Little Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Little Texas is an American country music band which achieved fame in the 1990s with several hit singles to their credit.
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[edit] Members
Porter Howell - lead vocals, lead guitar (1988-1997; 2004-present)
Dwayne O'Brien - rhythm guitar, vocals (1988-1997; 2004-present)
Duane Propes - bass guitar, vocals (1988-1997; 2004-present)
Del Gray - drums, vocals (1988-1997; 2004-present)
Brady Seals - keyboards, vocals (1988-1994)
Tim Rushlow - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1988-1997)
Jeff Huskins - keyboards, fiddle, vocals (1995-1997)
Steven Troy - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2004-present, but according to the Little Texas website, he is no longer listed as a member)
[edit] History
Little Texas[1] first materialized in November 1988. Before the band came together, each pair of members were playing music together. Tim Rushlow and Dwayne O'Brien began playing together in Arlington, Texas, in 1984. Rushlow was originally a member of the band Perry Hoover and the Gamblers. Porter Howell and Duane Propes got together while they were in high school in 1983 and moved to Nashville to attend Belmont College. Brady Seals and Del Gray played in the backup band of country music recording artist Josh Logan. Tim, Dwayne, Duane and Porter first started making music at Opryland as a 50's showband. With both Tim's first wife and Porter's wife, plus 2 other members, they took the showband on the road, naming their act "The Varsities". When two of the members left to pursue other interests, they contacted Del and Brady, whom they had met while playing in Springfield, MA, in hopes of forging a more country/Southern rock sound. All six members eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they started playing together, and Little Texas[2] was born.
The band played at venues across the United States (around 300 dates a year) where it caught the attention of Nashville's division of Warner Bros. Records. Warner Bros. signed Little Texas in 1989, and a couple of years later, the band released its first album, First Time For Everything. The album spawned five singles that landed on the Billboard country singles chart. In 1993, Little Texas[3] released its second album, Big Time. Big Time was Little Texas' biggest selling album of their career, selling more than three million copies. It spawned three Top 5 singles, a Top 15, and the band's only No. 1 record with My Love, which was sung as a lead vocal by Brady. 1994 saw the release of Little Texas's third album, Kick a Little. It spawned three more singles in the Billboard country chart.
However, just weeks before the release of Kick a Little, Brady left Little Texas[4] to pursue a solo career (his peak at solo success would come in early 1997 with the Billboard Top 30 country single, "Another You, Another Me"), and was replaced by Jeff Huskins, who had previously played in country singer Clint Black's backing band. Little Texas soldiered on with a greatest-hits album, and a self-titled album that was released in 1997. That same year, however, the band split up after a New Year's Eve performance. During their hiatus, Tim Rushlow had one-hit wonder success as a solo artist with the Billboard Top 10 country single, "She Misses Him." The song was about an elderly woman dealing with her husband suffering from Alzheimer's disease. After his solo career faltered, Tim eventually formed a new band called Rushlow, which had a Top 40 country hit in 2003 with, "I Can't Be Your Friend." In 2004, four of the original Little Texas's members - Duane Propes, Del Gray, Porter Howell, and Dwayne O'Brien - decided to reunite the band. Tim and Brady Seals opted not to rejoin the original lineup. Tim was still attempting success with his own band while Brady had formed a band of his own called Hot Apple Pie, which would eventually score a Top 30 country hit in 2005 with, "Hillbillies." Little Texas briefly brought Steven Troy to the front as lead singer (although he is no longer in pictures of the group, and Porter Howell is listed now as lead vocalist according to their website and various sources), and began touring again. (When Little Texas reunited, Tim and Brady made a legal attempt to keep their ex-bandmates from using the Little Texas name.) They are currently touring heavily on their own, and as part of the "Triple Threat Tour" along with Restless Heart and BlackHawk. A new live album, "The Very Best of Little Texas - Loud & Proud," is slated for release in February of 2007 on the Montage label, and a new studio album should be ready for release as early as spring, 2007. As for the other two original members, Brady is still touring and recording with Hot Apple Pie while Tim and fellow musician Donie Harris make up the duo Rushlow-Harris, and are signed to Toby Keith's record label, Show Dog Nashville.
[edit] Albums
- First Time For Everything (1992) #19 US (Country); #99 US (Pop)
- Big Time (1993) #6 US (Country); #55 US (Pop)
- Kick a Little (1994) #10 US (Country); #51 US (Pop)
- Greatest Hits (1995) #17 US (Country); 82 US (Pop)
- Little Texas (1997) #47 US (Country)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Country | |||
| 1991 | "Some Guys Have All the Love" | - | #8 | First Time For Everything |
| 1992 | "First Time For Everything" | - | #13 | First Time For Everything |
| 1992 | "You and Forever and Me" | - | #5 | First Time For Everything |
| 1992 | "What Were You Thinkin'" | - | #17 | First Time For Everything |
| 1993 | "I'd Rather Miss You" | - | #16 | First Time For Everything |
| 1993 | "What Might Have Been" | #74 | #2 | Big Time |
| 1993 | "God Blessed Texas" | #55 | #4 | Big Time |
| 1994 | "Peaceful Easy Feeling" | - | #74 | Common Thread: The Songs of The Eagles |
| 1994 | "My Love" | #83 | #1 | Big Time |
| 1994 | "Stop on a Dime" | - | #14 | Big Time |
| 1994 | "Kick a Little" | - | #5 | Kick a Little |
| 1995 | "Amy's Back in Austin" | - | #4 | Kick a Little |
| 1995 | "Southern Grace" | - | #27 | Kick a Little |
| 1995 | "Life Goes On" | - | #5 | Greatest Hits |
| 1996 | "Country Crazy" | - | #44 | Greatest Hits |
| 1996 | "Kiss the Girl" | - | #52 | The Best of Country Sing the Best of Disney |
| 1997 | "Bad For Us" | - | #45 | Little Texas |
