In 1972, Stephen Bruton and T Bone Burnett recorded one night at The New Blue Bird Nite Club in Fort Worth, TX, featuring Robert Ealey and the Five Careless Lovers. Five hundred vinyl records were released on Blue Royal Records in 1973. Record Town Records is excited to present the first reissue of this essential Jump Blues classic.  

Unless you were lucky enough to live in Fort Worth in the ‘70s and happened to find yourself on Horne Street at The New Blue Bird Nite Club on a Friday or Saturday night, you more than likely missed your chance to jump the jive with Robert Ealey and the Five Careless Lovers. This album, “Live at the New Blue Bird Nite Club”, is as close as you’ll ever get. 

Fort Worth, Texas has a remarkable musical heritage. From the birth of Western Swing, the child of Milton Brown, Bob Wills and the Light Crust Doughboys, music has been in it’s bones. Along the Jacksboro Highway, past the Casino Ballroom and The Rocket all the way to The Blackstone Ballroom, Panther Hall, Eastside Club, The Stagecoach, Billy Bob’s, The Hop, Caravan of Dreams, The Wreck Room, The New Blue Bird Nite Club on and on, the City of the Sleeping Panther has always made room for the music. Record Town has been an important part of this history for over 60 years, informing and influencing generations, and honoring the incredible creativity of the music community in Funkytown. Record Town Records aims to step it up a notch, making sure that future generations get a chance to shake some action and jump some jive. Onward! 

From Johndavid Bartlett, Producer, Singing Hearts, LLC:

"Last year, I proposed the Robert Ealey project to Bill Mecke at Record Town with the idea of helping them develop a private record label. Singing Hearts, LLC specializes in facilitating copyright, project and career management for local and regional artists. Preserving the beauty and integrity of Fort Worth Music is at the heart of all we do. Our motto is Art Saves Lives and we endeavor to make that happen for our artists and ourselves. I’d be happy to talk your ear off about all of the above if you’re interested. 

Sumpter Bruton had the original 1/4 ‘ safety masters for “Live at the New Blue Bird Nite Club”. I took the tapes to the sound lab at UNT in Denton. My friend, Justin Lemons audio conservator for the Music Library there and together with an associate who was Audio Conservator for the Library of Congress for many years and who now is in charge of the sound lab in Denton, baked the tapes in their computer controlled ovens, cooled the tapes for 30 minutes then immediately played back on the lab’s deck and recovered as much data as was available. The resulting files are on our hard drive at Smith Music and available to you for review. I sent the files to 1979 Studios in Nashville and had their chief engineer, Maggie, listen to what we have. She agrees with me that these tapes were the final masters before it went to vinyl in 1973. She spent a little time removing some tape noise she detected and then we went ahead and made stampers. Hand Drawn Pressing in Dallas slung the vinyl. I hope that this release will set the stage for Record Town Records to become known as the home of the sound of sleeping panthers, if you get my drift."

100 numbered copies on swirled sky blue, 180 gram vinyl will be available on November 6th, exclusively at Record Town.

1st single (digital only) "Robert's Little Johnny"

400 additional copies on 180 gram, translucent royal blue vinyl available worldwide on Texas Independents Day, 02/27/2021