American Blues News - "Dedicated to the promotion and celebration of the Blues."

(Memphis, Tennessee) Above, the band hits the highway. Our last encounters with my old bandleader and friend, Elmo Lee Thomas, were reported here during his CD release party at the Rumboogie Cafe on Beale Street. Here's a link to that article in the American Blues News: http://www.ameriblues.com/2009/12/memphis-elmo-shades-cd-release-posted.html

Today we departed from Memphis at an early hour and drove all the livelong day to our destination, the beautiful and monolithic Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. This is the biggest hotel complex I have ever seen. The hotel is replete with fine dining and convention services for very large groups and we were hired to play just such a corporate shindig.

This gigantic room was transformed into a juke joint by teams of skilled workers who brought in shuffleboard tables and electronic dart boards as well as loads of food, drink, chairs and tables. To watch the rapid metamorphosis of the room was truly remarkable. My friend Danny Humphries from Memphis was there working this show and he was extremely helpful to the band, assisting us around the complex. Danny is a fine musician in his own right. He plays guitar in 3 or 4 Memphis bands currently.

John Groesse takes the stage and loads in his Genz-Benz bass rig which has a huge, fat sound. John has a fine studio in Memphis and records new material daily.

Tam Riggs, who sang beautifully with the Bouffants, a famous Memphis show band, and the Venus Project, gives the photographer the warning sign. Tam sang some great R& B hits with the band on this night and was super sparkly in her dress of many sequins.



Stax recording artist Tommy Lee Williams, who played with Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Albert King, played some beautiful saxophone for the fans at the big Dallas show. Look for Tommy Lee's life story in an upcoming book.



My old college running buddy, Nico Lyras, joined us for tonight's perfomance. He regularly fills in for Skip Pitts who was away at a recording session during this trip. Nico is one of the most gifted guitarists I have ever known and has always been a true blue friend to me. I was one of the first Americans to meet Nico when he arrived in Memphis from his home in Greece to attend Southwestern at Memphis. We shared many happy moments during our college days and he has been very successful as a musician and proprietor of his own Memphis recording studio, Cotton Row. Nico was a notable jazz player when I met him in 1976 and he has expanded his style and mastered R & B and soul while turning out some great hit records in Memphis. It was truly a joy to play with him on stage again.


Melvin Robertson played drums with the band tonight and he is superb and fluent on the drums. Melvin is really great to work with thanks to his great attitude and classy demeanor. I have been fortunate to play in a band with his brother, James Robertson, who played drums with Isaac Hayes and is a renown music teacher. James played drums on one of our Reba Russell Band CD's. These guys are first class and Melvin really killed it on the drums this evening. I really enjoyed the rhythm section this night and the fans could not stay off the dance floor.

One of many food stations in the room where chefs carved the roast beast and provided the party-goers with tasty delicacies of all varieties.

Mickey Gregory toured with Jimi Hendrix, was a contemporary of Miles Davis and an original member of Rufus Thomas and the Bearcats(named after Sun Records first release), Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, and Isaac Hayes band. Mickey’s trumpet can be heard on the entire Stax catalogue of such legendary artists as Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, and many of the cuts of Otis Redding, and Johnny Taylor. Mickey joined the Isaac Hayes Movement and played on most of the Hayes catalogue at Stax including the megahit "Shaft" and appeared in the documentary "WattStax". Mickey is also a songwriter of note having penned "Drowning on Dry Land" (Albert King) and "Good Love Six Nine Six Nine"(Isaac Hayes).


Mickey and Tommy Lee are the "Memphis Sound" that is heard on so many STAX hits. They also recorded for many other labels and produce a unique horn blend that is indescribably cool and cannot be duplicated. It comes from years of soul felt collaboration, thousands of gigs and countless hours in some of the greatest recording studios to have produced American music. I am humbled and deeply honored to share the stage with them and so proud to have them as my friends.



Elmo Lee Thomas has led this band for over 27 years and he is a powerful vocalist who does not ever hold back. He has had some of the finest Memphis musicians in his band including the late Carl Watson and Larry Lee. It's no exaggeration to say that Larry was a legend among Memphis musicians. After playing with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, Larry became the guitarist and band leader for Rev. Al Green. Larry Lee passed away on October 30, 2007.



John Groesse has one of the fattest tones I have ever heard emanate from a bass cabinet. It has to be heard to be believed.




John Groesse is a native of Los Angeles but relocated to Memphis in the early seventies with his band Magpie to pursue a true understanding of the blues as well as explore the opportunities the Memphis music scene. In L.A. he worked at Capital Records and had production and performance credits on projects that included Steve Miller ,Charlie Musselwhite, Dave Mason, and many others. While in Memphis he played with his critically acclaimed group Magpie and has worked with such Memphis stalwarts as Randy and The Radiants and Coon Elder with Brenda Patterson.




This picture was actually taken indoors. This place is enormous. Next time I am bringing a Segway or at least a unicycle.


Elmo's new CD, "Blue Memphis" is truly one of the finest recordings to come out of Memphis in a long time. you can look for more from this record and this band in the near future. There is no other band I know of that does such a great job with funk, R & B, and classic soul music.

check out my site at http://www.RobertNighthawkTooms.com/

RCT