Over the years Simple Minds have worked with the Rolling Stones on a number of occasions, mostly at various European festivals. It’s always an honour, albeit surreal. How come? Duh…Because they are the f*cking ‘Rolling Stones.’  And whilst others might refer to them as “Rock Royalty etc.”  – on a good night I have found myself thinking that what I was witnessing was more comparable to genuine ‘Zen Masters.’ A mere quirk of fate – you don’t have to do anything to be born into royalty. Whereas be ‘a master’ at anything? I don’t need to tell you that it takes colossal effort and sacrifice.

Other memories, particularly of Charlie? Well, we once shared a studio complex in the centre of Manhattan during the mid eighties, and although the rooms we worked in were of course seperate, we nevertheless shared the main area where they would all hang out for hours, to the extent I always wondered how the Stones ever got any work done?

To say that they could not have been friendlier, even encouraging, is an understatement. As individual characters they were as impossible not to love, as it is impossible for me not to love ‘the feel’ of say, Gimme Shelter,’ ‘Honky Tonk Woman’ and ‘Brown Sugar’ in particular.

Years later, backstage at a festival site in Belgium, I was delighted to be greeted by Charlie who informed me that he was having ‘A good old fashioned cup of English Breakfast tea’ – with China teapot and all – “If you fancy joining me?”

I certainly did fancy joining him. What a pleasure that was!

Rest In Peace Charlie Watts.

Jim Kerr

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In 1989, I was asked to join up with The Rolling Stones on their Steel Wheels Tour, as their tour photographer. I had worked with Keith and Ronnie before but didn’t know any of the other guys. I kept a low profile, doing my job and not bothering anyone. About a week in, while waiting in line for dinner at the buffet, I heard a voice from behind me say “Hey Paul, we have a day off in your home town next week. Can you show me around and help me find a place to buy a suit?” I turned around and was face to face with Charlie Watts. Now….anyone who knows me knows that I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about suits, but I did my research and on our off day, I called down to the concierge and ordered up a car and driver, called Charlie and he and I spent a lovely morning shopping for suits in Chicago!!

A week later we were in NYC, doing a 4 night stand at Shea Stadium. After sound check, I wandered in backstage and saw Charlie and his lovely wife Shirley sitting on a couch. He called me over and asked if I could do him a favor. Of Course- what do you need? Seems that Shirley wanted to grab a basket of apples and go outside and feed the police horses on the street. Would I accompany here and keep her safe? Once again- Of Course!! So Shirley and I went out to the street and fed the horses. Most likely none of the cops on horseback had any idea who she was, but it made Charlie so happy to see Shirley happy.

Every time I would see him after that he always asked me how my business was doing, and how my health was.

All in all, in 40 years of photographing musicians, I have never met anyone who was as nice (and classy) as Mr. Watts- also never met anyone his equal as a drummer!!!

 

Paul Natkin

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Thanks, Bob, for the insight into Charlie Watts and his place in the rock pantheon.

My high school band opened for the Stones in Dayton, Ohio, on their second US tour in November ’64.

The converted barn the promoter used for the show only had one “dressing room” for the bands. Brian Jones wasn’t even there. He had gone on to Chicago to prep for the next day’s recording session at Chess. Mick sat back in a folding chair with a hat over his eyes the whole time and Keith noodled in the corner with his guitar up to his ears as there was no practice amp. Charlie and Bill, on the other hand, were so nice and chatty and outgoing the whole time. They discussed gear and performance venues in the UK compared to the US with us and how much they were looking forward to recording in Chicago and so much more. Sadly, we were too cool to have a camera with us. But the memory is etched in my mind forever regarding the classiness of Bill and Charlie.

Larry Butler

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Hello Bob,
Like everyone, I am very upset at Charlie’s passing. He had a major impact on my life. I was born and raised in Toronto. As a young itchy teenager, my claim to fame was having pictures of Charlie Watts with my grandfather in Liverpool. He was a gunsmith and dealer in antique firearms. I was told that Charlie bought many items for his private collection from my grandfather, and visited my grandparents in Liverpool frequently.
The visits were well documented as my grandfather was also an avid photographer. Growing up in 70’s Toronto and having many pictures of a Rolling Stone made me a cool dude! I learned from my dad, that Charlie was a lover of history, and he was very interested in the American Civil War and The Wild West.

Fast forward…  I fell into the music business,  and it became my thing. In 1994,  I was the in house promoter/venue manager for Toronto’s RPM,  and the soon to open Warehouse. Rumours were swirling about a Stones club gig, and what venue would be fortunate enough to get it. One glorious life changing day, my phone rang and it was Arthur Fogel from CPI.  He asked me to hold a date for The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Secret Warm Up Gig!!!!! It was made very clear that if the word leaked out, the gig would be cancelled. I kept it a secret for two weeks, and later I received a call that Michael Cohl wanted to do a private walk through of the venue. We met and it was a go however it had to remain a secret.

The big day came and all went well for set up and sound check. I met the Stone’s security people, and I decided to make the big ask. I gave them a brief outline of my deceased grandfather’s relationship with Charlie and I asked if it would be possible to say hello. I was not expecting much as I was sure Charlie had more on his mind than to say hello to some punter. Next thing you know, two very big men came and guided me to Charlie’s dressing room. He wanted to meet me!!!!!

