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STORY
The Lost Gonzo Band are the musicians that pioneered the progressive country movement of the early 70’s in Austin, Texas. In many cases, it was their soundtracks on the records that set Austin on a course to be known as the “Live Music Capitol of the World.” They played and recorded with some of the most iconic and colorful musicians in the history of Texas Music: Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Steven Fromholz, Rusty Weir and Ray Wylie Hubbard to name but a few. Trails were being blazed in Texas in the early 70’s and the Gonzos were in the thick of it. Albums like Murphey’s Geronimo’s Cadillac and Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir and Jerry Jeff’s Viva Terlingua, Ridin’ High and It’s A Good Night For Singin’ are some of the classic albums in the Gonzo’s discography. Singer songwriters like Murphey and Jerry Jeff sought out the Gonzo’s raw instinctive nature to lay down the music and vocals for their songs.
Many Lost Gonzo Band songs were recorded by the artists they played with. See John Inmon’s "I Don’t Want To Lay This Guitar Down” for Rusty Weir and “Goodby Easy Street” for Jerry Jeff. Livingston’s wrote a few for Jerry Jeff including “It’s A Good For Singing” that became the title track to Jerry Jeffs 1976 album of the same name. London Homesick Blues by Gary P Nunn was recorded and sung by Nunn himself on Jerry Jeff’s ground breaking Viva Terlingua album and went on to become Austin City Limit’s theme song for over three decades.
The Gonzo’s played on many recording sessions and sometimes were known as “The Austin Interchangeable Band.” They wrote and recorded radio commercials. Livingston and Nunn’s song “The Nights, They Never Get Lonely” was recorded by Gonzo’s for Lone Star Beer in 1976 and went on to be featured on television and radio commercials in Texas throughout '76 and ’78. The commercial and song was such a hit, that Lone Star released versions by Freddie King and The Pointer Sisters and even a Spanish version by the great Tex-Mex band, Sunny and the Sunliners.
From 1975 to '79 the Gonzos toured nationally on their own in support four major-label albums: Lost Gonzo Band (MCA) 1974, Thrills (MCA) 1975, Signs of Life (Capitol) 1976 and a twenty year anniversary album called Rendezvous on Vireo in 1992. The Gonzo’s had a worldwide audience. In 1996, Demon Records out of the UK released a completion album of the two MCA records and called it “Dead Armadillos.”
The Gonzo’s went their separate ways in 1979 and have had successful music careers on their own. In October 2020 Jerry Jeff Walker passed away. Drawing on the inspiration from Walker’s Memorial concert at Luckenbach, Texas, Gary P. Nunn’s manager, D Foster, called a meeting of the the principal members of the Gonzos. Gary P, Bob Livingston and John Inmon. They invited Freddie Steady Krc, longtime Jerry Jeff drummer, to join in. They explored the the realm of possibilities for getting the compadres back together again and return to the stage once more. Rising to the occasion and forever Gonzo, they play inspired and fresh takes of their own songs and songs and stories from the Cosmic Cowboy era.
Get ready for the Return of the Lost Gonzo Band!
