NBA Quiz: 1) Who is the career leader in field goal percentage?
[Hint: Played in the 70s and 80s.] 2) Who holds the record for
FG percentage in a single season with a .727 mark? Answers
below.
Waylon Jennings
Since I have a little piece on whiskey down below, I thought it
was a good time to profile one of the old hellraisers of country
music, the great Waylon Jennings.
Jennings was born on 6/15/37 in Littlefield, TX (northwest of
Lubbock, on the way to Muleshoe), where he was brought up in
grinding poverty. By age 12, though, he was one of the youngest
disc jockeys in the country, working at a local country station
(but playing more pop than anything else). A few years later he
found himself in Lubbock, still doing the DJ thing, when he met
Buddy Holly. Jennings had always played the guitar on the side
and Holly asked Waylon to join his touring band as a bass player.
It was Jennings”s big break, needless to say, but it would also
shape his life in ways he couldn”t yet know.
And so on February 3, 1959, Holly and Jennings were standing
out on the tarmac in Mason City, Iowa (after the Clear Lake
show) when Jennings gave up his seat on the plane to the Big
Bopper, opting to take the bus instead because of the bad
weather. “I hope your dammed bus freezes up again,” Holly
kidded Waylon. “I hope your ole plane crashes,” responded
Jennings. Well, you know the rest of that sad tale and the
incident haunted Waylon for years. Holly had been his mentor
and his world collapsed around him.
It wasn”t until 1963 that Jennings formed a group called the
“Waylors,” which ended up establishing itself in Phoenix at a
popular spot known as “J.D.”s” In 1964, up and coming
Nashville artist Bobby Bare saw Jennings perform there and
ran for a pay phone to call his producer Chet Atkins. Atkins then
signed Waylon in 1965 to a contract with RCA and for a while
Jennings played mostly mainstream country, winning a Grammy
for his version of “MacArthur Park” in 1969. [I don”t recall this,
but it had to be better than the dreadful Richard Harris take on it.
Just why do people feel compelled to record this garbage,
anyway?]
For his part Waylon was increasingly miffed that he wasn”t
allowed to record music his own way, while the Nashville
powers that be weren”t real comfortable with the gruff Jennings
style and his refusal to wear the glittery country outfits that were
the rule in those days. Atkins turned Waylon”s career over to
Danny Davis and Jennings was so tired of the control freaks at
RCA that he once pulled a pistol on Davis in the studio to protest
the label”s bullying ways.
At least he had his buddies like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson
to raise hell with. When Waylon moved to Nashville in 1966 he
ended up rooming with Cash and their antics became the stuff of
legend.
By the early 70s Jennings decided he would stick to his guns and
keep playing music the way he wanted to, with a rebellious, rock
edge to it. The reception he received from the fans during his
many appearances across the country was tremendous, even if
the execs back in Nashville didn”t care for it. Waylon often
sought out rock venues to showcase his talent, including doing a
set at a Grateful Dead concert in San Francisco in 1973, as well
as the Bottom Line nightclub in New York.
Then in 1976, Jennings hit it big with the album “Wanted: The
Outlaws,” which also featured the work of Willie Nelson,
Tompall Glaser, and Waylon”s wife, Jessi Colter. It was the first
country album to be certified platinum and he followed it up with
the disc “Ol” Waylon,” which was the first solo country effort to
go platinum as well. Jennings was hot and between 1974 and
1980 he would record 12 #1 country hits, as well as crossing over
to the pop charts for the tunes “Good Hearted Woman” and
“Luckenbach, Texas.” In addition he garnered a second Grammy
in 1978 for “Mamas Don”t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be
Cowboys.”
Known nationwide as “The Outlaw,” Waylon”s 1979 “Greatest
Hits” sold over 4 million copies and included the #1 single
“Amanda.” Around this time, however, he was in the midst of a
$1,500 a day cocaine habit. Nothing but the fast life for Waylon,
Willie and the boys. Eventually, he kicked it and sobered up,
but not before it almost destroyed him. In 1988 he had triple-
bypass surgery (with fellow “Highwayman” Cash in a room
across the way, recovering from his own surgery). And as you
might have heard on the Imus show recently, Waylon lost a foot
to diabetes a few months back.
