THURSDAY THIRTEEN

And so it goes. The follies of my youth were spent hanging out at bars! I worked at bars and frequented a lot of bars. Here are a few that I remember from the roaring 1970's around Central KY.

1) The Post Lounge - Bluegrass Bar located at the Holiday Inn off I-75. Since it was located in the heart of Bluegrass Country and had only bluegrass bands, I can make the bold statement that it was the Best Bluegrass Venue ever. The house band was Stoney Creek. When ever we were stumped to book a band, Stoney Creek would step in. A lot of fantastic music passed through these doors. I was there the night Steve De Martino played drums for the J.D. Crowe Band and a brawl broke out. Briefly. Keith Whitley, Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs all were there. Not all at once but through out the two years I worked there. It was fantastic. And since I was working (barmaid and bartender) I remember it all - lol.

2) High on Rose - aka, the Club House. Best name ever for a bar. Sat on the corner of High and Rose, very close to UK campus.

3) The Up Start Crow - another great name for a smoky wood floor saloon. Also relatively close to UK.

4) The Terrace Room - an unlikely hot spot located at the Eastland Bowling Alley. The house Band was the Doug Breeding Bunch. They played - well they just rocked the house! Every night except maybe Sunday and Monday. It was packed every time they took the stage. People traveled from all over the state to listen to them. It was SRO. There was a line to get in! Once upon a time my BFF and I broke line in frustration and lied to the bouncer by telling them we had people in there holding a table for us. He let us in and we had to find a table quickly! Two unsuspecting cute guys were sitting at a small table for four and we swooped in. The fact that I know there names 30 years later, Steve and Rudy, must tell you that something developed from that chance encounter. BFF and Steve married.

5) Greensleeves - ah yes, the disco era. It was a very cool place that was loud. And we danced.

6) Stingles - fantastic bar close to UK.

7) Johnnie Angels - Still standing! As a matter of fact I was there this past summer dancing the night away! At one time it was the most dazzling bar in the South! A disco that had the most incredible light show, mirrored walls, the loudest music and the most outrageous characters!

8) The Circus - After hour club that was BYOB. Since "we" worked the clubs we never got a chance to party (???????????) so we had to have an after hours club and thus was born out of necessity. A disco, natch.

9) Some Place Else Lounge - another place I worked and it was kind of icky, for lack of a better word. It was a destination bar for the older crowd. Maybe had ladies of the night there - lol. I was too wrapped up in my own little world. It was a "50's" type place with a DJ who operated in the back of a chopped pink Cadillac. that place was packed every night with an older crowd. Older to me, since I was in my early 20's. I met a ton of people who were employees at SPE. We partied like 1999 on Sunday's making trips to Kings Island and the Drag Races.


10) Jefferson Davis Inn - I mentioned this small hole in the wall in an earlier post. If I remember correctly the bar was split into two rooms, the stage located on the corner of Limestone and the bar proper off Maxwell. We would go all the time to listen to bands, in particular the late and great Ron Harris. He was a force to be reckoned with. He is sorely missed from the Lexington music scene.

11) The Village Pub - what can I say about this absolute Hole In The Wall? It was owned by friends of ours (briefly) and so we made it our home base - more or less. It was the closest establishment to Keeneland and so the Horse crowd was the core clientele. We played pinball and pool. My BFF was a very mean Pinball Wizard!

The following are not located in LEX but played an enormous part in my 1970 bar experience

12) Cotton Club - Going South, baby. No more needs to be said.

13) The Great Western Music Company - Breaks my heart to even mention it but there it is.