THE LIZARD SPEAKS:
Life Down on the Bistro
In 1969, there was a place on West Peachtree
There I lived most all of the time
Where all the folkies meet
We used to groove on Gamble Rogers
Watch Steve Goodman smile
You could hear the best damn music
In a thousand miles
Life down on The Bistro, It’s been a while
It seemed like just last year
Jimmy Buffett did appear
“The Great Filling Station Holdup”
“Wish I was somewhere other than here”
We used to groove on Jeff Espina,
Banana Blues Boat Band
We all loved Ray Whitley
And The Silverman
Life down on the Bistro, It’s who I am.
I was born in Macon, Georgia, actually just south of there. They never
locked my daddy in a Macon jail though, he was lawyer known as "Col.
Red Morgan" when it was a well respect and deserved position .
However, I did wash my hands in muddy water "Ocmulgee River" and somehow they didn’t come clean. Hence “The Lounge Lizard.’
At 8 years old, before The Beatles, I started picking guitar with my
older brother, David, who went on the next few years to play with local
R& B legends. He also was with "The Nightwalkers" a Johnny Bee Management Group along with "The Bushmen" (Rodney Mills) and "The Candymen" Roy Orbinson's
backing band. Learning early “Ventures” rock & roll, C&W and
getting 1st hand exposure to the R&B scene shaped my early
influences.
"Only The Beginning" I was asked to start a band with two older boys, David
Yancey & Bill Rhodes & Dennis Phillips singing, for several
years, we "learned to play" together, covering everything on the radio
as "The Rockets" (Marty Wilson, Roger Blodworth, Van Sapp) and then
adding "originals" recorded our first record with "Rondey Mills"
producing as "The Formation Five" Later bands which David Yancey, my
older brother, David Morgan and myself played with in Hawkinsville,
Georgia, are recognized in the "Georgia Music Hall of Fame" in the
"Beach Music" section as "The Tip Tops and "Mark Seven Bands".
Then came a time when with Rusty Jessup, Terry Martin, John Thompson and
"zoom" Steve Gibson started a jam band in Hawkinsville and it seemed to
take on a life of it's own. "Spunk" managed by Rusty's dad "Ray
Jessup", http://www.rockonproductions.us/tribute.html we
did some gigs around. "The Crew" seems a 100 or so "brothers &
sisters" doing a Sunday Park Jams and "out in the field" festival style
parties. Still a few of "The Crew" around with some good memories
today. Just ask Marsha Hartley about those days, you're sure to get a
special smile. Just a hitch hike away, in 1971 I moved to Atlanta and lived upstairs over a folk music nightclub called “The Bistro” at 1102 West Peachtree, right next door to “Channel 17” the experimental UHF TV station young Ted Turner had just started.
At 16 I was working at The Bistro and picking guitars with artists that
would come to play for a week at a time, most of them staying
upstairs as well like, Steve Goodman, http://www.clayeals.com/ Gamble Rogers http://www.gamblerogers.com/ and
young Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy had one album out that time (Down To Earth
on Barnaby Records), lived in Nashville. He did keep us laughing, and
wondering, with wild ideas and I recall Jimmy, alone on stage with
his guitar, introducing his band as “The Coral Reefers”
….. his dream. My special thanks to then owner of the Bistro, Tom Hayward, who also managed & booked groups like "Bittersweet" & "Silverman". In
my song "Life Down On The Bistro" I thank Tom & Sandy, for teaching
me to "Trust Upon You're Brother".
After Duane, Gregg and Paul Hornsby http://www.paulhornsby.com/got
back from California and Duane hooked up a contract with Alan and Phil
Walden, who had been Otis Redding’s 1st managers..... hence came “The
Allman Brothers Band” which in all reality was the first born baby of
“Southern Rock”, the southeast was rockin’ and recording contracts were
bought and sold on every corner.
I was running the stage lights at “The Bistro” when Al Kooper came to town and took a two week gig there
playing piano and an ARP Synth (one of the 1st) and doing the nightlife
after his gigs with an agenda. He started a
recording/management company "Sounds of the South" label. Al asked me
directions to “Finocchio's House of Rock” over on Peachtree, and I
went, as he did to hear guys from Jacksonville, who had been playing
around the bars. Hence came “Lynyrd Skynyrd” who was signed for
"Sounds Of The South" first band then sold to MCA Records. I had met
and heard them previously at “Mothers” and other venues in Atlanta. http://www.thestripproject.com/Welcome.html
Footnote: Al made the 1st offer, as per recent contact with( DAVID CANTONWINE) to Eric Quincy Tate, http://www.ericquincytate.com/
who were then the House Band at "The Bowery" down on 10th Street and
already had a great album out. They declined the offer, but still
stand as one of Atlanta's best band "from the daze".
