Rodney Lay Coffeyville at 100 B/W The Ballad of the Dalton Raid
Layork Publishing 1969 CAT# CS 196
This is an odd 7” celebrating the 100th
Anniversary of the founding of Coffeyville, KS. Which, despite Coffeyville’s near
nowhere status, has a fairly substantial history…whether a souvenir 7” was
needed is up for debate, but there are some interesting stories to tell.
Rodney Lay, a Coffeyville native, attempts to tell a few of
those stories. Lay was Coffeyville native who became a regional hit as a DJ.
That led him to a tour with the famed Wanda Jackson in the 60’s. He also landed
a small role in the movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid which starred Kris Kristofferson.
From there, he began working as the band director for country artist, Roy
Clark, and fronting his own band. He did help to pen a few country tunes
scattered throughout the Nashville scene and score some minor hits of his own
throughout the 80s.
His tribute to Coffeyville is a bit amateur, though. “Coffeyville
at 100,” could have talked about the town’s rich history, but rather, it’s just
Lay rattling off what happened at the centennial celebration week. The flip
side, “The Ballad of the Dalton Raid”, is cowboy-style, story song singing the
history of how the Dalton’s were stopped in Coffeyville by the authorities. The
same story is discussed in an Eagles song, “Doolin’ Dalton.” No matter what
song you select, great story with legend advising it wasn't just the
authorities that stopped the Daltons, but the settlers of Coffeyville took the
matter into their own hands, laying 4 of the Dalton’s down, but miraculously,
with 23 gunshot wounds, Emmett Dalton
survived and was charged for his crimes.
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