Ace in the Hole Band

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Ace in the Hole Band
George Strait and the Ace in the Hole Band in Hartford, Connecticut, 2013
George Strait and the Ace in the Hole Band in Hartford, Connecticut, 2013
Background information
Also known asStoney Ridge
OriginSan Marcos, Texas, United States
Genres
Years active1975–present
Labels
Members
  • George Strait
  • Terry Hale
  • Mike Daily
  • Ron Huckaby
  • Rick McRae
  • Benny McArthur
  • Joe Manuel
  • John Michael Whitby
  • Marty Slayton
  • Tony King
  • Jenee Fleenor
  • Bobby Jarzombek
Past members
  • David Anthony
  • Ron Cabal
  • Ted Stubblefield
  • Tommy Foote
  • Jay Dominguez
  • Bill Mabry
  • Roger Montgomery
  • Jeff Sturms
  • Thom Flora
  • Mike Kennedy
  • Gene Elders
  • Wes Hightower

Ace in the Hole Band is the backup band for American country music performer George Strait, who was the band's lead singer before beginning his solo career in the early 1980s. The band formed at San Marcos, Texas in the 1970s, and recorded several singles for "D Records" including the Strait-penned "I Just Can't Go on Dying Like This" and "I Don't Want to Talk It Over Anymore". After Strait attained status as the "King of Country", the group released an album of its own in 1995 featuring vocals from Darrell McCall and Mel Tillis.

The band, originally known as "Stoney Ridge", performs such styles of traditional country music as honky-tonk and Western swing and were influenced by such performers as Bob Wills, Johnny Bush, and The Strangers. Contemporaries of the band include Asleep at the Wheel and Jerry Jeff Walker.

Background

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Origins

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The Ace in the Hole Band derived from the band "Stoney Ridge," which was composed of Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) students Ron Cabal (lead guitar), Mike Daily (steel guitar), Terry Hale (Bass guitar), Tommy Foote (drums) and Jay Dominguez (lead vocals). Dominguez and Foote left the band after graduating in 1975, prompting a search for a new singer. The band members posted bulletins around the campus of Southwest Texas.[1] One was noticed by an agricultural science student, George Strait. He contacted the band and was hired after an audition. Soon after, the group was renamed "Ace in the Hole" and George quickly became the lead singer.[1]

The band regularly performed at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, Texas, where they debuted on October 13, 1975 along with new member Ted Stubblefield, who temporarily replaced Foote as the drummer. Acts such as Asleep at the Wheel and Jerry Jeff Walker also played at the forum. The band appeared at the locale nearly every week until the early 1980s, when they began touring with Strait. Drummer Foote returned to the lineup late in 1975[1] and remained as drummer until 1983 when he relinquished his position to become the band's road manager.[2] Tommy Foote died in May 2024.

Recording

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In 1976, Pappy Daily, the grandfather of band member Mike Daily, decided to record the group for his "D Records" label at a studio in Houston, Texas. At the first session, the band recorded Dallas Frazier's "Honky Tonk Downstairs" (later recorded on Strait's 1981 debut album Strait Country) and the Strait-penned "I Just Can't Go on Dying Like This" (later recorded on Strait's 2013 album Love Is Everything). The songs were released to radio stations in Texas and Oklahoma. In 1977, Bill Mabry was added to the lineup as a fiddle player and the band recorded their second single, which featured the songs "Lonesome Rodeo Cowboy" (later recorded on Strait's 1990 album Livin' It Up) and "That Don’t Change the Way I Feel About You" which was written by Strait. The next year, the band recorded the songs "Right or Wrong," and "Little Liza Jane",[1] which were later included on the 2005 D Records label release Complete D Singles Collection, Vol. 6: The Sounds of Houston, Texas.[3] Strait re-recorded "Right or Wrong" in 1983 for his album Right or Wrong and took it to number one on the country charts. "The Loneliest Singer in Town" and Strait's "I Don’t Want to Talk It Over Anymore" also came out of this session. The three songs composed by Strait were later released on his 1995 compilation album Strait Out of the Box.[4]

In 1981, after Strait signed with MCA Records, the band began to tour with him and played the instrumentals on his recordings. They were honored in 1991 with the SRO's "Touring Band of the Year."[5] Four years later, the band released an album without vocals from Strait, featuring singers Darrell McCall and Mel Tillis.[1]

