Red River Dave - Authentic Hillbilly Ballads and Topical Songs (1954-1976), Vol. 1 (2017)

Notorious for his 1970 song ‘California Hippie Murders!’ – a ghoulish, harrowing, yodelling retelling of the infamous (Charles Manson masterminded) Tate-La-Bianca slayings – Red River Dave was a genuine cowboy singing star turned tabloid balladeer.

While ‘California Hippie Murders!’ might seem chilling and bizarre, within the body of ‘Red River Dave’ McEnery epic saga songs (collected here for the very first time), it makes perfect sense.

The Moon landings, the kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst, the Vietnam conflict, the assassination of JFK, the murder of young Emmett Till, Korean War ‘Manchurian Candidate’ brainwashing, patriotic tirades and Cold War dirges – all grist for the great Red River Dave Hillbilly song-mill.

Often cut within hours or days of the event and pressed as minuscule edition private 45s: the tall, flamboyant, ’Buffalo Bill’ bearded McEnery cut a dashing figure in his gold-sprayed cowboy boots and cracking lariat – as he hawked these handcrafted cuts from the boot of his steer-horned Cadillac.

Some sides presented here are so rare as to be near-mythical – you’ll hear Red River Dave wax about the death of Marilyn Monroe and the Bay of Pigs – in an eccentric and forgotten chronicle of the 20th century experience.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Red River Dave - California Hippie Murders! (2:10)
1.02 - Red River Dave - The Ballad Of Apollo 11 (2:36)
1.03 - Red River Dave - The Bay Of Pigs (2:23)
1.04 - Red River Dave - The Ballad Of Patty Hearst (4:03)
1.05 - Red River Dave - The Ballad Of John Birch (4:02)
1.06 - Red River Dave - The Ballad of Emmett Till (3:02)
1.07 - Red River Dave - The Great Society (2:50)
1.08 - Red River Dave - The Ballad of Billy Graham (2:36)
1.09 - Red River Dave - Ballad Of Francis Powers (There's A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere) (2:04)
1.10 - Red River Dave - Trial Of Francis Powers (2:35)
1.11 - Red River Dave - Searching For You, Buddy (2:52)
1.12 - Red River Dave - Answer to the Death of a President! (3:47)
1.13 - Red River Dave - Ballad of Lee Oswald (2:59)
1.14 - Red River Dave - The Red Deck Of Cards (2:52)
1.15 - Red River Dave - Moon Over The Wall (In East Berlin) (2:04)
1.16 - Red River Dave - We'll Bury You (2:18)
1.17 - Red River Dave - Keep That Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere (3:48)
1.18 - Red River Dave - The Vietnam Guitar (LP Version) (2:51)
1.19 - Red River Dave - James Dean (The Greatest Of Them All) (3:10)
1.20 - Red River Dave - The Ballad Of Marilyn Monroe (2:58)
1.21 - Red River Dave - (A Tribute To Elvis' Mother) New Angel Tonight (2:22)
1.22 - Red River Dave - Ol Tex Ritter And His Deck Of Cards (4:51)
1.23 - Red River Dave - Somewhere I Hear Angels Singing The San Antonio Rose (3:07)
1.24 - Red River Dave - Jailhouse Blues (2:31)
1.25 - Red River Dave - I'd Like to Give My Dog to Uncle Sam (2:00)
1.26 - Red River Dave - Beautiful America (2:01)
1.27 - Red River Dave - Amelia Earhart's Last Flight (3:07)
1.28 - Red River Dave - (I Won't Care) A Hundred Years From Now (2:33)