I spent twenty minutes talking to a wonderful, humble, and passionate man about my grandfather, antique firearms, and military history. It was a day that I have never forgotten. I have met many rockstars. He was the coolest.
R.I.P. Mr Watts.

Regards,
Gareth Brown

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I worked a Micheal Cohl/TNA presents Rolling Stone show in Fargo on Feb 17, 1999 for the “No Security “ tour. Since I was working backstage and in the dressing rooms I had to meet the band, every last one of them. Their long time head of security, Jim Callaghan, took me to meet them and one after one I shook hands said hello and carried on.. Charlie being the gent he was started chatting with me , where I was from and so on. Exactly like I expected him to be. I was always a huge fan of the band but Charlie was the man. Loved his effortless style, always playing the hi hat on the 2 and 4 and always deep in a shuffle/jazz pocket. Even after 23 years and over a thousand concerts under my belt it’s still a highlight..after the show the band wanted to watch “ Fargo” so we had a huge rear projection tv shipped up from Minneapolis. Us and the crew sat and watched the film together. Later that night I had drinks at the Holiday Inn bar and Bobby Keys was there.. couldn’t have been more perfect.

I remember back in 1989/90 when “Steel Wheels” came out the Simpson’s writers put a poster in Lisa’s bedroom that said “Steel Wheelchair” tour.. that was 31 years ago! A lot of the critics thought the band should’ve packed in years before that! As we all know they were wrong, the band kicked ass for decades to come and likely will continue to do so for a few more with Steve Jordan on the kit.

We’ve had a lot of loss lately but this one surprised me the most because it was the loss of an “immortal”
Or at least he was to me.

All the best and keep the letters coming!

Chris Frayer

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Four whole days

I sat outside the Stones rehearsal in 2013.

I heard Charlie and Keith put it all together piece by piece before anyone else arrived.

I saw Mick pose & primp – Keith ignore it and laugh – and even got into their private pre tour show at The Echo.

I’d seen The Stones many times before. But seeing the skeleton take its baby steps then become a full , stadium filling spectacle , was a real education.

Seeing me off to the side for such a long time , saying nothing and calling no attention to myself –

it was Charlie who came out to say hello.

It really was a GAS GAS GAS

Mark Flores

Guitar / SAG

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Truly one of the kings.

I worked as an assistant engineer on a jazz quintet radio session with him in 2006. I was just a kid, clearly nervous in the presence of royalty. He couldn’t have been cooler – joking with the crew, having a great time around jazz players, so happy to be talking about jazz and not the Stones.

I asked him if he knew Elvin Jones and he said “Oh Elvin was the best, real drummer, not like what I do”.

Two things struck me:
1. He played with FORCE. Even with a bebop style quintet, there was no mistaking that he played with clear confidence and intention. He generated a shocking amount of volume.
2. He smelled AMAZING. Obviously the best dressed in the room, but no one expects the drummer to be the best smelling individual on the session.

RIP to the legend.

Steve Weiss

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Back in 2014 I got called to cover Charlie’s project The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie for Keyboard Magazine at the Iridium in New York City. I had a blast interviewing pianist Ben Waters before the show, so much so that he invited me back that night to catch the gig.

Afterwards I went backstage to thank him, and I immediately was standing next to Charlie in the club’s clandestine dressing room. Ben tells him, “Charlie, this is Jon. He’s a great jazz pianist.”

And suddenly, Charlie’s eyes lit up and his expression changed, as if I gave the password to the doorman at an exclusive after hours club. He immediately started chatting to me about jazz, and his favorite players and records. For a moment I was part of the band.

I’m sure I’m just one of countless admirers of his who he made feel special. But it made a lasting impression on me. Sometimes you meet your heroes and you wish you hadn’t. But Charlie was a giant on and off the bandstand. How many people can you say that about?

Be well,

Jon Regen

“Charlie’s good tonight”

And now there are two. Well three if you count Bill Wyman, but he split from the band thirty years ago.

This really fucked me up. In a way I’ve not felt since the death of John Lennon, which was also a surprise.

I knew Glenn Frey was sick. Bowie? As great as he was he was not one of the progenitors, one has to classify him as second or third wave. George Harrison? We knew he’d been going for treatment, we had our fingers crossed yet we were not expecting the best. But Charlie Watts?

The show must go on. That’s the music mantra. ZZ Top is still on the road. A band member passes and then the rest pick up and go. To the point where we now have ersatz classic rock bands on the road akin to the ersatz fifties acts in the seventies and eighties. Acts without one original member. One could ask why people go, but at this point it’s not about the mania so much as the songs. Memories. You close your eyes and the music sets your mind free and you go back to when your body wasn’t broken and your life was in front of you, which is no longer the case.

But we thought rock and roll was forever, that it would never die.

But that only seems to apply to Keith Richards. They say Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil, but Keith got even a better deal.

You have to know the English sound in the U.S. was different from its home in the U.K. In the U.K. these blues-influenced groups had been a thing for years. While America was focused on bogus crooners, England was in the midst of a blues-revival, with bands everywhere, it was a nightclub scene. In America, we had discos, where people in jackets and ties still danced the Twist. Or maybe the Bossa Nova. And of course there was the folk scene. But this was long before Bob Dylan went electric.

