Rick Cunningham (far left) and the members of RAGE. On
far right is drummer Terry Ransom, who also played for a
while with The Molly Maguire Band.

Jessie Lara, an old friend from high school came out to Savvy's. Jessie, who'd been a tennis pro since graduating high school, appeared in a school play with me during my sophomore year called "Charlie's Aunt." That play probably had more to do with me pursuing a career in entertainment than any other single thing in my life. I had the lead role and at the end of the play, during the curtain call, I was the last actor to come out to take a bow. When I appeared through the curtain, I got a standing ovation! That was it. I was hooked! 

A photo capturing the moment I got hooked on show biz. The curtain call  for "Charlie's
Aunt. " December 10th, 1970.  From left to right: Cliff Duvall, Glenda Couch, Sherry Fain,
Rod Green, Steve Jones (me), Gay Horton, Yolanda Maldonado, Jessie Lara, and Kent Shepard.

Our drama department was just ok, and I was more of a comedian than I was an actor. I just happened to be the only guy in the school willing to do what it took to play the role; I had to put on a dress. It was a comedy about a guy in a dorm who dresses up like the grandmother of one of his room mates, in order to make girls feel comfortable about coming to visit. (Jack Benny played the lead in the movie.) I would be remiss if I didn't include "THE PHOTO" of me as Lord Fancourt Babberly III, in drag. The gag was that all the wealthy men around the campus were suddenly calling on the grandmother character, Madame Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez, causing lot's of "comical hijinx" as we liked to call it back in the day...

Publicity shot for "Charlie's Aunt" taken by my dad. From left to right: Kent Shepard,
Steve Jones (me), and Steve Green. (I could never get into that dress today!)

On June 2, 1982, someone threw RJ a birthday party. The following people were there; Hud, Brenda, Ricky, Billy Jack Marney, Stephanie, RJ, Rich, Carla, Rick, Rick Cunningham, Dan, Kim, Barbara, Marty, Big Mike, Marilyn, and yours truly.  The band Brittany played with us at Savvy's. My old drummer from Desperados, Ralph Power came out to the club. I gave him an autographed album. (He owes me a couple of autographed albumsof his last few years touring and recording with Smokin' Joe Kubeck!) 

My brother Chris had an accident on one of our fishing excursions. After we were through fishing and had everything loaded back up in the car, he was holding on to a nylon rope attached to the minnow bucket. Somehow the rope didn't get rolled up all the way and was actually caught under the tire outside the car. As I drove over the rope, it pulled through his fingers so quickly that it almost sliced them off! He was lucky to only sustain a couple of deep cuts. It was a very scary moment.

Brother Chris fishing with me on Palo Pinto Lake in early '91.

Our old friend from the neighborhood, L.D. Lumpkin, came to the club. As usual, I bought - and signed an album for him too. He was playing with a group called Mystery. Their singer had been with Fugitives. I went to the movies and saw E.T. with another Brenda. (Lot's of Brenda's in those days.) She smelled really good! Then Big Mike and I went to see Poltergeist. Our album was selling like hotcakes at the club and around town.

I found out that I was being required to go to a national convention in order to be officially certified for the McDonald's clown job, even though I'd already been doing the performances for almost three years. It was a really tough time for me to take off from the band; we were already booked solid and the excitement from the record release was at its peak. I didn't want to miss out on a single minute of it.  When I told Scott Hudgins (from the ad agency) that I didn't think I could get away from the band for a week for the McDonald's convention, he gave me an ultimatum; either I went to the convention in Chicago or I would not be able to work as Ronald any longer. I would have to see how things panned out. Savvy was on a major roll again and without a doubt, at that point in my life I considered the clown gig to be part time.

