- Shelley King
Rockin' The Dance Hall
Lemonade Records 66633-11132
- By Bonny Holder
 I identify with this lyric from
a Greg Brown song called "Billy From The Hills:" Some
folks dance cool, all angles and swaying hips, Sensual as all
get out and in. Me, I'm a hick, and I dance like one, I just
kinda jump around and grin.
I've been jumping around and grinning wildly ever since I
put Shelley King's Rockin' The Dance Hall on my CD player.
I dare you to sit still while listening to this rollicking,
fun-filled, happy-as-all-get-out live recording of Austin's Shelley
King and her band.
This band rocks. It doesn't just chug along. With
Kris Brown on electric guitar & dobro, Kyle Judd on guitars,
Bonnie Whitmore (and the amazingly wonderful Ann Marie Harrop)
on bass, and Shelley's husband, Perry Drake, on drums (everybody
plays Vox), they move from one up-tempo number to the next, moving
the listener right along until s/he is screaming out "One
Shot At A Time!" with the Gruene Hall audience, pausing
to catch her breath before singing (screaming "bull SHIT!")
along with "Texas Style Zydeco."
"Drivin' By Myself' is an anthem to road warriorettes
everywhere. "It's not the things you don't, it's the things
you do," drawls King in her distinctive honeyed alto.
By the time "Call of My Heart" ends (in my Greatest
10 Songs of All Times list), it's almost time to sit down and
give a serious listen to the last song, "High On a Mountain."
Ow! More! More!
Except for Billy Burnette's "Soul Searching," which
opens the CD ("Hold onto your hat, honey, the winds of
change are gonna blow") all tracks are originals, all
high-energy, inspiring songs that allow the players to stretch
out and contribute their all, and still allow Ms. King to be
the leader of the band.
Shelley sells her three CDs on her own Lemonade Records label.
Rockin' The Dance Hall will be a perfect intro to her
wonderful music. If you already know Shelley, I won't have to
persuade you to add this one to your collection; you will simply
order it right up this minute.
Ms. King and her husband are expecting their first baby in
August. She is also the cousin of presidential candidate, General
Wesley Clark. This is likely to be a landmark year for Shelley,
and you can share it with her in this remarkable live recording.
www.shelleyking.com
You can contact Bonny Holder at bonny-at-rockzilla.net
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