Joel Burkhart: "Russell Myers and I were friends at TU and Gary Fleming was the cartoonist for the Collegian the year before I took over the job."

Webmaster: Today, Russell Myers draws the nationally syndicated comic strip, "Broomhilda". Here are cartoons drawn in 1961 by Joel for the Admiral Twin Drive-In.

What was that mysterious "Rubiyat" place at 51st and Harvard? Coffeehouse? Beat club? My parents clammed up when I asked them about it at the time.

Dave replied:

Yes, I remember the Rubiot, but only from the outside. It was in that little shopping center on the north side of 51st Street just east of Harvard. That was around 1960, and I was told by my parents that it was a place where the beatniks hung out.

At my age then, the only beatnik I had ever seen was Maynard G. Krebs on Dobie Gillis, and I didn't think we had any of them in south Tulsa. I was pretty sure we didn't have any men with beards in south Tulsa around 1960. But I always wondered what the mysterious goings-on might be in the Rubiyat.

(from Guestbook 130) Lee Woodward said:

Sonny built the Rubiot (on S. Lewis between 61st & 71st) from scratch to be solely for the purpose of presenting jazz in the best light. He had all the big names, from Teddy Wilson, Joe Williams. Every weekend was a headliner. I remember hooking up one afternoon with vibraphonist Gary Burton at the old Trade Winds pool, exchanging bizarre song titles.

Two of his I remember were; "What's that in your pool...Algae?" and "Take my love and shove it up your heart!" I only remember one of mine; "Come on Baby, let's get this straight!" Sorry!

Sonny also promoted up-and-coming talent. One of these was a female singer named Annette Sanders. One of the best I have ever heard. Trust me! I heard she had a deal with Decca. She was here many times and even did a concert at T.U. which was a gas. I later learned that she went back to New York to a boyfriend musician who was an addict. He was kind enough to take her down with him. Just like River Phoenix, a great career move.

Sonny's club was undone by the staff who gave a new meaning to "profit sharing." If a human form of termites existed, they worked there and sadly a great club died. The only "chops" saved were Sonny's. The rest went out the back door.

-----

The Rubiot was on the East side of Lewis and was a substantial building. It had a stage on the south end that faced the "room" which had tables for food and beverage service. Don't know if the building is still there or not.

Also, I may have overstated the bookings when I said every weekend as Sonny's own group held the fort most of the time. I'm sorry I can't remember all his sidemen. I know Kenny Quinn was one, John Rigney was another. Both of these fellows still play in Tulsa. One or two other fellows would alternate sometimes. I recall a bass player from the Philharmonic was also there sometimes.

Anyway, a great venue.

(from Guestbook 130) Mike Miller said:

For some reason, I remember the Rubiot on the west side of Lewis, closest to the River. Going south, I’d take a right into the parking lot. But, hell, those were my drinking days.

(from Guestbook 246) Dan Winders said:

I grew up as a kid on 71st between Peoria and Lewis between 1958 and 1970. I marveled at the back-lit sign on the Rubiot hundreds of times as we passed by it in my grandmother's Rambler American automobile. The Rubiot was definitely on the west side of Lewis.

Courtesy of the Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa.

The Rubiot (6740 S. Peoria) at night. Check out those gas torches. Courtesy of Kenny Quinn.

(from Guestbook 168) D. Scott Linder said:

In response to a past guestbook entry about Sonny Gray's Rubiot, the Quartet members around 1965-66 were Sonny Gray-piano, Kenny Quinn-vibes, John Rigney-bass, Dave Reynolds-drums and Suzan Gray-vocals. I was a regular at the club and subbed for Dave Reynolds on several occasions. I remember the first tune I ever played with the Quartet was "Witchcraft"...

I have no idea where Dave Reynolds might be these days. He was quite a good drummer, but I believe that all the other members of the Quartet still live in Tulsa(?) I also remember a trumpet player named Tommy Lokey who would sit in on occasion. I really liked his Miles Davis-ish sound. Funny, I remember he used to complain to me about his dental problems, and how it affected his playing.

