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Members circa 1966 - 1970:
Barbara Raney
Bob Hayes
Jerry Miller
Brent Webster
Brad Kamp
Keith Skue
History:
C.f. "The Rivermen" formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in the early-to-mid 1960s:
The Rivermen recorded and released a couple of singles within their local, Little Rock market before disbanding.
A couple of years later, The Deep Water Reunion emerged on the scene in New Orleans when former "Rivermen" Jerry Miller, Barbara Raney, and Bob Hayes reunited there. The band played locally and even appeared on Bourbon Street before beginning a more extensive, two year tour. The tour eventually brought them to the upper midwest.
In early 1968 they traveled to Nashville to record a single for RCA Records: "Ruby Foo."
While the band had developed something of a regional following, it was during their tour through the upper midwest that they recorded the bulk of their material. They recorded two live albums in St. Paul, Minnesota over a couple of nights in the late spring / early summer of 1968. They returned to the area the following year to record their only studio album, "DWR", in Minneapolis. While some have come to think of them as "a Minnesota band" in the years since they disbanded, they were truly an Arkansas band with a Minnesota... Read More ... connection that only emerged later in their career.
The Deep Water Reunion's unique renderings of some of the most popular songs of the late 1960s had kept them in demand for several years, and they have retained a sort of cult following to this day. But by the early 1970s the members again went their separate ways.
Subsequently, members Hayes and Miller played as solo artists and in other bands throughout the midwest (and beyond), while Barbara Raney continued as a solo artist, and had a regional country rock hit in 1983.
Singles / 7" releases:
"Ruby Foo / I Wanna Know" RCA Victor – 47-9609 (1968)
"It's All Over Now Baby Blue / Break My Mind" (Self released / Jerral, 1970)
LPs:
1968: "Deep Water" -- Recorded "live at The Showboat."
1968: "Deepwater (161)" -- Recorded "live at The Showboat."
Note: As both of these live albums were recorded at the same venue and share the same center labels, they are sometimes misunderstood as a single album with a re-issue.
What differentiates each are different setlists, different matrix numbers, and different album jacket artwork.
1969: "DWR" - Studio album recorded at Sound 80 in Minneapolis, and released on the band's own "Jerral Records" imprint.
Radio Play:
"Cindy's Crying"
Following the 1969 release of "DWR", this cover of a Tom Paxton song became a signature tune on Clyde Clifford's cutting-edge "Beaker Street" program on KAAY 1090 out of Little Rock. While KAAY's 'clear channel' status helped the band's rendition reach a very dedicated audience, the song was never released as a single.
Today their rendition is both true to the underground status of the band and the nature of the Beaker Street program, itself. In other words it has become truly iconic.
Name Variations:
The Deep Water Reunion is rendered as "Deep Water" (live album / labels), "Deepwater" (cover, live album / 161), and "Deep Water Reunion" ("DWR", cover - Jerral.)
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