Rockin' Song of the Week No. 105 - Rudy Thacker

Rudy Thacker And The Stringbusters - Black Train
Lucky Records 0012

According to Rockin' Country Style, Rudy Thacker was born in 1931 in Hindman, Kentucky and was a staff musician on the World's Original Jamboree (WWVA, Wheeling, West Virginia). He was a highly acclaimed guitarist and soon moved from the Jamboree to form his own band, the Stringbusters which included Sam Duckett.

Black Train was his first release on the Lucky Records imprint. Lucky was a short lived label (1958-60) from Cincinati, Ohio that had releases by such underground rockabilly legends as Bill Browning and Orangie Hubbard.

Black Train was released in May 1960 with Larry Dale on vocal duties and a hot band that featured some haunting, train whistle steel and some lovely picking from Thacker. The Buckeyed Beat website says that around this time Thacker and the Stringbusters hosted a weekly show at the Dennison Theatre, a Saturday night show that included touring acts along with the Stringbusters.

Over the next couple of years he had a couple of releases on Blue Hen (Mountain Guitar) and Whirl (Stringbuster), before giving up music and moving to Texas, where he passed away in 2005.

Best place to find Black Train is on one of the two Buffalo Bop CD's, Rockabilly Rock or Choo Choo Bop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Xxl7VKU5c