Artists – H

1964 LP from "Big" John Hall, released on Temple Records.

From Discogs:

"Big" John Hall began his career as bass singer for the Stamps Quartet in the early 1960's. From 1965-1968 he sang bass for the Blackwood Brothers. After leaving the Blackwood Brothers, John Hall began a long and successful solo career.

LP from Indiana bluegrass-gospel band Hallelujah Travelers, released on Crusade Records.

The Hallelujah Travelers were a bluegrass-gospel band from Springville, Indiana. The band was composed of Warren Swango on fiddle, Wilma Swango on rhythm guitar, Steven English on lead guitar, Beverly English on mandolin, Tracy Baker on bass, and Pamela Hawkins on bass fiddle. Tracy Baker and Pamela Hawkins are Warren and Wilma's daughters.

Wilma and Warren started their music careers in the late 1960s with a group called The Evening Light Gospel Singers. The Hallelujah Travelers started up in the mid 1970s, with Tracy and Pamela joining their parents, and they performed together through the mid 1980s. An evolution of the group, now led by Tracy Baker, performs around Indiana as the Swango Family Band.

Tracy Baker pursued a solo career in country music in the early 1990s, but I can't find any released attributed to her.

Warren Swango passed away in 2015.

LP from Dillsboro, North Carolina country-gospel group The Happy Melody Quartet.

The group consisted of Reverend Jimmy Ashe on lead vocals, Howard Allison on bass, Kathy Messer on alto vocals, Jane Dills on piano and tenor vocals, and Michael Dills on bass guitar. They released at least two other albums that I can find online.

Other credits on the LP include Bucky Hanks on rhythm/lead/banjo and Larry Metcalf on steel guitar.

Jimmy Ashe passed away in 2000.

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Tracklist
A1 He Will Calm The Troubled Water
A2 Free Indeed
A3 Robe And Crown
A4 My Day Will Come
A5 That Sounds Like Home To Me
B1 Beulah Land
B2 I'll Stand For Jesus
B3 By The Time They Find Me Missing
B4 Wayfaring Pilgrim
B5 Sailing Toward Home

1986 LP from Texas singer-songwriter Alex Harvey (1947-2020), released on TAM Records.

From Wikipedia:

"Thomas Alexander Harvey (March 10, 1941 – April 4, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, author, actor, and radio host.

Alex Harvey was born in rural western Tennessee near Brownsville. In 1964, Harvey graduated from Murray State University in Kentucky with a master's degree in Music and Education, and he also studied acting in Los Angeles.

Alex Harvey performed and recorded as a musician throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Harvey's songs have been recorded by many other significant artists such as Alan Jackson, Cymarron, Three Dog Night, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Buffett, Anne Murray, Eydie Gormé, Henry Mancini, Peggy Lee, and Sammy Davis Jr. Kenny Rogers alone has recorded eighteen Alex Harvey songs.

Two of Alex Harvey's greatest hits were "Reuben James" (co-wrote with Barry Etris), recorded by Kenny Rogers, and "Delta Dawn" (co-wrote with Larry Collins), recorded by Tanya Tucker, Helen Reddy, and Bette Midler. In 1973, Alex Harvey's "Delta Dawn" was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Country Song, however, the Grammy was awarded to Kenny O'Dell for writing Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors." "To Make My Life Beautiful" charted in the Netherlands in 1972.

He died on April 4, 2020."

This LP is noteworthy because it contains the song "No Place But Texas", which was chosen by the state as the Official Song of the Texas Sesquicentennial. There is footage on YouTube of Harvey playing this song at Farm Aid with Willie Nelson.

All songs on the LP were written by Harvey except for "She Ain't Goin' Nowhere" which was written by Guy Clark. This LP was produced and arranged by John Hobbs, who also played keyboard. Billy Sherrill was the engineer and co-producer. Gene Glover was on percussion, Jerry Metheny and Jerry Swallow were on guitar, and Chuck Rainey was on bass.

Sig Hausman is based out of Tesuque, New Mexico. In addition to writing and performing songs, he was also written and illustrated several books. From bluebhikku.com:

"Sid Hausman is a wrangler, trailrider, cowboy and genuine personality of the Southwest, who specializes in writing and performing music of the American Southwest. A real wrangler from Tesuque, NM, Sid tours both U.S. coasts and Europe annually and performs at many Western Music Festivals. In addition, he was a New Folk Finalist at Kerrville in 1977. Sid's "November Moon" and "Los Estados Unidos" (Geronimo's Land CD) are included in the soundtrack for the highly-acclaimed (and possibly Academy Award nominated) documentary 'Cochise County USA - Cries from the Border'"

Sid has released several CDs over the years, including Geronimo's Land, High On The Lonesome Timberline, and Colorado Belle. All songs on this release were written by Sid, and additional personnel on the songs include Cappie Hausman, Erik Darling, Claude Stephenson, Janie Mohr-Nelson, George Langston, Richard Hardy, Caitlin Massie, Steve Lindsay, and Roger Baker.

