Here is my letter of comment to the creator and producer of the Ponderosa Stomp, held May 7-9 in Memphis:
Dr. Ike:
In memory of Bobby Fuller:
How 'bout Randy Fuller and an El Paso all-star group? Randy's no great singer from what I've heard, but to acknowledge the Bobby Fuller 4 and the El Paso local scene might make a nice set. Including Long John Hunter with this group would almost be a necessity since all the white kids in El Paso would go two blocks across the border to see Long John on stage at the Lobby Bar in Mexico. Long John just about was the only black blues guy in El Paso in the 1950s and 1960s. I think both of the drummers in the Bobby Fuller 4 are still around. There are keepers of the flame in El Paso who seem frustrated with their lack of success in getting local recognition for Bobby Fuller. Rick Stone sends me clippings out of the El Paso paper about periodic efforts made in El Paso to remember Bobby Fuller.
You might get through to Randy Fuller and other musicians in El Paso via Rick Stone, Bobby Fuller's roadie at:
[email protected]
or through Billy Miller and Miriam Linna, since they are releasing Bobby Fuller CDs.
In memory of Del Shannon:
Max Crook played the bizarre keyboards on Del Shannon's records, an instrument of his own invention called the Musitron which he still has. Max goes to Coopersville, Michigan, (Del Shannon's hometown) most summers for the Del Shannon fan meet/customized car show and lugs his Musitron with him. We went to the first one of these get-togethers in 1996.
In the 1960s, Max Crook and another keyboard player named Scott Ludwig formed a group called the Sounds of Tomorrow. With near-matching Musitrons they played crazy rock 'n' roll and exotica in the 1960s. A whole CD of their music came out a few months ago on RPM in the U. K.
Max Crook has been a fireman in New Mexico for years and has a home recording studio. Scott Ludwig is a member of the Del Shannon Yahoo Group and can be easily reached by email.
Lots of information is available at:
delshannon.com
maxcrook.com
Buddy Holly and the West Texas rockabilly scene:
The Fireballs and Sonny West are names to consider. The Fireballs play selected gigs. George Tomsco seems to be a very approachable gentleman. They play most years in Clovis or Lubbock at the music festivals there.
http://www.fireballs-original.com/
www.sonnywest.net
Pulling together members of Roy Orbison's Teen Kings and Wink Westerners seems like an interesting idea, too.
How 'bout Wanda Jackson? She is an unsung heroine of rock 'n' roll. She has not yet performed at the Ponderosa Stomp, right? I saw her in Kansas City on May 18. She was great--again! Her husband/manager Wendell Goodman is the man to reach.
www.wandajackson.com
These are just some ideas for a future Ponderosa Stomp.
I appreciate what a race against time there is with the Ponderosa Stomp. We can regularly expect cancellations and no-shows due to death and illness with older musicians. That's just what its like being old. (God, how I missed Jumpin' Gene Simmons! His HI records are great examples of Memphis music!!!)
I shudder at the thought of HOW MANY great unsung rock 'n' roll heroes will never get a chance to take their turn at the Stomp 'cause they've been gone too long. Imagine coaxing Cliff Gallup onstage to play his guitar solos from his Gene Vincent hits. Or maybe Big Walter Horton joining the Henry Gray, Jody Williams, Billy Boy Arnold reunion. Just two of many such scenarios!!
I really wish there were at least some chairs to sit on in the Lounge on Monday and Tuesday. Eight-plus hours mostly standing up 'til way late digging music is too much. The Ponderosa Stomp attracts enough older audience members with bad backs, hips, legs, and feet to make chairs a necessity. On Wednesday when chairs finally were placed on the floor, every seat was used.
I'm kinda thinking maybe the set that might not have been appreciated enough was Ace Cannon. Ace and his group played their ASSES off. It is hard to imagine old, bald, white guys like this being so incredibly greasy, tight, and funky! The guitar player, whose name escapes me, played the GREASIEST guitar part I have ever heard during "Raunchy"!! I was just devastated!! The HI Records sounds of Ace Cannon and the Bill Black Combo I think are supreme examples of the Memphis Beat!!!
The Ponderosa Stomp 2006 and the entire trip to Memphis was the most fun I have had in the last five years. Thank you ever so much your efforts and the huge number of people who pulled it off, not the least of which the musicians who took to the stages hour after hour.
The last time I had this much fun was October, 2001, when I drove to Oklahoma City to see Wanda Jackson's birthday concert in her hometown, where she was reunited onstage with Big Al Downing (who is no longer alive!) and Vernon Sandusky. Two nights later, I drove to St. Louis to see Chuck Berry's (75th) birthday concert in HIS hometown, with Little Richard. Both sounded great on this night! That was a fun week!
