The Word - Vol 83

Waylon, Willie, and the Boys 

Once upon a time, I was the resident weekend weather guy on BCTV (now Global TV). During those days I was sent outside to report on the weather for the day and the week to come. The location would change every week, and we would try to include a community event or a community location of interest. Some mornings I would go in search of something and each hour show up at a different location. One particular Saturday I went in search of Garth Brooks who was in town for a concert, and we were able to track down his tour bus. I got talking to Garth’s bus driver and managed to get inside Garth’s bus with the cameraman to have a look around. When I asked where the “Garthman” was, I was told that he went golfing. Which reminded me of another “country singer goes golfing” story. ​

It was one of the most talked about golf games that never took place at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver. Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were looking for a game before their concert. I don’t know how or why they picked Point Grey Golf Club? It’s a private club and the only way you can play that course is if you’re a member or a guest of a member. Vancouver Sun reporter John Mackie helped with this story when he found a Denny Boyd column from the Vancouver Sun dated August 1984. As Denny reported: “2 scruffy dudes walked into the pro shop at Point Grey Golf and Country Club and asked for a walk-on game. They were wearing creased jeans, monogrammed black t-shirts, tractor caps, and scuffed-up felony shoes. (All of those items do not comply with the golf course dress code.) And the hair: my God, the hair! It dangled below their shoulders, and it was obvious neither had shaved since the NATO pact was signed. The folks in the pro shop offered to sell them something classy like a pair of self-belting golf slacks and golf shirts, until the dudes got the message. They said if someone would just be kind enough to put their clubs back in the car, it’s the Eldorado out there, they’d be moving on.” 

Ray Ramsay, Retired Record Rep with RCA and Quality Records, (how’s that for an alliteration?) picks up the story from there in his book, “Promo Monkey: My Life as a BellHop in the Waldorf Hysteria.” “Point Grey Golf Club was A VERY high-end (that may have attracted Willie) place that took one look at these two Raggedy–ass Rednecks and summarily ran them off the property; the nerve! The Point Grey people had NO idea who these two were. So, onto the next stop, Musqueam Golf Course, a lot more Salt-of-the-Earth (or rim) atmosphere, and after a great round of golf they went to the clubhouse and were buying rounds and tipping the staff $50s and $100s, and Willie invited everyone down to Pedernales, his Golf Course in Texas, to play for FREE, anytime!” Seems the Musqueam course waived any kind of dress code for the “Outlaws.” 
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Well, there’s no dress code needed for a slow-pitch softball game. That’s the way rock singer Meatloaf spent his day prior to his Vancouver concert. As I recall the Meatloaf team consisted of long-haired musicians and scruffy roadies who played a fundraising game against the North Vancouver Fire Department. And yes, in my interview with him, I had to ask if he preferred to be called, Mr. Loaf, Mr. Meat, or just Meatloaf! Pretty clever huh? I’ll bet he’s never heard that snappy line before. He was very gracious, and we just went with Meatloaf. 

And then there was singer Michael Bolton. He too liked to pick up a game of slow pitch while on tour. I was working at KISS-FM, and the station was promoting his concert, so the Bolton people asked if we could put a team together to play his team. We said sure and gathered a team of men and women from the station, some had never played the game before, and headed out for the game at Queens Park in New Westminster. As I was instructing the receptionist which end of the bat to hold, a big bus pulled up beside the stadium, and out came “Bolton’s Bombers”, all wearing big league uniforms, and most of them 6 foot 2 or more! These were band members and roadies? I don’t think so! I saw Bolton moving towards their dugout and called out to him. I asked him about his teammates and said they didn’t look like band members and roadies. “Oh, no,” he said, “these guys usually play for the Coors Silver Bullets men’s team. I got tired of having my team of band and crew members being beaten in every game we played, so I brought in some friends.” Friends? More like “Ringers” if you ask me. So, I asked Bolton to just take it easy on us. He didn’t. Every gorilla that came up to the plate hit the ball to the fence, and most times over it. It was no contest. I called timeout and called Bolton out again and said if his team didn’t tone it down, someone (one of us) was going to get hurt. And someone did. Our pitcher, Ron Livingston took a nasty line drive to the thigh, which put a damper on the rest of the game, and fear into the heart of the receptionist! The game mercifully came to an end and the Bolton Bombers got back on the bus with Micheal Bolton after hardly breaking a sweat, and off they drove into the sunset. 

So as you see, Waylon and Willie were par for the course, Meatloaf was the day’s special, but Bolton’s Bombers Bombed!

Till next week… 
Wayne

*My thanks to old friend and sportscaster Garry Raible for digging up a photo of Bolton with some of his team, and the KISS team.

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