{{Refimprove|date=September 2020}} {{short description|American rock band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Ruby and the Rednecks | image = Ruby and the Rednecks.jpg | landscape = yes | caption = | background = group_or_band | origin = New York City, U.S. | genre = {{flatlist| * Glam rock *Punk rock<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/15525|title=RSDBF '22 Special Release: Various Artists - Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC|access-date=September 16, 2023|website=Recordstoreday.com}}</ref> * Glam punk }} | years_active = 1970–present | label = Poo Poo Platters | current_members = | past_members = | website = {{URL|http://www.rubyandtherednecks.com/}} }}
'''Ruby and the Rednecks''' is an American rock band from New York City, inspired by the New York Dolls<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/new-york-city-punk-landmarks-tourist-spots/|title=6 places every punk fan must visit in New York City|date=February 22, 2021}}</ref> and created by the singer, songwriter, playwright and actress Ruby Lynn Reyner<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Auer |first1=John Jeffery |year=2004 |title=Glitter Rock: Sex, drugs and gender in American youth during the 1970's |id={{ProQuest|305035417}} |oclc=57733298 }}</ref> with collaborating musical artists in 1970 and active until today.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BKesVNqjt8sC&q=%22Ruby+and+the+Rednecks%22&pg=PR9|title=Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973–1992|first=Tim|last=Lawrence|date=October 23, 2009|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822390855|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> The band was originally composed of Ruby Lynn Reyner (lead vocals), John Madera (guitar and backing vocal), George Basley (drums), Augie Sabini (saxophone), Bobby Kent (drums), Susan Lampert (keyboard and backing vocal), and Danny Couse (bass guitar), but currently has a new formation. From the original group, only Lampert remains.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-koGlfLp7DcC&q=%22Ruby+and+the+Rednecks%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA316|title=All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77|first=Tony|last=Fletcher|date=October 26, 2009|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=9780393076714|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> Ruby wrote most of the lyrics herself. John Madera was praised as a guitar player.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DpKfAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Ruby+and+the+Rednecks%22+-wikipedia|title=Man Enough to be a Woman|first1=Jayne|last1=County|first2=Rupert|last2=Smith|date=January 13, 1995|publisher=Serpent's Tail|isbn=9781852423384|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref>
Currently they are mostly playing at Max's Kansas City<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/max-kansas-city-fest-at-bowery-electric-this-memorial-day-weekend-lineup-tix/|title=Max Kansas City Fest at Bowery Electric this Memorial Day Weekend (lineup / tix)|website=Brooklynvegan.com|access-date=January 13, 2021}}</ref> and CBGB's Reunions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/maxs-kansas-city-reunion-fest-happens-in-nyc-this-weekend-watch-the-livestream/|title=Max's Kansas City reunion fest happens in NYC this weekend (watch the livestream)|website=Brooklynvegan.com}}</ref>
==History== The band formed during glam rock era in the 1970s in New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcUDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Ruby+and+the+Rednecks%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA56|title=New York Magazine|first=New York Media|last=LLC|date=September 11, 1972|publisher=New York Media, LLC|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> They debuted at the Mercer Arts Center opening for New York Dolls, where Patti Smith used to read poetry to open the concerts for Ruby and the Rednecks and other bands such as Teenage Lust and the New York Dolls.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/patti-smiths-journey-to-horses-a-timeline.html|title=Patti Smith's Journey to Horses: A Timeline|website=Vulture.com|access-date=January 13, 2021}}</ref> Michael Arian said, "Ruby was just extraordinary and was very, very entertaining". Ruby and the Rednecks were one of the staples of the Mercer's scene, appearing on the bill at the New Year's Eve 1972 gig with the Modern Lovers, Suicide, Jayne County, and the New York Dolls.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/downtownpopunderground/person/ruby-lynn-reyner/|title=Ruby Lynn Reyner|website=Dsps.lib.uiowa.edu|date=August 24, 2018}}</ref> In 1973, the building housing the Mercer Arts Center collapsed and Max's Kansas City and CBGB's became the stage for bands like the New York Dolls, Suicide, Television, the Dictators, and the Ramones. Thus the group became part of the early punk rock movement,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDfnDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Ruby+and+the+Rednecks%22+-wikipedia&pg=PT326|title=Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|date=October 4, 2016|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=9780571301737|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> and performed on the New York Club circuit during the 1970s with other noted artists including the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, the Patti Smith Group and the New York Dolls.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2018.1483117|title=The Sound of Subterranean Scuzz-Holes: New York Queer Punk in the 1970s|first=Jarek Paul|last=Ervin|date=August 8, 2019|journal=Popular Music and Society|volume=42|issue=4|pages=483–500|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Taylor and Francis+NEJM|doi=10.1080/03007766.2018.1483117|s2cid=194862206|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uyTX_2DUr8C&q=%22Ruby+and+the+Rednecks%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA182|title=In The Seventies: Adventures in the Counter-Culture|first=Barry|last=Miles|date=September 1, 2011|publisher=Profile Books|isbn=978-1847654946|access-date=January 13, 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref>
Ruby and the Rednecks released two albums produced by Peter Crowley and Ruby Lynn Reyner: ''From the Wrong side of Town'' and ''Live Again! At CBGB's''.
==Original members== * Ruby Lynn Reyner – lead vocals * John Madera – guitar and backing vocal * George Basley – drums * Augie Sabini – saxophone * Bobby Kent – drums * Susan Lampert – keyboard and backing vocal * Ralph Czitron on bass
==Other members== * Steeve Greenfield – saxophones * Mike Grner – fretless bar guitar * Ron Salvo – drums * Emma 'Cha Cha' – channing – backing vocals * 'Wil' Bill Thompson – guitars * Sonic Uke – ukuleles * Danny Couse – bass and keyboards * Mary Rodriguez – drums and bass * Doug Sako – drums
==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''From the Wrong Side of Town''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://daddykool.com/UPC/616892542728|title=Ruby & The Rednecks – From the Wrong Side of Town | daddykool|website=Daddykool.com}}</ref> * ''Live Again! At CBGB's''
===Compilation albums=== * ''Max's Kansas City 1976 & Beyond'' (2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jungle-records.net/index.php/120-max-s-kansas-city-1976-beyond|title=Max's Kansas City 1976 & Beyond|website=Jungle-records.net}}</ref> * ''Rock and Roll Lips: The Best of Ruby and the Rednecks'' * ''Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC'' <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/04/nightclubbing-the-birth-of-punk-rock-in-nyc-review|title=Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC review – where the party started|first=Peter|last=Bradshaw|date=August 4, 2022|access-date=September 16, 2023|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links == * {{Official website|http://www.rubyandtherednecks.com/|Official Ruby and the Rednecks website}}
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Category:American glam rock musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1970 Category:Musical groups from New York City