As far as I can tell Sid is still out there performing. You can find videos of him performing on YouTube as recently as 2018.

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1967 LP from country-gospel duo Joel and LaBreeska Hemphill, released on Canaan Records.

Joel and LaBreeska started their performing career in 1967, releasing a few LPs as a duo and many more as 'The Hemphills', consisting of the couple and their extended family/children. The group received five Dove Awards during the career and disbanded in 1990.

Many of the songs on the LP are credited to Joel and LaBreeska as songwriters. The LP was produced by Rusty Goodman and Marvin Norcross, and it was recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville.

LaBreeska Hemphill passed away in 2015.

LP from country gospel singer Vicki Hensley, released in 1974 on Jewel Records.

As far as I can tell this is the only LP released by Vicki Hensley. The back cover of the LP says she "was in the country music field, and has appeared with many of Nashville's leading country music entertainers". I can't find any record of her performing with anyone, leading country music entertainer or otherwise.

In addition to Vicki Hensley, a number of Jewel Records session musicians play on this LP. These include Kenny Langdon on lead guitar, Donnie Elkins on bass, Chuck Rich on steel, Ron Hensley (Vicki's brother) on drums, Leona Gull on organ, Denny Rice on piano, and Jr. Bennett on piano.

Description coming soon!

Tracklist
A1 Medley: Lord Teach A Little Child To Pray / Trust And Obey
A2 Heping Mommy Everyday
A3 Meet God In The Morning
A4 Medley: Christ Liveth In Me / Wonderful Story Of Love
A5 Nobody Knows 'Da Trouble I've Seen
A6 Medley: How Great Thou Art / In The Garden
B1 Commit Your Way Into The Lord
B2 When The Saints Go Marchin' In
B3 Jesus Loves Me
B4 Open Up Your Geart (And Let The Sunshine In)
B5 Medley: When My Cup Runneth Over / Put Your Hand In The Hand
B6 A Wonderful Time Up There

1971 LP by Oakland, California bluegrass band High Country, released on Warner Brothers/Raccoon Records.

High Country is a bluegrass band based out of California and have been active since 1968. They released a slew of LPs on labels such as Warner Brothers, Swallow Records, Storm Records, among others. As far as I can tell this is their first LP. Many of the band members turned up on other records over the years - Rich Wilburn played with New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Bruce Nemerov played with Normal Blake and Ed Neff played with Rose Maddox.

The band was allegedly the first west coast band to ever be invited to Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival. They have played all over Europe and The United States.

This LP features Butch Waller on mandolin and lead vocals, Ed Neff on fiddle, Bruce Menrov on banjo, Rich Wilbur on guitar, Lonny Feiner on bass, Chris Boutwell on guitar, and Sue Ericson on tenor vocals. The LP was produced and recorded by 'Banana' at Raccoon Studio B in February 1971.

You can find out more about High Country- including information about tour dates and how to purchase their music - on their website at highcountrybluegrass.com

Denny Hilton's 1983 LP Somethin' To Write Home About, released on History Records.

From slipcue.com:

"In 1969, Ozarks showman Denny Hilton created the Country Shindig Opry, a Branson-esque variety show based in Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri, which by the early '80s had grown to a 1200-seat venue. In 1982, Hilton was sued by WSM's Grand Ole Opry for copyright infringement, but won the case when it was ruled that "opry" was commonly used by hundreds of shows across the country, and had become a generic phrase though common usage, dating back many years before 1927, when WSM first used the term to market its country-themed radio broadcasts. The decision was upheld on appeal to a Federal District Court in 1984."

The group put out several LPs throughout the 1970s and 1980s, primarily on either History Records or Rosebridge Records. History Records was a private label based in Macks Creek primarily releasing country and country rock records.

Credits on this LP include the 'Shindig Singers', Sandy Gumm, Thom Gumm, Steve West, Kely Jones, Sarah West, Guy McDaniel, Caly Hood, Doug Briscoe, and Jerry Frank. The LP was recotded at Audio Loft Studios in Macks Creek Missouri, produced by Denny Hilton, and engineered by Brad Edwards.

