Hank Keene "Hank Keene And His Gang" (BACM, 2005)
(Available through the British Archive of Country Music website.)

Irene Kelley "Simple Path" (Restless Records, 2001)
(Produced by Irene Kelley & Scott Neubert)
Songwriter Irene Kelley struck gold when her song, "A Little Bluer Than That," was recorded by Top 40 hard-country hero Alan Jackson, on his album Drive. That song, which opens this album as well, is a welcome throwback to the heartfelt simplicity of 'Fifties-style country heartsongs -- a good lyrical premise, a strong, simple, irresistible melody and nice, clean pickin' to back it up. She has some roots set down in the bluegrass scene as well; picker such as Aubrie Haynie and Viktor Krauss pitch in, and there are also a couple of songs co-written with Claire Lynch, one of the best trad-grassers around. Kelley's voice and her musical choices bring to mind alt.country female icons such as Iris DeMent, Nanci Griffith and Kelly Willis, although I'd hazard to guess that Kelley sees herself working more in a commercial, Top 40 vein, more as a composer than as a headliner act. Other songs on this album are more self-consciously and ostentatiously crafted, more in line with the overdoing-things style that's all the rage in Nashville; the other standout track is "Pilgrim In The Rain," a bouncy, anthemic upbeat number co-written with Kim Richey. I wouldn't say that the whole album bowled me over the same way "Bluer Than That" does, but she was certainly a strong performer and a songsmith to be reckoned with. She went on to record quite a few albums, though I'm sticking to her more "hick" side here.

Wayne Kemp -- see artist discography

Howdy Kempf "The Talents Of Howdy Kempf" (Hilltop Records, 1972) (LP)
One of the real unsung heroes of classic '50s/'60s honky-tonk, Howdy Kempf (1926-1997) cut some fine hard country records, dating back to singles from the early 'Fifties, on labels ranging from King and Starday to smaller indies such as Sparton and Galico. Although he was hardly a prolific recording artist, Kempf -- who also released records as "Howdy Kemp" -- sure was a fine country singer. In the early '70s came this fine, fine album which was rather improbably issued on the budget-line Hilltop label, which is best known for its low-rent reissues of older material. In this case, the songs are drawn from Kempf's entire career, gathering together the best of his singles from 1952-66, and there's plenty of pedal steel and thumping, loping backbeats boost Kempf's solid, plainspoken vocals. It's good stuff: personally I vote for Bear Family or someone like that to re-reissue this material, as well as the handful of tracks that didn't make the cut in the LP era.

Doug Kershaw/Rusty & Doug - see artist discography

Jerry Kilgore "Love Trip" (Virgin Records, 1999)
(Produced by Steve Bogard, Scott Hendricks & Jeff Stevens)
Born in Tillamook, Oregon, hardcore honkytonker Jerry Kilgore started out as a regional artist playing in Portland bars, and ultimately made his way to Nashville, where he first found success as a Top Forty songwriter, with two of his early songs -- "Love Lessons" (by Tracy Byrd) and "Cover You in Kisses" (John Michael Montgomery) -- cracking into the Top Ten. After a few false starts, he got his own shot at Top Forty fame with this major-label debut, though the results were mixed: the title track, "Love Trip," scraped its way into the Top Forty, but as we've often seen before, Music City can be pretty harsh and unforgiving, and Kilgore's major label salad years were short-lived. Nashville's loss. The guy was just too damn good for the cookie-cutter country scene.

Jerry Kilgore "Loaded And Empty" (Nic-Nic Neer Records, 2007)
(Produced by Jerry Kilgore & Matt Rollings)
Wow. Jerry Kilgore had a smidge of success back in the 'Ninteties playing the Top 40 game, but after getting dropped from his major label contract, he came back strong with this slam-bang album packed with one great song after another. As far as I'm concerned, this is what Nashville ought to have been doing for the last twenty years. The album opens with "What's It Take To Get A Drink In Here," a Kilgore original in which he wonders whatever happened to his bartender, and makes it known to the world that he is a man who definitely needs a drink, if anyone could be bothered to make it down to his end of the bar. The track is muscular and propulsive, a fiddle-drenched, alcohol-fueled Texas shuffle anchored by a thumping backbeat and a wicked sense of humor. It's the kind of no-holds-barred, straight-ahead, hardcore country that gets your blood pumping while you crank up the volume and start singing along. The next track is equally strong, and the shuffle beat continues through the first half of the album. On "Ain't Got One Honky Tonk (Under His Belt)", Kilgore takes his obligatory shots at the Nashville establishment, questioning whether any of those pretty boys you see on TNN could really take a punch if they were in a bar fight, while on "Both Be On Our Way," he asks a distant lover if it's time for one last tumble. The second half of the record is slower and sees Kilgore trying fancy stuff with his singing that sometimes gets in the way, but mostly sounds just fine. Along with the sizzling hard-country arrangements and Kilgore's rugged, leap-right-out-at-ya vocals, this disc is packed with Kilgore originals -- and the two tunes he didn't write come from the pens of Shawn Camp and Mark Sanders, who ain't slouches, either. If you're wondering where the vigor has gone in modern country music, look no further: you'll want to check this guy out! (Also available through Kilgore's My Space fan site )

Jerry Kilgore "Telephone, TX" (Nic-Nic Neer Records, 2012)
A great set of pure, uncompromised, real-deal, old-school country -- heartfelt honkytonk with just a hint of twangy Top 40 that brings to mind Moe Bandy's early years. Kilgore's been one of hard-country's great secret weapons for several years, though this is only his third album in a twenty-year career, and his second recorded as an indie artist. He excels at all styles, from heartsongs to barroom honky-tonkers; highlights here include the sly novelty song, "If Ya Wanna Keep Your Beer Cold (Put It Next To Her Heart)." This is an artist I'm always glad to hear something new from... If you looking for music to drink beer to, this guy's plenty of twang on tap!