McDonald's might have been only part-time - but Hud and Brenda were back together full time. Argentina surrendered to the British, ending the Falkland conflict. I'd decided to learn to type so I bought a couple of self-teaching courses and spent many hours out in the garage banging away at the typewriter. (Those hours really paid off too when it came to transcribing the handwritten words from my journals into computer documents to use for web pages and virtual books.) Our big record release party was coming up at the Agora so I went clothes shopping at Prestonwood Mall. I bought 2 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts (including the infamous "snake" shirt that I wore at the record party), a Rhythmtech tambourine, and rhythm shaker. (I still have both those stored out in my garage.) 

The record release party was on Friday June 18th, 1982 at the Dallas Agora. Lot's of friends, fans, family, and industry people showed up. We played a set straight off our album. Chris video taped the event. It was a really big night for us, and our fans showed up to make it a success. Hud started booking us at record signing parties at record stores. Our first was at a Hastings in Arlington. It was very strange coming in and sitting at a table, then waiting to see if anyone would show up to get an autograph. Fortunately, it went just fine and we were relieved!  After a while, I was surprised to see that the excitement from the record signing appearances began to die down for me. I was really thrilled that people were buying them and asking us to sign them, but we weren't talking about long lines going around the block. It was a slow trickle, and at times it could be really awkward when people were in the record store and didn't know or care who we were or why we were in a little roped-off area, as if we were somehow special. Between McDonald's and Savvy, I had a lot of irons in the fire and it was starting to take a toll on me. I began to worry that perhaps I should have gone to the McDonald's convention after all. 

I heard that my uncle Okie was in town with Marty Robbins. (I recently wrote a story for my friend Rick Phillip's, who is the author of the Panther Hall web site  www.pantherhall.com  about my unique memories of going to Panther Hall to visit my uncle Okie. Here is the story as posted on his web site:) 

When country music legends Marty Robbins or Hank Williams Jr. performed at Ft. Worth's Panther Hall Ballroom, had they looked off to their left at any given time during their shows, they might have seen the silhouette of a young boy standing just outside the stage door. Of course they were far too busy working their audiences to notice me, but that didn't matter. I would have plenty of face-to-face time with them before and / or after their shows. As nice as they were to talk to, I was far more interested in watching them work. The experience was always magical and transforming.  It was while standing in that very doorway, with stale cigarette smoke pouring past me into the brightly lit loading area, that I decided what I was going to do with my life. I was going to be a performer.

Okie Jones had been a talented young up and coming singer back in the 1940's. He toured the country with the Little Jimmy Dickens Show. Also on the tour were Faron Young and Grandpa Jones (the performer - not MY grandfather!). As my uncle's recording career waned, he segued into a career as being sort of a combination road manager / bus driver for Hank Williams Jr. during Hanks young and formidable years. When Hank would come to Ft. Worth to play Panther Hall, my uncle would call my dad to let him know he was coming to town. Every now and then, my dad would go visit Okie on Hank's tour bus in the back parking lot of Panther Hall while Hank was on stage performing. And occasionally, dad would take my two brothers and I along for the trip. Mom always preferred to stay home and enjoy the rare peace and quiet.

I must have been in my early teens, and the oldest of the three Jones boys. It was always exciting to get the news that Okie was in town. My young brothers liked going because they thought the bus was cool. Sure, the bus was great, but I liked going because when the stage door was open, which it almost always was, dad would let me stand outside and watch the show. The view was perfect. I have vivid memories of young Hank, looking like almost any blond headed kid you'd see on the street, putting on the most amazing shows! Not only did Hank sing, but he was also a tremendously talented musician as well. I could see a collection of various instruments on stands off to the side of the stage. There were all kinds of guitars, and a 5 string banjo. When Hank picked up the banjo and began to play, I knew I would have to learn to play one too. He wore a white fringed C&W type costume, and I can remember how profusely he would be sweating by the end of the show.

