K. DORFZAUN, since 1939- The Most Prestigious Name in Panama Hats
http://www.kdorfzaun.com/kdorfzaun.php?cat=English

AL KOOPER WID DAH MOSE JONES GANG-check out the cat in the ARS t-shirt

From: "Al Kooper"
Subject: Re: Hey, AL Kooper: After Reading Dean & Nix , Check Out The Stuff On Randy Lewis of MOSE JONES
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 02:45:18 -0400
To: "robert register"


The Mose Jones story took a totally bizarre turn in 2001. When Randy
was dying in Florida, Bryan Cole and Jimmy O Neil who lived in Atlanta,
went down to pay their last respects t oRandy in FL. Upon their return,
they BOTH were admitted to the hospital in serious condition with two
different ailments. Jimmy O Neil (guitar-MOSE JONES) passed away after
a week in the hospital. Bryan Cole (drums-MOSE JONES) lost a leg but
pulled through and lives today. You couldnt find two sweeter guys in
the world. Steve McRay (keys-MOSE JONES) is the only one who hasn't
been sidelined by this weird Mose Jones "curse", but he was NOT
actually an original member. He replaced Clay Watkins, who decided drug
dealing was more important at the time. He died shortly after making
that decision. If you couple this with Skynyrd's life losses (Ronnie
Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Allen Collins, Cassie Gaines,
Leon Wilkerson) and the tough fight I myself had in 2001 (lost 2/3 of
my sight and had unrelated brain surgery) you must surely give some
creedence to a SOUNDS OF THE SOUTH curse of some sort.......Cole, McRay
and Kooper live on nonetheless (....so far) - Al Kooper

any comments from the "Cuba,Alabama" gang about the photo below will be appreciated

seated:Billy Joe Royal; standing left to right: DOWN IN THE BOONDOCKS composer and album producer Joe South, Tommy South, Fred Weller, Emory Gordy, Ricky Knight

Robert: Don't send me the album cover. Just bring it with you and I'll introduce you to Billy Joe (unless it's a madhouse out there). I'll check with the Barn this weekend and see if they're selling the tickets----
Jimmy Dean

reply part two: I gave a copy of that photo to Buddy today. He'd never seen it before and loved it. He immediately recognized everybody of course.

HEY YA'LL, BIG BOB NIX COMES THROUGH WITH A RATED G VERSION OF THE ROYAL/SOUTH/WELLER/GORDY/KNIGHT/LOWERY STORY

From:
"Alison Heafner"
To:
"robert register"
Subject:
Re: Soliciting From "THOSE IN THE KNOW" Among The "CUBA, ALABAMA" Nation!
Date:
Sun, 29 May 2005 00:46:56 -0500

ROBERT, OF COURSE THAT'S JOE SOUTH AND A VERSION OF THE BELIEVERS. THAT'S WHEN BILLY JOE WAS HOT AND HEAVY WITH 'DOWN IN THE BOONDOCKS' AND 'I KNEW YOU WHEN'. BILLY JOE AND ME GO BACK A LONG WAY YONDERS. HE CUT MY FIRST HIT RECORD, 'CHERRY HILL PARK', A SONG THAT MR. CLIVE DAVIS GAVE UP ON IMMEDIATELY. BILL LOWERY WENT DOWN TO DAYTONA BEACH ONE WEEKEND TO THE DOG RACES. WHILE HE WAS RIDING ON THE BEACH THAT AFTERNOON HE HEARD A DISK JOCKEY SAY THAT 'CHERRY HILL PARK' HAD GONE #1 IN DAYTONA. HE QUICKLY GOT A WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM OFF TO C.B.S. RECORDS AND CLIVE DAVIS. BILL SAID IF THIS RECORD COULD BE NO. 1 IN DAYTONA IT COULD BE A HIT IN ANY MARKET IN AMERICA. BILL WAS RIGHT. CLIVE DAVIS STARTED WORKING THE RECORD AGAIN AND IT BECAME A SMASH. I HAVE LOTS OF B.J.R. STORIES (MOSTLY R RATED). WE WILL GET INTO THEM LATER.
JOE SOUTH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST INFLUENCES OF MY LIFE. HE IS A TRUE AMERICAN ORIGINAL. I'M SO BLESSED TO HAVE KNOWN AND WORKED WITH HIM. TOMMY SOUTH, JOE'S BROTHER AND DRUMMER, WAS A WONDERFUL GUY. THE DAY BEFORE HE DIED, HE CAME TO STUDIO ONE AND ASKED ME TO TAKE A RIDE WITH HIM IN MY BRAND NEW T-BIRD. HE HAD A STEREO HOOKUP FOR MY SOUND SYSTEM IN MY CAR THAT WAS INCREDIBLE. ABOUT ONE IN THE MORNING HE LEFT THE STUDIO. THE NEXT MORNING, ABOUT TEN, TOMMY WAS GONE. HE COMMITTED SUICIDE. I STILL DON'T KNOW WHY.
EMORY GORDY WAS REALLY THE FIRST BASS PLAYER IN A.R.S. WE MADE A LOT OF RECORDS WITH EMORY ON BASS. HE WAS ALSO THE STAFF ARRANGER FOR JUST ABOUT EVERY RECORDING SESSION IN ATLANTA IN THOSE DAYS. A SUPER TALENT. HE WENT TO L.A. AND PLAYED WITH ELVIS, NEIL DIAMOND, AND EMMY LOU HARRISON'S HOT BAND AND DID MANY OTHER THINGS. I WROTE A FEW SONGS WITH EMORY. HE IS NOW MARRIED TO PATTY LOVELESS AND PRODUCING HER RECORDS.

