Rock City Angels

Bobby always loved Our Gang's Follies of 1938 as he felt it summed up his experience with the disingenuous side of the music industry (is there any other side? 😅). He even went so far as to say that he wanted it played at his funeral, which his mother honored at his celebration of life in Memphis in 2012. On today, the 12th anniversary of his passing, have a visit with Alfalfa and the gang and remember the Durango kid!

Little Rascals - Our Gang Follies of 1938 The gang is putting on a show with Alfalfa billed as "King of the Crooners." But Alfalfa abandons the show saying his crooning days are over, and that opera ...

Thinking of the Durango kid on what would have been his 59th birthday.

Seven years after Bobby passed away Quentin Tarantino released his 9th film, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood". Man, if ever there was a film that encapsulated a ton of Bobby's passions it would be this one. You've got Hollywood (the city where Bobby spent a significant period of his life), Tarentino's encyclopedic knowledge of film (which Bobby also had), groovy soundtrack (Bobby's passion for music is a given), AND, last but not least, the Manson family looming in the background (Bobby was an aficionado on the topic of the Tate–LaBianca case and Charlie and the family). He would have loved it!

So if you want to have a hang with the spirit of Bobby, pop in "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood", sit back with your beverage of choice (in his drinking days Bobby was partial to Jack Daniels neat), and enjoy! Cheers brother!

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Official Trailer (HD) “In this town, it can all change…like that.” Watch the new trailer - in theaters July 26.https://www.OnceUponATimeInHollywood.movie...

Absolutely crushed and heartbroken to hear the news of Rock City Angels' "Young Man's Blues" era drummer Ringo Jukes (aka RJ Jukes aka Gregory Larson) and his girlfriend Renee losing their lives in a fire at their home in Memphis yesterday. He was a cool cat, sweetheart of a guy, and always ready with a tale or two from old tymes (his preferred spelling). We shared a bunch of those stories last year at the Peabody Hotel when we raised many toasts to the memory of our RCA brother Bobby Durango. So glad we were able to hang one last time, but I'm so sad that we will never be able to again. Keep on Memphis strollin' and rollin' Ringo and Renee. 💔

~ Larry Poccia

Today is the 11th anniversary of Bobby's passing and this year I thought I'd share one of the many moments from his 47 years. If you lived in Memphis in the 80s you'll remember the local music/entertainment paper Memphis Star. I recently found a PDF of the June 1989 issue. There are quite a few mentions of RCA (and Bobby's hairdo) in the issue, including a show at the Omni New Daisy that I went to with my friends Kim, Lora, and fellow former Angel Steve Oliverio (Steve Knight).

I pulled out and highlighted the mentions in the photo in this post, including good 'ol Jerry Lee Lewis playing at the Peabody, which is as Memphis as it gets. Coincidentally as I type this my mother is currently standing in the lobby of the Peabody watching the ducks do their daily march, and raising a toast to Bobby in one of the places he loved, and always introduced visitors to, ever the Memphis ambassador. Cheers brother Bobby ... we miss ya, maaaaan!

I have posted the PDF on the RCA website for download (the RCA mentions are on pages 4, 32, 39, and 44). A great snapshot of a bygone era.
https://therockcityangels.com/download/Memphis_Star_Rock_Magazine_1989.06.pdf

~ Larry Poccia

Anyone who ever had a conversation with Bobby Durango will remember the childlike fascination and passion he had for music, art, film, history, etc, and he would talk your ear off on a multitude of subjects for hours on end. He never became that jaded, seen-it-all, too-cool-for-it guy. So today, on what would have been his 58th birthday, in honor of him let's take a moment to look around and appreciate all of the wonderful things we are passionate about and share them with someone.

Here's a photo of Bobby with artist Chuck Loose at Iron Forge Press studio checking out all of the amazing artwork with that gleam in his eye. Happy Birthday, brother. You are very missed.

~ Larry Poccia

Remembering the Durango Kid on what would have been his 57th birthday. To borrow words from an August 1987 L.A. Weekly RCA review by Janiss Garza, Bobby was an honest-to-God rock & roller who blew the cover off of all of us, with soul, depth, and feel. Baby, he WAS for real. And man, do we miss him. ❤️