After his final number, he would routinely come over to the door and step out to get a little fresh air as the crowd roared for an encore. It was during one of those moments that we had a memorable dialogue. As he stepped out onto the concrete stairway, a beer in one hand, he said, "Hey kid. You here to see your uncle Okie?" I looked him right in the eye, and without missing a beat I replied, "No, I'm here to see you." To think of it now, it almost seems like a perfect scene in a movie. I don't think he was moved that much by it though. Hank was pretty much spoiled when it came to that stuff. He was surrounded by people who were always telling him how special he was. That is the nature of the business. Still, before he had a chance to respond, his roadies came over and whisked him back to the stage for his encore. I think it might have been "Kawliga."

Dad was a considerate and conscientious person, so he always made sure we were at least making an effort to be on our way by the time Hank made it back to the bus. That is, when he came back to the bus at all. Dad didn't want us being in the way, and rightly so. But I would learn later, while traveling and doing concerts with my own band, why a tour bus wasn't the best place for kids after a big show! The best visits with Hank were on those occasions when we would arrive before the show started. Most of the time, Hank stayed back in his private quarters. But there was a time or two when he came out and was very cordial, and relaxed.

And then there was Marty. After Hank's accident, my uncle went to work as an assistant to Marty Robbins. Different people switched out with the driving duties, but Okie enjoyed driving the buses, so he did a lot of the driving. When Marty came to town it was the same drill. Only Marty's shows had a different kind of energy to them. While Hank was young and wild and loved to raise hell, Marty was a little more laid back. He sang ballads. But he also wore the white C&W fringed costume style outfits, similar to Hanks. Only Marty's looked more like something made for Elvis.

Marty was always friendly and polite and liked to hang up at the front of the bus. He didn't seem bothered by our visits, and we tended to stay longer during the Marty visits than we had with Hank. But we were a bit older by then too. Even though I was in High School by then, I never passed on an opportunity to go visit Okie at the Panther Hall gigs. Once Panther Hall closed down, Okie's visits became normal ones - without the celebrities and the tour busses and the cramped schedules. He was able to integrate back into the family again and we loved seeing him. Okie worked with, and was close friends with Marty until Marty's death. He'd been handling a lot of things around the ranch for Marty, and they shared a major interest in the hobby of photography. When Gentleman Jim Reeves' airplane crashed on Marty Robbins' ranch, Okie was the first person on the scene. He happened to have a 16 mm movie camera with him, and those movies are in our family's private archives. My uncle had written a song that Marty recorded called "Chasing Rainbows", and had appeared as an extra in one of Marty's movies.  My brother now lives in the house that the cousin once lived in, and one of the closets is still full of Marty's albums - all personally autographed to family members. When Marty died, he left all of his camera equipment to Okie.

Eventually, I did get to see Marty play Panther Hall from the INSIDE of the building, out front with everyone else. It was the only time I was ever actually inside Panther Hall. And then not long after, Panther Hall closed for good. I would see the big Panther Hall sign in a lot off of Hwy 820 from time to time as years went on. It seemed I also saw it in a lot off of Denton Hwy years later as well. But time plays tricks on the mind.

I remember those nights on Lancaster Avenue with Okie, and Hank, and my dad and brothers. I also remember the long, neat rows of street lamps that lined Lancaster. Sometimes Okie would lock up the bus and we'd take him to the Lone Star Restaurant for a quick dinner, and have him back by the end of the show. I remember how clean and happening Lancaster looked in those days. I would watch that area decline before my eyes in later years as my bands "Desperados" and "Savvy" played clubs up and down the old Lancaster strip. There was the Hungry I Club, The Dunes Club back off of Rosedale, The Rocking Chair, and of course, Savvy's Nightclub. However, our first gig on Lancaster was right across from the Panther Hall, at the Broken Spoke, which had previously been known as the Panther Hall Annex. 

As a fellow archivist, I have a great respect for the efforts Rick is making in documenting the legacy of Panther Hall, a true music landmark right here in Ft. Worth. - Steve Jones 2004

Uncle Okie (left) with my dad Cecil (right) in front of Marty Robbins'
touring bus. Picture taken sometime in 1982.

