Tennessee Pulleybone was a band formed in

Cookeville Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, smaller cit ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The original group featured "Big" Ken Smith (Bass), Jerry Tuttle (Instrumentalist),

Biff Watson Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson (born 1952) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists. Biography Early years Raised in Chatham, Virginia, Watson learned how to play ...

(Guitar), and John Wolters (Drums). Later members were Dave Gillon (Guitar), Tom Hamilton (Steel Guitar,Dobro,Banjo), and Thomas "Bones" Kaelin (Drums). Their recording of " The Door Is Always Open" on

JMI Records JMI Records (Jack Music International) was an American record label founded in 1971 by Jack Clement, and was primarily active until 1974, when the catalog was sold to ABC-Dot Records. It was notable for having been the record label that first signe ...

(

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer, film producer and music executive. He was producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in its early days, discovering ...

International) hit the Billboard Country chart on September 8, 1973 and peaked at 75. Other singles on JMI Records were "I Ain't In A Long, Long Time", and "Clean Your Own Tables". After JMI Records closed, the band went on to sign with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and began touring with

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, Gary Stewart and numerous others. Still today they are often referred to as the first country band to sign to a major label. Some of their songs were written by Dave Gillon who also wrote hits for other artists such as

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

, and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

. Watson, a keyboardist and guitarist, later became a backing musician for

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

. An article in Hank Magazine stated

“''What we’ve got here are four one time R&B and Top Forty pickers who have found a home with a style that’s unusual for the Nashville area. It’s country, R&B, bluegrass rock with Beachboys overtones. Some of the most interesting stuff they do is electric bluegrass tunes like Bill Monroe’s Uncle Pen, even with Tom Hamilton playing five string banjo, it still sounds like a dance record from Soul Train. What the Pulleybone does is hard to explain but it’s easy to enjoy.”''

Tennessee Pulleybone lasted from 1973 to 1979. After disbanding, Wolters joined Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show.

References

{{reflist Country music groups from Tennessee RCA Records Nashville artists Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1979