A native of Appalachia, Loney Hutchins grew up across the holler from Clinch Mountain with one foot in Virginia and the other in Tennessee. His songwriting and flat-picked guitar style are indicative of his upbringing, grounded by the hard life of poverty he was born into, while inspired by the region’s natural beauty and the earliest sounds of Country Music. Hutchins left Tennessee for college through the GI Bill but returned for music in 1972 and soon finagled a job at the House of Cash. He inspired the character, “Loney” in Cash’s ’76 bicentennial rumination “Sold Out of Flagpoles.” (Loney Hutchins, 2021)

Around 1972, in a chance encounter with June Carter Cash, now-legendary Nashville song-man Loney Hutchins’ future was forever changed. After hearing his demo reel, June’s husband Johnny signed Hutchins to their House of Cash publishing company and the rest is history. Hutchins’ time at House of Cash coincided with the rise and pinnacle of America’s outlaw country movement, and on December 10, from the archives of Loney Hutchins, fans will be treated to a treasure trove of long-forgotten tunes of the era on a brand new release on Appalachia Record Co. titled Buried Loot, Demos from the House of Cash and Outlaw Era, ‘73- ‘78. Buried Loot is full of never-before-heard recordings, presented for the first time from 80+ hours of tape tucked away through the years by Hutchins. Much of the material is fully produced demos made for Johnny Cash when Hutchins managed the House of Cash publishing catalog, performed by in-demand session players of the time. Wide Open Country premiered “Pinball King,” writing “Hutchins flaunts his way with words.” Fans can hear “Pinball King” today at this link and pre-order or pre-save Buried Loot ahead of its December 10 release right here. 

The songs compiled on Buried Loot are unmistakably influenced by the era in which they were recorded. There is the never-before-heard “Stoney Creek,” written by the woman often credited as coining the “outlaw” label, the late Hazel Smith, and Hutchins’ own material ranges from Byrds-ish country rock, Everly-esque ballads, to Appalachian folk and down and out honky-tonkers. Meanwhile, there are Cash-penned songs performed here as demos before they would officially be recorded and released—tongue in cheek numbers far from the Music Row norm like, “Committed To Parkview,” as well as a Helen Carter-penned tune never recorded, “You Gotta Live It Brother (If You Wanna Serve the Lord).”

Buried Loot Demos from the House of Cash and Outlaw Era, ‘73- ‘78 Track list:
Pinball King
Who’s Gonna Be My Fire?
Paradise
Fools Gold
Stoney Creek
One More Habit
Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t So
Daughter Of A Railroad Man
I Do Declare
Nashville Suite
Every Day’s A Monday
We Got It All
Four More Reasons
Whippoorwill
Whisky Lady
Taxi Please
Five Years In Hell
Committed To Parkview
Ya Gotta Live It
Hillbilly Ghetto
Reedy Creek
I’ll Always Have The Good Lord Watching Over Me
Sheets Of Green Clover
My Tennessee Hills