The Outlaws

Southern rock pioneers the Outlaws emerged among the foremost exponents of the style during the mid- to late 1970s, blending the earthy dual-guitar exchanges associated with the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd alongside the polished vocal blends and compositional approach favored by the Eagles. Their breakthrough arrived via the self-titled debut album issued in 1975, which included the buoyant single “There Goes Another Love Song” and the extended instrumental showcase “Green Grass & High Tides,” both enduring favorites within the group’s repertoire. Following repeated lineup shifts that brought instability, the band dissolved after issuing Soldiers of Fortune in 1986 yet resumed recording and touring activities with the arrival of It’s About Pride in 2012.

The group originated in Tampa, Florida, during 1972 when singers and guitarists Hughie Thomasson and Henry Paul joined bassist Frank O’Keefe and drummer Monte Yoho. Guitarist Billy Jones completed the configuration in 1973, and after a year of rigorous road work the ensemble secured the distinction of becoming the initial signing to Clive Davis’ newly established Arista Records imprint. Their 1975 debut emphasized vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Eagles paired with guitar firepower akin to the Allman Brothers, producing the Top 40 success “There Goes Another Love Song.”

After the 1977 release Hurry Sundown, helmed by producer Bill Szymczyk, both Paul and O’Keefe departed; guitarist Freddie Salem, bassist Harvey Dalton Arnold, and drummer David Dix joined for the 1978 projects Bring It Back Alive and Playin’ to Win. Further adjustments followed when Arnold exited after 1979’s In the Eye of the Storm, prompting the recruitment of bassist Rick Cua for Ghost Riders in the Sky the next year, whose title track—a cover of the Vaughn Monroe standard—reached the Top 40. Yoho subsequently rejoined Paul in the Henry Paul Band, Jones also left, and with only Thomasson remaining from the founding roster the band ceased operations after completing Los Hombres Malo in 1982.

Thomasson and Paul assembled a fresh lineup in 1983 that incorporated guitarist Chris Hicks, bassist Barry Borden, and drummer Jeff Howell; following Soldiers of Fortune in 1986 Paul departed once more, leaving the remaining members to issue Hittin’ the Road in 1993. While Paul later appeared in the chart-topping contemporary country outfit BlackHawk starting in 1994, Thomasson performed with the reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd and sustained the Outlaws, delivering So Low in 2000.

Jones and O’Keefe both passed away within a three-week span in early 1995. In 2005 the original members Thomasson, Paul, Yoho, and Dix regrouped as the Outlaws, augmenting the roster with BlackHawk alumni guitarist Chris Anderson, bassist Randy Threet, and keyboardist Dave Robbins. Paul and Robbins stepped away the following year to focus again on BlackHawk, yet Thomasson—the sole founding member present across every iteration—persisted until completing the album Once an Outlaw prior to his death from a heart attack in 2007.

A reconstituted edition unveiled the studio album It’s About Pride in 2012; dedicated to Hughie Thomasson, Billy Jones, and Frank O’Keefe, the recording featured Henry Paul, Monte Yoho, Chris Anderson, Randy Threet, and Dave Robbins alongside newcomers guitarist Billy Crain and percussionist Joe Lala. Crain exited in 2013 for health reasons, and Lala died in 2014 following lung cancer. Steve Grisham, a member from 1983 to 1986, returned on guitar, and this configuration issued the concert album Legacy Live in 2016.

Steamhammer released the studio set Dixie Highway in 2020 along with two archival live documents: Live at Rockpalast 1981, a CD/DVD package drawn from a German television broadcast, and Alive in America, captured from a 1975 radio performance at Ebbets Field in Denver, Colorado. In 2023 the band contributed an interpretation of “What Child Is This?” to the holiday collection Southern Rock Christmas, which also spotlighted material from Charlie Daniels, Point Blank, Blackhawk, Black Oak Arkansas, and the Georgia Satellites.