Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers

Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers is a band that travels in the back of the Hot Rize bus and occasionally spells their employers on stage. The foursome (Red Knuckles, Wendell Mercantile, Waldo Otto, and Swade) plays 40’s and 50’s country music as well as you might expect from people who have mostly listened to the same jukebox for most of their lives. That jukebox, at the Eat Cafe in Wyoming, Montana, is where Red and the boys first met Hot Rize and agreed to leave their home to pursue fortune and fame.

The “fortune” part notwithstanding, the ‘Blazers did become famous for their original brand of entertainment, featuring band choreography and Wendell’s “take-off” guitar with fringe to match his outfit.

There are people who say that Red Knuckles and Hot Rize are the same. No one knows where any of those people are now.