In the Austin, Texas, club circuit, singer, songwriter, and harmonica virtuoso Ted Roddy earned his reputation by sharing bills and experience with Dale Watson, the Reverend Horton Heat, and the Bad Livers. A native of Corpus Christi, he first appeared onstage in the late 1970s and later moved to Dallas, where he formed the Midnighters alongside blues guitarist Mark Pollock. Once that band split, Roddy embraced rockabilly and, in 1983, assembled Ted Roddy and the Talltops, enlisting Jim Heath (subsequently known as Horton Heat) and Danny Barnes (later a Bad Livers member). After the group settled in Austin, the Talltops developed a loyal audience at home and overseas, issuing several records in Europe. Going solo, Roddy appeared on albums by Watson and Chris Smither before unveiling his 1995 debut, Full Circle, with Tear Time arriving five years afterward.