Back at Savvy's, I was surprised to learn that Lilly was giving Susan a hard time. I'd truly thought she'd finally gotten over it. The thought occurred to me that perhaps she never really would. She was so pretty and had so much going for her. She could've had ANY man she wanted, but for some reason she was cursed and only wanted me. I secretly knew that if she'd just let go of it and forget about me, almost anyone she could find would likely be able to make her far happier - if only she would let them. But she just couldn't do it. I sometimes thought she must have been crazy, but she was only in love. It seemed she would always be there in the shadows waiting for me, no matter what I did or how long it took. I may have unknowingly taken her for granted. But my shields were still firmly up and in place and I was immune from her charms.

Our old pal Reb Burrell played Savvy's with his new band, Radioactive. Susan and I went to Blossom's to hear the Gigolos. Later in the week, the steering pump belt in my car went out. Dad and Chris helped me fix it. I bathed at my parent's house to clean up from the car mess and headed to work from there. It had been five years since I'd taken a bath in that old tub. It looked antiquated to me, after having apartments and houses with showers for so long. As I soaked in the bath, I looked around at the once-familiar walls and felt a twinge of sadness. Life seemed to be going too fast. I missed the red headed boy that had taken so many baths in that same old ceramic, four legged tub. The thought occurred to me that in life, we get cheated. We should only have to spend 10 or 11 years as adults first, and get that out of the way - before getting to spend the next 70 or 80 years as children. Not the other way around. The only problem with that is -- who would look after us?

I went to Blossom's again, mainly because Julie C. was working there and I was hoping to get together with her again. While there I ran into Mace Maben and the soundman from TEXAS. I also saw Larry Earp from Phren-Z. Later at Mother Blues in Dallas I saw Bill Ham, the Cobb brothers - Billy and Randy, L.D. Lumpkin, and Ray & Vaughn from the Gigolos. The next night, a gang of us went fishing at Lake Arlington after the gig at Savvy's; Ricky Cunningham, Marcy, Luli, Colleen, and I. We didn't catch anything (fish), but had fun hanging out together. It was a fun group!

Rich Mauch turned 30. RJ threw a big party for him, but Rich never showed up! We all ended up watching - you guessed it - re-dubbed videos! RJ and I worked on a new original song for a while called, "Is the Pleasure Worth the Pain?"  It was July, and we had a big two week vacation coming up. Marty and I had plans to spend it in Puerto Vallarta!

During July, Julie C. was coming over about 3 nights a week for a while. I really enjoyed her company, with one unfortunate exception... she smoked like a freight train! I was breathing so much second hand smoke in the clubs every night that I just had to get a break from it when I could. This could sometimes end up being a deal breaker for me. I think that might have been what eventually happened in Julie's case. The thing with Susan fell apart too. I started thinking that she sort of preferred a man who didn't mind kicking out her headlights now and then to prove his love. That just wasn't me. With my luck, I would only break a toe.

While we were away from home one day, Ricky's dog Nigel got out of the yard somehow and was running loose in the neighborhood for a while. When we came home, we noticed Nigel had a bloody, messed up paw. We fixed him up but never figured out what happened to cause it. (What a good dog he was!)  The band worked up the new original song that RJ and I had been working on. (To be fair, RJ wrote the song, and had me re-write the lyrics. It was more or less his song.)  Savvy's original security man, James, got his truck stolen from out in front of Savvy's. We called James "Deputy Dawg" because of the unique leather hat he often wore. 

Savvy Bouncer, Deputy Dawg (James). Of course the 
only picture I have of him is WITHOUT his trademark
hat. 

Wild man, Mark Berry, enjoyed partying so much that he bought his own club - The Texas Connection. I'm sure the ATF, TCB, and FBI was glad to hear that. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. McDonald's had obviously decided not to fire me for missing the convention. They booked me for an event in Stephenville where I met Governor Bill Clements, Tom Landry, Eddie Chiles, Dan Coates, and several more dignitaries and celebrities. 

