List of albums

The Elliott Walter Band (Duo)

In the summer of 1987, Scott Landon left the band.  Jerrel and I decided to continue performing as a duo because we could now augment any extra instrument by pre-recording it in our studio.  We were booked regularly at The Ramada Inn on the Southwest Freeway, The Holiday Inn on the Seawall in Galveston, The Grand Hotel near the Galleria, The Forest Club in Kingwood, and The Holiday Inn @11160 Southwest Freeway.  Jerrel and I were still making plans to perform regularly and we were in the process of recording our next album when Jerrel died suddenly (November 10, 1991)

I spent a couple of months finishing the album and liquidating the recording studio. I had a few offers to join other musical groups, but decided to pursue other avenues.  I was a substitute teacher for a few months, then I got a job at Allied Van Lines selling international moves.  In October 1994, I  accepted a position with an investment firm in Sugar Land Texas called Dearborn and Creggs.  I retired on December 31, 2010. 

The Elliott Walter Band (EWB)

In 1983 our time with Gerald Bennet ended.  We replaced him with two new members.  (Mark Cozart on keyboards and Scott Landon on lead guitar and steel guitar).  We also kept the initials of the band the same.  We continued playing many of the same rooms in the Houston area, so the transition was relatively easy.

Mark Cozart left EWB after only a few months.  Jerrel, Scott and I decided to pre-record any new songs that needed a keyboard after Mark left.

Our times with Scott Landon were enjoyable as our music continued to be quite diverse from Rock to Country.  We were playing more "Dance Gigs", but I feel it was the "patter" between songs that made us different from many of the bands that played the same venues as we did.  Our mailing list had grown to nearly 4,000 names.  Jerrel had become quite a prolific song writer.  We had the following (fans) to sell LPs, cassettes, CDs and T-Shirts wherever we were performing.

During this time (1984 -1988) we performed at:

(1) Crown Plaza Park 10 Hotel at I-10 and Hwy 6

(2) The Steak and Ale on the Southwest Freeway 

(3) The Holiday Inn Galveston

(4) The Roof at the The Westin Oaks Hotel Galleria

(5) The Ramada Inn on the Southwest Freeway

(6) The Texas Tumbleweed on Westheimer

EWB years

Our years (1974-1983) with Gerald (Jerry) Bennett were pleasant.  We became a "local" group finding jobs in the Houston area.  Jerrel found more time to write and create songs in our recording studio.  We released at least one LP a year during this time.  We produced and sold them from the bandstand as well as in the local record shops.  We also were perfecting our ability to synchronize our live performances with pre-recorded drums and vocals.  Our ability to blend our original songs with "covers" of the popular music of that time helped build a formidable mailing list.  Even tough "stardom" eluded us, we were successful.

One of the skits that we performed regularly was a song (written by Ray Stevens) called "Its Me Again, Margaret.  (see pictures).  It was about an obscene phone call.  It became so popular with our audiences that we had to put a limit on the number of times we would perform it each night.

 

From May 1976 through May 1979, the Steak and Ale on the Southwest Freeway hired us for three years.  They actually expanded the lounge area of the restaurant while we were there.  There was a big celebration on the third anniversary. 

Another Club that we performed regularly was the Railhead Restaurant on Richmond Avenue in Houston.  The club was considerably larger than the Steak and Ale.  However, the business situation there was different.  One day the management called us in to say that the club was "making too much money"!!  You see tax laws were different in those days and large investors could get considerable tax advantages from "losing" money in some of their venture capital investments.  The Railhead was one of those ventures.  Shortly after we left the gig, the tax laws changed.  The restaurant went out of business!

Elliott, Walter, and Bennett (EWB)

In the summer of 1974,  our time with Pat Hamilton ended.  Looking back, I think the years with Pat were our most creative.  We were different.  However, with so much of our act being comedy, it was imperative that we stay on the road because it was difficult to attract "repeat audiences" when the "jokes" were the same.  I had to make a decision.  Stay home and raise my sons while working with Jerrel or go "on the road" with Pat. 

I decided to stay with Jerrel and I am happy that I did!   Jerrel had decided to quit the road and stay in Houston to concentrate on writing music and recording albums.  We also pooled our money to start a recording studio.

We were immediately hired to perform at a Village Inn in Webster, Texas (South of Houston).  While performing as a duo, a fan of HEW (Gerald Bennett) showed up at our gig with his electric piano.  It was a match made in heaven.  We called ourselves, Elliott, Walter, and Bennett.  (EWB)

Gerald (Jerry) Bennett was a fine keyboard musician and he had a eye for business.  During our years together, we started a company called American Record Corporation (ARC).  Since Jerrel had really learned the intricacies of being a recording engineer, we could perform in the evenings and work in the studio during the day.  We produced several albums ourselves and also produced albums for other groups.

During this time, the Houston Oilers were enjoying success on the NFL playing field.  Our company was able to produce several recordings which capitalized on the Oilers popularity.  One of the local entertainers was Mack Hayes of "Love Ya Blue" fame.  He had success with a song parody called the "12 Days of the Houston Oiler Christmas".  In the song he mentioned many of the current Oiler players.  Well, EWB took that idea and recorded similar "12 days" songs for several other NFL teams.  We gained national press coverage (AP, CBS, ABC) with our version of the "12 days of the Cleveland Brown Christmas".   We sold many 45rpm records in Cleveland.  However, we did recordings for San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Dallas Cowboys which were not as successful.