[Revolting cat!]

Richard has claimed that the phrase "Wop bop a loop bop, wop bam boom" (which has been spelled a thousand different ways), came to him as he spilled a stack of dishes working as a dishwasher at the Macon, Georgia Greyhound bus station. I had to see it myself, and many years ago I made a pilgrimage to Macon, found the bus station which by then was closed and ready to be demolished, and peered into the window of the kitchen. One of the highlights of my life. Unfortunately, the photos I took then are lost.

[a fool in paradise]

He also washed dishes while he lived in Houston (he worked at the Shamrock Hotel which was also demolished, so they could put up a parking garage, and they put a park in where a parking garage had been).

He was “discovered” by Johnny Otis in Houston while he was singing in the next room at a restaurant. Otis had taken Big Mama Thornton to LA before that. (both had already started recording but he took them to LA where they got an upgrade on material and became famous)