(from Guestbook 247) El Brazo d'Onofrio said:

Can someone help me fill in a blank? I worked during the summer of '69 at the former Rubiot (and my recollection is that it was definitely on the west side of Lewis as well) trying to spruce the place up enough to open it in a new incarnation as the Herbert W. (blank) dinner theater. I believe the opening production was to have been "The Apple Tree."

I think that the Mike Nicholesque Herbert W. (blank) was affiliated with the University of Tulsa theater department for a time. I dimly recall that the dinner theater did in fact open but it was less than a howling success and closed very quickly.

(from Guestbook 247) Scott Linder said:

The club was on the WEST side of Lewis. The club seemed to appear out of nowhere as you drove past civilization. After all, anything past Memorial was "out in the country" in those days.

As I recall, the club sat idle for some time after Sonny closed it. The gentleman who sought to revive it as a dinner theatre was known as Professor Herbert W. Kramer. I was still in Tulsa at the time, and he contacted me about sound and lighting issues at his new dinner theatre. We met for lunch at Coman's Restaurant, as I recall. He was quite a character and reminded me of film actor S.Z. Sakall (Carl, the headwaiter in "Casablanca"). I have no idea of his background, how he found his way to Tulsa or what he did while there.

I declined the invitation to become involved with his dinner theatre. I just wanted to remember the Rubiot as it was... Tulsa's coolest jazz club in the 60s.

St. Michael's is located on the east side of Ranch Acres Shopping Center. Great place to eat or drink and talk. Burnt once, but rebuilt.

Webmaster:

London's first coffeehouse was opened in St. Michael's Alley on Cornhill Street in 1652. Tulsa's St. Michael's Alley was created as a San Francisco-style coffee house in 1960. Interior decor: wooden booths, paneling and dim lighting, Beverages: espresso, cappuccino, tea, beer...

I recall beer presented in a mug with an olive in the early 70s. Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"/"Blue Rondo a la Turk" single was still on the jukebox then. It was probably left over from the earlier beatnik period.

(from Guestbook 92) Joy Cooper said:

Our favorites were...St. Michael's Alley (best atmosphere and that cranky black chef that ran the coffee/expresso machine)...

(from Guestbook 138) Sandra Merwill said:

Is St Michael's Alley still there? We used to get orders at the Celebrity Club for their banana frappes. And what happened to Mike S. - Celebrity Club owner?

(from GB 218) Ginny Moss said:

In response to Jeff H (in GB 206)

"Still in the food category: I have a menu from St. Michael's Alley (circa 1965) very similar to the one on display at the restaurant (1960). Mine has a limited food section. Does any one know if they served food from the start? The menu on display only shows the coffees and teas."

I don't have a menu, but St. Michael's was my first "real job" the summer I graduated from Edison (1960). The menu had only the many espressos and home made German chocolate, cheesecake, and a date/nut torte. Soon, Cy put in draught beer - served in tall Pilsner glasses. The "olive in the beer" idea came from a lounge at the Crystal Bowling Alley, where we went on occasion. Then he added the hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, and peppered beef sandwiches; the pièce de ré•sis•tance was a standing rib roast sandwich – served at the tables from a cart, au jus. That was the extent of the menu when I left St. Michael's to go to work at Shell Oil in July, 1962.

I noticed that Joel Burkhart referred to Cy as "Ty" Kelly. His full name was James Sanford Kelly, nicknamed "Cy" (pronounced Ky) by his older brother when he was a baby. Unfortunately (or fortunately), it stuck.

When Cy sold the coffeehouse, he assisted Bill McLaughlin build a venture called "The Forge" in Utica Square.

I left Tulsa for about 15 years in 1965, so I don't know what happened to that. Anyone?

I left Tulsa in the late 70's. At that time, my favorite hang-outs were Cardo's, Boston Ave. Market, the Nine of Cups and, of course, Arnie's. I heard that Arnie's was forced out of its old location. Are the other places still around? Anybody remember anything about a folk music club called The Dust Bowl?

(from Guestbook 121) Larry L. Kraus said:

The Dust Bowl was a folkie place on 15th Street, just west of Peoria. It was open in the 1964-1967 time frame, although those dates are approximations. The house group was called the Folkmen and consisted of Robert Anderson (5-string banjo), Moby Anderson (bass) and Pat Grahm (guitar).

