where
    "Bill's Laundromat, Bar and Grill" 54 58
    "When He Was My Age" 66 90
    1996 "See Ya" 51
    1998 "The Big One" 66 Keep on Rockin
    1999 "Cowboy Cadillac" 70
    2000 "Toss a Little Bone" 71 Rockin' Country Party Pack
    2001 "That's What Brothers Do" 39 Unleashed
    2002 "She Treats Her Body Like a Temple" 59
    "White Trash with Money"
    2007 "Please Come to Boston
    Please Come to Boston
    "Please Come to Boston" is the title of a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Dave Loggins. It was released in May 1974 as the first single from Loggins' album Apprentice and was produced by Jerry Crutchfield. The song spent two weeks at number five on the Billboard Hot 100...

    "
    Cheap Thrills
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Music videos

    Year Video Director
    1992 "She Took It Like a Man"
    "She Never Cried"
    1993 "Queen of Memphis" John Ware
    "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" Martin Kahan
    "Trashy Women"
    1994 "Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind"
    "Summer in Dixie"
    "Elvis & Andy"
    1995 "When and Where"
    "Bill's Laundromat, Bar & Grill"
    1998 "Keep on Rockin'"
    2001 "That's What Brothers Do"

    External links

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