Hillbilly Rock
Vermont; December 28, 1946-
A local music critic once called Jon Emery "the best country singer to come out of Austin since Willie Nelson"; the Austin City Council proclaimed a "Jon Emery Day" in his honor in 1993. And still, most Austinites would say "Jon who?" Born in Vermont, Emery's first country influences were groups like the Delmore Brothers. In the early 1960s, he was living in California where he formed the VIPs with Leroy Preston (Asleep at the Wheel co-founder). Later, Emery started a country swing group, the Missouri Valley Boys, and toured around the Midwest until finally settling in Austin in 1976 where the MVB became a Western swing band called Whiskey Drinkin' Music. This band eventually evolved into the Jon Emery Band which combined hillbilly, honky tonk, and rock. Playing Austin bars and clubs throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Emery recorded Hillbilly Rock & Roll for Bear Family in 1985. His supporting cast included local Austin stalwarts Alvin Crow and Erik Hokkanen and steel great Jimmy Day on originals plus a Delmore Brothers medley. Emery recorded a live album at Austin's Cactus Cafe in 1987 and in 1995 made another record for Bear Family, If You Don't Buy This, I'll Find Somebody Who Will. In 1997, he reasserted his claim to being the "King of Hillbilly Rock" with the release of Two Separate Highways.
--David Goodman, author of Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory
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