Tom Destry and the Wild West
Show were a country based band from the London, Ontario area. Marilynne Caswell
booked them several times in the Forest City, but wasn’t able to remember much
beyond that. She was sure that ‘Destry’ was a stage name.
It’s believed that he was the main vocalist and drummer for Jim Allison’s band ‘Happy Tracks’ beginning in June
1974. Tom may have introduced Judy Lynn Gregson to Jim, and he went on to sign
her as the 7th Thunderbird act. In July of 1975 Tom Destry was the
11th signee to the label as a solo artist with his backing band The
Wild West Show. Tom had the rare distinction of being signed to Thunderbird with a band (Happy Tracks) and as a solo artist. (Ted Brown shared this distinction)
The author has guesstimated
that Tom's lone Thunderbird single was released in September
of 1975 as TBR 1003, and was titled ‘Tanners Wine/Season of Love.’
There is more known about the
songwriters. ‘Tanners Wine’ was written by Douglas Harold Billiard and Cyril
Rawson. Doug’s stage name was Doug Ballard because it was easier to spell and
pronounce. The B-Side of the record was ‘Season of love,’ a song Doug Billiard wrote completely
on his own. In the early eighties Cyril Rawson and JK Gulley of Dusty Road
became songwriting partners for several years.
Tom left Thunderbird soon
after his record was issued, and eventually moved from the London area. The
following year Tom was recording for Phoenix Records based in Nashville, TN.
Disc Jockey Randy Owen
remembered emceeing one of Tom Destry’s Wild West Shows in Southwestern Ontario
in the early 1980’s, so he may have returned to the area every now and again.
There was no further word on
Tom’s career, and it’s thought that he settled in the Hudson Valley in New York
State. By 1995 he opened a D.J. Service which catered especially to weddings.
Tom still records in his home studio and promotes his music on his website.
Tom Destry about 1995
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