REDHILL VALLEYS pay homage to golden age of the cosmic cowboy in new single
‘Rhinestoned’ references Gram and Emmylou, Glen Campbell, Nudie suits and gettin’ high
The Redhill Valleys have never hidden their love for the music of the ’70s. It was a time when pop, rock, country, soul and disco could all be heard on the same radio stations, side by side.
The Hamilton roots/country group has even been known to drop a cover or two of Tom Petty or Fleetwood Mac into their live sets.
So it only makes sense that the Redhill Valleys would write a song that pays tribute to the golden age of the cosmic cowboy when longhaired bands like the Flying Burrito Brothers introduced traditional country music to the hippie counterculture of the time.
The song is called “Rhinestoned,” a sly twist on the title of the 1975 Glen Campbell hit “Rhinestone Cowboy.” It is full of not-so-hidden references to some of the band’s favourite music of the ’70s.
The chorus goes something like this:
“So get out your boots and Nudie suits/We’ll go out like Gram and Emmylou/Let’s get high, high … and rhinestoned.”
Fans of the era will immediately latch on to the “Gram and Emmylou” line.
It’s about Gram Parsons, founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and his frequent vocal collaborator Emmylou Harris.
And “Nudie suits” doesn’t mean bare-naked. It’s a nod to Nudie Cohn, the American fashion designer who clothed several generations of country musicians in rhinestone sequined and embroidered cowboy costumes. Roy Rogers was buried in one (not sure about his horse Trigger).
Parsons, who died of a drug overdose in 1973, owned one of Nudie’s most famous creations, a glittery white two-piece emblazoned with marijuana leaves and poppy flowers.
He wore it on the cover of the Burrito’s debut album, “The Gilded Palace of Sin.” It was quite a statement for the time.
The Redhill Valleys — Chelsea McWilliams (bass/vocals), Tim Allard (lead guitar/vocals), Danielle Beaudin (guitar/vocals), and Matt Soliveri (drums) — spent a lot of time burrowing into the rabbit hole of early ‘70s alternative country music.
All four members get writing credits on “Rhinestoned,” along with Hamilton’s Carl Jennings who co-produced the song with Allard. It’s a dance-floor toe-tapper with Soliveri providing an almost-disco beat in the background.
“We love fashion,” McWilliams says in an interview. “We love to dress up and the Nudie suit look from the ’60s and ’70s is such a cool iconic look for us. It’s the idea of getting dressed up and going out on the town. It seemed like a good idea for a song. The term ‘Rhinestoned’ just came out in trying to come up with some lyrics.”
The Redhill Valleys have been key players in the local scene since forming in 2016, with McWilliams and Beaudin sharing harmony vocals and Allard on drums.
A few years ago, Soliveri was added to the lineup, allowing Allard to step up front on lead guitar and backing vocals.
The past year has been a key one in the group’s career, signing with the MDM/Universal label, run by Mike Denney, who was named industry person of the year at the 2020 Canadian Country Music Awards.
As an independent band, the Redhill Valleys had received several nominations at the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards and earned some high-profile gigs, including the Boots and Hearts Music Festival. Without the backing of a label and well-connected management team, however, the band had a tough time reaching mainstream radio play.
That seems to have changed. Last fall, the band’s single “Steady at the Wheel” broke into the Canadian country charts and received respectable airplay.
The Redhill Valleys are also getting better gigs. Over the past year, they’ve opened for the Sheepdogs, Randy Bachman and the Trews.
In January, the group flew to England to perform three shows at C2C festival in London, one of Europe’s largest annual country music gatherings. Their next big show is April 19, at the Roots North Music Festival in Orillia.
The band hopes to release a few more singles this year, before pulling them together for an entire album. Don’t expect them to shy away from that ’70s sound.
“Most of the music we like came out before we were born,” laughs Beaudin. “It’s part of my soul, old country music.”