Style

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The band plays in a honky-tonk and western swing style, and credits such performers as Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Johnny Bush, George Jones, Merle Haggard and The Strangers as influences.[1] Allmusic describes the band's styles as Alternative country, Neotraditional and Western swing revival.[5] Because of the group's traditional style, performances in the city of Austin, Texas did not occur often due to the city's demand for progressive sounds.[1] Strait traveled to Nashville in 1977 with hopes of beginning a career, but most in the industry passed on him, shunning his traditional approach for pop-influenced sounds popular in country music during the late 1970s Urban Cowboy era.[1]

Members

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Current members

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  • Mike Daily - steel guitar (1975–present)
  • Terry Hale – bass (1975–present)
  • Ron Huckaby – piano (1983–present)
  • Rick McRae – lead guitar (1984–present)
  • Benny McArthur – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, occasional fiddle (1984–present)
  • Marty Slayton – backing vocals (2000–present)
  • Joe Manuel - acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
  • John Michael Whitby – keyboards (2006–present)
  • Bobby Jarzombek - drums (2021–present)
  • Jenee Fleenor - fiddle (2024–present)
  • Tony King - backing vocals (2024–present)
  • George Strait - lead vocals (present)

Former Members

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  • Ron Cabal - lead guitar (1975–1983)
  • George Strait – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1975–1980)
  • Ted Stubblefield – drums (1975)
  • Tommy Foote – drums (1976–1982)
  • Bill Mabry - fiddle (1977–1979)
  • Richard Casanova - fiddle (1980–1984)
  • Roger Montgomery – drums (1983–1986)
  • Gene Elders – fiddle, mandolin (1985–2024; his death)
  • David Anthony - acoustic guitar (1985–2002)
  • Phillip Fajardo - drums (1987)
  • Phil Fisher - drums (1988–1990)
  • Mike Kennedy - drums (1991–2018; died 2018)[6]
  • Liana Manis – backing vocals (1999)
  • Wes Hightower - backing vocals (1999-2006; 2016–2023)
  • Jeff Sturms - acoustic guitar, mandolin (2002–2007); backing vocals (1998-2007); keyboards (1998-2002)
  • Anthony Bazzani - keyboards (2002–2005)
  • Thom Flora – backing vocals (2007–2016)
  • Lonnie Wilson - drums (2019–2020)

Timeline

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<timeline> ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:22 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:100 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1975 till:10/28/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4

Colors = 

 id:lvocals  value:red         legend:Lead_vocals
 id:lead     value:green       legend:Lead_guitar
 id:rhythm   value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
 id:acoustic value:drabgreen   legend:Acoustic_guitar
 id:steel    value:teal        legend:Steel_guitar
 id:bass     value:blue        legend:Bass
 id:drums    value:orange      legend:Drums
 id:fiddle   value:skyblue     legend:Fiddle
 id:mandolin value:powderblue  legend:Mandolin
 id:piano    value:purple      legend:Piano
 id:keys     value:lightpurple legend:Keyboards
 id:bvocals  value:pink        legend:Backing_vocals
 id:bars     value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1975 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1975

BarData = 

  bar:George   text:"George Strait"
  bar:Ron      text:"Ron Cabal"
  bar:Rick      text:"Rick McRae"
  bar:Benny   text:"Benny McArthur"
  bar:David  text:"David Anthony"
  bar:Joe   text:"Joe Manuel"
  bar:Mike    text:"Mike Daily"
  bar:Terry   text:"Terry Hale"
  bar:Ted text:"Ted Stubblefield"
  bar:Tommy   text:"Tommy Foote"
  bar:Roger  text:"Roger Montgomery"
  bar:Phillip     text:"Phillip Fajardo"
  bar:Phil    text:"Phil Fisher" 
  bar:Michael    text: "Mike Kennedy"
  bar:Lonnie    text:"Lonnie Wilson"
  bar:Bobby    text:"Bobby Jarzombek"
  bar:Bill     text:"Bill Mabry"
  bar:Richard    text:"Richard Casanova"
  bar:Gene    text:"Gene Elders"
  bar:Jenee   text:"Jenee Fleenor"
  bar:Ronnie     text:"Ron Huckaby"
  bar:Jeff    text:"Jeff Sturms"
  bar:Anthony    text:"Anthony Bazzani"
  bar:John      text:"John Whitby"
  bar:Wes   text: "Wes Hightower"  
  bar:Liana   text:"Liana Manis"
  bar:Marty      text:"Marty Slayton"
  bar:Thom    text:"Thom Flora"
  bar:Tony text:"Tony King"

