The Tractors

During the early-1990s modern-country explosion, The Tractors emerged as one of several country-rock outfits that capitalized on the moment. Their upbeat boogie rhythms and earthy rock textures propelled the band's debut album to platinum certification. Though headquartered in Tulsa, every member—guitarist Steve Ripley, bassist Ron Getman, vocalist Casey Van Beek, keyboardist Walt Richmond, and drummer Jamie Oldaker—had already built substantial reputations as Nashville session players before the group itself reached prominence in the early 1990s. Arista Records signed the ensemble, which issued its self-titled debut in summer 1994; buoyed by the hit single "Baby Likes to Rock It," the album cracked the Top Ten on the country chart and ultimately moved more than two million units.

Rather than deliver a conventional follow-up, the band issued the holiday collection Have Yourself a Tractors Christmas in fall 1995. The seasonal release also charted successfully, yet it fell well short of matching the commercial peaks attained by The Tractors. Most of 1996 was spent away from the studio, with members focusing on family life and individual endeavors while lead songwriter Steve Ripley assembled songs for the third album, Farmers in a Changing World, which arrived in autumn 1998. Fast Girl appeared in 2001, after which an eight-year interval preceded the arrival of Trade Union in 2009. Steve Ripley passed away on January 3, 2019, following a battle with cancer; drummer Jamie Oldaker likewise lost his fight with the disease on July 16, 2020, at age 68.