The Geezinslaws

Biography

As you might expect from their name, the Geezinslaws were a musical comedy outfit who based their recording career on barroom-friendly parodies of popular country songs. They were originally known as the Geezinslaw Brothers, but actually consisted of singer/mandolin player Sammy Allred and singer/guitarist Raymond "Son" Smith, who attended high school together in Austin, TX. They began performing locally, and in 1961 caught their big break when they were invited to appear on Arthur Godfrey's hit variety show. That helped lead to a record deal with Columbia, which issued their first album, The Kooky World of the Geezinslaw Brothers, in 1963; by this time, they'd relocated to New York permanently. They subsequently moved over to Capitol and recorded four albums for the label between 1966-1969, scoring minor hit singles with songs like "Chubby (Please Take Your Love to Town)" and "You Wouldn't Put the Shuck on Me." They continued to appear on TV variety shows, including those of Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, and Jackie Gleason, and became regulars on Ralph Emery's radio program Pop Goes the Country.

The Geezinslaw Brothers all but disappeared during the '70s, but suddenly returned -- with their name shortened to the Geezinslaws -- in 1986, when they appeared on the Emery-hosted Nashville Now TV show. They returned to recording in 1989 with The Geezinslaws, released on the Step One label, which mixed song parodies with more straight-ahead country. 1990's World Tour followed a similar pattern, and 1992's Feelin' Good, Gittin' Up, Gittin' Down gave them their first chart single in over two decades with "Help, I"m White and I Can't Get Down." They toured a bit more frequently during the early '90s, and issued a full-on comedy record in 1994 with I Wish I Had a Job to Shove. Another effort, Blah...Blah...Blah, followed in 1997, and remains the duo's final album to date. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide