47: IN THE CRADLE OF ROCK AND ROLL

Last night, and throughout most of the entire night, I spent most of my time removing the makeup that I had applied to my face in protest for not being taken to the KISS show in Wichita, Kansas. I thought to myself: “Oh boy, it’s so easy to take a stand; but look at me now. It’s not my fault that the goop on my mug will not fade away, but it’s too late now to be wishing that the makeup was totally gone.”

My photographer had us on the road early in the morning on Tuesday July 26, 2016 and we were headed due south towards Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For most of the time after we hit the Oklahoma border, Tom kept saying that he would love to see a tornado since we were in the middle of the infamous ‘Tornado Alley’.

While our first stop was the only Presidential site scheduled for that day; it was also the most somber site on the entire trip. The Oklahoma City National Memorial was the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building; a building that was destroyed on April 19, 1995 when a Ryder truck filled with explosives was detonated by Timothy McVeigh. The entire north face of the building was blown away and 168 people lost their lives, including 19 children and three unborn children with their mothers.

Listen to me when I say our visit to the Murrah Building site was heartbreaking; especially when we saw the 19 small chairs in the ‘Field of Empty Chairs’. That makes it tough when innocent children die; and when we stood alongside the Survivor Tree, we couldn’t stop reminiscing about that fateful day in 1995.

Our stay at the Oklahoma City National Memorial lasted nearly two hours before we made the ten-minute drive to the Oklahoma State Capitol Building. As I was carried towards the Capitol, the first thing I could see from the opening in my camera case was a large oil rig situated on the grounds. Not only did the building sit atop the Oklahoma City Oil Field, it’s the only Capitol in the country with active oil rigs on its grounds. All around the Capitol, from the interior to the exterior and all the way to the top of the dome; it was obvious that the state of Oklahoma did an amazing job to honor and show respect to the Native American tribes.

At about 1:15pm, we left Oklahoma City and began our trek westward with the goal of spending the night in Amarillo, Texas. My photographer had figured that Amarillo would put us in perfect position to make our scheduled 9:00am appointment at the Norman Petty Recording Studio in Clovis, New Mexico the following morning. After the night we had in Wichita, it seemed as though KISS had followed us to Texas. As Vicki pulled into the parking lot of Amarillo’s Sleep Inn and Suites, there was a Toyota RAV4 that featured window-clings of the four KISS band members. It turned out that the vehicle belonged to the guy at the check-in desk of the motel and of course my photographer had to show the young guy his KISS tattoo; as well as bore him with the story of meeting the band in 2012. As Tom brought the guy out for a photo next to his vehicle, I peered out from the camera case and I could have sworn the guy resembled Chumlee from the television show Pawn Stars.

I had spent the night standing on the motel room’s desk and throughout the night I couldn’t help but think of the KISS-lovin’ desk clerk who looked like Chumlee. As much as my photographer enjoys the “Hottest Band in the World”, Wednesday July 27, 2016 would be a day that we would switch gears and go back in time – back to the infancy of Rock and Roll when music was more innocent. If Memphis, Tennessee is the birthplace of Rock and Roll; then Clovis, New Mexico is the cradle – and I couldn’t wait to get there.

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Vicki pulled the Avenger into the parking place outside of the Norman Petty Recording Studio in Clovis, New Mexico at about 8:45am and our tour guide Kenneth Broad was waiting for us. After the three of us met Ken’s wife Shirley, we headed inside the studio, and we were instantly transformed back to the fabulous fifties. Even though I stayed in the opened camera case, I had an up-close look at the recording studio that was once owned by Buddy Holly’s record producer and first manager Norman Petty and his wife Vi. It was also in that historic studio where Buddy Holly and the Crickets’ most famous songs were recorded, which was the reason for our visit.

During our tour we also met David Bigham who was a former member of the vocal trio “The Roses”. That trio sang background vocals on several Holly records, including ‘It’s So Easy’. The Roses were the only backing vocal group to travel and perform on stage with Buddy during his short career.

As we toured the entire studio with Kenneth and David, it was truly like stepping back in time. My photographer was busy capturing images of the tour with his camera and those photos will tell the story of our time at the Norman Petty Recording Studio in Clovis, New Mexico.

Our visit to the Norman Petty Recording Studio was one of the most amazing tours that I had ever been carried on; and that included all of the Presidential tours that I had been on as well. Our hosts were not only knowledgeable about the studio’s history, but they were extremely friendly and down to earth, too. One of the highlights for me was hearing my photographer talk to David Bigham about the late Buddy Holly. Bigham said that Holly was “just a regular guy who was really talented and Buddy wanted things just a certain way and he knew exactly what he wanted his songs to sound like. He was a perfectionist.” The singer from The Roses also reflected back to the day the music died on February 3, 1959 by saying that he “was shocked when I was called to the studio and was told about the plane crash. It was like someone punched me in the stomach; it was a very sad day.”

We visited one final Buddy Holly site while we were in Clovis; one that was a short distance down the line from the recording studio. Foxy Drive-In, which has been in service since 1956, was where Buddy Holly went for lunch while he was recording in Clovis. When we asked David Bigham what Buddy ate at the drive-in, he said the singer’s favorite menu item was taquitas and Dr. Pepper. Although we pulled the Avenger into a drive-in space, my photographer and his wife ate their lunch inside the historic restaurant. When it came to their order, Tom had to think it over carefully – Dr. Pepper may have been Buddy’s favorite pop, but it wasn’t my photographer’s drink of choice.

At about 12:30pm, we left Clovis, New Mexico and headed towards the Texas border that was just 11 miles to the east. I was sad to leave the area as our tour of the Norman Petty Recording Studio had left an indelible impression on me. Well all right, my main focus was still Presidential sites; but walking in the footsteps where the roots of Rock and Roll sprouted was unforgettable. For the past three years since I began my Presidential quest, I didn’t like it when my photographer and his wife would stop at non-Presidential places. But after meeting David Bigham, Kenneth and Shirley Broad; and walking where Buddy Holly had made music history, it doesn’t matter any more to me where I am taken. Rave on, Buddy Holly – we’re headed to your hometown.

Tom’s note: In this post, there are numerous Buddy Holly song titles written into the story and captions. In the comment section, send in your guess as to how many ‘different’ Buddy Holly song titles are in this post and I will recognize the first person that responds with the correct number. Don’t be shy and good luck!