(Left) Evan Agostini / Contributor / Getty Images / (Right) hamerboy1 / YouTube
Over the years, seven groups have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Carter Family was the first group to be inducted, earning their spot in the Hall in 1970.
The Oak Ridge Boys were the latest group to join the Hall’s honored ranks. They were inducted in 2015.
Today, you’d have a hard time finding a country fan who doesn’t know about The Oak Ridge Boys or other Hall of Fame groups such as Alabama and The Jordanaires. But there are some country groups that listeners may not know so well.
This list aims to shine a spotlight on 15 of these “forgotten” country groups. Of course, none of these groups will ever be forgotten in the true sense of the word. But, there are two huge reasons why these groups are not as well-known as they used to be.
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For starters, most of the groups featured in this list are now defunct. As a result, they don’t have as many songs as long-running groups such as the Oak Ridge Boys or Alabama. This gives new fans fewer opportunities to discover their music.
That also ties into the second point. The mere passage of time means new generations of country fans have grown up without these groups having an active presence in the industry.
Go ahead and scroll through our list to reacquaint yourself with these 15 “forgotten” country groups. Or if you’ve never heard of them before, then please enjoy their music for the first time.
The Derailers were founded in Austin, Texas in 1990s. The group released their first album, Live Tracks, in 1995. They received a lot of buzz in Texas, and were hailed as “the future of country music.”
Their first major label album, Full Western Dress, dropped in 1999. It reached the 69th spot on the Top Country Albums chart.
The Derailers experienced even greater success with their next two albums, Here Come the Derailers (released in 2000) and Genuine (released in 2003). The albums reached #55 and #44, respectively.
1999’s “The Right Place” was the group’s best-performing single. It reached the 71st spot on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song’s music video was one of the Top 50 most requested videos on CMT in 2000.
The group released their last album, Guaranteed to Satisfy, in 2008. Past members include Tony Villanueva, Mark Horn, Ed Adkins, Kevin Smith, Chris Schlotzhauer, and Scott Matthews.
The Derailers are the only group in this list that still performs today. The current lineup consists of Brian Hofeldt, Bill Mansell, Basil McJagger, and Bracken Hale. Keep up-to-date with their touring schedule here.
Dave & Sugar was a country music trio that experienced great chart success in the 1970s and early 1980s. Dave Rowland founded and fronted the group, while Jackie Frantz and Vicki Hackeman served as the two original “Sugar” singers.
The trio’s “Sugar” lineup changed a lot over the years. Other members included Lisa Alvey, Etta Britt, Jamie Kaye, Regina Leigh, Lori Mason, Sue Powell, and Cindy Smith.
Dave & Sugar earned three #1 singles over the course of their run. Those songs were “The Door Is Always Open,” “Tear Time,” and “Golden Tears.” In total, they charted 16 times on the Billboard country charts.
The trio received five CMA Award nominations, including four nods in the Vocal Group of the Year category.
Dave Rowland disbanded the group for a short time in 1980 while he pursued a solo career. He later reformed the trio with two new “Sugar” singers, but they failed to reach their prior level of success. Dave & Sugar disbanded for good in 1982.
Calamity Jane managed to chart four times on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, despite only being a group for a year. They formed in 1981, with Mary Fielder on guitar, Mary Ann Kennedy on drums, Linda Moore on bass, and Pam Rose on lead vocals.
Their singles were “Send Me Somebody to Love,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” and “Love Wheel.” Out of those songs, “I’ve Just Seen a Face” (a Beatles cover) charted the highest, at #44.
Mary Ann Kennedy and Pam Rose left Calamity Jane in 1982, ending the group’s run.
The two performers teamed up to create a new duo, Kennedy Rose, and released two albums. They also wrote songs for artists such as Martina McBride, Lee Greenwood, Reba McEntire, Restless Heart, and Patty Loveless. Kennedy Rose disbanded in 1994.
Arkansas natives Hannah Blaylock, Dean Berner, and Cherrill Green formed Edens Edge in 2006. The trio won a contest sponsored by CMT that year, and connected with songwriter Kye Fleming.
Edens Edge signed a record deal with Big Machine Records in 2010. They released their first and only studio album in 2012. The self-titled project reached the 9th spot on the Top Country Albums chart and the 51st spot on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
The album contained the singles “Amen” and “Too Good to Be True.” Those songs reached #18 and #27 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Their version of the Christmas carol “O Holy Night” also charted at #59 on the same chart in 2012.
Hannah Blaylock eventually left Edens Edge, and the band ended their relationship with Big Machine soon after. The group performed their final show together at the Grand Ole Opry in February 2013.
