The Tractors were one of the country-rock bands to benefit from the modern country boom of the early '90s. With their good-time boogie and rootsy country-rock, the Tractors were able to send their eponymous debut to platinum status.
Although based in Tulsa, all of the members of the Tractors -- guitarist Steve Ripley, bassist Ron Getman, vocalist Casey Van Beek, keyboardist Walt Richmond, and drummer Jamie Oldaker -- were well-known Nashville session musicians before they came to prominence in the early '90s. The group landed a contract with Arista Records and released their self-titled debut album in the summer of 1994. Supported by the hit single "Baby Likes to Rock It," the record became a Top Ten country hit, eventually selling over two million copies. Instead of following the debut with a standard second record, the band released a holiday album, Have Yourself a Tractors Christmas, in the fall of 1995. Like its predecessor, the Christmas record was a hit, although it didn't come close to replicating the chart status of The Tractors.
The band took most of 1996 off, spending time with their families and working on side projects, as lead songwriter Steve Ripley prepared material for their third album, Farmers in a Changing World, which was finally released in the autumn of 1998.
The Big Night
1. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
2. The Big Night
3. I Was a Bad Boy This Year
4. Pretty Paper
5. Run Rudolph Run
6. Bells are Ringing
7. Santa Claus is Back in Town
8. Christmas Times a Comin'
9. Bo Diddley Santa Claus
10. Little Drummer Boy
11. Mary's Baby
Audium Records/ Boy Rocking Records
Tulsa soul takes center stage on this, the second Christmas album from Steve Ripley and The Tractors. This time around, lead Tractor Ripley enlists legends including Scotty Moore and The Jordanaires, along with standouts such as Fats Kaplin and Floyd Domino. Things get off to a rollicking start with Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, a holiday remake of Boogie Woogie Country Girl. Plenty of funky cool stuff follows, but the album's highlight is a remarkable take on Little Drummer Boy, with Ripley's impassioned vocal and rhythm guitar set against Kaplin's heart-tugging strings and accordion.