Group
Run C&W
- From
- United States
- Active
- 1993–1995
- Releases
- 3
About
Run C&W was an American novelty bluegrass group that was active in the early 1990s, playing mostly cover renditions of classic soul and R&B songs in a bluegrass or roots country style, including banjo, harmonica, washboard, and multi-part vocal harmonies. They also played a handful of original parody songs. The band's name is a mix of the abbreviation for the "country & western" music genre (C&W), and Run DMC, a popular hip-hop group of the time.
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The band was composed of veteran musicians including lead vocalist Russell Smith, formerly of the Amazing Rhythm Aces; banjoist Bernie Leadon, formerly of the Eagles and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; along with Nashville songwriters Jim Photoglo and Vince Melamed, both of whom played various instruments. In performance and in the album artwork and liner notes, the members portrayed fictitious non-identical quadruplets The Burns Brothers, each with pun names: Crash'n Burns, G.W. "Wash" Burns, Side Burns, and Rug Burns. Their father was known as "Dad Burns" and their mother as Augusta "Au" Burns.
Run C&W recorded two albums, both on MCA Records: 1993's Into the Twangy-First Century, followed by 1994's Row vs. Wade, and filmed at least one music video.
Members
Discography
Compilations
Links
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 68eeaec8-4d94-4e2f-9a3d-b2513401a05a
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 8 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.