As for yours truly, I”ll always have fond memories of
“Luckenbach, Texas,” in particular. It was the summer of 1978
and I was selling books door to door in Maud, Oklahoma when
one day my college friend Mike and I knocked off early and hit
this bar that was all of a trailer. I remember the jukebox kept
playing the song, over and over. Oh, what sweet music it was.
[Sources: “Country Music: The Encyclopedia,” Irwin Stambler &
Grelun Lundon; “The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock &
Roll;” “The Encyclopedia of Country Music,” edited by Paul
Kingsbury]
A Wee Dram
[Warning: Regarding the following, remember, this is “Bar
Chat.” Minors need to exit the site.now.]
As a follow-up to my little item on the price of Glenfiddich on
Monday, I asked Harry K. to comment, Harry being one who
occasionally enjoys a fine malt. “Glenfiddich is the most over-
rated scotch in the world,” he said, adding, “I have a big duty-
free bottle of the stuff that I keep for guests that I don”t like, or
who don”t know any better. I keep the Cragganmore, the
Talisker, the Laphroig (the choice of James Bond), and the
Lagavulin for more discerning palates.”
Actually, Harry also related the time he was at Charlie
Mackenzie”s house. Harry wasn”t a big malt drinker then and
when Charlie pulled out three water glasses for Harry and his
friend, two filled to the brim with Glenlivet, he didn”t think he
could handle his without some ice. “Charlie gave me a look that
stuck about six inches out my back, and said sternly, ”If ye”ll be
takin” ice, ye”ll not be drinkin” the Glenlivet.”” [Harry was a
hurtin” unit for days thereafter.]
As for the ratings, as spelled out in expert Michael Jackson”s
“Malt Whisky Companion,” here is a little sampling:
Glenfiddich: Distillery rating, 3 stars out of five
18-year old – 78
21-year old – 81
The Glenlivet: Distillery rating, 5 stars
12-year old – 85
21-year old – 88
Cragganmore: Distillery rating, 4 stars
12-year old – 90
1972 vintage – 85
Lagavulin: Distillery rating, 5 stars
12-year old – 89
16-year old – 95
Talisker: Distillery rating, 4 stars
10-year old – 90
The Macallan: Distillery rating, 5 stars
12-year old – 91
18-year old – 94
Thanks for your help, Harry.
Stuff
–As you watch Mariah Carey sing “The Star Spangled Banner”
at the Super Bowl, remember that she has now taken $49 million
from EMI / Virgin Records. On Wednesday, EMI paid Mariah
$28 mm to walk away from a $100 million contract signed just
two years ago. She had been paid $21 mm on signing. Needless
to say, the Virgin exec who signed Carey in the first place was
fired. Something about the artist”s music sucking wind.
–As part of the continuing fallout from the New York Knicks”
43-point loss on Martin Luther King Day (the Knicks did win on
Wednesday, however), every paper in New York had an article
detailing Latrell Sprewell”s habit of showing up less than an hour
before tipoff. On Monday he strolled into the Garden just 40
minutes before the game. I find this totally unbelievable. For
starters the league rule is that players must be on site 90 minutes
before. We never liked Latrell around here. Unless the Knicks
get their act together, he could be a candidate for the
StocksandNews “Sports Dirtball of the Year,” a new award we”ll
have to pass out at yearend. [Oh yeah, Latrell went scoreless on
Monday, 0 for 9 from the field.]
–After all of my stories on the deer problem in New Jersey, my
friend Tony P. had a scary incident the other day. Tony was
taking the garbage out Sunday night when he noticed a few deer
on his property. They were startled and thought they were
cornered so they charged him, with one head butting him in the
side. Tony is alright, though I imagine he”ll be having
nightmares for years.
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/25/64: #1 “There I”ve Said It
Again” (Bobby Vinton) #2 “Louie Louie” (The Kingsmen) #3
“I Want To Hold Your Hand” (The Beatles.this was an historic
time, as “I Want To.” soared from #45 to #3 in one week. The
following one it was #1, the first of seven weeks topping the
chart. The British Invasion was on. Thank goodness).
NBA Quiz Answer: 1) Artis Gilmore had a career field goal
percentage of .599. After five seasons in the ABA, Gilmore
played 12 in the NBA, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds. 2)
Wilt Chamberlain had a .727 FG percentage in 1972-73, his final
season. He almost went out on top, averaging 13 points and 18
boards, though Wilt”s Laker ballclub fell 4-1 to the Knicks in the
Finals.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…Challenger.
