A Crosby Story (From A Semi-Retired Roadie)
ukie
yas.
It was in the mid 80s and I was working for Texas musician, Joe Ely.
Ely had a gig with Graham Nash in Houston at a club called
Rockerfellers. Since Ely is a big name in Texas, he was to headline
and Nash was to be opening act.
A few days before the gig, Ely's office got a call from Nash's
management. It turned out that Crosby was nearing the end of his
prison sentence and was in a halfway house located near the club.
Nash's manager asked if Ely would open, because Crosby got permission
to attend the gig. Nash's manager also requested that the show early,
since Crosby had a midnight curfew. The idea was that Crosby and Nash
would do some songs together and it would be Crosby's first public
performance in years.
It was supposed to be a secret. I'm not quite sure why, but it may
have had something to do with Crosby's physical appearance. When he
showed up for soundcheck, I didn't recognize him at all.
It wasn't until he climbed onstage to rehearse with Nash and started
singing that I realized who he was. He was wearing baggy slacks and a
plain long sleeve white dress shirt. His (remaining) hair was buzz cut
and he had white splotches on his face and neck. Those were burn scars
from pipes during his bad boy days.
When I heard him sing, I knew the audience was in for a special
treat. His voice was magical.
And sure enough, that night, when Nash brought Crosby out, there
wasn't a dry eye in the house. There was a vibe that is impossible for
me to describe.
About 10 years ago, I ran into Crosby at a benefit concert in Santa
Fe. I said, "The last time I saw you was at Rockerfellers in Houston.
You're hair was quite a bit shorter". I guess he didn't appreciate the
comment, because he gave me a dirty look and said, "Yeah, no SHIT".
At the same event, I witnessed Crosby meeting comedian Steven Wright
(who opened the show). As Wright walked offstage, Crosby grabbed his
arm and said, "HEY man, you're TWISTED! C'mon, and hang with US!"
ukie
YIKES!
Sorry folks. This story wasn't intended to be posted here!
I sometimes read this group and have it bookmarked. I was posting the
story to another forum. Since I like Google's newsgroup spell check, I
composed the story here, intending to copy it, then delete it.
In a senior moment, I accidently hit "send".
I certainly hope I haven't offended anyone!