Black Oak Arkansas

Last night, I walked down to Stix Bar and Billiards and saw one of the seminal southern rock bands of the 70's, Black Oak Arkansas. Sadly, BOA isn't as well remembered as, say, Lynyrd Skynyrd, but they should have been. Their frontman, Jimy "Dandy" Mangrum supposedly was the influence for David Lee Roth's stage attire and personae in Van Halen. Well, Jim Dandy hasn't changed much. He's a little thicker though the middle than in his 70's heyday, but the man was a fireball of energy and enthusiasm. To be blunt about it, it was one of the best shows I've seen in a long, long time. You would not believe a 60 year old man could have that sort of energy and charisma, but he does. One rather drunk gal, who was dressed in atypical "slutty" attire, gave Jim Dandy a long and passionate kiss. Later, I overheard her tell a girlfriend, "My husband's gonna kill me." Rock n' roll, ain't it grand?

Anyway, Black Oak Arkansas has been around since the mid-sixties. Named after Jim Dandy Mangrum's hometown, the band had a few hits including "Jim Dandy to the Rescue". They didn't play Brad Moore's (and my) personal favorite, "Lord have mercy on my soul".....but it was on the set list. Diana, Brad's lady, got the set list and had Jim Dandy sign it. I had Jim Dandy sign five vinyl album covers, including their classic, "High on the Hog" (the promo for which leads this post). A surprise in the set was their rendition of the classic Tommy Bolin song, "Post Toastee" (Johnny Bolin, Tommy's brother, is BOA's drummer). Another highlight of the show was their version of "Heartbreaker" by Grand Funk Railroad. The song was dedicated to the late Ruby Starr, who provided the sassy female vocals on "Jim Dandy to the rescue".

All-in-all, it was an awesome show. Drivin' Rain (an wonderful rock band from Cape Girardeau) and Carbondale band, Poor King, opened the show.

The only regret I have about the show is that it's over now.

I advise each and every one of you go to your local music store and order "The Definitive collection by Black Oak Arkansas". High quality meat-and-taters music.

Lord have mercy, indeed.

Roger