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Bio:
Though officially known as Jesse & The James Boys, the band is credited as Jessie & The James Boys
on the early Crashed singles.
Country-pop band based in Kerry whose image was drawn from the wild west and the Jesse James Gang.
According to the PR sheet that came with their third single, the group was put together by manager
Kieran Cavanagh, who'd had the idea for a country pop band based around the Jesse James image for
some time (of course there had already been a soul artist named Jesse And The James Boys in the USA
in the early 70s). When he saw Nashville Edition playing in a bar in Tralee, he'd found what he was looking for.
Jesse & The James Boys was launched in May 1982.
They were instantly successful. In August '82 they were voted most promising new country band in the
RTE Radio 2 Keep It Country Awards. Their LP came out in June '83. By 1984 their star was waning. Their
last single, Cowboy From Ballyporeen, made reference to then US President Ronald Reagan's roots in the
village of Ballyporeen, Co.Tipperary, which he visited in June 1984 on a state visit.
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