Roger Zee Memoirs
Johnny Lee 07/19/20
I scored a really great gig in the early 80s playing bass with "Down Home" Blues Man Johnny Lee. Our trio consisted of Johnny on guitar and vocals, myself on bass, and the incredible Baron Barry Harrison on drums, who later went on to fame playing with "Blues Queen" Shemekia Copeland alongside legendary guitarist Arthur Neilson. Welcome to another excerpt from my memoirs, "Life and Times of a Pandemic Musician."
This group immediately began playing all the "right" clubs in Greenwich Village and Lower Manhattan including Tramps, Dan Lynch, Terra Blues, The Bitter End, Katie O'tooles, Sun Mountain Cafe, and more. I loved the band for so many reasons! Johnny played great guitar, always drew a crowd and really got the audience off. The icing on the cake -- we never rehearsed! Gelled beautifully right from the get-go. I'd show up at the gig and Johnny would hand me the set list.
The highlight for me came the night we played Tramps to a large, enthusiastic house that included Barry's dad, also a lifelong drummer. After our first set, he pulled me aside and paid me the ultimate compliment, saying I nailed the pocket and beautifully glued the band together with no extraneous notes while locking tight with Barry to support and launch the leader, Johnny.
But sorrowfully, as with so many of the most talented players I worked with, Johnny burnt out on the music business. Same old story. Too much aggravation, too few bucks! So just as we started to move up the Blues ladder, Johnny bailed. Barry and I managed to talk him into hanging on a bit longer, but ultimately, we didn't prevail and Johnny disbanded the group and disappeared...
So on this steamy hot, gorgeous Covid-19 lockdown Sunday, I take a refreshing walk through Turner Park in White Plains, NY, and then get down to business learning the bass lines to B.B. Kings "Greatest Hits," all the while dreaming of the great stages we could've and should've played with Johnny Lee! One <3
YouTube - The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King
©2020 Roger Zee