---Gabe Gabrion
    The last weekend of May I was pursuing my regular job – small town newspaper editor and – was busy covering one of our better community celebrations… Augusta Days. This year the Saturday night entertainment was exceptional and I got the opportunity to interview the members of the Kentucky Headhunters. Well, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Richard Young mostly. He was providing all of the facts figures and low-down on the Headhunters.  And, during two-and-a-half hours of swapping road stories and general BS we discovered that we knew some of the same folks, had even played some of the same places… but I digress.
    It all started back in the late 60’s with a most understanding grandma, an unused house in the middle of a Kentucky farm, and four friends who were determined to learn to play any style of music as well as, if not better than, anyone else. They originally called themselves “Itchy Bro”. That’s all I have to say about that – if you get it, you get it, and you’re probably as old as Peter Read and I are. If you don’t get it – celebrate! You’re probably not as old as Peter Read and myself. Another point of interest, historically, is that grandma’s farm was originally given to the family after the Revolutionary War by Nathaniel Greene. It was once 7,000 acres, but now sits at around 700.
    Anyway these four friends: Greg Martin, who played guitar; Fred Young, a drummer; Anthony Kenney, the bassist; and Richard Young, the rhythm guitarist and vocalist created a hybrid of honky-tonk, blues and Southern rock that crossed over into both rock and country music. Mark Orr also later joined them, and the group played together for over a decade.  In 1978 Richard Walden of Swan Song signed them as the first American band on that label. After that aforementioned13 years of playing clubs and honkey-tonks the band members began launching separate careers: Richard Young went off to write songs for Acuff-Rose, while Fred Young began touring with country singer Sylvia. Martin became a member of Ronnie McDowell's band, while Anthony Kenney dropped out of music.
    In 1985, Martin decided to reassemble Itchy Bro. When Kenney didn’t want rejoin the group, Martin remembered Doug Phelps, who he had met while on tour with McDowell. Phelps joined the new project, which was named the Kentucky Headhunters. In addition to Martin and Phelps, the band also included the Young brothers and Doug's brother Ricky Lee Phelps. Here lies the connection that brought them to Augusta – Doug’s uncle, also named Doug is the bass player with J.R. Rogers and the Allstars, who provided the opening act and the sound system for the Saturday night festivities.
    Anyway, back to the story… the Headhunters started playing twice monthly on The Chitlin' Show, a radio program on WLOC in Munfordville, Ky. Richard went on and on during our conversation about how much fun the guys had doing this show and the amazing response they got from fans and fellow musicians alike. From these 90-minute radio shows the Headhunters built up a strong following, prompting them to submit an eight-song demo to Mercury records, and soon after, the label signed the group. The original demo tape was remixed and became the basis of the band's first album, 1989's Pickin' On Nashville. The album received overwhelmingly positive reviews and won two CMA Awards, including one for album of the year. "Dumas Walker" reached No. 15 in 1990, followed by the group's biggest hit, "Oh, Lonesome Me," which peaked at No. 8. The band picked up CMA Awards in 1990 and 1991 for best vocal group.
    In 1991, the Headhunters released their second effort, Electric Barnyard which received mixed reviews, didn’t muster a hit single and sold rather poorly. In the summer of 1992, the Phelps brothers left the group to form Brothers Phelps, a more conventional country group. The duo reached the Top 10 once, with 1993's "Let Go” but faded quickly after that.
    The remaining Headhunters brought back Kenney and Orr and the reworked lineup released “Rave On!” in 1993. The album brought about a progression towards bluesy Southern rock, which came to fruition with “That'll Work” later that same year. In 1996, Doug returned on lead vocals, replacing Orr, and a year later, the band issued “Stompin' Grounds.” “Songs From the Grass String Ranch” followed in 2000, and “Soul” appeared in 2003. “Big Boss Man,” a collection of songs from the Sony-ATV catalog, arrived in 2005.
    The guys also had the absolute honor of backing up legendary blues piano man Johnny Johnson on his “Back to Memphis” album. Johnson’s career revival owes much to some fans called The Rolling Stones, but that’s a whole other story we’ll get into later.
The Augusta show was spectacular, with drummer Fred Young “coming out” front to sing while his son John Fred Young (drummer for Black Stone Cherry) took his dad’s seat at the drums. And… you know how at every concert there’s always some bubba on the front row that yells real loud for the band to play someone else’s material (usually Freebird). Well the Headhunters went so far as to honor not just one, but several of those off-the-wall requests, having a lot of fun with it even when the original lyrics escaped them. Bottom line is the Kentucky Headhunters are one of the more entertaining southern rock/blues bands you will ever get to listen to, so don’t miss them if you get the chance to attend one of their concerts. One of the things I found most impressive – from a musicians point of view – is that these guys don’t use squat for special effects on their instruments. All of the wizardry you hear coming out of the speakers is because they are playing it, not generating it through some electronic gadget.
    The only other Arkansas venues on their amazingly busy itinerary for this year are the White River Water Carnival, in Batesville on August 7, and the Arkansas Blues Festival in Helena on October 8.