And first came the Beatles. Fully formed. All the development was done off-screen. Vee-Jay had tried with their early material but they had failed. “Please Please Me”? “Love Me Do”? Those came after “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in America, which even came before “She Loves You”! It would be like Stanley Kubrick’s first film being “2001,” but only bigger.

And after the Beatles we got a slew of nice boys in suits singing ditties, but those weren’t the Rolling Stones. The Stones were scruffy. There might be a tie, but chances were Mick Jagger might be wearing a turtleneck.

Then there was Charlie Watts.

The Stones were edgy and dangerous when musical acts were safe, upbeat and sunny.

And their records were not big hits. They didn’t immediately go to number one. “Not Fade Away” stalled at 48. “Tell Me” did better, it made it to number 24. And it was written by the boys. But to say the Stones were in the league of the Beatles would be untrue. The older set, the ones in leather jackets, cottoned to them. The alienated too. But younger boomers? The Stones were on the periphery. Until the fall of ’64, when “Time Is on My side” went to number 6.

But really, everything changed in the summer of ’65. One tune made the Stones legends. It blasted out of the radio speaker unlike anything we’d heard before, with distortion, with attitude, this was a group that was not going to be corralled, who were doing it their way, THIS WAS THE ROLLING STONES!

And then came a slew of number ones, Top Ten records.

But the Stones weren’t an album band until “Beggars Banquet.” Musos spoke of “Between the Buttons,” but the first Stones album I purchased was ” Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass),” with all the hits, in ’66. And I couldn’t get over “The Last Time.” That guitar sound!

Not that Keith Richards (sometimes billed as “Richard”) was the icon he is today. That didn’t happen until the heroin years in the 70’s, the news and the Annie Leibovitz photos. The Stones were a band with a frontman, unlike the Beatles where everybody’s identity was clear, the three axemen on the front line with the affable grinning Ringo behind.

Bill Wyman held his bass nearly vertically, and barely moved.

Keith sneered, but didn’t move much either. Ditto Brian Jones. Who did have that blond haircut that focused your eyes.

And then there was Charlie Watts. Who looked like he didn’t belong, like he’d stopped in to play a few licks on his way to his day job, in an office, with a dress code. And it was not only his clothing, but his visage, he was just keeping time, without making a show of it. And he had a simple kit when Ringo had a floor tom. It was all so simple.

And then came “Their Satanic Majesties Request.” Perceived as a bomb, it was better than that, but still a misstep. Yes, this was obviously the Stones’ experimental psychedelic album, six months after “Sgt. Pepper,” and it failed miserably in comparison.

But then came “Beggars Banquet.” A complete surprise. The Stones had gone earthy, they weren’t playing to the last row, listening you felt privileged to be in the room with the band. The subjects were dark. The instrumentation acoustic and spare. The lyrics were dark and meaningful. The word started to spread, this was a breakthrough.

Not that most people noticed. “Sympathy For the Devil” might be iconic today, but it was not a hit single back then, you heard it on FM rock stations, but most markets still didn’t even have one of those, and many listeners were still focused on singles on AM.

But by time “Let It Bleed” was released in December of ’69, momentum had begun. This was an album band. Bigger than anybody else but the Beatles. There was more FM rock radio. You heard “Gimmie Shelter,” and once was enough, you were closed. But it was more than that, mostly “Midnight Rambler” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which made the Chelsea Drugstore famous. “Let It Bleed” rocked harder than “Beggars Banquet,” it was slicker, but it sacrificed none of the darkness, none of the danger. It was the complete opposite of the sunny second side of “Abbey Road.” And critics and the press circled and with the band on the road at the same time, the tsunami began. Not every ticket was sold, but word was these were the shows.

And one thing you’ve got to know about the Stones is it’s just them. They’re really no different today from how they were in the clubs in the early sixties. There are no hard drives, no hidden players, sometimes it takes them a while to get up to speed. But when they’re going, you can feel the humanity, they never sacrificed it, and that’s what drew us to them.

So in the fall of ’70, they released a live album, not long after the “Gimme Shelter” movie that chronicled the disaster at Altamont. Which the hard core went to see in the theatre. Which ultimately became iconic, back in an era when every band did not have a documentary.

But “Ya-Ya’s” evidenced a new band. Brian Jones drowned and was replaced by Mick Taylor, a lyrical player truly responsible for the band’s second peak. And the live album was…

Rough.

We were not expecting this. This was not “Live at Leeds,” energy and near perfection. “Ya-Ya’s” was coarse. It was a concert recording. And the truth is your mind fills in so much at the gig, and if you listen to to the tape after, and it was tape back then, it’s rarely as spot-on as you thought it was. And the highlight was the covers, of “Carol” on the first side and “Little Queenie” on the second, and at the end of “Little Queenie” Mick Jagger uttered the above words.

