Thom "Tex" Edwards (born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States), is an American country and punk rock vocalist and songwriter. Allmusic Guide calls him "a pioneering, under-appreciated, and often neglected chronicler of the offbeat and eccentric traditions of country rock & roll."

Punk years

T. Tex Edwards came to prominence as the lead vocalist of Dallas area punk band

The Nervebreakers Nervebreakers are a Dallas-area punk rock band that formed in 1973. The band became known for melodic, rocking punk with liberal doses of George Jones and psychedelia, and has the distinction of being one of the few bands to open for The Sex P ...

. They had a minor hit with the single "My Girlfriend is a Rock," and opened for bands like

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

in 1977,

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

on their 1978 US Tour and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

in 1980.

Country rock

After The Nerverbreakers, influenced by

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

and Gun Club T. Tex turned to rockabilly with Tex & The Saddletramps. Their song "Move It!" was later covered by

LeRoi Brothers The LeRoi Brothers are an American rock band from Austin, Texas. The group was founded in 1981 by Mike Buck (also of The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Don Leady, Steve Doerr, and Alex Napier. The group was a long-running Austin bar band, but achieved ...

, but the band soon disbanded. Other acts followed, like Out on Parole in 1984, Loafin' Hyenas in 1987, followed by a succession of other bands named tongue firmly in cheek: The Swingin' Cornflake Killers (1991–1996), Tex & The Toetags (1998–2000), The Affordable Caskets (2000–2003) and Purple Stickpin (2010–current). Both Out on Parole and Loafin' Hyenas released LPs in the late 1980s and early 1990s followed by a succession of 7" singles on various independent labels and under numerous names. "Up Against the Floor," backed by The Swingin' Cornflake Killers, came out in 1996 and a retrospective compilation of odds and ends "Intexicated!" came out in 2012.

Partial discography

References

AllMusic Biography

PunkGlobe article on Nervebreakers

Official Nervebreakers Website

External links

T. Tex Edwards Official FacebookT. Tex Edwards Official TwitterT. Tex's Hexes BlogT. Tex Edwards on TumblrOfficial Nervebreakers Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, T. Tex Living people Singers from Dallas American country singer-songwriters American punk rock singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Country musicians from Texas Year of birth missing (living people)