Hey y'all:

Found out this morning that they've gotten me a place at a table on the
floor @ THE SONGWRITER'S ROUNDTABLE at the Dothan Civic Center, Friday,
Sept. 10.

Only a couple of tables are left on the floor & they'll be gone after these next two radio promotions. The stands are excellent because the Dothan Civic Center is small. Tickets are $25. Call the Dothan Civic Center to order yours at (334)615-3175.

Pretty sure I'm gonna be seated at the same table with my sister Becky and her husband,Buddy Henry.

BUDDY HENRY

Gonna turn this into a little vacation. Staying @ the Marriott
Thurs., Sept. 9 & Fri.,Sept. 10 then I'm heading to the beach until
Tuesday. See y'all FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH!!!!
WE THROWING A PARTY OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!
We gonna pull some CA$H out of THE DOTHAN CIVIC CENTER @ 7 P.M. to fight LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE.
WE GONNA MAKE THE COPS CLOSE US DOWN!
THEY GONNA HAVE TO PULL THE PLUG!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Ep5c9bzHw&feature=related

http://dothancityfest.com/?page_id=187



RICHIE HAYWARD (February 6, 1946 – August 12, 2010) was a drummer best known as a founding member and drummer in the band Little Feat.

Well dude,
the "Squid Man" jams with Lowell tonight. The first time I met Ritchie and every one else Featy was back in the summer of 00 at Coskery's venue here in Gooberville. I was crewin' and they were openibg for Hank Jr. and the CDB.

The attached images are from Feat in Dothan at the civic center.

RIP Ritchie

Got some shots from Burke http://www.myspace.com/thebeaugators
of the Little Feat concert at the Civic Center where Spoonful James http://www.myspace.com/spoonfuljames
opened:

From BURKE:

"Ain't nuttin' but a thang, pullin' on a Kool filter King, et.al."

I just thought James playin' with Wynn was so cool. He's a really nice guy. As also are all the Feat.

I took Drew and the very talented B.J. to see the Feat at Auburn, they were so blown away. I got out my camp chair and went back to the stage load in site and set down.

I was introducing the guys around and Drew whispers, "were sittin' round hangin' with Richie Hayward, Fred Tacket and the crew?"

I whispered back, "Yeah, Richie played with The Fraternity of Man (Don't Bogart), Tacket played with Dylan and Nick is one of the best guitar techs in the business. I first met Nick when he was techin' for Hank Jr. and Feat stole him."

After the show Drew met Paul Barere. Paul asked Drew how he liked the show. Drew replied he didn't want to respond in fear of saying something lame.

Paul asked Drew if he thought his dad was less of a dumb ass now than before the show. Drew said less.

As Mr. Gillis said, "I gotta' kill that boy!"

Ya' need to crash as many shows as ya' can with Chris, tempest fugit Pard.

I ain't dissed, blood thicker'n' mud Brere!

"tribe of mothers n' brothers, sharin' each other's cover"

Later...

rbiii

R.I.P. RICHIE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_Hayward

Got this email last week:
Dear Mr. Register:

I came across your NW Florida blog while researching the music group The Del Rios (with Billy Gant, Bill Hanke, George Cheshire, and Roan Campbell). I came across their 45 record in San Antonio, Texas, and your site informed me that the group originated in Dothan, Alabama. I believe the record was released in 1972. I thought you might like a scan of the 45 for possible posting on your blog. The song “Hard Times” appears on both sides of the disc.

Sincerely,

Chris D


William Hanke That was the best band I ever played in. Great harmony.

Robert,

Thanks for posting a picture of the record.When we recorded it, we were playing 6 nights a week at the Flamingo club. James Ott loaned us the money to record at Ed Boutwell's studio in Birmingham. We recorded 3 songs and the Engineer Don Moseley, talked to the people at Shelby Singleton records about putting out a single on Hard Times. We rerecorded it with a lot more harmony and strings added.

I can;t tell you the excitement we felt when Preston T played it for us on WDIG for the first time. We recorded several more songs, but unfortunately that was our only release.

