The Kentucky Headhunters created a hybrid of honky tonk, blues, and Southern rock that appealed to fans of both rock and country music. The origins of
the Kentucky Headhunters lie in 1968, when
Fred and
Richard Young began playing together with their cousins
Greg Martin and
Anthony Kenney at the Youngs' grandmother's house.
Mark Orr also later joined them. The first incarnation of the band was called the Itchy Brothers, and the group played together informally for over a decade. After about 13 years, the bandmembers began launching separate careers:
Richard Young went off to write songs for Acuff-Rose, while
Fred Young began touring with country beauty
Sylvia.
Martin became a member of
Ronnie McDowell's band, while
Kenney dropped out of music. In 1985,
Martin decided to reassemble the Itchy Brothers. When
Kenney declined to rejoin the group,
Martin remembered
Doug Phelps, whom he had met while on tour with
McDowell.
Phelps joined the new project, which was named
the Kentucky Headhunters. Besides
Martin and
Phelps, the band also included the Young brothers and
Doug's brother
Ricky Lee Phelps.
The Headhunters started playing twice monthly on the
Chitlin' Show, a radio program on WLOC Munfordville, Kentucky. From these 90-minute performances,
the Headhunters built up a following. They sent an eight-song demo to Mercury, 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, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews upon its release and quickly became a hit. "Dumas Walker" reached number 15 in the spring of 1990, followed by the group's biggest hit, the number six "Oh, Lonesome Me." In 1991,
the Headhunters released their second effort,
Electric Barnyard. The album received mixed reviews, couldn't muster a single, and sold weakly. In summer 1992, the Phelps brothers left the group to form Brothers Phelps, a more traditional country group. The remaining
Headhunters brought ex-Itchy Brothers
Anthony Kenney and
Mark Orr to the group, and the rehashed lineup released
Rave On! in 1993. The album marked a progression toward bluesy Southern rock, which came to fruition with That'll Work later that same year. In 1996,
Doug returned on lead vocals, and a year later, the band issued
Stompin' Grounds.
Songs from the Grass String Ranch followed in 2000, and
Soul appeared in spring 2003.
Big Boss Man was released in 2005 and
Flying Under the Radar in 2006, both from CBUJ Entertainment. Dixie Lullabies, the group's 12th album, and their first studio recording of new original material since 2003, appeared from Red Dirt Records in 2011.
–
Johnny Loftus, Rovi