The Liberty Hill String Band is back in action! In 1979, four high school friends returned home from college to LaGrange. Billy Hadley and Bob Newman were getting together to jam once a week. They invited John McGee and John Jackson to join them, and when it quickly became apparent that there was lightning in the bottle with this combination, they started a band. Ann Cathy and Ken Hamilton joined, and The Liberty Hill String Band was off and running.
Vocal arrangements and strong harmonies became the band’s signature. . Billy was writing some very good songs, and played rhythm guitar. Bob was on blues harp, John Jackson lead guitar, Ken Hamilton on banjo, John McGee picked up the bass, and Ann played percussion instruments. LHSB played often, developing a strong local following as the house band in several restaurants, and also by focusing on bluegrass festivals, private parties, political rallies and company picnics. . They were the house band in several restaurants. They even played a couple of weddings, providing the “wedding march breakdown” at one. They played often and soon developed a strong local following.
LHSB never wanted to be pigeonholed as a bluegrass band, although they always included a lot of bluegrass in their repertoire. Now their music would be called Americana, though that term had not yet been coined in those days. They played anything that struck their fancy: Crosby Stills and Nash, Dan Fogelberg, Black Oak Arkansas, Blackfoot, The Beatles, The Byrds and of course original songs from Billy Hadley and John McGee.
Inevitably they made the pilgrimage to Nashville. A promoter was found who wanted to put the band on the road, and a publisher was found for Billy Hadley’s original songs. As often happens, that dream soon came to an end when Bob, Ann and Billy left the lineup. John Jackson, Ken Hamilton and John McGee decided to persevere as a trio, and soon Joe Hamilton, Ken’s younger brother, joined them. The emphasis shifted more to the pickers, although strong 4-part harmonies were still a trademark.
LHSB made one foray into the studio and produced “Tiny Crimes”, their only studio recording to date. By 1990 career demands and other elements of real life prevailed and the fellows disbanded. They all remained friends and played together informally whenever another opportunity arose. Then In 2024 some of the band’s old fans suggested a “reunion show” to John McGee. He called John Jackson and Ken, who agreed to a couple of rehearsals to see if it still clicked. It did.
