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Posted by Larry Jordan
on March 13, 2009, 3:56 am, in reply to "Re: Question to Larry "
69.66.111.56
The late Leo Jackson was quoted on the Holland fan site as saying he made a mistake in first telling me that the drummer playing on the song "Shepherd of Love" was Jackie Moffett. One of the reasons he cited was that "Jim fired him before we went to Europe to do a U.S.O. tour in 1957."
Leo's implication was that Jackie couldn't have played on "Shepherd" because it was recorded after he claims Moffett left the group.
However, tonight I was going through some old tapes and ran across a live recording of Jim performing at the Commercial Hotel in Elko, Nevada in late June 1959. Although I had listened to the tape before, I had forgotten that at one point, Jim introduced the band members, and mentioned drummer Jackie Moffett. Reeves teased "he's got the prettiest smile this side of Walter Brennan, I'll tell ya. He's quite a cat."
I'm sure Leo was correct in saying that Reeves fired Jackie in 1957. But just as Tommy Hill came and went in the band several times, the tape proves that Jackie was definitely backing Jim in the summer of 1959. Leo wouldn't have necessarily known that, because he was still in the military service until July 1959, by which time Reeves had fired his entire band.
Also, the way Jackie played on the live show is rather illuminating. To my ears, it sounds somewhat similar to the drummer on "Shepherd of Love." Jackie was a little too aggressive in his playing, whereas Mel Rogers was not.
In fact, on the Elko show, Jim turned to Jackie and said "coming in...loud and clear" -- a veiled reference to the fact that Moffett was playing too loudly. Guitar player Red Gale can be heard off-mic saying "somebody ought to talk to him." Jim then said, "Red, you're real good at that sort of thing, so tomorrow you take Jackie out and give him a talking to..."
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