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Bill Palmer

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  1. The Purple Onion moved around somewhat. Its final location was on Shepherd drive, where it became the Jazz Bird Lounge, then the Bird Lounge. It was owned by a fellow named Pucho, who was the maitre d' for Sonny Look's on Westheimer.
  2. Maybe I can clear up some of the confusion, misinformation and unclear memories about The Jester, Sand Mountain, The Bird, and some of the other folk/blues landmarks that have been mentioned in this thread. For credentials -- I worked at the Jester, Sand Mountain, The Bird and The Balladeer during the Great Folk Music Scare of the 1960's. Most of my work was with the Bayou City Boys, a trio consisting of Davy Jones (local actor, musician and tv personality, not the former member of the Monkees), Buster Sullivan and myself. Davy played banjo sometimes and the guitar the rest of the time. Buster played bass, and I played banjo, guitar and dobro. We all did vocals. The Jester was definitely located on Udemi Street, but Udemi was a very short street. It did not go all the way through from Westheimer to San Felipe. Basically, it was between Mid Lane and what is now Loop 610. The Jester was separated from Westheimer by a longish driveway and a muddy parking lot. Mack Webster was the owner. A lot of us got their starts at the Jester. The Bird Lounge went through several name changes. For a while, it was The Purple Onion. Then it was the Jazz Bird, and finally the Bird. It was not a very large place. It was owned by a fellow named Pucho, who was the maitre d' at Sonny Look's on Westheimer. The Balladeer was a short-lived club on Shepherd near 59. It was owned and operated by Rich Elmer. Due to a work conflict, it closed down in about a year or so. If memory serves, it was in operation from about 1963 - 1964. Sand Mountain followed the Balladeer. It was, as mentioned, located on Richmond near Montrose, and owned by John Carrick and his mother. It was a coffee house. Janis Joplin was a waitress there at one time, and occasionally did a few blues tunes.
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