Chapter 23

Bobby’s playlist was dreaming in action. I’d heard them at the Mountain Inn and a couple of times at Bear Lodge. They’d never played Arrowhead or Paradise Valley. Arrowhead had a higher class of clientele ... unless I happened to be there and they opened the pickle jar. Then they were a typical bar.

Paradise Valley ... reservations ... even for regular customers. They were nice cabins and a lounge. The band that played the lounge had been there for 12 years. Easy listening and quiet vocals.

I’ll be the first to admit that the kids wanted Rock and Roll ... but the adult crowd had the money ... and they wanted Country, and Country was divorce, cheating, running around and dancing with some strange woman while your wife was dancing with a strange man. They wanted Dolly, Emmylou, Loretta and Tammy. When they wanted to rest they wanted Willie, Mel, George and the Statler Brothers. They wanted Western and the Two Step. Western was Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

I know they had never played girl music ... but Bobby had a list that featured me at least two songs a set. That was in addition to lead copies or improvisation on every song ... and they couldn’t sound the same.

Looking over the play list I mentally selected a first or demonstration set. There would be times we had to audition and there would be times word of mouth got us in.

WAYLON & WILLIE - Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys. Bobby. Saturdays. The perfect opener. It’s Wyoming (Montana)(N.Dakota)(S.Dakota) What did you expect?

JOHNNY PAYCHECK - Take This Job and Shove It. Bobby. Friday Opener. Because there’s always somebody who quit.

JANIS JOPLIN - Piece of my Heart. Karen. Before my voice goes south.

ROY ORBISON - Pretty Woman. George. Bass

JOE STAMPLEY - If You’ve Got Ten Minutes (Let’s Fall in Love) Tom. Drums.

EMMYLOU HARRIS - Two More Bottles of Wine. Karen.

KAREN POST - A Two at 10 is a Ten at 2 Bobby and Karen.

EAGLES - One of These Nights. Tom & George

CRYSTAL GAYLE - Talking in Your Sleep Karen

LINDA RONSTADT - You’re No Good. Karen and Tom

EDDIE RABBITT - You Don’t Love Me Anymore Bobby

BARBARA MANDRELL - Sleeping Single in a Double Bed Karen

MARGO SMITH - Don’t Break the Heart that Loves You

Not a bad first set, a little long. If we did the record length, about 35 minutes. I could hear the guitar parts in my head ... and the lyrics for A Two at 10 ... simple G, C, Am, D7, F, C, G progression.

<You are probably going to need a B3 Hammond.>

An organ? I don’t know how to play an organ.

<You haven’t gone to sleep yet.>

AWK!

<Calm down ... did it hurt to learn guitar?>

No.

<This won’t hurt ... much.>

The last time somebody said something similar, it hurt like hell. I wonder how bad it would hurt if the doctor had said, This is going to be a bitch, instead of, you might feel a little discomfort.

<You need to learn keyboards. There are new things.>

What kind of new things?

<Keyboards that sound like orchestras.>

Like a Fender Rhodes Bass?

<Kinda like that. Except three sets of 88 keys.>

THREE?

<Got a pen?>

A pen and paper appeared.

<Take it.>

I don’t wanna! But I did. Of its own volition, my hand wrote, Yamaha GX-1, I have to admit, the guys had better penmanship than I did ... even if it was my hand doing it.