 In the mid-1960s he joined a folk music-based vocal group, the Levee Singers, who recorded three LPs featuring Dawson in the 1960s, and appeared on several networked TV shows.He left the group at the end of the 1960s, and formed country rock band Steel Rail, who performed in Texas clubs throughout the 1970s.Dawson also recorded jingles and commercials for various products and radio stations in the region.