“Daily grist; political correctness is pure cyanide to common sense.”–Unknown
I first met Lance LeRoy on Labor Day weekend of 1983 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Back then the California bluegrass Association put on two festivals a year, and we had booked the bluegrass Cardinals and since Lance LeRoy was their booking agent he came to California with them and I’m sure glad he did because we became good friendsthat weekend. I didn’t see Lance again until the fall of 1997 in Louisville Kentucky at IBMA. I walked up to his booth there and the tradeshow and stuck out my hand and said it sure is good to see you again Lance. He shook my hand and he had that signature big smile on his face, and he said I know I know you but I can’t remember where I met you. I said grass Valley Labor Day weekend 1983. His eyes got real wide and he said oh my God your JD! I am the same him in the flesh I said. We commenced have a wonderful visit and catch up on old times, and about an hour later this gentleman walked up and shook lances hand. I could tell they were old friends, then Lance turned to me and said JD I would like to introduce you to Les Leverett, the official photographer for the grand old Opry for 32 years. That commenced a wonderful friendship that Les and I still share to this day, but that’s another story for another time.
Lance was a wonderful gentleman and his word was his bond. he was Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs booking agent for many years and he told me they never had a written contract, only a handshake between the two of them. I’m afraid those days are long gone. every time I got to be around Lance he would enthrall me with stories about traveling with Flatt and Scruggs on the road, I only wish I had recorded them because that is bluegrass music history that is gone forever. One of my favorite sherries he told about Flatt and Scruggs goes like this. They were out on the road on tour and they had stopped at a pay phone so Earl could call some promoters to see if they can set up a show or two in the states they were heading to on that trip. Earl said he glanced at the bus and he saw smoke coming out of the engine compartment in the back, followed by flames. Earl said he was so damn tired of working on that piece of junk, he just turned his back on it and was going to let it burn to the ground. He told Lance, you know some darn fool came running up and put that fire out! Said it didn’t burn too much, so they fixed the gas leak and was back on the road in a couple of hours.
Lance passed away in December of 2015 and I still miss him and his wonderful stories and his beautiful smile forever. In his younger days come to find out, he was a pretty decent fiddle player too, but chose to follow the business end of the music business rather than becoming a musician full-time. I know a lot of successful bands have Lance to thank for their success over the years.
Every one of Lance’s friends knew that he was a real picky eater and I witnessed that one day in the dining room the Galt house hotel in Louisville. I went to have lunch one day in the dining room, and after I was seated I noticed Lance setting way on the other side of the dining room from me. The dining room was packed that day, and after Lance finished his lunch, he walked up to the buffet table to get a bowl of dessert, only to find that the cobbler dish was totally empty. I could read his lips when he slammed that bowl on the table, and said dammit! No dessert! And stalked out of the dining room madder than a hornet. Well, I couldn’t resist this little joke on Lance because it was set up so perfectly. After I finished my lunch I went straight to his booth in the tradeshow, we shook hands and made small talk for about 5 min. then I mentioned what a wonderful lunch I’d had in the dining room, and that blackberry cobbler they had for dessert was better than any my Mama ever made! He went off like a rocket about that time, and said when I was there the dishes empty and the waiter said they were totally out of dessert. I let him blow off some more steam for a couple minutes, then I fessed up to what I had seen him do in the dining room. Naturally he gave me a pretty good lip cussin’ too! Then we both had a good laugh over it. About that time Ronnie Reno walked up and Lance told him what I had done, and we all had a good laugh over it again. Those were the best of times, the likes of which I will never see again.
Rest in peace dear friend, I am a better man for having known you. God bless and keep you, your old buddy JD
