The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #89574   Message #1691134
Posted By: GUEST,Dale
12-Mar-06 - 08:10 AM
Thread Name: 'It's all right to like...'
Subject: RE: 'It's all right to like...'
Concerning open mike's curiosity about The Ragtime Wranglers, etc. 11 on Mar 06 - 12:29 PM:

They are a hard group to pin down as they have gone through multiple name and personnel changes through the years. The backup group, The Ragtime Wranglers, frequently back up other performers in addition to Miss Mary Ann and the Ranch Girls and sometimes perform by themselves. By the way, I referred to them as Ramblers instead of Wranglers. I knew better, just a slip of the mind while typing.

But basically, this is it, a group from the Netherlands usually fronted by Mary Ann. If she is joined by Mary Lou, then they transfrom into The Ranch Girls, but Mary Lou is semi-retired, so this doesn't happen as often as it used to. You can read the longer version here. http://www.theranchgirls.com/bio/story.html

Follow the links at the bottom of the page to the rest of the site. Look for the generous sound files, including some full songs. Don't miss the video of Mary Ann singing with Charlie Thompson.

Oh yeah, what do they do? Well, I'd say think 50s Rockabilly and Western Swing as their main directions, but here's what they say about it:

When you ask their influence and the music they want to play, they all will answer: early Country, Hillbilly, Western Swing, Rockabilly and everything in between. The Ranch Girls are influenced by early duet-singing, but the Ragtime Wranglers are crazy about instrumentals.

Whatever they do, they're having a good time at it. Right now they are at the Rockabilly Rave in Sussex, UK