Suddenly the focus was on Charlie Watts, whereas it had never been before. This was the era of the flamboyant drummer. Ginger Baker. Carmine Appice. And Ringo was Ringo. Charlie Watts was just part of the ensemble, he didn’t show off, he just kept time, but with this one thrown away line Mick made us notice, realize, that Charlie was not only a member of the band but he mattered, and he was having a hot night, and Mick realized this.

Our knowledge of the players and their playing was growing. But the truth is most listeners were not experts. We started to learn about rhythm sections, the importance of the bass and drums, but really in most bands those were secondary players, the singers and the flashy guitarists got all the attention.

And yes, we heard raves about the overplayers, but Charlie Watts?

With the legend boiling on the stove, then the Stones released the piece-de-resistance, “Sticky Fingers,” the album that not only fans had to own, but everybody had to own. “Brown Sugar” was as ubiquitous as “Satisfaction” six years before. And it had been six years, during which the sound had changed and most bands were history, some of the British Invasion acts were already doing oldies shows, but not the Stones.

And the Stones came back in ’72 with “Exile on Main Street,” which took most people decades to fathom, and went on a cleanup tour that made headline news. This was the self-professed “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” on the road, the Beatles were gone, no one else was in their league, they were gods. The original four plus Mick Taylor.

But then Taylor left.

And Bill Wyman dropped out.

They were replaced, but then we realized how integral Mick Taylor was, Ronnie Wood is good, but not transcendent, which Taylor could be.

Wyman? Let’s just say it was an economic issue. He was replaced by Darryl Jones. Skilled, but not Bill. Somehow there was this magic between Charlie and Bill. No one put them on their list of best players, yet they represented the bottom of the best band, they’re what drove it forward, like a freight train.

And there were more albums and more stadium tours and…

Keith fell out of a tree, and it took him a while to come fully back.

Chuck Leavell was now the musical director.

And Mick? He was hanging with the glitterati and Keith put him down but there was no one else left, no original band from the original era, never mind with this many hits.

And going to see the Stones is different from going to see any other act. They’ve got production, they were one of the first to use it on a grand scale. But at heart it’s just a little old rock and roll band, rooted in the blues, trying to catch fire every night on stage.

But how much longer could they keep doing it?

Mick had a heart problem. He looked fortysomething, but the truth is he was seventysomething.

And then Charlie Watts had to drop out of this year’s tour. We bought the story, he would be fine, he just wouldn’t be ready for the shows. It was Charlie, but this had happened with other bands before. And Charlie was not known as a limit-tester, living the wild life.

AND THEN HE DIES??

My phone started going wild, I went into shock. This was unexpected and this was final. Charlie Watts gone? THEN IT’S NOT THE SAME BAND!

Jagger made solo albums. He tried to say he didn’t need the Stones.

Keith was pissed, but he followed in Mick’s steps, with the X-Pensive Winos.

Sure, Charlie put out jazz albums, but they were seen as a side effort, indulging his whims, his desires, they were not made for the mainstream nor did they connect with the mainstream. Charlie was really only one thing…THE DRUMMER FOR THE ROLLING STONES!

And his hair went gray then white, but he never changed. He was a rock, physically and in his playing. Somehow you thought he’d quit like Wyman, being the elder statesman, but he hung in there, and if you were up close and personal you realized it wasn’t as effortless as it looked, Charlie was sweating, he was putting in the effort, he cared, he was the driving force of the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band and he knew it. He didn’t have airs, but he knew how important he was, that he was the linchpin, and without him the sound wouldn’t be quite the same, there would be no band.

And to a great degree there no longer is.

Sure, Mick and Keith can still go on stage and do it, but now less than half of the original band is involved, it’s them and backup players, hired guns.

HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THIS GO ON?

We thought since it had gone on this long, it would go on forever.

But that turns out to be untrue.

There are only two Beatles left. So many others have passed. But it seems most before their time, as a result of misadventure. But now we’re getting to the point where natural causes, health problems not engendered by the road, are coming into play. No one lives forever, not even Rolling Stones. The music does, but those who made it do not.

But it gets worse. Despite how important this music is to us, it’s not anywhere near as important to subsequent generations. And the truth is the Stones never sold that many records anyway, it was a live act, and when the band can no longer play live?

And as great as the records were and still are, live you can feel it, you can’t sit there passively, the music penetrates you, you’re lifted physically and emotionally, it’s a religious experience.

And Charlie Watts was one of the gods delivering it to us.

And he knew it, but he saw it not as stardom, but as a job. That he was useful and he was needed. Laying down the beat for the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.

And it starts with the beat. Without it there is no rock and roll.

Which means Charlie Watts was one of the foundations of rock and roll. The rest was built upon his efforts. He came first. Without him there was nothing. As we learned in Florida just recently, without a solid base the whole structure falls apart.

And then we have the aftermath. The shock, the denial, the anger…

We’re not quite yet at the depression. We are far from the acceptance, we don’t ever want to accept it. This is our generation. Turns out we didn’t die before we got old. We survived, and in many cases flourished, just like the Stones themselves. And one can look at the passing of Charlie Watts and contemplate your own mortality, but really it’s a crumbling of your interior superstructure, these heroes and their music kept you going. They added structure to your life. And if that’s gone what do you have left?

Memories.

And records.

But not live.

It’s got a backbeat, and you can’t lose it.

