I have been reading Sly Stone’s recent memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir, and it’s got me going down a rabbit hole about Hank “Bubba” Banks. Stone is a fascinating character — a musical genius and pioneer, an eccentric with a brilliant mind, and a charismatic icon of the late 1960s and early 1970s. But Stone was also intensely personal, wildly complicated, unpredictable, unreliable and hopelessly addicted. Somehow it didn’t kill him, but it did destroy his career, obliterate his finances and damage his relationships in epic ways. He used to carry a violin case of mostly cocaine around with him and would stay up for days at a time. There was an era where PCP (angel dust) was part of the mix as well, and later crack. Just to add another level of madness, there were always lots of guns, fast cars and potentially vicious dogs — one of which mauled Sly’s son in 1976 and was promptly shot by the heartbroken, troubled star.
At Stone’s side through much of this was his friend Bubba — a former pimp who served as Sly’s co-producer, manager and his right-hand man. After Bubba split from Stone in the mid-’70s, he married Sly’s sister Rose and helped her launch a solo career. Banks died in 2021. He never did a tell-all book to capitalize on all the madness he witnessed, tried to navigate and manage. Instead, Banks routinely helped filmmakers and writers get in contact with people who could help them best tell the story of the complicated star at the centre of the cyclone.
It seems like for every one of these music industry excess icons, there was a Bubba-type person right there — trying to keep their star happy, but also trying to keep them from killing themselves. Not all of them have kept their traps shut, though. Let’s go through some:
Richard Cole (Led Zeppelin)
The tour manager for Led Zeppelin saw, participated — even instigated — countless hedonistic adventures with the British band when they were as big as a band gets in the 1970s. This was the guy in charge of the band and gear being where they were supposed to be, and collecting all the cash. The difference between Cole and Banks is that Cole sold his stories for inclusion in the 1985 salacious and sensationalist rock biography Hammer Of The Gods by Stephen Davis. For this, Cole claims to have only made $1,250. Zep lead singer Robert Plant says Cole’s stories were nothing more than rumours bandied about by groupies. When Cole wrote his own account of his time as tour manager in 1992’s Stairway To Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored, it got guitarist Jimmy Page angry. He claimed the bits he’d read were “ridiculously false” and that he couldn’t bear to read any more, even though he was certain there’d be more than enough for a libel lawsuit. Cole was fired by Zeppelin manager Peter Grant before the band’s final tour in 1980, due to concerns about his heroin and alcohol dependence.
Paul English (Willie Nelson)
You can place Paul English in the same category as Banks — though he was the trusted friend, drummer, road manager, bodyguard and enabler of Willie Nelson for much longer. The fearsome English died in that role — one he held for 60 years. The two men met in 1957 when Nelson was hosting a radio program and needed a drummer. English was a leatherworker — not a musician — but Nelson had him bang away on a cardboard box. Eventually, he got pretty good at it. Mostly, English’s job was to be a co-conspirator, fearless protector, money collector and bookkeeper. He never wrote a tell-all about Willie, but Willie proudly wrote one about them himself. He also wrote his 1971 song Me & Paul about their adventures.
Mal Evans (The Beatles)
Big Mal always wanted to write a book about his time within The Beatles’ inner circle — a place reserved for just him and co-road manager Neil Aspinall. These two men had all the dirt on The Fab Four’s groupie escapades during their early years, along with their true feelings, misgivings, lies, loves and addictions. Evans was the band’s main roadie, then road manager, purveyor of female company and — after they retired from touring — their personal tech, personal assistant and go-for. He did everything from carrying extra cigarettes (often filled with weed) to performing on a handful of Beatles songs. When the band started Apple Corps, Mal was given a position of power, which he used to get Badfinger signed. Throughout his time with the group — and afterwards — he kept a detailed diary of his exploits. He made sure to get The Beatles’ written permission to publish a memoir based on the extensive journal. But he was killed in a confrontation with police in 1974 and the book was never completed. The diary was lost until a few years ago, and finally, a book saw the light of day last year. Living The Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans has far more details about his own shortcomings and bad decisions than those of any of his famous friends.
Peter Brown (The Beatles)
Brown was a confidant of Brian Epstein, who hired him to help run his music stores before he was manager of The Beatles. Brown became part of the band’s management team, and later served as COO of Apple — and even served as best man at John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s wedding (immortalized in the lyric of The Ballad of John & Yoko). Brown released his own tell-all book in 1983 called The Love You Make and got the band’s permission to do so in 1979. However, they were not happy with the end product and categorize Brown’s version of events as a betrayal. It presents seamy details of Epstein’s homosexuality — including a supposed encounter with Lennon. Paul McCartney is often portrayed as self-serving and George Harrison’s spiritual endeavours are questioned and belittled. Its gossipy nature has led to the book being referred to as The Muck You Rake by Beatles fans.
Joe Esposito (Elvis Presley)
Esposito may be the poster boy for dedication to his boss. Joe and Elvis Presley met while The King of Rock ’n’ Roll was serving in the U.S. Army in Germany — even though they both went through basic training together. Joe would become the main man in the so-called Memphis Mafia, Presley’s trusted inner circle of heavyweight sycophants, drivers, bodyguards and personal assistants. Esposito was Elvis’s best man when he married Priscilla Beaulieu, appeared in some of Presley’s films and took loads of family snapshots and home movies. It was Esposito who found Elvis dead in the washroom at Graceland and broke the news to family. He was one of the pallbearers at the funeral. If there was anyone who knew about skeletons in the closet, secrets, lies, habits, drugs or abuse, it was Espo. But he dedicated his life to Elvis, even after Aug. 16, 1977. Esposito appeared often at conventions and events to speak, contributed his home movies, photos and recollections to countless films, books and articles, and wrote a number of books himself — but always kept things respectable and positive.
Vince Treanor (The Doors)
You can’t really accuse Doors road manager Vince Treanor of cashing-in with a tell-all book — because he waited 50 years to write it. Behind The Doors is a hit with fans, most of whom call it a “must-read” from the person who set up the band’s equipment, built amps, recorded live concerts and shot 16mm film of them. Treanor has a reputation for being helpful to those interested in doing biographies and accounts of Jim Morrison and The Doors, but he also is known to withdraw or refuse permission to anyone who he suspects is sharing unverified information or sensationalist accounts. He paints the band as a group of homebodies who really didn’t enjoy being on the road at all — and Morrison as a shy poet who put on an act and was nothing like how he is typically portrayed.
Chris Lendt (KISS)
Both Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have written tell-all accounts of their time in “the hottest band in the world.” Financial manager Chris (C.K.) Lendt was an executive with their business management company from 1976 to 1988. His book KISS and Sell, focuses on the band’s extravagences, egos, and the stress of trying to stay popular. He started working with the group when they were one of the biggest acts in the business, and was with them as that faded away into the years when they were insignificant. Lendt freely admits he set out to make a book that was not only informative, but entertaining as well. The entertaining bits of this book, of course, involve hearing about the bad decisions they made.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