FREDDY WELLER HAS HAD A GREAT AND MIXED BAG LIFE. HE STARTED WITH BILLY JOE, THEN BECAME PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS GUITARIST. LATER HE HAD SOME MAJOR HITS AS A COUNTRY ARTISTS. IN BETWEEN ALL THIS HE MANAGED TO HAVE SEVERAL GIANT HITS LIKE 'DIZZY' WITH TOMMY ROE.
RICKY 'TICK' WAS JOE'S STAFF PIANO PLAYER AT MASTER SOUND. THIS WAS THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE STUDIO THAT LOWERY AND BOB RICHARDSON PUT TOGETHER. WE ALL RECORDED AND LEARNED A LOT IN THAT OLD BUILDING. ONE PERSON MISSING FROM THIS PICTURE IS BARBARA SOUTH. SHE SANG SOME GREAT BACK-UP PARTS ON THESE EARLY RECORDS. ALSO LOU BRADLEY, OUR ENGINEER DESERVES A LOT OF CREDIT FOR MAKING A LOT OF YOUNG, FULL OF PISS AND VINEGAR, DREAMERS, SOUND GREAT.
MORE LATER GATORS,
ROBERT NIX...................................................................................

South by South
Great stuff there. A couple of Florida ties to these guys -- Tommy South was one of the later drummers in the Roemans, though long after Berry Oakley had departed. And Freddy Weller is credited with co-writing both sides of the first Movers single (Birmingham/Leave Me Loose). The Movers' drum head is clearly visible behind Billy Joe Royal in the film "Mondo Daytona"!Jeff
"Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century, if not of all time." - EPA scientist, Dr. Robert Carton (Downey, May 1999)

any comments from the "Cuba,Alabama" gang about the photo below will be appreciated

seated:Billy Joe Royal; standing left to right: DOWN IN THE BOONDOCKS composer and album producer Joe South, Tommy South, Fred Weller, Emory Gordy, Ricky Knight

A MESSAGE FROM JIMMY HODGES, A BAMA EX-PAT LIVING IN SAN DIEGO....
Subject:
Meeting George Harrison and the Battle of the Bands
To:
"robert register"

Hey Robert,
Damn .... the Battle of the Bands between Rockin
Gibraltars, Rubber Band, and Heart was brutal!


THE ROCKIN' GIBRALTARS cuttin' up the juice and cutting the damn thang loose at THE FARM CENTER in Dothan. l to r, Ed Sanford[keyboards], Ronnie Monroe[horns], Sonny Grier[lead singer], Bobby Dupree[drums], Keith Brewer[bass], Rusty Crumpton[guitar]

Personally, I liked the RGs. I remember seeing them at
one of the Dothan Rec Center Summer Dances about a
hundred or so years ago - I know it was the sixties,
but cannot remember the year. A drunken pretty blonde
girl showing her ass after a cover of a Major Lance
song yelled out "Well get down on your knees!" and the
RG lead singer (Sonny Grier?) immediately said "Well
honey, take off your clothes."
I saw the Rubber Band a couple of times and also liked
them, but the RGs had more soul.
I saw Heart at one of the Big Bam Shows at Garrett
Coliseum. I remember that they announced that their
set was being filmed for a movie about Alabama. I
wonder if that exists somewhere.
I'm glad Bobby & Keith got to meet George Harrison.
He wasn't my favorite Beatle (that goes to Lennon) but
he was my favorite ex-Beatle. His works after the
beatles outshine both McCartney's and Lennon's after
the breakup.
The closest I ever came to meeting George Harrison was
a fall night in 1970 while partying with some friends
at Jax State. After 3 days of dexies, a couple of
purple micro and a few mushrooms we pick out of some
fairly fresh cow shit, The Beatles dressed out in
their Sargeant Pepper regalia appeared in my den and
began singing "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." They
finished and had just began "A Day in the Life" when
two girls ran into the house screaming that a giant
jellyfish hovering over my house was snaring hundreds
of the rabbits running around the yard. Damn ....
that was enough to scare George and the other Fab Four
away for good!

I wish I could be in Dothan to see Billie Joe Royal.
Hey Jimmy Dean, ask your brother Robert how the market
was this year in used Christmas trees. About 35 years
ago someone placed an ad in the Dothan Eagle that
Robert Dean was buying used Christmas trees for 50
cents each. I don't know how many kids drug up
Christmas trees to your parent's house tring to get
Robert to pay up! Every time I saw him for years
afterwards, he'd say "I know you did it!" Robert, it
wasn't me, but I wish it was. Have to admit, it was a
pretty good prank.
Missing Alabama .... Jim Hodges

18/10/68. White Room. Los Angeles Forum. STON. [ ] 18/10/68. Politician. Los Angeles Forum. STON. [ ] 18/10/68. I'm So Glad. Los Angeles Forum. STON. [ ] 18/10/68. Sitting on Top of the World. Los Angeles Forum. STON. [ ] 18/10/68. Crossroads. Los Angeles Forum. STON. [ ] 18/10/68. Sunshine of Your Love. Los Angeles Forum. STON. [ ] 18/10/68. Traintime. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 18/10/68. Toad. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 18/10/68. Spoonful. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 19/10/68. White Room. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 19/10/68. Politician. Los Angeles Forum. GOOD. [ ] 19/10/68. I'm So Glad. Los Angeles Forum. GOOD. [ ] 19/10/68. Sitting on Top of the World. Los Angeles Forum. GOOD. [ ] 19/10/68. Crossroads. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 19/10/68. Sunshine of Your Love. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 19/10/68. Traintime. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 19/10/68. Toad. Los Angeles Forum. [ ] 19/10/68. Spoonful. Los Angeles Forum.