Jerry Kilgore "Those Seven Years" (Nic-Nic Neer Records, 2014)
(Produced by Jerry Kilgore)

Jim (James) Kimbrough "Country Music Is Still Alive" (Cattle Records, 1980) (LP)
An old-school dobro player from Alabama, James Kimbrough is one of the great early success stories of German country archivist Dagmar Binge's Cattle Records... Cattle recorded several albums of contemporary recordings by Kimbrough, recorded in the early 1980s and capturing his robust playing and profound devotion to the traditional country styles of the 1920s and '30s. Kimbrough had been playing in local bands and occasionally on independently produced records for many years before Binge got wind of him, but these are the records that really brought his playing to light. It's all great stuff! Apparently, Kimbrough put out a few records of his own, but they are pretty hard to track down. Anyway, if you like stuff like old vintage Roy Acuff or Bashful Brother Oswald, you'll want to check this guy out as well.

James Kimbrough "The Pure Dobro Country Sound Of James Kimbrough" (Cattle Records, 19--?) (LP)

James Kimbrough "Country Songs For Country Folks" (Cattle Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Dexter Johnson)

James Kimbrough "Going Back To The Country" (Cattle Records, 1984) (LP)
(Produced by Dexter Johnson)

James Kimbrough "...Sings Saturday Night Favorites Of The '30s & '40s" (Kimbrough Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by James Kimbrough & Jesse Handley)

James Kimbrough "...Sings Old Time Radio Hymns" (Kimbrough Records, 1986) (LP)
(Produced by James Kimbrough, Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough & Mike Walker)

Bob King - see artist discography

Claude King - see artist discography

Pee Wee King - see artist discography

Sid King & The Five Strings "Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight" (Bear Family Records, 1991)
Gangly hillbilly twangsters who moved from country boogie into Bill Haley-styled teenybopper rockabilly over the course of the 1950s, Sid King and his band are beloved by retro fans, and if you like artists like Deke Dickerson or Big Sandy, you'll probably dig this album as well. A little bit goes a long way, though -- the first few tracks on here are pretty sizzling, but King's sound got tamer and more by-the-numbers as the decade wore on, and most of this album doesn't really rock my world. Rockabilly fans will want to check this out, but if country is your bag, listening to this disc might turn into a little bit of a chore.

Sid King & The Five Strings "Rockin' On The Radio" (Schoolkids Records, 1996)
This short set of vintage radio airchecks from the 1954-55 has pretty poor fidelity, but it's a great glimpse into the world of for-real hillbilly entertainment at the dawn of the rock'n'roll era. While the album's liner notes tout this as a rock performance, it's actually hillbilly boogie material, along with a hefty dose of straight-up country music (in the band's first set, they cover Webb Pierce twice...) There's plenty of slack-jawed, yokelistic shuckin' and jivin' as well, with lulls in the action that you'd never hear onstage anymore. It's not the greatest set ever, but it is very authentic and pretty interesting, flaws and all.

Eddie Kirk "Country Memories Of The Late '40s And Early '50s" (Castle Records, 1982) (LP)
A neglected figure in the annals of classic country, singer-guitarist-radio deejay Eddie Kirk (1919-1997) was one of the more colorful characters in Southern California's booming postwar scene. Throughout the 1940s and early 'Fifties, he was a stalwart of the fledgling Capitol Records, both as a recording artist and as a ubiquitous studio musician, playing on countless pop and country sessions led by Cliffie Stone. Kirk was a bosom buddy and sometimes the romantic rival of guitarist Merle Travis: in the postwar years, Kirk married actress/comedienne June Hayden, although she left him in 1948 to elope with Merle Travis, though the two men remained drinking buddies for years to come. Eddie Kirk had two notable chart hits, including his song, "The Gods Were Angry With Me," which hit #9 on the charts, as did his version of "Candy Kisses," both in 1949. Despite his relative lack of chart success, Kirk stayed on the Capitol roster for years, cranking out reliably robust, professionally delivered country singles, with backing from the same usual-suspects studio crew that he himself was part of. Reissues of his work have been remarkably few and far between, however -- for some reason, Kirk is not one of those postwar country stars whose work appears in multiple editions on various labels, even with the relaxation of copyright laws in recent years. Only a handful of collections of his work have appeared, with this album possibly being the first. Amazingly, there's no overlap between this twelve-song album and the Cattle collection below. Of particular interest here is a heartsong penned by none other than Stan Freberg(!) and a track called "Judy," which may have been dedicated to Kirk's wife, who also worked under the name Judy Hayden.

Eddie Kirk "The Gods Were Angry With Me" (Cattle Compact Records, 1996)
This now-elusive compact disc collects another two dozen of Kirk's classic recordings, including his two chart hits, "Candy Kisses" and "The Gods Were Angry With Me," which is heard here in two versions, both including recitations. A bunch of other mopey, forlorn heartsongs, including tracks such as "Unfaithful One," "Careless Kisses," "How Do You Mend A Broken Heart" and the particularly-abject "I'd Rather Hear Most Anything (Than Hear You Say We're Through)." Also included is one called "The Two Years We Were Married," which again could be interpreted as being about his marriage to June Hayden. I'm not sure why Eddie Kirk has so definitely slipped between the cracks in country music history, but this is material that's certainly worth checking out.

Red Kirk "The Voice Of The Country" (BACM, 2005)

Kit & The Branded Men "Kit & The Branded Men" (2011)

Kris Kristofferson - see artist discography

Hick Music Index