XI
The Downfall I was beginning to think that the good life in Vegas would never end. However, I was about to go into a twenty year downhill slide that almost defeated me. I met a young guy who was hanging around a band that Gary Walker and Doc Vernon had put together in Hollywood. His name was Steve, and unknown to me, he was a coke dealer. Gary's band was called "Gumbo" and It was In this group that Gary Walker did some of his finest work There are still unreleased recordings of Gary that I put on CD and they are available on my website. (www.boogiekings.com) Getting back to Steve, he flew in from Hollywood, where the band was based, and stayed with Gwen and me for a while. The first thing Steve did when we got home from the airport, was to break out an ounce of coke. Of course, I Immediately put my nose in it, and from that day on, I began to lose everything I had worked so hard for. I became seriously addicted, and I began to lose my judgement. I got suspicious of Gwen, and I turned on her for no reason. Then I went to the bank, drew all of my money out; and moved into a fifty dollar a week motel, right off the Las Vegas strip. The first night that I was in the motel, I had a visit from Linda, a friend's ex-wife. We laid In bed for a while, and talked about Gwen. Linda was wearing a very sheer mini-dress with nothing on underneath. Linda and Gwen had been lifelong friends, so I wasn't sure If I should make any moves on her. She made my decision for me, as her hand traveled up my leg all the way to my zipper. I knew right then that I was going to make out with this tough looking mama. My heart sped up, and my temperature rose as I felt my trousers being unzipped. The next thing I knew her head was on my crotch and I was experiencing some of Linda's talents that I never knew existed. She took her time and brought me to an explosive orgasm that almost knocked me out. What a night! Shortly after that, I ran out of money and coke, and I went back to the big house and got back together with Gwen. She had run out of money and luck, also, We decided to get back together, sell the house and drive back to Louisiana. On the way home, with both of us having withdrawals, we decided to go our own separate ways. Unknown to Gwen, I had been speaking to Cathie, my second wife, about reconciliation. We had been separated for sIx years and I thought I still loved her. I decided to go straight and try to make a decent life for myself and to prove to Cathie that I was worthy of her love and respect. This was an impulsive decision, as I was still reeling from my drug addiction. I went to work for a mobile home company after a meeting with my friend, Johnny Soul, who was a company manager. My first months selling mobile homes went extremely well. I was top salesman in my district and top ten In the whole country. I wondered if this was luck or skill. I was sent to manager's training in only my fourth month in the business, something that usually took a couple of years. After six months, I was promoted to regional sales manager. It seemed like I could make it after all in the straight world. So Cathie and I got back together after being separated for six years. Our love had been so strong that we thought it would work again. But, at least I was home, and I could see my kids again. I was losing touch with them, and I really felt guilty about it. We moved to Houston with our daughter, Kimberli, who was now six years old, and we thought that we could rekindle our lost love. After about six weeks of being back together, we both realized that we had changed, and we were no longer right for each other. So, with sadness In our hearts, we mutually agreed to set each other free once again. I never loved anyone the way I loved Cathie, and I will love the memories till the day I die, but we lost It somewhere along the way. Not long after that, I got demoted to lot manager for one of the worst lots in Houston. It was three mIllion dollars in the hole and they expected me turn to turn things around! Get real, this was an overwhelming task, too much for me. I got really stressed out and my paycheck went down to nothing. I was not on drugs or alcohol at this time. So I quit and joined my friend Darrell Cox at Mobile America in Houston. While I was at Mobile America, I received a phone call from Homer Pillsbury, a promoter from Beaumont, Texas. He asked me if I wanted to play at at a Boogie Kings Reunion that he was promoting. He offered me a hundred bucks, which I considered an insult, so I declined the offer. I was really pissed that Homer had beaten me to the punch, because I wanted to promote the first reunion. I called my brother, an