Monday, July 13, 2020

I'll Be Lonesome From Now On



Monte Davidson
I'll Be Lonesome From Now On
M. C. L. Records No. 5811
[1968]


Monte Davidson was an Ozarks regular since the early 1960s, and led the house band at the Lodge Of The Four Seasons, in Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri. He also toured regionally, did Vegas, and eventually retired the band sometime in the 1980s.

John Drake Robinson in his book Coastal Missouri: Driving On the Edge of Wild recalls:
(...) I miss seeing Monte Davidson, who sang country songs at a bar in the underbelly of Harold's resort, a little cantina called the Wild Times Saloon. It isn't Monte's music that I miss. I miss his barroom persona, his bull-in-a-china-shop style. Every night he rode into the saloon on Gomer, a real live Brahman bull. The bull would sway through the crowd, between tables with drinks and hors d'oeuvres and patrons, some amused, some petrified. Monte wore an electric cowboy suit that lit up like a movie marquee, and he'd sing and strum his guitar while Gomer moved through the crowded bar. I never saw Gomer get excited or kick a table over or spill anybody's drink. I think they must've kept Gomer pretty happy. I know everybody else seemed sedated (*) when Gomer plowed through. And when he left the building, I can't recall that I ever saw any Gomer piles. But that was years ago, and I assume Gomer is glue, or stuffed, and the wild times are mostly outdoors now.
(*) there were no reports of the bull being under the influence while performing, but Gomer was known for his penchant for beer and peanuts, according to Davidson.



1 comment:

  1. During his stint with Monte Davidson, Gomer actually lived at our place. He was the most gentle, docile animal I've ever seen. I was a rambunctious kid at the time, and he put up with me tugging at his ears, climbing all over him, and just being a general pest. He never once even got a bit upset about it, just standing there and taking it.

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