The Daytona Blues Society
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Sept 2008
By Mike "Whisker Fish" Dollins
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| Michael Dollins & The Cruize Brothers as heard on HotMix 106 Guido Ciradetti - Bass & Brad Messer - Drums |
BOBBIE MERCY OLIVER
by T. Roy Taylor http://bobbiemercyoliver.com
and www.myspace.com/bobbiemercyoliver
Bobbie started playing guitar at around age thirteen. His Dad played an old acoustic six string that he still has today. He grew up listening mainly to C&W music, of which he wasn’
t big fan. He listened to Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Horton, and Charlie Pride to name a few. Later in his musical career a man by the name of Tim Harmon, keyboard
player for Charlie Pride, would be playing in his band. A friend of his Dad’s use to come to his house and they would play in the living room. One day his Dad’s friend played a song
by Jimmy Reed called “You Don’t Have to Go”, which was a R&B hit in 1955. Jimmy Reed not only played guitar but he played harmonica too. Bobbie was hooked. From that point
on in his young life Bobbie wanted to learn to play guitar and harmonica. So, he bought a gold Sears Silvertone electric guitar and taught himself to play. He even built his own
collapsible “harmonica rack” so he could play harmonica, play guitar, and sing while he performed on stage just like Jimmy Reed.
His family owned a Victrola wind up record player that played ’78 records. So when Bobbie could he would make a trip to Texarkana and buy all the Jimmy Reed records he could.
He didn’t just learn how to play Reed’s songs, that wasn’t good enough for Bobbie he would learn the song note for note on harmonica and on guitar. So when he would drive down
the road listening to his radio and a Jimmy Reed song would come on that he had learned, it made him feel good knowing he could play and sing that song like Jimmy. One of his
other favorites was Muddy Waters who played with Little Walter. Little Walter was a Harmonica player and Bobbie loved to listen to him blow that harp.
Bobbie practiced on the guitar until he got it right. One day he decides to pack his bags and headed for Chicago, Illinois to check out the music scene there. But he left his guitar in
Atlanta, TX. He couldn’t stand being without his guitar for very long now, so when he got to Chicago his Mom sent his guitar to him. His wife at the time, Cleo, decided to play
drums for Bobbie. They started playing clubs with just Bobbie on guitar and Cleo on drums. After a year his sister Mary showed up in Chicago. Bobbie approached his sister Mary
and asked her, “If I teach you how to play the bass guitar would you play in my band?” She agreed. So his sister Mary now handled the bass guitar duties and they named their band
“The Oliver Trio”. One night they were doing a gig at a theater in Chicago and after they left the stage the audience kept clapping until they came back on stage for an encore. The
manager was so impressed that he wanted to take them in the recording studio within the next month and cut a record with them! But circumstances put a wrench in that deal and it
just wasn’t made to be yet! Gigging for another two years Bobbie’s band was staying busy. But he and his wife broke up and it wasn’t working out with the band the way Bobbie
expected so they packed up and headed back to Atlanta, TX. Freddie Oliver, Bobbie’s brother, decided to play drums with him when he got back to Atlanta, TX., and Mary played
bass guitar for a while longer but not for long. Mary decided to take up the piano and became the piano player for her church. She decided she was not into playing the blues
anymore and left the band. Bobbie was having a problem finding a solid dependable bass player. When Mary quit, Freddie followed in Mary’s footsteps and left the band too.
Discouraged, Bobbie quit playing the guitar.
Bobbie moved to Marshall, TX. and he got a job as an air conditioning repairman. One of his service calls happened to be the home of his future wife, Eva. Her air conditioning wasn’
t working. Bobbie came to repair it while Eva was at work and left. But the next day it quit working again so Eva called Bobbie back to repair it and Bobbie met Eva in person for the
first time. There was magic in the air between them so she gave him her home and job telephone number. So Bobbie called Eva that night and asked if he could come visit her. Eva
said, “Sure come on over.” So Bobbie went back that night to see her and has never left.
