released March 1, 2023

The Reverend Horton Heat
“Roots of the Rev – Volume One”

Finally…After years of work, “Roots of the Rev” is finally a real record! I’ve always wanted to do an album like this – a vintage sounding tribute to some of the great musicians and artists that shaped my life and the music of The Reverend Horton Heat.
I came up with the idea to choose songs and/or artists that Jimbo and I have some type of connection to. So, this album is a culmination of almost an entire lifetime of experience with people, music and the collecting of old recording gear.
Learning music and getting, ultimately, to meet and play shows with our heroes is certainly a thrill, but now getting to do a record of some the songs that made all of this happen for me and Jimbo is an extra thrill!
All songs feature Jim Heath on lead vocals, lead guitar & rhythm guitar and Jimbo Wallace on bass unless otherwise stated.
Here are the songs with explanations and further credits:
“Rockin’ Bones” - Ronnie Dawson
Ronnie was a wonderful person who I got to play with only a couple of times but we really hit it off. This is one of his biggest songs. He heard my song, “Rockin’ Dog”, and recorded and released it. For that I’m forever grateful. So it’s fitting that I release “Rockin’ Bones”.
I used to go eat with him at The Highland Park Cafeteria in Dallas. He was a really healthy guy who would run five or ten miles a day! Once I spent a day hanging around at his apartment in the M-Streets section of Dallas. Coolness, Daddio!
Since the rockabilly resurgence of the early eighties, Ronnie’s records have meant a lot to the younger generation of rockabilly and rock and roll enthusiasts. Though his songs were not much more than regional hits in the fifties when they were originally released, they are so good that people throughout the planet eventually discovered the great Ronnie Dee, aka Commonwealth Jones, aka Ronnie Dawson.
And he had a great career later in life playing all of the biggest rockabilly festivals in the world and making records too. FYI, that’s Dale Watson and myself doing the background vocals on this recording. Fun.
Credits –
Jason Smay - Drums
T. Jarrod Bonta – Piano
Dale Watson & Jim Heath – Background vocals
Recorded at Wat-Sun Studio – Memphis, Tennessee
Songwriting: Jack Rhodes, Don Carter and Dub Nails (Copyright Sony/ATV Tree Publishing)

“School of Rock and Roll” - Gene Summers
Like Ronnie Dawson, Gene Summers was a guy from the North Texas area who made some fabulous recordings in the late fifties. His songs too were so good that the resurgence of the rockabilly movement let a lot of people in on his greatness and he had very nice career later in life playing gigs all over the world.
Around 1983 or 1984, a record shop owner named Curtis Hawkins reached out to me about playing guitar with Gene Summers on a show at Nick’s Uptown in Dallas. On that show it was shocking how wild of a front man Gene still was. He was rolling on and off the stage and jumping all around. That was one of my favorite gigs I’ve ever played.
Gene was a rockabilly mad man but still a super nice gentleman.
Credits –
Jonathan Jeter – Drums
John Countryman – Piano
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: James McClung (Copyright Song Productions)

“Ready Teddy” – Elvis Presley
Of course, I never had a personal connection with Elvis Presley…I’m not that old! Ha. But I got to meet, hang out with and play a show with Scotty Moore – Elvis’ original guitar player and a real architect of rock and roll. It was the Hootenanny Festival in 1997. Reverend Horton Heat didn’t play, but Lee Rocker asked me to sit in with him during his set that also included Scotty.
Scotty Moore was a huge influence on my style of playing especially when I went full-tilt rockabilly. He was very nice and watched me during my two songs I played/sang with Lee Rocker that day. When you look over during a performance and see Scotty Moore watching you…you sweat.
Credits –
Jim Heath – Drums
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: John Marascalco and Robert Blackwell (Copyright Elvis Presley Music, Robin Hood Music Company and Sony/ATV Songs LLC dba ATV

“Three Days” – Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has been a huge influence on most all Texans including myself. I’ve had the fortune of getting to hang out with Willie a bit. Golf, bar-b-que, recording sessions, benefit gigs and parties.
One time on the golf course, he wasn’t even stopping to address the golf ball on the putting green – he would just hit it as he walked by. I asked why he didn’t stop and take his time and he said, “I’d miss just as many”. Willie is and was cool for a lifetime now and forever.
When a friend of mine, Dave Gonzales from the band The Paladins (big influence on me), heard that we were playing on a compilation album paying tribute to Willie Nelson, he mentioned that we should do the song “Three Days”. I should have listened. We ended up doing “Hello Walls” on that record, “Twisted Willie” – but things still worked out pretty nicely as Willie came in and sang and played with us on the session. Thrilling!
But now…we finally got to do “Three Days” here on this record. Though Willie is not really a rockabilly artist, we put a little bit of a Carl Mann arrangement on it and voila – it’s rockabilly.
Credits –
Jason Smay – Drums
T. Jarrod Bonta – Piano
Recorded at Wat-Sun Studio – Memphis, Tennessee
Songwriting: Willie Nelson and Faron Young (Copyright Sony/ATV Tree Publishing)

