One of Nashvilles' finest

Lyle Clary · Post by **Lyle Clary** » 22 Aug 2006 3:29 pm

was in the Decatur Illinois area last week. He called me because he wanted to see a steel guitar player in the area. I told him he would have to come to my basement as there were no players that I knew of playing. See me in St Louis to reveal the idenity of the mystery player. HINT He plays a new DERBY, the one with the ingraved endplate.

Boo Bernstein · Post by **Boo Bernstein** » 22 Aug 2006 4:14 pm

Hey, Lyle --

I used to play a funky little bar in Decatur about 30 years ago. I'm pretty sure it was called Dee's Cocktail Lounge. (If Tiny Olsen sees this, he'll remember the place.) Does it still exist? I have one of those great bar stories about that place!

Boo

Lyle Clary · Post by **Lyle Clary** » 22 Aug 2006 4:42 pm

Boo, What you refer to was DEE's Country Lounge, and it is no longer there. I played in a band there in the middle 70's. We had to join the musicians's union in order to play there. 90 bucks initiation fee and I do not remember how much a month dues. After we left the lounge we dropped out of the union. Here is a little trivia. Before Boots Randolph started recording and made the big time, he played there as a sit down job for a long time in the 50's. My Uncle Eddy, the bartender and Aunt Verna, his wife both worked there when it was called the Decatur Cocktail Lounge and became close friends with Boots and his wife and remain to this day. Boo, could you be refering about the Heavyweights that used to play there?[This message was edited by Lyle Clary on 22 August 2006 at 05:46 PM.]

Chubby Howard · Post by **Chubby Howard** » 22 Aug 2006 6:58 pm

Ah Lynn

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 22 Aug 2006 6:59 pm

A band I played with out of Nashville in the late'70s played Dee's and got fired the first nite for not playing loud enough...true story...

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Smiley Roberts · Post by **Smiley Roberts** » 23 Aug 2006 12:26 am

Chubby's got it,but I knew it anyway. Lynn Owsley.

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<pre> ~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.</pre>

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 23 Aug 2006 8:52 am

[This message was edited by Cal Sharp on 23 August 2006 at 09:52 AM.]

Gabriel Stutz · Post by **Gabriel Stutz** » 23 Aug 2006 1:16 pm

Steve,

I wish I had that problem. Most the bands I play with are so loud, I want to fire them. Why does telling guitar players to turn down make them turn up.

Gabriel

Mike Archer · Post by **Mike Archer** » 23 Aug 2006 1:33 pm

hey gabriel
you know how to get a lead guitar player to turn down?

PUT A CHART IN FRONT OF HIM

thought you might like that
mike

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 23 Aug 2006 6:26 pm

. Good idea Mike.

Lyle Clary · Post by **Lyle Clary** » 24 Aug 2006 8:27 am

I can see now I gave too many clues.

Tiny Olson · Post by **Tiny Olson** » 24 Aug 2006 8:40 am

Lyle, Boo & Steve:

I sure do remember Dee's in Decatur. That was in the mid 70s. And I recall, as Steve said, that they wanted it LOUD. I remember that someone who worked there told us they wanted the band to be heard at least two blocks away... and heard well... LOUD.

Lynn O., a great guy. Nice photo Cal.

Hey Chubby, I'm leaving in 10 mins. for your neck of the woods, Chillicothe and Dayton with The Commander. Maybe I'll see you.

Stay well all.

Chris "Tiny" O.

Lyle Clary · Post by **Lyle Clary** » 25 Aug 2006 8:07 am

How many of you who played at Dees remember the stage for the band?. It was behind the bar about 4 foot high. If you were tall your head would almost hit the ceiling. And not very deep either. With my steel set up in front of my amp my foot pedals were almost in the bartenders back.

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 25 Aug 2006 8:09 am

Lyle,I wasn't there long enough to remember much about it...and there may have been alcohol involved...

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