Subject :
Re: One Armed Bass Player & left-handed gun

Roberto,
You know, T-town has a lot of interesting music connections. Just by accident, I discovered some info. on a left handed guitar picker I met with the Mag 7/Rubber Band & later met at the U of A. Dupree reminded me that his name is Jim Coleman, MD. He & I had some psych. classes together & had work-study jobs with Dr. Bob Hall. Anyway, this guy was a great musician & a "strate" A student ( i was particularly bad in English). I believe he did some session work at at Muscle Shoals & played with Wyker & Townsend.
Rather than bore you too much, go the his website, www.jjcoleman.com. He's an MD in Nashville & was a friend & doctor of Chet Atkins. It's really a neat site with a very intesting story. See you later Potlow Potna,
R. Crumptola.

Date:
Tue, 24 May 2005 22:44:59 EDT
Subject:
Re: Billy Joe @ "THE DIRTY BIRD" on June 17
To:
robertoreg2003@yahoo.com

Hey Robert Nix! Well, heck, I may not remember exactly who tossed who, but I got some great pictures of the well-soaked Fred Guarino, you, and Buie. Plus one of Cochran after we knocked him out cold. I was too busy drinking cold beer and eating take-out fried chicken to keep track of the details. Sheesh---I was really hoping you wouldn't remember about your house in Jax that time. I'm pretty sure that was John Rainey's and Wilbur's fault. And Fred's and Bubba's. And the rest of the Candymen who showed up mid week. And also those weird girls who kept hanging around. Not to mention Buie and Cochran who showed up that weekend. I think I was too busy drinking cold beer and eating bologna sandwiches filched out of your refrigerator to have done any real damage myself. Take care of yourself, Dude, and tell the ol' Ox I said hello. I've truly missed seeing both of you guys over the years. If you get down Dothan way, give me a call, and we'll----well, hell, we'll get some cold beer and KFC! Our old buddy Billy Joe Royal will be in town June 17; if yall ain't booked head on down. Buie's gonna be in Canada that week and Justo will be in New York practicing his golf game, so I need some help heckling Billy Joe.

Roberto Register: the tickets are $15.00 each, first show starting at 8 PM I think. I see you found a web site for them; I usually buy them at The Barn, a retail outlet that always seems to sell their tickets. If any of yall make it down, give me a call ahead of time or be sure to look me up once you get there. I'll be the one drinking cold beer and eating----well, you know.........
Jimmy Dean

"robert register"
Subject:
Re: Clearwater Photos from '65
Date:
Tue, 24 May 2005 16:47:00 -0500

JIMMY DEAN , YOU ARE PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST BASS PLAYERS IN THE WORLD, BUT I'M A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR MEMORY CELLS. I THREW THAT FAT BULLY, BUDDY BUIE, IN THE POOL, BECAUSE HE WAS PICKING ON BUBBA. EVERYTIME SOMEBODY TALKS ABOUT THE JAMES GANG I TELL THEM ABOUT THE REAL JAMES GANG. THE ONES THAT RUINED MY HOUSE IN JACKSONVILLE WHEN I BOOKED Y'ALL AT THE COMIC BOOK CLUB. THAT OPENS UP A WHOLE NEW CHAPTER ON INSANE EARLY SOUTHERN ROCK'N' ROLLERS!!! LATER GATOR. ROBERT NIX, THE CANDYMEN. THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION, AND NOW 'DEEP SOUTH. P.S. DON'T YOU LENT HEAD SOUTH ALABAMA BOYS BE LEADING MY GOOD FRIEND, ROBERTO REGISTER ASTRAY!!!!!!!! WE WANT THE TRUTH AND NUTHIN' BUT THE TRUTH!!! I LOVE AND MISS YOU JIMMY, ROBERT!!!!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: robert register
To: http://us.f606.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=growinnotes@comcast.net
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 9:20 AM
Subject: Clearwater Photos from '65
Subject:
Re: Who Knows What Evil Lurks In The Hearts of Men? The Shadow Sho' Do & He K...
To:
http://us.f606.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=robertoreg2003@yahoo.com

Robert---Tell El Nixo I have a great photo of him taken in Clearwater, Fla, about 1965. I think he had come over from Jax to interview with Buddy Buie for the Candymen job. Buddy was with us (the James Gang) while we were playing Clearwater Beach. While visiting us and Paul Cochran at the motel, we baptized him and Buie both by throwing them into the pool. Buddy and I had just gone in together to buy a new-fangled Polaroid portable instant camera (which I quickly managed total ownership of) so I snapped pictures every time we karate-chopped Paul into unconsciousness or tossed somebody into the pool. They had to rope our rooms off after we left to clear out the hundreds of fried chicken boxes stacked around the room, but I don't like to talk about that.
Jimmy Dean

