The Ponderosa Stomp #5, Night 3

The Ponderosa Stomp attracts music fans and performers alike from all over. Occurring this year conveniently in Memphis right after the Beale St music festival, part of "Memphis in May" celebrations and ending the night before the 2006 Blues Music Awards just up the street at the Convention Center, there were many great performers in attendance and in the audience.

Scotty posing with a fan (Jayson Limmer)

Laurene and Duke Robillard

Steve Cropper and Peter Miller

Molly Blanks and Ella Shepherd

One of the acts featured on the third night of the stomp was a band comprised of friends of Scotty assembled for a blues project he has been engineering in recent months. It normally consists of Billy Swan on vocals, Boots Randolph on sax, Bob Moore on bass, Buddy Spicher on fiddle, Bucky Barrett on guitar, Steve Shepherd on keyboards and Fred Satterfield on drums. They were initially scheduled to debut last April at the recording and live filming of a DVD at Morgan Freeman's club Ground Zero in Clarksdale, MS but due to Scotty's surgery decided to postpone that so that he could intend. They then decided to perform here at the stomp but as luck would have it Bob Moore underwent shoulder surgery the day before and was unable to perform. Deke Dickerson stepped up to the plate and performed in his place (Thanks Deke!).

Memphis Wrestler Jerry Lawler introduces the band

Scotty, Fred, Billy and Gail

Boots Randolph

Bucky Barrett and Buddy Spicher

Fred Satterfield

Gail, Deke, Billy and Steve

As Gail has described it, for the project the band "selected old classic blues songs and done them in the way they want.....they have all written their own arrangements on the fly just as Elvis, Scotty, and Bill did on their early recordings". They performed songs like "She Called Me Baby All Night Long", "My Babe", "What Am I Living For", "Got My Mojo Working" and many others. Though they themselves felt their performance there that night was a little loose, no one else did. The crowd loved it and we are anxiously awaiting the release of a CD.

After the set was over it was off to Blues City Cafe for ribs, a tradition, and the end of the Stomp for us.

James V. Roy
May 2006

Abbie from Oregon

Just a few pix from a couple of the other acts on the Lounge Stage that night

Sleepy LaBeef

The Tennessee Three featuring W.S. Holland and Bob Wootten