Today we lost rock and roll’s backbeat.

Charlie, you were humble, you never slacked, you gave it your all and we realized it. We hope you knew.

We certainly did.

Since the article showed Connie as an older female, implying she’s seen rough times, I’d thought I’d send Mark Farner’s most recent photo. No freaking prize.

You can’t find current photos of the original members- those I found, beyond the years of the band, showed they weren’t aging too well either.

It’s a shame we readily discard older women for their looks but don’t look as harshly at older men.

The article shows Connie like “can we believe she was the girl they wrote about, sweet and giving blowjobs”.  Who can imagine women wanting to give blowjobs to the men, with how they look now.

Just saying.

Love your newsletter by the way.

Jayne Tansey Patron

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Hi Bob
Connie Hamzy was one of the most intriguing women I’ve ever met.
When we toured with Van Halen for six months on the F.U.C.K. Tour we got to know her and I can tell you she really was a sweet sweet woman and truly loved being out on the road offering her services. A real act of feminism in my view.
I would offer her rides to the next town on our bus and she travelled with us a couple of times.
I would grill her with questions. Why she did what she did,  many about her health and if she was being careful (she wasn’t).
One story I still share with people today was the time we arrived at a venue, our tour bus one of about 50 on that run, I noticed a line of guys waiting outside one of them.
I asked the band, “Hey, why are they lining up outside that bus.  Are they serving lunch in there today?”
They all just looked at me sideways. Connie was here!
She travelled to maybe four different states and some of the VH road crew paid for her to travel to Mexico City where she even offered to do our laundry!
I may have been one of the few women given the chance to see her in her glory and I’m really saddened by this news. None of us will ever forget her. Rock and Roll Sweet Connie

Suze DeMarchi
BABY ANIMALS

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Once I was at the RnRHOF and was able to get a visit of some of the items that are in the vault that aren’t on display. The Vault was like going to Nirvana for me. I saw so many awesome artifacts, Geddy Lee’s Green Sunglasses, the original Head that Alice Cooper chops off during the “Welcome To My Nightmare” tour, The Suede Leather poncho that David Crosby is wearing on the cover of The Byrds Turn, Turn, Turn. Ann Wilson’s purple suede dress from the Barracuda Video in 1977, and so much more. The one item that was absolutely hilarious to me that made me laugh out loud was a brief case that was owned by Gerald “Buffalo” Evans. Buffalo Evans was the long time road manager for The Allman Bros. This brief case had 30 or more stickers plastered all over it, mostly Backstage passes, but there was one Hot Pink circle sticker that said “Connie in Little Rock” with a phone number under it. When I saw it I laughed out loud and said, “Hey It’s Sweet Sweet Connie!” I then sang the lyrics and explained who Connie was. I just thought it was very entrepreneurial of her to have stickers made so she could pass them out to her “regulars” to call her when they were in town.

drmrsdad

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OMG!  Sweet Connie from Little Rock gone. So sad to hear. As best I can determine her first big band was The Allman Brothers Band. I remember it well. A Holiday Inn in Memphis. Her mom brought her on a weekend shopping trip to get away from boys. How ironic that was! She was so sweet and gorgeous, like a Seventeen Magazine cover girl. She became a school teacher and I used to get her Christmas card nudie shot with Christmas tree lights. Last saw her in mid-eighties with Gregg Allman solo band. The years were not kind to her looks, She once told me she was with the entire cast and crew of the Burt Reynolds move “Gator” except for Burt himself. RIP Sweet Connie from Little Rock.

Willie Perkins
Macon, GA

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She was my friend. I met her in Houston at a ZZ Top after party back in, probably 1973.  I might still, somewhere, have her sticker that said “Call Connie in Little Rock,” with her phone #. We kept in touch and I saw her whenever I was passing through Little Rock or Memphis.  At one time, she wanted me to help her write her autobiography, but I didn’t.  Probably hadn’t seen or heard from her in 30 years or so.

She was real, not a caricature. She was who she was.  She was a schoolteacher, so I’d think she had insurance, or at least Medicare, having turned 65.  She led a normal life, with one exception.

I do have a coupla Connie stories, but rather not type them.

Toby Mamis

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Connie was a sweet person, and she made people happy in her own special way.

I met her when the band I tour managed, Cry of Love, started a tour with  ZZ Top in Little Rock in 1994.  She burst into our dressing room while flamboyantly taking off her top and shouting “Welcome to Little Rock, boys!”

RIP, Connie.

Bob Davis
Retired Tour Accountant

p.s. Have you heard of the “Cookie Lady” in St. Louis?  She always brought cookies, along with 2 teenage assistants to handle “chores,” similar to Connie’s.  You can use your imagination.

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Reading your piece conjures up images of some distant and bygone backward era – like the roaring twenties or something – it just sounds so sexist, oppressive and utterly stuck in its time. Boomer men treated women like shit. Then (like both clockwork and Mark Farner himself) they “find” Jesus, denounce their sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll pasts (with a nudge and a wink) and act like the pious hypocrites that they really were all along.

Vince Welsh

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Having been a production manager of many notable bands of the era and knowing Connie well. (But never in THAT way) there is an untold story of a great teacher of special needs children, a truly kind heart and person that viewed her odd “hobby” as a service to lonely guys on the road.

