The Sliders

A late '50s, early '60s combo that played early rock n roll and R&B, notably featuring Mac Gayden and Quitman Dennis.

History[edit | edit source]

Early 1959 talent shows at East High and Father Ryan record some of the earliest Sliders performances with a lineup of Chuck Neese (Hillsboro), Mac Gayden (BGA). Chris Kelley and Quitman Dennis (also of Hillsboro) and Howard Harlan (BGA), competing against other notable local acts such as The Gators, The Monarchs, and The Skipper Hunt Combo. When Chris Kelley left to work on his own combo, aptly named The Chris Kelley Combo, Roy Hepburn joined the band as drummer. With the ever-busy bassist Joe Gleaves later filling in on bass, the steady lineup was in place.

It was this classic lineup, now with calling cards (seen here) and a reputation that enabled them to book steady gigs as the backing band for larger acts. Backing soul singers on gigs around town provided the Sliders much exposure, such as with R&B artist Carla Thomas, and with this experience they were able to record a single in 1961 on Strand Records, an imprint of Decca.

The Sliders backing Carla Thomas at a "Hugh Baby Hop" (org'd by ex-Jordanaire Hugh Jarrett) at the Cascade Plunge swimming pool at Fair Park, which regularly hosted night performances.

With increased popularity, The Sliders were one of the area's favorite combos in the 50's & early 60's, and were in great demand at Vandy Frat parties, High School Proms and local clubs. As members began to perform with other local acts, the Sliders as an entity slid into a lesser priority for band members. When Skip Hunt took his own combo on the road, he used Joe Gleaves and Roy Hepburn as members of his own band to have a solid and tested rhythm foundation. In 1962, as members of the Escorts continued to grow in demand for session work, Quitman Dennis, by this time a Vanderbilt student who was a well-regarded saxophonist and flutist, was asked to join. When Wayne Moss left the Escorts to focus on recording and engineering, Dennis recommended Mac Gayden to fill in as well. Gayden would go on to write many of the Escorts songs.

Mac Gayden would go on from the Escorts to have a long and busy music career as an accomplished songwriter, producer, and performer, with a distinctive sound. Local musician Pat Patrick in conversation with Jonathan Marx realled, “The Sliders may have been the best four-piece group that I ever heard,” Patrick recalls. “Mac Gayden was the best electric rhythm player. Man, he just chunked that electric rhythm. I think a lot of people learned their style from Mac’s playing.”

Chuck Neese would go on to a successful career as a publisher, producer and songwriter, most notably sharing credits with Mac Gayden on the Clifford Curry song "She Shot a Hole in my Soul."

Roy Hepburn, although the drummer in The Sliders, would later record a single of his own as the first release on the Nashville-based Desiree Records: "Loving Lies" b/w "Is it me or is it You" in the late '60s.

Quitman Dennis moved to California in 1968 and toured with artists including Bobby Darin, B.B. King, Etta James, Jackson Browne, and Joan Armatrading.

Band Members[edit | edit source]

Mac Gayden - guitar

Quitman Dennis - sax

Chuck Neese - rhythm guitar and vocals

Roy Hepburn - drums

Joe Gleaves - bass

Chris Kelley - drums ('59)

Howard Harlan - keyboards ('59)

The Sliders playing at the Varsity Club at 13th and Broad in Nashville

Release[edit | edit source]

1961: "Blue Nights / Quit Man" ‎7" Single on Strand, cat. #25033

Strand was a US label from 1959 to 1965, and distributed by Decca. The releases were on thick vinyl and typically had imperfections. Jackets were also generally made of cheap paper typical of budget labels. First pressings and New York-era labels will be orange with black print but later releases and re-issues were on yellow or blue labels.