Blaylock auditioned for Season 15 of The Voice in 2018. She performed “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” by Alison Krauss, but none of the coaches turned their chairs for her audition.
Bobby Harden and his sisters, Robbie and Arlene, began singing as The Harden Trio when they were teenagers. They got started on some pretty big stages, as they performed on both the Ozark Jubilee and the Louisiana Hayride.
The Harden Trio released their first album, Tippy Toeing, in 1966. It reached the 10th spot on the Top Country Albums chart and also landed at #146 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Their second (and last) album, 1968’s Sing Me Back Home, did not chart.
The group charted multiple country singles during their run together. Their biggest hit was “Tippy Toeing,” which reached #2 on the Hot Country Songs chart and #44 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Other hits included the songs “Everybody Wants to Be Somebody Else,” “Seven Days of Crying (Makes One Weak),” and “He Looks a Lot Like You.”
The Harden Trio disbanded in 1968. The members all went on to enjoy solo careers.
You likely knew that Waylon Jennings was a member of the country music supergroup The Highwaymen. But did you have any idea he later joined another supergroup called Old Dogs?
In addition to Waylon, the other Old Dogs members were Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, and Jerry Reed.
The group released one album, which was self-titled. It dropped in 1998, in both single-disc and double-disc versions. The album reached the 61st spot on the Top Country Albums chart. Old Dogs only released one single from the record, titled “Still Gonna Die.”
Poet and author Shel Silverstein wrote all but one of the songs on the Old Dogs’ album. It was one of the last projects he finished before he passed away on May 10, 1999.
Hot Apple Pie formed in 2002 with Brady Seals on lead vocals, Keith Horne on bass, Trey Landry on drums, and Mark “Sparky” Matejka on guitar. Brady Seals previously performed as the co-lead vocalist and keyboardist in another country band, Little Texas (that group remains active today).
Hot Apple Pie released their self-titled, debut record in 2005. It reached #6 on the Top Country Albums chart.
The album produced three singles: “Hillbillies,” “We’re Makin’ Up,” and “Easy Does It.” The first track was their biggest success. It reached the 26th spot on the Hot Country Songs chart. “We’re Making Up” and “Easy Does It” peaked at #54 and #50, respectively.
Sparky Matejka left Hot Apple Pie in 2006 to join Lynyrd Skynyrd, and remains with the group to this day. Kevin Ray took his place in Hot Apple Pie. But Hot Apple Pie only lasted for two years after Sparky’s departure.
Molly & The Heymakers formed in 1987 in Hayward, Wisconsin. Martha “Molly” Sheer performed lead vocals, fiddle, mandolin, and rhythm guitar. Andy Dee performed lead guitar, Jeff Nelson was on bass, Joe Lindzius played drums, and Chad “C.J.” Udeen played steel guitar.
The group released their debut, self-titled album in 1988. Five more albums followed.
Molly & The Heymakers released five singles over the course of their run together, and three of them charted. Their biggest hit was “Chasin’ Something Called Love,” which reached the 50th spot on the Hot Country Songs chart.
The group’s sound shifted on their final album, Lucky Flame. They operated under a new name, Molly & The Makers, and released music with an edgier, rock and roll style.
They have not released any new music as a group since then.
The Notorious Cherry Bombs got their start when Rodney Crowell left Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band. He recruited some of his former bandmates to serve in his own backing band, which he called The Cherry Bombs.
The Cherry Bombs made their first recorded appearance on Crowell’s 1980 album But What Will the Neighbors Think. Somewhere down the line, the band eventually added the word “Notorious” to the front of their name.
After performing with Crowell for many years, the group finally released their own album in 2004. Eddie Bayers, Richard Bennett, Tony Brown, Rodney Crowell, Hank DeVito, Vince Gill, John Hobbs, and Michael Rhodes were the band members who contributed to the project. Crowell and Gill took turns singing lead.
The album produced two singles, including the hilarious hit “It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long.” Crowell and Gill co-wrote the track. Unfortunately, the group hasn’t released any new music in 20 years.
The short-lived country music group Twister Alley formed in Arkansas in 1987. Its members included Shellee Morris, Amy Hitt, Steve Goins, Lance Blythe, Randy Loyd, and Kevin King.
Twister Alley released their first and only album in 1993. The album produced three singles, including the charting hits “Nothing in Common but Love” and “Young Love.”
The group disbanded in 1994, just one year after their album was released.