She is to be remembered fondly by many who knew her as a person not just a legend.

RIP Connie, there will never be another you.

Mark Hogue

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We were visiting clients in Fort Smith, Arkansas in the early 2000’s. As we entered the large riverfront restaurant, I was asked if I knew the song, “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk. Of course I did, and at that moment I was introduced to Sweet Sweet Connie, who was parked at the bar. She wheeled around and said hello, as did I. She was kind, but wasn’t there to entertain. It was a memorable dinner.

Billy Kinross

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Bob, If I might offer an addendum, Connie also serviced the road crews, drivers, and more if interested. Check out the roadie Facebook posts since Saturday and the chatter is she should be in the Hall of Fame. There is even a petition to do so.

Steve Lemon

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Thanks Bob for writing about Connie. Groupies like her always interested me, and I actually met her backstage in the ladies room many moons ago.  She had been on Stern that day so I knew she plan to go to the show. But for the life of me I can’t remember which band it was & what show, but I clearly remember meeting her that night in the bathroom. I remember feeling like I had met a piece of rock history. RIP to Connie.
Jc

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Another nail in the Coffin of Rock & Roll.

Sweet Connie was sweet, sweet and fearless..

What she wanted she got.

How many of us can say that? Miss Pamela, Miss Mercy & Sweet Connie, these girls were 3 chord revolutionary feminists.

Groupies Lives matter!

The history is fading. Charlie is incapacitated, Eric & Van went bonkers…Box sets & remixes, autobiographies & documentaries.

Sweet Connie made the news today, oh boy.

Michael Des Barres.

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The first time I saw Connie I was when I was with Capitol, covering a show in Little Rock.

A security guard had refused to let her in so she clamped her laminate to her tongue in an act of defiance.

There was blood everywhere. I don’t know how she fared that night with the other acts but the blood probably contributed to my act declining her services. It was right about when AIDS was becoming the big story in the press.

On the other hand, she was kinda hot at the time so I was going to ask her if my personal guitar prowess would have any impact on her.

Not that it would have but after further thought I decided not to ask. Even if I had talked her into it just to secure a story for the future (really, seriously!) it wasn’t worth taking the chance.

Frank Palombi

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Thanks, Bob, for your obit on Connie! I went early to sound check  in Little Rock as we opened for Amboy Dukes ( yes,Ted himself) and a bigger headliner in 1971. She was sweet alright.. with such incredible innocence that it was tough to believe when she walked up to me as I checked my kit on stage and she just turned, big smile and said… “the promoter doesn’t want me to do sex in the dressing rooms but I can give you head in the bus!”..later after the show back in Memphis the guitarist from the main headliner called and said to come up to his room… I walked in and Connie was doing everyone ,… she had already done the pilot on the private jet and then walked back to do the limo driver as we checked in. She was the happiest, carefree devotee of giving Rock musicians anything they wanted… One of a kind, young and stunningly pretty at that time.
Glad an obscure 21 yr old  like me had some fun , and great memories from the Renaissance era of rock music, all those years ago. RIP Connie.

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My “Sweet Connie” story comes from the summer of 1987. I was getting ready to move to Los Angeles to “make it” and had grown and boffed my hair up high and adopted an outrageous glam style of dressing and showed up in the VIP motor home at a local rock festival in Little Rock. Connie eyed me up and down and asked the program director of the local rock station (MAGIC-105) “Is he in a band? Are they signed?” and with the answer being a solid, “yes, but no”, my chances were ended.

25 years later I took Pamela (who is like a dear aunt to me and maybe the nicest person I know) to Little Rock on our way to Nashville with the Sin City crew. She visited with and interviewed Connie for a book project and we discussed the wide gulf between their lives and lifestyles.

Yes, access was different and when both those women, (girls at the time) started meeting bands. The rules and culture of “backstage” hadn’t even been established. And they helped write all that. There are certainly mixed feelings about those times and the relationship between men and women but Connie was as sweet as they come and no one will dispute that. I wish her well. I’ll bet a laminate was waiting at the gate for her.

Bryson Jones

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I lived in Little Rock for a number of years in the late 90’s into the early 00’s.  I was involved in the music scene and heard all the stories about Connie and would see her at various clubs around town as she truly wanted to support musicians which is the way she always felt about her relationships with musicians over the years.  I managed a Southern Hard Rock band for a short time called Go Fast.  We were working on marketing materials for a new album that we thought would be the biggest thing since Lynyrd Skynyrd so we called Connie and asked her to be involved in a photo shoot.  She was tickled to be included and was a great sport.  We went out of our way to treat her like the Rock legend she was with special wardrobe, a hairstylist and makeup.  All photos were PG, but she told us stories and answered every question about all her friends.  Of course many of her tales were X rated, but actually there were just as many stories about how she just took care of rock stars like cooking breakfast for Eddie Van Halen or sewing Pete Townshend’s pants.  I am sure we could dig in here and postulate on reasons why Connie sought this type of attention as a young girl going to the Barton Coliseum to see every show. It would be easy to dismiss and feel “gross” about her past as we look at it through woke eyes, but the Connie I knew was always full of joy, eager to share stories, and for one last time LOVED music. Hopefully the story of Connie’s life will not be solely focused on her potential victimhood, but also on her joy and love for Rock n Roll.

