Remember The Amazing Rhythm Aces & Third Rate Romance?
'Third Rate Romance' had almost everything a great country classic needs.
Let's see, drinking? Check. Cheating? Check. A great sing-along chorus line? Check.
And just plain fun.
From their 1975 album 'Stacked Deck', the Amazing Rhythm Aces had everyone singing 'Third Rate Romance, Low Rent Rendezvous'.
The band had another Top 10 hit titled 'Amazing Grace (Used To Be Her Favorite Song)' in 1976.
But then....well, then what?
The group released some 18 albums over a thirty-year period, which included a 15-year 'hiatus'. The original members essentially went their separate ways, one joining Hank Williams Jr.'s band, another joining Sawyer Brown. The lead singer and songwriter in the band was Russell Smith.
His writing credits include several songs you know and sing along with, like Randy Travis' 'Look Heart, No Hands', Ricky Van Shelton's 'Keep It Between The Lines', Don Williams' 'Heartbeat In The Darkness' and T. Graham Brown's 'Don't Go To Strangers'. In fact, he penned one of country music's great party songs, Mel McDaniel's 'Big Ole Brew'. Sadly, Russel passed away in July of 2019 following a cancer diagnosis. He was 70.