EDDIE LEROY BRIDGES, JR.

TRANSCRIPT %u2013EDDIE BRIDGES
[Compiled July 23rd, 2009]

Interviewee: EDDIE BRIDGES

Interviewers: Brendan Greaves

Interview Date: August 7th, 2008

Location:

Length: Approximately 90 minutes

BRENDAN GREAVES: I%u2019m here with Mr. Eddie Bridges. My name is Brendan Greaves, and Eddie, if you could just say your full name, where you were born, and your date of birth.
EDDIE BRIDGES: My name is Eddie LeRoy Bridges, Jr. I was born in Cleveland County. My date of birth is March 28th, 1947.
BG: Okay, terrific. So the first question I usually like to ask is about your family history and background, whether your folks were from this area, your grandparents, what your family did for work.
EB: Okay. My mother%u2019s family is from Cleveland County. I didn%u2019t know them very well because my grandmother passed when my mother was a young child. My grandfather died at the age of ninety-three. His name was Woodrow Wilson Earl. My mother%u2019s mom%u2019s name was Zula Earl. Of course, as I stated, he died in nineteen--I forget the year, but he was ninety-three years old. I remember that. My father came--his dad came from--his mother came from South Carolina, from Cherokee County. They migrated to Cleveland County in the late nineteen-thirties, and of course, purchased property after share-cropping for a number of years. They purchased about a sixty-seven acre farm in Cleveland County near Waco, North Carolina, and farmed that land until the days of farming kind of went by the wayside. Basically, they were all, to an extent, North Carolina natives. Most of their life was spent here in Cleveland County. Parents--my mom is basically a housewife. My dad worked at local mills and did some chauffeuring for the Gardner family in Shelby. Later on, he became a law enforcement officer with the Cleveland County Sheriff%u2019s Department. He worked there perhaps twenty years until his retirement. I have three siblings--one brother, two sisters.
BG: What are their names?
EB: My brother%u2019s name is [ ] Reid Bridges. My sister--oldest sister is Aretta Day Bridges Carrey. My youngest sister is Opal Peggy Washington. They all reside in Cleveland County. My brother retired in December, 2007 and worked for about twenty-eight years for Cleveland County Animal Control. My baby sister is a teacher at Burns Junior High School. My oldest sister is basically a housewife now. She%u2019s a new grandmother now, so she%u2019s happy about that.
BG: [Laughed].
EB: That%u2019s about it. No one other than myself has been involved with music. It%u2019s just me, and it%u2019s kind of odd that one day I was thinking about--when I was young--I went back to when I was about three or four years old. Believe it or not, I can remember that far back. I remember finding an old phonograph recorder up under my parents%u2019 house. We used to live in an area called Flat Rock on a street called Jennings Street. One day, I found an old phonograph. Now, this was an old-time phonograph that you had to crank up--an antique. I was only about four years old and I found this phonograph, and my mom had some old seventy-eight records (these vinyl records turned at seventy-eight revolutions per minute). I%u2019m going to tell my age after while. They got me some needles for this phonograph. There used to be a little music store called J&K Records store in Shelby. They got me some needles and I would play with that thing. I%u2019d wear the needles out. When I%u2019d wear them out, they would--I%u2019d start hollering or crying or whatever, and they%u2019d have to go get me some more needles for this. But, I said that to say this--I didn%u2019t realize it, but I guess it was like pre-destined for me to be in broadcasting, even at four years old, playing with an old phonograph. So, I went through high school and went into the military. I spent three years in the Navy. I worked in the JAG office on a ship. I was stationed aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard, a CVA-31 aircraft carrier. On there, we had our own radio and TV station. So, this is how my radio career began--on a Navy ship. After I got off from my regular job at five o%u2019clock, the program director and manager of the TV and radio station saw me playing around with a reel-to-reel recorder. I was in the office one day and I was pretending I was a DJ. I don%u2019t know where that came from, but I was pretending I was a DJ. He came over one day and he heard me. He said, %u201CMan, why don%u2019t you come over to the station and take an air shift, maybe an hour?%u201D I said, %u201CNo, I can%u2019t do that.%u201D So he bugged me for about a week and I finally broke down and did it. He was impressed with me and he said, %u201CWhy don%u2019t you take the two-hour shift?%u201D So, I ended up doing two hours every afternoon. It was fun %u2018cause we had a complete air wing and ship%u2019s crew. We averaged, I guess, about five thousand soldiers on that ship. In any case, I got out of the military, was planning to go to college at USC in Charlotte. I had got enrolled and everything. Life changed--got married.
BG: [Laughed].
EB: That knocked college out, but I still hadn%u2019t forgotten about radio, so I took a couple of jobs at local businesses--Fiber Industries, and then later, PPG. In the back of my mind was always, %u201CI want to go to broadcasting school.%u201D The guys I used to work with would say, %u201CAh, no, you%u2019re not going to do anything. What are you talking about? You%u2019re not going to do anything.%u201D So, I broke down and I left a good paying job at PPG Industries and started going to the Carolina School of Broadcasting in Charlotte. Right before I finished, I put an application in with WOHS, and at that time was just an AM and FM. There was a guy that was working there that was leaving the station. So, the next thing I knew, I was able to get a job at WOHS. At that time, it was WOHS AM and FM. So, I started work in the evening, took this guy%u2019s job from six-thirty until midnight. A little later on, they changed the split to two stations and the FM became WXIK-FM. It still remained the WOHS-AM. AM had a country format. The FM was pop-rock and still a little country. Then later on--at that time, we only had thirty-five hundred watts on the FM. AM had one thousand, but then a few years later they decided to increase the power on the FM and increased it to a hundred thousand watts. Back in those days, there weren%u2019t many hundred thousand watt stations in this area, so we were kind of like a dominant force in the area. Later on, some Charlotte stations increased their power and so forth. But for many, many years, until I guess until about 1983, WXIK-FM was a dominant voice in this area. We had calls from places like Johnston, Tennessee to Clemson, towards the beach. I used to say, %u201CFrom the mountains to the sea.%u201D You could hear us at night, or all during the day, but at night was fun %u2018cause that was my time. Kids later on in high schools would call and request music. I did a number of sock-hops and so forth at the schools. They tagged me with the name %u201CE.B.and the Nighttime Affair.%u201D That has stuck, and I run across kids today that are grown--some of them got grandkids, and they say, %u201CWe used to listen to you, man. You were E.B. and the Nighttime Affair.%u201D I say, %u201CThat%u2019s great. I appreciate that.%u201D But, they gave me that tag and it%u2019s still stuck today. I enjoyed radio; I enjoyed working, and after about thirty-six years--almost thirty-seven years--I%u2019m still hanging in there. You have to love music, all types of music, and I had played it all. I%u2019ve played it from country, pop, gospel, classical, big band, you name it. So, I enjoy music. I keep trying to keep up with it as much as I possibly can. Not up on hip-hop and so forth because it seems like those artists change from week to week. The mainstay is, I always feel like, the nineteen seventies, eighties were some of the best years for music because the bands, whether it be somebody like Chicago or whether it be the Commodores, whoever, it was good music. It wasn%u2019t all canned music. It was music that was done in the studio with musicians and I enjoyed that. I got into gospel. I used to work from Monday through Friday from six-thirty to midnight and on Sunday mornings from six to noon. I began a gospel program of fifteen minutes beginning that moved on to maybe an hour or so. That%u2019s where I started to dabble in gospel music. I got familiar with gospel artists. A few years later, in 1987, I ended up going to Gaffney programming WFGN. I programmed it for three years, and when I went there the format was a little beach music and a little country. We programmed into gospel--urban gospel, and it%u2019s been that way ever since. It will be--and of course, in 1990 myself and two partners bought the radio station, and it%u2019s been running gospel. The format%u2019s been pretty strong for us over the past years. We found a niche in that market and that%u2019s what we program, and it%u2019s been doing well. I don%u2019t know what else I can cover.