Eva played Jimmy Reed on her cassette player one day and the song “It’s A Sin” came on. Bobbie told Eva that he used to play and sing some Jimmy Reed songs in a band. Eva didn’
t believe him and said, “You never played in no band!” So Bobbie started singing along with “It’s A Sin”. Eva couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This man’s voice was beautiful!
Heck, she thought Bobbie sang Jimmy Reed’s song better than Jimmy did! Eva fell in love! Eva was a believer and went out and bought Bobbie a red $800.00 Washburn electric
guitar. Bobbie met a drummer Eddie Robbins and they began playing gigs with just the two of them. Eddie’s brother, Kenny Robbins, shows up at rehearsal one day and starts
playing bongos with them to add some percussion. He didn’t ask if he could join the band he just started playing. People heard about their rehearsals at Bobbie’s house and would
line up outside listening to them. They rehearsed in his carport and so they named it “the Carport Blues”. Heck even the police stopped by to listen. Eddie came up with the name
“The Jam City” but Eva thought they should call the band “The Jam City Revue” and so it was.
One day Bobbie went to Longview, TX and bought a bass guitar and amp. On the way home Bobbie stopped by his stepson’s house, Anthony Lee, and Bobbie showed him the bass
guitar and amp he had just bought. Anthony loved this bass guitar and asked Bobbie if he would teach him to play bass. Bobbie said he would if he would play bass guitar for his
band. They shook hands and agreed. So Anthony became Bobbie’s bass player for the next year. But Anthony lost interest after a year and left the band. Eddie Robbins the drummer
was then replaced by J. R. Martin.
A fan of theirs named Kevin saw Bobbie was having trouble keeping a bass player. He approached Bobbie and told him that if he taught him how to play bass guitar, he wouldn’t have
to worry about a bass player again. Bobbie agreed. At around this time Tim Harmon joined Bobbie’s band on keyboards. Tim had also been Charlie Pride’s keyboard player at one
time. They were rehearsing one night for a gig called “The King Biscuit Blues Competition”. It was in Helena, Arkansas and started at 10 a.m. the next morning. They had paid their
fee for the event and planned on leaving at 2:30 a.m., but when it came time to leave, Kevin was no where to be found. Bobbie and the band couldn’t wait any longer or they would be
late for the gig in Helena, so they went ahead and left. At 5 a.m. they get a call from Kevin and he asked where they were. Bobbie said, “We’re almost in Little Rock, Arkansas and
where you been?” Kevin said, “I was “visiting” a lady and overslept.” Bobbie said, “Go ahead and visit some more because we’re almost at the gig.” So, once again, Bobbie is
without a bass player. Tim told Bobbie he could play the bass notes on his keyboard since Kevin wasn’t there. But it started raining like cats and dogs and the competition was called
off. This was during “The King Biscuit Blues Festival” so Eva tells them to go downtown on Main Street so she can shop since they aren’t playing. They’re in the van, and park, and
Eva gets out, and goes shopping. Tim gets out of the van and says he is going to find them a place to play. So Tim came back in ten or fifteen minutes and had lined up three places
for them to play. So they picked “The Wild Hog Saloon” because they could play inside and had food to eat there. This was during the month of October. Bobbie was playing guitar,
singing and playing harmonica. Tim Harmon was on keyboards, and J. R. Martin on drums. “The Wild Hog Saloon” had a bandstand. So Bobbie and the band set up and played at
“The Wild Hog” that afternoon and the crowd loved them and went wild. They set the house on fire! Bobbie had brought his CD called “Reviving the Blues” and sold some of those
too. The Mississippi Political newspaper even did a review on the CD and since then has done several more. They got to talking with the manager and he asked them if they would
come back and play there that night with just the three of them! He told them that the A&R man from Alligator records was going to be there and he wanted him to hear them. They
agreed but the drummer said since they weren’t getting paid he wasn’t playing. So Bobbie and the band left.
