I feel lucky to live in Nashville, TN. The people are genuinely nice, it feels like a small town even though it's a big town, you can't spit without hitting a great guitar player and the weather is nice, oh yeah, it's in the South and I like that a lot too. At the club I fly at I used to do maiden flights for people. There was this one guy named Bobby. He was from Texas and always had a new plane. Doing the maiden on one of Bobby's planes was always an exciting experience. You never knew what you might be getting yourself into! I would walk up on Bobby telling stories and it became pretty clear that Bobby was in the music business. Once I walked up on him talking about how Yoko Ono couldn't stand him but he and John Lennon were good friends and how playing his sax like frog for her album won him back into her good graces. Then I found out Bobby was the sax player for the Rolling Stones. It's gets better - Bobby got his start with Buddy Holly. I thought I better interview Bobby while I had the chance. To say he has some interesting stories is an understatement. I almost got to go on tour with the Stones as Bobby's roadie. The real plan was that we would build a road case that housed all of Bobby's planes and chargers. When we got to a stadium my job would be to have everything ready so Bobby could fly whenever we wanted. Can you imagine touring the world with the Stones and being in charge of the RC planes? We thought we had the green light but Mick ultimately shot the idea down. Almost!!! There was also the time I gave Bobby one of my t shirts (shown in the photo below). A few weeks later I received a voice mail from Bobby. He explained how he and Keith Richards were on a european beach having drinks and Keith and Mick felt that they deserved to have shirts too.
That call made my week! For a guy that has been running with the most famous and talented people in the world's since the late 1960's Bobby is down to earth and the real deal.



Bobby has a new book out:
Every Night Is a Saturday Night: The Rock 'n' Roll Life of Legendary Sax Man Bobby Keys


I thought it was time to revisit my interviews with Bobby. We discuss RC, rock and roll and life in general.

Here is interview number one:

Interview WIth Bobby Keyes of the Rolling Stones (6 min 16 sec)

number two:

Rolling Stones Sax Player - Bobby Keys - Part 2 (2 min 57 sec)

number three:

Rolling Stones Sax Player - Bobby Keys - Interview 3 (5 min 59 sec)

Hell yea! You truly meet some cool cats.

Badass!

I'v e been a Stone's fan since "Satisfaction". Amazing they are still rockin' at what, their 70's?

WOW !

This guy must have real cool stories to tell on too windy days, seems to be a serious party candidate according to Keith's book Life

I am constantly amazed at who you know and the fact that you can call some pretty neat guys and gals your friends.

From what I have heard on some of the videos posted here on RC Groups and other links you have posted, you also are also quite a good guitar player.

Nice interview, I have always thought you were "special" in many ways.

Bobby is right, you got some cool T-shirts and in my opinion you do a great job. Everyone says, find something you love and make it pay you and you will be happy. You have done that in more than one way.

Bet he could tell some great stories.

thanks Jim.
Conehead
Orrin Eldred

Orrin
Thanks for the great post. As a kid I was lucky to see my Dad treat everyone with equal respect. His goal seemed to be to try and make someone eles's day better. I hope I'm half as good as he was in that respect. I have found that they guy bagging groceries and the guy playing for the Stones are equally interesting. I think if you lived in Texas, Hollywood, and Nashville like I have you can't help but run into to some high profile folks. I'd say almost all of them are just like me and you with some extra cool stories. As far as being guitar picker based on the guys I see in Nashville I'm mediocre at best but love my guitars and amps and that's the important part. Will we be seeing your at Toledo?

Jim,
I had hoped to run down to Toledo for a day and go through the Weak Signals show, then over to see the RCG ETOC, but I found out my wife is doing a dog seminar in Grand Rapids that weekend. So I won't be coming. I want to, but I have to stay home and take care of dogs and cats.

I am sure that you run into some great guitar players in Nashville. I tried to learn to play one early in life, alas I was not successful. I took piano lessons in my younger years, but I wanted to play guitar more than ever, but couldn't get the left hand to work well enough. I had a great teacher also.

I got a great note today from someone here on RC Groups. He needed a motor for a Super Cub and I had 3 so I asked him to send me his address, I would send them to him. I did so and also sent a rec that I no longer needed. he wrote back and said, "It is nice to know that people are still willing to help out a stranger." I didn't need them, so I passed them on to someone who could use them.

you have done your Dad well. He would be proud of you. Yes everyday people have some great stories. Somehow regular people have great stories about life and what they have done. Granted famous people have good stories and those people get the publicity and their stories get told far wider and more often.

I am still amazed at times that people in the RC community recognize my name and know me, I am just a mediocre flyer at best, can't fly 3D, can't fly fast slick planes, but I do have lots of fun and that is why I keep flying. I always wanted to fly a real airplane, but now I just fly smaller airplanes and stand on the ground.

RC Groups is a great place. I have learned so much thanks to Jim who started this forum and to all of you who run it so well. You are a lifesaver to me at times.
Conehead
Orrin Eldred

I am just a mediocre flyer at best, can't fly 3D, can't fly fast slick planes, but I do have lots of fun and that is why I keep flying. I always wanted to fly a real airplane, but now I just fly smaller airplanes and stand on the ground.

This has been a big lesson to me over the years. I had a relative that purchased boat loads of motors and planes. He loved to tinker with them and build them but he never flew them. I always felt kind of bad for him. Then I realized that the flying aspect of the hobby wasn't what he was interested in. He was really into finding old pieces and working on them. That opened my eyes to the fact that are many aspects of our hobby that interest people and they don't have to be the best pilot or the best builder, they just have to enjoy what they are doing.

A year after I moved to Nashville I had a picking party with some heavy hitters at my house. I was working a particular hard lead line in a song. Later one of the pickers said to me, "you know you don't need to play stuff like that." I didn't understand what he meant so he clarified it for me, "there are a lot better players that can do that, you shouldn't do it." I stopped playing the guitar for a year after that. Then one day it hit me, it doesn't matter how well I play, there will always be someone better out there. What matters is that I love playing the guitar and I play the guitar for my own enjoyment and not because I care what others think. That set me free and the same goes for flying. You don't have to be the best pilot, there will always be better pilots. You just have to love what you do and enjoy it.