Notables who appeared over the years were Mike Murphey (later known as Michael Martin Murphey, of "Wildfire" fame), and B.W. Stevenson (of "My Maria" fame). Also appearing frequently were Dan Crarey (who still headlines music festivals, and is/was a fine flat-pick guitar player), and Hermes Nye, a lawyer/singer from Dallas, and the Roving Singers (Tommy Harris and Jim Smith). Yours truly also appeared on occasion, but never as a headliner.

The Dust Bowl was part of an informal circuit of folk clubs that included the Sword and the Stone in OKC, the Rubaiyat in Dallas, and the 11th Door in Austin. Most of the people who played at one of those played at the rest.

I ran into Michael Martin Murphey about three years ago and he still remembered the Dust Bowl with fondness. B.W. Stevenson, of course, died about 10 years ago. (I am still alive, barely.)

I can still remember the night that the Folkmen returned from a tour shortly after Dylan released "Highway 61 Revisited." Everyone was aghast that they were playing electrical instruments. Unfortunately, they were using the electrical instruments on their standard repertoire and it just didn't work as well.

Shortly after that (I'm guessing maybe 1967), the Dust Bowl closed.

As I might have mentioned previously, the only person I can remember being thrown off the stage at the Dust Bowl for singing "inappropriate material" was Richard Roberts (in Guestbook 114, Larry recalled it being tagged as "too gross.") All of us pushed the boundaries a bit, but Richard apparently went way over. Of course, he was younger then.

Now available: Michael Martin Murphey's Cowboy Classic Coffees.

(from Guestbook 121) Carl Gregory said:

The Dust Bowl was a great place, had many memories and good times there. Here is a piece from the Dust Bowl that used to be on the tables.

(from GroupBlog 257) Pat Downes said:

My parents were regular patrons of the coffee house as well as charter members of Tulsa's Folk Artists Association, which was a loosely bound group of performers and patrons of the art form. In addition to featuring regional (later headliner) performers the likes of Mike Murphy, Mike Brewer and Dan Crary, the Dust Bowl drew from a very solid lineup of local artists including, from my fuzzy memory and in no particular order: Dudley Murphy, Pat Blythe (occasionally with girlfriend Arlea Stokes), Bob Anderson, John Chick (Mr. Zing), V.A. McNabb, and dozens more whose names escape me at the moment.

The Dust Bowl is the source of some truly wonderful childhood memories for me.

(from GroupBlog 257) Mike Flynn said:

Bob Anderson and I started the coffee house when we wanted someplace to sing each week. There were a lot more people involved, like Bob's wife Kay, Moby Anderson (who was not Bob's brother, by the way), and Sandy Wark...whose mother loaned us $300 to get started.

Bob, Moby and Sandy had a trio--The Lowland Three. Some of the better known artists who were there included Michael Martin Murphy and Jack Elliot. I sold my half of The Dust Bowl to Pat Blythe a couple of years later. It was a great place...

(from Guestbook 121) Jon Cummins said:

I remember going to the Dust Bowl and seeing Bob Anderson play his ODE banjo when I was about 12. Dad was with me, and that may have been my first taste of "folk" music and pizza.

I was first at the Dust Bowl on 15th St in late 1966. I believe that it had been operational for at least a year before that.

I spent the summer of '67, my senior year, doing the floors every week. I was paid enough to rent a bucket and mop, buy the Spic & Span, and have a few bucks left over.

I also got in free while I was doing the floor. I spent every Friday and Saturday night there. When I left for college I gave up the job (don't remember to whom), but it was still going at that time, about August of 1967.

The performers were mostly from a different planet and I have few memories of them. The exceptions would be the house band, and Dudley Murphy. Even after hearing their sets so many times, they were always entertaining to me.

There was a regular group in the audience, while I was going, which included Joe Allen, Joe Colpitts, Mike Rawlins, David Heckle, a blond girl from Brookside named Kristy, a girl with long brown hair named Shelly, Sandy Courter, Carl and Larry Gregory and some others I remember even less well than these. Most of us were underage, which I believe is why Bob never pursued a liquor license.

For me, the Dust Bowl was a unique experience and made a lasting impression on me and my life.

