SunLife
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
The Desperados are enjoying an award-winning, chart-busting year.
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| Courtesy photo |
The Las Cruces-based band has scored a No. 1 hit with “Lyla Lou.”
The recording, from the group’s latest CD, “Roots & Branches,”
topped the Western Swing charts in May, according to Tiffany Kopyar
with Power Source Music Magazine, which compiles lists of top county
and western hits.
“Our lists are based on radio play and The Desperados have been doing
well,” Kopyar said in a telephone interview from Nashville, home base
of the magazine.
“It went to No. 1 in May when we divided our Western and Western Swing
charts for the first time. It was also No. 1 in March on our combined
Western-Western Swing list.”
She said Western Swing is enjoying a resurgence in popularity with a diverse listening audience.
“It’s a really mixed group of artists. Some have been around a long
time but a lot of new, younger artists are making the charts, too,” she
said.
She said “Lyla Lou” also ranked at No. 5 in April and will definitely
be on the top 20 chart for June’s list, which is being compiled this
week. She thinks the song’s current rank is about No. 12.
In short, the tune has staying power, like the group that recorded it.
“It’s been a very good year for us,” said Ted Scanlon, founder, lead singer and bassist for the Desperados.
The band’s run of accolades started last July, when the The Desperados
were named Western Swing Group of the Year by the Academy of Western
Artists.
Scanlon said he has recently been inducted into the Western Swing Hall
of Fame in Seattle and the Western Music Hall of Fame in Fort Worth,
Texas.
“It’s really exciting to have all this stuff going on and winning the
awards. Maybe it’s just a matter of endurance,” quipped Scanlon, 54.
“Lyla Lou,” he said, “is an old song that Bob Willis recorded back in
the 1940s. We decided it was time to do a retake on it and put it back
on the road. The whole album has been doing well.”
Two original songs penned by Scanlon, “Waltz Of The Old Rio Grande” and
“Who’s Bob?” are also getting a lot of attention and radio play,
Scanlon said.
Longtime fan, Peggy Bogart of Las Cruces, feels the band’s recognition is well deserved.
“I think Ted has one of the best Western Swing bands and it’s a great
album. My husband and I have been following The Desperados since he
started the group in 1976. We just got back from Wichita Falls, Texas,
where they were host band at the Legends of the Western Swing Music
Festival. They love him in Texas.
We wish he would play more around here,” Bogart said.
“They’re a real good band. They’ve been together a long time and won a
lot of awards. My wife and I like them so much that we hired them to
play at both of our boys’ weddings,” said Alvin Davidson of Las Cruces.
The group has appeared at the “Legends” festival, held in several
locations in Texas and Arkansas, for 14 years. They have shared stages
with such country music legends as Asleep at the Wheel, Bob Wills’
Texas Playboys, Ray Price, Hank Thompson, George Jones, Billy Walker,
Johnny Bush and Loretta Lynn.
“Things have been hectic, but I’m keeping my day job. We’re building a
new office, in fact,” said Scanlon, an engineer with Scanlon White Inc.
He is also liaison for the Las Cruces Film Commission.
The Desperados include Jim Tomlinson on pedal steel guitar and fiddle,
Gordon Butler on fiddle, Mike Matthews on drums and El Paso jazz
musicians Curt Warren on guitar and Ruben Gutierrez on piano.
“Roots & Branches” is The Desperados’ sixth album.
The group is scheduled to appear for Alfresco! Fridays at 7 p.m. July 29 at the El Paso Civic Center.
For an update on the band’s schedule and accolades, visit online at www.thedesperados.com or e-mail tscanlon@thedesperados.com
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
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