Memphis garage rock legends The Gentrys are back with a new release.
Back in the mid-‘60s, The Gentrys helped ignite the Bluff City’s garage rock explosion. The group — led by singer Larry Raspberry and future pro wrestling legend Jimmy “The Mouth of the South" Hart, and featuring a collection of Treadwell High School alumni — scored with 1965’s Top 5 hit “Keep on Dancing,” a record that also helped put Chips Moman's American Sound Studios on the national map.
The Gentrys would follow with a series of other classic tracks, including “Everyday I Have to Cry” and “Brown Paper Sack," as well as a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl,” as the group continued on in various incarnations into the early 1970s, recording for MGM, Sun and Capitol Records.
In 2024, The Gentrys were inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. And in September, the band returns with a new (old) album of rare material from the late '60s and early '70s.
Jimmy Hart-led Gentrys record for revived Sun label finally gets release
After leaving MGM in 1969, a newly reconstituted version of The Gentrys continued their career signing to the revived Sun Records label, which Sam Phillips had sold to Music City producer Shelby Singleton. Though they put out half a dozen singles and one LP for Sun, much of The Gentrys recordings for the Sun label went unreleased. Now, Primary Wave — which owns the Sun catalog — has dug through the archives and pulled together a Gentrys compilation titled “It’s Been So Long.”
According to a news release announcing the project: “Following the dissolution of the band’s original lineup, Jimmy Hart — later known worldwide as one of professional wrestling’s most recognizable personalities — began a new chapter for The Gentrys after being introduced to Knox Phillips, son of Sun founder Sam Phillips. After hearing Hart perform original material, Sam Phillips helped connect the project with Shelby Singleton, leading to a new recording chapter that blended Laurel Canyon-inspired harmonies with the band’s signature Memphis rock sound.”
Featuring rare recordings and previously unreleased tracks produced by Knox Phillips, “It’s Been So Long” is set to come out on Sept. 4. A pair of singles from the project, “Sunshine” and “Two of Us,” were released earlier this summer.
To help mark the album’s release, Hart is also set to perform in Nashville at AmericanaFest on Sept. 16 as part of the Sun Label Group’s party at the annual music conference. In the meantime, Hart will return to the Bluff City for a special event at the Memphis Listening Lab where he’ll celebrate the release of “It’s Been So Long” on Sept. 2 with a Q&A and listening session.
Event free, seating limited
The Sept. 2 “It’s Been So Long” event at the Memphis Listening Lab is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., with the program set to kick off at 6 p.m.
For more information, go to Memphislisteninglab.org.
Bob Mehr is the music writer at The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at bob.mehr@commercialappeal.com.
The Gentrys 'It’s Been So Long' listening session with Jimmy Hart
5:30 p.m. Sept. 2 at Memphis Listening Lab, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 269
Admission is free. Go to Memphislisteninglab.com
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart and The Gentrys back with new release