Today Bobbie now has a bass player, Glenn “Smitty G” Smith, Booker Carpenter on drums, Robert Wilcots on keyboards, and Gloria “Lady G” Hall playing tambourine and switching
off on lead and background vocals with Bobbie. They are playing gigs in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The city of Linden, TX, is the home of T-Bone Walker held in
June every year. Don Henley of the Eagles bought a building there, renovated it, and named it Music City Texas and the festival is held there each year. Bobbie was wearing a red suit
as the opening morning act for the first annual “T-Bone Walker Blues Festival” in 2006 in Linden, TX. The reason they chose “Bobbie Mercy Oliver and the Jam City Revue” to open
as the first act is because Bobbie and “T-Bone Walker” are both from Cass County. Bobbie has shared the stage with such blues icons as Betty Lewis and the Executives, Willie
Clayton, Marvin Sease, Gary “Whitey” Johnson, Delbert McClinton, The Steven Bruton Band, Dee Dee Williams, Marsha Ball and The Bluebirds just to name a few.
Shagbark Blues Society, in Paris TX nominated Bobbie’s CD called “Simply Bobbie” for best self produced blues CD in 2007. Bobbie is also a member of the Paris Blues Society in
Paris TX, a member of the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN and a member of the Barcelona Blues Societat in Barcelona Spain. He was also awarded a lifetime membership in The
Texarkana Blues Society in 2007.
If they were asked to play around the world they will do it in a heartbeat. Because…they live and play the blues! They’re the real deal.
Article by T. Roy Taylor July 2008 www.myspace.com/audiogate
by T. Roy Taylor http://bobbiemercyoliver.com
and www.myspace.com/bobbiemercyoliver
Bobbie started playing guitar at around age thirteen. His Dad played an old acoustic six string that he still has today. He grew up listening mainly to C&W music, of which he wasn’
t big fan. He listened to Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Horton, and Charlie Pride to name a few. Later in his musical career a man by the name of Tim Harmon, keyboard
player for Charlie Pride, would be playing in his band. A friend of his Dad’s use to come to his house and they would play in the living room. One day his Dad’s friend played a song
by Jimmy Reed called “You Don’t Have to Go”, which was a R&B hit in 1955. Jimmy Reed not only played guitar but he played harmonica too. Bobbie was hooked. From that point
on in his young life Bobbie wanted to learn to play guitar and harmonica. So, he bought a gold Sears Silvertone electric guitar and taught himself to play. He even built his own
collapsible “harmonica rack” so he could play harmonica, play guitar, and sing while he performed on stage just like Jimmy Reed.
His family owned a Victrola wind up record player that played ’78 records. So when Bobbie could he would make a trip to Texarkana and buy all the Jimmy Reed records he could.
He didn’t just learn how to play Reed’s songs, that wasn’t good enough for Bobbie he would learn the song note for note on harmonica and on guitar. So when he would drive down
the road listening to his radio and a Jimmy Reed song would come on that he had learned, it made him feel good knowing he could play and sing that song like Jimmy. One of his
other favorites was Muddy Waters who played with Little Walter. Little Walter was a Harmonica player and Bobbie loved to listen to him blow that harp.
Bobbie practiced on the guitar until he got it right. One day he decides to pack his bags and headed for Chicago, Illinois to check out the music scene there. But he left his guitar in
Atlanta, TX. He couldn’t stand being without his guitar for very long now, so when he got to Chicago his Mom sent his guitar to him. His wife at the time, Cleo, decided to play
drums for Bobbie. They started playing clubs with just Bobbie on guitar and Cleo on drums. After a year his sister Mary showed up in Chicago. Bobbie approached his sister Mary
and asked her, “If I teach you how to play the bass guitar would you play in my band?” She agreed. So his sister Mary now handled the bass guitar duties and they named their band
“The Oliver Trio”. One night they were doing a gig at a theater in Chicago and after they left the stage the audience kept clapping until they came back on stage for an encore. The
manager was so impressed that he wanted to take them in the recording studio within the next month and cut a record with them! But circumstances put a wrench in that deal and it
just wasn’t made to be yet! Gigging for another two years Bobbie’s band was staying busy. But he and his wife broke up and it wasn’t working out with the band the way Bobbie
expected so they packed up and headed back to Atlanta, TX. Freddie Oliver, Bobbie’s brother, decided to play drums with him when he got back to Atlanta, TX., and Mary played
bass guitar for a while longer but not for long. Mary decided to take up the piano and became the piano player for her church. She decided she was not into playing the blues
anymore and left the band. Bobbie was having a problem finding a solid dependable bass player. When Mary quit, Freddie followed in Mary’s footsteps and left the band too.
