Loney Hutchins, pictured above during his time with the House of Cash, recently sat down with Honky Tonk Times contributor Tony Sexton to discuss the 24 tracks recently released as “Buried Loot: Demos from the House of Cash and Outlaw Era,’ 73–’78.”
Whiskey Preachin meets Loney Hutchins BY TONY SEXTON HTT Contributor What era would you most like to go back to if such a thing were possible? Is there a specific time and place that captures your imagination? Ancient Egypt, perhaps? Maybe the Savoy Ballroom in full swing or Berlin in the ‘20s? The Cavern Club, CBGBs? Personally, I find this sort of question particularly difficult to answer, but an evening at the Armadillo World Headquarters would be a lot of fun. If you spend some time, as I have, immersing yourself in the music presented on “Buried Loot – Demos from the House of
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Cash & ‘Outlaw’ Era’ 73-’78,” I’d be surprised if you didn’t end up wishing you could have been there, as well. Loney Hutchins was there. Hutchins grew up in the povertystricken hills of East Tennessee, and by the mid-1960s, decided his best route out of the mountains and to university was by way of the military. He signed up but managed to avoid Vietnam when his natural ability with numbers saw him stationed at a nuclear missile base in Arizona. The following years saw him posted to Germany and the border with the USSR and back to the U.S. He finally found a regular posting in Kansas. It was here that he found himself a
wife and started a band. His desire to pursue a career in music led him to quit the army and move to Nashville, where he soon found himself with a job at the House of Cash, working as a writer and, later, as manager. During this period, Loney made the demonstration recording that we are allowed to hear now for the first time. The music collated on “Buried Loot” is a joy of a listen, taking us back to a period in country music history that most anyone reading this article will have a reverence for. It was both a pleasure and a privilege to be asked to interview Loney Hutchins about this album, his time at House of Cash, and
HONKY TONK TIMES
