Ozark Original Recordings · Souvenir ProgramTonight · 6:00 PM
The Wrinkly Old Peckers

Live on the Branson strip

TheWrinklyOld Peckers

Souvenir Program · Since 1979

“Every song on this album is 100% original.”

Fridays & Saturdays6:00 – 9:00 PM

Brief intermission at 7:30 for the early dinner seating

A five-piece band in burgundy vests on a small theater stage with red curtains, the singer with arms outstretched before a dinner crowd at cloth-covered tables
A Saturday, first set. The band, the curtains and the early dinner crowd.
Open the programVisit the souvenir stand

Page 1

A Word from the Management

Welcome to tonight's performance. Please take a moment to read about the band before the lights go down.

The Wrinkly Old Peckers formed in Branson, Missouri, in 1979. The band plays classic rock in a small music theater on the Branson strip, Fridays and Saturdays, six to nine. There is a fifteen-minute break at 7:30 for the early dinner crowd.

Founder Clyde Henderson maintains that the band writes all of its own material. Audiences have sung along with every song on the first hearing since 1979. Mr. Henderson attributes this to strong songwriting.

“Every song on this album is 100% original.”

— Back sleeve of Original Hits Vol. 1 (1981)

The Story So Far

No. 1

A Band on the Strip, 1979

Clyde Henderson and Roy Pettibone began playing together in the spring of 1979, on a borrowed public-address system, in a small music theater on the Branson strip. The theater held two hundred and twelve seats and served dinner. The pair played Friday and Saturday nights. By the end of the summer they had a name and a keyboard player, Bev Dunaway, who joined in January 1980.

The band played classic rock from the first night. Mr. Henderson introduced every song as an original. He has continued to do so.

No. 2

The Material

The band's catalog runs to well over a hundred songs. Mr. Henderson maintains that the band writes all of its own material. Asked how the band writes, he has said, "Together, mostly at rehearsal." Asked when the band rehearses, he has said, "Thursdays."

The archive has noted that patrons sing along with the band's originals on the first hearing, often word for word. Several other acts in the region have recorded songs the band considers its own. Mr. Henderson's position is that they must have heard the band.

No. 3

The 7:30 Break

In 1982 the theater moved its early dinner seating to 7:30. The band added a fifteen-minute break at the same hour so that patrons could be served without missing a song. The break has been observed every show since. Bev Dunaway calls the band back at 7:45, to the second.

The membership is fluid. Bass player Gil Sandoval joined in 1983 and drummer Wendell Hatch in 1985. A number of other musicians have played with the band over the years. The band does not keep a list. The five on this page are the current company.

No. 4

The Farewell Tour Begins

In the spring of 1998 the band hung a banner above its stage that read THE FAREWELL TOUR BEGINS. An album of the same name followed. The band toured Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma that summer and returned to Branson in September.

The tour has not been declared over. The band continues to play the strip on Friday and Saturday nights. Asked in 2003 when the farewell tour would end, Mr. Henderson said, "When it's finished."

Page 2

Tonight's Running Order

The show runs three hours with one break. The schedule has not changed since 1982.

  1. 5:30DoorsSeating and drink service.
  2. 6:00First setOriginals, in the order Bev calls them.
  3. 7:30IntermissionFifteen minutes. The early dinner seating is served.
  4. 7:45Second setBev calls the band back to the second. Includes the long guitar part.
  5. 8:55Last song of the nightFor now.
  6. 9:00Souvenir standMr. Henderson signs records in the lobby.

Patrons are asked to remain seated during the songs. Patrons who know the words are welcome to sing.

Five band members in sequined vests eating dinner at a folding table in a wood-paneled dressing room
7:30. The band takes its fifteen minutes in the dressing room. Bev reads.
A handwritten set list taped to a wooden stage floor beside a coiled cable and the toe of a cowboy boot
Bev's running order, taped to the stage. Every title on it is an original.

Page 3

Who's Who in the Cast

The membership is fluid. The five listed here are the current company, in the order they joined.

  1. Clyde Henderson, vocals, rhythm guitar

    Clyde Henderson

    Vocals, rhythm guitar

    With the band since 1979

    Leads the band from center stage in a rhinestone western shirt. Signs records at the souvenir table after every show.

    Introduces every song as an original, by number where the title has slipped his mind.

    “We wrote that one.”

  2. Roy Pettibone, lead guitar

    Roy Pettibone

    Lead guitar

    With the band since 1979

    Closes his eyes for every solo. Has not missed a note with them closed.

    The long guitar part in the middle of the second set.

    “I know where the frets are.”

  3. Bev Dunaway

    Keyboards

    With the band since 1980

    Has not missed a show since 1980. Keeps the running order and calls the next song.

    Counts the band back in after the 7:30 break, to the second.

    “Next one.”

  4. Gil Sandoval

    Bass

    With the band since 1983

    Wears aviator glasses on stage, off stage and on the lake.

    Plays the root note and does not leave it.