BG: That is a great beginning. That was a good overview, but I want to rewind and get some details and dates and names. First of all, I think we might have missed your--we got your grandparents%u2019 names, but I think we missed your parents names.
EB: Okay, I%u2019m sorry. My father%u2019s name, of course, is Eddie LeRoy Bridges, Sr. and my mother%u2019s name is Rachel Opal Earl Bridges. She was an Earl. They were great parents--protective parents, I used to say, because early in my childhood we moved out to the country, so to speak, outside the city limits, when I was five years old. My father built a home there, on some property that belonged to my grandparents as well. In any case, like I said, they were great parents, protective parents, bless my mom. There was a little creek not too far from my home that we used to want to go down and swim in. That was a no-no. She would not let us swim and would not let us--would not take us to Holly Oak Park to the swimming pool or let us learn to swim. So therefore, by myself not learning to swim, before I went into the military--in the Navy, of course, you had to know how to swim. They taught us. They taught me to swim. The first day in class they threw you in the pool and they say, %u201CHit it!%u201D Of course, if they find you couldn%u2019t swim, they%u2019d pull you out and they%u2019d take you to a series of lessons for maybe six weeks. I used to always fault my mom and dad. I%u2019d say, %u201CIf you had let me learn how to swim in the creek, I wouldn%u2019t have had gone through this.%u201D But, hey, they were protective because they were concerned. There%u2019s no telling; we may have gotten into what they used to call sinkholes or gotten in an undertow or something and drowned. So, I don%u2019t fault them for being protective. That%u2019s just the way they were and I%u2019m glad they were because some parents today, they%u2019re not very protective of their kids. But, they were protective.
BG: In further detail about your childhood and music, I%u2019m wondering--you mentioned listening to seventy-eights and you did mention the Holly Oak Park. I%u2019m wondering if you were aware coming up, before you joined the military, of local musicians or concerts at Holly Oak or dances?
EB: Right, there were dances. I remember--I guess I was a teen-ager back in the days when you used to hear about people like Jerry Butler. Several--I think I was even told one time--I%u2019m not sure, was James Brown was there or not? But, there were several major artists that used to come to the Holly Oak Park. I remember when it was dedicated. I think Floyd Patterson came into town, and was there, and some others back in those days. I was too young then to get in the park, but I remember hearing about various major artists coming through. I know for years, when they used to have dances or gospel concerts, people from Charlotte, Asheville, you name it, Spartanburg, Greenville, all you had to do was say Holly Oak Park and people knew where it was. It was kind of like a definite mainstay for Cleveland County and Shelby. Coming up while I worked at WOHS, I also had some concerts. I used to have some R&B shows out there with the regional bands and stuff.
BG: What bands? Do you remember the names?
EB: I had a group out of Gaffney, South Carolina called Nasty Habits. They had a little cross between rock and R&B--had a good little sound. It%u2019s hard to believe they were black musicians, of course--five guys and two girls--backup singers. They had a great sound. Kind of a--you%u2019ve heard of groups like--out of Atlanta--it wasn%u2019t Bertha. I can%u2019t remember the name of the group that had a sound similar to them. It was kind of a rock--soul to rock sound. Local, some groups out of Gastonia--Blue Ice--they had some weird names back then. They were kind of like a little cross between R&B and disco. No major groups, but we had a lot of local groups. I had a local teenage disco here for years, downtown, called The Other Side. They named it that because it was the other side of the adult scene--no alcoholic beverages, just sold chips, sodas and things of this nature. They had game machines--foosball, pinball machines. In one area was a disco room--mirrored ball and glass wall. It became kind of like a baby-sitting service. Parents would come and drop their kids off, and come back. We were open from, like seven to eleven. They would come back around eleven and pick their kids up and it was fun. Kids enjoyed themselves; it was an outlet for them to go and dance and meet and congregate and fellowship. It became a hit, and then there were parents who had younger kids who knew you had to be at least thirteen to get in, so if you were twelve and under you couldn%u2019t get in, of course. The parents started coming to me and saying, %u201CWell, look, I%u2019ve got kids like three-four years old that would like to come.%u201D I said, %u201COkay.%u201D I broke down and opened it up on Saturdays from twelve to four, and the parents would bring their younger kids then. They would come in; there would be little kids dancing and it was a lot of fun. I remember some years ago, the Shelby Star did an article on it, and it was amazing to see those kids at that age, three and four years old, six years old, dancing. Some of those kids now are grown and they have kids that were that young back then. But, it was fun. Anything dealing with music, I was definitely involved. We used to have fashion shows, different activities. I%u2019ve done family reunions, wedding receptions, high school reunions, whatever. If it%u2019s dealing with music I%u2019ve been involved with it. Presently, at my church, I%u2019m running--been running the sound system for the church for a number of years.
BG: What church is that?
EB: Washington Missionary Baptist Church, right outside of Waco, North Carolina on Stony Point Road. Like I say, music is my life. My daughter asked me a few months ago, %u201CDad, aren%u2019t you ready to retire?%u201D I said, %u201CWhat would I do?%u201D Music%u2019s all I know. I never pictured myself wanting to be able to be spinning CD%u2019s at seventy years old. If I make it that far, I won%u2019t be doing that. I%u2019ll be sitting back and just kind of letting somebody else take care of that, and not getting up at four o%u2019clock in the morning and going to Gaffney to open up and start a radio show. But, if I didn%u2019t enjoy it and love it, I wouldn%u2019t be doing it and continue to do it. You have to enjoy what you do in life, no matter what it is. If you don%u2019t enjoy it, it takes all the fun away from life.
