Monday, August 12, 2013

And It Started In Nashville.....


Like all of us in the Vanderbilt Class of 1973, we came to Nashville looking for our way to future success. That's as it's been for so many in the country music and entertainment business over the years. During our time together this was particularly true once this venue opened in 1971 on Elliston Place about a block from campus....

 



The successful alumni roster of the Exit In is quite long during its 42 year plus history. One of its first great success stories was this "wild and crazy guy".....


Long before he was hosting Saturday Night Live or he was a movie star of a string of cinematic hits such as "Father of the Bride, " Steve Martin was polishing his stand-up comedy skills at the Exit-In, as well as inviting his fans to join him after the show to continue the laughter and his routine as they paraded over this Vanderbilt landmark late-night place to get a bite to eat....and in this case....some more laughs...


Did any of you see Steve Martin at the Exit In in those years? How many paraded with him to The Krystal for the after-the-show show? Please leave your memories in the comments section below or on the Class Facebook page.

You can also tell us if you saw any of this comedy routine by Steve Martin from back in the day. It's from You Tube and says it's from one of his early 1970s performances. It appears to be before a younger audience perhaps on some college venue. By the way, Steve Martin is today making quite a name for himself as a banjo player. If you think that's an instrument he just started playing you'd be very wrong if you watch this......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4GRKNw19Jo














1 comment:

Step said...

One of the other acts that was polishing her act at the Exit Inn was a young Emmy Lou Harris, when she was wasn't waiting tables.

Your buddy, Frank Feinstien would be an excellent source for who was "making it" during those 4 years underneath our noses. I know Kris Kristofferson also sang there.

Rafe Van Hoy (Blake's brother) used to play on the Wrvu couch some of the songs he later won Grammies for.

Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Davidson County Fire Prevention award for 1971. That was where Chris Clark offered her the weekend reporter's job at WLAC TV. He was one of the judges, I was sitting to his right, representing WNAH.

Pat Sajek was "Your Announcer" on the WSM Saturday night Humphrey Bogart Theater. John Tesh was channel 4's weekend anchor.

Heaven Lee is still waiting on John Holland somewhere down on Printer's Alley to get up the nerve to come see her.

A great article in the Tennessean a couple of weeks ago about Steven Gaskin and The Farm. I almost traded Rothberg for a bushel of turnips for one of the cultists taken aback by him.

The famous groupie of David Bowie, Cherry Vanilla, came up to the station to see Anzek to promote the new Ziggy Stardust persona he had adopted. Anzek's line was classic, but it has to be kept private to protect the innocent.

The Sha Na Na concert that you and LaVergne drug me to causing me not to have time to study for a midterm is another great musical memory.

How about Pam Funderburg's review of the Youngblood's concert she brought in a week late. Your response was "I'd fire her, if she did anything around here."

Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring break, and summer break, we'd get requests for Leaving on a Jet Plane till I got sick of it.

Brook Benton had a Rainy Night in Georgia and Ray Charles had Sweet Georgia Brown. Elvis had the Kentucky rain and Neal Diamond had a Kentucky Woman.

R.B. Greaves had Maria Take a Letter and address it to his Wife, Johnny Rivers asked the Operator to get him Memphis, Tennessee, Scott Mackenzie who went to San Francisco in 1967 told us about the Light's of Cincinnati in 1970.

Fleetwood Mac and Jefferson Airplane broke new ground, and Cat Stevens boarded a Peace Train.

A heck of a lot happened in those 4 years.

Have fun cutting it down to 2 hours.