David Olney

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  • Born: Providence, RI
  • Years Active: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

Albums

Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia

All Music Guide:

Though multi-instrumentalist David Olney is a folk singer at heart, he incorporates wide-ranging inspirations from honky tonk to rock into his standard repertoire. Born in Rhode Island, Olney moved to Nashville during the early '70s and became a major player in the city's underground folk/country scene. He gained a contract with the folk label Philo several years later. Though his first half-dozen albums were recorded before the end of the decade, Olney's output during the '80s slowed considerably. He returned to Philo in 1995 with High, Wide and Lonesome, recorded with an impressive cast of roots rock all-stars -- Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Rodney Crowell, and Brian Ahern, among others. Real Lies followed in 1997, including contributions from John Prine and Garth Hudson, while 1999 brought Through a Glass Darkly. After a live album that year (Ghosts of the Wind), Olney recorded in 2000 for Dead Reckoning (Omar's Blues) and in 2003 for LoudHouse (The Wheel).

Wikipedia:

David Charles Olney (born March 23, 1948 in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American folk singer/songwriter. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but did not graduate, instead joining Bland Simpson's band Simpson (band) in the early 1970s. He moved to Nashville in 1973 and formed the band The X-Rays, which gained a reputation during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Since then, he has performed as a solo singer/songwriter. His songs have been covered by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, and Laurie Lewis, among others. One of his most popular songs is called "Wait Here For the Cops," in which his partner, Sergio Webb, convincingly imitates a police siren on the guitar.