Hendrix’s Bassist, a Mysterians Guitarist and Seger’s Organ Player Meet on One Americana Single
A Hammond B3 sits under the acoustic guitars on this Americana single. Meanwhile, the bass beneath it belongs to a musician who once played it for Jimi Hendrix. Happy Curmudgeons recorded Rustic Glory with a guest list drawn from American rock history. Billy Cox of Band Of Gypsys plays bass, and Bobby Balderrama of ? & The Mysterians plays lead guitar. Jim Moose Brown of Bob Seger’s band also adds organ, while Todd Glass is on drums.
Happy Curmudgeons’ award-winning single sits in the playlist below with our classic rock and roots rock picks. Their full run of coverage is also collected on the band’s artist profile. Rustic Glory came to this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news sites. Hear it with the volume up, then read on for the guest list behind it.
Garage Rock, Heartland Organ and Americana Meet in Happy Curmudgeons’ Rustic Glory
The wave this record rides is older than the band. After all, Detroit and the wider Michigan scene gave rock a long run of heavy, soulful records. That run stretches from ? & The Mysterians’ garage single 96 Tears in 1966 to Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band. More recently, that heritage has also fed straight into Americana, a lane where acoustic guitars, Hammond organ and story songs share the same tracking room.
Rustic Glory is built from those exact parts. Balderrama’s lead guitar carries the garage lineage, Moose Brown’s B3 carries the heartland one, and Cox’s bass ties the record to the late 1960s. The song first appeared as a single on 1 July 2022 and won a Gold W.A.M. Award for Best Americana Song. It then took its place on the band’s second album, 2nd Chances, released on 26 July 2024.
The guest credits carry real weight. Cox played bass in Band Of Gypsys, the trio Hendrix led with Buddy Miles on drums at the turn of the 1970s. Meanwhile, ? & The Mysterians took 96 Tears to number one in the US in 1966. Those are two of the longest threads in American rock, and both now run through a Detroit Americana single.
The pressing matters too. According to the band, every song on 2nd Chances was mastered by Bill Skibbe at Third Man Records in Detroit, and the album is out on limited edition red vinyl. For a record this rooted in the city’s rock history, then, a Detroit master and a coloured pressing make perfect sense.
Where Happy Curmudgeons Fit in That Line of Detroit Records
Happy Curmudgeons started in 2015 as a small group of friends with a shared passion for music. Testing Melodies credits Dave Hamilton as the founder and places the band in Detroit. It also lists influences from Bob Dylan and Tom Petty to Patsy Cline. The debut album, Meant 2 Be, then followed in 2017.
The band work as a studio ensemble. Producer Mark Byerly brings in players song by song, and the guest list on 2nd Chances also includes saxophonist Dave McMurray and Pepe Espinosa of B.B. King’s band. For example, HailTunes described that approach on the album’s title single. In that song, Hamilton’s acoustic guitar sits at the centre, with Jeff Warner on electric guitar, Moose Brown on Hammond B3, and strings and backing vocals layered around them.
Radio has noticed the mix, too. According to the band, their songs now play across several SiriusXM channels, including Little Steven’s Underground Garage, North Americana and Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure show. That spread, from garage rock to Americana, is a fair map of where Rustic Glory sits.
Rustic Glory Sits Beside Tom Petty, The Black Crowes and Jason Isbell on Any Americana Shelf
The adjacent acts are the ones who keep an organ in the middle of a guitar band. First, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers built their sound on Benmont Tench’s keyboards under ringing guitars. Moose Brown’s Hammond plays that same supporting role on Rustic Glory, too. Similarly, The Black Crowes brought Hammond organ and 1970s soul back into American rock in the 1990s. That is the bridge this track crosses from the other side. Finally, Jason Isbell shows how far Americana songwriting can carry a plain story, and Rustic Glory leans on story first and solos second.
This single suits listeners who still buy records on vinyl, and anyone who follows classic rock, folk and Americana radio. It also suits players who like to hear who tracked what, because here the credits are the story.
RockRevival.News curator team: “Hendrix’s bassist, a Mysterians guitarist and Seger’s organ player on one Americana single is a rare piece of casting, and the song gives each of them room. So put the red vinyl on and listen to how the B3 and the bass lock together.”
Where to Hear Rustic Glory and Follow Happy Curmudgeons From Detroit
Stream Rustic Glory and follow Happy Curmudgeons on Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, and watch the official video on YouTube. Also keep up with the band on their YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X, or visit the official site.
About The Author
More Stories
The Sound of Black Country Sleaze Rock: Blanco Negra’s Hard Cold Lover
How Oranj Son Got Liverpool Jangle and Shoegaze Haze Into Dream + Lie
How ØRD Got Three Decades of Trio Rock Into The Arms of Society