On guitar: Eric Clapton. Lead singer and bass guitarist: Jack Bruce. On drums: Ginger Baker. Their motto: "Forget the message, forget the lyrics, and just play." Their name: Cream. For two glorious years, Cream's high-volume blues, jamming and extended solos blazed a path into rock history. But the time to part had come, and all that remained was one wild, unforgettable concert. Now you are there, on November 26, 1968, inside London's illustrious Royal Albert Hall, jammed to its gilded rafters with rock fans ready for the final concert of what many still consider the greatest band that ever played. Includes rare off-stage interviews with each band member. 48 minutes

http://thebushmen.net/BigApe.html
BIG BOB, DO YAH 'MEMBER THUH MIGHTY 690! or how about Steve MCRay

http://www.java-monkey.com/steve_background.htm



RANDY LEWIS AND STEVE MCCRAY, ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF MOSE JONES

I found this info on a Web Site about them:
http://www.java-monkey.com/remember-mose.htm :
There were actually 2 Mose Jones groups. The 1972-75 (2 albums on MCA/Sounds of the South Records, Al Kooper producing) and the 1978-1981 (2 albums on RCA Records, Buddy Buie producing). Randy Lewis and I were in both bands. (Here is where the bad news starts...)
Randy had been living and playing in Key West for some time, but last Feb.(2001), he had a massive heart attack and passed away about a week later. He lived life pretty hard, so it was not totally unexpected, but very tragic none the less.


Regards,
Dave Strickland

http://thebushmen.net
P.S.
HEY CRUMPTOLA, DIS MAY BE YO' MAN FROM THE OLD DUTCH! HERE'S AN EARLIER PHOTO. LATER, HE AND STEVE PLAYED WITH MARVIN TAYLOR, AN ORIGINAL MEMBER OF THE K-OTICS!

Subject :
one arm bass player

Robert,
I just talked to Keith and he verified that Randy Lewis was the bass player Rusty mentioned. Keith had gone over to Atlanta with Tommy Mann to see Marvin Taylor, and Randy was at Marvin’s place. That was the Mose Jones Band. Also, on the picture of the RG’s at the Houston Cty. Farm Ctr., the horn player standing between Ed and Sonny is Ronnie Monroe…………Bobby




MOSE JONES 1973
STEVE MCCRAY, JIMMY O'NEILL, RANDY LEWIS, BRYAN COLE

AL KOOPER WID DAH MOSE JONES GANG-check out the cat in the ARS t-shirt

Subject:
Re: Tales of One Armed Bass Players, Al Kooper, Jeff Beck and Billboards Going Up on Sunset Blvd!
Date:
Tue, 24 May 2005 21:02:01 -0500

ROBERT, YES, I KNEW RANDY, THE ONE ARM BASS PLAYER. HE WAS AN INCREDIBLE HUMAN BEING. HE COULD WRITE SONGS, SING HIS ASS OFF, AND PLAY THE SHIT OUT OF THE BASS GUITAR! HE WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED BANDS TO EVER COME OUT OF THE SOUTH. ASK OUR OLE' BUDDY AL KOOPER ABOUT RANDY, AND SEE WHAT HE SAYS. MOSE JONES WAS A GREAT BAND WITH A WHOLE LOT OF R'N'B DEPTH WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE WAS JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING. I WAS IN STUDIO ONE ONE AFTERNOON WHEN I HEARD AL MIXING 'BAR ROOM SWEEPER' AND I JUST FREAKED OUT. THE MELODY, PLAYING, AND PRODUCTION, BLEW MY MIND. IF SKYNYRD HAD NOT BEEN ON THE SAME LABEL, THESE GUYS WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY HAVE MADE IT BIG TIME. I KNOW AL KOOPER'S HEART WAS TOTALLY IN IT. THERE'S JUST SO MUCH MONEY AT A CORPORATE LABEL TO GO AROUND. BELIEVE ME I KNOW. A.R.S. WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT IF WE WOULD HAVE STAYED WITH M.C.A. AFTER OUR FIRST TWO L.P.S. THANK GOD FOR POLYDOR RECORDS. GETTING BACK TO RANDY, HE HAD SUCH A TOUCH ON THE BASS, IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE HIS SOUND WAS FOR REAL. I THINK IT SOUNDED LIKE A VELVET HAMMER PICKING AT IT. I'VE OFTEN TOLD ENGINEERS THAT THAT IS THE SOUND I LIKE ON A KICK DRUM. NOT LIKE THIS COUNTRY CARDBOARD SHIT OR LIKE THIS RAP CRAP I HEAR NOWADAYS. OH WELL, THERE I GO AGAIN. I GUESS I JUST LIKE IT TO BE REAL LIKE A ONE OF A KIND ORIGINAL. I GUESS LIKE MY ONE ARM FRIEND, RANDY. GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU IN BOTH OF HIS ARMS, RANDY. I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND. ROBERT NIX..........................




http://www.chrisjensen.com/page7.html


Subject:
Re: Only Seasoned "Cuba, Alabama" Aficionados Can Fully Appreciate The Thrust Of This Argument!!
Date:
Sun, 22 May 2005 22:38:02 -0500

