FTC: Joe Stampley & The Uniques
Being from the East Texas area and near the Louisiana border, the name Joe Stampley is a name you hear often amongst older music fans. Stampley, as some of you may already know, made a name for himself in the country genre of the late 70s and 80s as a solo artist and as a duo with Moe Bandy. Prior to his moderate success on the CMT charts, Stampley fronted a doo-woop style rock ‘n’ roll group out of Shreveport known as The Uniques. The group began with Stampley drawing some interest from small local labels in the Lousiana and Texas area after passing around home recordings of their material. The subsequent LPs and numerous 7″s turned the group into one of the most sought after live acts in the deep south for a 3-4 year period. Unfortunately for fans of the group, Stampley grew tired of their lack of national exposure and broke up The Uniques in 1970 to begin his career as a country artist. Recorded material by The Uniques can be extremely hard to come by and will generally run you a hefty price tag if you’re looking around on ebay or in local stores. Digitally you’ll only find a greatest hits compilation which features the biggest hit from the group “Not Too Long Ago”. The song has a doo-wop vibe that eventually got worn out in the 50s and 60s, but still has a place in the history or rock.
I’m originally from Shreveport and remember my mom playing the Uniques for me when I was a kid. I have a couple of of the original LPs that she handed down to me. Great stuff.
I’m from area close to Springhill, La. I had the Uniques original LP. I loved these songs, this was about the time I met my husband. These were all special to us. Great songs!!!!
Many great memories from this group playing all around east Texas(mainly Kilgore Longview area) If they were playing, and we had the gas, we were there! Not surprised when they made it big!