About the Band Members

Clyde Brewer

Clyde, the leader of the band, was born in Luling, Texas and was raised in Beaumont. He is very well known in Texas music circles. As a young lad, he played house-dances in the Luling area and daily radio programs in the Beaumont area. His step-father was Shelly Lee Alley, a pioneer of Western Swing music. Clyde has played with virtually every large band and big-name musician throughout Texas, and is recognized by his peers far and wide as a "Musician's Musician," as well as being an excellent band leader. Clyde is one of the co-founders of The River Road Boys. He has been inducted into various Halls of Fame, including the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in Sacramento, California, the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame, the Golden Spike Country Music Hall of Fame in Utah, the Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, and the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Also, in 2000, he was inducted, along with his good friend Cliff Bruner, into the International Country Music Hall of Fame. He was also just recently awarded the Heart of Western Swing Award at the Quitman, Texas Heritage Foundation of 2008. Clyde sings and plays the keyboard, mandolin and fiddle with The River Road Boys, and lives in Magnolia, Texas with his wife, Sedonia.

E-Mail: CBrewer002@comcast.net
Fax: 281-356-5543
 

Tommy Howser

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Tommy started playing drums in a 50's/60's Rock-n-Roll band called J. J. and the Del-Tones in San Antonio. After a stint of several years as a San Antonio policeman, he moved to Houston in 1968 and played country music with various bands, such as Jim Kinner's Country Rhythm Masters and Frankie Vee and the Village Boys. He is one of the co-founders of The River Road Boys. Tommy works with Playboys II on occasion, and has played drums behind other artists such as George Strait, Merle Haggard, Hank Thompson, Charlie Walker, Johnny Rodriguez, Floyd Tillman, Clif Bruner, and others. The guys in the band appreciate Tommy so much because he plays all styles so tastefully, whether it is swing, light rock, latin beat, jazz, pop music, waltz, polka or marches. Tommy has been inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in Sacramento, California, the Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, and is being inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame in May, 2008. He plays drums and sings back-up vocals with the band, and lives in Tomball, Texas with his wife, Vivian.

E-Mail: Drumhead1@sbcglobal.net
 

Herb Remington

Herb is certainly one of the most outstanding steel guitar stylists in the country. In 1946, after discharge from military service, he joined Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in Los Angeles, with whom he played for 4 years. This time period marked one of the most creative and productive periods in the young artist's career. While with the Texas Playboys, he wrote and recorded "Boot Heel Drag," which was released on the flip side of Wills' all time best recording, "Faded Love." Later while working with Hank Penny he wrote and recorded "Remington Ride," which has also become a standard for steel guitarists everywhere. Since leaving the Texas Playboys, Herb has played all over the world, has been awarded many honors, and is a member in various Halls of Fame, including the National Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He is recognized all over the world as one of the premier steel guitarists of all time. He was also just recently awarded the Heart of Western Swing Award at the Quitman, Texas Heritage Foundation of 2008. Herb plays steel guitar with The River Road Boys. and was the featured steel guitarist on their very first album recorded in 1972. Herb lives in Houston, Texas with his wife, Mel.

E-Mail:  remsteel@netzero.net
 

Bill Dessens

Bill started playing mandolin at age 4 in Rockdale, Texas, and by age 5, had a radio show with his 10 year old brother, Frank. By about age 9, he was also playing fiddle, guitar, tenor banjo, bass and steel guitar. He has been recording, doing radio and TV shows, and has been in one movie since then, and played and recorded with Dolores and the Bluebonnet Boys during college days. Between semesters, he had a studio in Austin, and taught guitar and steel guitar. He has always played Western Swing music, and has worked with or played in backup bands with many varied people, from Bing Crosby and Phil Harris to the Bob Hope Telethon, Hank Thompson, Johnny Gimble, Clif Bruner and Pappy Selph. He also played with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Band for 14 years. He has been inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in Sacramento, California, the Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame. Bill sings and plays fiddle and lead guitar with The River Road Boys, and lives in Houston, Texas with his wife, Norma.

E-Mail: bdessens@sbcglobal.net
 

Shelly Lee Alley, Jr.

Shelly is the son of Western Swing pioneer Shelly Lee Alley. He is also the half-brother of Clyde Brewer of The River Road Boys. Being born into a musical family, Shelly began playing music at an early age, first the mandolin and then the guitar. The guitar would prove to be his favorite. At age 16, with brother Clyde's help, he began playing guitar with Red Novak and The Sundowners. After a 4 year stint in the Air Force, Shelly began playing guitar with Clyde in the Village Boys band, led by Frankie Vee. For the next several years, music became very much part-time as he pursued his career as an air traffic controller. He had played with The River Road Boys on many occasions before becoming a permanent member of the band. He sings and plays rhythm guitar with the band, and is a Hall of Fame member in both The Pioneers of Western Swing in Seattle, Washington, and The Western Swing Society in Sacramento, California. Shelly is also a full-time minister of the Gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ, and lives in Houston with his wife, Susan.

E-Mail:  ShellyOne@earthlink.net
 

Jim Johnson

Jim was born near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and grew up singing with different church and gospel groups, once singing with the Oak Ridge Boys. He attended Lee College in Cleveland, Tennessee, and was ordained as a minister and preached in Michigan. After realizing that his real calling in life was to sing, he re-located to Houston in the mid-70's. He began singing with various groups, and then saw the River Road Boys at a street dance in Alvin, Texas and quickly decided that this was the band he wanted to be singing with. He was invited to join the band as lead vocalist in 1982. In 2001 Jim retired and moved back to Tennessee, but couldn't get this music out of his mind. He moved back to Houston in 2006 and re-joined the band. His genuine pleasure in singing is always very evident at all the band's performances, and he is recognized as truly one of the very best and versatile singers in the country. Jim has been inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in California and the Pioneers of Western Swing Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, and lives in Tomball, Texas with his wife, Barbara.

E-Mail: jrj355@sbcglobal.net
 

Harlan Kubos

Harlan started playing bass at about age 18, and he and his brothers, Harris and Dennis, formed a country band. After that, he joined a polka band for a while before getting into Western Swing music. He quickly became very much in demand as a bass player, and played with Johnny Bush, and then Darrell McCall, Curtis Potter, and Playboys II, and has on occasion played with Johnny Gimble, Ray Price, Jim Gough, The Time Warp Tophands, and others. He has also played seminars with such steel guitar greats as Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day. Harlan has the reputation of being one of the very best bass players in the business, and has recorded with many well known artists. He has been inducted into Halls of Fame in The Pioneers of Western Swing, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and the Western Swing Society, in Sacramento, California. He sings and plays bass with The River Road Boys, and lives in Spring, Texas.

E-Mail: hkboomboom88@hotmail.com