Vintage Album Review – Randy Howard’s “All-American Redneck”
The first time I heard a Randy Howard song it was being sung on Hank Williams III’s debut album Risin’ Outlaw from 1999. “I Don’t Know” was the name of the tune, but the name “Randy Howard” really didn’t resonate as anything other than yet another country songwriter I barely knew about, until I saw it re-appear on Hank3’s 2006 opus, Straight to Hell in the form of the song “My Drinkin’ Problem.” Doubling back and seeing this same name twice, that’s when I decided some digging might be worthwhile, and discovered the criminally overlooked musical contributions of the “All American Redneck.”
Nowhere near a household name, and only respected by the peers who knew of him, Randy Howard was the quintessential country music undiscovered underground cult hero. When we talk about the country music underground, the historical perspective usually focuses mostly on recent memory. Hank3 and others are given credit for forming a DIY collective in country where there had never been one before, but Randy Howard was one of the forefathers of forging true creative freedom, and using that freedom to cover subjects once thought to be taboo in country, while speaking out about the troubles and travails country artists face on Music Row.
Though Hank3’s Straight to Hell is cited as the first major label CMA-based album to carry a Parental Advisory sticker, that’s only because Randy Howard’s All-American Redneck from 1983 was released before Parental Advisory stickers were even around. Nonetheless, the album’s salty language made it the very first country release officially sold with a warning, and just like Hank3’s Straight to Hell, it somehow made it out to the public through a major label.
The Warner Bros. released All-American Redneck was not Randy Howard’s only record, but it was his most lasting. The title track became a cult hit, and the fans who knew of Randy regarded him as a country music folk hero. But as often is the case when talking about country music Outlaws and renegades like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Paycheck, and David Allan Coe, spectators and even many fans tend to focus on the sharp-edged language and bellicose chest-puffing of some of the most popular songs, while beneath the hardscrabble surface are examples of excellent songwriting, tearful balladry, and an overall well-rounded, enjoyable, and at times inspiring musical experience.
The song “All-American Redneck” was a rambunctious and crude country music rumpus in a similar vein of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother,” yet leaving little to the imagination with F-bombs and other bawdy language that marked one of the first times many country music fans had heard adult language in country except for maybe David Allan Coe’s XXX albums. “All-American Redneck” was taking offensive slang and assigning it as a badge of honor—something that was pretty groundbreaking in the early 80’s. Meanwhile a song like “My Nose Don’t Work No More” about snorting certain substances reinforced Randy Howard’s renegade image, even if the song was more of a cautionary tale if understood correctly.
Yet core fans of Howard’s didn’t stop listening there. “Atlanta’s Burning Down” might be the most emotion-laced song that uses the romance of The Civil War as a backdrop that there is behind The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” “Julie I’m Getting Married” is an A-list country love song if I’ve ever heard one, embodying a tearful sentiment that’s unfortunately all too true for many. “God Don’t Live in Nashville Tennessee” was a country protest song before country protest songs were chic, and spoke directly to Howard’s personal experience in the business. And “I Don’t Know” is one of the most delightfully-confounding songs in the history of country music. It says so much by doing its best to not say anything at all.
Randy was a songwriter first, and it would be a stretch to call him a crooner. You listen to All-American Redneck for the songs—including his cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Georgia On A Fast Train.” The album is also excellently-produced, pure vintage country by Howard’s long-time collaborator Paul Hornsby.
Randy Howard was killed on June 9th, 2015 in his log cabin home in Lynchburg, TN in a shootout with bounty hunters. They were serving a bench warrant stemming from a DUI Howard had been charged with that was likely going to be dismissed after the blood test came back proving he was below the legal limit. Randy Howard is gone but his music lives on for eternity, especially All-American Redneck for not just its pure country enjoyment and well-rounded songwriting, but its influential impact on the futures of Outlaw and underground country music.
Two Guns Up.
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Note: The album All-American Redneck is officially out of print, but the majority of the songs, and many of Randy Howard’s best tracks can be found on The Best of Randy Howard.