attorney, immediately and told him to register the name Boogie Kings to me. It took me several years to obtain the trademark, but I eventually got total possession of the Boogie Kings name. That was the best move that I ever made. I should have gone to Homer's gig, for it turned out to be a huge success. I was happy and sad at the same time. But at least I realized the Boogie Kings' name still had much value. I sent a warning letter to Homer advising him that he was using the name illegally. Homer ignored me and did a few more successful reunion gigs. It pissed me off that he was using a counterfeit band. I really felt like this was unfair to the guys who had spent many years in the band, building the name. I also did not want the name to be dragged through the mud. Some of the shows that Homer put on were nothing but Imposters with GG and Jerry fronting the show. T.K. HulIn, one of the greatest vocalists that South Louisiana has ever known, was enjoying much populaiity. In the seventies, T.K. was the only artist that had a successful big band Including such great players as Norris Badeaux, Ron Lormand, Jimmy Drouet, Pat Smith and Alvin Dugas, to mention a few. Ron's charts and Badeaux's saxophone solos were a key element in this band that was absolutely wonderful. Belou Hulin was kicking the shit out of his drums. What a great band this was! And of course, T.K. was one of the best singers to ever come out of Cajun Country. The Swing Kings were enjoying much success at this time. Some of the players were Bert Miller, Harry Simoneaux, Bubba Boudreaux, Earl Taylor, James Stelly, Dickie Landry and M.J. Juneau. Their recording of "Mr. Dream Merchant" is one of the finest cuts that I have ever heard. It was arranged by Ron Lormand, a trumpet player that I have always admired and respected. Duane, Rose, Dan and I made an attempt to put a Boogie Kings band back together in 1972. We failed miserably as we had no money to promote and book. Jon Smith and Jerry Lacroix were in the "White Trash" band with Edgar Winter and their platinum album "Roadwork" was topping the charts. Most of the White Trash band were ex-Boogie Kings. The only difference in Edgar and me is that he made it, and I didn't! G.G. Shinn had replaced the lead vocalist in the "Chase" band. Their vocalist had split when the song "Get It On" went all the way to No. 1. Sound familiar? I knew Bill Chase personally. He was a brilliant trumpet player and a great person. I went to the first rehearsal of the band "Chase". I remember it well, because Bill forgot his mouthpiece, and I loaned him mine. G.G. did the vocals on "Chase's" second album. It was a masterpiece of an album, but it did not go anywhere. Shortly after the second album was released, Bill Chase was killed in a plane crash, and the world lost a great trumpet player and a wonderful man. Rest in peace, my brother. G.G.'s big opportunity was delayed by an act of fate. But he was lucky not to be in the plane with Bill. Jon Smith, Dan Silas, Duane Yates and I made another attempt to put the band back together in 1975. We put together a dynamite show featuring a budding young female vocalist named "K.J." She was simply great, and the crowds loved her. We made it for about three months, and after going broke again, we gave up and parted company. The next few years were a struggle for me. I made a living, but I could not get ten cents ahead of the rat race. I hoped and dreamed that someday I could get my Boogie Kings band back, but for many years, it would elude me. I felt like my lifelong pursuit to make the band successful was over. I just went from one job to another. I worked a few gigs with Johnnie Allan, the King of "Swamp Pop" music. My good friend of fifty years, Harry Simoneaux, helped me when he could. Harry and I have always played beautifully together and I really enjoy working with him. Harry is an original pioneer of Rock n' Roll music and was my first major musical influence. Harry helped me to do some album work with Johnny Allan in the eighties. I will always love and respect this man. I was now living in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I got into a band called "Pzzaz" with my friend, Ron Fruge. His brother, "Bro," played bass and "K.J.", his sister, sang with the group. We rehearsed that band very much and did quite well at the Lakeview Club in Lake Charles, Louisiana, right on the beach. After the "Pzzazz" band fizzled out In the late seventies, I opened a disco, and much to my surprise, It was a resounding success. My friend, Johnny Vee, was my partner. To show one how my luck ran, six weeks after I opened, two young boys were murdered one night after leaving