(The following 3 items are not available on Amazon, but can be ordered directly.)

Ken (Greenwood) also recently helped produce, write and narrate an excellent six-part DVD documentary called "Cowboys in Tall Grass". It may have been on your local PBS station. I've got my copy and it's a great addition to my DVD collection.

I have had the pleasure over the last thirty years of sitting in with Tommy for an audience of one and an audience of thousands. It does not matter to Tommy. I have always found him ready to jam at whatever AM or PM. He is an incredible guitarist and is also well-informed. People have asked me if I knew why he didn't go to the "bigs" and I guess the answer is he is living La Dolce Vita right here.

(from Guestbook 79) Richard Wilson said:

Eric Clapton was quoted in an interview at one time as saying that the greatest guitar player he ever saw was playing at the Holiday Inn in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his name was Tommy Crook.

(from Guestbook 79) David Bagsby said:

Tommy Crook once told me the story of how someone had bet him that he couldn't play bass and guitar at the same time so he set about learning to play bass guitar with his feet. When the debut performance of this new technique arrived, he got barefooted and perched up on his stool, but when his feet touched the bass strings and his hands touched the guitar strings, the polarity of the amplifiers were off and he shocked the living piss out of himself and that was the farewell performance of this now lost art form. My brother Steve drew a cartoon of this; maybe he'll post it here sometime.

(from Guestbook 79) KAKC's Robert W. Walker said:

Back in '64 or so, Tommy Crook taught guitar at a music store somewhere on the east side of town (The Guitar House). He taught every Saturday, and had I known with whom I was dealing, I'd have been more diligent.

I saw Tommy Crook in the mid-90s with Herb Ellis at the Sunset Grill on Brookside. He grabbed chords out of thin air, creating multiple moving voices. Wow.

When Tulsa visitors dine at Lanna Thai and St. Michael's Alley today, they must wonder if such monster talent is the norm in our fair city. And then there is Buddy Bruce of "Tequila" fame...

The Nighthawk radio info is from Sounds in the dark, a history of late night radio.

Just finished reading "FM - The Rise And Fall of Rock Radio" by Richard Neer. It's a good chronology of what was perhaps the last U.S. major market free-form commercial Rock radio station, WNEW-FM in New York. WNEW-FM went from Rock to Talk in late 1999.

Unlike "Radio Waves" by Jim Ladd, Neer names stations and the players and holds little back.

Those of you who have either worked in or remember free-form radio from the 60s and 70s will find this an interesting read. If you worked in the business many of the players will be familiar to you.

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows. Includes the complete broadcast history, cast list, and plot summary, along with exciting behind-the-scene stories about the shows and stars. You can get lost in this book.

From Science Fiction in the Cinema by John Baxter:

The soundtrack, "Electronic Tonalities" by Louis and Bebe Barron, collaborators at one time with avant garde composer John Cage, is reminiscent of Karlheinz Stockhausen's work in this field, specifically his "Kontacte."

Despite the abstract nature of the sounds produced, there are recognizable motifs, such as the percolating theme for Robby the Robot and a frightening "footstep" effect for the movie's invisible Id monster. Some of the cues will set your teeth on edge, particularly the hair-raising "Deceleration," while many create hypnotic, undulating textures that might actually lower your blood pressure.

Remember that old "Like Father, Like
Son?" public service announcement?
It shows a boy imitating his father's
actions...and the last thing the father
does is light up a cigarette..."Think
about it." The catchy music (in 5/4
time) is carried by a jazzy flute.

"Don and Susan's latest work, 'Drive in Memories : Popcorn and Romance Under the Stars,' while physically smaller, is full of additional pictures and information about the drive-in theatres of yesterday. The new book is well written and edited. It will make a worthy edition to any one interested in the drive-in theatre."

Some of Frank's memories are a sidebar in this excellent book.

Movie sound at the Admiral Twin comes in on 88.3 and 90.9 (it was 88.7 before KWTU signed on in 2004). FM; the Superadio does a superb job at the drive-in, and you don't have to keep the electricity on in your car. I also have a little FM transmitter hooked up to my computer, and use the Superadio to hear whatever I've tuned in on the internet!

I remember a French movie that was shown often on Saturday afternoon: The Red Balloon. A balloon followed the boy around...at the end he is lifted into the sky by a lot of balloons. That one made quite an impression on me. Anyone else remember it?

1/30/2001: I just saw it again for the first time in over thirty years. No wonder it won the Grand Prix at Cannes! It was just as spellbinding to a 4 year old who was seeing it for the first time. A magical tale, well told.

Tulsan Michael Wallis' book takes you the rest of the way: "Oklahoma City's lookin' mighty pretty...you see Amarillo...Gallup, New Mexico. Flagstaff, Arizona (don't forget Winona), Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino..."

Bring the romance of the open road to your layout with this American classic!

Fully assembled model includes a glitzy simulated-neon sign with chase lights, motel office with its own rooftop neon sign plus an interior light, guest cabin and a 110V wall transformer power supply.

(from Guestbook 117) Lane Smith said:

"Hi Mike,

"Great site! Thanks for throwing some of my books on there. As you may have heard in the interview I did with Becky, a lot of my twisted imagery comes from childhood memories of Oklahoma mixed with a hearty dose of Universal horror films, strange puppet animations, Buster Keaton silents, EC comics, Rt 66, Major Matt Mason, Tex Ritter records (Tex was named after a relative of Lee Woodward; see Guestbook 119), Lewis Meyer shows and lots more.

"p.s. For all you Okies out there, a book on Woody Guthrie that I did the cover for was just nomimated for the National Book Award. It's called This Land Was Made for You and Me, written by Elizabeth Partridge."

5/3/2006: Lane now has a web site: LaneSmithBooks.com.

He has written and illustrated a new book: John, Paul, George & Ben.

The wisdom of Agent Cooper: "Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee."