IB Hooked - Nov. 2, 2007

knew one day they’d make it big, I just didn’t know how big. During
last Sunday’s blackout of the local pro gridiron games on cable, I went online and checked out some of the latest poker updates while I tuned to
NBC. And lo and behold there was Bob Philips of Four Country Reporter
fame, the gig on everything Texas is now called Texas Country Reporter.
When I was a kid I watched religiously ever week as Bob in his custom van
traveled hither and yon to bring all things Texanna to the heathen
urbanites of Big D and Fort L’il Worth. There on the boob tube was George
and Scarlet Colley aboard Skimmer II doing their flipper and bird show. My
ohh my how far they’ve come.
With all the music biz talent in town this weekend, I decided this was
the time and place to make a plea for help. Back in 1976 I attended one of
the most incredible recording sessions ever in Dallas or perhaps anywhere
else for that matter. The venue was the ol’ Longhorn Ballroom the show was
produced by Dave Burley and the headliner was Les Paul and the name of the
product was to be Cavalcade of Guitars. Now Les Paul is and was a legend,
havin’ invented the electric guitar. He also brought along his recording
truck with a 24-track recorder for the occasion.
This is where things got sticky, Senior Burley had also lined up some
serious talent and I mean talent whose shadow Les could not hope to get
out from under. The emcee was Johnny Gore blowin’ sax, Slam Stewart on
standup base and Louis Bellson on drums. The guys on guitar were Herb
Ellis, Tal Farlow, Howard Roberts and Bucky Pizzarelli. On peddle steel
they had Buddy Emmons, Curly Chalker, Doug Jernigan, Julian Tharp and
Maurice
Anderson. If ya’ll have heard of these guys you may understand the
problem, at the time these were the best of the best. The show lasted for
six hours, they did two one hour jams with everybody on stage and pared
off for fifteen minute mini-concerts, the most memorable was Buddy Emmons
and Howard Roberts. Where things got sticky was when Les came out to do
his solo, this was a by invite session that cost a c-note per couple, a
well healed but kina rough crowd. Les came out with one of his gadgets
plugged into his guitar and a moment later we get the Les Paul and Mary
Ford Show not the incredibly complex rifts the other guys were playin’. To
further complicate matters Dewey Groom had declared that the first five
drinks were on the house for the 200 or so guests, Les flopped and left
the stage early with crimson ears.
At the end of the gig Les refused to sign off on the release that
everybody else had signed unless he took possession and was listed as
producer, because of this nobody got paid. When Dave Burley got back to
Nashville he tried to mix Les out of the recording he found that Les had
set up his equipment so that he bled into all 24 tracks. The tapes are now
somewhere in a vault at United Artists, the only person I’ve been able to
contact is Reece Anderson and he laments what has happened and dosen’t
blame Dave for the screw up. My question is this, do any of ya’ll know how
to get a hold of Dave Burley or better yet do you know Les Paul cuz it’s
time to free Cavalcade of Guitars. If ya’ll have any ideas please contact
the Rag.

Cut line- Robert Cray blew the few that showed up away during Bike Week at
Shitterbans, Robert Randolf and the Family Band will be pluckin’ steel
guitar on the same stage this Saturday evening, see ya there.