ROBERT, IN FURTHERANCE OF ROCK TALES. I MET JEFF BECK A LOT OF TIMES AND PLAYED WITH HIM ON A TOUR OF ENGLAND WHEN HE OPENED FOR ROY ORBISON ONCE. HE HAD A LEAD SINGER NAMED ROD STEWART, THE BAND WAS 'THE JEFF BECK GROUP'. I'M NOT SURE OF EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT SOON AFTER THE TOUR STARTED, JEFF BECK TOLD THE AUDIENCE TO FUCK OFF AND THROUGH HIS GUITAR AT THE CROWD. NEEDLESS TO SAY HE LEFT THE TOUR. THE GREAT THING WAS THAT,WE, 'THE CANDYMEN' GOT OUT OF THIS, THE FACT THAT ROD STEWART AND JEFF BECK TURNED US ON TO THE GREATEST INDIAN RESTAURANT IN LONDON, SHAFTI'S AT PICCADILLY. IT WAS ALSO RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM RONNIE SCOTT'S JAZZ CLUB. I WENT THERE IN LITTLE BOBBY PETERSON'S HONOR ONE NIGHT AND SAW ONE OF HIS IDOL'S, BILL EVANS! BOBBY SURE PLAYED A LOT LIKE HIM, EXCEPT, FOR MY TASTE, A WHOLE LOT BETTER! LATER IN A.R.S. DAYS, WE STAYED IN L.A. A LOT AT THE 'RIOT HOUSE' AS DID A LOT OF ROCKERS. ONE NIGHT I SAT ON MY BALCONY OVER SUNSET WITH MY BUDDY AL KOOPER. WE WATCHED A NEW BILLBOARD GO UP THAT NIGHT. IT WAS THE 'A ROCK 'N' ROLL ALTERNATIVE' ALBUM. IF YOU LOOK REAL CLOSE ON THE COVER YOU CAN SEE MY TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS, SCARLETT AND WENDI. THEY WERE BIGGER THEN LIFE ON THAT BILLBOARD THAT NIGHT. THE NEXT THING I REMEMBER IS KOOPER AND ME SITTING IN MY ROOM ABOUT 2 IN THE MORNING WHEN IT SOUNDED LIKE THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 WAS COMING THROUGH THE WALL. WE WENT NEXT DOOR WHERE JEFF BECK WAS PLAYING SOME RUFF MIXES OF HIS JUST RECORDED ALBUM. HE ASKED AL AND ME TO COME IN AND GIVE A LISTEN. WE WEREN'T READY FOR HIS PLAYBACK SYSTEM. IT WAS A BRAND NEW STATE OF THE ART QUAD STUDIO MONITER RIG WITH A JOY STICK. WE HEARD A FEW TUNES AND THEN JEFF TOOK US ON THE LOUDEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE IN A SMALL HOTEL ROOM. HE STARTED PLAYING REAL TAPES OF FORMULA RACE CARS. HE CONTROLLED EVERYTHING. IT WAS AS IF WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MAJOR RACE TRACK. IT WAS LOUD AND CRAZY BUT IT WAS FANTASTIC. MORE ROCK TALES LATER. ROBERTO, YOU ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS! IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME THAT YOUR FRIEND RECALLS YOU HELPING RETARDED OR SPECIAL PEOPLE, YOU PUT UP WITH US CRAZY ROCKERS AND YOU ARE A SPECIAL PERSON FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO WITH THE FACTS. THANKS FOR GETTING THE WORLD READY FOR 'DEEP SOUTH' AND ALISON AND 'BLOODSUGAR!!!!! YOUR FRIEND, ROBERT NIX!!!...............

To :

Subject :
Young times, old memories

Hey Roberto,
I'm not sure how to do dis hea bloger thang, but here goes.....
Yea, it's me....one of the Potlow gang. In case you want to, feel free to post. For those of you who don't know, Partlow is a state mental hospital for people with mental retardation. Many of the ones that Roberto & I worked with (GOD bless their souls) were severely retarded...& unable to do some of the most simple things, ie. communicate, bathe, dress & feed themselves, use the bathroom, etc. As psychologists assistants (fresh out of college), our job was to try to teach them to do those "simple" things. That part was easy.......it was the ones hidden from the public, the "self mutilators" and.....well... it's probably best that I don't say any more specifics. I'm writing this because ,"Roberto", you are one of the truly "good guys" on this earth. It took a warm-hearted spirit like you to work in those conditions. I'll be honest, after playing in a '60's rock band, I thought I had seen it all, until I got to Partlow. I could only take it for a few years before moving on. Don't ask me how, but in a way I never really "moved on". I just celebrated 32 years as rehabilitation counselor. I am now a counselor for people with mental illness & substance dependence disorders.
Roberto, you remember that day you drugged that croaker sack full of oysters to the hospital. As you probably guessed, I had never eaten a raw oyster. I chewed & chewed & they got bigger & bigger.....& you said just let waller around in your mouth a second or 2 & swaller it down...I did....& still do it today. Have you eaten any mullet? My wife & I go to Gulf Shores a lot & drive over toward Pensacola around Innerairity Point. There's a run-down looking joint called The Point Restaurant...fantastic fried mullet. Of course, you have to down about a dozen raw awsters first. (hold on while I get a beer).


Haven't been to PC in a while, but the Summer of '65, I just graduated Lee HS in Mungumry & woke up the next day on the beech behind the Old Dutch. I heard some music, I think it was mid-day...& I peeped in (didn't have my fake ID) & saw a one-armed guy playing bass. A year or so later, I was playing with the Gibraltars in a sunday jam & the one armed guy came in & started jamming with us. He was good. I wish I could remember his name.


