HEY YA'LL:
Will someone please, pretty please, forward this to the notorious All-American DJ,
BILL J. MOODY.
Hey, and we got a great Buddy Buie connection with THIS SIDE UP.
{& what kinda trip wuz you talkin' 'bout, Buddy?}
best,
rr http://rockpilgrimage.blogspot.com
THE ROCKIN' GIBRALTARS PLAYING THE HOUSTON COUNTY FARM CENTER
From: Rusty Crumpton
Sent : Saturday, August 6, 2005 5:12 AM
To : "robert register"
Subject : Bill J. & the "moody-go-round"
Hey Roberto,
Here's a little ditty about my first meeting with the AM Radio Legend, Bill J.
Where : Bill J.'s pad @ the Patio Club Apts., Mungumry, Al
When : Summertime '65 (as near as anybody could tell)
What : Bill J.'s 1st venture into band management
As I walked around the swimming pool, filled with unopened beer cans, I was "runned over" by 2 dudes from the Auburn Lambda Chi house. I barely held on to my guitar case as they dove into the pool. There they were, in the deep end, popping the tops (or using a church-key ?) & sucking down 2 Buds before they came up for air. At that moment, I knew this was something special.
A few weeks earlier, Ed Sanford invited me to audition with a new group called the Rock of Gibraltar or Rocky Gibraltar or something like that (I told my mom it was a gospel group...not total lie nor the truth, but hey, that's rock & roll). Now Ed was a well known exaggerator, but I believed him when he said that the in-famous Bill J. of WBAM was gonna manage the group, but first we had to do an audition/party at his place. Well we auditioned for 4 or 5 hours, before his neighbors threatened to call the police.
Now somehow, during the 3rd or 4th hour, I looked up & noticed someone was playing my old Gretch guitar. I looked around & didn't recognize anybody playin' our instruments, but they were doing a pretty good "Louie, Louie". I then looked around the floors of the dark apt.& saw the real RG's "making out" with some chicks. I was little worried that these other guys might get our gig, so I hopped up & grabbed my Gretch & tried to play on the 4 remaining out-of-tune strings. Thank goodness that was the last song of the night.
Now, even though Bill J. (& everybody else) was a little tipsy, he announced that we passed the audition & he invited us to come out to the Big BAM studio to rehearse & meet the Mr. Brennen, the Big Boss Man of WBAM. When I think back to those days, I realize how fortunate we were. Bill J. & Mr. Brennen were what Mama called "good people". Over next few years they led us to Muscle Shoals & Fame Studios...they played our songs on the radio ...they let us play in at least 4 or 5 Big Bam shows...we can't thank them enough. I think I can speak for the rest of the RG's by saying, Bill J., you da man!!!!!
Sincerely,
Hoot Stang
The Case Of The Missing Photo of The Concert On The Quad :
THIS IS sooooooooooooooo KEWL:
BUDDY BUIE THOUGHT FRANK FRIEDMAN LOOKED LIKE FREDDY WELLER IN HOPPER'S PICTURE.
From: BUDDY BUIE
Subject: Re: Time Waits For Noone Down At Archie's Place!
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 09:47:44 -0500
To: "robert register"
Robert:
Johnny Wyker's nice words about me are very much appreciated. The
picture directly below Johnny' s comments caught my eye. If I'm not
mistaken the picker on the right side is Freddy Weller. He's done well
and is living in Nashville.
ROCK ON!
Buddy
Subject :
blog pics
Hey Robert,
I was checking out you blog and came across some info about
bands playing in T town. Some info about a second pic and the
image was missing. It mentioned my name and I was curious
about maybe getting a copy of that image.
Thanks,
Ronnie Seitel
This Side Up
Ronnie:
The picture that is still posted is from Bruce Hopper. I am almost certain the other one with you and Charlie Hayward came from Johnny Townsend.
I have missplaced it.
I am forwarding this to Buddy Buie because I'm sure he has some vivid memories of THIS SIDE UP.
