Cross Canadian Ragweed

Cross Canadian Ragweed
Origin	Yukon, Oklahoma, USA
Genres	Americana, Red Dirt, Alternative rock, Country Rock, Heartland Rock, Southern Rock, Texas Country
Years active	1994–2010
Labels	Smith Music Group, Universal South
Associated acts	Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Wade Bowen, Stoney LaRue, Lee Ann Womack, Doug Moreland, Mike McClure Band, No Justice, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Brandon Jenkins, Seth James.
Members	Cody Canada, Grady Cross Jeremy Plato, Randy Ragsdale

Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American southern rock/alternative country band. The name of the band came from the combination of the original band members' names, Grady Cross (guitar), Cody Canada (guitar, vocals), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and original bassist Matt Wiedmann. Jeremy Plato's (bass) name was not involved in the band naming. The band was popular for its distinct sound that did not have a specific genre. Asleep at the Wheel's former frontman Ray Benson said in a 2010 Episode of The Texas Music Scene, "They (Ragweed) have proudly carried the Oklahoma Red Dirt banner for going on 15 years now, but make no mistake about it, these guys are a rock band."

After forming in Yukon, Oklahoma, they moved to the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, where acts like Mike McClure's The Great Divide and singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave had established enough of a local scene to earn Stillwater the nickname North Austin.

The group had already received significant college radio airplay before it released its first album, Carney in 1998 on their own independent label. Initially, selling the band in the market it was based in, was far-fetched; however, the fan base's passion and loyalty to the band allowed them to find success in releasing that first album. They soon released Live and Loud at the Wormy Dog Saloon in 1999 and Highway 377 in 2001, all on their own independent label Underground Sound. Live and Loud was received well, and The Highway 377 song "Long Way Home" was featured on several Dodge truck commercials in Texas and Oklahoma. "42 Miles" was also a well received track from Highway 377, the most popular track being "Alabama."

In 2002 Ragweed recorded the highly popular live album "Live and Loud at Billy Bob's Texas" in Fort Worth, Texas. The songs were mainly live versions of songs off of Carney and Highway 377. The group then released a self-titled album also known as "the Purple Album" due to its cover color, which was a tribute to the band's "little sister" Mandy Ragsdale. Mandy was the younger sister of the band's drummer Randy Ragsdale who had died in an auto accident near College Station, Texas on the way to see her brother perform and whose favorite color was purple. The album produced the singles "Anywhere But Here", "17", and the hard rocking track "Don't Need You."

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