The Kentucky Headhunters On Mountain Stage

Published November 24, 2015 at 11:32 AM EST

The Kentucky Headhunters make their first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.Va. Widely regarded as one of the best and most influential country rock bands, the Headhunters' genre-bending 1989 debut Pickin' on Nashville quickly established the band as tradition-minded upstarts in it for the long haul. The LP eventually sold more than two million copies, earned the band a Grammy, three Country Music Awards, an American Music Award and an Academy Of Country Music Award.

With seamless harmonies, Clapton-esque guitarwork and solid rhythms, The Headhunters are still as potent and unique as they were 25 years ago. Along the way, they befriended Fairmont, W.Va. native Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry's longtime pianist. They recorded with Johnson in 1993, and again in 2003, but the second session was shelved when Johnson passed away in 2005. That recording, titled Meet Me in Bluesland, was finally released in 2015. This Headhunters set draws from Bluesland and also includes a couple of the band's most beloved hits.