Below you will find related material.
best,
robert http://rockpilgrimage.blogspot.com
Randy:
Squirm is Bill "Squirmy" Stewart who played drums in ' 69 with Tippy Armstrong, Paul Hornsby and Frank Friedman/Charlie Hayward in SouthCamp along with Ronnie Seitel and Chuck Leavell. It is my understanding that Mr. Stewart does not appreciate being called by his nickname because he earned the tag by being squirmy.
best,
Robert Register
SouthCamp: August '69
courtesy of Bruce Hopper
far left,with only head partially showing, Chuck Leavell
Paul Hornsby on keyboards
Bill "Squirmy" Stewart on drums
Glenn Butts on guitar
Frank Friedman on bass
"Wow the Southcamp photo that was second is very similar to the one I took that afternoon in August of 1969. Same angle. There was a lot of jammin going on that afternoon. Was Townsend the source for that picture? He is mistaken about Mullinex playing. My picture has Squirmy on drums (same shirt as in your pic, but you can see Bill's receding hairline in my pic, definately not Lou. My pic also includes Hornsby and half of Chuck's head. Glen Butts is standing where Charlie is and Frank is playing bass. In your pic, Frank's bassman is on the ground but in by pic it is on the stage. I think that a lot of people played that day on the quad. The neat thing is that there is only a two recepticle plug that came out of the ground next to that big Oak Tree. All the power came from there. You had to be careful about how many amps were pluged in or someone would have to go and replace a fuse in the ROTC building." BRUCE HOPPER
Another shot from the same afternoon [this is the missing photo from the same day which I have missplaced. I believe I originally got it from Johnny Townsend:sorry, Ronnie,
roberto]
T-TOWN GIG ON THE QUAD- Bill "Squirmy" Stewart on drums, RONNIE SEITEL WHO PLAYED FOR THIS SIDE UP, CHARLIE HAYWARD(now playing for the Charlie Daniels Band) ON BASS AND FRANK FRIEDMAN WHO ALSO PLAYED FOR THIS SIDE UP
AND CONCERNING THE MYSTERIOUS "SQUIRM"
Dear Pete, Changing the subject from politics for a moment,I've got a couple of CD-Rs Swamp Dogg burned for me of Irma Thomas - In Between Tears & Doris Duke - I'm A Loser. On the credits, both albums say the guitars are you and Duane. Regarding the Irma Thomas album, I've read that Duane only played on "You're The Dog (I Do All The Barking Myself)" and the medley called "Coming From Behind (Monologue)/Wish Someone Would Care." (That medley blows me away everytime I listen to it. The way she segues right from the monologue straight into the song is amazing.) Is it your recollection that Duane and you played together on those two tracks(and that he wasn't on any of the other songs on that album)? Re: the Doris Duke album, I've read that you played lead and Duane played rhythm on the whole album. Is that your recollection? Finally, the Irma Thomas album lists the drummer as "Squirm." Was that Johnny Sandlin or somebody else? I know Johnny played on the Doris Duke album,but I'm not aware of his nickname being Squirm (unless that's something Swamp Dogg just made up for the album credits).
Thanks.Randy
Personnel:
ALAN ARKUS drms A
FRANK FRIEDMAN vcls, gtr A B
DAVID ROSENTHAL ld vcls, drms A B
STEWART ROYAL keyb'ds A
RONNIE SEITEL ld gtr A B
JOHN SHERRILL bs A B
ART SHILLING drms, vcls B
45s:
1(A) Why Can't I Dream / Sun Arise (Prestige Productions PP66-151) Aug. 1966
2(B) Book A Trip / In (Capitol 2129) 1968
The Romans were formed in 1963 with members drawn from Ramsey and Shades Valley High Schools in Birmingham, Alabama. A couple of years later they evolved into This Side Up when core members Rosenthal, Seitel and Sherrill were joined by Friedman, Royal and Arkus. The latter pair departed around the time of their debut 45 in 1966, and Shilling was brought into the fold.
