Biography

Little Texas first materialized in November 1988. Tim Rushlow and Dwayne O'Brien began playing together in Arlington, Texas, in 1984. Rushlow was originally a member of the band Perry Hoover and the Gamblers. Porter Howell and Duane Propes got together while they were in high school in 1983 and moved to Nashville to attend Belmont College. Brady Seals and Del Gray played in the backup band of country music recording artist Josh Logan. Tim, Dwayne, Duane and Porter first started making music at Opryland as a 50's showband. With both Tim's first wife and Porter's wife, plus 2 other members, they took the showband on the road, naming their act "The Varsities". When two of the members left to pursue other interests, they contacted Del and Brady, whom they had met while playing in Springfield, Massachusetts, in hopes of forging a more country/Southern rock sound. All six members eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they started playing together, and Little Texas was born.

The band played at venues across the United States (around 300 dates a year) where it caught the attention of Nashville's division of Warner Bros. Records. Warner Bros. signed Little Texas in 1989, and a couple of years later, the band released its first album, First Time For Everything. The album spawned five singles that landed on the Billboard country singles chart. In 1993, Little Texas released its second album, Big Time. Big Time was Little Texas' biggest selling album of their career, selling more than three million copies. It spawned three Top 5 singles, a Top 15, and the band's only No. 1 record with My Love, which was sung as a lead vocal by Brady. 1994 saw the release of Little Texas's third album, Kick a Little. It spawned three more singles in the Billboard country chart.

However, just weeks before the release of Kick a Little, Brady left Little Texas (citing panic attacks) to pursue a solo career. His peak at solo success would come in early 1997 with the single "Another You, Another Me", which peaked at #32. Brady was replaced by Jeff Huskins, who had previously played in country singer Clint Black's backing band. Little Texas soldiered on with a greatest-hits album, and a self-titled album that was released in 1997. That same year, however, the band split up after a New Year's Eve performance. During Little Texas' hiatus, Tim Rushlow had one Top 10 hit as a solo act.

In 2004, four of the original Little Texas's members - Duane Propes, Del Gray, Porter Howell, and Dwayne O'Brien - decided to reunite the band. Tim Rushlow and Brady Seals opted not to rejoin the original lineup, as they had formed bands of their own (Rushlow and Hot Apple Pie, respectively). In fact, when Little Texas reunited, Tim and Brady made a legal attempt to keep their ex-bandmates from using the Little Texas name. [citation needed]
Little Texas briefly brought Steven Troy to the front as lead singer; after his departure, original member Porter Howell took over as lead vocalist. Strangely, Porter was not a vocalist in the original lineup.

They are currently touring heavily on their own, and as part of the "Triple Threat Tour" along with Restless Heart and BlackHawk. A new live album, "The Very Best of Little Texas - Loud & Proud," is slated for release in February of 2007 on the Montage label, and a new studio album called "Missing Years" is set for release this spring.

< Back