My friend Tony T passed away in 2007 after a tough battle with brain cancer. Tony was one of my best friends and was a great musician, a kind person and gentle spirit. He played with us at our Butch Wax 20th Anniversary Show at The Pageant a few years ago and also played guitar on “Why Get Up” from our Double CD.

I first met Tony about 15 years ago in Fairmont, West Virginia. Tony had just started playing guitar with Johnnie Johnson and we were all together at Johnnie’s Blues Festival there. I remember Kenny Rice, Tony T, Gus Thornton, and me riding to the festival grounds listening to the brand new Michael McDonald “Motown” CD and listening to a couple of Michael’s Marvin Gaye remakes over and over. We were all friends and a bunch of musicians listening note for note and talking about the mix and who produced it and all those details - we were having a ball!  We got to the festival grounds and the first night was rained out so we headed back to the hotel and had dinner and hung out. Tony talked about how thrilled he was to be playing with Johnnie. He told me about his days playing guitar with Rufus Thomas, Bo Diddley, Barbara Carr, and Tyrone Davis. We talked about Robert Cray, Albert King, Vince Gill, Johnny Rivers, Chuck Berry, and Eric Clapton – some of my favorite guitar players.

He told me about his wife Margaret and how much he loved her and how lucky he was. I remember him calling her on the phone and calling her “Sweetie”. A few years later she would get cancer and Tony would be by her side and nurse her back to good health. After a couple of really hard years with Margaret being sick she was finally on the mend when Tony found out he had brain cancer. I remember him calling me to tell me the news. Tony and I would talk by phone a couple of times a week and I couldn’t believe what he was saying.  He stayed upbeat and had surgery and did the chemo and radiation and all of that. Peter Cohen and John May put together a benefit for Tony at BB’s which Butch Wax & The Hollywoods participated in along with several St. Louis musicians. Billy Peek came down and played with us at the show. Tony started doing better and even went out on the road with Bo Diddley in October of 2006 to do 60 shows in something like 65 days, but the cancer returned.

I remember him coming out to my house in the country and we walked around the property and went down to my lake. We sat on the boat dock and fished and talked about life and music and the things that were important to us both. In fact Tony almost fell off the boat dock when he walked out on it. There is a step down and he didn’t see it and he almost did a dip into the lake. After that, I painted a bright yellow stripe at the step down as a “caution”. It still reminds me of Tony T every time I see it. We wrapped up that visit with Tony and me jamming in my music room and having a great afternoon, playing everything from “Wee Wee Hours” to “Hey Jude” and “Let it Be”.
I am lucky to have had friends like Tony T, Johnnie Johnson, and Larry Smith in my life. They were all something really special and I miss them a bunch. B.B. King sang “There Must Be A Better World Somewhere” and I know Tony, Johnnie, and Larry are all there – delighting everyone with their spirit and music.

Written By Gene Ackmann
February 2016