The Soul Superbs, 1973

Earnest “Pepper” Reed, a phenomenal guitarist, and I had been rehearsing with some band in the spring of 1973, when he suggested that we rehearse with the Soul Superbs. They were a band based in Columbus’ Southfield neighborhood and in June, 1973, all of the players were just graduates of Marion Franklin High School.
We rehearsed at saxophonist Chris Powell’s home; he and drummer Anthony Ludaway shared the leadership of the band. Other members included Larry Farris, bass, Bobby Payton, guitar and Frankie Justice, vocals, along with Billy Taylor who was the road manager.
After a few rehearsals, the band was preparing for a road trip to Rock Island, Illinois to perform for a week at Woody’s Magic Room. Woody was the Black entrepreneur in the famed railroad town and his business complex included a restaurant, liquor carryout and lounge. We drove eight or more hours across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to get to the Quad Cities of Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Davenport, Iowa.
In 1973, bands were working six nights a week in night clubs and hotel lounges. Our material was current rhythm and blues, with a heavy accent on Parliment-Funkadelic music from the album America Eats Its Young. After a week in Rock Island, we journeyed in our two cars and U-Hall trailer to Grand Rapids, Michigan to play at the Golden Glow, a nightclub in the Black section of town. Instead of staying in a Motel Six (when the price was six dollars nightly), the club owner rented us a house that he owned for one hundred twenty-five dollars for the week.
One of my fondest memories was meeting Laurie Smith, a bartender at the Glow and we became companions for the week that the Soul Superbs played there. She was Hispanic and after the club date she would take me to the Acapulco Cafe and we would get heaping plates of rich Mexican cuisine. Laurie was also quite a beauty.
I traveled with the Superbs from June to January, 1974 and we made gigs in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan. The highlights were Haywood’s Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Evansville, Indiana, Des Moines, Iowa and Bluefield, West Virginia.
There were some very low times also; getting stiffed for our weekend pay in Des Moines and having to stay in a flea bag hotel, driving from Beloit, Wisconsin to Beckley, West Virginia, getting slowed down by fog on the West Virginia Turnpike and missing the gig. The road life was full of broken vehicles, greasy food, drinking, drugs and sexually transmitted diseases. However the music business can truly be a university with the lessons that are learned as a young musician travels from state to state.