The Amazing Rhythm Aces

The Amazing Rhythm Aces

The Aces were first a local band in Knoxville, Tennessee in the late 1960s to early 1970s although they went the name "Fatback". The band consisted of founding members Russell Smith, Jeff 'Stick' Davis, and Butch McDade. They left Knoxville for greener pastures in the early 1970s. In 1972, the Aces came together in Memphis, Tennessee at the recommendation of Barry "Byrd" Burton, who was engineering and producing at the famous Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee,[1] first with bassist Jeff Davis and drummer Butch McDade, who had recorded and toured with singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester. Davis and McDade recruited vocalist/guitarist Russell Smith, keyboardist Billy Earheart III, lead guitar, as well as multi-instrumentalist, Burton and pianist James Hooker to develop a sound mixing of pop, country and blue-eyed soul. Stacked Deck, their debut album released in 1975, resulted in two crossover (rock and country) hits, "Third Rate Romance" and "Amazing Grace (Used to Be Her Favorite Song)," the group's lone Top 10 country single. In 1976 "The End Is Not in Sight (The Cowboy Tune)," from the album Too Stuffed to Jump, won a Grammy for Country Vocal Performance by a Group. "Third Rate Romance" reached No. 1 on the Canadian pop/rock charts. All engineered and produced by Burton who produced their first three albums.[2] Burton left the group after the release of 1977's Toucan Do It Too, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. In 1978, the Aces released Burning the Ballroom Down, followed the next year by a self-titled effort featuring songs with Joan Baez, Tracy Nelson and the Muscle Shoals Horns. Both albums received critical approval, but sold poorly. They released another album, How the Hell Do You Spell Rhythum, before disbanding. Afterlife [edit] Smith became a successful songwriter, Earheart joined Hank Williams, Jr.'s Bama Band, and Cameron joined Sawyer Brown, a group that found significant chart success in the 1980s with a sound similar to The Am

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