Smoke On The Water
Deep Purple (1972)Casino Barrière de Montreux
Rue du Théâtre 9, 1820 Montreux, Switzerland Website
"We all came out to Montreux, on the Lake Geneva shoreline, to make records with a mobile, we didn't have much time."
While Deep Purple attempted to record their breakthrough Machine Head album on the Rolling Stones mobile truck while staying at this Swiss Casino, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were performing; "some stupid with a flare gun" shot it off during the show, forcing the evacuation of the casino, which was a total loss. The gambling house was reborn better than ever; the band moved to the nearby Grand Hotel and recorded there.
Gimme Three Steps
Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973)Pastime (The West Tavern), 5301 Lenox Ave, Jacksonville, FL Map
"I was cuttin' a rug, down at a place called 'The Jug'..."
Though Bowling Green, KY local legend holds that this true incident -- in which lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt barely escaped death after dancing with the wrong girl -- happened at their bar The Little Brown Jug, it appears to have actually occurred in the band's hometown instead, at a place called the West Tavern. Chances are Ronnie used yet another nearby bar called the Little Brown Jug for rhyming purposes only. (Named after a popular drinking song, the name Little Brown Jug was not uncommon in bars across America at the time.)
Crossroads (Cross Road Blues)
Robert Johnson (1937), Cream (1968)Old Highway 8 at Dockery Rd, Dockery, MS Map
"I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees, asked the Lord above, have mercy now, save poor Bob if you please."
Legend has it that Robert Johnson, humiliated by his idol Son House for not being able to play, took the locals up on a legend and ventured to the meeting of Highways 49 and 61, where he sold his soul to the devil in order to play guitar. As with so many legends, this one fudges most of the facts; it was an unrelated bluesman, Tommy Johnson, who claimed to have made such a deal, while the actual crossroads of legend wasn't in Clarksdale at all but near Dockery Farms, where Robert worked. As a matter of fact, Robert's famous song mentions nothing about any such deal -- the singer is merely trying to hitch a ride to nearby Rosedale to meet a woman, and is running out of time as the sun goes down. For a black man in that place and time, getting caught alone after dark could lead to the chain gang or worse. (Old Highway 8 is down Dockery Rd, directly south of the current Highway 8.)
Wolverton Mountain
Claude King (1962)Woolverton Mountain Rd., Austin, AR Map
"They say don't go on Wolverton Mountain, if you're looking for a wife. 'Cause Clifton Clowers has a pretty young daughter, and he's mighty handy with a gun and a knife."
Merle Kilgore wrote this song about a real person, the real Clifton Clowers, and everything in it is true, except that Woolverton Mountain actually has an extra O in it. Go up this road to the mountain, and you'll see the cemetery were Clowers, who lived to 103, is buried.
La Grange
ZZ Top (1973)Rocky Creek Road, La Grange, TX Map
"Rumor spreadin' around in that Texas town 'bout that shack outside La Grange. You know what I'm talkin about. Just let me know if you wanna go to that home out on the range. They got a lot of nice girls."
A local investigative reporter snooped around until he got the authorities to close down The Chicken Ranch, the legendary whorehouse immortalized in this song and in the play/movie The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and right around the time ZZ Top released this song, to boot. Though the building stands no more, a trip down Rocky Creek Road until it meets the Colorado River will reveal the cow pasture where it once stood.
