Judy
Lynn Gregson was a London based country singer/guitarist who came to the
attention of Jim Allison through Tom Destry.
Both Tom and Jim particularly enjoyed her original songs.
She
had been born in London in 1941 as Judy Lynn Rossi and had married to Jack
Gregson in the early sixties. She and Jack raised two daughters; Jacqueline and
Joanne. By the mid-1970’s Judy was expressing herself through country music,
with her guitar and original material. It’s thought that in May of 1975 she
presented Jim Allison with three original songs and a cover, and immediately
Jim saw two singles. She was the 7th artist signed to the
Thunderbird label, initially with a publishing deal. Her three original songs were 'Song I Wrote For You Dad,' 'Bug Bug Bug,' and 'I Love The Country.' Her cover song was 'Don't Let Me Cross Over.'
In early
September of 1975 Jim brought Judy to his home in Burford where they recorded
an eighteen track demo with Fred McKenna. The backing band,
‘Tobacco Roads,’ consisted of Johnny Givens on mandolin and guitar, Thomas Wade
Barker, rhythm guitar/vocals, Clayton Barker, fiddle, and Paul Newell on bass/vocals.
Jim played guitar while Fred played both the flat top guitar and the spoons.
Judy sang another original song called ‘I Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye To
You,’ which was probably a collaboration between her, Thomas Wade Barker and
Jim. The author has been unable to find the publishing details on this
particular song. Thomas sings the song on the demo tape with Judy performing
backing vocals.
As
Tobacco Roads, Jim thought he could manage the young men to great success, and pitched
some tracks (unsuccessfully) to the Tommy Hunter Show hoping they’d take on his
new vocal group. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and Jim lost interest and moved
onto the next thing. The Barker Brothers were able to pull off some amazing
harmonies, something that came very natural to young Thomas. The boys didn’t miss a
beat and formed ‘The Silver Wings’ from the ashes of Tobacco Roads.
When
Judy and Jack realized they had to put up their own money for the professional
recording of her music, they backed out. This action also influenced Joe Springall, who decided by early 1976 that Thunderbird wasn't for him either, even though he had four songs published by Jim Allison.
Judy never gave up on music though, and in 1979 attended the very first Essex County Old Time Fiddle and Singing Contest, held at the Belle River Community Centre. The contest was organized by Harold Ducharme while Art Jamieson was the Emcee and the Jubilaires acted as the backing band for the contestants. Judy was a regular over the years at this event.
Judy never gave up on music though, and in 1979 attended the very first Essex County Old Time Fiddle and Singing Contest, held at the Belle River Community Centre. The contest was organized by Harold Ducharme while Art Jamieson was the Emcee and the Jubilaires acted as the backing band for the contestants. Judy was a regular over the years at this event.
In 1981 she wrote the song
‘Terry Fox’s Memory,’ but as far as we know it wasn’t recorded. In the early
1980’s Judy and Jack Gregson moved with their family to Woodstock, Ontario.
Unfortunately Jack passed away in 1996, and Judy later married to Robert
Terry Marston.
Click on the link below for Judy's downloadable album.
No comments:
Post a Comment