“Right String, Wrong Yo-Yo” – Carl Perkins
Reverend Horton Heat opened for Carl Perkins at the old Hard Rock Café in Dallas in the early nineties. I went into the green room after the show and there was Carl Perkins sitting by himself looking a little bit bored. I introduced myself and he asked me to sit down. He proceeded to tell me funny stories for about an hour and a half. He was amazing. So nice, and funny as heck. He seemed just as happy to tell me stories as I was listening to them.
There’s not enough room for one of his extensive stories here on the back of this album, but I have to say this. Meeting Carl Perkins was the greatest celebrity encounter of my life. What a wonderful guy!
Ted Roddy, my friend and mentor turned me onto this song when we were in Teddy and the Talltops together during what Ted called “The Great Rockabilly Scare of 1983”. More on Ted later in these liner notes.
Credits –
Jim Heath – Drums
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: Willie Perryman (Copyright Unichappell Music Inc)

“Twenty Flight Rock” – Eddie Cochran
Of course, there’s no direct connection between Eddie Cochran and Reverend Horton Heat – he died in 1960. But this song is important to me as it relates to the first occasion that I met Jimbo Wallace.
Reverend Horton Heat had just finished a gig in Houston, and while we were tearing down our gear, a rockabilly looking guy was up on stage talking to Jack Barton (the first bassist for Reverend Horton Heat). I wasn’t really paying attention until Jack let this guy try out his bass. The guy started slapping the song “Twenty Flight Rock” and it sounded great! The guy was Jim Wallace and while Jack wasn’t looking, I went and got his number. Within about six months, Jimbo Wallace joined Reverend Horton Heat.
So, it’s fitting that Jimbo sang the lead vocal on this recording of that song. He did a bang-up job! Oh yeah, he played bass too. Ha. More on Jimbo later in these liners.
Credits –
Jimbo Wallace – Lead Vocal
Jim Heath – Background vocals
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: Ned Fairchild and Eddie Cochran (Copyright Hill and Range Songs and Unichappell Music o/b/o Elvis Presley Music)

“Big River” – Johnny Cash
We got to open up for Johnny Cash at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Johnny came into our dressing room for a bit before June Carter came in, grabbed his ear and dragged him out. Ha.
W.S. Holland was still on drums in the mid-nineties with Johnny Cash. After the show, he told me “You guys play like we wanted to play, but we weren’t that good!”. That was probably one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten. He was a very special person. W.S. pulled Carl Perkins out of a watery ditch where he was lying face down after a car crash. He saved Carl’s life.
Johnny’s bassist on that gig was Dave Roe – still a friend and a connection to Reverend Horton Heat.
One time a fan said, “I think you guys are men enough to play Big River.” Not exactly sure what that means, but it’s still a compliment in that fans’ eyes. So…here it is!
Credits –
Jim Heath – Drums
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: Johnny Cash (Copyright BMG Music o/b/o House of Cash)

“Make Me Know You’re Mine” – Conway Twitty
Before he was one of the biggest Country and Western stars ever, Conway Twitty was rock and roller. Great rockabilly too. I found out about his rockin’ era from Ted Roddy.
This ominous song was one our songs in Teddy and the Talltops. Although I don’t have a connection to Conway, other than a hand drawn portrait of him hanging in my studio, this song is here because of my connection with my friend Ted Roddy who I mention a lot in these liners. Ted’s a great singer, all-around musician and record collector who I owe a lot too. Conway Twitty’s early rockabilly and rock and roll is some of the best ever.
Credits –
Jim Heath – Drums
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: Aaron Schroeder and David Hill (Copyright A. Schroeder Int'l LLC o/b/o Rachel's Own Music and Sony/ATV Tunes LLC o/b/o David Hess Music)

“Little Red Wagon” – Sonny Fisher
There’s a video out there somewhere of a young (pre-Reverend Horton Heat) Jim Wallace playing with Sonny Fisher. I think it may be on YouTube. I bought a Euro VHS of it, but I don’t have a European VHS machine. Ha. Jimbo also backed up Barbara Pittman on that show.
This song is another one that Ted Roddy turned me onto. In the early eighties, while I was in a band called “Teddy and the Talltops” in Dallas, Jimbo was in a band called “The Teddy Boys” in Houston – the stars were aligning.
Credits –
Jason Smay – Drums
T. Jarrod Bonta – Piano
Recorded at Wat-Sun Studio – Memphis, Tennessee
Songwriting: Therman Fischer (Copyright Glad Music Publishing and Recording Lp and Pappy Daily Music Lp)