Discouraged, Bobbie quit playing the guitar.
Bobbie moved to Marshall, TX. and he got a job as an air conditioning repairman. One of his service calls happened to be the home of his future wife, Eva. Her air conditioning wasn’
t working. Bobbie came to repair it while Eva was at work and left. But the next day it quit working again so Eva called Bobbie back to repair it and Bobbie met Eva in person for the
first time. There was magic in the air between them so she gave him her home and job telephone number. So Bobbie called Eva that night and asked if he could come visit her. Eva
said, “Sure come on over.” So Bobbie went back that night to see her and has never left.
Eva played Jimmy Reed on her cassette player one day and the song “It’s A Sin” came on. Bobbie told Eva that he used to play and sing some Jimmy Reed songs in a band. Eva didn’
t believe him and said, “You never played in no band!” So Bobbie started singing along with “It’s A Sin”. Eva couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This man’s voice was beautiful!
Heck, she thought Bobbie sang Jimmy Reed’s song better than Jimmy did! Eva fell in love! Eva was a believer and went out and bought Bobbie a red $800.00 Washburn electric
guitar. Bobbie met a drummer Eddie Robbins and they began playing gigs with just the two of them. Eddie’s brother, Kenny Robbins, shows up at rehearsal one day and starts
playing bongos with them to add some percussion. He didn’t ask if he could join the band he just started playing. People heard about their rehearsals at Bobbie’s house and would
line up outside listening to them. They rehearsed in his carport and so they named it “the Carport Blues”. Heck even the police stopped by to listen. Eddie came up with the name
“The Jam City” but Eva thought they should call the band “The Jam City Revue” and so it was.
One day Bobbie went to Longview, TX and bought a bass guitar and amp. On the way home Bobbie stopped by his stepson’s house, Anthony Lee, and Bobbie showed him the bass
guitar and amp he had just bought. Anthony loved this bass guitar and asked Bobbie if he would teach him to play bass. Bobbie said he would if he would play bass guitar for his
band. They shook hands and agreed. So Anthony became Bobbie’s bass player for the next year. But Anthony lost interest after a year and left the band. Eddie Robbins the drummer
was then replaced by J. R. Martin.