Bill Hanke

Jeff Lemlich ‎"Hard Times" hit #21 on The Big Ape in Jacksonville, the week ending November 10, 1969.

Hi, Roberto!

Where in the world did you get that photo of the copy of "Hard Times" by the Del Rios? Shelby wouldn't let us record under our real name, The Clan. He said you wouldn't know the spelling over the radio and he didn't want to be involved with the "Klan"! He was pushing Jeannie C. Riley at the time and we got put on a back burner. He came up with the name Del Rios, which none of us liked, but, hey, we were cutting a record! It was Billy Gant, Bill Hanke, me, and I think Roan Campbell on organ. Seems like a hundred years ago...close to it! I don't even have a copy of that record. Bill Hanke actually found a copy on ebay.

We were the house band at the Flamingo Club and the club was booming after having been enlarged. We had a great following. I could write a book about that band, but folks would likely get killed, divorced or worse! The stage was a format for practical jokes. One night we were shooting Roan with tiny water pistols during songs and he didn't know where it was coming from, so when we ended one song he stood up behind the organ and shouted, "All right, damn it...who's spitting on me?", mad as hell! At that, the rest of us hit the floor laughing to tears. We had WAY too much fun....way too many stories. There was always something in the works. Fun Stuff!!!

I enjoy your blog.
Regards.
George Cheshire

Robert,

Here is a picture of the Del Rios(formerly the Clan).

L to R Roan Campbell, Billy Gant, George Cheshire and Bill Hanke.

I don't remember the trumpet player's name, but he stood on the right side of the stage and all the good looking women in the club crowded around that area. LOL.
Bill

image courtesy of RAY HUTTO

Robert,

The 60's was a magical time for music in Dothan.

We had so many great musicians all in one place.

I had the opportunity to work with and learn from Larry Coe, Sid White, John Rainey Adkins, Little Bill Ackridge,

Amos Tindle, Billy Gant, George Cheshire and the list goes on and on.

When I saw Wilbur at the Reunion, I didn't see today's Wilbur. I saw the Wilbur from 1965, standing in front of

a huge crowd of kids at the Recreation Center in Dothan. I can remember getting as close as I could to Johnny

Mulkey so I could watch every move his fingers made.

Being around John Rainey was almost like being next to God.

You hung on his every word.

I don't think I could have been in a better place at a better time and thankful that I had the opportunity.

Bill Hanke

image courtesy of http://www.myspace.com/dannygeorgewilson
I just liked the poster but the music ain't half bad.
Wouldn't that be so kewl to go to Great Britain and go into a hall and hear a band named SPUTNIK MONROE!

image courtesy of http://www.myspace.com/claytoncolvin
& LOOK AT THIS !!!!
SOMEBODY EVEN RIPPED OFF THE DIRTY BIRD-
NECK THANG YA KNOW IT'LL BE
PORTER'S FAIRY LAND!!!!

William Hanke Robert, you and Jeff are too cool. Thanks for printing all this stuff.

Kinda strange when you can see the give & take between yo' Son & his gal on Facebook:

Carsen Hinds money money money money money ~~~MONEY!! ***************************************************************************************************************************************BOOM~SHAKA~LAKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE GOT SOME TERRIFIC SAMSON/GENEVA COUNTY HISTORY FROM IGOR:


(ed. note: are "come alongs" illegal for cops now. Boy, do I remember them!)



Hi Roberto,
i promised i'd send you a photo of Samson's first lawman, my great-uncle Tom Alford. Don't he look a lot like Wyatt Earp?
Igor


roberto,
this is Tom Alford's brother George who was Samson's first mail carrier, shown here in his mail wagon. you can read it on the side of the wagon. he died in great flu pandemic of 1918. he died on one day and his wife on the next day of the flu. that pandemic hit my family hard on both sides and the wounds lasted for 3 generations. that's a story i'll have to tell in my memoir one day.

