Photo: The Bee’s Knees performing at the Lee Park Festival. Photo by Jaye Duncan.
I had been seduced by music, but as you well know by this point in my story, my mistress is part muse and part tormentor.
But Lady Luck and Sister Fate were about to grace me with a joyful turn of events.
Follow the rainbow over the stream. Follow the fellow who follows a dream…
My musical travelogue continues with:
The Bee’s Knees
One fine day I was having lunch and watching the News on Dallas TV. The newscaster announced that, after a short break, they had a special treat: “the Bee’s Knees will be performing… live… in our studio!”
I was a bit skeptical. But in a few minutes, I was introduced to one of the most unique sounding bands I’d ever heard. (They called it Tropical Rock, but it was much more than any catchy moniker could describe.) The quartet consisted of two electric acoustic guitars, bass, and a lead guitarist on a Fender Stratocaster. The three guys up front sang their delicious retro tunes in perfect three-part harmony, while the guy on Strat turned out to be an honest-to-god, blues man: Anson Funderburgh!
A few weeks later Ron Mason called me. He announced that he was the new keyboard player for the Bee’s Kees. I congratulated him. Then he told me they were looking for a drummer and he had suggested me. Within days, I rehearsed with the Knees and it sounded really good. Everyone seemed to agree that I was their man. I was hired on the spot.
Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore…
The new line-up consisted of Roger Burton, guitar/vocals; Jerry Jackson, guitar/vocals, Mike Paulson, vocals/congas; Anson Funderburgh, lead guitar; Ron Mason on Hammond B- 3 and Fender Rhodes piano; Larry Rogers on bass; and little old me on drums.
The Knees had already been invited to audition at ABC Records (Steely Dan, etc.). They came home without a record contract.
Later they warmed up for Logins & Messina and Jim Messina was so impressed with Roger’s song, “Carolina,” that he purchased the publishing rights.
So, you see, they had already been making waves.
We did our first concert at a festival at Lee Park; special guest, Randy Lee on sax. The crowd numbered in the thousands. We were not your average nightclub act. No. We were a ‘project band’ and our goal was to end up somewhere over the rainbow.
Our manager – the Wizard – was famous Dallas DJ, Jon Dillon “who is to Dallas progressive radio what Morton is to salt.” He was busy lining up gigs and making beaucoup calls to industry reps, concert promoters and agents. His objective: a record deal!
We played Fannie Ann’s, Faces, Poor David’s and other notable Dallas haunts; five nights a week, but no more than four sets a night. Later, Faces became our “headquarters” and there we played three one-hour sets starting at 10pm. Faces also boasted a wrap-around balcony: and drumming on that stage was as good as it gets. We enjoyed a dressing room, a stairway leading up to the stage. And it had an outdoors entrance. (Somebody was always knocking at that door – including celebrities and once in a while, ladies of the evening.)
Inexplicably, we were attracting a lot of women; they loved our music. And if you touch the hearts of women… you’ve got it made in the shade, like pink lemonade!
We were asked to record a song on the FM 102 compilation album, Refined Texas Crude. The project was recorded at Autumn Sound, by now, a place that felt like home. Suddenly we had radio airtime with Roger’s killer song “Looking for Love.” We were on our way down that yellow brick road…
Roger, Jerry and Mike were the original Bee’s Knees, and were the focal point of the group. They were a benevolent tribunal – making all business decisions with Jon Dillon – but I think they considered themselves bandmembers first and writers second. It felt more like a family than a business proposition. But in the end, they were the guiding force of the enterprise.
They had hired the Cliff Eager Sound Company. Cliff had been the sound man for Cat Stevens and was a consummate pro. He and his able female assistant, (gorgeous) George, were a force to be reckoned with. No matter where we played, we always sounded the same: perfect. When we played big venues with house PAs, Cliff ran the powerful monitor system. For road trips we usually rented a big U-Haul truck with a Tommy Lift. Easy going.
The Knees were developing a huge following of loyal Munchkins. And the undisputed ringleader of the Lollipop Guild (our entourage) was the inimitable, almost mythical, Shorty Powers. He was a paraplegic in a sport wheelchair, but he drove an El Camino and had more balls than any man I’d ever met. He helped the band in many ways and was in charge of the essential party favors. And that boy sure played a mean foosball!
