Looking West At the Intersection of Greensboro Avenue and University Boulevard Subject: Re: I Broke The Code On
DEEP SOUTHROBERT, I ALSO WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT SOMEWHERE YOU HAD A PICTURE OF I THINK,
DOWNTOWN TUSCALOOSA, CIRCA. '53. RIGHT SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PIX IS A RESTUARANT OR SOMETHING CALLED
'DEEP SOUTH'. I THINK THIS IS VERY IRONIC. THANKS GOOD FRIEND,
ROCK'N'ROLL ROBERT NIX AND
BLOODSUGAR ALISON HEAFNER!!!!!!! -- http://alisonheafner.biz/Big Bob:
In
1821, a 90 degree angle with two 132 feet long arms was surveyed at this intersection which became the basis for the entire city street plan and lot plat for Tuscaloosa. On the
northwest corner of the intersection was the
Alabama State Bank building. It failed in the 1840s because it was run by
Tuscaloosa's tavern keepers and they lent men money to buy land and slaves. The men let the land go back to the bank and hauled their slaves west to Texas. The debt from this bank was finally paid off in about 1948.
Today it is a park located next to a parking lot.
When I came to T-town in
'68, the old
Alabama State Bank building (later to be known as the
Fitts House) had been demolished and the
northwest corner of this intersection at
2400 University Boulevard was occupied by
Johnny's Restuarant,
2402 was
Deep South Lounge and
2404 was
Roy's Shamrock Billiard Parlor.
Roy's had a huge blackboard on the wall above the pool tables and the betting line for all of the day's games was recorded there for all who were interested. Eventually
Johnny's and
Deep South went out of business but in the late seventies they were reopened and became an incredible rock 'n roll venue called
Jumpin' Johnny's. Below you will find a beautiful
Jumping Johnny's story which appeared on
Johnny Wyker's Mighty Field of Vision message board on yahoo groups.
Hey, check out the website for the
Jupiter Bar & Grill on the University Boulevard Strip here in Tuscaloosa.
Waylon's boy is playing there tonight.
http://www.jupiteronthestrip.com/best,
ka$h http://robertoreg.blogspot.comFrom: ned mudd
http://www.nedmudd.com/To: Wyker
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 12:28 PM
Subject: Tippy tale No. 2
Tippy Armstrong and
Johnny Wyker on stage at the
Old Hickory on Panama City Beach in the Summer of '65
Here's another
Tippy tale from circa 1974.
Bill Marshall and
I were recording a duo project called
"The Truck Stop Opry" and
Tippy would wander in from time to time, just checking out what was up, seeing if we were making progress etc. I recall he had an old sedan and carried his Fender bass around by sticking the back end on the rear dashboard, the tuning keys on the front seat. No case. That means, the bass was sorta flying in the car as he drove thru Tuscaloosa.
One day he came by and said he'd gotten a call from
Jimmy Cliff. This was after
"The Harder They Come". I said "What did he want?"
Tippy says something about
Jimmy wanting him to go on a big tour. I think it was a world gig but we're stretching my memory banks here.
"You going?" we said.
Tippy says, "
I asked Jimmy if that meant I'd have to leave Tuscaloosa."
At that point, Tippy had no interest in leaving home. I reckon he told
Jimmy "no."
Another time, shortly after that, I was working the door at
Jumpin' Johnny's, downtown Tuscaloosa. I think
Locust Fork was playing.{
http://www.locustforkband.com/}
Tippy saunters up with this old gut string guitar on his shoulder, no case. The back end is dangling out behind him. Like everybody carried their guitar that way.
We chatted and he said "You think I could sit in?"
Locust Fork was one hell of a loud-assed band.
I looked at
Tippy and figured he could work it out with the band somehow. No cover charge.
The guy who owned
Jumpin' Johnny's,
Alex Kontos, came by my place the other day with a CD. There was
Tippy, jamming with
Locust Fork,
"live" at
Jumpin' Johnny's.I took one guitar lesson from
Tippy. He decided to show me a cool lick and call it a day. The lick was a little 3 chord thing that was a mix of Appalachian with Muscle Shoals R&B thrown in.
Tippy said "
Eddie Hinton(http://www.zanerecords.com/artists/hinton/index2.html) taught me that."Mudd
JIM MORRISON'S MUGSHOT AND ARREST RECORD FROM TALLAHASSEE: 1963http://www.flheritage.com/magazine/fall00/rocknroll.html In the way of such things, Morrison's door has had a wild ride. It was the kitchen door of a house Morrison rented in Tallahassee when he was a Florida State University student. (Think Back Door Man, psychedelic version, with Morrison's tortured screams.) Morrison was born in Melbourne and also went to St. Petersburg Junior College. Morrison's landlord salvaged the door when the tiny rental house near FSU got knocked down for a parking lot. He took it off to California and kept it in his home and recently sent it to Tallahassee for the exhibit. Sadly, the landlord couldn't find his collection of bounced rent checks that Morrison left behind in Tallahassee. Morrison left something else in Tallahassee -- a police mug shot from his 1963 drunk and disorderly conduct arrest. The mug shot will be on display, along with a copy of the arrest report. Morrison died in 1971.