BG: Do you sing or play an instrument yourself?
EB: No, I wish I could. When I was in the military, I bought an alto sax from a guy in my division. I wanted to learn to play the sax, an instrument. I kept it about a month. I just couldn%u2019t get my lips on that reed to blow it, so I ended up selling it back to him. I always wanted to learn to play a bass guitar or play organ, but never did. There are some in my family who are musically inclined, a couple of nephews that have played trombones, trumpets, and things of this nature, but I never have. I like music; I%u2019ve always wanted to record artists, and I can%u2019t read music but I feel like I have a good ear. I know what I like and what sounds good, but--. Maybe one day when I slow down I%u2019ll still have time to do that.
BG: So, now that you%u2019re involved in--it sounds like you%u2019re heavily involved in the gospel music industry at the moment with your current station, when you were coming up in Cleveland County, was gospel music a big part of your world and your environment that--what did you hear at church, and did you go to gospel concerts?
EB: Yeah. [interruption when someone knocked on the door] We went to church. I didn%u2019t think much about gospel music in church at an early age. Really, the first involvement with gospel was at radio station WXIK. When I first went there, we had this large studio, with a big boom mike and piano. There were local quartet groups that would come in on Sunday mornings and do a fifteen minute show. There were three or four groups and then all of a sudden, sometimes they would drop off, so that would make fifteen minutes available. That%u2019s basically how I began playing gospel music, especially back in the day we could say %u201Cblack gospel%u201D from groups like the Sewanee Quintet, Slim and the Supreme Angels, Tommy Ellison, you name it. At that time, they were like major artists around the country. That was something--that music that they were able to pick up locally, it was good for the community because they were not able to hear that music unless they could pick up a station in Charlotte. Back in the day it was WGIV and it only had a thousand watts but you could pick it up sometimes in this area. Other than that, they would only hear gospel like WLAC in Nashville, which at that time was a fifty thousand watt station at night that blasted up and down the East coast. They used to play R&B and gospel at night. During the day I believe their format was country, but you couldn%u2019t pick them up in the daytime in this area. At night, when they went with the power change, you could hear them all up and down the East coast. I grew up listening to that. Back in that day you could hear things like James Brown, [pause] Joe Simon, Solomon Burke, and all of those people back in the day. B.B. King and those artists--. I remember my mom used to order specials. They used to order specials from Randy%u2019s Record Mart. You%u2019d get maybe five or ten albums, seventy-eights back in those days. They%u2019d send them to you C.O.D. and you%u2019d pay for them from the postal. My mom, of course, always liked music and was involved with music herself because we all had a record player around. She%u2019d play that and I guess that%u2019s how maybe I got--didn%u2019t really think about it, but kind of got involved in the music. Back in the day, I remember her ordering music--the packages would include Jerry Lee Lewis, %u201CGreat Balls of Fire,%u201D Elvis Presley--. You%u2019d get Joe Turner and James Brown. You%u2019d get all those in a package deal, so you had to like what you got because they were playing these sounds, and people like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis and those others, they were pioneers at that time. They had that urban black sound, so to speak. People were dancing to that music just like they would James Brown or anybody else. I certainly remember Jerry Lee Lewis, %u201CGreat balls of fire,%u201D bla-bla-bla-bla-bla on that piano. That station itself, a lot of people, no matter what your nationality was, grew up listening to that station. My manager that was at WXIK, Harold Watson, used to talk about listening to that music when he was growing up. You%u2019d be surprised; a lot of people were involved with WLAC in Nashville. It was a history-making station. But, to get back to gospel, I enjoy gospel. Gospel has changed a lot now. It%u2019s gone from not only traditional to contemporary; it%u2019s gone to hip-hop; you name it. It%u2019s got different forms of gospel music out there, and it just depends--the hip-hop is more geared towards, of course, the younger generation. And contemporary is geared to an age group, I guess, between thirty-five and twenty-five. It%u2019s used to communicate. A lot of young people now, perhaps, are not as involved in the church as they should be, so perhaps this music is kind of touching them and probably helping to bring some of them in, because traditional hymns are not sung very much in churches today. You know, everything has got to be a little--have a little beat. I remember years ago my dad used to complain about my church having a drummer. %u201CWhy do we need a drummer? It makes so much noise. Then I remember that organs were not played very much in churches, mostly the piano and that was it. So, you bring the--go from the piano to the organ; it adds flavor. Drums add flavor. Usually you%u2019ve got a guitar, a bass guitar and a rhythm guitar that adds flavor. So, you know, you%u2019ve got your little jam session behind the music and it helps with the presentation of the songs and backs up the ministers as well. Things are changing now and it%u2019s all a change for the good because you%u2019ve got to touch and reach young people today. If that%u2019s the way you%u2019ve got to do it, that%u2019s what you have to do. [ ] BG: Yes, I do have [ ] but that%u2019s okay. Like I say, if you get bored or need to run, just tell me and we%u2019ll wrap it up.
EB: No, I%u2019m fine. Okay.
BG: First, what years were you active in the Navy?
EB: I went in in 1965. I actually signed up two days before my eighteenth birthday. March the twenty-sixth I signed up. My birthday is, of course, on the twenty-eighth. It was a program they call--they give you time to finish school and then go into the service. I finished--I came out in June and in about thirty days, I left for San Diego. That%u2019s where I took my basic training--at the US Naval station there in San Diego. I stayed there, took my basic, came back home for about a month, flew back to California--San Francisco--Treasure Island. From there, I caught an Air Force transport to the Philippines, stayed there for a month waiting for my ship to come in because it was stationed off the coast of Viet Nam. It came into port in the Philippines in Subic Bay, Philippines, and I caught my ship. I was on there for about three or four months. It came back to Long Beach, California. It stayed in dry-dock for a year, so during that time I was in Long Beach and LA. I got to know some people who were on the ship and lived in the LA-Compton area. Then we headed back out to sea, back to what they call West Pac, and went back to off the coast of Viet Nam. The first time when I went out with the ship--when I first arrived there, we were stationed down on what they call Dixie, the lower part of Viet Nam. Went back the second time and it was stationed up north near Hanoi. I%u2019m still on the aircraft carrier and of course we had an air wing and everything, so I didn%u2019t really get to see any action. We had a couple of scares a couple of times where they thought some MIG%u2019s were headed out to the ship. Of course, they always left a few aircraft on ship, just in case. But the closest that I recall ever going in was probably about twelve miles. At the time, we could see bombs and things going off, but that was the closest I ever got to land there. Of course, we%u2019d be out to sea for thirty days at a time. We%u2019d come back in and go to either Japan or Sasebo, or Yokosuka, Japan or we%u2019d go to the Philippines or we%u2019d go to Hong Kong. One trip we went down to Sydney, Australia, and so forth. I spent three years in there. My plans were to go back to California, go to college at LA State--LA Community College, I believe it was. But anyway, I ended up staying here on the East coast, and from there on led to my broadcast career. I don%u2019t know what I%u2019d been in in LA, hopefully not in an earthquake, but I often wondered. I%u2019ve never been back there to visit since I came this way, but maybe one day I%u2019ll get out that way.
