I am a good old Georgia boy stuck for awhile in Seattle
To sort of steal a line Seattle is fine but it aint Georgia I am stuck writing a brief and having just loaded my ipod with every Atlanta Rhythm Section song ever made I was just doing a little cruisin on the web and found your blog.
It makes me miss home so much more My mommas folks are all from Florence Alabama and I sure miss Muscle Shoals All that great music
Your photos and stories just bring it home to me I was at a club called Richards in Atlanta in the early seventies when I first saw the Atlanta Rhythm Section They had these little Fender amps and were just so Professional it just blew my socks off.
Before that seeing I dont know how many times the Allman Brothers playing for free in Piedmont Park No guitar player ever made my heart cry the way Duane did --man I miss him.
I have always said if I could sing like Otis and play like Duane I'd be in heaven.
I got divorced but before I did I was living at Saint Simons where my ex lives in my house --and I sure do miss my house and the beach and the barbecue and everything else.
Keep writingTHANKSJames
An essay by Danny Miller:People often ask me who is the best band I have ever seen?
I have been watching live rock
and roll bands since 1960,have seen more than most people, and the finest band I ever saw was
The Candymen.
30 years later, I have never seen a better band. They were inspiring and I saw
them many times between 1966-69. Sadly, they never got the recognition they deserved. They
should have been intemational superstars. They certainly had the talent and the charisma. They
were the backup band for Roy Orbison, and were named after his 1961 hit "Candy Man."
They left Roy and recorded 2 excellent albums of their own original material. The band consisted of John Rainey Adkins on lead guitar, Billy Gilmore on bass, Dean Daughtry on keyboards, Robert Nix on drums, and Rodney Justo on lead vocals. They were virtuosos on their respective instruments, and
Rodney is the best male vocalist I've ever heard. Man for man, they could play and sing better than anybody. I first saw them at Misty Waters in Decatur, Georgia in June of 1966. It was their second time there. Two of my bandmates saw them the first time they played there and called me the next moming, all excited, and raving about this incredible band called The Candymen, who had rocked Misty Waters the night before. At that time, the best band we had ever seen was
The Bushmen from Douglas, Georgia. They were fabulous, and we wanted to be like them. I asked
my bandmates, "Are they as good as The Bushmen?" They said, "With no disrespect, they are
twice as good as the Bushmen." I just had to see this for myself.
When you are a young band, like us, you find older bands, like The Bushmen, to use as role models. We watched and learned from them. The Candymen were about to change our lives. The night arrived for their second appearance at Misty Waters. The place was packed. Every musician in town was there. I made my way through the crowd to the stage and checked out their equipment. All musicians do that.
We think we might discover some way to improve our sound. Onstage was the most beat up,
ragged equipment I had ever seen. I wondered if it would even work. It was pitiful looking. In
those days, bands usually dressed alike and often had fancy new gear. The guitarist and the bass
player had Marshall amplifiers. We had never heard of a Marshall. What kind of off brand amplifier is that? There was a beat up, green Fender Telecaster leaning against an amp. I looked at my bandmates and said, "What have you guys gotten me into?" They said, "Just wait."
In a few minutes 5 handsome guys, dressed differently, took the stage.
The lead guitarist was wearing blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and oh no, horror of horrors, had his shirt tail out-and it was a fancy shirt. I had never seen anything like that.
Where were the matching clothes like all the
"good" bands wore? I was getting cynical. My doubts soon vaporized. After 2 songs they owned the hearts and minds of everyone there. It was the most amazing live music I have ever heard.
I stood there stunned and soaking it all up.
It was a religious experience. My life changed that night. No band had ever affected me that way before. They sounded better than the record. Better than anything I had ever heard. They were very powerful and played the hardest songs effortlessly. The great music I heard coming out of that beat up equipment was magnificent. I didn't know a band could be that good. They were on a musical level far above anything we had ever seen. They were world class. They became my musical heroes and I went to see them any time I didn't bave a gig of my own.
