The Capitol album boasted the George Jackson-penned “Rock And Roll Man (Hung Up On A Disco Girl),” featuring a guitar cameo from Blackfoot’s Rickey Medlocke, later a longtime member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was a full-circle moment. Medlocke played drums on a pre-fame Skynyrd’s Muscle Shoals Sound demo. Rolling Stone gave Jackson Highway’s Capitol album a three-star review. Not bad.
Jackson Highway was enlisted for a big tour opening for wild man guitarist Ted Nugent, known for hits like “Cat Scratch Fever” and “Stranglehold.” Russell says Nugent, “had a reputation of being hard to deal with and pretty rough on opening acts. But for some reason he was always very kind to us.”
Dennis recalled after a Jackson Highway show opening for Nugent, they ran into him at the hotel bar afterwards. “We walked up to us and said, ‘You guys sounded great. Was the crew good to you?’ We said, well, yeah. He said, ‘If there’s anything you need, I’ll make sure they do it for you.’”
Jackson Highway also opened arena concerts for coheadliners UFO, British melodic-rockers known for live album “Strangers in the Night,” and Triumph, the Canadian power-trio famed for hit “Lay It On the Line.” The headliners were embroiled in petty competition, the Gulley brothers said, that sucked the joy out of the run. UFO and Triumph traveled by airplane, Russell said. Meanwhile, Jackson Highway drove all night between shows in a Winnebago with a trailer behind.
Jackson Highway came from the Allmans school of live performing. Stand there and play your ass off. But from working with more physically active acts like Nugent, UFO and Triumph, they learned the value of putting on a show too. After those tours, Jackson Highway wrote harder rocking songs. This surprised their mentors Jimmy Johnson and David Hood when the band ran through the new material, bang-bang, back at Muscle Shoals Sound.
Alas, the day Jackson Highway was scheduled to play a showcase for label execs, Russell’s dad died. “I couldn’t not go home and take care of business,” Russell said. “And our option was dropped. I blame myself for us losing the Capitol deal because it conflicted with my family.”
Jackson Highway split up. Some band members got more stable opportunities, like Patterson, who landed a salaried job as a piano tuner. At the suggestion of country band Alabama bassist Teddy Gentry, the Gulleys moved to Nashville, where Dennis resides to this day.
Dennis found work with the likes of John Schneider, the unfairly handsome “Dukes of Hazzard” actor who’s also a country-rock singer/songwriter. Russell toured with successful Canadian country singer Gary Buck. Russell has since returned to North Alabama, where he resides today, and is a mainstay of the state’s roots music scene. On August 23, he’ll play a set at Eutaw’s Black Belt Folk Roots Festival lineup.
There have been occasional Jackson Highway reunions, and a few years back, they released an EP. The brothers are currently working on their first Muscle Shoals-recorded project in decades. Dennis and Russell are also collaborating on music for a photography exhibit by Muscle Shoals music insider Dick Cooper August 25 - 29 at Auburn Arts Association . They might take that elsewhere, Russell said.
And that original “Old Time Rock and Roll” demo? Dennis still has a copy on cassette, and a digital file on his computer. He’s never released the demo publicly, though, because Capitol owns the rights, he said. “I’ve never even played it for anybody other than friends,” Dennis said. “If you and I were together, I wouldn’t mind playing it for you, but I wouldn’t give you a copy of it. Because I’ve had people ask me for it and it’s not mine to do that with.”
by Matt Wake, Jun. 12, 2025
Tracks
1. Drive Me On Home (Matthew Jones, Dennis Gulley, Russell Gulley, Tommy Patterson) - 3:25
2. Rock And Roll Man (Hung Up On A Disco Girl) (George Jackson) - 3:57
3. Circles (Russell Gulley, Tommy Patterson) - 3:46
4. Hook, Line And Sinker (Dennis Gulley, Russell Gulley, Tommy Patterson) - 4:38
5. Rave On (Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty, Sonny West) - 3:13
6. Knee Deep In Love (Collins Kirby, Dennis Gulley, Russell Gulley) - 2:56
7. You're Looking Good (Dennis Gulley, Russell Gulley) - 3:50
8. Nobody To Love (David Weatherspoon Jr., Thomas Earl Jones) - 2:36
9. Cold Chill Out Of The Blue (Dennis Gulley, Russell Gulley) - 4:43
Jackson Highway
*Dennis Gulley - Piano, Organ, Bass, Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Lead, Background Vocals
*Britt Meacham - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Background Vocals
*Tommy Patterson - Piano, Synthesizers, Harmonica, Lead, Background Vocals
*Ronny Vance - Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
*Russell Gulley - Bass Guitar, Background Vocals
With
Jimmy Johnson - Guitar
Randy McCormick - Keyboards
Roger Hawkins - Drums
Charlie Hargrett - Backing Vocals (Track 2)
Duncan Cameron - Backing Vocals (Track 9)
Greg T. Walker - Backing Vocals (Track 2)
Rickey Medlocke - Backing Vocals (Track 2)
1977 Jackson Highway - Jackson Highway (2024 remaster)
https://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2025/06/jackson-highway-jackson-highway-1977-us.html
Thank you very much Marios!
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