BG: So when did you start broadcast school? What year was that?
EB: I started broadcasting school--I guess it was like %u201969.
BG: Okay.
EB: The latter part of %u201969 and came out--I started my broadcast career February 1st of %u201971 because even though I was working Monday through Friday I was still able to go to Charlotte on Saturdays. Before that, I was going at night, taking night classes. So, when the opening came up at WXIK I started going on Saturdays. A young man I met at school from here--his name was Steve Green. We started to carpool and drive down and back in those days the instructors were people that worked at WBT, like a guy named H.A. Thompson. They called him %u201Chat.%u201D A few other guys that were--during the day, you could see them on WBTV or something and hear them on radio at night, but on the weekends and evenings they%u2019d be there teaching classes in broadcasting. It was fun; it was interesting, but it%u2019s not like being able to get behind a mike, and able to communicate. It%u2019s like a one-on-one situation. I%u2019d tell people I%u2019d train over the years, I%u2019d say when you communicate with people on the air it%u2019s just like talking to your best friend or your mom, your brother or somebody. Don%u2019t think about all the thousands of people who may be listening to you at that time. A lot of people get nervous when they get behind a mike. I%u2019ve had ministers to come in and do some recording, and they get nervous and do a lot of fluffing. I said, %u201CWhat%u2019s wrong?%u201D %u201CWell, I%u2019m used to having an audience out there in front of me and somebody hollering %u2018Amen.%u2019 It%u2019s a little different when you%u2019re just in a little booth there and you%u2019re just enclosed.%u201D I said, %u201CAh, there%u2019s nothing to it. You just pretend you%u2019re talking to one of your parishioners or something. Broadcasting--it%u2019s good. I know a lot of stations have gone to digital or computerized type formats. We still do it the old-school way. You don%u2019t find a lot of them that are doing it, but I still like the one-on-one feeling that you have communicating with people.
BG: I have been told that you were the first African-American DJ at WOHS, which is a major accomplishment.
EB: Well, I%u2019ve been told that [both laughed]. I guess it was. At the time, I didn%u2019t really look at it that way. I remember once after I got in radio, I ran across some of those naysayers who at the time didn%u2019t really give me very much support by saying, %u201CHey, go on and try it. Go for it.%u201D I saw them later on someplace and they%u2019d come up and pat you on the back, %u201CHey, Eddie!%u201D and they%u2019re all your best buddies then. But as far as encouraging to pursue your dream of what you wanted to do, they weren%u2019t. I look back now and I think about it, and I said if I had listened to them, I guess I would have never made a move in radio. I enjoyed it, but like I say, we all got along so great at the station. It was like a little family. We all worked together. The guys that--Andy Foster, Jeff Owens, and all the guys that were on the air. Even FM, there was just a glass separating two stations, and you know, we were like a family. We could interchange when another--if I had to work on the country side in the afternoon or something, hey, boom! I can play it. I could handle it. So, it was good. I really enjoyed it, and like I said, I didn%u2019t really look at me making history, but I guess if I look back now, I guess perhaps I did. It was good in a way because there were kids who came along that were in high school that told me that they went on to pursue broadcast careers. They would tell me that they did it because they used to hear me, and I said, %u201CWow, that%u2019s great! I really appreciate that.%u201D I didn%u2019t realize I made that much of an impression on kids coming along. They gave me a lot of leeway as far as my music and everything. From Chicago, to Toto, to R&B, Boz Scaggs, you name it, man. Some of those groups had some great, great songs. The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Supremes--all of those--. What I%u2019d always try to do is try to mix my music to where it wouldn%u2019t sound like I was leaning too much one way. During that time in the seventies--late seventies and eighties, kids were getting to the point where it was danceable music that they wanted to dance to. It was just--everybody was just having fun. It was fun music, and people just enjoyed themselves, and they%u2019d call. I%u2019m going to share a story with you. There were a lot of times people didn%u2019t believe that I was black. I don%u2019t know why they felt that, but these were both blacks and whites who would call me. I remember there was a lady from Spartanburg that was a constant listener. Every night, she was listening. Her son called me one night, and he sounded like it was [ ]. But in any case, he called one night and he says, %u201CEddie, my mom says that you%u2019re black, but I don%u2019t believe it.%u201D He says, %u201CSay four,%u201D and I said, %u201CFour.%u201D He said, %u201CSay it again.%u201D I said, %u201CFour.%u201D He said, %u201COkay.%u201D I don%u2019t know what four meant or what distinction--what my voice inflection was supposed to have been like, but he said, %u201CSay four.%u201D Then, of course, I%u2019d go to places, schools, or things of that nature and I%u2019d meet people and I%u2019d say, %u201CHello, I%u2019m Eddie Bridges,%u201D and they%u2019d say, %u201COh, you%u2019re uh, you%u2019re uh, oh, I didn%u2019t know, uh--.%u201D I would laugh. Then, of course some people, they%u2019d meet me--I remember a little black lady at Crest High School. I met her one day--the first time, and she says, %u201COh, you the man on the radio?%u201D I say, %u201CYes, ma%u2019 am.%u201D She says, %u201CYou sound like you%u2019re a whole lot bigger. You sound like you%u2019re a big ole man, but you%u2019re a small man.%u201D I said, %u201COkay.%u201D But it was fun to meet people. Of course, in broadcasting doors will open for you. You can go to different places, like movie theaters; you never have to worry about paying. %u201CHey, come on in!%u201D So, it was fun to be looked upon, I guess, as a celebrity. I never felt or acted that way. I just always try to be humble and that way I felt like I was appreciated more if I just act humble and not act like I%u2019m somebody that%u2019s a broadcast superstar and stuff like that. I never looked at that. People today even say, %u201CYou ever thought about having yourself an appreciation program?%u201D and I say, %u201CNo.%u201D %u201CWell, you should. People should have one.%u201D I say, %u201CWell, you know, my thing is that hopefully the Lord will say, %u2018Eddie, you did well. Well done,%u2019 and that will be reward enough.%u201D I%u2019ve known some people to go out here and have their own appreciation program, but no, I%u2019m not going to do that. That%u2019s really self-righteous and you just, well if you%u2019re not loved enough by the community for someone to do that, then you don%u2019t worry about doing that. I%u2019d never do that. Okay, any more?
