The Tractors (album)
Encyclopedia
The Tractors is the eponymous debut album of American country music
band The Tractors
. Released in August 1994 on Arista Records
, it set a record for becoming the fastest-selling debut album by a group to achieve Recording Industry Association of America
platinum certification in the United States; by the end of the year, it was certified double platinum, and became the highest-selling country album of 1994. The tracks "Baby Likes to Rock It", "Tryin' to Get to New Orleans", and "Badly Bent" were all released as singles. "Baby Likes to Rock It" was the only one to reach the top 40, peaking at number 11 on Hot Country Songs
.
, The Tractors' lead vocalist and guitarist, co-produced the album along with keyboardist/bass vocalist Walt Richmond.
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 The Tractors
The Tractors
The Tractors is an American country rock band composed of a loosely associated group of musicians, headed by guitarist Steve Ripley. Under the band's original lineup, The Tractors was signed to Arista Records in 1994, releasing their self-titled debut album that year; the album went on to become...
. Released in August 1994 on Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, it set a record for becoming the fastest-selling debut album by a group to achieve Recording Industry Association of America
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...
platinum certification in the United States; by the end of the year, it was certified double platinum, and became the highest-selling country album of 1994. The tracks "Baby Likes to Rock It", "Tryin' to Get to New Orleans", and "Badly Bent" were all released as singles. "Baby Likes to Rock It" was the only one to reach the top 40, peaking at number 11 on 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...
.
Recording the album
Steve RipleySteve Ripley
Steve Ripley is a recording artist, songwriter, studio engineer, guitarist, and inventor. He has been active in the music business since 1977...
, The Tractors' lead vocalist and guitarist, co-produced the album along with keyboardist/bass vocalist Walt Richmond.
Track listing
- "The Tulsa Shuffle" (Steve Ripley) – 3:54
- J. J. Cale – guitar
- Joe Davis – saxophones
- Jim KeltnerJim KeltnerJames Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
– drums - Glen Mitchell – Hammond B–3 organ
- Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
– slide guitar - Leon RussellLeon RussellClaude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
– synthesizer
- "Fallin' Apart" (Ripley, Ron Getman) – 3:47
- Ed Richmond – fiddle
- "Thirty Days" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 2:45- John Crowder – background vocals
- Debbie Campbell – background vocals
- Joe Davis – saxophones
- Ron Morgan – upright bass on intro
- Jim Sweney – background vocals
- "I've Had Enough" (Ripley) – 3:10
- Steve Collier – second steel guitar solo
- Gene Crownaver – third steel guitar solo
- Curly Lewis – fiddle
- Waddy Pass – first steel guitar solo
- "The Little Man" (Jim Pulte, Ripley, Tim DuBois) – 5:46
- Rick Morton – fiddle
- Jim Pulte – bass vocals
- Bonnie Raitt – slide guitar (recorded at Sun Studio)
- Angelene Ripley – Hammond B–3 organ
- Elvis Ripley – tremolo guitar
- "Baby Likes to Rock ItBaby Likes to Rock It"Baby Likes to Rock It" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music group The Tractors. It was released in August 1994 as the first single from the album The Tractors. The song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and peaked at number 8 on...
" (Ripley, Walt Richmond) – 3:56- James BurtonJames BurtonJames Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
– "master of the Telecaster"
- James Burton
- "Badly Bent" (Martha Ellis, Ripley, Richmond) – 3:02
- Steve Bagsby – steel guitar
- Curly Lewis – fiddle
- "The Blue Collar Rock" (Ripley) – 4:34
- Ry CooderRy CooderRyland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
– slide guitar - Jim Keltner – extra drums
- Ry Cooder
- "Doreen" (Ripley) – 2:29
- Eldon Shamblin – guitar
- "Settin' the Woods on Fire" (Fred RoseFred Rose (musician)Fred Rose was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive.-Biography:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Fred Rose started playing piano and singing as a small boy. In his teens, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked in bars busking for tips, and finally vaudeville...
, Ed G. Nelson) – 2:55 - "Tryin' to Get to New Orleans" (Ripley, Richmond, DuBois) – 4:40
- Joe Davis – extra horns
- "The Tulsa Shuffle (Revisited)" (Ripley) – 6:11
- Steve Allen – guitar
- Rick Belke – guitar
- Bill Belknap – drums
- Larry Bell – Hammond B–3 organ
- Rich Brown – drums
- Mike Bruce – guitar
- Mark Bruner – guitar
- Jim Byfield – guitar
- J. J. Cale – guitar
- Robert Coggins – guitar
- John Crowder – guitar
- Gary Cundiff – guitar
- Chuck DeWalt – drums
- Jim Edwards – guitar
- Richard Feldman – guitar
- Huey Flannery – guitar
- Ron Flynt – guitar
- Michael Garrett – guitar
- Gary Gilmore – guitar
- Stacey Grant – trombone
- Doc James – guitar
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Roger Linn – guitar
- Steve Pryor – guitar
- Dan Mayo – "life observations and noises"
- Glen Mitchell – Hammond B–3 organ
- Ron Morgan – bass guitar licks
- Rick Morton – fiddle
- Carl Pickhardt – Hammond B–3 organ
- Steve Pryor – guitar
- Jim Pulte – guitar
- Bonnie Raitt – slide guitar
- Ed Richmond – fiddle
- Ed Robinson – Hammond B–3 organ
- Angelene Ripley – Hammond B–3 organ
- Charlene Ripley – trumpet
- Elvis Ripley – tremolo guitar, dive bomb guitar
- Leon Russell – MIDI programming
- Pat "Taco" Ryan – saxophone
- Emily Smith – tambourine
- Dick Sims – Hammond B–3 organ
- Gordon Shryock – guitar
- "Skee" – guitar
- Jim Strader – bass guitar licks
- Spencer Sutton – piano
- Roger Tillison – guitar
- Don White – guitar
- Junior Markham & the Tulsa All Stars:
-
- Chuck Blackwell – drums
- Chuck Browning – drums
- Steve Hickerson – guitar
- Jimmy Karstein – drums
- Jimmy "Junior" Markham – harmonica
- David Teegarden – drums
- Tommy Tripplehorn – guitar
The Tractors
- Ron Getman – electric guitarElectric guitarAn 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...
, acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA 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...
, slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, steel guitarSteel guitarSteel 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...
, DobroDobroDobro 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...
, mandolinMandolinA 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...
, tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
vocals, engineer - Jamie OldakerJamie OldakerJames Oldaker is an American rock music, blues rock and country music drummer and percussionist. He was born September 5, 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is an exponent of the shuffle style....
– drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
, "groove snaresSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
", tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Walt Richmond – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Hammond B–3 organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, WurlitzerWurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer 200A|250px|thumbThe Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Corinth, Mississippi, U.S. and Tonawanda, New York...
, clavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
, drums, hornsHorn sectionIn music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
, bass vocals, producer, engineer, photography - Steve RipleySteve RipleySteve Ripley is a recording artist, songwriter, studio engineer, guitarist, and inventor. He has been active in the music business since 1977...
– electric guitar, drums, lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, producer, engineer, design, original art - Casey van Beek – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
vocals
Additional production and engineering
- Allen Brown - management
- Don Cobb - digital editing
- Maude Gilman - art direction
- Carlos Grier - digital editing
- Señor McGuire - photography
- Denny Purcell - mastering
- Angelene Ripley - engineer
- Elvis Ripley - engineer
Chart performance
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Albums | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Albums | 36 |
External links
- [ The Tractors] at Allmusic