PlotData = 

  width:11
  bar:George from:01/01/1975 till:end color:lvocals
  bar:Mike   from:01/01/1975 till:end color:steel
  bar:Terry from:01/01/1975 till:end color:bass 
  bar:Ron from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/1984 color:lead
  bar:Ted from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/1976 color:drums
  bar:Tommy from:01/01/1976 till:01/01/1983 color:drums
  bar:Bill from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1980 color:fiddle
  bar:Richard   from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/1985 color:fiddle
  bar:Ronnie    from:01/01/1983 till:end color:piano
  bar:Roger    from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1987 color:drums
  bar:Rick    from:01/01/1984 till:end color:lead
  bar:Benny   from:01/01/1984 till:end color:rhythm
  bar:Gene   from:01/01/1985 till:03/20/2024 color:fiddle
  bar:David    from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/2003        color:acoustic
  bar:Phillip    from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1988 color:drums
  bar:Phil     from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1991 color:drums
  bar:Michael      from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/2019 color:drums
  bar:Jeff     from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2002        color:keys
  bar:Jeff     from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2008       color:acoustic
  bar:Wes   from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2007 color:bvocals
  bar:Wes   from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2023 color:bvocals
  bar:Tony  from:01/01/2024 till:end color:bvocals
  bar:Liana  from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 color:bvocals
  bar:Marty     from:01/01/2000 till:end        color:bvocals
  bar:Anthony  from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2006       color:keys
  bar:Joe     from:01/01/2005 till:end        color:acoustic
  bar:John    from:01/01/2006 till:end color:keys
  bar:Thom     from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2015 color:bvocals
  bar:Lonnie    from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2021 color:drums
  bar:Bobby    from:01/01/2021 till:end color:drums
  bar:Jenee  from:03/20/2024 till:end color:fiddle

  width:3
  bar:George from:01/01/1975 till:end color:acoustic
  bar:Gene   from:01/01/1985 till:03/20/2024 color:mandolin  
  bar:Benny  from:01/01/1984 till:end color:bvocals
  bar:David  from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/2003 color:bvocals
  bar:Jeff   from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2008 color:bvocals
  bar:Joe    from:01/01/2005 till:end color:bvocals

  width:7
  bar:Jeff     from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2008 color:mandolin

</timeline>

Discography

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Singles

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Year Single Album
1977 "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This" Strait Out of the Box (George Strait album)[4]
"Honky Tonk Downstairs" Complete D Singles Collection, Vol. 6: The Sounds of Houston, Texas[3]
"Lonesome Rodeo Cowboy"
"(That Don't Change The) Way I Feel About You" Strait Out of the Box[4]
1978 "I Don't Want To Talk It Over Anymore"
"Loneliest Singer In Town" Complete D Singles Collection, Vol. 6: The Sounds of Houston, Texas[3]

Albums with George Strait

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Hit Singles with George Strait

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Ace in the Hole Band (album)

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Ace in the Hole Band
File:Ace in the hole band.jpg
Studio album
ReleasedApril 16, 1995
GenreWestern swing
Length30:13
LabelTexas World
ProducerBilly Stull, Lucky Tomblin

The Ace in the Hole Band released their self-named debut album in 1995.[7] Among its many covers, the album features the song "You're Something Special to Me," which was recorded by George Strait on his 1985 album Something Special.[8]

Track list
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Returning the Corn"Rick McRae, Riff Ryder2:45
2."You're Something Special to Me"David Anthony3:51
3."Mirrors Don't Lie"Merle Haggard3:14
4."What Comes Natural to a Fool"Ronnie McCown2:45
5."I'll Be Waiting Here Til Then"Anthony, Benny McArthur, McRae2:29
6."Texas Bounce"Gene Elders, McRae3:25
7."Back in the Swing of Things"Anthony, McArthur2:55
8."The Difference Between Me and Him Is You"Gary Harrison, Tim Mensy3:24
9."My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You"Lee Ross, Bob Wills2:50
10."I'm Ragged But I'm Right"George Jones2:32

References

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