BG: Yes, well I [laughed]--.
EB: I%u2019ve got time. Go ahead.
BG: I mean, I%u2019ve got all the questions in the world, but I%u2019m not going to keep you all day. This is a long one. It%u2019s going to take me a little while to frame the question, but it%u2019s related to what we%u2019ve been talking about in terms of expectations and race. I%u2019m wondering, and you can talk about--to answer this question you can go back to your days as a Navy DJ as well. You mentioned outside that you were maybe the first DJ to help introduce R&B, at least in some way to the format at WOHS. I%u2019m wondering about the musical and cultural landscape here in Cleveland County in the sixties and seventies, and really during your whole life, and notions of segregation, musical segregation. I%u2019m wondering what role music played in those kinds of racial politics and what challenges and struggles you may have faced or you may have seen others face. I mean, this is--this county, I know, was a difficult place to be during those years if you were a person of color, and I%u2019m wondering if you could just reflect on that and music a little bit, if you don%u2019t mind.
EB: Well, I remember my first opportunity to go to the theater. At that time, it was the Rogers Theater. [ ]. That was back in the day when minorities, blacks would sit up in the balcony. Whites were downstairs, and you could buy your popcorn and sodas and stuff, but you had to go upstairs. That was one of my first, I guess, taste of segregation. I do remember they did have the different fountains for people to drink. When I was--I just turned sixteen and that summer I was working a part-time job in Cherryville on Saturdays. Well, during the week. I%u2019m working starting during the week, really. It was a gentleman that owned a gas station. He gave me a job and I was washing cars and learning to try to change oil. There was a little restaurant downtown in Cherryville, and Cherryville is about three miles from where I grew up. He had a brand new Ford Galaxie, you know. Nice guy--real nice guy, and he would--he%u2019d let me take his Ford, go downtown, and pick up some sandwiches for breakfast. I remember the first time he asked me to go down to this restaurant. He said, %u201CNow I%u2019m going to tell you, Eddie, when you go down, you go around to the back and you place your order. Tell them what you want.%u201D I said, %u201COkay.%u201D I didn%u2019t think nothing about it. So, I went down and placed my order and brought it back. It just dawned on me that he was trying to save me from having to go through the front door %u2018cause they would have probably told me to get out, maybe called me some names or something. He was smart and wise enough to say, %u201CJust go around to the back and pick it up and bring it back.%u201D That was a taste of segregation. I used to--on the weekends I used to help my brother and I would help my dad cut grass. He had some odd jobs. We would go and there were people who would give us lunch, fix us a nice plate lunch. They would bring it and you would eat outside, sitting on the porch or on the steps there or something, but never allow you to come in to their home and eat, so that was a taste of segregation. Music-wise, I never really thought that much about it. I guess when you%u2019re growing up, you%u2019re used to hanging out with certain people, and like, say, the Holly Oak Park was basically built for the minorities in this county. You had the City Park here, but Holly Oak was for the minorities. We had ball fields, a swimming pool, this type thing. I guess when you%u2019re growing up like that you never really think that much about it because it%u2019s like, well, you%u2019ve got major artists and things. Years ago, there used to be two fairs. There used to be a fair for the whites and a fair for the blacks. Even at my high school, my school where I went to school, we used to have our own fair. There were some schools in this county that had their own little fairs. Even Bethware Fair, that%u2019s how that fair started because they had their own little community fair. But, music-wise, I guess I was kind of like living in a cloud. I didn%u2019t really see that segregation thing as I was coming along. I guess when I went into the military it was different. You had the races together. Men slept in bunks, one on top of one another and beside one another. You worked together. So, when I got out, by being exposed to that, I didn%u2019t really think about it in %u201968 when I got out. Guys used to tease me when I was in the military. They%u2019d say, %u201CWhere you from, Eddie?%u201D I%u2019d say, %u201CNorth Carolina.%u201D They%u2019d say, %u201CNo you%u2019re not. You%u2019re from New York or somewhere. You don%u2019t talk like you%u2019re from North Carolina.%u201D I%u2019d say, %u201CYeah, I%u2019m from North Carolina.%u201D %u201CNo you%u2019re not.%u201D So they started calling me a Southern Yankee. So I said, %u201COkay, that%u2019s fine. Cool.%u201D But, if I had an accent, maybe I lost it by being exposed to the different people that were around when I was in the military, %u2018cause you%u2019ve got people there from everywhere. I%u2019ve always talked the same, as far as I know. Music-wise, like I said, I just--I just didn%u2019t grow up really seeing that much of a color barrier, even though there probably was. Like I mentioned, my mom used to listen to LAC, and I grew up listening to it, and she%u2019d order music and we%u2019d get the mixture of music. It was something that I guess really wasn%u2019t discussed, even though my dad used to work in white homes, people that were millionaires. He worked as a chauffeur and cleaning up homes, kind of like a butler, to an extent. The people that he was around, they were good people. I don%u2019t know whether he ever noticed any difference or not, but to me, they didn%u2019t treat him any different than anybody else around them because he looked after their children and made sure they didn%u2019t get in trouble. Those parents relied upon him to use his judgment in taking care of them, and they grew up respecting him for that. My dad was always a very easy-going person and he always got along with people. I used to say that I never heard him raise his voice to my mom. I never heard them argue. I always said, %u201CHow could they do that?%u201D People don%u2019t be married for all those years and never have an argument unless they did it when we were asleep and they%u2019d have a conversation somewhere else in the bedroom. But, as far as the music, I guess that%u2019s why I accepted all kinds of music, and I like all kinds of music. If it%u2019s good, fine. I like country music. I find myself sometimes checking out the CMT channel %u2018cause there%u2019s some good music out there. They always said that country music got its roots out of blues and rockabilly. So, its just got a nice little twang to it. One thing I like about country music--it always has a story, used to be. It always has a story about it--when a person%u2019s going through something, or whatever the case may be. I%u2019m sure that a lot of people witnessed segregation in music. I know, for years, as far as trying to get things played, may have been a hindrance in trying to get R&B and things played on stations that were formatted--probably pop or rock stations. Of course, to this day you%u2019ve still got stations that are formatted either all pop, all rock, R&B, hip-hop, whatever the case may be.
I guess I was a little na?ve. I guess I never really noticed that much difference. I probably should have, but maybe I was just too wrapped up in enjoying what I was doing. But, growing up, I didn%u2019t really notice that much of it because we were kind of, like I said, protected by parents and not able to go out and hang out and things like that. I hope I answered some of it.