    “Same as last night.”

  5. Wendell Hatch

    Drums

    With the band since 1985

    Steady. Counts in every song with four clicks of the sticks.

    The same tempo at 6:00 and at 8:55.

    “One, two, three, four.”

Page 4

The Records

Four albums on Ozark Original Recordings, each available at the souvenir stand. Every song is original. The sleeves say so.

The Wrinkly Old PeckersLive on the Strip100% OriginalOOR-103 · 1991

1991 · Ozark Original Recordings · 34:46

Live on the Strip

Recorded over two Saturdays at the band's home theater. Both sets, and the announcement in between.

  1. 1Good Evening, Folks (Spoken)0:48
  2. 2Highway 76 (Ours) (Live)4:28
  3. 3Original Hit No. 7 (Live)4:01
  4. 4Slow One for the Couples (Live)5:16
  5. 5Announcement: Fifteen Minutes0:37
  6. 6Second Set Opener (Live)3:49
  7. 7The One With the Long Guitar Part (Live)11:24
  8. 8Encore (Also Ours)4:23
Read the sleeve →

Running times as printed on the label.

Page 5

Lobby Notes

From the files of the management. Entered in the order received.

On the Record

1985

The Bus

U.S. 65, south of Harrison, Arkansas

The band's touring coach lost its alternator on U.S. 65 south of Harrison, Arkansas, on the way to a Saturday engagement. The band unloaded at a church fellowship hall on the same road and played both sets there. The congregation served dinner at 7:30. The coach was repaired on Monday.

1987

The Letter

By mail, from Nashville, Tennessee

In 1987 the band received a letter from an attorney in Nashville concerning one of its originals. Mr. Henderson replied by postcard. The postcard read, "We wrote that one." No further correspondence was received. A carbon of the postcard is in the archive.

1993

The Request

Second set, the band's home theater, Branson

A patron at the second set asked for a song by its title. Mr. Henderson said the band did not know it. The band then played Original Hit No. 7. The patron thanked the band at the souvenir table and bought two copies of the record.

The five band members standing in front of a silver touring coach on a gravel lot in the Ozark hills
The coach, 1985. The alternator was replaced that year.

The Taney County Ledger

October 1991

Strip Mainstays Release Live Album

Both sets, and the break between them.

The Wrinkly Old Peckers have issued Live on the Strip, recorded at their home theater over two Saturdays in August. The album includes both sets. The band's customary fifteen-minute break is represented by a thirty-seven-second announcement.

Founder Clyde Henderson said every song on the record is original. Asked how many of them the band had written, he said, "All of them." The record is available at the theater's souvenir table.

— Staff

Did You Know?

  • Eyes Closed. Roy Pettibone closes his eyes for every solo. He has not opened them during a solo since 1983.
  • The Spiral Notebook. Bev Dunaway has played every show since January 1980. She keeps the running order in a spiral notebook, one page per night.
  • The Aviators. Gil Sandoval has worn the same aviator glasses since 1983. The frames have been repaired twice. The prescription has not changed.
  • Mondays. On Mondays the theater is dark. The band takes a pontoon boat out on Table Rock Lake. No instruments are brought.
  • The Back Sleeve. Every record the band has released carries the same line on the back sleeve. Every song is 100% original.
The five band members relaxing on a pontoon boat on a green lake between wooded hills
A Monday on Table Rock Lake. No instruments were brought.

Page 6

The Farewell Tour

The farewell tour began in 1998. It is in progress.

The five band members standing on a stage beneath a hand-painted banner that reads THE FAREWELL TOUR BEGINS
Spring 1998. The banner went up. It has not come down.

Tour status

In progress since 1998

The 1998 leg

9 engagements · Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma

  1. 01Branson, MO1998Opening night
  2. 02Springfield, MO1998
  3. 03Joplin, MO1998
  4. 04Eureka Springs, AR1998
  5. 05Harrison, AR1998
  6. 06Fort Smith, AR1998
  7. 07Tulsa, OK1998
  8. 08Rogers, AR1998
  9. 09Branson, MO1998Returned. The tour continues.

From the Guest Book

Signed at the souvenir table and entered as written.

★★★★★

We have come down from Iowa every October since 1988. They play the same songs every year and every one of them is original.

D. Krueger, Ames, IA
★★★★★

The guitar player shut his eyes for the long one and did not miss a thing. Dinner was served at the break. Very well run.

M. Pruitt, Bentonville, AR
★★★★☆

I knew all the words. Mr. Henderson said that is what good songwriting does. He signed my record.

J. Odom, Wichita, KS
Clyde Henderson signing a record sleeve for a smiling patron at a folding table with records and shirts in a theater lobby
After the show. Mr. Henderson signs every record presented to him.

The Souvenir Stand

Shirts, records and printed matter are available through the Sideband Label store. Mr. Henderson signs after every show. Records purchased online arrive unsigned.

Visit the souvenir stand

Thank you for coming. See you Saturday.