Every Night's a Saturday Night: The Rock 'n' Roll Life of Legendary Sax Man Bobby Keys

305 Pages·2012·3.061 MB·English

by  Bobby Keys, Bill Ditenhafer

EvEry Night’s u.s. $25.00
a s aturday
Born in slaton, texas, some fifteen miles
southeast of Lubbock, Bobby Keys has lived
the kind of life that qualifies as a rock ’n’
N i g ht roll folktale. in his early teens, Keys bribed
his way into neighbor Buddy holly’s garage
band rehearsals, then took up the saxophone
E because it was the only instrument left
v
E unclaimed in the school band. While still in his
r
teens, he convinced his grandfather to sign
y thE rOCK ’N’ rOLL LiFE OF
his guardianship over to Crickets drummer
N
LEgENdary sax MaN
i J.i. allison so that Keys could go on tour.
g
h BOBBy KEys
t
’ Keys spent years on the road during the early
s
days of rock ’n’ roll with hitmakers like Bobby
a By Bobby Keys, with Bill ditenhafer

BoBBy Keys has been an in-demand session “ s Foreword by Keith richards vee and the various acts on dick Clark’s Caravan
a
and touring saxophone player since the 1950s. he the first time i heard Buddy holly play was for the grand opening of a t of stars tour. For decades, he was a top touring
u
has toured and recorded with the rolling stones gas station just half a block away from where my grandparents lived in and session sax man for the likes of Mad dogs
r
since 1970, and has played on record or onstage d and Englishmen, george harrison, and John
slaton, texas. i was twelve years old. that was the first time i’d ever hear
with Elvis Presley, Buddy holly’s Crickets, Joe a
By Lennon, and then in 1970, most famously, he
Cocker, Eric Clapton, John Lennon and yoko Ono, anyone play an electric guitar live. the whole thing was just like . . . O
BN began his gig with the rolling stones. Every
george harrison, ringo starr, Keith Moon, Warren i don’t know, it was a mountain had just fallen on me. and right then and Bi
yg Night’s a Saturday Night finds Keys setting down
Zevon, and sheryl Crow, among countless others. there i knew i wanted to have something to do with that music. there Kh
the many tales of an over-the-top rock ’n’ roll
he lives in Nashville, tennessee. Et
was just this power, just something about it . . . it just kinda lit a fuse y
s life in his own inimitable voice.
”
that started burning then, and it’s still burning now.
Bill Ditenhafer is the former editor of Nashville
With a foreword by Keith richards and exclusive
Lifestyles magazine and has worked as a features
— BOBBy KEys
interviews with famous friends and fellow
writer, arts writer, critic, and editor at weekly
newspapers from Nashville, tennessee to Warsaw, travelers, like Joe Crocker and Jim Keltner,
Poland. he lives in Nashville with his wife and Every Night’s a Saturday Night paints a unique
two children. picture of the coming-of-age of rock ’n’ roll
ISBN 978-1-58243-783-5
52500
itself while celebrating how Keys’s raw talent
Jacket design by sharon Mcgill
and outsized personality have elevated him
Cover image: Estate of Keith Morris
Back image: Jane rose COUNTERPOINT from sideman to a rock icon.
9 781582 437835 www.counterpointpress.com • distributed by Publishers group West
EvEry NIGHT’s
a saTurday
NIGHT

EvEry NIGHT’s
a s aTurday
NIGHT
THE rOCK ’N’ rOLL LIFE OF
LEGENdary saX MaN
BOBBy KEys
By Bobby Keys with Bill ditenhafer
Copyright © 2012 Bobby Keys
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-58243-783-5
Cover design by Sharon McGill
Interior design by meganjonesdesign.com
Photo Editor: Loni Efron
Counterpoint
1919 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
www.counterpointpress.com
Distributed by Publishers Group West
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Mom, who bought me my first horn, for Skip Eckenrod, for
getting the ball rolling, and for each and every musician I’ve ever
shared a studio, stage, or twelve bars of music with. And last but
not least, for my wife, Holly, for her support and recollections, my
son, Jesse, and my dog, J.J., leader of the pack.

Every night’s a Saturday night,
And every day’s a Sunday—
I know I’ve been wrong before,
But I’m gonna try it one more time.
——TradITIONaL TEXas sayING

CONTENTs
FOrEWOrd by Keith richards ...........................1
CHaPTEr .....................3
CHaPTEr ...................31
CHaPTEr ...................55
CHaPTEr ...................73
CHaPTEr ...................93
CHaPTEr ..................115
CHaPTEr .................139
CHaPTEr ..................157
CHaPTEr .................189
CHaPTEr ................211
CHaPTEr ...............233
CHaPTEr ...............249
discography ........................ 267
List of Notable Tours and Performances ........................ 271