My life – personal and professional – would not be the same if not for Memphis. The relationships that I fostered decades ago have been hugely consequential in everything that has come to be. Jay Sheffield and Johnny Phillips are at the top of that list. They believed – giving my band a shot – after we had been turned down by every label. I’m going to finish my month of writing about Memphis with three people of great consequence and influence in my life that are no longer with us: Bob Harding, George Paul Eldridge, and Danny Graflund.
I’m at a loss for how to describe what Bob Harding meant to me. But, I know my life and career would not be the same without the gentle intensity of his presence. I was completely at ease with him. When he and I were together, he would often grab anyone who was near to tell them about the time I played Wayne Bennett’s intro to “Stormy Monday” perfectly. That night is forever etched in my memory. It was the second time I had met Bob. It cemented our friendship. It was my first gig at Huey’s Midtown. Huey’s looms large throughout my years in Memphis – from the site of my first record cover to just last year’s final stop on my first tour as a solo artist. Throughout the ‘90s, any down time I had in Memphis I would hang out with Bob at the Black Diamond. The last time I saw Bob was in June 2007. Ducky Carlisle and I traveled to Memphis to meet with the Concord Music Group which had just reactivated Stax. They wanted the record we were working on with Eddie Floyd. As we sat at the bar in the Black Diamond, Ducky excused himself, saying, “I’ll leave you two, so you can lie like true gentlemen – with no witnesses.”
George Paul Eldridge was Faron Young’s “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young.” He also gave The Radio Kings a shot when we toured with no record – two nights at Blues City Café at the end of our first national tour in 1993. Just a few years later, he would grab me between sets at some other club, we’d race down Main Street to a dive with a great jukebox, spin a couple of records while sucking down a beer, and get me back for the downbeat of the next set. My relationship with George Paul was different than with Bob or Danny. Being roughly the same age, it was more brotherly. When Jay Sheffield was considering bringing The Radio Kings to Johnny Phillips, he was talking to George Paul about it. Jay had a cassette demo of our first album. As he pulled it from his pocket, it unraveled as only cassettes can do, rendering it useless. If not for George Paul’s recommendation, I might be writing this but maybe not. My career would have definitely taken a different trajectory if not for Memphis.
A raconteur of first order, Danny Graflund was the ultimate Memphis music figure who didn’t play an instrument. At least he was to me. He always had a new tale of some local happening or a great story from years gone by. I learned all about Big Star or things about Dan Penn or Jim Dickinson I’d never heard. He got me to think about Memphis, music, and even life differently. While he was alive, I can’t remember a single trip to Memphis over the course of twenty-five years when I didn’t see him. I distinctly remember the first meeting that I was aware of Danny: The Radio Kings making our first album at Crosstown Recorders – wondering who this guy with the pompadour was. By now, it’s pretty obvious Memphis is a very special place for me, made more so by my knowing Danny. The twinkle in his eye and that grin told more than he ever said. He witnessed so much. All these people witnessed so much. “All the Ponies Go ‘Round (Danny’s Lullaby)” is my tribute to him. Memphis and Danny were completely intertwined. I’m extremely grateful to have known Danny, Bob, George Paul and all my dear friends in Memphis. And, proud to say I ran with ’em all. So, I’ll end with where I started four weeks ago, with Danny’s quote to Robert Gordon: “Memphis is the town where nothing ever happens but the impossible always does.”
**I will be posting more photos from Memphis throughout the week on my Substack page and other social media sites.**
Catch me on the radio dial every Saturday afternoon 4-5pm EST with Crooked Road Songs on WICN 90.5fm locally in Central Massachusetts, and globally at wicn.org. My playlist from my all Elvis show Saturday, August 23, 2025:
Frank Stokes “Downtown Blues”
Arthur Crudup “That’s All Right”
Big Mama Thornton “Hound Dog”
Charles Hart “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
Wynonnie Harris “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
Bill Monroe “Blue Moon of Kentucky”
Little Junior Parker “Mystery Train”
Darrell Glen “Crying in the Chapel”
The Orioles “Cryiing n the Chapel”
Red Foley “Peace in the Valley”
The Eagles “Tryin’ to Get to You”
Patti Page “I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine”
Lowell Fulsom “Reconsider Baby”
Arthur Gunter “Baby Let’s Play House”
Kokomo Arnold “Milk Cow Blues”
Arthur Alexander “Burning Love”
Jimmy Reed “Big Boss Man”
Hank Snow “I’m Movin’On”
Mark James “Suspicious Minds”