CW
June 22, 2015 @ 7:23 pm
I got to know Randy about 8 or 9 years ago. He was truly a lover of songs and country music. Not too many of that breed left.
“Atlanta’s Burning Down” is one of my favorite songs; however, it was written by Billy Ray Reynolds. I’m not sure if you thought Randy wrote it. I used to always ask Him to play that one for me. Great review amigo!
RD
June 23, 2015 @ 4:41 am
I own this album and like it. I never saw Randy live, but I get the feeling that he was even better in that environment, with a rowdy bar full of his people.
Wes
June 23, 2015 @ 5:25 am
I was not aware of Randy Howard until recently. I’m glad I was finally exposed to some of his music.
By the way, I would enjoy a “vintage album review” as a somewhat regular feature to the site. Maybe it has been before but I just don’t remember.
Trigger
June 23, 2015 @ 7:04 am
It is a somewhat regular feature, though it’s been a while since I did one. With the crush of new albums being released, the incessant pressure from publicists and artists, the calls of “how can you say you’re saving country music if you’ve never even talked about so and so,” it’s really difficult to find the time to do them. But I like doing them, I think it is important to do them, and I hope to do more of them in the future.
John Wayne Twitty
June 23, 2015 @ 6:33 am
If that steel guitar ain’t country…
Davey Smith
June 23, 2015 @ 6:34 am
I think you mean chic not sheik…
Trainwreck92
June 23, 2015 @ 9:10 am
His voice sounds a bit like Roger Allan Wade to me.
Trigger
June 23, 2015 @ 9:17 am
I would say there is a lot of Roger Alan Wade in Howard, and vice versa. I know they were friends, and I’m hoping to talk to Wade about Randy Howard eventually.
Acca Dacca
June 23, 2015 @ 11:58 am
The problem with this statement is that for those Outlaws that some of us express problems with, particularly in the case of David Allan Coe, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the music, or it’s merely incidental. Sure, as has been lamented time and again, Coe released two “X-rated” albums in the 1980s, but those albums were special order only and haven’t seen the light of day since. It’s his BEHAVIOR that causes some folks like me to recoil in disgust, not his music. If it weren’t for the miracle of Wikipedia, I wouldn’t even know those adult albums existed. If we were basing appreciation solely off of musical contributions, we’d all hold Coe in as high regard as those that “understand” him. However, he comes across as an despicable character, and those albums only work to add more fuel to the fire, they didn’t start it outright. He’s also a shameless self-promoter, so there’s that.
Same goes for Waylon to a much lesser extent. I think he made some GREAT music, but he also laced his career in melodrama, took himself much too seriously and became indignant when his fortunes invariably began to decline as he got older. I sincerely believe that if he were a still a superstar in the ’90s of the caliber that he was in the ’70s he wouldn’t have had a single thing to say about Garth Brooks. But that’s just me. I’m fully aware of country’s mistreatment of legacy artists in the past and now, but I feel like that was only part of the problem, particularly since Waylon was doing the same kind of stuff even when he had number 1 albums.
I LOVE Johnny Paycheck because he came across as a genuine guy, despite a few run-ins with the law and a rape scandal (the latter of which is a more complicated situation than it sounds). (And no, before anyone claims I’m doing so, I’m not excusing his crimes. He was arrested and he deserved it). He wasn’t afraid to poke fun at his image, and wasn’t a pioneer of the kind that never felt he got everything he deserved (a la Waylon) or a living cartoon like Coe. Of course, Waylon apparently didn’t like Paycheck and considered him a bandwagon-jumper, and even called him out as a “joke” in one of his songs. So perhaps I’m just not on the same wavelength as Mr. Jennings was…
As for Randy Howard, like Wayne Mills he’s yet another artist I only learned of due to their tragic demise. I wish his music was more widely available.
Acca Dacca
June 24, 2015 @ 10:12 am
Trigger, I’m not sure if this is legit, but All-American Redneck is available in its entirety save for the “edited version” of the title track via this site: https://vinylranch.bandcamp.com/album/randy-howard-all-american-redneck
If it’s not, please let me know if you feel the need to pull the link or anything.
