Johnny Bush - But I Didn't, Every Chance I Had

Singer/songwriter/drummer Johnny Bush, born John Bush Shin III in Houston, began his country career as a vocalist and guitar player in 1952 at the Texas Star Inn in San Antonio. Eventually he switched to drums and in the early '60s began working in Willie Nelson's band, the Record Men. A year later, he joined Ray Price's Cherokee Cowboys. During his three years with the band, Bush tried to cut a record deal, but the labels felt he sounded too much like Price to be marketable. Nelson stepped in and paid for Bush to cut his first album, Sound of a Heartache. After strong local response, he first hit the charts in 1967 with the minor hit "You Oughta Hear Me Cry." The next year he had three hits, including the Top Ten "Undo the Right."

In 1972, Bush had a Top 20 hit with "I'll Be There," which led to a deal with RCA and a Top Ten hit with his song "Whiskey River," which later became WillieNelson's signature song. Just as Bush reached the brink of stardom, he started to lose his vocal range. Doctors were not able to diagnose the reason until 1978, when they found he had a rare neurological disorder, spastic dysphonia. This did not prevent his recording, but his career soon took a downturn. Working with "voice builder" Gary Catona in 1985, Bush was able to bring back about 70% of his original voice. The following year he and Darrell McCall teamed up to record the successful honky-tonk album Hot Texas Country. He then assembled a large country band and began performing around San Antonio. In 1994, he and the band released Time Changes Everything and launched a major tour; RCA also released a greatest hits album.

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Delbert McClinton: Can't Nobody Say I Didn't Try

Can't Nobody Say I Didn't Try:

Delbert McClinton was born Nov. 4, 1940, in Lubbock, Texas. He honed his craft working in a bar band, the Straitjackets, backing visiting blues giants such as Sonny Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins and Jimmy Reed. He made his first recordings as a member of the Ron-Dels and was noted for his distinctive harmonica work on Bruce Channel's 1962 hit "Hey Baby." On a tour of the UK with Channel, McClinton met a young John Lennon and advised him on his harmonica technique, resulting in the sound heard on the Beatles hit "Love Me Do."

Relocating to Los Angeles in the early '70s, McClinton emerged in a partnership with fellow Texan Glen Clark, performing a combination of country and soul music. They achieved a degree of artistic success, releasing two albums before splitting, with McClinton embarking on a solo career. Emmylou Harris had a No. 1 hit in 1978 with his composition "Two More Bottles of Wine" in 1978, and McClinton's "B Movie Boxcar Blues" was used in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers. His 1980 album, The Jealous Kind, contained his hit single, "Givin' It Up for Your Love."

After a rest period during much of the '80s, McClinton made a welcome return in 1989 with the fiery album Live From Austin, taped during an Austin City Limits appearance. He won a 1991 Grammy for his duet with Bonnie Raitt, "Good Man, Good Woman," and reached the Top 5 of the country charts with the Tanya Tucker duet, "Tell Me About It." The fledgling label Rising Tide offered One of the Fortunate Few in 1997, but the label quickly folded. In addition to releasing two new studio albums in the early 2000s, New West Records issued Delbert McClinton Live in 2003, collecting songs from throughout his career.