A Great Gig

My gig was a lot of fun last night playing at the BJ Thomas and Billy Joe Royal Show. The band was exceptional and both of them were excellent performers and great guys.


With Billy Joe Royal

Billy Joe made hits from the 1960's through the 1990's. Last night he performed such hits as "Down In The Boondocks", "Please Come To Boston", "I'll Pin A Note On Your Pillow", "It Keeps Right On Hurting", and "Tell It Like It Is".



With BJ Thomas
BJ is a five time grammy award winner and has sold over 70 million records worldwide. They include 15 top 40 pop/rock records and 11 gold records. He is interviewed in the 9/24/06 issue of Pentecostal Evangel where talks about his career and his faith.

Last night he sang many of his hits including "Hooked On A Feeling", "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "(Hey, Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", "Eyes Of A New York Woman", "Rock And Roll Lullaby", "Two Car Garage", and "Whatever Happened To Old Fashioned Love". He and Billy Joe performed together on a wonderful version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".

The band was excellent. John Sterling Francis was on bass. He has been with BJ for 30 years. BJ said that drummer Larry Chavis has been his drummer for 24 years. Nashville guitarist Tom Wild has been with the group for 4 years. Leo Finn played tasty keyboards the entire evening.

I enjoyed chatting with Weston Mays, BJ's road manager. He talked about the current tour and how much BJ and Billy Joe enjoy working together. BJ told me that the combination of the two of them touring together "is a perfect fit". When talking with Billy Joe, he told me a story about a wild gig he played years ago at The Continental Inn in Lexington. He was funny and enjoyed recalling that trip to Lexington.

This was a concert by a couple of old pros that have really paid their dues. I had lots of fun and am looking forward to the next time I see them.