A few years later, I was working with an 8 piece band called “Love &
Haight Revue”. We toured the “grits & gravy” circuits giving chance
to meet artists like Al Green, Barkays, Booker T. with Cropper &
Dunn of course. I had the band record a tape of 6 of my songs, with
the horns, at a rehearsal and I took it to a local Macon Attorney who
was getting into the business, Pat Armstrong. He was working with
another band from Jacksonville at that time soon to be “Molly Hatchet”.
Pat liked the tape and signed us on for a personal management
contract. We were to be produced by “Tom Dowd” and recorded at Criteria in Miami. In the time leading up to the sessions, we worked college show band gigs for Armstrong Agency and I was writing for the upcoming project. I
saw Pat Armstrong at Volusia Mall recently when he was attending a
“Charlie Allen” show Armstrong is in Orlando now with Parc Records.
Touring with rock bands into the late 70’s was gettin’ rather thin, so I took a
job with a show band that offered better pay and rooms at 4 star hotels
for a while. Into the 80’s after playing six week stints on Bourbon
Street, Reno, Vegas and Miami, we went to Houston to re-group the show
band. While there, we were to do jazz on the top floor restaurant at
Stoffer’s Hotel across from the Summit Arena. I remember partying with
Sugar Ray Leonard and entourage the first week there.
While working on my jazz chops and pretty much hating Houston, the gig seemed to just linger too long, so I took out on I-10, back to Macon. Chuck
Levell was hittin’ with Sea Level and there seemed to be some
Putting together a new band in Macon, we did some great gigs and
got studio time with my friend Alan Walden, but no great offers. So I
took a gig with “Johnny Rodreguiz” and did some opening act shows for
Waylon, then Willie’s band, and met Charlie Rich, then toured with him
a bit.
Our sax player “Rusty Jessup” went with Lee Roy Parnell which lasted a few years and his memorial tribute is on our site at www.rockonproductions.us
I missed the beach so much after living in Daytona in the 70’s, and
my two kids were here, so I came “Back to Daytona”. (A song which was
written by my good friends, Floyd Miles and Gregg Allman.) In the
early 1990’s playing in every “hole in the wall” and pool decks on the
beach, I had frequent lunches with the late writer and News Journalist
Tom Tucker. He and I would talk about the Daytona music scene and a
book he was working on. Finding so much interest in the history of Daytona music and being a part of the scene, a few local musicians and I started hosting jam sessions, (for over 10 years) with the "nod" from local Jam Master Glenn Ring and eventually “The Daytona Musicians Guild” with an attempt to fuel the fires a bit. Since “The Guild” now folded, two organizations are currently fueling the scene in the form of Songwriters Showcases of America and The Daytona Blues Society, all of these guys former Guild members.
Daytona, while I maintain is still not the entertainment Mecca it has
been or can be, is a great place to live and work as an artist. The
culture and history is enough to feed a strong music scene. The Blues
Society’s keeping the jams alive and Rick de Yampert, our local
entertainment writer is still pumping the up and coming recording projects and live shows.
Rock On..........., (Update) I'm
starting a new project with a little help from my friends in Daytona. The Daytona Music Hall of Famet it has to do with recognizing
and bringing to the history of the Daytona Beach area to a new height.
Like a good friend of mine said "If I say berries are ripe for picking,
Get Your Bucket!
Reuben "LL" Morgan
You cant keep a good lizard down ! Glad to hear of your progress and would like to know how we can help.You are one of our favorite people and we wish you the best. I got the sax and the keys set on simmer if you ever need them! We love you and pray for your improvement. Chris
hey daddy o..i no we talked today about sky fixin the internet..but it is up and down at times..not working very well basicly. could u talk to your computer dude for me re:laptop plug thanx :]
ok what i ment to say was...woe-uh oh-uh yea-e yeaah..i love u more than words can sayyy..i love u twice as much tomorrow..oh o..i love u more than words can!!!! (leo sayer told me so..lol!)
Online Now!
