Kimmie Rhodes' producer and partner Joe Gracey was born at an early age
in Ft. Worth, Texas ("Where the West Begins") on November 14, 1950. He
began playing in garage bands at 12, had a pirate radio station at 13,
and was working in commercial radio at 15. In high school he played
rock & roll bass in pickup bands with other Ft. Worth guys like
T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton. (Bruton's parents owned the great
record store where all Ft. Worth musicians hung out and got their real
educations.) At 14 he hung around the recording studios where T-Bone
and Major Bill Smith were working, and was bitten by the recording bug.
He got a 2-track machine and began taping anything that would sit still
long enough.
He worked in Top 40 radio from 1965 to 1972 in Ft. Worth and Austin. In
1969 he became music director at KXOL-FM under Program
Director/songwriter Lawton Williams ("Fraulein") who had installed a
"Countrypolitan" format at the urging of Chet Atkins. It was during
this time that Gracey was exposed to the music of Willie Nelson and the
whole range of great country music of the 50's and 60's. This format
was an early attempt to bring country music to an urban, more female,
younger audience.
While earning a degree in American Studies from the University of
Texas, Gracey began working in FM free-form radio. Here he became the
first rock DJ to play Willie Nelson's music when Atlantic Records sent
him the first pre-release copy of the Shotgun Willie album. He was also
the radio advertising producer and voice of the Armadillo World
Headquarters. In 1972 Gracey, Armadillo head honcho Eddie Wilson,
Willie Nelson, and others concocted the idea of a "progressive country"
radio format and approached the management of KOKE-FM with it. However,
KOKE-FM decided to hire a different Program Director and Gracey later
joined the station, to become its highest-rated disc jockey. In 1974
KOKE-FM received the "Trendsetter of the Year" award from Billboard
Magazine for its Progressive Country format. In 1975 Gracey assumed the
Program Director's role, and stayed there until 1977.
It was during this period (1972-1975) that Gracey was the rock music
columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. In this role, he urged his
readers to pay attention to progressive country artists like Willie and
Waylon (he called Willie 'the Dylan of country writers') and in one
column he challenged the local television media to offer an outlet to
the burgeoning Austin music scene. The gauntlet was taken up by Bill
Arhos, the manager of KLRU-TV, who hired him to be the talent
coordinator for the first season of Austin City Limits. In this
capacity, Gracey put together the reunion of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys
(who went on to have a successful second career), the pairing of Ry
Cooder with Flaco Jimenez, and the first network television exposure
for Clifton Chenier, Townes Van Zandt, Asleep at the Wheel, and Marcia
Ball.
After he left the Statesman, he continued to write articles for Picking
Up the Tempo, in which he explored Conjunto music, Black Creole,
Western Swing, and various aspects of Texan culture. Later he also
wrote a music column for Jeff Nightbyrd's Austin Sun.
In 1977 Gracey left KOKE-FM and began to work with Alvin Crow, doing
radio and media promotion. It was also at this time that he began to
think about a musical career of his own, opening for Alvin with his
brother Bill as "The Gracey Brothers" on the road for two years.
Legendary Nashville producer and label owner Jack Clement and Gracey
had become friends and Clement was discussing recording Joe for his
label.
In 1978 Gracey discovered he had cancer and had surgery to remove his
larynx. Because of his association with Jack Clement, Gracey had become
more interested in recording (again) and had begun to consider
producing and engineering. In 1978 he set up Electric Graceyland
Studios and Jackalope/Rude Records.
He produced many Austin acts at Electric Graceyland, including Stevie
Ray Vaughn, The Skunks, Diamond Joe Siddons, Harvey "Tex" Thomas, and
R.C. Banks. In 1979 T.J. McFarland brought him a girl who wanted to be
a singer and had written a few songs who turned out to be Kimmie Rhodes.
This magical association led to the production of many Kimmie Rhodes
albums, a major publishing deal, and a marriage. Kimmie and Joe have a
daughter, Jole Morgan Goodnight Gracey, and Kimmie has two sons, one of
whom, Gabe Rhodes, plays guitar in their band.
In addition to Kimmie's records, Joe Gracey has worked on hundreds of
recording projects since 1979, including Alejandro Escovedo w/Rank
& File, Joe King Carrasco, Butch Hancock, Butch's Dixie's Bar and
Bus Stop TV show, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Freda and the Firedogs, Alvin
Crow, The Leroi Brothers, Wes McGhee, Calvin Russell, Fred de Fred,
Dick Rivers, Jean Louis Mahjun, Arkey Blue, Sue Foley, Asleep at the
Wheel, Ray Campi, John Emory, Live at the Continental, The Hole in the
Wall Anniversary CD, The Skunks, a Willie Nelson enhanced CD-ROM for
Microsoft, and many others.
His recent recording projects include Willie Nelson and Ray Price's new
Lost Highway CD, "Run that by Me One More Time”, as well as new Kimmie
Rhodes "Picture in a Frame" CD, a new Calvin Russell CD, mixes of a
Willie & Merle Haggard TV special, the Willie Nelson's "Me and the
Drummer" CD, and Willie Nelson's album for Island Records, "Spirit".
His most recent venture with Willie is www.lucktexas.com, where MP3
files of the Kimmie/Willie recordings for "Picture in a Frame" can be
purchased and downloaded.
Recently Joe's recipe for Tex-Mex Enchiladas appeared in Saveur
magazine, followed by a Saveur "Fare" article on Joe and Kimmie's
henhouse adventures. He currently has several more articles and
features waiting to be published by Saveur. Joe and Kimmie are also
teaching cooking classes at Central Market, working on a new cookbook,
and pursuing their culinary adventures all around the world.
email Joe at: joegracey@kimmierhodes.com
