Gary Graham and The Poor Boys
14/04/13 22:51
Gary has been a continuous friend of mine since 1963. As Gary would say, “Even if you say that fast, it is still a long time.” Yes, that rounds out to 50 years. The Spartans started out in Gary’s Family nightclub (The Casablanca) at Lake of the Ozarks Missouri. We got our feet wet in that club and developed what we began to think was a band worthy of taking to California and giving it a chance. Remember, this was about a year before the Beatles landed and took over the music charts in America.
Gary Graham and Bob Nigg went on after the Spartans and created a wonderful Show Band called The Poor Boys. If you had an opportunity to see them in one of their many shows in San Francisco at the Off Broadway, or headlining in Las Vegas or at PJ’s in Los Angeles you will surly know what I am referring to.
Gary and I talked last night for a couple of hours and to my delight he is sending me a box of material for the website. I have a feeling; knowing how much stuff Gary has, it’s just the beginning of his contributions.
Gary and I have never drifted apart and spend lots of time on the phone. He now lives in semi-retirement in Sedalia Missouri. Gary has a most fascinating story to his life but one standout has been his love of horses and raising them. These days he raises miniature horses. I suppose that is part of scaling down for retirement.
Watch for some exciting memorabilia from Gary as he and Poor Boys played for many years and toured all over the world. EC