When the four original members of Cooder Graw first decided to make music together, it was merely to jam and have some fun. But the then-Amarillo-based band quickly took off, and they became one of the leading groups within the Texas Music Movement. By 2000, they had released their first, self-titled studio record, produced by Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel and hit songwriter Hayden Nicholas. They followed it with two live albums (including a Live At Billy Bob's Texas CD) and a second studio set, Shifting Gears, that helped make the band a staple at Texas radio.

When their song "Llano Estacado" landed in a Dodge truck commercial that frequently aired for many months on television stations throughout the nation, the West Texas band with the strange moniker soon found themselves performing on the biggest stages in the Lone Star State. With their loud and proud rocking country and a knack for writing songs that echoed with music fans throughout the state, they became one of the busiest, hardest-working bands in the land, performing over 200 shows annually for over six years.

In 2005, Cooder Graw released their final studio album, Wake Up, which included the singles "Lifetime Stand," "Crystal," and "Clarksdale."

Over the years, Cooder Graw performed on the same bill with many legendary performers, among them Willie Nelson, Jerry Jef f Walker, Asleep at the Wheel, Dwight Yoakum, Los Lobos, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rusty Wier, Lee Ann Womack, Porter Wagonner, Radney Foster, Marty Stuart, Robert Earl Keen, Johnny Bush and Lee Roy Parnell. They also performed with many of today's up-and-coming artists such as Pat Green, Jack Ingram, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Miranda Lambert, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers, and Stoney LaRue.

In September 2006, the band members announced that they would cease performing together after the end of the year. Cooder Graw's last show was on December 31, 2006, a sold-out, standing-room-only event in Fort Worth, Texas. It was the end of the year, and the end of an era.

ORIGINAL MEMBERS (1997): Matt Martindale, Kelly Turner, Paul Baker. Joe Ammons*. ADDITIONAL COODERS: Jimmy URL Whisenhunt (1998-2004), Nick Worley (2002-2006), Kelly Test (2003-2005), Jon "Fish" Hunt (2005-2006). THE LAST ONES STANDING: Martindale, Turner, Baker, Hunt.

* Left the band in 2003.