stumbling on the neon groves
Tampa Bay’s got ties to rock and roll history in several forms, and although I can’t be sure of all of them, there are two specific tales that I have found interesting.
A few months ago, the St. Petersburg Times shone some new light on each. The Times published never-before-seen pictures from the Rolling Stones 1965 concert held at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. That show ended in a riot after 4 songs. The band retired to the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel (now Fort Harrison Hotel) and Keith Richards would have musical inspiration that night, leading to a little rock ditty by the Stones known as Satisfaction. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
The pictures in the paper were presented as a sidenote to another story appearing elsewhere in the Times. A story some people know well, yet it is punctuated with new revelations from 45 years ago - photos and an arrest record for Morrison by Clearwater Police. The Times gained an interview with Mary Werbelow, the runner up to Ms. Clearwater in 1963. Oh, and she also just happened to be Jim Morrison’s girlfriend between 1962 and 1965. The piece is the first interview Mary has ever given about Jim.
For those who don’t know of this connection between Tampa Bay and the mythical Jim Morrison, the drunken poet and rock legend who rose to fame as the lead singer of the Doors, Morrison was sent from Virginia by his parents to live with his grandparents in downtown Clearwater in 1961 after he graduated high school. Morrison would attend St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College) before transfering to Florida State University and then transferring once again to the University of California — Los Angeles to attend film school. During his time in the Bay area, he was a regular at the famed Beaux Arts in Pinellas Park as well as other locations in and around the Bay area.
The Times article in the print version was a pittance of the offerings to online readers. Several stories are woven together regarding the relationship of Jim and Mary, along with great detail of lyrical connections to her and the Tampa Bay area itself. For example, did you know that the University of Tampa is immortalized in the Doors song Soul Kitchen? How about Pier 60 in Clearwater referenced in Stoned Immaculate? Or the fact Mary is the “beautiful friend” of Morrison’s opedial showstopper, The End?
Interesting stuff, no?
And as a sidenote, the Clearwater Library is considering a permanent section devoted to the Lizard King.
Tags: citizens, music, names, newspapers, tampa, written
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February 7th, 2006 at 11:21 am
How cool is that! Now every time I drive by UT at night I’ll have the opening riffs of “Soul Kitchen” going in my head, the X version in particular.
Tampa Bay’s alternative roots probably run even deeper when you factor Jack Kerouac into the mix. Someone oughta write a book covering all this. I guarantee you it would be far more interesting than “Cigar City Mafia,” and sell more copies too.