you don't have to call me darlin', darlin'

preston at kissatlanta posted an article about going to a recent killers show, and how it made him think of one of his first shows. so in turn, that made me think about my first show.

i was nine, almost ten, when i got tickets to see the great american bash on july 4. the great american bash was a wrestling event for the now-defunct nwa. what does that have to do with my first show? well, the opening act was david allen coe, the controversial, but gifted singer-songwriter. coe was known for writing sexually and racially charged lyrics; but also had several huge hits on the country charts in the '70's and one crossover hit as well.

given my age, seeing the wrestling was what i was excited about. i remember sitting in my orange, nose-bleed seat in the upper deck impatiently waiting for him to finish so i could see the thrilling matches between wrestlers like "doctor death" steven williams, "dirty" dick slater, the four horsemen and lazortron 1 and 2. that was until "the american dream" dusty rhodes walked out on stage and sung "johnny be good" with coe. the crowd went wild. i did, too.

concerts, other than the occational over-the-hill country artist, were not a part of my youth. so unless you are a lifelong fan of t. graham brown, ray stevens, ronnie milsap or bill anderson, you'd be underwhelmed.

i guess it could have been worse - my first show could have been something like new kids on the block or martika; but everyone has their story, and most probably include equally lame artists.