Devils & Blue Dresses: My Wild Ride as a Rock and Roll Legend

Iwent to visit James at a show at Harpo’s in Detroit quite a few years ago. I was let in the dressing room where James was drying his hair under one of those old space ship looking hair dryers that completely covered your head. I said hello, and James signaled me with his hand to come closer because he couldn’t hear me. I spoke again, and again James summoned me closer. This went on a few more times until I was actually down on my knees at his feet and looking up. Nothing further was said. He just broke out in a huge grin having achieved his goal. But it was his influence on a fourteen-year-old Detroit boy that led me to the music I would chase after the rest of my life.
    Brownsville Station: It was Cub Coda that I would come to do many shows with and befriend in the years shortly before his death. What a wonderful man he was. We were doing an oldies show in Cleveland I believe, and Cub didn’t have anyone there to watch out for him. He had an attack and I took him to his room and got him what was necessary to normalize his situation. I didn’t think of it as a big deal, but he did and so did his wife, Lady Jane. It was my honor to serve him.
    The Buckinghams: I always think Chicago when I think of these guys. Mostly oldies shows, but a very competent group and their audiences loved them.
    Tim Buckley: I was pissed off with him and Kimberly after she went to get his autograph at a Detroit performance. She was gone half an hour and came back with his autograph signed on the back of her prescription for birth control pills.
    Buffalo Springfield: I knew Dewey Martin best and we did a few shows with them while I was still a big star, so to speak. The group was so enormously talented that the members went on to form several other successful groups.
    Jerry Butler: I met Jerry while taping an oldies package for TV. He was one of the most pleasant men I’ve ever been introduced to.
    Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Again a Chicago creation, but a group I thoroughly enjoyed. We did some TV shows with them while I was with the Wheels.
    The Byrds: I performed on arena shows with them and was influenced most by the use of the twelve-string guitar sound. When thinking about the group I have to admit I felt they were almost as inventive as the English were during that period in the history of rock and roll.
    Freddy Cannon: Another name from the Bob Crewe era and stable. We were on oldies shows on the mainland and Hawaii together. Freddy has a lot of energy for his age and he’s one of those audience participation people, like so many from his era. I do it myself sometimes, but I wouldn’t go to a show to participate. I’d want to sit there like a blind man and enjoy the sound from the stage.
    The Cars: A couple of the members of the cars came to one of my shows in New York as the guest of John Badanjek. They liked his drumming. Who wouldn’t?
    Gene Chandler: Another oldies show. Gene Chandler was a showman in the old school tradition and he often entered the audience. I always wanted to steal his cape.
    Cheap Trick: I performed with them in their home state of Illinois. They were good!
    Chubby Checker: I wish I knew how to turn a penny into a dollar like he does. Every hit record he had came from somewhere else, but he managed to take million sellers and turn them into multi-million sellers. In a capitalist society, that is probably the greatest achievement of them all.
    The Chiffons: Like a good portion of the groups or personalities I’m describing, the Chiffons are one of those groups I have appeared with on an oldies show. I can’t really point to an individual because many of these groups have few, if any, of the original members left. But they wouldn’t be working unless they had talent and were good at what they do. I apologize.
    Lou Christie: If ever there was a self-promoter it is Lou Christie. If you enjoy intense monolog between artist and audience you’ll love Lou. He comes from the Peter Noone school of “Let’s Talk.” Get to know me. When he does sing, he does it very well.
    Eric Clapton: Beyond what I’ve described in the book is the fact that Eric is one of the few who either through luck or connections has attained superstar status. As a singer myself, I don’t believe there are many guitar players as good as he is.
    The Dave Clark Five: Uh . . . oh yeah, they finally got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They had to be, given the fact they were robbed of the induction previously. The