Matt Gumm, whom I think is the son of Thom and Sandy Gumm, has a YouTube channel at @BubbaGumm where you can see videos of some of the Denny Hilton shows.

1970 live LP by jazz pianist Earl Hines featuring jazz singer Maxine Sullivan, recorded at The Overseas Press Club and released on Chiaroscuro Records.

Hook, Line, and Sinker's 1979 LP, released on Frogg Records.

Hook, Line, and Sinker were a band active in the 1970s and 1980s. They released at least two LPs: Takin' The Bait in 1978 and Doin' It Again in 1979. Credits for the LP include Tony Little on vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes, and guitar, Danny Stafford on vocal and bass, and Evajo Niebrugge on vocals and drums. The LP was produced by Tony Little and recorded/mixed at Don Sheets Studio in Nashville, Indiana.

I can't find much history on the band, but I did discover that they were the house band at the Lakeview Supper Club in Indianapolis between 1979 and 1981. Beyond this I don't know anything.

Al Hooper's 1968 LP, released on Pentagon Records.

This LP was produced by Jack Boswell and Bill Bessey and contains covers of songs made famous by Don Gibson, Ray Price, Merle Haggard, and others. Al Hooper is backed on this LP by The Blue Diamonds, a band consisting of Roy MacCaull, Doug Watters, and Eddy Poirier.

Al Hooper is from New Brunswick and has had a long career as a country musician, releasing over 50 albums in his lifetime (his 51st was released in late 2020). This may be his first LP, but I cannot confirm this. He is a member of the New Brunswick Country Music Hall of Fame and a recipient of an East Coast Music Award (ECMA).

You can find more information about Al and his wife Brenda on their Facebook page, which still appears to be somewhat active in late 2022. He also has a YouTube channel @alhooper5276 where you can find more of his music!

Country singer Jack Hoppes' 1978 self-titled album, released on Country Pride Of Indiana.

Jack Hoppes (1939-2011) was an occasional country music performer from Muncie, Indiana. At one time he was the partial owner of the Little Nashville Opry, a well-known bluegrass and country music venue in Brown County, Indiana. As far as I can tell, this is the only LP that Jack ever released. He put out a few more songs on the Country Pride Of Indiana label in the late 1970s, including an original track called "Molly".

The players on the LP seem to be local musicians with very few other credits.

From the back cover of the LP jacket:

"It was a real thrill to record this album at the Little Nashville Opry, in Nashville, Indiana. The laid back atmosphere of Brown County makes it easy to record, and perform at the Little Nashville Opry, to some of the most dedicated country music fans in the nation. My many thanks to all those fans."

1978 LP by flamenco/classical guitarist Ron Hudson, released on Maya Records.

Ron Hudson (1943-2019) was born in Oklahoma but was based in Houston, Texas for most of his career. He grew up with missionary parents and traveled around before moving back to the United States when he was 17. Along the way he began playing classical and flamenco guitar, performing in concert and giving guitar lessons. According to memorialmusic.com he released at least twelve LPs and CDs in his career and performed all across the United States and other continents. In 1986 he started Memorial Music, a music school and music shop in Texas. Maya Records was his own label started in 1972, and as far as I can tell all of his releases were on this label. Ron passed away in 2019.

This LP was engineering by David Blakey and produced by Musicville (which I assume is Ron himself). The LP features interesting use of phaser effects on a few tracks, most notably on the opener "Heaven On Their Minds", giving the music a somewhat psychedelic sound.

You can find out more about Memorial Music, Ron, and Maya Records at memorialmusic.com and maya-records.com.

1977 LP by Houston, Texas bluegrass band The Humbert Brothers, released on Virginia label Heritage Records.

The Humbert Brothers consisted of brothers Emile and Keith Humbert on banjo and guitar, Dennis Link on mandolin, and Roy Lemons on bass. This LP consists of some country and bluegrass classics by Jimmy Skinner, Fred Rose, and Bob Wills, as well as a handful of originals composed by the brothers.

According to the liner notes, the Humbert Brothers played for President Gerald Ford in Houston. This LP was recorded by Bobby Patterson at Heritage Records in Galax, Virginia.

The Humbert Brothers released at least two other LPs. In 1978 they released A Land Across The Sea and Our World, both on Dequin Records. The Humbert Brothers are also credited on a 1976 LP by Roma Jackson And The Tennessee Pals, also on Heritage.