Hacienda Brothers – Cowboys To Girls

I got an email from CB and he was listening to these guys. I started looking them up and thought I had seen this title before. It was a hit for a soul band called The Intruders in the sixties.

They are a band I’ve listened to for the past couple of weeks. I haven’t found a bad cut. They have a soul-sounding country…two genres I never thought about mixing. The guitar player Dave Gonzalez plays a Danelectro guitar I talked about a few posts back with the Southern Culture on the Skids band. It can give you a sharp twangy sound. A different kind of twangy than a Telecaster. The singer Chris Gaffney had such a soulful voice…his voice ties everything together and makes it work.

I’m going to post the song Cowboys to Girls…but also another song just to give you a different take from them. The song is South of Lonesome which has that twangy Danelectro in the background. It reminds me of the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez first met in the early 2000s. Gaffney was already an established artist with a background in country and roots music. He was in a band called Cold Hard Facts and toured with Dave Alvin…formly of The Blasters.  While Gonzalez was known for his work with The Paladins, a roots rock band. They bonded over their shared love for classic country music and influences such as Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and the Bakersfield sound.

They were together from 2002 through 2008. They released 4 albums and their last album came out in 2008 called Arizona Motel. Gaffney passed away during the making of the last album and they finished and released it. They were a cool mixture of country, soul, and rock influences, that some critics described as “western soul.”

The song Cowboys to Girls by The Intruders peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100 in 1967. The song was written by the legendary Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

Cowboys To Girls

Cowboys to girlsI remember when I used to play shoot ’em up(Shoot ’em up, bang, bang baby)I remember when I chased the girls and beat ’em upBut I was young and didn’t understandBut now I’m a grown up manI know girls are made for kissingNever knew what I was missingNow my life is not the sameMy whole world has been rearrangedI went from (cowboy to girls)Oh yes I did(Cowboys to girls)

I remember when I used to see you jumping rope(Jumping rope up and down baby)And I remember when you got your first baby coachBut you were young and didn’t understandNow you’re a woman and I’m a manAnd it’s me that you’re kissingAin’t it fun reminiscingNow our lives are not the sameOur whole world has been rearranged

You went from (pretty dolls to boys)Oh yes you didAnd I went from (cowboys to girls)Oh yes I didAnd it’s me that you’re kissingAin’t it fun reminiscingAnd my life life is not the sameThis whole world has been rearrangedI went from (cowboys to girls)Oh yes I didYou went from (pretty dolls to boys)Oh yes I didI went from (cowboys to girls)

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

34 thoughts on “Hacienda Brothers – Cowboys To Girls”

    1. Cool Phil…I just checked the Derailers out….thanks…I like the sound of them.
      I love my two Danelectros.

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  2. CB keeps on amazing me, listening to bands and artists I have never heard of. Hacienda Brothers are yet another example. And, yes, on “Cowboys to Girls” it sounds like blending country-oriented music with soul. It’s an intriguing combination that works really well. “South of Lonesome” is more traditional country rock but sounds great as well. Their twangy guitar sound is really neat!

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  3. New name for me Max. Definitely picking up that Bakersfield influence. I wasn’t sure if knew Cowboys to Girls until I heard a bit of it, then I recalled the original. Seems we share alot of similar tastes with CB.

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    1. Yes we do…I love finding new/old music and he knows a lot of these that were under the radar. That title…I thought it was a country song until I heard it and thought…oh yea!

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      1. I came across Gaffney through all those people we’ve been talking about and listening to. I picked up his album ‘Losers Paradise’ way back. Lots of cool folks on it. A song about Roberto Duran, being a boxing fan it was a no brainer for me.
        (Sports songs Max. Idea?)

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      2. His voice was great and could fit different geres. Hmmm…I might have to pick up on that and run! I like that alot. I just thought of Catfish by Bob Dylan also….I will work on that. Cool!

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  8. Can hear Bakersfield bigtime in first one. Except for the voice this could be a Buck Owens song. I remember the 2nd song with the original band. It sounds good by these guys also. This is a band I will listen to again.

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  10. Nice guitar intro on ‘Cowboys”, if thats the Danelectro, nice retro sound overall. But it’s a 60s song, sooo… (Excuse me, I don’t rightly know the guitars brands, I just like the sounds they make! like the looks and history etc but handing me one would be like giving a ukulele to a chimp.)

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    1. lol…He probably did play the intro on it…well if you must give one to a chimp…the Danelectro is the one to do it with…they are cheaper guitars but have their own sound. They are usually brighter…because…without getting technical…they use a metal nut where the strings go over on the neck…usually people use plastic and it’s white.
      But…because of that metal they are extremely bright. Here is one Obbverse.

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      1. Thanks Max- the guitar field is a rabbit hole I’m too afraid to go down; I’ve thumbed through ‘Guitar Player’ etc at the library but talk of timber and timbres leaves me less enlightened than before I started flipping. I will admire ’em from afar.

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      2. I understand!
        I probably shouldn’t add this stuff to my posts but I start thinking and that is when things go wrong lol.

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      3. Oh no, keep adding , I’m always ready to learn, and there’s always something of interest, as I say I can’t play but the look and style of the guitars always catches my eye- some are art.

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    1. Oh….I thought that would be the version that people knew. I didn’t know it by name but I remember it off of classic radio.

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