BG: Yeah, definitely. When you were in the military, and afterwards, I guess I%u2019m curious about songs like Sam Cooke%u2019s %u201CA Change is Gonna Come%u201D or James Brown%u2019s %u201CI%u2019m Black and I%u2019m Proud.%u201D Did these seem like major rallying cries to you, or did you not look at it in that political way?
EB: James Brown probably would be interpreted that way. I remember when I first heard those cuts, and of course they weren%u2019t going to be played at WXIK, even though my manager--he was a big James Brown fan, from the days of %u201CPlease, please, please don%u2019t go%u201D [mimicked James Brown singing], all that, you know, stuff like that. But, that was probably one of the first songs--%u201CI%u2019m Black and I%u2019m Proud%u201D and then there were a few other things that came. Sam Cooke%u2019s %u201CA Change is Gonna Come,%u201D I don%u2019t know, I didn%u2019t really look at his that way %u2018cause I knew Sam Cooke grew up singing gospel. He used to sing with a group called %u201CThe Soulsters%u201D out of Chicago. But, James Brown was definitely a little anthem, I guess, for some people. I truly didn%u2019t--wasn%u2019t really exposed to the segregation thing until a classmate and I went to basic training together and we came back. We were in Charlotte at the bus station, waiting to catch a bus to Shelby. We met a guy, a black guy from out in Mississippi, some part of Mississippi, and we were sitting there in the bus station. He had just come back from Virginia and he had--a relative of his had died and he had gone to the funeral or something. I think he may have gone to collect some insurance money or something. Somebody was asking him what he was going to do with that money. He said, %u201CI%u2019m going to give it to Colonel Bob.%u201D I said, %u201CColonel Bob?%u201D He said, %u201CYeah, I%u2019m going to give it to him so that he can use that money to buy some bullets and kill Martin Luther King and them. This was in %u201965. I thought he was--he can%u2019t be for real. He can%u2019t be serious. But, somebody had told me that he had grown up working on the plantation and he still had this mentality--he still worked for these people. Lo and behold, when Martin Luther King was killed I thought about this guy. And this was a black man who said he was going to turn his money over so that they could use it to buy bullets. I was really--I guess I kind of shooed it off. I didn%u2019t think that much about it. I didn%u2019t think anybody would say something like that, but his mentality was that that%u2019s what he wanted to do with his money. During the time in the military there was never a hint of any type of segregation there because it was like everybody had to have each other%u2019s back. You had to work together. You had to support one another. You didn%u2019t have problems there. When I got out, seems like in %u201968 things were good. People were getting good jobs, no matter what your nationality, you were getting good paying jobs. If you wanted to work, there were jobs available. I only had one incident at work where I had--one night I was working and I had my front door--it was unlocked. I had a guy to stop by, and he ran in, and he had on camouflage clothing. He had a helmet, a motorcycle helmet on. He ran in and threw onto the console, like a newspaper. I said, %u201CWhat is this?%u201D Then he ran out the door. I opened it up and it was a Ku Klux Klan newspaper. I thought then, you better start locking you door. But in any case, he undoubtedly knew I was black, that I was on the air, because otherwise I%u2019m sure he wouldn%u2019t have come by. He came in and just threw it on the--never came by again that I know of and nobody else ever had any dealings with him. But, he came in and just threw it, like I%u2019m going to take time to read this [laughed]. You know, came in and left--. That was the only incident I ever had at the station. I told the other guys about it and showed them the paper the next day, but that%u2019s the only time that I ever had any problems with anyone. He ran out and jumped on his bike %u2018cause I followed him out and he jumped on the bike and took off.
BG: When did that incident take place? Do you remember?
EB: That was probably about 1980 or %u201981, somewhere along in there at that time frame. But I never had any problems with anybody else. We had next door--there was a motorcycle club there. They were good guys. We never had any problem the whole time that they were there. As a matter of fact, they even employed me to do a little party for them. Motorcyclists, you know, they always say all these guys are rough guys, whatever. They came over and they asked me if I would be interested in doing a party for them. They knew I played music, and they had a party. They wanted a beach song and a country song, a beach song and a country song. They had it at the National Guard Armory in Kings Mountain and had a great time. They had cups of beer lined up for me. %u201CWhat do you need? You need anything? You need anything?%u201D %u201CNo, no, I%u2019m fine.%u201D %u201CWe%u2019ll get you something. We%u2019ll get you something.%u201D They had them lined up, but I couldn%u2019t have walked out of there if I had tried. They were just good guys. You know, I found out later that a lot of those guys in that club were lawyers, business people. They might dress and look like they%u2019re bad, like the Hell%u2019s Angels or somebody, but they were good guys, they really were. Every afternoon and every evening, they%u2019d come over and they%u2019d get together there, ride their bikes. That, too, brought back a memory that I had when I was in Long Beach at some friends of ours. We were walking down the street in Long Beach, California, still in my uniform. There were some people harassing us, basically because we were military. Even in a military town, people in them don%u2019t like military people that much, and they were messing with us, just hassling, talking junk, following us down the street. There were some guys that were a part of a Hell%u2019s Angels club. You know, those guys came up and told those people to leave us alone, so that changed my attitude about motorcycles. That%u2019s one reason I didn%u2019t mind working with the guys next door because I saw that they had never caused any problems. They never messed with me, and I was there at night, usually by myself every night from six-thirty on to midnight. When I left, I never had any problems with anybody. It let me know you can%u2019t always look at people and think because they%u2019re a member of an organization that they%u2019re bad guys, bad people. Some people do it for whatever reason to join clubs and just enjoy themselves, do something different, get out of the norm. But that was the only time I had problems in the military with people harassing me.
BG: As a DJ, it sounds like you had really broad tastes in music, and you needed to, which is interesting. I%u2019m curious about the folks that these two institutions in town are being named after, Don Gibson and Earl Scruggs, if that was music that you played on the station or you were aware of or were interested in? You know, those two musicians, to me, they%u2019re both great and important artists, and both have, I think, both heavily influenced by a lot of African-American music in different ways. I%u2019m wondering if that was music that you were interested in or you played on the radio where folks could listen to it?
EB: If I ever played any Don Gibson, it was when I would perhaps work up on the WOHS side. I did know that Don Gibson used to play--he had a program at WOHS years ago, started out there, and that was a surprise to hear that. They%u2019d say, %u201CDon,%u201D this station%u2019s got some history. They said he used to have a little afternoon show, maybe like fifteen minutes, come out and play his guitar and stuff. Earl Scruggs, of course I knew they were from the area, but never had a chance to play any of his music. I used to watch him on TV and see him and stuff. Their music, of course, never really had an impact on me, but they were--all I can say is they were pioneers for a lot of people. I remember years ago, watching Arthur Smith. You ever heard of him--out of Charlotte?