Michael Cusanelli

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I was raised in Arkansas..

I knew Connie in the 80s..She came out to see my band perform regularly, in Little Rock, whenever larger prey was not in sight..

Turns out, she lived down the street from me..And my wife..I was invited over, to “see her etchings”, but my wife was not so enthused about the prospect…

I did sneak over, and enjoyed the mini-museum..She wasn’t very attractive then, so it went no further..I had way better options, including even my wife..The bragging rights would’ve been great, but I wanted to “just be friends”..

LR WAS a backwater..But we were close enough to Chicago, that we were regularly visited by Styx, REO, Cheap Trick, Kansas, Chicago, and the like..A quick drive to Memphis afforded us quite a feast of touring national acts..And B.B. King, of course..

James Spencer

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When we were touring around 1993-94 we played Little Rock. I knew about Connie and never thought she’d ever show up at the venue but she did.

She looked pretty shop-worn by then and approached everyone during a soundcheck at the outdoor amphitheater we were playing near downtown. Her offer was a blow job plain and simple. It was so awkward everyone just sort of smiled and said they were busy and no thanks.

It was kinda pathetic. She finally got frustrated and yelled at the tip of her lungs for all to hear within earshot of the stage, “doesn’t anybody want a blowjob around here!?”

I think our truck driver took her up on the offer in his Peterbuilt because she disappeared and we were all glad cause it was really depressing to see what this woman had become.

Rumor was she had become an elementary school teacher and I’m surprised it wasn’t mentioned in that memorial article.

Those days are gone now as Rock has gotten wrinkles, family ties and arthritis. Maybe the younger bands and hip hop acts are imbibing with the band-aides but I think that sort of behavior bordering on mental illness went into the halls of rock history along with poor Connie, RIP.

But we’re still an American band and we’re coming to your town soon…

Kenny Lee Lewis

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Your  incredible piece on Connie Hamzy brought me back so vividly to those glorious days of the 70s.  As Alice Cooper’s tour manager during that time, Connie “from Little Rock”, as we called her, graced our tour with her presence.  I’m sure that anyone who knew Connie is saddened by her passing and will remember her in the fondest of terms.. She was a sweet and kind person; not a mean bone in her body.

I wrote about her in my soon to be released autobiography, ROCK AND ROLL WARRIOR.  I thought you might enjoy reading the excerpt which is attached hereto.  Feel free to use any portion.  Thanks.

Regards,

David Libert

Excerpt:

Writing a book about rock ‘n roll touring dictates a certain modicum of discretion, a regulation not actually written in stone. It’s more like a rather ambiguous unspoken rule. That said, I would certainly be remiss to not mention Connie Hamzy, arguably the most famous groupie of all time. This gorgeous groupie was better known as “Connie from Little Rock” or “Sweet Connie.“ Her exploits of performing fellatio upon hundreds of rock bands and their crews are legendary and well documented, so I won’t bother going into any of that. 

Well… maybe just a little. When the Alice Cooper tour arrived in Little Rock, I was informed by the promoter that Connie had “set up a room backstage” for the sole purpose of providing head for any tour member desirous of such services. Needless to say, there was a line outside her door. I mean, what strapping young road rat wouldn’t want to take a welcome five-minute break from the rigors of touring for a nice, relaxing, well-deserved blowjob? 

But it was Connie’s activities aboard the good ship AC1 that stands out in my mind. We all decided to take her with us on the next couple of tour dates. After setting up shop in one of the lavatories on the plane, she proceeded to blow a good portion of the entourage, one by one. When she finally ran out of penises, I put on my Airline Social Director of Creative Services hat and went into the cockpit to ask the flight crew (by this time completely converted into the ideology of touring), if any of them were desirous of getting “serviced” by Connie. By now, the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator had become good friends with the tour personnel. Yet they were a no-nonsense flight crew when it came to piloting the plane. After all, they did hold our very lives in their hands. The completely humorless pilot replied in typical completely humorless pilot jargon, “Uhhh, negative, Dave. Uh, um, not while, unhh, operating the aircraft.” 

Fair enough. But I then queried if I could at least send Connie into the cockpit to give the passengers the impression that she was in there to do her “thing.”

“Uh, affirmative, Dave. That’s a big 10-4.”

So I got on the PA. “Connie, your services are requested in the Cock (pause) pit.” (Passenger chuckles.) 

Connie happily sashayed into the cockpit, not knowing, along with everyone else on board, that nothing was actually going to happen. A minute or two passes, and then the pilot makes an announcement on the PA. 

“This is the Captain speaking. Will you all please fasten your seatbelts? I think we’re about to encounter some turbulence.”

 

It was the only time I can recall Captain Kirk attempting to be funny. And it was. We were rolling in the aisles. This kind of crass, sophomoric humor was normal operating procedure for a rock tour. It rarely stopped. To be on an Alice Cooper tour, you’d better be a good sport. Everyone was a target. Even Alice, much to his delight. It was one of the glues that held us all together. 

