Little Texas

Little Texas was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1988. Prior to the band's formation, Tim Rushlow and Dwayne O'Brien began playing together in Arlington, Texas, in 1984. Porter Howell and Duane Propes got together while they were in high school in 1983 and moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University. Brady Seals and Del Gray played in the backup band of country music singer Josh Logan. Rushlow, O'Brien, Propes, and Howell first started making music at Opryland as a 1950s show band. With both Rushlow's first wife and Howell's wife, plus two other members, they took the show band on the road, naming their act "The Varsities". When two of the members left to pursue other interests, they contacted their old friends Gray and Seals, 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. The band played at venues across the United States (around 300 dates a year), eventually catching the attention of Nashville's division of Warner Bros. Records. ==Musical career==

1991-1993: First Time for Everything Warner Bros. signed Little Texas in 1989, and two years later, the band released their debut single "Some Guys Have All the Love". This song, which reached No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard country singles charts, was the first of five singles from their debut album First Time for Everything. After the debut single came the album's title track at No. 13, "You and Forever and Me" at No. 5, "What Were You Thinkin'" at No. 17 and finally "I'd Rather Miss You" at No. 16. The rendition peaked at number 73 on the country charts. 1994-1996: Kick a Little and Greatest Hits Kick a Little, the band's third album, was certified platinum by the RIAA. Leading off this album was its No. 5 title track, followed by the No. 4 "Amy's Back in Austin" and No. 27 "Southern Grace". After the album's release, however, Seals left for a solo career on Reprise Records, and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Jeff Huskins, a former backing musician for Clint Black, for their tour to promote the album. Reunion Duane Propes, Del Gray, Porter Howell, and Dwayne O'Brien decided to reunite Little Texas in 2004. When Little Texas reunited, Rushlow and Huskins made a legal attempt to keep their ex-bandmates from using the Little Texas name. As the other four members felt uncomfortable singing lead vocals in Rushlow's and Seals's absence, they recruited Steven Troy as new lead vocalist. However, O'Brien was critical of Troy's performance as lead singer, stating that it "just didn't feel authentic"; as a result, he exited the band in 2006. By the time the band had signed to Montage Music Group in 2007, producers for the label had suggested that Howell take over on lead vocals instead. Their first Montage Music release was the live album The Very Best of Little Texas: Live and Loud. They promoted this album on the Triple Threat Tour that year, which included both Restless Heart and Blackhawk; touring guitarist Mark Sutton accompanied the band on both the tour and the live album. 2004-present Little Texas has continued to tour constantly averaging 65 shows a year. In 2022, they are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album, First Time For Everything. ==Members==

• Del Gray – drums (1988–1997, 2004–present) • Porter Howell – lead guitar, background vocals (1988–1997, 2004–2006); lead vocals, lead guitar (2007–present) • Dwayne O'Brien – rhythm guitar, lead and background vocals (1988–1997, 2004–present) • Duane Propes – bass guitar, background vocals (1988–1997, 2004–present) Former members • Jeff Huskins – background vocals, fiddle, keyboards (1994–1997) • Tim Rushlow – lead and background vocals, rhythm guitar (1988–1997) • Brady Seals – lead and background vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar (1988–1994) • Steven Troy – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2004–2006) == Discography ==

• First Time for Everything (1992) • Big Time (1993) • Kick a Little (1994) • Little Texas (1997) • Missing Years (2007) • Young for a Long Time (2015) ==Awards and nominations==

Grammy Awards American Music Awards Academy of Country Music Awards Country Music Association Awards ==References==