Thomas:
Some years ago I had a just a show at night called
Hoot and Holler, Sonny Magee, Sonny Terry and Brownie Magee, I apologize and
that was a thing where all the disc jockeys, all the black disc jockeys
anyway had, had a theme song and mine was "Hoot and Holler". And I'd come on
like, I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the
use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot
and holler and then Brown and all of them would come through with that, with
that thing called "Hoot and Holler" and I was on the radio. And during the
time that I was on the radio, white kids used to call me all the time, how
about us coming up sitting with you and watch you do your show? Hey, don't
bother me none, come on. These were all basically college kids, so I let
them come on. And not only did I do it like that on my radio show, I used to
take white kids down on Beal Street when they used to have midnight rambles
where whites came on Thursday nights, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday we went but on Thursday night was a special night for
whites. And I'd take the kids, but I'd take them down there any time because
they'd go with me, no fear, no nothing, just having fun and that's what it
was all about. And then during the stage shows they used to be presented on
stage at the Palace Theater during that time. So I've been doing that all
the time. And I was a, not only that, I was the first black jock to play
Elvis until the PD told me to stop playing Elvis, until, we were doing a
show at Ellis Auditorium, George Cline brought Elvis back stage and they
were going to put Elvis up front in this show. I said, don't you do that, if
you do the show is over but they put him close to the end and we were
wearing Indian costumes, I had a great big hat and then feathers and the
like. So I took Elvis by his hand, led him on stage and he did that willow
with that leg two or three times and it was over and the show was really
over and the people, these were black people, his first all black show, they
stormed that place trying to get to Elvis. And the next day I started back
to playing Elvis and we been playing Elvis ever since. See there's no one,
ah, individual who can think for a group of people. There's one man who just
happened to be white thinking that black folks didn't like Elvis and he was
so wrong. People like music and if it's good it makes no difference who's
doing it, black, blue, green even plaid if it's like that. And I love good
music and Elvis was doing good music for me at that time. He was doing
blues, rhythm and blues because that was his beginning.