Acca Dacca
June 29, 2015 @ 7:52 am
Having listened to the entirety of All-American Redneck and also The Best of Randy Howard, I can’t help but be saddened that such a jovial personality and talent was extinguished in such an unfitting fashion. It’s also sad that, like Wayne Mills, Randy Howard’s profile has peaked only due to his death, so he can’t reap whatever rewards for his career that such a boost would have granted (and it wouldn’t surprise me if this album was suddenly put back in print, if only briefly).
As for All-American Redneck, I agree that it’s pretty good all around. My rating would be more around 1 & 1/2 guns, but that’s not taking historical relevance or anything else into account, simply how much I enjoyed it. The title track is surprisingly crass for the era in which it was issued, and I’m surprised anyone at Warner Bros. Records allowed Howard to include it. I much preferred Howard’s more grounded take on his song “I Don’t Know” to Hank3’s; much as I enjoy a lot of the latter’s music, he’s starting to emulate his father in that his braggadocio in his music is beginning to reach rather cartoonish extremes, thus I don’t really buy anything he says as genuine. I don’t have that problem with Howard.
“Atlanta’s Burning Down” is simply a great song, and even more poignant in the midst of all of this Confederate flag controversy (whaddaya know, Southerners can be people too, not caricatures!). “Johnny Walker Home” has a great lyrical hook, along with “God Don’t Live in Nashville, Tennessee,” the latter a particularly relevant tune for the last few years. “I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train” is a classic and Howard’s version stands tall on its own. I wasn’t a big fan of “My Nose Don’t Work No More,” but I appreciate the honesty and bravery of the songwriting. “Julie, I’m Getting Married” reminded me of a more poetic version of rock band Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel” (man still in love with older flame, sometimes wishes new flame was her). You mention that one listens to this type of album more for songwriting than singing, but if one is to sing their own songs they have to be able to sell them. Howard’s voice isn’t great but it only really bothered me on this song, as I didn’t feel like he sold it. He sounds a bit bored or mellow on the entire record, and while that worked for the more somber “Atlanta,” here he just comes across as insincere.
Two of my favorites were ironically left off of Randy’s compilation, but “Suddenly Single” and “The Wedding Prayer” hit that sweet spot for me. The former showcases the same wit as the rest of the record, perhaps in a more basic fashion, while the latter is a sweet song that Randy actually wakes up his voice for. The one track I can’t really form an opinion of is the edited version of the title track that’s also on the album. Sure, it’s just an extension of the original version, but it’s placement in the middle of the latter half of the album and the fact that the “edits” are so poor makes me feel like it should have been left off entirely. Yes, I understand that it was included as an alternative to the standard version, but given that you can plainly still hear the crowd yell the f-word in the chorus makes me think of it as ineffectual at best. Perhaps they should have labeled it the “Poorly Edited Version”?
Acca Dacca
June 29, 2015 @ 7:53 am
Also, did you know that Randy’s version of “Rose in Paradise” that was included on his Best of was cut BEFORE Waylon’s?
http://theboot.com/waylon-jennings-rose-in-paradise-lyrics/
hoptowntiger
June 23, 2015 @ 3:45 pm
Thanks for the review and making me aware of Howard’s music! Seems a little too late, but his music will live on. Halfway through reading the review, I jumped on iTunes and Amazon to purchase Redneck, but no luck (which you addressed at the end). I got the compilation that seems to cover the songs you mentioned.
I too am a huge fan the vintage album reviews.
Shastacatfish
June 24, 2015 @ 4:08 pm
This is good stuff. Thanks for posting Trigger!
Tammy Brown
June 24, 2015 @ 7:15 pm
Thanks Kyle! Well written as always 🙂
ShadeGrown
June 24, 2015 @ 7:19 pm
This man made some excellent music – ashamed I didn’t seek him out before his passing. Usually anyone 3 backs is gonna be superb. With that said don’t know why I didn’t look into him sooner. But again, this is some excellent country music Randy made. He should have been a household name.