BG: Um-hmm.
EB: He used to have these different artists and things on. He was probably one of the first mainstream country artists that had his own show locally or regionally. He had these groups--he had people who were very professional and the show was very professional. Didn%u2019t he write the theme song for--? Oh, what was that movie? With Burt Reynolds and, let%u2019s see, what was that movie [imitated banjo notes to the tune of %u201CDueling Banjos%u201D]?
BG: Oh, right--Deliverance.
EB: Deliverance, yeah, yeah.
BG: Right. That%u2019s right, and someone stole it from him and got in trouble. He sued them.
EB: Yeah, yeah.
BG: Right. %u201CDueling Banjos.%u201D
EB: Yeah, yeah, so he was--I remember him. If anybody was an influence, probably someone like Arthur Smith and the people that were surrounding him. Shows like his and then later on, the %u201CHee-Haw%u201D and the comedy and all that probably had an influence on people. I used to watch those %u2018cause it was a funny show and it was entertaining. I%u2019m sure Don and Earl Scruggs were great entertainers and took their roots from Cleveland County and went on to Nashville and just did good. They did good. I would like to still be involved in music of the coming years. I%u2019ve been wanting to kind of branch out and do some other things, not just gospel, not just R&B. I%u2019ve been involved in beach music concerts and little rock concerts and things of this nature, and it%u2019s good to just kind of branch out and do some other things %u2018cause entertainment is what I enjoy doing. Music has been the mainstay, but it%u2019s good if you can branch out and do some other things, whether it be drama with plays or comedy. As long as it%u2019s dealing with entertainment I really enjoy it. Ah, let%u2019s see, [pause] military. Anything else I might have missed after getting out of the military? You said before or after.
BG: Yeah, either.
EB: I guess musically, before military, in high school, we used to have sock-hops. Well, we didn%u2019t call them %u201Csock-hops%u201D too much, but similar to sock hops where people--they%u2019d have a little turntable up and be trying to play records. I guess I was introduced to people like The Dells--who else? Rufus Thomas--the %u201CDog.%u201D
BG: Um-hmm [both laughed].
EB: You name it. A lot of those people--I remember we used to have these sock-hops at school, little dances, and they would take time in the afternoon from classes to have these activities. Do you think they%u2019d do that today? I don%u2019t think so. But, in any case, it was interesting. You%u2019d get to go out and if you didn%u2019t have a girlfriend or whatever, you%u2019d stand on one side of the room or the gym, and the girls would stand on the other side. Then when the fast songs were playing, a few people might get out there, but--it was interesting. When the slow songs came on, guys, they would head to the other side, grab the young ladies to dance. It was interesting. There were some dances that came out back in the day, of course you know--you were doing the twist, the pony, the watusi. There was a song called %u201CThe Stroll%u201D that people did. That was before your time, but it was interesting that dances came out back in those days. Occasionally, now when I have the opportunity to do a party or something and people want to hear %u201Cold-school,%u201D as they call it, they%u2019ll ask, maybe for some of those songs, so you put something like %u201CThe Twist,%u201D by Chubby Checker on. They just seem like to have fun. They just--ah, the %u201Cshaking and twisting away%u201D and I say, %u201CYou won%u2019t be able to get up in the morning.%u201D It%u2019s fun to go back and think about those good ole days, those good times when people got together and had fun and danced off of those old-school songs.
BG: Did you have a signature song on the %u201CNighttime Affair,%u201D a song that you%u2019d play every week or that you just loved to play?
EB: No, but my favorite song is The Temptations%u2019 %u201CMy Girl.%u201D
BG: That%u2019s a good one.
EB: That is my number one song. Now, if you want to hear the stereo go up in the car, you let that come on.
BG: [Laughed].
EB: No, I didn%u2019t have a signature song, I really didn%u2019t. I usually wanted to play something up-tempo, and then of course, I%u2019d slow it down with something nice and easy. But, I really appreciate the people over the years that used to listen, and I was there for fifteen-and-a-half years, and people were really nice. I hadn%u2019t thought about this until just now. There were a few people who were a little naughty who were not crazy about hearing R&B in the evening. They, on a few occasions--they%u2019d call and they%u2019d say, %u201CI%u2019m going to tell your manager that you%u2019re playing%u201D--I don%u2019t know if I can say that word or not.
BG: You can say whatever you want.
EB: They%u2019d say, %u201CI%u2019m going to call and tell him you%u2019re playing nigger music!%u201D
BG: Hmm.
EB: I%u2019d say, %u201CWell, yeah.%u201D They were under the impression that I was a white guy. They didn%u2019t--%u2018cause the way they related to me, saying, %u201CI%u2019m going to call your manager and tell him you%u2019re playing nigger music,%u201D %u2018cause if they%u2019d known I was black they would have said, %u201CHey, nigger, why are you playing that nigger music?%u201D I just happened to think about that. I hadn%u2019t thought about that in years, but they were--there were some that were that way. The majority of the people truly enjoyed the music that we were playing. It was back in the day when people were, I guess, not wanting to change as far as their musical taste. It had to be either real heavy or real country, or whatever. I hadn%u2019t thought about that in a long, long time because most people were really, really nice wherever they were calling from. A lot of times they just called to say, %u201CHey, we%u2019re just enjoying it.%u201D All right, next question [both laughed].
BG: This is great so far. Thank you so much. There%u2019s a lot of great material here.
EB: Well, you%u2019re welcome. I thought I was one of the forgotten folks. But, like I said, I never really looked upon it as being the first. I really enjoyed it--the guys, we all got along good together, ladies, we all worked well together, from the sales staff, news staff. We all had a good time.
BG: Somebody told me about a DJ who might have had a Sunday gospel program on WOHS named Papa Walt. Does that name ring a bell?
EB: Papa Walt?
BG: Yeah, maybe this might be inaccurate information.
EB: Huh-uh. He may have been before my time.
BG: Maybe it was before your time.
EB: Papa Walt?
BG: Yeah.
EB: A black guy?
BG: That%u2019s what I was told, but this might have been a different station. I mean, the same woman who gave me your name, Ms. Joy Scott, mentioned that name and she didn%u2019t seem to know much about him, but just knew that name.
EB: Hmm, Papa Walt. Huh-uh. I can%u2019t place him, not at WOHS, like I say, unless it was before I came in. The manager was Harold Watson, but [pause] I don%u2019t know. I don%u2019t know about Papa Walt, unless he was at WADA, which was across town.
BG: Maybe that%u2019s what it was. Where did they broadcast from, WADA?
