Dennis Stroughmatt: "The Key's In The Mailbox" - A Tribute to Tony Booth

November 27, 2019

“I loved your rendition of ‘Together Again,’ says I to Dennis Stroughmatt.

“You might like this collection of Tony Booth songs I just recorded,” says he.

Looking for a CD to play while boiling water for a pasta dinner, I saw Stroughmatt's face on the cover and without reading the title, racked it into the CD player.

Stroughmatt’s annual show with his band Creole Stomp at The German Club in Pawtucket, RI, draws a full house for his stellar interpretations of old time Louisiana Cajun and Canadian French ballads, waltzes, and frisky two steps.

The man’s a scholar of French Creole music, has been honored at the Kennedy Center, and is as good as it gets for listening and dancing to French Creole music with a vein of the Missouri Ozarks embedded inside it. What I heard on "The Key's In The Mailbox: A Tribute to Tony Booth" blew me away...14 of the most indelible western swing/honky tonk songs you're likely to hear on one album.

Dennis’s stratospheric baritone with its evocative vibrato illuminates every song in his catalog. And here he is in full Ray Price mode…deep country  and a long way from Louisiana.

Stroughmatt’s diaphragm must be made of Kevlar. His clear, resonant register lights a fuse to the lovelorn lyrics that, with his traditional phrasing, shows why old time country music, classic short stories of love and loss, has stood the test of time.

His clarion voice has an edge that would cut through the crowd chatter in any dusty Texas roadhouse then draw them to the dance floor. The baritone that he unleashes with this CD, “The Key’s In The Mailbox A Tribute to Tony Booth,” has the energy of his cajun/creole catalog but more evocative and downright Texas. Forget Price. This is pure Stroughmatt.

Chances are you’ve never heard of Dennis Stroughmatt and, unless you’re a die hard country music fan, of Tony Booth. Tony Booth’s albums were on permanent rotation on Stroughmatt’s father’s turntable when Dennis was a teenager. Booth topped the charts with a slew of hits in the early 1970s. He faded from the charts but he's still belting them out.

Dennis, fiddle in hand, reprises Tony Booth songs that mesmerized him when he was a kid. Tribute? Sort of. More like a gift to a boyhood hero. Stroughmatt picks 14 songs from the Booth archives and kills them. Each one is just under three minutes long, perfect for three-for-a-quarter in a juke box back in the day, and pull on your heart strings and make you yearn to find the nearest hardwood dance floor. There’s probably a verse in every song that you’ve lived yourself.

“Apartment No. 9,” “The Keys In The Mailbox,” Happy Hour,” “Second Fiddle,” I’ve Carried This Torch,” “He Don’t Deserve You Any More,” “Would You Settle For Roses,” Under Your Spell Again,” Cinderella,” …do you need to be told we’re talking heartache? The searing power of his voice reveals hurt and longing.  Its shimmering vibrancy tells you that no matter how strong the winds, the singer is going to weather the storm.

This is a CD of full-boil country swing Texas two-step honky tonk music that you're likely to wear out like Dennis's father wore out that first Tony Booth 33 rpm record back in the 1970s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwXBdnWvWDM

"The Key's In The Mailbox Come On In"...Tony Booth's version of this song got worn out on the Stroughmatt family's record player in the early 1970s...Dennis Stroughmatt does it proud in his tribute to Tony Booth today.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Comments

[Dennis Strougmatt]

The only change I would see for accuracy is “Creole Stomp” that plays at the German Club instead of “L’Esprit Creole.” L’Esprit is a different group that is an acoustic trio (mostly IL-MO French music). But otherwise…definitely a nice review. I appreciate you’re taking the time…..and you really listened to the songs!! The means a lot to me.

Best,
Dennis

[Bernard Ussher]

Thanks for sharing! Must pass this on

I hired Dennis several times for gigs with Boston Zydeco Loved his music and was mesmerized by his intimate knowledge of French speaking North America

Must get his latest CD

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. AKA pt at large]

You were ahead of the curve inviting him to Boston. The man's a scholar of old time French songs and admires the amazing fiddlers who made it popular. I had no idea about Midwest Creoles living along the Mississippi River near St Louis until i wrote this story. His latest musical turn appears to be honky tonk country swing and boy oh boy is he good at it. I'd love to know what you think of "The Keys In The Mailbox" if you buy it.

[B-man]

Great stuff. Yes Dennis is great.