Why Can't I Dream is readily accessible again via Psychedelic States: Alabama Vol. 1 (CD). It's a yearning, dramatic pop-punker.
The following year they won a Battle of The Bands, sponsored by WSGN radio and Capitol records, thereby securing a 45 deal. Composed by the Buie-Cobb team, Book A Trip is not surprisingly heavily-produced bouncy mainstream pop; the flip is a soft'n'cosy orchestrated ballad (have to wonder if any of the band were allowed to play on these tracks?). Oh, and Buddie Buie became their manager into the bargain.
ART SHILLING ON THIS SIDE UP
Subject: Re: This Side Up (pic)
Groovedog wrote
> This Side Up including our own Art Shilling! I
Forgot how cool we all were in those days. And how much hair I had.
Don't know where John Sherril is. I don't believe he's related to
Billie Sherril. David Rosenthal lives in Atlanta, Ronnie Seitel teaches
school in Birmingham, and of course southersoul list's own Dr. Frank
Freidman, from Dallas now, you know about.
That picture was taken in the summer of "Seargent Pepper", in Atlanta
after we had just signed with Buddie Buie's management company.
One of my favorite stories from This Side Up was when we went to
Nashville to record our single for Capitol Records. We had won the
recording contract in a battle of the bands contest in Birmingham. We
didn't have many songs that we had written. We wound up recording a
Buddie Buie song called "Book A Trip". Capitol assigned us a producer
named Kelso Hurston. He used to produce Ferlin (the proof is in the
puffin) Huskey. Our contract gave us two singles, so Kelso said one day
that he was going to send a guy over to our room to play some songs for
us, that he had alot of good songs, and for us to see what we thought
for the second single later on that summer. The fellow who came by was
Bucky Wilkin, later to be partnered with John D. Wyker in the American
Eagles project. Anyway, he played some songs and told us that the main
song he thought we ought to do was one he played for us that his room
mate had written, done to the tune of "Bringin In The Sheaves" and the
lyrics were about the Rolling Stones being busted recently. When he
left we all had a good laugh about that song, and all agreed that we
would never consider doing something so corny, in our opinion. The song
was called "Blame It On The Stones" and his room mate was an as yet
unknown guy named Kris Kristofferson. Kelso informed us, after
listening to our opinion, the next day before we left town that we would
be doing that song for the next single. He still hasn't called us back
.
This Side Up was a good band. We sort of had a rivallry that summer
with the Candy Men from Atlanta to see who could do more Seargent Pepper
songs than the other. I played with Frank later on in a band called
Willie, that became "Wet Willie" Frank Friedman was really the founder
of "Wet Willie."
Another Bham band at that time was a band called "The Distortions" with
Zack Zackery and Robert Alexander. If anybody knows anythinbg about
those guys I'd love to hear about it.
By the way, the first time I ever met Johnny Wyker was behind the Oporto
armory in Bham. We had played a show there with "The Rubber Band".
OH yeah! John Sherril had a Hofner bass, just like McCartney.
Art Shilling
AND FINALLY SOME ANONYMOUS COMMENTS ABOUT TIPPY ARMSTRONG...
Tippy was a very good friend of mine and we started playing the guitar at the same time. He played on my album that I did in Muscle Shoals in 1969--71. Eddie Hinton was the producer of my album which was never released although we had an offer from Atlantic Records for it and a 3 year contract. Tippy was just about the best guitar player I ever heard. Not because of a lot of notes her played, but, because of the way he played what he did. We use to play together for hours at a time back in 1965 and 1966. I was member of the Rubber Band and played in that band with Tippy for a year. The true story of his death has never been told. There are a lot of people who don't think it was a suicide.
It's hard to believe that Tippy has been dead 26 years. The fact that people still remember him is a testament to his greatness. All that knew him see his death as such a great loss for the world. I still remember guitar licks he showed me that no one else has ever played. He was a very creative person in a lot of ways. It is my belief that he did kill himself and was not murdered. Tippy was very depressed and disturbed at the end. My ex-wife was his girl friend and knows the story as well as anyone.
