Clayton McMichen
richi...@aol.com
I moved to Louisville, live on Spring St. I heard Clayton McMichen
owned a bar on Spring St. Does anyone know the name of it or address?
It's referenced here:
Any other info about his saty in Louisville when he owned the tavern
would be gr8.
Richie
Lyle Lofgren
> Hi,
>
> I moved to Louisville, live on Spring St. I heard Clayton McMichen
> owned a bar on Spring St. Does anyone know the name of it or address?
>
> It's referenced here:
>
>
> Any other info about his saty in Louisville when he owned the tavern
> would be gr8.
>
> Richie
The OTM interviews with McMichen were published in issues 1-4, in
1971. I scanned quickly through them and didn't find anything about a
tavern or Spring Street. It just said he lived in Louisville, so the
information you want is probably elsewhere. Maybe city hall or the
local historical society keeps old information on tavern licenses? It
would be interesting to know what kind of place it is now, if it
exists. Surely fern bars are out of fashion everywhere, as the ferns
died of the cigarette smoke. Here in Minnesota, they've banned smoking
in bars, so the smokers have to stand out in the 30-below-zero cold
and catch fatal diseases that make them extinct faster than lung
cancer.
Lyle
richi...@aol.com
Hi Lyle,
I talked with old-time banjo player Harry Bickle who said, "As to
McMichen's bar, if you are coming from Baxter Avenue toward Clifton, I
believe it is the one on the right hand side at the corner of Spring
and Payne. I have always heard he owned it. It used to be called the
National Tavern."
I live four houses from the corner of Spring and Payne. There's the
Spring St. Bar and Grill on the corner. It's an old building. I went
in yesterday and talked to the bartender who had been working there 20
years.
She said she didn't know anything about Clayton McMichen and thought I
was wrong.
Since McMichen and Bryant moved to Louisville around 1932-33, where
Clayton reorganized the Georgia Wildcats who began broadcasting
regularly over radio station WHAS, I'd like to know the time period he
owned the tavern.
She said there were some paintings on the wall in the basement of jazz
musicians. The basement is not in use. She heard rumors that a long
time ago they played music down there.
I guess I'll try and figure out more.
Richie
richi...@aol.com
>
> - Show quoted text -
Here's the quote from Jim Nelson:
"McMichen moved with his band, the Georgia Wildcats, to Louisville
around 1932-33. He
based himself there for the remainder of his musical career and the
rest of his life.
After he quit the music business, he owned and operated a tavern which
is still in
operation (though I hear it's kind of a fern bar these days)."
In my data base I have 1955 as the date he retired. Would that be when
he bought the Tavern?
Any more info about his Louisville days?
Richie
Kenneth
wrote:
>
>She said there were some paintings on the wall in the basement of jazz
>musicians. The basement is not in use. She heard rumors that a long
>time ago they played music down there.
>
>I guess I'll try and figure out more.
>
>Richie
Howdy,
Might you get a chance to see the paintings...?
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
richi...@aol.com
> On Tue, 7 Oct 2008 06:42:16 -0700 (PDT), richiem...@aol.com
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >She said there were some paintings on the wall in the basement of jazz
> >musicians. The basement is not in use. She heard rumors that a long
> >time ago they played music down there.
>
> >I guess I'll try and figure out more.
>
> >Richie
>
> Howdy,
>
> Might you get a chance to see the paintings...?
> --
> Kenneth
>
> If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
Hi,
More info. The now Spring Street Bar and Grill on 300 S. Spring St.
Louisville was at one time the National Bar and Michen was the owner.
I have no details yet except the downstairs was a "Speak easy" an the
upstairs is "where the girls were." This was according to the manager
of 20 years. She also said the place was haunted. And no...I didn't
see McMichen's ghost.
Today I saw the paintings. They were painted on concrete walls and
there has been flooding where water seeped through the walls. I'd say
the paintings were McMichen's doings.
There's a painting of a sexy girl with big breasts dancing, there's a
guy playing clarinet, there's a horn player, a horn and a martini
glass with an olive. The paintings were well done by a good artist but
they are in bad condition. One painting is completely obscured from
water damage. These are large paintings covering about half of the
basement.
I'll find out more soon. By the way I have a new blog with my
paintings of old-time songs here: http://richardmattesonsblog.blogspot.com/
sorry for the SPAM but it relates.
That's it for now,
Richie
Lyle Lofgren
Sounds like material for an Old Time Herald article, particularly if
you can get some pictures.
Lyle
Kerry
> Hi,
>
> More info. The now Spring Street Bar and Grill on 300 S. Spring St.
> Louisville was at one time the National Bar and Michen was the owner.
>
> I have no details yet except the downstairs was a "Speak easy" an the
> upstairs is "where the girls were." This was according to the manager
> of 20 years. She also said the place was haunted. And no...I didn't
> see McMichen's ghost.
I've been to his grave, on his family's property, in Battletown. The
soil looked undisturbed, so I'd wager that the ghost in the tavern is
not Pappy. Mac designed his own tombstone, per his daughter Juanita
and son-in-law, who lived there when I visited. I got the idea from
them that Mac lived there too, at some point in his later life.
Juanita's uncle, Bert Layne (Bert and Clayton married sisters), lived
out his last days with them as well. Bert was the main reason for the
visit.
Please keep posting whatever information you uncover, it is
fascinating to me.
Thanks,
Kerry
richi...@aol.com
Kerry and all,
I found someone who knew McMichen in his later years and also Cliff
Carlisle. He didn't know about the National Bar. I tried calling
Juanita. There was a listing in the phone book. I need more info about
her name and address tho.
Maybe there are some old-timers around that went to the National Bar
in the 50s.
I did get to play with Lily May Ledford's (Coon Creek Girls)
grandaughter last night, who sang the lyrics to my painting Banjo
Pickin Girl. See a photo here:
http://richardmattesonsblog.blogspot.com/
She's a talented clawhammer picker and singer. She also palyed her
grandmothers banjo. That was so cool.
Richie