Rattlesnake Annie
Encyclopedia
Rattlesnake Annie is a country singer
and songwriter
under the stage name Rattlesnake Annie. She earned her nickname as a child from her respect of snakes. McGowan began recording music in 1974 and achieved success in Europe. She became the first female country musician to tour the Eastern Bloc
countries in Europe and released an album with a country singer from Czechoslovakia
. In 1990, she became the first American country performer to sign a recording contract with Sony Music Japan.
on a cotton and tobacco farm. Her great-great-grandmother was Cherokee
, a tribe which considered the rattlesnake
a symbol of healing. As a child, Rattlesnake had no fear of snakes, and her grandmother often called her "rattlesnake".
Rattlesnake's father had been a country
and blues
singer, and she was learned to play guitar at an early age. She earned her first paycheck from singing at age 8, and from then on her goal in life was to earn a living while making music. When she was 12, Rattlesnake and two of her cousins formed a band called the Gallimore Sisters. They performed locally and won a statewide talent contest in 1954 landing them an appearance in Nashville on the Jr. Grand Ole Opry and a live television performance.
At age 16, Rattlesnake moved to Memphis
and then on to Huntsville, Alabama
. In the early 1960s she moved to Texas, where she met and married Max McGowan. The couple purchased 200 acres (80.9 ha) of land along the Brazos River
. The land had never been cleared or lived on.
Because of promotion and her focus for International music, her first album became popular in Europe. In the mid-1980s she became the first female country singer to play in the Eastern Bloc
countries of Europe. She appeared on television in East Germany, and the West German
branch of Greenpeace
adopted one of her songs, "Goodbye to a River", as their anthem. In Czechoslovakia
she recorded an album, Rattlesnake Annie and the Last Cowboy, with Czech country singer Michal Tučný.
In 1991, Rattlesnake became the first American country performer to sign a recording contract with Sony Music Japan. She expressed relief at the agreement, mentioning that "it's always been a hassle because they can never put me in a slot. What bin does the record store use for my records? ... When I signed with Sony Japan and they put me in their world music department, for the first time I felt free and understood." She and her husband moved to Japan, where they remained for 16 years. They have since moved to Spain.
, for women's rights, and against the Vietnam War
.
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...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
under the stage name Rattlesnake Annie. She earned her nickname as a child from her respect of snakes. McGowan began recording music in 1974 and achieved success in Europe. She became the first female country musician to tour the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries in Europe and released an album with a country singer from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In 1990, she became the first American country performer to sign a recording contract with Sony Music Japan.
Early years
Rosan Gallimore was born December 26, 1941. She was raised near Puryear, TennesseePuryear, Tennessee
Puryear is a city in Henry County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 667 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Puryear is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
on a cotton and tobacco farm. Her great-great-grandmother was Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, a tribe which considered the rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
a symbol of healing. As a child, Rattlesnake had no fear of snakes, and her grandmother often called her "rattlesnake".
Rattlesnake's father had been a country
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...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, and she was learned to play guitar at an early age. She earned her first paycheck from singing at age 8, and from then on her goal in life was to earn a living while making music. When she was 12, Rattlesnake and two of her cousins formed a band called the Gallimore Sisters. They performed locally and won a statewide talent contest in 1954 landing them an appearance in Nashville on the Jr. Grand Ole Opry and a live television performance.
At age 16, Rattlesnake moved to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and then on to Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
. In the early 1960s she moved to Texas, where she met and married Max McGowan. The couple purchased 200 acres (80.9 ha) of land along the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
. The land had never been cleared or lived on.
Recording career
Rattlesnake continued to pursue a music career, and in 1974 her first single, "Texas Lullabye", was released. She recorded her debut album, Rattlesnakes and Rusty Water, on her own label, Rattlesnake Records. At the time, it was unusual for a woman to play guitar in public, and it was also rare for a woman to produce her own songs. Rattlesnake reminisced of those early days: "I was breaking down barriers. If I could work like a man in the fields, why couldn't I play a guitar and cut records?"Because of promotion and her focus for International music, her first album became popular in Europe. In the mid-1980s she became the first female country singer to play in the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
countries of Europe. She appeared on television in East Germany, and the West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
branch of Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
adopted one of her songs, "Goodbye to a River", as their anthem. In Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
she recorded an album, Rattlesnake Annie and the Last Cowboy, with Czech country singer Michal Tučný.
In 1991, Rattlesnake became the first American country performer to sign a recording contract with Sony Music Japan. She expressed relief at the agreement, mentioning that "it's always been a hassle because they can never put me in a slot. What bin does the record store use for my records? ... When I signed with Sony Japan and they put me in their world music department, for the first time I felt free and understood." She and her husband moved to Japan, where they remained for 16 years. They have since moved to Spain.
Music
Rattlesnake has recorded music in every country she has visited. In her career, she has recorded in over ten languages, including Czech, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Maya, German, and English. Many of her songs contain a political message. She says that "Songs are so important to make a statement on issues, and that's how I have used my music. Life is just full of objections, especially when you are a woman." In this vein, she has recorded songs for the Civil Rights MovementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, for women's rights, and against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Albums
- Painted Bird
- Crossroads
- Rattlesnake Annie Sings Hank Williams
- Indian Dream
- Rattlesnake Annie
- Rattlesnake Annie and the Last Cowboy (1983, by SupraphonSupraphonSupraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
, CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
)- Czech title: Anka Chřestýš & Poslední Kovboj.
- Recorded by Rattlesnake Annie, Michal Tučný & Tučňáci ("Fatsos")
- Rattlesnake's first platinum album
- Adios Last Cowboy (1995, by Sony Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
) - Country Livin'
- Rattlesnakes and Rusty Water
- Southern Discomfort (2002)
- I Ride Alone (2002)
- Some Stories Never End
- Troubadour
- Rattlesnake Annie sings Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
(2004) - The Best of Rattlesnake Annie (2006)
- International Fusion Project (2009) Featuring Caroline Perry
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Rattlesnake Annie | 49 | Columbia |
Singles
| Year | Single | 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 | |||
| 1987 | "Callin' Your Bluff" | 79 | 51 | Rattlesnake Annie |
| 1988 | "Somewhere South of Macon" | 79 | — |