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How Tater helped Ivan Stang write Rubber Soul


Tell you what, them was the days. Back then, before they put the

highway in and cut Kern's Holler off from the outside world, there was a train

goin from Dallas Texas to Kern's Holler, and we had a pretty good

business rentin cabins way up the holler to folk wanted to get away

from it all. Zappa, McLuhan, Bennett, Ionesco, Smith, Lenin, McCarthy,

the whole lot of em, they come up to the holler. Chick-n-Fry was doin

a hell of a business and we had the Saturday night roundtable in the

back where all the guests could get together and have some good eats

and drinks and just set back and enjoy themselfs.

 

Tater remembers when this English singin group come in for a week,

wanted to keep the reporters and the screamin gals away. Never called

or nothin, just heard we had some rural rentals and come on down.

Problem was, we was all rented up. St. Clair Smith had number 9,

Norman Mailer was in 11, Tater don't remember the rest, but it was

tight and he was scramblin around lookin for a trailer or a woodshed

or anything to put them  boys up in. Needed the money, you understand.

So after a spell, Tater got desperate and started askin around seen

anyone wanted to double up.

 

Weren't nobody home far as Tater could tell... probly all up fishin or

seein the sights, so he thought he'd check 9, 10 and 11 up Old Left

Hand Road, see if anybody was game. Mailer was havin some kinda orgy,

so Tater didn't bother knockin. Lights was out in 10, but there was

St.Clair Smith out on the front porch of number 9, pickin on a banjo

and a singin into a lil reel to reel recorder. Couldn't play for

squat, but somethin about the songs was kinda nice. Tater could

imagine the Kern's Holler Boys singin em, they was that good. Anyhow,

Tater come up to Smith, and he says "You want to double up? Got some

English fellers willin to pay top dollar, and Tater'll let you stay

for free you share a cabin." Well, that Texas boy he hopped right on

that. There was three rooms in there, and he was stayin in the room

off the porch, so weren't much to him.

 

Well, sir, that was just fine cause them boys was gonna pay $140 a

week, which was a lot for them days. So Tater went down to the church

and put em in the back of the truck and drove em up there. They

piled out wither their guitars and such, and chose up rooms. Tater set

out there on the porch with Smith and asked him did he want a pull on the jug. He

did, and before too long him and Tater was rockin and a singin them

songs about gals and cars and all that. Weren't too long before the

boys come out with their guitars and started strummin along. Tater

give Ringo a washboard, and we rigged up a washtub bass for that boy

looked like a gal, and tell you what, they could sing almost as

good as the Kern's Holler boys! The was singin Smith's songs and havin

a good old time, and Tater just turned on that lil recorder see what

he'd get on there.

 

Before long the jug run dry, and Tater had to go down get a little

more. Well sir, when he come back, they was all inside with the kerosene

light on, and Smith was leadin them singin like he was a church choir

director. He'd stop em and start em and tell em sing lower or higher.

You'd think he been doin it all his life. So Tater just left em alone

and drove back down to the Chick-n-Fry, see if that movie star gal

showed up yet.  It was gettin pretty lively at the round table, and

there was a big ol crowd, so Tater figured she had, and he just waded

on in there.

 

Long story short, them English boys and that Smith holed up there about

a week, and when they all left the next Saturday, they was shakin

hands and huggin like they was the best of friends. Smith come over

after the boys got on the train and he says to Tater, he says "Thanks

for settin that up. This is gonna make me rich. Now I don't have to

rip off that crazy "Bob" religion from that Canadian spy." Tater says

"OK" but he didn't know what the hell Smith was talkin about until

years later, seen the English boys on a record cover, says Rubber

Soul. Few years later it turns out Smith changed his name and started

up that religion he was talkin about anyway. Don't know what happened

for sure, but things probly turned out for the better.

 

That's the way it usually happens in the holler.

 

Tater