Artists – R

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LP from "Dynamic Singer, Songwriter" Sal Rainone, released on Jody Records.

The liner notes say:

"The dynamic SAL RAINONE is knocking them dead with his songs and material in the Long Island and Metropolitan Area. Pretty soon he'll be known all over the country..."

I can find a few other releases attributed to Salvatore "Sal" Rainone, with one other being on Jody Records, credited as The Sal Rainone Orchestra. The other two releases were on Harpel Records, which, according to Discogs, was a 1960s label from Pelham, New York.

There are a few albums and singles scattered around on Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music that were released up until 2008.

This LP was produced by Lester A. Voorhees, who was also the primary songwriter of all tracks on the LP. Rainone has co-writing credits on the majority of the tracks on the LP.

Sal Rainone passed away in 2009 in California.

Folk singer Jim Ransom's 1978 LP Ransom Notes, released on Biscuit City Records.

Jim Ransom is a folk musician from New York. He started his musical career in Greenwich Village, playing alongside artists like Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs at the Gaslight Café.
He moved to Denver, Colorado in the early 1970s and founded,together with fellow New Yorker Laura Benson, the folk and bluegrass label Biscuit City Records. Jim acted as a producer and the president of the label, which released over twenty records of folk, singer-songwriter, bluegrass, and dulcimer music. Ransom sold the label in 1979. He then moved to the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos, New Mexico and became known as Jai Ram Ransom. As far as I can tell he now lives in India. There is a recent-ish interview with him here: https://www.mixcloud.com/arkivet2/interview-with-jai-ram-ransom/

This LP was produced by the great Buck Owens, who was also Susan's duet partner in the early 1970s.

From Wikipedia:

"Susan Raye (born October 8, 1944) is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport", an international crossover pop hit in 1971.

Raye was a protege of country music singer Buck Owens. Owens and Raye recorded a number of hit albums and singles together, and were one of the most successful country duet acts of the era, in addition to their solo careers."

This LP was produced by the great Buck Owens, who was also Susan's duet partner in the early 1970s.

From Wikipedia:

"Susan Raye (born October 8, 1944) is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport", an international crossover pop hit in 1971.

Raye was a protege of country music singer Buck Owens. Owens and Raye recorded a number of hit albums and singles together, and were one of the most successful country duet acts of the era, in addition to their solo careers."

LP from Penn State University singing group Re-Creation.

The group was formed in 1976 by Hugh and Carolyn Brooks. Most of their work is religious, but this LP consists of big country music hits of the 60s and 70s.

Re-Creation has a long and well-documented history that you can read more about at their website re-creationusa.org. It looks like the group/organization ended their run in 2023.

1970s LP from country-gospel group J.D. Redmon and The Redeemers, released on Redmon Records.

The group put out a handful of LPs in the 1970s, and several other records were released on the Redmon label in the same timeframe. The "Redeemer's Band" consisted of Roy Bray on piano, Rick Moreland on percussion, Dave Sullivan on bass, Pat Johnson on pedal steel, Doug Enouch on electric guitar, and J.D. Redmon on acoustic guitar. The LP was recorded in Indianapolis, Indiana.

J.D. Redmon passed away in 2020.

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LP by Cottondale, Florida gospel group The Representatives.

I can't find any information online about The Representatives. From the liner notes, they were comprised of members John Watson, Danny Worley, Tim Burgan, Lora Barfield, Legatha Barfield, and Eddie Barfield. The LP was recorded at Tony Scott Productions in Dothan, Alabama. Kay Burgan is credited as 'engineer and secretary'.

1980 LP from Indiana gospel quartet The Revelation Quartet.

As far as I can tell this is the only LP released by The Revelation Quartet. The group consisted of tenor Jerry Smith, lead Steve Baker, baritone Roger Smith, and bass Gene Frazier. Musicians on the LP include Roger Smith on keyboards, John Davidson on bass, Paul Ristau on drums, Vic Clay on lead guitar, and Chuck Rich on steel guitar.

The Revelation Quartet is credited with production, and Chuck Seitz was the sound engineer.

The Rhodes Brothers' 1966 self-titled LP, released on United Artists Records.

The Rhodes Brothers were a rock band from Ohio but based around Miami, Florida in the 1960s. The band consisted of four brothers: Ruey, John, Tom, and Eddie. They performed on television many times, including on the Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.

They had a few other independent releases in this era, but this is the only recording I can find that they made for United Artists.

There is a podcast interview with the last surviving member of the group, John Rhodes, on the "On the Record and Off the Wall" podcast hosted by Buzz Fleischman.

1979 LP by country steel guitarist Red Rhodes, released on Alshire Records.

From Wikipedia:

"Orville J. Rhodes, better known as Red Rhodes or O. J. Rhodes (December 30, 1930 – August 20, 1995), was an American pedal steel guitarist.

Rhodes' mother taught him to play the Dobro resonator guitar when he was five years old. When he turned fifteen, he switched to the steel guitar. He was a boxer and an oil company engineer before he settled into music.

Rhodes moved to Los Angeles in 1960 and became a session musician.