Controversy struck at the Agora! Hud booked us to play the Buddy Magazine Birthday Bash at Cardi's, a club that was in close competition (and proximity) with the Agora. The Agora manager, Eddie, didn't want us to play Cardi's, and thought we had an exclusive deal with the Agora. It was the first time we'd seen Eddie get out of whack with us. But because we had our own club to go home to, we never played the political games that most other bands had to worry about. We rarely dealt with booking agents, or any of that routine music business crap. If an event looked good to us, we played it. If someone wanted to blacklist us from playing their establishment, fine. Hud tried to talk Eddie down, but to no avail. The Agora gave us an ultimatum. If we played at Cardis, all our future engagements at the Agora would be cancelled. We all had some tough decisions to make.

Ricky's girlfriend, Laurie, was assaulted at the car wash around the corner from our house on Lester. She wasn't hurt, but just badly scared. A guy came out of nowhere and tried to coerce her into having sex with him. He grabbed her arm, but she got away. Rick Myrick came out to Savvy's for a while. He asked how Julie was doing. I told him we were seeing each other now and then, but nothing serious. He was cool with it. 

We decided not to bow to the Agora's demands and went ahead and played Cardis, sharing the bill with The Wallace-Oates Band, the remnants of Lynx. While there we saw Bugs Henderson, Lightning, John O'Daniel, Gary Shaw (he'd moved to KZEW), Drake Hall, Tom Owens, Wild Bill (from Point Blank), and many more. Cardis was impressed and wanted to talk about booking us weekly. Their offer was impressive as well. But as soon as the gig was over, the Agora was calling wanting us back. We had to decide whether to play Cardis for more money, or stay with the Agora because it was bigger, nicer, they were like family to us, and it was a bit more prestigious. 

I took Vanessa to breakfast. A mystery bouquet of flowers came to the house for Ricky. Hud called a band meeting, where we found out that Eddie (the Agora) was fine with us being non-exclusive, and even raised our pay. Vanessa had been calling, but I had a strange feeling that even though Ricky SAID he didn't care, I wasn't so sure. It just wasn't worth taking a chance on stirring up any controversy, so Vanessa and I just kept it on a "friends" basis.  Ricky had to give back the really nice truck he'd been driving to his brother and ended up buying a Cutlass. The Agora threw a make-up party for Savvy. Windfall was playing and we were supposed to just hang out and have fun. While in theory it was a nice gesture, it turned out to be a bit of a dud. 

Ricky's Cutless (and my Volare') parked in the driveway
of the house on Lester. It was a dead giveaway that the 
"boys" were at home...

During a McDonald's show, someone thought it would be a good idea to put Marty into another supporting character costume. He'd partied hard the night before and it was a hot summer day. Needless to say, he didn't handle it very well and threw up inside of it! The costume's head was like a big enclosed helmet - with a layer of fake fur over it. Someone later told me that they never were able to get the smell out of that costume! I thought it was hilarious, until the same thing happened to me one day. I'd volunteered to fill in for someone at a Grimace gig at a bowling alley and I'd had too many Kamikazes the night before. Between not being able to breathe, being too hot, having a sick stomach, and all the non stop crashing of the pins, I lost it. Not fun!

One of our friends from Savvy's, Tony Bishop, was killed in an accident out on Hwy 820. July had been a crazy, tough month. I couldn't seem to settle in with any one girl, and I wanted to. I was hoping that August would bring true love. I needed sleep so I would  stop thinking stupid thoughts like that! No, August would be about ADVENTURES in PARADISE for Marty and me in Puerto Vallarta! I was excited about this. And it was coming up soon!

CHAPTER 36: Q102's Texas Best Rock Album

SAVVY STORY INDEX

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