Tippy Armstrong with Johnny Wyker in the background at THE OLD HICKORY on PCB in the Summer of '65

I think it was 65-66, I saw the Mag.7 in PC & I got to meet Tippy Armstrong...he was also one of the good guys. I can remember him taking time to show a young guitar dummy the diminished chords in Any Day Now. I really wish I had stayed a little while longer in LA with the Heart, so I could have played with him. I did get to see him again in T-Town shortly before he died.
By the way, cross my heart & hope to die, but Dupree's story about him & Keith getting to go the Cream farewell concert party is true. I remember it so well, because me & Ed Sanford went to these chick's apt. to eat steaks. We were really starving artists. Then we get back to our pad on Ventura Blvd. & discovered that our "handler", Russ from Reprise/Warner Bros., had taken Bobby & Keith to the party. (Don't feel too bad Johnny, Ed & I missed it too). I missed getting to play pool with GEORGE Harrison...damn, damn, *&%@#. By the way, if know of anybody who's got a fairly clean, unwarped 45 record of the R. Gibraltars' It Will Stand or Bug Of Soul or What's Your Hurry, I'll buy. It's about my only "claim to slight fame". I'll tell what, I feel blessed. Just being a tiny speck in the world of rock & roll in the '60's is still an incredible memory.
Oh, by the way, did you know Dan Smith. He & I were house mates in T-Town '71-'73. Before Tuscaloosa, he brought our band to Waycross, Ga. & then his family moved to Dothan. Dan had a few restaurants/bars in T-Town & he started the 1st draft beer bar in Monkey-Town, the Brew Pub. I heard he moved to the Gulf somewhere ? Sorry to be ramblin' on, but I saw your blog-site & had to write...hope to see you soon...Rusty


Subject :
Re: Young times, old memories....& about Duane



Potlow Potna,
'bout the Allman's...sometime in June '68, the Gibraltars/the Heart drove into LA in a GMC van with an unfinished logo on one side; an equiptment trailor & Kim Payne's m'cycle.. On the trip from 'bama to LA, we would sometimes take turns riding Kim's 'cycle. The scenery in Arizona was really nice on the cycle. Kim was our roadie (& a great friend) who ended up being a roadie for the Allman's. Anyway upon arirving in LA (in the middle of the night with no place to stay), Townsend called the Allmans & they let us stay in their apt. for the night. I had never met these guys, but I had heard some of their Hour Glass songs...I was blown away with Duane's guitar style. Anyway when we got there, there was this fog of smoke hanging in the air. After my eyes got adjusted, I saw people were laying all over the place in this tiny apt. I don't remember seeing a chair or a sofa, just bodies (I think they were all alive). I think it was Greg who was in a bad mood, razing hell & I overheard someone talking to Duane, asking if he was gonna make Greg stand in the corner again. I new right away who was "in charge". I was sitting on the floor across from Duane & he was tuning an old beat up Gibson acoustic. He started playing, I think a Beatles song & then asked who played guitar in our band. I pointed at Keith Brewer, who was our bass man...but then eventually I raised my hand. The next thing I knew the guitar was airborne & landed in my lap. Now, here I was, tired, sleepy (second hand smoke) stoned & thinking what the hell am I gonna play...(my first gig in LA & I was frozen, a deer caught in the headlights). I looked up & Duane is looking right at me. So, I made a 3 finger C chord, did the typical country song intro, real slow, (G-A-B-C) & started picking a C note, a G note, back & forth, a C note, a G note. All of a sudden, people were laughing & clapping & Duane, who was taking a drag off a "ready roll", started coughing & laughing & rolling on th floor. So here I am, thinking this is one of the coolest, funniest things I've ever done or I am the dumbest redneck from Alabama anyone has ever seen. Well I started laughing & Duane crawled across the floor, still laughing, looking for the joint he spit out. It was laying by my foot, so I picked it up, handed it to him & he stuck it in my mouth. He started shaking my hand, patting me on the back & said "god-damn that was great.. I needed that".He said keep the joint & I sighed in great relief. I was feeling petty cool for few moments, until he said "we're leaving this fucking town" & going back home. So now I'm thinking, oh no, the Allman's are leaving....if they can't make it here, what the hell are we dong here. Well they did leave & everybody knows the rest of the Allman's story. I only talked with him once again, at the Armory in B'ham. I think that was shortly before the motorcycle accident.....gotta go now
...talk at you later, Rusty Crumptola



THE ROCKIN' GIBRALTARS cuttin' up the juice and cutting the damn thang loose at THE FARM CENTER in Dothan. [my first attempt to ID this picture)l to r, Ed Sanford, unknown, Sonny Grier, Bobby Dupree, Keith Brewer, Rusty Crumpton
The Jimi Hendrix EXPERIENCE!

