The CHB TIMELINE
by Ryan Marquess
1949 Cornell Hurd is born in Honolulu.
1968 Bay Area, California- Hurd and Frank Roeber form Milpitas Submarine Band. After many rehearsals and one public performance the band dives into the annals of history.
1970 Hurd and Roeber, now college Freshmen, form The Ragg Brothers. Drew Hurd joins the band. First original material is written, performed, and recorded live.
1971 Hurd and Roeber relocate to Berkeley. Wish I could have seen that. The El Rancho Cowboys are born.
1972 Road trip to Nashville. El Rancho Cowboys stay strong.
1973 El Rancho Cowboys break up.
1974 Hurd lives in Amarillo, Texas for a brief and horrifying time.
1975 Hurd returns to Bay Area. Roeber attempts to flee but is unsuccessful. The Original Mondo Hotpants Orchestra is created. First commercial recording is pressed on vinyl.
1976 Cornell Hurd and his Mondo Hotpants Orchestra, a new and larger version of the original, records The Bicentennial Boogie. San Jose DJ Tom Mix, and eventually Dr. Demento, spin the tune in their top ten. Hurd tinkers with fate, reshapes band.
1977 Village of the Durned is recorded and pressed. mid-May: Mondo Hotpants ends, and the Cornell Hurd Band begins.
1977-1979 CHB tours the Midwest, South, Texas, and the Pacific Coast. Production of 45s and EPs.
1980 Band continues to tour. LP: Doing That Unholy Roll is released.
Hurd
and Zappa
1981 Plethora of live shows continues. LP wins Bay Area Music Award.
1982 Band marries and mellows. Hurd begins path upon which lies yet untold country music material.
1983 Roeber and guitarist, Paul Skelton, move away from Bay Area. After a brief hiatus Hurd yet again reforms the band.
1984 New material and roots influence abound. Drew Hurd rejoins band. New gigs and new fans keep on coming.
1985 Despite popular promise, the band's demise is imminent. Hurd's personal problems overpower his role as front man. December 31 marks their last gig. Well, so far. Keep reading.
1986 After his divorce Hurd relocates to Florida and meets Debra. Roeber, living 250 miles away, almost succeeds in fleeing but his wife stops him cold. Band talk commences.
1987 With Skelton back in the fold, Fever in the South is recorded in Missouri. Popularity of names such as Sting, Prince, and Bono reaches peak. Hurd and Roeber briefly consider changing names to "Oops" and "Ouch."
1988 Cornell and Debra are married. Another album is recorded, but is never released because everyone is thinkin' about movin'.
1989 September- The Hurds move to Austin. November- The Roebers move to Austin.
1990 Skelton and his wife, Anne, arrive in Austin. The Band is back. The "Live Music Capitol of the World" has no idea for what it is in store.
1991 Honky Tonk Mayhem is released.
1994 LIVE! at the Broken Spoke is released.
1996 Cool and Unusual Punishment is released. Thursday night gigs begin at Jovita's.
1998 Texas Fruit Shack is released.1999 At Large in South Austin is released.
2000 A Stagecoach Named Desire is released.
2002 Song of South Austin is released. Saturday Night in San Jose is released. Cornell Hurd Band Day is declared in Austin. September marks six years of Thursday nights at Jovita's. 600 Songs 290-odd shows. Very odd shows.
Seventies night, Jovita's, May 2002
2003 Live at Jovita's is released. All criminal charges are dropped. My Missing Years escapes. Return to the Village of the Durned paroled.
2004 With only 9 months separating them, Cen-Tex Serenade and Fanmail from the Lost Planet are unleashed on an unsuspecting public.
2005 The Cornell Hurd Band goes International with a trip to France. Vegas lists 3 to 1 odds that France surrenders to Danny Roy Young.
2006 The Cornell Hurd Band returns to Europe, performing in Switzerland, at the prestigious GSTAAD Country Night Festival, wth big-time stars Clay Walker and Rhett Akins. Texas By Night is released. The Academy of Western Artists votes the CHB Contemporary Classic Country Group of the Year! On September 28, the band celebrates ten years of Thursdays at Jovitas.
rhythm/Danny Young
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