"Black Gold" is a gritty Texas Country Rocker with slick guitars and an upbeat tempo proudly proclaiming "oil field trash" roots while telling the story of a boy who found his way into a better life, the life a father would dream his son to have.

1 MP3 Songs in this album (4:15) !
Related styles: Country: Country Rock, Country: Americana, Featuring Guitar

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The Parrish-Hundley Band, Texas Music Award Nominee for Best Live Band of the Year, features Mike Parrish and Sammy Hundley, both natives of Southeast Texas and both born into families who worked the oil fields of the Southern U.S. Their fathers knew most every aspect of the oil industry and spent years drilling holes in the ground to bring forth a precious resource commonly known as "Black Gold."

It's a seriously difficult way to earn a living but it was a way of life for the Parrish and Hundley households. Gone before dawn and home after dark just in time for a bath, supper and bed before repeating that cycle again and again, for years and years. Their wasn't much reward for the roustabouts and roughnecks or even the drillers or the "company men" (those men in charge of the drilling crew). They were either drilling a hole, going into a hole, coming out of a hole or moving to another location. The hours were long, the heat and cold were savage and if you were a roughneck you worked from can to can't, sick or hurt or both or you didn't make a paycheck.

Mike and Sammy both did short stints in the oilfields in their younger days. Both worked on drilling or work-over rigs or repairing and reworking oil tools which were rented to oilfield companies. Mike drove a "hot shot" truck delivering oil tools such as elevators, drill spools, blowout preventers and so forth out to drilling locations all over Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Oklahoma. Later, Mike drove an 18-wheeler, a vacuum truck delivering drill mud to rig locations or pulling salt water from completed wells. Both boys knew that their fathers never intended to have them follow in their footsteps because they wanted something better for their sons just as all good fathers want a better life for their children. Even with that sentiment in mind, both boys took their shot in the oil business and soon realized that their fathers were right. Just because you were born into a family who made a living in the oil fields didn't mean you were stuck there for life.

Mike and Sammy both share a deep respect for the men and women who make their living in the oil industry and will quickly inform those who may be unaware that a life in the oil field is a very demanding and dangerous way to make a living.

Mike Parrish wrote the song "Black Gold" in 2009 and the band recorded it in 2010 to be released on their duo album entitled "Southbound Train." It's an upbeat Texas Country rocker about a boy who "grew up with the rhythm of the pump jacks pumping out Black Gold." The song refers to oil as if it's an enticing, wicked woman who will draw you in and once you're a member of the working class oil field roughneck community then she wouldn't never let you go. "Ebony devil of the South Land, wicked woman will steal your soul."

"Black Gold" tells the story of a boy who was "born to a family of roughnecks" and how they were referred to as "oilfield trash." An experience that Mike will never forget. He recalls how his family moved from one town to another and how he'd often heard the term "oilfield trash" as a child and how he came to realize that these shop keepers and store owners were referring to him and his family. That was hurtful but it was one of the things that helped bring about the deep admiration for the hard working and under-appreciated members of the OFT (Oil Field Trash) community.

The song goes on to talk about how the dad wants a better life for his son and practically puts him, his guitar and songbook on an "east bound Greyhound" in search of his dream.

"There's a lot of truth in this song and comfort in the fact that no one is born to a predetermined destiny whether they come from coal mining families, logging families or oil field families. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being the best you can be in any one or all of those industries but there's nothing written that says you've got no way out if you'd rather do something else," said Mike Parrish about Black Gold. "I'm proud to be just plain ol' oil field trash and deep down that's probably all I'll ever be. But that was good enough for my dad and good enough for both of my grandfathers and all of them were great men. I hold the same respect for Sammy's father, my uncles and great uncles. Good men every one."

Mike did remove himself from the oil field, as urged by his parents, and became a Texas Peace Officer where he was appointed police chief three times in two separate law enforcement agencies and elected Constable once. Sammy worked in optometry and found his way into the music industry at a relatively young age. It wasn't until 2006 when Mike and Sammy came together to fulfill a lifelong dream of making music together and "Black Gold" is just one of the tunes you'll find them performing with their group PHB or Parrish-Hundley Band. Mike often remarks that they thought about calling the band "Hundley-Parrish" but that sounded like a place in Lousiana that no one would probably want to visit.

Mike's first solo release saw European Country Music Charts on several occasions and their first release from "Southbound Train" entitled "When Angels Cry" made it to the European Top 100 Country Music Chart for several weeks.

Be sure and check out other songs from "Southbound Train" and also look for Mike Parrish's solo album "Texas in the Man" on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon and other digital music outlets.