stax

when i was in my early twenties i went to memphis…armed with a beat up telecaster, warped neck and all…and a song…i traded the telecaster for studio time to demo the song…

i took the song over to the publishing company for stax records(east memphis publishing) they liked it…published it, they went on to publish about 30 of my songs

a few days later i got a call and they asked me if i would sing some demo’s for them…i had only been in the studio one time singing my song but i said yes

i was scared to death…standing in the studio where…sam and dave, otis redding,booker t and mg’s, isaac hayes, eddie floyd and on and on cut classic records was a little intimidating…

i had to learn about 7 songs on the spot and then sing them…larry nix and bobby manuel were behind the board, and it was obvious fairly early that i was too nervous to deliver…so they took a break…larry sent out for some fried chicken and a pint of southern comfort…he told me to eat the chicken and drink the southern comfort, which i did…i then sang like a bird

another time i was in the office when i overheard the girl behind the desk say…”tell roosevelt jamison his royalty check is in for “that’s how strong my love is”…when she got off the phone i asked her if that was the same “that’s how strong my love is” that the rolling stones covered…she smiled and said,”why yes honey”…i knew i wasn’t in Kansas anymore…or pittsburgh

i met mack rice who wrote “mustang sally”…met my dear friend don nix who wrote”goin down” for jeff beck and every one else who ever played a rock song… i cherish those memories and friends..and am honored to have been around such a magical place