Lacy J. Dalton - lead vocals, guitar, banjo; Shelton Kurland - pedal steel guitar; Pete Bordonali - guitar; Jerry Carrigan - drums; Kurt Howell - keyboards; Unknown - bass; Guest: Garry Morris - vocals on "Joshua's Band"
Lacy J. Dalton was born as Jill Byrem in Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. Also recording under the married name of Jill Croston, Dalton was a bright star on the country music scene for nearly a decade. This show, originally broadcast for the Silver Eagle Cross Country Radio Series, was captured at the Clemmons Center, which is named after Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain) in his hometown of Elmira, NY.
Dalton grew up in the mining communities of Pennsylvania, but her first musical love was the early '60s protest music made famous by Bob Dylan. She moved to the Bay Area during the hippie years, where she joined psychedelic rock band the Office, and emerged as a lead singer in the same spirit as Janis Joplin. She went from singing protest music and blues to performing electric rock with a full band. She eventually married the band's manager and changed her name to Jill Croston.
The Office never took off, and when her manager/husband died in a tragic drowning accident, she moved back east and reinvented herself as a country artist. She got signed to Columbia Records by Nashville producer Billy Sherrill, who convinced her to adopt the name Lacy J. Dalton. Dalton had a hit with her first single "Crazy Blue Eyes," which led to a string of hit country songs through the mid-1980s. This recording was originally recorded for the Silver Eagle Cross Country Radio Concert Series and was heard initially on over 250 country stations.
Highlights include "Takin' It Easy," "High Like An Angel," "Late Night Kind Of Lonesome," "Slow Down," "You Can't Take The Texas Out Of Me" and "Heartbeat."