Randy 'Grits' Perkins
IIt seems that nobody had the taste for Grits back in the 60’s. But times have changed!
Randy ‘Grits’ Perkins was a man before his time.
Randy and his band the Friendly Neighbors had been performing at nursing homes and rest stops throughout Texas and Oklahoma for many years before he was discovered. In fact, his nick name ‘Grits’ came from a rather unfortunate truck stop incident.
You see, Randy was rather gullible. His fear of modern day medicine led him to trust the ‘wives tales’ of the day before trusting, as he called it, ‘new fangled’ science. Needless to say, Preparation H really is a better cure than home cooked grits. Those things are 200 degrees when cooked! Anyway, the nick name was burned into the bands consciousness after that experience and became a term of endearment.
When young Randy was approached by 'Producer/Manager/Part-Time Undertaker' ‘Colonel’ Husky G. Huskie, his fate was sealed. At the time, signing a 10 year record deal sounded like a good opportunity. After slaving away in the dog food factory for 5 years, anything seemed like a good opportunity. You guessed it… Grits was in charge of horse hooves and lips. He was the best ‘lip-ster’ at the plant! The rigorous taste testing that the dog food plant required was among the best of its era. It was often said, “If it’s good enough for grits, it’s good enough for the dog.”
The ‘Colonel’ produced every ‘Grits’ Perkins album. Unfortunately, the first album was not that big of a hit. Released first in the UK, his introductory release, “I’m Randy” (1968) offended more people than it impressed. The ‘Colonel’ said it was the music but Randy (as he was still known at the time) thought it was a lack of promotion. No one knew for sure, but since then, the ‘Colonel’ decided Randy should be known as ‘Grits’ Perkins..
The album was then scrapped for release in the US.
Grits was truly depressed after the failure of ‘I’m Randy’. In true country music fashion, his next album would reflect his mood. That mood also earned him the reputation as the ‘grumpiest man in country music’.
“My Grey Period” was released in the U.S. Again, Grits received little acclaim for his artistic talent. The ‘Colonel’ felt it was the grumpy nature of his live performances that turned off audiences. You see, Grits was never one to mince words often yelling at and even firing members of his band the Friendly Neighbors on stage.
There have been 124 members of the Friendly Neighbors. Other than the back-up singers, musicians rarely remained with the band much past the encore at the end of the night.
We’re still learning of Randy ‘Grits’ Perkins and we’ll have more as music historians uncover the greatness that is ‘Grits’ Perkins.
Grits was truly a man before his time.
Though not many knew of Grits and his accomplishments, his influence has been felt throughout the industry. Many hit songs of today reflect the greatness that is… ‘Grits’ Perkins!
More Soon! We're still researching the story behind Grits. It's quite possible that some of the above information may be modified as more facts are discovered. Stay tuned.
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