“Lights Out” – Jerry Byrne
Another Ted Roddy inspired thing. The Talltops used to play this song by Jerry Byrne. Jerry was the cousin of Mac Rebennack aka Dr. John. This song was co-written by Rebannack and Seth David at Cosimo Matassa’s studio. I have no personal connection to any of these people except for, of course, Ted Roddy, but back in my early years, this song really made me realize just how full-tilt the early rock and roll could be and I was very inspired by it.
John Countryman – Piano
Jim Heath – Drums
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: Mac Rebenmack and David Seth (Copyright Sony/ATV Songs LLC)

“Crazy Crazy Lovin’” – Johnny Carroll
In the early eighties, on another show promoted by Curtis Hawkins at Nick’s Uptown, The Talltops opened up for rockabilly great Johnny Carroll. Johnny had some of the best and most iconic rockabilly songs of the 1950’s. I should add here that Sid King of Sid King and the Five Strings told me that back in the fifties, nobody used the term “rockabilly”. He said that most people just called it rock and roll or had another homemade genre title. Sid said, “We just called our music ‘Hillbilly Bop’”.
Anyway, back to the Johnny Carroll show. Johnny suggested that during his set he would have me come up and play guitar with him for a few songs towards the end. I was super flattered and excited.
Another weird connection that I have to this song is that I got to meet and kind of roommate with the possible writer of this song – J.G. Tiger. In between Teddy and the Talltops and Reverend Horton Heat, I was living inside Russell Hobbs’ Theater Gallery. There were several eclectic and cool people living in this warehouse turned art gallery/music venue in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas. Theater Gallery was the first music venue that really brought back popularity to the historic area and I was glad to be part of the scene. I ran sound and helped produce a lot of the shows there.
One day this older guy who looked a lot like Salvador Dali showed up and I found out that he was one of our newest ‘tenants’ in Theater Gallery. He said his name was J.G. Tiger. When he found out that I was a rockabilly guy, he told me that he made the film “Rock Baby - Rock It” which featured four songs by Johnny Carroll and is one of the most iconic of all the B-rate rock and roll movies. Along with Johnny Carroll and others, it also featured internationally known R&B singing great Rosco Gordon. I flipped right out! I knew all about that movie as it was filmed in Dallas. Released in 1957, the movie was also filmed a lot in Deep Ellum back in the late fifties.
J.G. also mentioned that he wrote two of Johnny Carroll’s songs in the movie – “Crazy Crazy Lovin’” and “Hot Rock”. I eventually found out that he didn’t make the movie, but he possibly did write those two songs even though my licensing company credits Johnny Carroll as the writer – there are pictures of the original record labels for this song that credit J.G. Tiger as the writer – who knows?
Anyway, J.G. Tiger came as quickly as he arrived on the scene but not before trying to get me to star in some movie he wanted to make about a rock and roll singer. That never happened, but his songs still live in the hearts of a lot of rockabillies including mine – thanks, of course, to Johnny Carroll.
Credits –
Jason Smay – Drums
T. Jarrod Bonta – Piano
Jonathan Jeter – Acoustic Guitar
Recorded at Wat-Sun Studio – Memphis, Tennessee
Songwriting: Johnny Carroll (Copyright BMG Bumblebee o/b/o Judy Johnny Publishing)

“Race with the Devil” – Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
Well…there really isn’t a personal connection to this song at all. Ha. Except that it’s one that made me realize how awesome rockabilly guitar playing could be. So, it is actually important to the roots of Reverend Horton Heat.
Gene did live in Dallas for a while in his later years and I’m told he hung around with Ronnie Dawson a bit, but that was a bit before my time.
I really love Gene Vincent’s guitar player on this – the great Cliff Gallup. I tried to capture the spirit of Gene and Cliff on this, but of course, living up to that greatness is impossible. If it sounds like we were having fun on this recording, it’s because we were! Let’s rock again!
Credits –
Arjuna Contreras – Drums
Recorded at Fun-Guy Studios – Dallas, Texas
Songwriting: Bill Davis and Gene Vincent (Copyright EMI Blackwood Music Inc. o/b/o Beechwood Music Corporation)

Roots of the Rev. – (Volume One):
Fun-Guy Records
FG-5932
Produced by Jim Heath
Recording engineer and mixing at Fun-Guy Studios – Jim Heath
Recording engineer and mixing at Wat-Sun Recording Studio – Chris Burns
Vinyl Lacquer Cutting - Deke Dickerson
Artwork – Chris Wilkinson