Recorded 1997 at the Chamizal National Memorial
Zoomer Roberts: vocal
Buddy Winston: guitar
Steve Smith: mandolin
Glenn Leffler: bass
Eric Hutson: drums
Deep Elem (Elm) was a disreputable area in South Dallas. To my knowledge, this catchy song about the thrills and woes to be found there was first sung by the Shelton Brothers in the 1930s. The inspiration for this version was a Sun record by Jerry Lee Lewis. The last verse was borrowed from "Texas Hambone Blues":
Well I'm goin' down to Cowtown just to get my hambone boiled
Because them New York City women, they done let my hambone spoil!
I once knew an old warehouse hand who recalled walking through Deep Elem during the Depression. He heard a voice call out from a second-story window: "Hey, white boy! Fo' a dollah, I takes you on!" He kept walking -- or at least that's what he told me, thirty five years after the fact.
If you go down in Deep Elem, put your money in your socks
Them redheads in Deep Elem'll blow a man out on the rocks!
Somewhere between the original VHS tape and this link, the MP3 file got reduced to a really crummy bitrate. I'll upgrade it one of these days, but for now, this will have to do.
Look here, pretty baby, I said you sure look good to me
But when you go down in Deep Elem lit up like a Christmas tree
Lawdy, Mama! Your Daddy's got them Deep Elem Blues!
Why don't you listen to me, Sugar? Your Daddy's got them Deep Elem Blues!
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El Paso artist Pat Olchefski-Winston (Buddy's wife) did this vibrant water color of Buddy and me in 2001. For more information about Pat and her work, go to: www.olchefski.com and www.artistsofthesouthwest.com
Link to Snapshots, Clippings, Stuff I've Written, and More...
Listening Instructions
Right-click on the song title or a link in the body of the post to open box.net in a new window or tab. You will have the option of downloading the song to your own computer or listening to it on the built-in player. At the bottom of each blog page is a self-explanatory "older posts" link.
What it is...
I've been playing music in the El Paso area for nearly fifty years, and I've accumulated hundreds of tapes along the way. Here they are. Most of these performances were captured with inexpensive portable equipment in living rooms, taverns, houses of worship, festival tents and theatres. Some were recorded off the radio, some directly from public address systems. A few were actually recorded in professional recording studios. Some of these hands are folded now, and some of these voices are stilled. This is what I've done, where I've been and who I've known. This is my scrapbook.
Art by Pat Olchefski-Winston
El Paso artist Pat Olchefski-Winston (Buddy's wife) did this vibrant water color of Buddy and me in 2001. For more information about Pat and her work, go to: www.olchefski.com and www.artistsofthesouthwest.com
With Ernest Tubb ~ 1980
Back in 1983 with Mickey Cochran (guitar) and Bobby Napier (fiddle). Bobby went on to bigger things, including a stint with Tammy Wynette.
1980s Bidness Card