EB: Their broadcast station was out--off of Highway 18 North. I forget the name of that little street or road that runs out that way, but their operation now is in Lincolnton. Like WOHS, everything is out of town now.
BG: Did you have live bands play at the station while you were there?
EB: No, no, not really a live band.
BG: But you put on concerts and you played dances.
EB: Um-hmm, yeah, Holly Oak Park and places like that. They probably, years ago, used to have some live people in there, %u2018cause, like I said, they had a studio with a big grand piano and a big boom mike. That seemed to be the standard. I found that stations years ago--they had a piano and a large room about this big, and you had a big boom mike and you had your call letters up under there. The groups would come in around there and sing. Even the station in Gaffney used to have a large room. It%u2019s been cut down, I understand. When I went down it was cut down, but they had--I guess it was standard to have a boom mike and a piano. There are people who come around and they say, %u201COh, I remember I used to sing over here as a kid. I used to come over here.%u201D And I say, %u201CReally?%u201D %u201CYeah.%u201D Back in the day, live broadcasts, where they%u2019d be live music or preachers, whatever the case may be, it was done that way.
BG: Can you think of other musicians or DJ%u2019s or folks involved with music in Cleveland County that I should talk to?
EB: This one guy, of course he lives in Detroit. He%u2019s planning to move back to Charlotte eventually. You could probably get his telephone number, and that is Bunny Clyde. I don%u2019t know whether he has been brought to your attention. He%u2019s a saxophone player that has--I mean he%u2019s always been an outstanding musician. He%u2019s played nationally. Now, he plays with the Dramatics, an R&B band from years ago. The last I heard, he was on tour out in California and probably coming back this way.
BG: So he%u2019s from this area originally?
EB: Um-hmm, yeah, he%u2019s from Shelby originally. I spoke to him not too long ago and he%u2019s planning to move back back to Charlotte. Going to move from Detroit back to Charlotte and try to be as close to Shelby as possible. Years ago, there were two bands out of Shelby--I don%u2019t know whether anybody%u2019s mentioned them to you. They were known as the Ambassadors. They used to play at the Holly Oak Park a lot, and around the area, Charlotte, Greensboro. They were five high school guys that were singers and have a back-up band. I think Bunny Clyde used with them a lot too. There%u2019s another group called [pause]. They were the [ ] brothers, but the band was called the Sensations, or something. The Sensations, maybe the Sensations, but they were good. There were some guys involved with those bands. One of them in the Ambassadors--his name was Bobby London. He had a brother named Billy, but Bobby could probably share more information about them and what they used to do. What other musicians? Some of those guys--that%u2019s why I%u2019d like for you to talk to Ray Harper, %u2018cause he definitely could give you all--. He%u2019ll talk you to death. You won%u2019t have any problem talking to Ray. Sometimes you have to--%u201CSee you, Ray. I%u2019ve got to go.%u201D
BG: [Laughed]. I%u2019ve called him a half-a-dozen times, but I%u2019m going to give him another shot, or try to get somebody who lives here to go interview him.
EB: Oh, I--yeah, %u2018cause I know where he lives. I can take you right there. He ain%u2019t that far from here. Right down the highway in Olde Farm. I used to live two houses up across the street from him on [pause] let%u2019s see, I%u2019m trying to think of who else. [Pause] If I think of some other folks, can I give you a call?
BG: Yeah, I%u2019m going to leave you with my address and number and everything, so definitely give me a call if you have other ideas, %u2018cause we%u2019re looking. We%u2019ve got a list of--well, it%u2019s over a hundred now--people in the county. You know, this is just folks that are still living, obviously, that we need to talk to. By the end of this week I%u2019ll have done maybe ten interviews, and then I%u2019ll probably do five or six more when I come back at the end of the month. Then, Tommy Forney is--he%u2019s a guy who grew up in Lawndale and lives in West Shelby and he%u2019s my community consultant here, and he%u2019s given me a bunch of names. He%u2019s another guy you can get in touch with and give more info to. Before we wrap up, could you just list your wife%u2019s name and your children%u2019s names, just so that%u2019s on the record?
EB: Well, I%u2019m divorced.
BG: Oh, I%u2019m sorry.
EB: That%u2019s all right. My daughter--her name is Christina Nicole Norris. Her daughter, my granddaughter, is Chelsea Destiana Norris. She%u2019s nine years old. That%u2019s it.
BG: She%u2019s the one that%u2019s going to go play ball at Chapel Hill?
EB: Chapel Hill.
BG: Okay. I%u2019ll look out for her.
EB: I said, %u201CGo ahead, girl. Get that full scholarship %u2018cause Paw-Paw don%u2019t have it.%u201D But I don%u2019t know how she jumped into wanting to be a Tar Heel. I guess she heard me talk about it sometime. I had to get a Tar Heel beanbag and a Tar Heel t-shirt and stuff. She declares, %u201CI%u2019m going to Chapel Hill,%u201D and I said, %u201COkay.%u201D This is when she was only six years old, maybe seven. So that%u2019s good. %u201CI%u2019m glad you know what you want to do.%u201D
BG: [Laughed]. Precocious.
EB: Yeah, kids today don%u2019t be talking about college. But, anyway, she--that%u2019s what she wants to do.
BG: Well, are there any questions that I should have asked you and didn%u2019t, or anything else you want to talk about, any other stories you recall?
EB: No, well, it may come to mind, but I don%u2019t have--let%u2019s see--.
BG: I always that because sometimes I try to--at the end of an interview if somebody says, %u201CWait a second,%u201D you know. I turn off the recorder and they say, %u201CYou didn%u2019t ask me about so-and-so!%u201D and then I think, %u201CAw!%u201D
EB: Well, I appreciate that lady thinking about me, and what did you tell me her name was?
BG: Joy Scott is her name%u2026
EB: %u2026Joy Scott?
BG: %u2026and I believe that she works for the Star (Shelby Star is the local newspaper). She%u2019s a reporter.
EB: Black girl?
BG: Yeah, I mean, she%u2019s a grown woman.
EB: Joy Scott. I met a woman--I think I did meet her, but I first talked to her maybe a couple of years ago. She called and was inquiring about something. She called me at the station, and then I think I met her at a luncheon, and I remember they called her name out--Joy Scott.
BG: Maybe that was. She was not--I mean, she%u2019s working on this project too, and she told me your name over e-mail so it wasn%u2019t clear to me that she had ever actually met you. But, she knew your name and she had your phone number at the station.
EB: Yeah, I met her about something. I can%u2019t remember, but she called me. It was something she was doing.
BG: All right. I want to thank you so much for your time.
EB: You%u2019re welcome.
END OF INTERVIEW

Transcriber: Mike Hamrick
Date: July 23rd, 2009