Here’s a very rare photo! The Hail Ball Express was the name of my very first ROAD band. Where I come from, we called hail, “hail balls” and the vehicle I had to travel in was hit hard by hail so it was nicknamed the “Hail Ball Express” and it then became the band’s name.
This photo was taken in May 1977 at a Chicago club called North Nashville and I’m wearing what fans called the Paper Rosie suit which was made in Texas – – before I started using Judy’s of Nashville for a lot of my suits.
That’s me in the front, kneeling, then behind me is my cousin, Donnie “Drop” Watson (Bass player), Gary “Wichita” Anderson (lead guitar); Chris “Tiny” Olson (pedal steel) and Phil DeAngelo (drums).
I didn’t have a piano player on the road until I hired my late, great friend, Joe Eddie Gough and that’s about when we started using the new band name – “The Farewell Party Band.”