Tex Williams Smokin' Country Swing - The Lost Tracks (CD)

(Country Rewind Records) 15 tracks

Country Rewind Records has released Tex Williams' Smokin' Country Swing - The Lost Tracks as part of the label's Western Heritage Collection.

Williams was a western swing performer who helped move country music from its rural, acoustic origins to a more danceable, electrified form with a much wider popularity. His biggest hit was the novelty song "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)," which stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for sixteen weeks in 1947. Williams died in 1985.

The CD was co-produced by Aaron Dethrage and Rex Allen Jr. with Thomas Gramuglia as executive producer. Bil VornDick provided additional recording for the project, which was recorded at EastSide Manor and Mountainside Audio Lab recording studios in Nashville and is distributed by Select-O-Hits in domestic and international markets.

"This Tex Williams album is a rare and special treat for fans of Western Swing Music, from one of the genre's greatest artists," says Gramuglia. "These lost tracks were updated to make the album sound more modern by adding instruments and mixing them with the original recordings. This was a labor of love for the musicians and producers."

Country Rewind Records has previously released projects by other country legends such as Conway Twitty, Johnny Russell, Mickey Gilley, Tex Ritter, Merle Travis, Billy Don Burns, Carl Smith, Waylon Jennings, Connie Smith, Jeannie C. Riley and others.