(from Guestbook 130) David Bagsby said:

There used to be a coffee-house type place somewhere along 15th between Utica & Peoria called the Open Door. Then of course there was the coffee house in the Sears complex at 21st & Yale.

Featuring Sears' in-house group, The Craftsmen, performing their smash hit "If I Had A Hammer" (rimshot).

The Purple Cow was located at approximately 42nd & Peoria (nearer 41st St., but not on the corner) in an old house that was very colorfully decorated.

The Par Three Trio played for the opening night of the coffee house.

The Par Three Trio (named after the golf course behind the hamburger restaurant at 51st. & Lewis that is now Goldies) consisted of: Keith Hunt, piano; Mike (Magoo) McGoffin, drums; J. Martin (Moby) Anderson, bass; and that night we had David Bartlett, on trumpet. The Par Three Trio Played jazz in and around Tulsa from 1959 until about 1962.

The opening evening at the Purple Cow was hampered by the lack of a piano! The piano was supposed to have been delivered but it had not arrived by the time we were scheduled to play.

Keith just happened to have an ACCORDIAN in his car's trunk. He brought it into the room (which had pillows all over the floor), laid it flat on the floor, put his leg through one strap. Then we enlisted volunteers to pump the accordian while he played it like a piano! We had to change 'pumpers' often, but that worked unitl the piano arrived! It is one of my favorite memories of playing music in Tulsa.

Tulsa/OKC TV interlude

(from Guestbook 125) The webmaster said:

A commercial filmed for OKC-based Cain's in the early 70s was set in a nightclub, where a confident Vic Damone/Tony Bennett-type singer strolled among the tables as he performed this lush ballad:

Let your life slow down
Take a real look around
Have a cup of Cain's
For the flavor in moments you'll savor

And then give yourself some time
For something easy on your mind
With a cup of Cain's;
It's a coffee blend you'll want
Again and again.

While singing and strolling, the coffee-loving crooner nodded familiarly at one table, making a horizontal circular gesture to the waiter, indicating they should receive a round of coffee on the house.

In the final shot, the camera changed focus to follow the gaze of the now thoughtful-appearing entertainer in the background (his hand mike at rest) to a steaming cup of Cain's coffee resting on a stool in the foreground.

Lacking access to the original, the webmaster vocally "rendered" the tune in one take, a cappella, on a WAV file for this site. David Bagsby picked it up, retrofitted it with a supportive piano part, and added it to his "Tulsa Project" CD, "Led Zebblin: Outhouses of the Holy".

Here, as an accompaniment to your own coffee-swigging, is the Cain's Coffee ballad on MP3.

11/10/2005: Discovered! The original audio can be heard on this video spoof of the commercial, lip-synced by Tulsa TV newsman John Hudson in 1974. Interesting how time altered my own 30-year-old memory of the tune; I'll call it artistic license.

Thanks to Wayne McCombs for the clip, titled "Hud Drinks Mud". Wayne says: "Back in the old days of local TV, the stations would sign off the air about 1:30 or 2:00 am. Sometimes after sign-off, the late shift staff would be working on production for commercials or station promotional announcements. Well, one night in 1974 at Channel 2, John Hudson did his version of the Cain's coffee commercial.

"The spot was recorded on the set of the Joe Krieger fishing show in the Channel 2 studios. Note the pants John was wearing."

I (the webmaster) tape-recorded the following by miking our family TV in late 1971. I listened to the tapes regularly in the 70s, then let them lie mostly dormant until starting this site. From the Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting on KOTV:

10/12/2005: Bob Anderson is still performing with Bobby and Blue Ridge Tradition.

"This is the 33 1/3 rpm record, "Saturday Night at the 'Speakeasy'". It is inscribed and signed on the front of the sleeve by Tom, Bob and Ben. It was published by Rite Records. The Speakeasy Singers were apparently a Tulsa, OK folk singing group in the late 60's. Songs include:

"Columbus; Gentle on my Mind; Lizzie Borden; Cripple Creek; Break My Mind; San Francisco Bay Blues; Frankie and Johnnie; Hey Girl; Four Nights Drunk; Rocky Raccoon; and Hey Lilee.

"Here is a 35 year old autographed record from a folk group probably long gone."

Damn fine coffee can be had at home with these items from the TTM Gift Shop.