You can read the story of the metamorphosis of The Rockin’ Gibraltars into Heart, the band, in the Greg Haynes book “The Hey Baby Days of Beach Music”. We, the Rockin’ Gibraltars (Sonny Grier, Rusty Crumpton, Ed Sanford, Keith Brewer, and Bobby Dupree) had landed a recording contract with Warner/Reprise Record Company. Sonny was married and his wife was expecting a baby, so he decided not to go to LA, which is what prompted us to get Johnny Townsend in the band. After writing a few songs, recording them at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, adding Johnny Townsend, and changing our name to Heart we moved to 12221 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City California. After arriving in LA, our manager Bob Hinkle took us to Warner Brothers to meet Mo Osten, Executive Vice President of Warner/Reprise Records, and the staff members who would be involved with our recordings and promotions. Warner’s and Mo Osten had assigned Russ Shaw as our promotion agent and we met Russ that first day. Russ was obviously a talented promotion man, because Warner’s had also assigned to him Jimi Hendrix. Of course by that time in June of 1968 Jimi was a huge star, and had already released his first two albums Are You Experienced? and Axis: Bold As Love. That summer of 1968, Russ called us and told us to get dressed, that we were going up to meet Jimi Hendrix. Russ was gearing us up to be the opening act for Jimi’s new tour. We drove up to a palatial home in Benedict Canyon above Hollywood, and after getting cleared at the gate, went inside. We stood there in the living room looking around and on the wall was a group promo picture signed by the Beatles. It was the very recognizable picture with them in the gray collarless jackets, Paul with a cigarette in his hand. We found out that the house belonged to the guy that owned Cadillac Steel, and that he leased the house to many of the stars when they were in town. Pretty soon Jimi came out, dressed in a red bathrobe and looking pretty sleepy. Jimi was a very calm, laid back guy, very normal considering his stardom. I felt really calm around him, although the earlier anticipation of meeting him had initially made me a little nervous. After all of the introductions and shaking hands, he asked “Where you guys from?” Then, very quickly, he said “No, let me guess. Just talk a little.” So we chatted a bit and he said “You’re from Alabama.” Well, we couldn’t believe he knew, and all anxiously answered, “Yeah, how’d you know?” He said, “Just keep on talking.” So we chatted some more and he said, “You’re from Montgomery, right?” Well that was almost spooky, and someone said “How did you know that?” He started telling us that he’d been stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia when he was in the Army and used to come up to Montgomery and jam with B.B. King at the Lakos and Elks Clubs, two very popular black clubs in Montgomery. He went on to say that South Alabamians had a completely different accent than North Alabamians. We didn’t even know that! So we sat there talking and he reached over and grabbed an acoustic guitar. He said “I bet you’ve never seen this.” He turned the guitar over and showed us where he’d broken the guitar body right behind the neck, so that when he put the guitar in his lap, like playing a dobro, he could push down on the top of the body and the whole neck would de-tune. He asked if anyone had a lighter, and I had this old Zippo, so I gave it to him. He started playing some slide blues that had the most incredible sound, nothing like I’d ever heard. There was the slide sound, but then he would push down the body and the whole thing would de-tune, producing a very dark, bluesy sound that is beyond description.
Rusty remembers, “Also, I think a few days before, I heard a few songs on the radio from his new album, Electric Ladyland. I think he was there for his west coast tour to promote the new album. The only conversation I took part in & remember was about All Along the Watchtower (a B. Dylan song). I told him it was a masterpiece, so many different guitar styles in one song...he said, “Thanks man, it wasn't easy.” It is still one of my most favorite guitar songs of all time.”
We just hung around for a while, and met some of his roadies. They were all English cats, and they were consuming mass quantities of tallboys, cans of beer. We had a beer and then left.
On the 18th and 19th of October, 1968, Cream played at the Forum in LA in what was billed as the Wheels of Fire Tour, but also was known as their Farewell Tour. Keith and I were sitting at the house in Studio City and Russ Shaw showed up at the door. He asked where the other guys were, and we told him that Rusty and Ed had dates, and Townsend was shacked up in his room with his girlfriend Lisa. He said to get dressed quick; we were going to a party. We hurried up and jumped in his car and took off toward the canyons. We arrived at Jimi’s house, and after being cleared at the gate we went in. Jimi was throwing a party for Cream’s Farewell Concert, and we were lucky to have been invited. We went in and there were lots of folks, some eating the finger food, some with drinks. As I stood there I saw Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. Jack was playing this M or L model Hammond organ, and Ginger was nervously knocking things off the tables. Keith remembers, “Ginger still had a couple of teeth in his head and he looked a little unstable, but I think that was his normal appearance.” Keith and I just mingled as much as we could, but didn’t really fit in that crowd. There was a room off the living room downstairs that had a pool table, so we wandered down there. Keith started playing pool with this skinny guy and I sat down on the fireplace hearth, my elbows on my knees. I was looking down and saw two legs walk up, wearing high top black Converse All-stars and tuxedo pants. I looked up and it was George Harrison. I just about went into shock! As he walked by, I got up and watched him go outside and climb up on a large rock waterfall that connected to the swimming pool. He sat up there and just gazed at the stars.
After a couple of hours Russ brought us back to the house. Keith remembers, “Right before we left the party, some guy came downstairs where me and this guy were playing pool and said, ‘Hey Jeff, let’s go. We’re all going somewhere to jam.’ It was only then that I realized I’d been shooting pool with Jeff Beck.”
A day or so after this night, we were rehearsing a new song, and Townsend, in his condescending manner, started harassing Rusty about the part he was playing. Rusty said,”I’m gonna go up stairs and work on this for a while.” Townsend said, “You’re such a mama’s boy, why don’t you just go back home and work on it.” Now, Rusty Crumpton is probably the most easy going, emotionally steady, laid back guys I’ve ever known. In all the years I’d known Rusty, traveling on the roads in the South and playing all those gigs, and even enduring some pretty harrowing situations rumbling with the local rednecks, I had never known Rusty to loose it. But that night he did! Rusty wasn’t a very big guy when the band started, and after being out in LA where we were practically starving to death, Rusty was even smaller. When Townsend made that “Mama’s boy” crack, Rusty totally lost it. He went in the kitchen, which was close to our practice room and got a steak knife, and came back into where we were practicing, and lunged at Townsend. Lucky for Townsend that Kim Payne, our road manager, was close by and grabbed Rusty before he inserted that knife in a vital part of Johnny’s body. Kim said, “Rooster you can’t kill him,” and Rusty, struggling, said, “I’m not gonna kill him, I’m just gonna cut him a little.” Man what a scene! The ironic thing is that Townsend had said that sort of passive/aggressive thing to everyone in the band, condescending snipes and insults that were sort of jabs below the belt, and we all had probably thought of doing the same thing to him that Rusty had just been stopped from doing. Shortly after this night Rusty went back home to Alabama. Rusty had been accepted to attend college at the University of Alabama and he figured that since we were starving, not playing much-at least not enough to validate staying out there, weren’t recording as much as signed artists of Warner Brothers should be, and playing music that was so far from what our roots in music had led us to be playing, he’d just go on back to Alabama. As Keith tells it, “We had a great band, when Sonny played in it, and we played nothing but R&B and Soul music. Now, Townsend was writing all that crap he thought was gospel music, like ‘The Train’ and ‘Someone Somewhere’ (two of Johnny’s originals that were what I call milk toast music). We’d lost our basic sound and the heart of our music was gone.”
Johnny had been planning to replace Rusty for some time as evidenced by a phone conversation overheard by Keith and Rusty where Johnny was talking Tippy Armstrong into coming out and playing with us, and after Rusty left, Tippy did come out to be our guitar player. Russ Shaw booked us to open up for Jimi at the Bakersfield Civic Center. We played our set and got off stage so Jimi could come on and do his show. I went up to the dressing room to change, and then went back down and stood at the side of the stage. Jimi played a couple of songs, and then started his rendition of “The Stars Spangled Banner”. Not many people know this, but Jimi was very patriotic, he even supported the war in Viet Nam. He was also Airborne certified.
But back to the story.
The manager of the Bakersfield Civic Center was an old WWII veteran, and of course he was very patriotic too. When he heard Jimi playing “The Stars Spangled Banner” the way only Jimi could play it, the guy got so pissed off, that he went back behind the stage and cut off the power. All that was heard was Mitch Mitchell’s drums ringing through the auditorium. Well, Jimi went back behind the curtains and said, “Who turned off the power?” The WWII vet said “I did.” Jimi went over to him and slugged this guy in the face, knocking him off the stage. Of course, all HELL broke loose, and cops and Warner Brothers executives were everywhere. The cops were going to arrest Jimi but after some negotiations, and a $5000.00 check Russ Shaw made out to the guy, the concert was stopped, and Jimi got in his stretch limo with his two white girlfriends and went back to LA.
This is the true EXPERIENCE we had with Jimi Hendrix. We never saw him or played with him again.
Bobby Dupree with Rusty Crumpton and Keith Brewer