A fan of theirs named Kevin saw Bobbie was having trouble keeping a bass player. He approached Bobbie and told him that if he taught him how to play bass guitar, he wouldn’t have
to worry about a bass player again. Bobbie agreed. At around this time Tim Harmon joined Bobbie’s band on keyboards. Tim had also been Charlie Pride’s keyboard player at one
time. They were rehearsing one night for a gig called “The King Biscuit Blues Competition”. It was in Helena, Arkansas and started at 10 a.m. the next morning. They had paid their
fee for the event and planned on leaving at 2:30 a.m., but when it came time to leave, Kevin was no where to be found. Bobbie and the band couldn’t wait any longer or they would be
late for the gig in Helena, so they went ahead and left. At 5 a.m. they get a call from Kevin and he asked where they were. Bobbie said, “We’re almost in Little Rock, Arkansas and
where you been?” Kevin said, “I was “visiting” a lady and overslept.” Bobbie said, “Go ahead and visit some more because we’re almost at the gig.” So, once again, Bobbie is
without a bass player. Tim told Bobbie he could play the bass notes on his keyboard since Kevin wasn’t there. But it started raining like cats and dogs and the competition was called
off. This was during “The King Biscuit Blues Festival” so Eva tells them to go downtown on Main Street so she can shop since they aren’t playing. They’re in the van, and park, and
Eva gets out, and goes shopping. Tim gets out of the van and says he is going to find them a place to play. So Tim came back in ten or fifteen minutes and had lined up three places
for them to play. So they picked “The Wild Hog Saloon” because they could play inside and had food to eat there. This was during the month of October. Bobbie was playing guitar,
singing and playing harmonica. Tim Harmon was on keyboards, and J. R. Martin on drums. “The Wild Hog Saloon” had a bandstand. So Bobbie and the band set up and played at
“The Wild Hog” that afternoon and the crowd loved them and went wild. They set the house on fire! Bobbie had brought his CD called “Reviving the Blues” and sold some of those
too. The Mississippi Political newspaper even did a review on the CD and since then has done several more. They got to talking with the manager and he asked them if they would
come back and play there that night with just the three of them! He told them that the A&R man from Alligator records was going to be there and he wanted him to hear them. They
agreed but the drummer said since they weren’t getting paid he wasn’t playing. So Bobbie and the band left.
Today Bobbie now has a bass player, Glenn “Smitty G” Smith, Booker Carpenter on drums, Robert Wilcots on keyboards, and Gloria “Lady G” Hall playing tambourine and switching
off on lead and background vocals with Bobbie. They are playing gigs in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The city of Linden, TX, is the home of T-Bone Walker held in
June every year. Don Henley of the Eagles bought a building there, renovated it, and named it Music City Texas and the festival is held there each year. Bobbie was wearing a red suit
as the opening morning act for the first annual “T-Bone Walker Blues Festival” in 2006 in Linden, TX. The reason they chose “Bobbie Mercy Oliver and the Jam City Revue” to open
as the first act is because Bobbie and “T-Bone Walker” are both from Cass County. Bobbie has shared the stage with such blues icons as Betty Lewis and the Executives, Willie
Clayton, Marvin Sease, Gary “Whitey” Johnson, Delbert McClinton, The Steven Bruton Band, Dee Dee Williams, Marsha Ball and The Bluebirds just to name a few.
Shagbark Blues Society, in Paris TX nominated Bobbie’s CD called “Simply Bobbie” for best self produced blues CD in 2007. Bobbie is also a member of the Paris Blues Society in
Paris TX, a member of the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN and a member of the Barcelona Blues Societat in Barcelona Spain. He was also awarded a lifetime membership in The
Texarkana Blues Society in 2007.
If they were asked to play around the world they will do it in a heartbeat. Because…they live and play the blues! They’re the real deal.
Article by T. Roy Taylor July 2008 www.myspace.com/audiogate
Raised in Atlanta, TX., population 6,400 and which is 25 miles
south of Texarkana, TX. Bobbie Mercy Oliver has one of the
dependable managers around, Eva his wife. She books Bobbie’s
gigs and keeps him on the straight and narrow as far as his music
is concerned and everything else he says. When Bobbie is
rehearsing in one room, Eva is in the other on the computer but
always has one ear trained on Bobbie’s rehearsals. So if he sings
or plays a wrong note, Eva hollers from the next room, “Bobbie
you don’t have that right, do it again and get it right”.
south of Texarkana, TX. Bobbie Mercy Oliver has one of the
dependable managers around, Eva his wife. She books Bobbie’s
gigs and keeps him on the straight and narrow as far as his music
is concerned and everything else he says. When Bobbie is
rehearsing in one room, Eva is in the other on the computer but
always has one ear trained on Bobbie’s rehearsals. So if he sings
or plays a wrong note, Eva hollers from the next room, “Bobbie
you don’t have that right, do it again and get it right”.
| September 17th, Wed Rockin' Roadhouse Blues Juanita's Mike Dollins & Cruize Bros with Joe Pitts Band Details click photo or Juanita's Logo |