They demonstrated excellence, professionalism, major league cool, and motivated us all to become better musicians. My fellow musicians and I wanted to be like them. I learned something every time I saw them.
It was "Rock School" for me. I painted my 1956 Stratocaster green, and I've tried to make every band I have ever formed or joined sound like them. Later, I became friends with John Rainey and played a few gigs with Dean Daughtry.
Being friends with your heroes is fun. Thanks for the memories.
Another Essay By Danny MillerAugust 12~1999
TWO MAJOR GUITAR INSPIRATIONSI have been inspired by many guitar players during my life~ but two guitarists~
Barry Bailey (The Atlanta Rhythm Section) and
John Rainey Adkins ( The Candymen
and Beaverteeth), probably had more influence on me than any of the others. Both of
these fine Southern gentlemen inspired me in unique ways, and taught me more than
they will ever know. I learned music~ musicianship, and cool from them. I owe them a
tremendous debt of gratitude, and I'm proud to say that I became friends with both of
them.
It's fun to know your heroes.
Dennis Saint John & The Cardinals- image courtesy of Phil Bonner Jr. http://www.facebook.com/people/Phil-Bonner-Jr/100000511467027#!/profile.php?id=100000511467027
I met Barry Bailey during the summer of 1965. We were both 17. I had heard about him from some friends in Junior Achievement who went to school with him. He was playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman through a DeArmond Amplifier. His band, The Vans, were playing in the parking lot of the Sears store at Columbia Mall. As soon as they started playing~ I realized I was experiencing something very special. It changed my life. I had never seen anything like that. As an upcoming young guitarist myself, I was listening to every guitar player I could find~and desperately searching for own my musical identity. Barry Bailey was playing very mature guitar.
His ability was way beyond his years, and he had total command of his instrument. He
was a young virtuoso and the standard by which all of us were measured. He set the bar
high. He had the sound, the style, the soul and the technique that immediately went
straight into my heart~ and he did it all just standing there looking bored, but classy. It
seemed effortless. I was totally mesmerized. I didn't realize it at the time~ but I was
witnessing true cool. I had found my role model and I wanted to be just like him. I
introduced myself and we talked briefly about amps. That night~ I became a lifetime fan
and went to see him play as often as possible. He inspired my style, my sound~and my
musical attitude. I still try to see him play whenever possible. I never got tired of
listening to him. He is still a hero to me.
I first saw John Rainey Adkins during the summer of 1966 at Misty Waters. I was 18 and he was 24. He was playing a Fender Telecaster with a thumb pick through a Marshall amplifier.
His band~The Candymen are
still to this day~the finest band I ever saw. They achieved a level of musical ability under his leadership that remains unequaled. They were a musician's band. They played the
hardest songs perfectly. They were grown men who were all world class professional
musicians. They had traveled the world backing up Roy Orbison~ and they knew The
Beatles. They were the real deal. They were the first great band I had ever seen that did
not dress alike. John Rainey was the essence of 1960's cool. He wore blue jeans,
tennis shoes, his shirt tail out, and a scarf on stage, and he bounced up and down as he
played. He projected virtuosity, happiness~ wit~ and true cool. His playing was perfect
and effortless. He played the hardest licks correctly and with the correct sound and
attitude. I wanted to be just like him. We became friends years later and he told me
many fascinating stories. I went to see The Candymen play anytime I wasn't playing.
Watching them was like going to rock and roll school. I never failed to learn something
from them. John Rainey inspired me to work hard, learn things right, and to become
a professional guitar player. I last saw him in 1982. He died in 1989.
RR~I know this only because I received the same email. The great Candymen story was submitted by Danny MILLER...not Moore! I double checked my email to confirm my suspicions that you were typing "Moore" while your brain was screaming "Noooooo...it's MILLER"!!!
TeeHee
BQ~
Roll Tide!!
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