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 anthe
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.
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