Country supergroup The Sky Kings formed in Nashville in 1991. Its members included John Cowan, Bill Lloyd, Patrick Simmons, and Rusty Young.
The band originally formed under the name Four Wheel Drive. They changed their name to The Sky Kings after being threatened with lawsuits from other groups named Four Wheel Drive. They released their first single, “I Could Get Used to This,” in 1992.
The group became a trio by the time they released their next three singles (all in 1996): “Picture Perfect,” a cover of “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” and “That Just About Says It All.” Out of those three songs, “Picture Perfect” was their biggest success. It reached the 52nd spot on the Hot Country Songs chart.
The Sky Kings had an album scheduled for release in 1997, but the project was shelved. The album’s contents were later released on another record, titled From Out of the Blue, in 2000.
The group disbanded in 1997, and its various members left to pursue other projects.
The group Wild Choir formed in Nashville in 1985. The group’s members included lead vocalist Gail Davies, guitarist Larry Chaney, guitarist Pete Pendras, bass player Denny Dadmun-Bixby, and drummer Bob Mummert.
Wild Choir released their self-titled album in 1986. The album produced three singles: “Next Time,” “Heart to Heart,” and “Safe in the Arms of Love.” Their second single, “Heart to Heart,” was their biggest hit, and it reached the 40th spot on the Hot Country Songs chart.
Fun fact…Wild Choir’s last single, “Safe in the Arms of Love,” was co-written by Mary Ann Kennedy and Pat Rose of Calamity Jane (their third co-writer was Pat Bunch). Although Wild Choir’s version of the song did not chart, it later became a big hit for both Michelle Wright and Martina McBride.
Wild Choir recorded a second album, but the project was never released. The group disbanded in 1987.
The country group Yankee Grey originated in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1986. The band toured around Ohio for several years, until they signed a record deal with Monument Records.
Members during those early years included David Carter, Coy Lee Jackson, Dwayne Blankenship, David Buchanan, Tim Hunt, Jerry Hughes, and Joe Caverlee.
Yankee Grey was a six-man group when they released their debut album, Untamed, in 1999. The album produced a total of four singles, including the Top 10 hit “All Things Considered” and the Top 20 hit “Another Nine Minutes.”
The ACM nominated Yankee Grey for its Best New Group or Duo Award after their debut.
But then in 2000, the band left Monument’s roster of artists. That same year, lead singer Tim Hunt left the band due to vocal problems.
The group signed with the independent label Stonewall Records, and released their second album in 2002. They did not release any singles from the record.
Keyboardist Jerry Hughes performed lead vocals on the new album. Yankee Grey briefly brought on Lyle Gudmunsen to be their new lead singer, but the band broke up soon after he joined.
Bubba Wray, Scotty Wray, Jim Covert, Lynn Phillips, and Joe Dale Cleghorn teamed up to form The Wrays in 1981. They originally performed under the name The Wray Brothers Band.
The Oregon-based group started off releasing independent singles before they signed to Mercury Records. Their biggest hit was 1987’s “You Lay a Lotta Love On Me,” which reached the 48th spot on the Hot Country Songs chart.
The Wrays never released a full album of songs. They disbanded in 1987, the same year they released “You Lay a Lotta Love On Me.”
Bubba Wray later went on to pursue a solo career under a new stage name, Collin Raye. He’s known for his hit songs “Love, Me,” “In This Life,” “My Kind of Girl,” “One Boy, One Girl,” “I Can Still Feel You,” and many more.
Sisters Kristyn, Kelsi, and Kassidy Osborn started off their music careers performing as The Osborn Sisters. They changed their name to SHeDAISY in 1999, the same year they released their debut album The Whole SHeBANG.
The album reached #6 on the Top Country Albums chart. It has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
The Whole SHeBANG produced the Top 10 hit singles “Little Good-Byes,” “This Woman Needs,” “I Will… But,” and “Lucky 4 You (Tonight I’m Just Me).” The trio earned a Grammy nomination for their performance of “Little Good-Byes.”
SHeDaisy went on to release four more studio albums, and they all charted within the Top 10 of the Top Country Albums chart. Other hit songs they released over the years included “Passenger Seat,” “Come Home Soon,” “Don’t Worry ’bout a Thing,” and “I’m Taking the Wheel.”
The trio parted ways with their record label, Lyric Street Records, in 2010. After that, they seemingly disappeared from the country music scene.
SHeDAISY continued to share occasional posts on their official Facebook page for a few years. But as of this writing, the last post they shared was in October 2022.
Hopefully y’all have enjoyed learning more about these “forgotten” country groups. How many of these artists do you remember?
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