Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys | |
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Background information | |
Genres | |
Years active | 1988-1998 1999-present |
Labels | Hightone Records, Yep Roc Records, Jeems Records |
Website | Official web page |
Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys is an American rockabilly and Western swing band [1] from California composed of Robert Williams, alias Big Sandy, Ashley Kingman, Ricky McCann and Kevin Stewart. [4] The band is known for its eclectic style, which encompasses rockabilly, Western swing, folk, bluegrass, Cajun, mariachi, rock and roll, [2] folk rock, swing and country. [3]
Robert Williams grew up listening to jump blues records from his parents' collection, and subsequently performed with neo-rockabilly bands in southern California in the 1980s before forming the Fly-Rite Boys band as a trio in 1988. [2] After recording two albums as Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Trio, the band expanded its line-up and released its official debut studio album, Jumping from 6 to 6, in 1994. [2] Swingin' West, the band's second album, was released the following year, and featured more prominent Western swing influences than the band's debut. [2] After releasing a more eclectic sounding album, Feelin' Kinda Lucky, in 1997, the band went on hiatus, and released the instrumental album Big Sandy Presents the Fly-Rite Boys in 1998, [5] followed by the Big Sandy solo album Dedicated to You, a cover album consisting of R&B and doo-wop songs, before the band reunited in 1999 to record the EP Radio Favorites. [2]
Former members include Joe Perez, Jeff West, Bobby Trimble, TK Smith, Carl Leyland, Lee Jeffriess, and Wally Hersom. The band has been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. [2]