Showing posts with label George Cummings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Cummings. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2016
Sucarnochee Revue/Gumbo Man / George Cummings. Chris Ethridge on Bass
Chris Ethridge(formerly with The Flying Burrito Brothers) on bass.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Remembering The Cellar Door Nightclub In Washington(Georgetown) D.C.
Fine article in today's Washington Post by Dave McKenna about the old and long departed Cellar Door nightclub that was on M Street in Georgetown,D.C.
Be sure and read the comments at the end of the above article. They are good memories from other people.
This was a place you could see and hear acts on the way up and on the way down.
In fact I told the guy at the next door Little Tavern who made the 15 cent hamburgers and poured the coffee that he should go there and here the musicians because they were on their way up. No he said they are on their way down.
Acts that I saw there included Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band when they were first starting out around 1972 or 1973. The Cellar Door had a no smoking policy even back then. Jimmy Buffett saw somebody in the audience smoking and announced there would be no smoking.
Someone in the audience yelled back that one of Jimmy's band was smoking right at that moment on stage. It was good for a laugh from everyone.
I saw an ad in the paper that blues man Joe Williams was going to be playing at the Cellar Door. I called over and asked if it was the blues man Big Joe Williams. The guy on the phone didn't know the difference between Joe Williams(the Count Basie jazz singer)and Big Joe Williams the famous Mississippi bluesman. So he just said Yes.
I went over and paid a small entrance fee and it turned out to be Joe Williams the jazz singer. I was hoping to see Big Joe the blues singer. This was in 1968 or 1969 and since I liked jazz also I decided to stick around. The amazing thing was the audience was only about 12 people. And they were all older black couples.
Joe Williams just told everyone to move down front and he proceded to give a great perfomance.
On my way home that night around midnight cutting through Rose Park to get to P Street some young kids started throwing empty coke bottles at me. I did not get hit but I got out of there fast.
Miles Davis played a full week at The Cellar Door in 1969 or so. I went with two or three other guys.
Davis would turn his back to the audience and play a note or two and walk of the stage and let his band do the rest.
One of the guys I was with said he was going to talk to Miles. I tried to tell him that it was not a good idea. He came back stunned. I did not ask him what Miles said to him but whatever it was left him shattered.
Dr. Hook played The Cellar Door and I went to see them. But my friend George Cummings was no longer with the band. He had left after he got sick with bronchitis and the manager of the band would not let him have some time off.
I stuck around and listened to the band anyway and went back in the dressing room between sets to visit with them. Billy Francis(the bass player)was a nice friendly guy and told me what happened to George. and why he wasn't there.
George Cummings is the fellow on the far right on the bottom row. He is still very much alive and growing veggies in his garden. And still playing music.
The guy with the patch over his eye is Ray Sawyer. He is still around with a head full of long white hair now. The guy on the far right top row is Dennis. He moved to England some years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Hook_%26_The_Medicine_Show
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Gus Stevens Nightclub Biloxi Mississippi 1968 Advertisement Featuring George Cummings Billy Francis And Ray Sawyer Of Dr. Hook Fame
Click on the above picture to enlarge it. This is an advertisement for Gus Stevens Restaurant and Nightclub in Biloxi,Mississippi in 1968. The band is the Hot Papers. Formerly the Chocolate Papers. This band later became Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show two years later playing in Union City,New Jersey. Then they signed with Columbia Records and Clive Davis and the rest is history as they say.
George Cummings, Billy Francis,and Ray Sawyer were founding members of Dr. Hook. Popeye Phillips had quit the band by the time they signed their contract with Columbia Records around 1971. Popeye Phillips who was from Mobile, Alabama did appear later as the drummer on Little Hippie Boy with The Flying Burrito Brothers on their first album The Gilded Palace Of Sin.
Ray Sawyer and Billy Francis were from Mobile,Alabama originally and George Cummings was originally from Meridian,Mississippi.
That bit in the advertisment about being "Just Back From A Tour Of The Hollywood Las Vegas Circuit" is pure fantasy and was totally made up but big things were soon to happen for this band.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
On The Road With Big Joe Williams and George Cummings to Muscle Shoals, Alabama for Recording Session Fall of 1978
Big Joe Williams
The Final years
- Tailor Made Woman
- Highway 49
- Back Door
- Whistling Pine Blues
- Sunny Road Blues
- A Change Gotta Be Made
- No Special Rider Blues
- Baby Please Don't Go
- I Belive I'll Make A Change
- You're Dogging Me
- New Car Blues
- Black Rat Blues
- Mama Don't Allow Me
- Down On Mr. May Stewart's Farm
- Meet Me In The Bottom
- Muscle Shoals Blues
- Big Road Blues
rec. Sept. 1978 at Muscle Shoals Studios
The video above is of Big Joe Williams filmed outside his trailer in Crawford, Mississippi around 1978.
In late August of 1978 I took a train from Alexandria, Virginia to Meridian, Mississippi to meet George Cummings(of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show fame)to go with him to Crawford, Mississippi to meet Big Joe Williams and all go together to Muscle Shoals, Alabama for the two of them to do some music recording together.
I had first met Big Joe Williams in April of 1975 even though he had grown up on my grandfather Marion Stewart's farm outside Crawford, Mississippi. My friend George Cummings wanted to meet Big Joe and I had taken him up to Crawford in the summer of 1978 and it was decided we would come back in the fall and go to Muscle Shoals so the two of them could record together in a proper music studio.
So it was George and I arrived in Crawford and found Big Joe. There was a German blues critic music producer and photographer living in Crawford recording Big Joe also. His name was Axel Kuestner. There was also some guy who appeared who wanted us to sign some papers that no strings or anything else would be added to the music recorded by Big Joe. After we got that out of the way we took off for Muscle Shoals, Alabama in two cars. George and I in his car and Axel and Big Joe in another car. We followed them stopping only once for something to eat for lunch. It was small gas station grocery store type of place. Big Joe told Axel what he wanted to eat but Axel did not understand the request so I had to go ask Big Joe. He told me "Tell him to get me some potted meat". Axel had no idea what potted meat was so I had to show him.
On we went to Muscle Shoals.We were there two or three days while they were recording.
It was years later the recordings were released by Polydor.
I never got any money for my part in this recording adventure. I never really expected any. I think it was worth it just for the experience. However, looking back I now like the idea that I did not get any money since no one can say I ripped off an old black blues musician.
And George Cummings did pay Big Joe for his recording and Big Joe seemed satisfied with the money he got from George.
Axel also has released a CD of the recordings he made in Crawford in 1978 of Big Joe. It is called No More Whiskey. Field Recordings 1973 to 1980.
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