A correction! Looking at the background of this photo, I know that it was taken at the Holiday Inn West, in Lexington in mid, 1970. We moved from the Midland after years as the house band when a new owner wanted it to be a rock club. It was a supper club when Tom and I worked there. There was a dress code and we played a lot of Sergio Mendez, Jose, Jimmy Smith (favorites were tunes from the Dynamic Duo album with Wes Montgomery), Three Dog Night, Joe Williams and the like.

When I got there I was a musical "baby". Tommy and others said that there had been an administration change (Frankfort is the state capital) and that Democratic ladies were lots more "liberal" than the previous Republican girls.

A plan was developed for me to go up on the roof once an hour with a different lady. The roof was set-up with a mattress, small table, etc.

The whole place was in on the scheme. The "event" was re-scheduled several times. When the night arrived (a Wednesday-normally, a slow night), the place was packed (a sure sign I was being set-up).

I was the "front man", but scheduling participants was still way easier than it should have been.

When the time arrived, I anxiously climbed the latter and settled into the lawn chair, waiting for my first young guest.

THEN THE DAMN LADDER DISAPPEARED!

Every 15 minutes or so a sweet young voice from down below would say, "honey, I'd love to be up there with you, but I can't find the ladder".

At the end of the night. Tommy's Mustang was the last car to pull out. Before he left the lot, he hollered back at someone downstairs, "Hey, someone let that silly little SOB off the damn roof".

That was my glorious intro to "loose" women, Tommy Johnston and the famous Midland Tavern.

At the Holiday Inn, I was the bar manager and Russ and Tom entertained at night. In the summer, we moved to the dining room with a drummer. I went to Graduate School in the afternoon and worked as a photographer/writer in the remaining time.

There were lots of valuable instruments on the bandstand. As always happens, people often went up and picked one up. Imagine the surprise when the bar tended yelled, "Hey. Get your hands off my axe"!

The Holiday Inn West was home for Russ and Tom until early 1973. The chain took us to Australia a few times for grand openings. The Holiday Inn South, just 2 miles down the road was home of Grammy Award winning banjo player J. D. Crow...still a very good friend. We would visit each other on breaks...sometimes sit in.

Got started and couldn't stop!


Sorry,


Russ (blabbermouth) Lay