Chapter Seventeen
In 1970 Danny and Charlie formed a new band with Ralph Schuckett on keyboards, Michael Ney on drums, and Gale Haness singing lead. Their name, Jo Mama, was a play on the “yo’mama”* verbal sparring they’d heard among jazz musicians.
At first Jo Mama rehearsed in the living room of the house where Gale and Michael were living as a couple. Then three transformative events occurred. First Gale changed her name to Abigale. Then she changed boyfriends from Michael to Danny. Rehearsals were predictably awkward until the third event, in which the band decided by one vote short of unanimous to replace Michael with Joel O’Brien.
Abigale was a powerful performer with an impressive vocal range. She was equally at home singing pop, hard rock, soft rock, gospel, soul, jazz, and R&B.† She was also, as Danny put it, “easy on the eyes.” With Abigale singing lead, Jo Mama accumulated a repertoire that few white bands could pull off with credibility. They released two albums on Atlantic: Jo Mama in 1970, and J Is for Jump in 1971.
Following the warm reception in 1970 of James and me at the Troubadour, Peter asked me to open for James and then play as a band member in James’s upcoming nationwide tour. We would be away for three weeks, home for a two-week break, then out again for another three weeks. The offer grew sweeter when Peter proposed to have Jo Mama open the show before my set. The James Taylor–Carole King–Jo Mama show would be a three-act extravaganza in which we would all play in each other’s sets, culminating in a grand finale in which everyone, including both drummers and both bass players, would join James onstage to bring the show to a rousing conclusion.
Charlie’s vote in favor was already cast. He was excited about the opportunity to play, first with Jo Mama, then in my set, and then again in the finale. It took me a little longer to get there. Peter’s offer had tremendous appeal, but three weeks was longer than I’d ever left my girls. However, I did have someone reliable to stay with them, and I’d be with them for two weeks in the middle of the tour. After I said yes, I, too, was excited. Being on the road would be an adventure, it would be musical, and it would be fun.
Considering the variety of personalities, romantic attachments, and number of shows on the schedule, a collection of stories from the 1971 tour alone could surely fill a book. What I remember most is the feeling of being part of a big family. This is a common phenomenon on endeavors such as tours, films, shows, circuses, carnivals, and archaeological expeditions, and probably even more intensely so in military service. Thrown together by a common mission, far from home for an extended period of time, people inevitably develop a strong bond. A social hierarchy evolves based on the group’s perception of how essential a person is to the overall effort. On tour everyone has an important role, but the buck stops with the headliner, which thankfully on that tour I was not. On a concert tour the headliner is at the top of the pile (a) because it’s his or her name on the marquee, and (b) because s/he is paying everyone. The corollary is that the headliner is responsible for making sure the show goes smoothly. It doesn’t matter how bad s/he might feel. A headliner has to show up and be a shining star onstage every night.
James was that shining star, and yet he was egalitarian. Every night he began the show by walking onto the stage in street clothes, which looked exactly like his stage clothes. Because headliners usually weren’t seen onstage until later in the evening, James’s early appearance caused a buzz that gradually built until the entire audience realized: Oh my God, it’s James Taylor! They cheered and applauded wildly until James calmed them down with a raised hand, gave Jo Mama a warm introduction, then left the stage.
At first Jo Mama played to half-empty houses while people were still coming in, but once word spread about the unique format of our show and the excellence of Jo Mama, the house was close to full from the jump (for which J was).
And that was only the beginning.