Subject :
reasons to leave
Robert,
Here are some FACTS about our departures from California. Bob Hinkle, our manager who initially got us a record deal with Warner Brothers in the spring of 1968, got $50,000.00 up front money to sign us to the record deal. Did we see any of that money? NO!!!! Hinkle would, however, occasionally drop by the house and bring us a bucket of Kentucky Chide Fricken, as he called it, just out of the "goodness of his heart". I didn't find out about the 50K until a few years ago when Ed Sanford told me he found this out from our second manager Lee Weisel. Now before moving to LA, we had been playing back down South almost every weekend, and making pretty good money for that time. But in LA we were just another band who were lucky if we made $50.00 a piece a week. Sometimes less. Our band would have starved to death if it hadn't been for Toni, my girlfriend at the time and later my wife, who worked a day gig at Fredricks of Hollywood in the shipping dept. When Rusty and Ed were offered that free steak dinner the night of the Cream party, they jumped on it quick. Why? Because we existed on Spanish rice practically the whole time we were in LA. When Rusty got back to Alabama, he was wearing a size 28" waist pants. I weighed 98 pounds when I got home! Rusty's departure was made for a very good reason. Besides starving, no money even to buy a coke, and having to put up with Townsends' put downs, Rusty was accepted to school at Alabama. I believe you know that is true. I had taken my draft physical in downtown LA in early 1969 and had passed. Kim Payne drove me there on his motorcycle. I had gotton a letter to report back to Montgomery for induction, so in June of '69 Toni and I packed up what we had and left. And not only did Rusty, Keith and I come back, but Ed Sanford came back too! He, of course, eventually went back out to LA. Toni and I got married July 18, 1969, I got drafted into the Army Sept. 4, 1969, and landed in the Republic of Viet Nam February 4, 1970. Although Heart recorded a few songs between the 1st Muscle Shoals sessions in June 1968 (The Train and Heartbeat) and the time we all left, we didn't have another song put out on Warner/Reprise. We lived in LA for less than a year.
Townsend's remark in this last "unpublished" e-mail about us being mama's boys and not being able to hack the big city just shows his level of denigration toward the very people who gave him the chance to be in the big time. But I forget that his memory is clouded by that brown acid..................Bobby