the disco. This ruined my business and shut me down. So here I was, knocked out again. Or at least an eight count. So what? By this time I was getting accustomed to being a loser. I would work for a while, and then draw unemployment compensation for a while. Prices were going up on everything, especially gasoline, but musicians were making the same wages they had always made. The "White Trash" band had busted up and regrouped in 1978 to do their third album, "White Trash Recycled." This band did not last long because there was still a lot of animosity and hard feelings that were left over from the first White Trash band where the players had gotten their brains fucked out. In 1981,I got a message that two Texas promoters, J.K. Pettaway and Don Ball were doing a "Boogie Kings Reunion" at the Port Arthur Civic Center. My lawyer notified Don that he could not use the name without permission from Ned Theall. He did not know this was a bluff. I still did not have the trademark approved. Anyway, he went for the bluff, called me and we came to terms. I didn't want to start so much shit about the name that the show would be cancelled. I needed to know if the name "Boogie Kings" still had monetary value. The gate on that performance was over $30,000, but I only got paid $200. I also noticed that Norman Land was selling T-shirts and tapes and he made about three grand. Norman was the roadie with the original Boogie Kings, but he was now a big time booking agent. The show was horrible, but the people loved it. Go figure! Well, I got screwed on that gig, but now I knew the Boogie Kings were a bonafide real legend, and the name, which I finally got control of in 1982, was still worth a fortune. That was the last time that anyone ever screwed me out of Boogie Kings money. Don Ball promoted another Boogie Kings reunion the next year in Beaumont and it was another huge success. I had total legal ownership of the name "Boogie Kings" in the form of a trademark. Beaumont produced a $30,000 plus gate and we got some regional television coverage. I did a lot better on the money, walking out with $1,700 this time. The promoter paid me a thousand, and Norman Land paid me $700. A good night's work, any way you look at it. I think Don Ball was angry that I made him pay me a grand to use the name. He paid me in front of everyone with a huge bag of one dollar bills. I surmised that this was to make the players think that I was walking out with the lion's share of the money, therein taking the heat off his ass. The Boogie Kings were very suspicious about the money. He's the one who really made the bulk of the money. I didn't care because the name was mine, at long last. Rose was sharing my apartment and my bed with me in New Iberia, Louisiana, and we were very sexually active with each other. On the way back from Beaumont, I talked Rose and my date, a pretty little bisexual brunette, into stopping at a motel so we could party some more. There had been coke everywhere, and we were still buzzing, nowhere near ready to quit. For several hours, we engaged in some of the most uninhibited sex that I have ever participated in. I won't go into too much detail about it, but you can use your imagination if you like. In December of 1982, I decided to promote my own reunion. With the help of James Stelly and a large night club named Podnuh's, we agreed on a December date. I managed to hire all of the original Boogie Kings. It had been about fifteen years since we had all shared the same stage. With no rehearsal at all, we got on that stage and with a standing room only crowd, we blew the fucking walls down. They wouldn't let us off the stage! We came back for three encores. We shared a ton of money, destroyed the crowd, and shed a few tears of joy, but I could still detect hard feelings in some of the players. Nevertheless, I was convinced that we could put the great Boogie Kings band back together again. Humpty-Dumpty had that idea, too, but he could not do it either. We decided to try it one more time, fully convinced that the Boogie Kings were marketable for big money. We booked a Boogie Kings reunion at the Lakeshore Club in Lake Arthur, Louisiana. The club was run by Emmet Ayo and Robert Kenvyn, two of our dearest friends. The gig was a great success and we made some money. It was a foggy night and driving conditions were horrible. Duane, Jon, Rose and myself were in my car, "Old Blue," the fog got thicker, and we were passing a joint around. All of a sudden as we approached Gueydan, Louisiana, I saw a sign in front of me that read "Barricade." I slammed on the brakes and everything got quiet as I realized that the car had no intention