In early 1981, just months into the new Reagan Administration, I published a guest column in the Daily Orange, the Syracuse University student paper. Here is a condensed and updated version of JC and the Plains Blues Band.
It was cold and rainy when I slipped into the Eldorado Cafe. The waitress asked if I was staying for the stage show. A small platform sat in one corner. Shortly after I finished the blue plate special, the band came out.
"Hi, I'm Jimmy," said the lead singer, flashing a toothy grin and pressing the microphone stand close to his frayed cardigan. "And we are the Plains Blues Band. Jody on tenor sax. Bad Bert on drums, and Ham on spoons and guitar."
The band struck up a blues riff and Jimmy went straight to work, his blue eyes staring at the audience as he crooned.
"I told you I loved you baby, but you took me far too seriously. Yes, I told you I loved you baby, but you dumped me for expediency. Now when things get bad baby, don't look to me for sympathy."
The crowd swayed and clapped, sometimes joining in on the chorus as he sang blues standards like Stand by Me, Hoochie Coochie Man, The Sky is Crying, and Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out. He did an original number Won't Someone Pass the SALT?
Then, just as quickly as he took to the stage, JC was gone. I heard some rumors he was busy building homes, eradicating guinea worms, and supervising elections. I suppose that's good, but that night of imagined music sticks with me. God rest good servant, Jimmy Carter.
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- Trump: U.S. takeover of Gaza Strip, "Riviera of the Middle East" (2 replies)
- U.S. Treasury Dept. data breach? (1 reply)
- Let them eat cake... (2 replies)
- How an arcane Treasury Department office became ground zero in the war over federal spending (6 replies)
- TN Voucher bill contracts with Arkansas reject (1 reply)
- Are Meta/Zuckerberg paying a bribe? (3 replies)
- Plane crash in the Potomac (3 replies)
- Maryville Jan. 6 felon, pardoned, faces sentencing for conspiracy to murder federal employees conviction (3 replies)
- Google Maps will change the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America (2 replies)
- Bridgestone closes a tire plant in Tennessee with 700 layoffs and other reductions (2 replies)
- If illegal immigrants are freeloaders.... (1 reply)
- Tim, Tim, Tim...Sigh... (1 reply)
TN Progressive
- It's Time to Call For the Arrest of Elon Musk! (RoaneViews)
- Books (RoaneViews)
- Tennessee Legislature...Theme Park or Rocky Horror? (RoaneViews)
- Sunday Sermon (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- Lee's Fried Chicken in Alcoa closed (BlountViews)
- Alcoa, Hall Rd. Corridor Study meeting, July 30, 2024 (BlountViews)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
- July 4, 2024 - aka The Twilight Zone (Joe Powell)
- Chef steals food to serve at restaurant? (BlountViews)
- Blount County, TDOT make road deal for gun mfg ignoring town of Louisville,TN, (BlountViews)
- Winter at the Big Rocks (Whitescreek Journal)
TN Politics
- U.S. Department of Justice backs out of Tennessee transgender care case (TN Lookout)
- Tennessee speaker’s bill would defund local governments for violating state law (TN Lookout)
- Stockard on the Stump: Old hands, not dark money, push vouchers to passage (TN Lookout)
- U.S. Senate confirms Russ Vought, a Project 2025 author, to manage the nation’s budget (TN Lookout)
- Seattle judge is second to indefinitely block Trump’s birthright citizenship order (TN Lookout)
- “A horrible idea”; under a new law, older teens charged with murder will be tried as adults (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Breaking: Knox schools to close Monday-Tuesday (Knox TN Today)
- Lady Vols upset No. 5 UConn for signature win (Knox TN Today)
- Tennyson, RSV and horses (Knox TN Today)
- ‘How Baking Soda Helped Save Our Birds’ (Knox TN Today)
- Elite Chance Frye: Special match, special cousin, special community (Knox TN Today)
- Authentic Mexican fare at Mariscos Pacifico Nayarit (Knox TN Today)
- Knox the Fox shares James Beard Award semifinalists (Knox TN Today)
- Service highlight: Paws to Visit (Knox TN Today)
- Zakai Zeigler to visit Food City Deane Hill (Knox TN Today)
- Fast-Charging program moving ahead in Tennessee (Knox TN Today)
- Badger goes cold to find his waterfall (Knox TN Today)
- Sphere weather (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- NWS ranks fatal Morgan County tornado as EF-2 preliminarily (WBIR)
- Man pleads guilty to murder in decade old Knoxville missing persons case (WATE)
- Megan Boswell Trial Day 3 | Defense questions evidence after prosecution shows edited text exchange (WBIR)
- Knox County Schools Board of Education approves new K-8 school (WATE)
- EF-2 tornado confirmed in Morgan County by National Weather Service (WATE)
- National Weather Service confirms tornado touched down Grainger County (WATE)
- Here are the 14 Big Lots stores staying open in Tennessee (WBIR)
- PHOTOS: Severe storms cause damage in East Tennessee (WATE)
- Heart of the Matter: Blount County Sheriff James Berrong (WBIR)
- Mother, daughter dead, others injured after tornado in Morgan County (WATE)
- KCS naming facilities committee to consider naming Gibbs High School baseball field after Morgan Wallen (WBIR)
- Sevierville releases statement after 'comments, emails and phone calls' targeting city staff over RV dealer's overly-tall flagpole (WBIR)
News Sentinel
State News
- Bill would ban most popular hemp products in Tennessee - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Dear Abby: Man’s delusions put brother in a difficult spot - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- James Willis Adams Obituary - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- First-quarter struggles doom UTC women vs. UNC Greensboro - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Musk Says He’ll Rehire DOGE’s Marko Elez After Racist Posts: Here’s What To Know About Agency - Forbes (US News)
- Searchers in Alaska scour frozen tundra and icy seas for missing plane with 10 aboard - The Associated Press (US News)
- Federal election commissioner says Trump is trying to improperly remove her - NPR (US News)
- U.S. Steel Stock Is Dropping. Trump Is Altering the Deal With Nippon. - Barron's (Business)
- Trump tells Ishiba at the White House that he wants to slash the US trade deficit with Japan - The Associated Press (US News)
- Trump administration suspends $5bn electric vehicle charging program - The Guardian US (Business)
- Gold poised for sixth week of gains on safe-haven demand - Reuters (Business)
- Trump delays tariffs on small packages from China - BBC.com (Business)
- Trump says he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week - Reuters (US News)
- Trump administration agrees not to publicly identify FBI agents on Jan. 6 cases without advance warning - POLITICO (US News)
- Stock Market Mixed Amid Trump Tariff Fears: Weekly Review - Investor's Business Daily (Business)
- How Many Federal Worker Resignations Would Be a Lot? - The New York Times (US News)
- Not 1. Not 2. Not 3. Not 4. 5 winter storms could deliver more snow than the last two winters combined - CNN (US News)
- White House calls mixed jobs numbers 'weak,' blames Biden - CNBC (Business)
- Consumer inflation fears spike in February as tariff worries hit sentiment - CNBC (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South