1970

The year was 1970. 'Raindrops keep falling on my head' by BJ Thomas topped the billboard charts. The Carpenters had the number three slot with 'Close to you'. 'Let it be' by the Beatles was number 9, but the song that literally changed the world, at least for many of us, topped out at a meager 96. The band was Crosby Stills Nash and Young and the song was 'Woodstock', part of an album called Déjà vu. The album also contained a little song called 'Teach your children well' and it featured something called a peddle steel guitar!

   Oh, we all knew what a peddle steel guitar was. It was that whiny thing driving us into fits of turrets as we quickly swept our radio dials past the country music stations on its way to KNAK--but this was entirely different. This was cool! This was rock and roll!

   Soon after, a band called the Eagles topped all the charts with songs like 'Take it easy' and 'Peaceful easy feeling'. In 1974 John Denver's 'Thank God I'm a country boy' went number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Country was becoming very cool!

   In the late 1970s a local band called CowJazz hit the scene and knocked everyones' socks off. In 1980 a movie called 'Urban Cowboy' broke all the records and country music was off to the races.

   It was against this backdrop that four young men happened to stumble into the coveted house gig at the Westerner club; the biggest bar Salt Lake City had ever seen. I say stumble because they were hired to fill in for the existing house band for one week only. By the time they were finished, the Sloan Brothers Band had hit the billboard charts with a song called 'Dime a Dozen' written by Tom Horn (Boog), had been included on the playlist of every local radio station with a song called 'Trouble in Waco' written by CW Johnson (Dub) and completed three non-consecutive years as the house band at the Westerner Club. This may not seem like much, but for many of us who were there, it was truly a magic time, and I dare say for some -- the absolute high point in our lives.

  The original members of the Sloan Brothers Band were: Tom Sloan, John Sloan, Lloyd Lemmon and CW Johnson. A lot of folks tried to fill that fifth slot, but it was Tommy Taylor (Cap) who ultimately finished the band off. Brian Summers filled the drums slot when John took up guitar.

  This blog is a tribute to that magic band, to that magic time, to the Westerner Club, to the wonderful dancers, (You know who you are) bartenders, bouncers, The Fraternal Order of Good ol' Boys (the FAGOB) the everlasting friends who made the dream come true for us all… and ultimately, to our missing Sloan Brother, John.
  Please feel free to 'follow' this blog and to share your personal experiences from those happy times.

CW Johnson