Growing Up In A Country / Mad Mike’s Breakdown

Release: RCA JB-10523 Growing Up In A Country / Mad Mike’s Breakdown (45)
Artist: Bodie Mountain Express
Release Date: 1975

Disc: (1975) Yellow label. NOT FOR SALE.

How does this record and artist connect to the Elvis collecting universe?
The story was too compelling to leave out. What follows is drawn entirely from the description of an eBay auction.¹.

Thanks to eBay member man_from_plaid for sharing this update on the Bodie Mountain Express:

In 1974–75 the band connected with Jody Reynolds in Palm Springs, who introduced them to Greg McDonald and Colonel Parker. Parker signed them to an RCA contract, though only one single appeared and it failed to chart. After Elvis’s death they toured with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton and worked Vegas shows with Jim Stafford and Bobbie Gentry.

On December 31, 1975, Bodie was among the openers for Elvis’s New Year’s Eve show at the Pontiac Silverdome, alongside Jackie Kahane, Freedom, the Sweet Inspirations, and J.D. Sumner & the Stamps. Elvis appeared after 11 p.m. to mixed reviews; some questioned Parker’s choice of “hillbilly” warm-up acts, though the 60,000-plus turnout was remarkable.

Just two months earlier, Bodie had debuted at San Bernardino’s Swing Auditorium with Jim Stafford, Emmylou Harris, and Upton’s Spiral Starecase. The Sun-Telegram praised their “new grass” blend of rock and bluegrass, noting strong potential despite poor production that evening.

More on Bodie Mountain Express

Origins and Home Base

Despite the mountain-country name, Bodie Mountain Express is an Inland Empire band out of Southern California — rooted in the Riverside / San Bernardino / Redlands area, not Appalachia.² Founders Chuck Stewart (guitar/vocals) and Duane Michaels (fiddle/vocals) have played together since high school in the late 1960s, and the group still performs at venues like the Contemporary Club in Redlands and MillCreek Cattle Company in Mentone, California.³⁴

The Boxcar Records Angle

The contemporaneous Nov. 3, 1975 San Bernardino County Sun-Telegram review (quoted further down) identifies the single as being on Boxcar Records of Madison, Tennessee — Colonel Parker’s own merchandising/label operation, headquartered at his house at the corner of Berkley Drive and Gallatin Pike in Madison.⁵ No Boxcar pressing of JB-10523 has ever been documented in collector circles — the yellow “NOT FOR SALE” RCA promo remains the only confirmed variant.

The Pontiac Silverdome Show in Context

The Dec. 31, 1975 Silverdome date was Elvis’s all-time attendance record at roughly 62,000 paid, grossing approximately $800,000 — a then-record for a single performance by a solo artist.⁶ The same source confirms the band was promoted as a side project of the Colonel, who was actively trying to get them signed with RCA at the time.⁷

After Elvis: Touring Career Through 1979

Beyond the Kenny Rogers / Dolly Parton and Jim Stafford / Bobbie Gentry dates already noted, the band also opened over the years for Ray Price, Tammy Wynette, and Doug Kershaw.⁸ The original band broke up around 1979 but has reformed multiple times since.

Modern-Era Lineup (Still Active)

The band remains active. A 2011 performance at MillCreek Cattle Company in Mentone, CA, documents this lineup:⁹

• Chuck Stewart — guitar, vocals (original member)
• Duane Michaels — fiddle, vocals (original member)
• Bill Purcell — banjo
• Chuck Tucker — mandolin, vocals
• Conrad Norton — bass
• Fred Stuart — dobro

For their Nov. 8, 2023 Smiley LIVE! concert at the Contemporary Club in Redlands, Chuck Stewart and Duane Michaels appeared with longtime banjo player Bill Purcell (~30-year member, also of Alive and Pickin’, Blue Lightning, the Bluegrass Redliners, and Lonesome Otis) and Eric Pittman on upright bass (a Southwest Bluegrass Association board member).¹⁰