Good morning, blues lovers! I woke up today reminiscing about a question someone asked me last night: "What was the first show you ever played?" So, let me take you back to 1974, when I was a high school junior .
Back in high school, I put together a band with some friends: a bass player named Albert Pam, a drummer named Dillard Fletcher, and a conga player named William Pryor. We had a guitar player or keyboard player too, though the details are a bit hazy. We had a four or five-piece band. We called ourselves "Bad" – B-A-D-D. Why we chose that name, I don't remember, but it was long before Michael Jackson made "Bad" famous.
Our only transportation was a beat-up barbecue van that Dillard had access to. He worked at a barbecue pit, and this van usually hauled wood and meat. It was filthy and funky inside, but we swept it out and used it to transport our equipment and ourselves wherever we needed to go. That van was our Blues local lifeline.
Our big break came at a high school talent show in the gymnasium in Madison, Alabama. We put together a set and played our hearts out. The audience loved it, and we won first place. The news spread around town, and suddenly all the local bands wanted to challenge us. Some were too intimidated to even try because they heard how BADD we were.
Those were the good old days, We played songs like "Superstitious" and "Neither One of Us Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye." Herbie Hancock was big at the time, and so were KC and the Sunshine Band. I played an electric guitar called a Reccio – a gift from my mama. I also had a Fender Bandmaster Reverb with two 12-inch speakers and a big head. We hauled that amp around quite a bit, playing and enjoying ourselves.
Whenever my dad let me, I'd drive his old 1963 Chevrolet Impala to gigs. Those days were filled with music. Looking back, it was a magical time that set the foundation for my lifelong journey with music.
So, there you have it – the story of my first show. It's a cherished memory that reminds me of where I started and why I fell in love with the Blues music .
What did you think a bout my story ?