Curtis Potter "Here Comes Curtis Potter" (Dot Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Allison, Harold Bradley & Jim Williamson)
Although his debut album was recorded in Nashville, Curtis Potter brought plenty of Texas twang into the studio, confidently crooning over a rich Texas shuffle, surprisingly rootsy music punctuated by a loping bass and crisp, bright fiddle. The liner notes only call out a few of the studio musicians -- steel player Jimmy Day, Harold Bradly on guitar, Charlie McCoy working his multi-instrumental magic -- but this set sounds so authentically Texan you really have to wonder if perhaps a few other guys from the Hank Thompson band were there as well, especially that fiddle player. The album opens with Dave Kirby's "Devil River," a song about a robbery gone wrong, with a narrator on the lam, and also includes the Hank Cochran/Harlan Howard collaboration "You Combed Her Hair Every Morning," an early minor hit that held out promise for Potter's solo career. Potter's vocals range from robust to slightly tremulous, bringing several other artists to mind, though a subtle affinity for Willie Nelson's idiosyncrasies lurks just below the surface. The songwriting credits are also of particular interest, with several tunes credited to Dave Kirby (who I suspect may have played on these sessions) as well as Harlan Howard, Hank Cochran and even one from Hank Thompson, who was still Potter's boss at the time. Willie Nelson fans may be intrigued by a version of "There's Gonna Be Love In My House Tonight," one of Willie's lesser works which Nelson had recorded years earlier but which was soon forgotten. Overall, this is a pretty solid record, with a rich, rootsy country feel that flew in the face of the countrypolitan vibe of the times. Worth a spin!
Curtis Potter/Darrell McCall/Ray Sanders "Texas Dance Hall Music" (Hillside Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Franer, Frank DeLuna & Jim Williamson)
Though his fling at a solo career didn't quite pan out in the 'Seventies, Curtis Potter remained triumphant back home in Texas. After a long dry spell he returned to the studio to cut this album alongside two other Lone Star legends, Darrell McCall and Ray Sanders. All three of these singers were woefully underrated, but they're backed here by a lot of top talent from the Nashville scene, and this s a pretty strong indie album. (Notably, Harold Bradley and Dave Kirby are on board, as well as fiddlers Johnny Gimble and Buddy Spicher, while Buddly Emmons and Lloyd Green add some sweet pedal steel licks into the mix...) One single off the album, McCall and Potter's duet version of Lawton Williams's "Fraulein," just barely cracked into the national charts -- maybe those Music City folks didn't quite get the Lone Star neotrad vibe, but back in Texas they sure did. A nice album, certainly worth checking out.
Curtis Potter "Texas Proud" (Hillside Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Franer & Jim Williamson)
Curtis Potter "Down In Texas Today" (Step One Records, 1984)
(Produced by Kevin McManus & Ray Pennington)
This was the first of several records Potter recorded for Step One Records, an influential indie label he helped co-found along with producer Ray Pennington... It's a pretty satisfying set, a little studio slick at times but basically still true to Potter's Lone Star roots. Indeed, there are several regional pride songs that underscore his Texas bona fides: "Twin Fiddle Turn Me On," "If This Was Texas (I'd Be Home)" and the title track, "Down In Texas Today." Of note among the songwriters are some guys who seem to have been staff writers for the label -- Mel Holt, who was signed to Potter's publishing company, as well as Jim Leback and Jesse Shofner, who were attached to Pennington's own Almarie Music. It's another Nashville session with plenty of big-name, usual-suspect superpickers, as well as a couple of more obscure musicians in the background. It's also worth noting that the stalwart Dave Kirby is on board as a guitarist; Potter also covers one of Kirby's songs, "We've Survived," which is an album highlight.
Curtis Potter "All I Need Is Time" (Step One Records, 1987) (LP)
Curtis Potter & Willie Nelson "Six Hours At Pedernales" (Step One Records, 1994)
Curtis Potter "...And The National Swing Band Of Texas" (Southland Records, 2000)
Curtis Potter "The Best Of Curtis Potter, v.1" (Southland Records, 2001)
Curtis Potter "Walking On New Grass" (Startex Records, 2003)
Curtis Potter "Them Old Honky Tonks" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2004)
Curtis Potter "Chicago Dancin' Girls" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2005)
Curtis Potter "Down In Texas Today" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2006)
Curtis Potter "...Sings Willie Nelson" (Hillside Records, 2008)
Curtis Potter "When The Neon Lights Come On" (Hillside Records, 2009)
Curtis Potter "The Potter's Touch" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2010)
Curtis Potter/Tony Booth/Darrell McCall "The Survivors" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2010)
A collaboration with fellow retro-honkytonkers Darrell McCall and Tony Booth... three great singers that Nashville left behind.
Curtis Potter/Tony Booth/Darrell McCall "The Survivors, v.2" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2012)
Curtis Potter "Songs Of The Cherokee Cowboy" (Heart Of Texas Records, 2013)
Texas born and bred, Lone Star troubadour Curtis Potter (1940-2016) grew up in Cross Plains and made his show business debut at an early age, performing on local TV as a teen, even hosting his own program starting when he was only sixteen years old. Potter's big break came in 1959 when honkytonk/western swing legend Hank Thompson hired him as a member of his Brazos Valley Boys road band, a position Curtis Potter held for over a dozen years. He took a fling at cracking into the national market, but like a lot of Texas talent eventually discovered that chilling back home as a hometown hero was more satisfying than chasing the brass ring in Nashville. Indeed, he was one of the rare "outsiders" who broke the mold: in the early 'Eighties Potter helped co-found Step One Records, one of the last commercially successful indie labels of the era. Over the decades, Curtis Potter kept true to his roots and recorded album after album of rootsy, authentic Texas twang. Here's a quick look at his work...
