COWBOY SLIM DORTCH
SIXTEEN MILES (DOWN THE TENNESSEE ROAD)

Bear Family Records® is the first label to compile and release Cowboy Slim Dortch‘s complete and ultra-rare 1960s rockabilly recordings on one LP: BAF14046 Cowboy Slim Dortch: Sixteen Miles (Down The Tennessee Road).

Cowboy Slim Dortch - the name practically screams “hillbilly.” Once you listen to “Big Boy Rock,” that association quickly fades. For a long time now, collectors have - rightly -regarded this record as the “Holy Grail,” and original copies have fetched as much as €2,000 at auctions in the past! Nevertheless, the name “Cowboy” Slim Dortch stands for not just this one song, but a whole series of authentic country and rockabilly recordings well worth listening to - many of which are presented for the first time on this album.

Dortch was born in 1921 near Paris, Tennessee. As early as the 1930s, Slim crisscrossed the United States as a traveling musician. For a few extra dollars, he would also make the rounds at every radio station between Dallas and Chicago. For most musicians of that era, the brand-new medium of radio was the longed-for springboard to fame - and, until then, their only hot meal of the day.

Slim Dortch’s music, as well as his life story, had long been forgotten. But this album now serves as a fitting tribute to “Cowboy” Slim Dortch - both the artist and the man. Of the 10 tracks presented here - which include, among others, two recordings by Dortch’s longtime companions Jack & Buddy Keele - seven have never been re-released!

All of these songs were recorded in the mid-1960s under the supervision of Style Wooten, the “King of Memphis Custom Recording.” Dortch was fortunate enough to record his sessions with the help of some great musicians. He worked not only with Wooten, but also with colleagues who have since become legendary, such as Roland Janes, Chips Moman, and Travis Wammack.

These songs are as raw, authentic, and unadulterated as music from that era can be. They showcase an artist who remained true to his musical roots despite commercial pressures from the Nashville Sound and Beatlemania. Yet he was also torn between the traditions he lived by and the musical revolution he had been experiencing firsthand since the mid-1950s.

Bear Family Records® presents BAF14046 Cowboy Slim Dortch: Sixteen Miles (Down The Tennessee Road) - ultra-rare rockabilly, restored and mastered from the best sources. Limited to 500 copies, this 10-inch vinyl edition comes with a 8-page booklet, rare photos from the Dortch family collection, and a great essay by rockabilly researcher Alexander Petrauskas.