Bob Payne
Sometimes, when you get old, you find yourself thinking about the “good ole days”. Recently, I have been going back over memories from days gone by. Here are a few of my most vivid memories of a fun time in my youth.
The first “nightclub” I attended was probably the PlayLate Club. Actually, it was the PlayMate club for a while, but some magazine publisher had that name wrapped up so he made Paul Gray change the name. I am talking about the original PlayLate club, out by 153, not the later one behind Adcox-Kirby Chevrolet. This club was huge. It had a front stage and dance area, and an even larger back stage and dance area. They usually had two good bands playing at the same time – one in each room.
I don’t remember all the different band names that played there, but I do remember Bobby & The Playboys and also the Viva-Tones. In my 17-18 year old mind, they were really excellent bands. That brings up another subject – getting into these clubs. Back then, off-duty Chattanooga Police officers worked the front door and checked your ID. I had gotten one from a guy at work and it always worked well, but it was always accompanied by a question from the officer at the door – “How’s your Dad and Uncle?” I always said they were great, but never really knew why they kept asking. When I remembered to ask my friend that had given me the expired drivers license to use as an ID, he explained that his Uncle and his Dad were employed by the city – one as a fire chief and the other as a police chief! Needless to say, I didn’t use that ID much around town after that. (Note: at that time, Tennessee licenses had no picture on them)
The PlayLate club was a fun destination and my friends and I often went there to dance with the women patrons and perhaps entice them into some smooching later in the evening. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. The night usually went like this: We would head to Shakey’s Pizza, located across the street from where Hooters is now. We would have some dinner, and then maybe cruise through the Shoneys and maybe the Cotten Patch, too. Then, once sufficiently ready to party, we would head out to the PlayLate Club. We would always be jammed into one car, so getting lucky with one of the female patrons was really a challenge, as that meant the lady would have to drive her car out of there. Usually the female patrons came in one car as well, so there was always some crazy logistics involved in the process. That may explain our high failure rate.
Another club that we frequented was Billy Hull’s Castaways Club. It was also a “two room” affair, with the smaller room being called the Lions Den. The Castaways was huge. It had a big stage and management boasted they had longest bar in the world at the time. It was here that I saw a couple of bands I would never forget. Roy Head’s band played there one night and I thought that was the best band I had ever seen. He had a horn section and a really tight band. Another one was Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
Opening for one of those bands was a local guy that would practically change my life. The moment I saw this band, my mind went from chasing the women present to listening to the music. I would never recover. This guy had 12 people in the band, with two drummers, something I had never seen before that time. He had a full horn section. His musicians were very good, but there was something about the front man that hypnotized you. He had devilish eyes and was a master of the stage. His name was Jimmy Tawater and for many years after that, I would find out where he was playing and go see him there. He settled down at Dino’s Supper Club on Broad Street and made my search for him much easier for a while.
The Tiki Hut on Frazier Avenue in North Chattanooga would have some live bands there on occasion. Down the street and across Frazier was the Rustic Room, later to be Dennis Plumlee’s North Chatt Cat. Once and a while, they would have music on the patio.
Yesterdays, on Patten Parkway, was another club that made an indelible mark on my being. I saw many good bands there, but none as great as Overland Express. They packed that club to about 250% of capacity and played the best music a $5 cover charge could buy. It was always so disappointing when Overland would go out of town or take a week off.
Often times, those nights were preceded by a trip to Leonard’s on Brainerd Road for the finest hamburger in the world. We would then head downtown and get in line to get in the door at Yesterdays. I was lucky, as usually the doorman would waive me around the crowd and sneak me in. And yes, I was there the night Charlie Daniels came in and sat in with the band.
The clubs back then had what was known as a “house band”. I suppose Overland was Yesterday’s house band, as 90 Proof was the Governor’s Lounge house band for many years. The clubs paid well and the bands could make a living, playing Wednesday through Saturday. Simpler times.
There were other clubs, too: The Brass Register, Clancy O’Toole’s, Dr. Sages, The Light Fantastic, the Sports Page, the Classic Cat, the Wooden Nickel, and many more. Wait, scratch the Classic Cat.
Somewhere along the way, clubs started using karaoke and DJ’s. It saved them money, I suppose. Things went all to heck after that and have never fully recovered. Now we have some big clubs, like the new Revelry Room and its big sister Track 29. They offer great music and have revitalized the music scene in Chattanooga. The only thing I hate - having to stand for hours and hours, as there are no chairs or tables. I suppose it is just the way of the times, but I miss the old days. Even Yesterday’s had some tables and bar stools. Plus, they had pinball machines and a couple of pool tables.
Bob Payne is the entertainment editor for the Chattanoogan.com and talent/production assistant at Friends Of The Festival. Email Bob Payne at davrik@aol.com or www.facebook.com/davrik2000.