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well, you didn’t let me down

exactly the kind of sexist white guy of a certain age celebration I knew was coming

…and hey, she should be grateful, right? you’re writing about her.

lets unpack this:

these young women were just random skaggs who’d do ANYTHING to be near rock stars

and Connie was a classic American red blooded girl, then woman who was actually pretty in an unfiltered, unmade up way

she LOVED rock & roll… the way it made her feel, the way it gave her life curves to navigate AND she had fun with it

did you know her specialty for birthday boys was to hum “Happy Birthday” while fellating them?

happened to a friend of mine as a young buck out on the road with Marshall Tucker —
she showed up with a pair of little kid’s pistols in a holster and went to town
…and he never forgot it.
probably 45 years ago, but he still tells the story like a badge of honor

because she brought magic to the backstage rompage

and before i unpack further, let’s be clear. Connie Hamzy was a SCHOOL TEACHER!

she wasn’t some dumb bunny sleezing to get lucky + get rich

she was living the life on HER terms, and having a higher batting average of massive rock stars than most labels

people for a very long time wanted her around… the Van Halen boys, Alice Cooper, Ringo Starr, etc

so when the school district let Connie go for conduct unbecoming, she took the school board to court — and WON!

if only Tom T Hall had written that sequel to “Harper Valley PTA”

see you forgot about the tedium back before cell phones, or satellite dishes
when people were trapped in crappy backstages, or dumpy motels, looking for pay phones to call home — or the next city where they might know somebody
these girls were legends because beyond being carnally inclined, they could talk about rock & roll, other bands, what was going on in the world

…and sometimes just being a female presence was a real gift in the stinky, sweaty dudefest of road life

these girls were experiencing the freedom that the Summer of Love — theoretically — provided

before it turned out men were still insecure and sexist, wanting the freedom to get down, but didn’t want their girls to cheat

a surprise baby, i remember all the tears my hippie babysitters shed over that

but the groupies? man, they were rocking and loving every minute of their freedom and their sexual liberty

were the competitive? you see/hear the stories about Sable Starr and Lori Maddox versus some of the GTOS

by the time I was old enough to be a baby rock critic for the MIAMI HERALD in college, the groupies in South Florida had figured out how to coexist
when I would go backstage for meet & greet or Aftershow Ratt or Motley Crue or even old guarders like Nazareth, you’d see all the same girls hanging out, waiting on the band, telling jokes, eating carrot sticks + looking at me in my tshirt and straight leg Levis like “isn’t she cute?”
I had friends who hooked up with Ace Frehley, not part of the “crew,” but they were cool with the girls cause I knew them

…and I’d often scare off the really young ones, who didn’t truly get the joke, and I wasn’t competition, so I got along with those girls, who just loved rock + roll & wanted to be near the music

AND when those guys would hit the room? the smiles on their faces were awesome. happier than when they were onstage… being worshipped.
i always thought because on some pre-verbal level, they felt understood. and they were. and isn’t that what we ALL want?

I don’t know if i met her on not in Memphis one night. might’ve been, might not have been. but it was one of those philosophical conversations about rock & roll, what it is and how it’s so much more than just guitars and how many decibels you’re pushing out, hair cuts and videos… it’s the spirit and it’s the place where the joy and the power almost explodes beyond freedom. it was fascinating, sitting in the bar listening… obviously, she was waiting on a later shift/second serving or she hadn’t been picked

when I saw the news — on Miss Pamela’s page — I called a few friends who were or are rock stars. told them the sad news, let them marinate for a few moments. other than the young’un with the “happy birthday” initiation, not one of them talked about what she did, they all talked about how she made them feel, how they could really talk to her, and she knew how to turn out a whole show + somehow never flinch or do anything but enjoy the process. “she was a friend, Holly,” said one of the Kentucky Headhunters. “You know, I didn’t go there… for a bunch of reasons… but she sure knew rock & roll, and talking to her, man, she had seen it all unfold. she could talk about bands and the blues and everything else with so much soul. we sure did lose a lot of history if she’s gone…”

to me, that’s the point. and yes, she got older. you don’t look like you did at 22, either, Bob.
people in the south don’t always trust medicine, or doctors. she had some miles on her. but something tells me — beyond the obvious “objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear” — she loved just about every single mile of it.

shaming her, or acting like the girl in that equation is less than is just flat crappy. she wasn’t embarrassed about how she chose to live. i know a lawyer who was rolling through Little Rock, early in his tenure with an act; lo and behold, Connie made him feel welcome, too. not to curry favor with the band, but because she thought he was a pretty okay guy

sexual license has to be a two way street…

you know that, just like you know how good “we’re an American band” sounds.

if she got some dazzle out of being “Sweet, sweet Connie,” well, good for her. what makes that capitalizing? that band had a huge hit on her inspiration?

so, hey, you’re smarter/better/theoretically more feminist than this…

or maybe your 14-year old masturbatory kid took over; those kids, who aren’t in play to girls like Connie, can be mean, belitting, cutting down what they can’t have
maybe you shoulda got to Little Rock a bunch of years ago

Holly Gleason
editor of WOMAN, WALK THE LINE: How The Women of Country Music Changed Our Lives, due in paperback 10/10/22

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