Wagoneers

The Wagoneers came out of Austin, TX, during the 1980s with a sound that quickly attracted a following among traditionalists as well as the rockabilly crowd. Made up of Austin favorite Monte Warden on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Brent Wilson playing lead and contributing backing vocals, Craig Allan Pettigrew on bass, and drummer Thomas A. Lewis, Jr., the Wagoneers opened the floodgates for what was to be known as alternative country. Throwing a fist in the face of Nashville's manufactured hat-act syndrome, the Wagoneers created a very loud buzz. With a first successful release on Herb Alpert's A&M Records, Stout & High, they filled a void that had been overlooked. After making a big splash, the Wagoneers followed up with a second CD that quickly vanished from memory. However, their contribution to the never-ending search for real country music places them in the history books alongside other bands like the Lonesome Strangers, the Georgia Satellites, the Derailers, and another Texas act, High Noon. The band eventually disintegrated and Warden went on to a solo career that depended more on pop music rather than the traditional country & western that fit his vocal style so well. ~ Jana Pendragon, Rovi