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Backstage with The Rolling Stones in Memphis
Most people know the great music made by the Rolling Stones, But very few have the opportunity to see what great guys they are. In December, 2005, we went to Memphis for the Big Bang Tour show on the 3rd and we got a close look at the REAL Stones! Scotty was treated with such love and respect, and the others of us who went along were treated just like we were rock and roll royalty, too!
We met our two friends, Ella Shepherd (the back and our official Site photographer) and D.J. Gross, at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, where we stayed. We had dinner and then went upstairs to our room where the girls gave Scotty a thank you cake and a beautiful marble plaque with a picture of Scotty and Elvis etched on it.
I'm making a special stand and light to display that in Scotty's entranceway at home. Then we all had some cake and some of that big bottle of wine in the picture of me cutting the cake. The picture of Ella and D J. was made in our room just before we left for the concert, then the picture of D J and Scotty was made in the car on the way to the concert....aren't they beautiful girls!
When we got to Memphis, there were lots of people milling around and the huge marquee with the group name on top. After walking around at least half of the huge FedEx Forum, we arrived at the backstage party. As we were entering, Charlie Watts was just coming out. He chatted a minute and then had Keith's bodyguard, Tony, come and get us and take us to Keith's dressing room. Tony is the happy guy between Ella and D.J. He's been with Keith for years, has helped Scotty get around backstage at four different concerts so far! Tony, Thanks so much....we love you!
When we got to the dressing room, instead of doors there were curtains....Tony threw them open and there stood Scotty with one arm around Ella and one around DJ. Ron and Keith just stood there with their mouths open and then Ron said, "Well, Alright, man." Wish we had a camera then.....that was a priceless look on their faces! In the dressing room they had a full size cutout of Elvis, so he got into several of the pictures. Also, the girls had on leather jackets and did not want to destroy the jackets, so they had their backstage passes on their jeans. Keith got down on his knees to sign the passes...how about that! But I think he enjoyed it, too!
We were supposed to go to the Blues City Café for the world's greatest ribs before the show, but the gate people told us to prevent copying tickets, we could not leave once our tickets had been scanned. So we went back to the backstage party and had Beef Wellington, lobster tails, and stuff like that!
There were supposed to be no cameras, but there were cellphones and flashes everywhere, so Ella got a couple of shots of the guys on stage. There is one especially that is so good of Mick and Keith....it looks exactly like the Rolling Stones on stage should look.
There is also a picture of me, Kevin Kane (our friend and the owner of the Blues City Café) and DJ in our seats. We were on the 8th row from the stage right in front of Mick, so we could see EVERYTHING. Scotty sat in a zebra covered chair on the back of the stage just behind Charlie's drum stand. Ron said he kept running back there and Scotty was always facing backward. After the show, he asked him why and Scotty said he was watching the show on the jumbotron! All of this was made possible by our friends in the Stones organization, Sherry Daly in London, and Jane Rose in New York. Jane and Sherry, we cannot thank you enough, and Jane, I loved Ruby Tuesday!
After the show, Ron (shown with his beautiful wife Jo) leaned over the back of the stage and invited us to the wrap party at the Peabody Hotel afterward. This was their last show of the year and they were all returning home for a month before starting again with the rest of the tour in January.
While we were waiting for the party, Scotty, DJ, Kevin Kane, Ella, and I had a drink in the Peabody lobby. This is our group shot. When we got into the party, DJ Ella and I had our picture made with Lisa, the Stones' beautiful and tremendously talented backup singer. I told her that many years ago Keith said that everyone else wanted to be Elvis but he want to be Scotty. So I said to Lisa, "Everyone else wants to be Mick, I want to be Lisa."
Ron came in, sat with us, smooched all the ladies, and told
us that Charlie Watts never came to the wrap parties. But a few minutes later,
Charlie came in, sat with us and talked for awhile (I told him that his Sherry
Daly in London had made this possible), and we all commented on how great he
looks after he was ill last year. Scotty told him that he had never seen a band
work so hard....they do 1 hour and 45 minutes, and never stop for a break! He
told Charlie that Elvis did 45 minutes and left. Charlie sighed and said, "I'd
LOVE to work a show for only 45
After Charlie left, we were joined by Mick Jagger, who was so quiet and dignified we were all charmed.....he's not like that on stage! Just before we left, Ron smooched all the ladies and told us goodbye, and Ella and DJ laughed all the way back to the hotel about how they would someday sit in their nursing home together and talk about the night they met the Rolling Stones!
Gail Pollock
Ella Shepherd and D.J. Gross are longtime friends of Gail and Scotty and are members in good standing of Scotty's regular entourage affectionately called Moore's Mafia.
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All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