Shorty was a close friend of the up-and-coming guitar-slinger, Stevie Ray Vaughan. (Of course, Anson was a part of the Dallas blues community, including Stevie Ray and his big brother, Jimmie, Doyle Bramhall, Smokin’ Joe Kubek, Mark Pollock, etc.) Shorty operated MAC, inc. (Multiple Awareness Course) for paraplegic rehabilitation. He contracted the Bee’s Knees and Triple Threat Review (Stevie Ray’s Band, with Lou Ann Barton and J. C. Clark) and Mark Pollock with Christian Plique to play a huge benefit for MAC at the Longhorn Ballroom. What a show! And it raised a lot of money for a great cause.
We did an interview for PM Magazine on WFAA-TV, Dallas, with beautiful talk show host, Leeza Gibbons, who later hosted the CBS show Entertainment Tonight. They filmed us at a rehearsal playing one of our tunes, and then filmed us at Faces playing the same song in front of a packed house. Watching the final edit on TV, the transition from rehearsal hall to live stage was seamless – it didn’t skip a beat! A very slick trick indeed.
And then the Broadcast & TV Class at SMU asked us to be their ‘semester project.’ We were to do a half-hour television show and rehearse the hell out of it. All the while the students would create and perfect their multi-camera angles, wide shots, zooms, etc. for each of our songs. The light crew dialed in the different light settings, while the sound people worked the board. The student directors actually learned how to direct. We showed up at their production hall several times and then, finally, we moved the operation to a sound stage at Channel 11 on Central expressway. The students produced the entire show live, on air.
I must say, the final product was pretty good – better with a little herb.
We did have our detractors. One night at Faces, a large, obnoxious biker approached the stage between songs, and started yelling, “Play some f ***ing Leonard Skinner, you ***holes!” Immediately, Mike Paulson yelled, “how much did you pay to get in here?” The drunk biker replied, “five f***ing bucks!” Paulson said: “Well, here’s ten bucks. Get your ass outta here and don’t come back, or we’re gonna have some trouble!” The guy took the money and held it in the air like he had just won the lottery. The crowd shouted him down as the bouncers bounced him to the street.
By the way: Mike played football for Tulane and even tried out for the Cowboys. He knew how to handle a football… and gnarly drunks.
Speaking of unsavory buffoons: We traveled to Texarkana to warm-up the New Jersey band, Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show.(Unfortunately, the medicine was castor oil.) The combination of the Knees and Dr. Hook was like mixing water with oil – it didn’t blend.
The venue, the University concert hall, was filled with obnoxious Dr. Hook fans who were disrespectful during our portion of the show. And it seemed that all their groupies were underaged raggamuffins. After the show, I complimented Hook singer, Dennis Locorriere. He snubbed me. (Jerk!) The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth… so I got rid of it with plenty of ice-cold Budweiser.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it was business as usual. The Knees were talked-up in D Magazine, The Dallas Morning News and Dale McFarland’s Texas Jazz News. And then we did a live KAFM radio show with a large studio audience. We were in good form and the crowd was definitely energized.
In November, we did two shows at the Aggieland Ballroom at Texas A&M. Traveling with us was Playboy’s December Playmate, Ashley Cox, our MC. It was a total success. Dah!
Ha-ha-ha, Ho-ho-ho, and a couple of La-di-das. That’s how we laugh the days away in the merry old Land of Oz!
Then we did a bittersweet gig at Texas Stadium. We were playing in the ballroom, high above the playing field – off season – for some big-ticket event. The show was well received, and we loaded out, down the elevator. Everything was sweet, until minutes later, I was informed that Ron Mason had been fired. He had already left the stadium.
The decision had been made, not because Ron was a shabby keyboard player. On the contrary, Ron Mason was one of the top keyboard players in Texas… bar none! No, it was about style. The boys were looking for a more jazz/rock-oriented player.
Something was definitely up with our future music.
For quite a while, it was very awkward for Ron and me. But our friendship was deeper than all of this. And the fact that he and I are brothers, after all these years, is a testament to that friendship.
Not long after that fateful day, in 1978, it was announced that we had secured a record contact! The company was an indie called Derrick Records, based in Dallas; a two-year, two album deal with distribution by Pickwick International. Somehow, no matter the obstacles – like those damned flying monkeys – the yellow brick road had led us to the Emerald City.
And the record company executive said:
“Just sign on the star and we’ll make you a dotted line!”