William Alford

Igor,
Hit my family kinda hard,too. My Aunt Ophelia Shepherd McCoy from the Hartford area lost a son & one of her eyes in that epidemic.
I used to hide & watch Aunt Ophelia take her eye out at night in the bathroom. I'm sure she knew I was looking. She was one of the most intelligent people I have ever met.
best,
r


this is a group of surveyors from the L&N railroad in the territory to say out the survey for the town of Samson.

William Alford

GI Motility Medical Research Page
http://alford.grimtrojan.com/


this is one of the earliest pictures of Samson taken in 1905 after the layout by the L&N surveyors in 1902. Samson was on the intersection of two separate railroads and should have been the primary growth city of Geneva Co. but was stymied by town bosses who ruled it for almost half a century.


the entire town burned down in 1905 and was rapidly built back, but this time in brick in attempt to avoid another such disastrous fire. all these buildings were still standing when i was a child in the 50s. notice the 'telegraph' poles although Samson did not have electricity until a few decades later. i puzzled for a long time over the strange tall wooden "crates" in the right side of the photo. it looks like they contain something inside them and then i figured out that perhaps it was saplings that they had planted and the wooden barriers were to prevent the horses and mules from eating them until they grew bigger.


i found this colorized image of the same photo as a postcard on ebay. although i did not get the bid, the winning bidder was kind enough to send to me to digitize. notice some changes--they've removed the leaning pole on the right side of the image and the pole in front of the drug store; put in some nice cheery clouds--early photoshopping. my uncle Welton Alford had a barbershop up until the 70s about where the tent is behind the wagon. the building on extreme far right was originally a bank and burned on my dad's birthday in 1949 with one fatality. it was remodeled as the post office and was that during my youth up until the early sixties. the drug store was a furniture store when i was a child and both that building and the post office are now gone. an automobile jumped the curb around 2006 and slammed into the "drug store" and it collapsed.

Robert Register Here's the cover of the latest issue of BUILDER, the magazine of THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS. It's a painting of a gator's tail just before it dives. The cover story is 50 Ways To Waste Your Money. Lots of articles this month about "tough challenges" & "throwing away your money" & "THE FUTURE OF HOUSING."...
"And the most critical imperative(and perhaps the most difficult)?
'FIGURE OUT WHAT WOMEN WANT...' "

Paul Hornsby http://www.paulhornsby.com/

Robert Register Archie's Daddy, Jim Bird, has an image of his helicopter on the cover of the book ALABAMA CURIOSITIES.
Day before yesterday Archie asked me, "You know about the helicopter?."
I said,"No."
"Alison
and I were out at that dump by Johnny Shines Street you were talking
...about & DCH had pitched some big ventilation fans & I told
Alison,
'Daddy might be able TO DO SOMETHING WITH THIS.' "

>hey RR!
how you doing?

i sure would like to be at that songwriter's roundtable but i'm going to be in new york city with the Killer doing promo work for the his new album/cd whatever you call it. i still call 'em albums and i always will.

i enjoyed this blog very much. lots of cool stuff!

love ya,
phoebe lewis

http://www.jerryleelewis.com/site.php.


BB~

Thought of a Lou Gehrig's Disease gimmick tonight so I'll put it out there.
Terry owns a screen print company.
Make a bunch of Yankee hats in honor of Lou Gehrig for the PARTEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Put a #4 on the back of 'em because that's the first number EVER RETIRED IN BASEBALL HISTORY & it was Lou's number.
Lou Gehrig has a good history here in Alabama. The train from Spring Training came through B'ham ever now & then so he played many exhibitions at Rickwood
which just celebrated it's CENTENNIAL last week.

best,
r
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig
The crowd stood and applauded for almost two minutes. Gehrig was visibly shaken as he stepped away from the microphone, and wiped the tears away from his face with his handkerchief.^[46] Babe Ruth came over and hugged him as a band played "I Love You Truly" and the crowd chanted "We love you, Lou." The New York Times account the following day called it "one of the most touching scenes ever witnessed on a ball field", that made even hard-boiled reporters "swallow hard."[