of stopping. We skidded through the barricade, became airborne at sixty miles per hour, jumped a canal and came down on the service road that ran along the side of the canal. If we would have come down in the canal, we would all be dead now. I guess God was not ready for us, for we survived without a scratch. In early 1983, Rose and Jon moved in with me in my tiny one bedroom apartment. We got some players and started booking jobs. We hired big Johnny Thomassie on drums, Glen Guilbeau on keys and some other good players and gave it our best shot. We started with a bang, but just as it had happened in the past, it ended in failure and hard feelings. I went broke again and decided that we had allowed too much time to pass. Music had completely changed and we were seen as an oldies act now. We were still appreciated and respected, but we were only strong in certain places. I was single again. I got a job at Romero's Music in Lafayette and quickly realized the money potential in a business of this type. I worked there for two years and made enough money to open my own music store. My friend, Lee Warnken, and I opened and operated Ned's Music for five years very successfully. I hated retail, but I was making good money. My partner, Lee Warnken, is still in the music business. His talent and skills were the backbone of my business. I could not have succeeded without Lee. In 1988, I joined a band called "Speed Limit" Black Alleman, Tony Goulas and Tony Ardoin were the vocalists. We did all of the old Boogie Kings material. Jim Drouet and Eddie Baker played horn with me. Bubba Boudreax was on keys and Don Trahan was the drummer. Pat Smith was the guitar player. I used this band in the 1988 reunion (which was one of our best, musically speaking) and it was recorded live. A tape was released and was titled "Cajun Soul." It is now available on our website, "boogiekings.com". In October of 1989, just when I thought my career in music was over, I was hired to play trumpet on a rock show in Baton Rouge with a bunch of other has-beens like myself. It was a good performance and I enjoyed it very much. After the show, a gentleman walked over to me and said, "Aren't you Ned Theall of the Boogie Kings?" I was flattered to be remembered that way. He continued, "I'm Frank Parker and I'd like to know what it would cost to put the Boogie Kings together for a New Year's Eve Show." This was in 1989. Without hesitation, I said, "Ten thousand dollars." Frank replied, "That's all?" I said, "Yes, and I would need a thousand dollar deposit." I thought this would blow him away, but he immediately pulled out his checkbook and said, "Is a check okay?" I could have kissed Frank's feet as he handed me that check. I asked Frank where the gig would be and he said, "Right here in Baton Rouge at the Centroplex." I had no idea at all that I could pull it off one more time, but what the hell? I had a thousand dollars to play with. We played the New Year's Eve, packed the place, but somehow Frank got screwed when he tried to collect his money from the ticket agency. I ended up giving Frank a break on the price, but he still lost money. I will always appreciate what Frank Parker did for us because this is where our comeback really began. The New Year's Eve 1989 performance was recorded and released as a compact disc. It is entitled "Nine Lives" and it is available on Jin Recordings. Floyd Soileau has helped me tremendously in the past few years. It is also available on the website. Right after the New Year's Eve gig, we had a meeting with GG Jerry, Dan Duane, Jon and myself to try to get commitments to put the band back together one more time. The plan was to meet with Norman Land, a booking agent. He had indicated to me that he could book the show. Norman didn't show at the meeting, Jerry wasn't interested unless we could could meet some unreasonable guarantees. G.G. was not interested. Duane Yates and Jon Smith backed me up, but it was not enough to build on. I could see that this meeting was going nowhere, so I pulled out of the whole deal, not wanting to make a fool of myself again. I was beginning to think that it would be impossible to put the Boogie Kings together again for anything but reunions. So here I was, 52 years old and once again thinking about a comeback for The Boogie Kings. I knew that it would take a miracle for the band to get back together, but this was my mission in life and I just could not give up my dream, no matter how impossible it seemed at the time. Everyone thought I crazy and I was told over and over that I could never get the magic back into the band, even if I did put it back together. Boy, were they wrong!  |