Rhodes played pedal steel on many country rock, pop, and rock albums of artists such as The Monkees, Michael Nesmith, James Taylor, The Beach Boys, Seals and Crofts, The Byrds, The Carpenters, Spanky and Our Gang, and many others, as part of the Wrecking Crew studio musicians. He is remembered for his work with former Monkee Michael Nesmith on Nesmith's solo albums in the early 1970s. Rhodes is credited with the "other-worldly" effects created with pedal steel on The Ventures' "futuristic" LP The Ventures in Space, released in 1964.

In the late 1970s, Rhodes shifted his focus from performing to guitar electronics at his Royal Amplifier Service shop in Hollywood, California. There, Rhodes modified amplifiers and created his custom Velvet Hammer guitar pickups for James Burton, Clarence White, and other guitarists. His shop staff included future instrument makers David Schecter, Michael Tobias, and Bill Chapin.

Rheumatoid arthritis restricted Rhodes' public performances and recordings in the 1980s and 1990s, with the notable exception of his appearance on Michael Nesmith's Tropical Campfires album and tour in 1992. Rhodes fell ill soon after this tour, and died on August 20, 1995, from interstitial lung fibrosis."

Additional players on this LP include David Barry on piano, Bobby Warford and Jay Lacy on guitar, Colin Cameron and Billy Graham on bass, and Billy Graham on fiddle.

Country-gospel LP from Indiana musician Dave Rich, released on Christ Gospel Records.

Dave Rich (1936-2020) was from Muhlenberg Country, Kentucky. He recorded a steady stream of country and rockabilly tracks in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly for RCA Victor. Sometime in the 1960s he turned to gospel music, founding Christ Gospel Churches International and releasing a handful of religious LPs. Bear Family has a CD compilation of some of his pre-gospel music that is worth checking out!

Also appearing on this album are The Canaan Land Gospel Singers. This singing group consisted of Lois Matlock, Shirley Smith, Cathey Lacaze, Barbara Hicks, Ruby Morgan, Ann Wilson, Don Morgan Jr., Howard Cox, and Loyal Glick. All songs on the LP were written and composed by Rich.

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1976 LP by Kentucky country gospel group Clyde Ross & The Celestial Sounds, released on RosSound Productions.

Clyde Ross & The Celestial Sounds were from Henderson, Kentucky and were a self-described "country-swing gospel music group with a unique sound". They formed in the late 1960s and released several LPs and 45s throughout the 1970s, including on the Jewel label out of Cincinnati. They also broadcast regularly on WVHI in Evansville, Indiana. For this LP in particular, the band consisted on Clyde Ross, his sons Mark, David, and Jack, Steve Cobb, Danny Miles, and Everett Green. This LP was recorded as Celestial Sound Studio in Henderson, which I assume is the Ross' home address based on other information from the LP jacket.

RosSound Productions was a private label based out of Henderson, Kentucky. It was run by the Ross family, and son Jack Ross is the credited recording engineer on several RosSound releases. As far as I can tell the label was active in the mid-to-late 1970s.

Jay Round And Friends' 1974 LP The Hammered Dulcimer Album, released on TurneRound Productions.

From the West Michigan Music History website (www.westmichmusichystericalsociety.com):

"He’s been a professional musician for 41 of his 54 years and has played all over the world! It was at the Arkansas Folk Festival in the early 70’s where Jay met Grand Ole Opry star Grandpa Jones who took a liking to Jay’s upright bass playing. Grandpa Jones invited Jay to Nashville in October 1973 during the taping of Hee-Haw and hired him to play bass with his band throughout the latter half of the 1970’s.

Jay recorded his first record album using the hammered dulcimer in 1974, and three others followed. During this time Jay was also the opening act for several Nashville stars including Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, Crystal Gayle, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Dotty West throughout the United States and Canada. In 1984-85 the United States Department of Defense hired Jay to join the band Trans-Mason-Dixon Interplanetary Pickers for an extended concert tour of military sites throughout Asia, northern Africa, and Europe.

From the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s Jay became more involved with audio production, working the sound system for such well known acts as the Marshall Tucker Band, Captain and Tenille, Neil Sedaka, Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons, and many others.

Recently, he's played with his band, 13th Hour."

Buck Ryan's 1974 LP Fiddler On The Rocks, released on Rebel Records.

Buck Ryan (1925-1982) was a bluegrass fiddle player from Virginia. He was a member of the group Bill Harrell and the Virginians in the 1960s and was a frequent guest on The Jimmy Dean Show alongside Roy Clark. He released records, primarily instrumental bluegrass, from the 1950s through the 1980s.

This record, Fiddler On The Rocks, features musicians Don Reno, Bill Harrell, and Ed Ferris. It was produced by Charles Freeland.

1982 LP by Columbus, Ohio gospel musician Ron Ryles, released via New Song Inc.

As far as I can tell this is Ron's only LP. I can find a few newspaper mentions of him from the 1980s and early 1990s, but I don't know if he's still alive or performing.

Players on this LP include Bill Mason on keyboards, Bert Robinson on keyboards, Jacob Elzey on keyboards, David Wedlund on bass, Doug Ritcheson on bass, Ramon Robinson II on percusson, Larry Langston on percussion, David K. Smith on percussion, Bill Mason on synthesizer, Vert Robinson on synthesizer, Amos Sean on guitar, Duane Tribune on guitar, and 'special guest vocalist' Beverly Vaughn.