The Tractors, a legendary country-rock band, emerged during the early ’90s country music explosion and quickly rose to fame with their infectious boogie and rock-infused sound. Comprising guitarist Steve Ripley, bassist Ron Getman, vocalist Casey Van Beek, keyboardist Walt Richmond, and drummer Jamie Oldaker, all renowned Nashville session musicians, The Tractors achieved platinum success with their self-titled debut album. Signed with Arista Records, the band’s debut release in 1994, highlighted by the popular single “Baby Likes to Rock It,” became a chart-topping hit in the country music scene, selling millions of copies.
In a deviation from the norm, The Tractors surprised fans by releasing a Christmas album, ‘Have Yourself a Tractors Christmas,’ in 1995, which, though successful, did not match the commercial triumph of their debut. After taking a break in 1996, the band reconvened to produce their third album, ‘Farmers in a Changing World,’ which hit the shelves in 1998. Subsequent albums like ‘Fast Girl’ in 2001 and ‘Trade Union’ in 2009 further solidified their musical legacy. Sadly, the band faced tragedy with the passing of Steve Ripley in 2019 due to cancer, followed by the loss of drummer Jamie Oldaker in 2020 at the age of 68.