Johnny Greer’s Blues - Part 10

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Johnny felt like he was in a fog for the next few days. He would work nights at the Silver Palace and then sleep late into the morning the following day. The times in between waking and going into work were long, tedious hours. Johnny spent his time picking at his guitar and trying to not think about when he might hear from Mr. Gold. It occurred to Johnny that he had no way for Gold to reach him, as he didn’t have a phone. However, the thought of calling Mr. Gold tied his stomach into knots.

Three days passed, and Johnny heard nothing. Those three days melted into five and then to six. After about a week, Johnny began to worry that Gold had listened to the tape and decided there was no point continuing the process. But Johnny still couldn’t bring himself to walk to the payphone and call Gold’s office.

Nine days after he met with Bones, Johnny was working at the Silver Palace. It had been a slow night, and the cleanup was not particularly taxing. Johnny was alone in the bar, sweeping up the remains of the evening. The smoke from the night was still clearing, and the room was illuminated primarily by the red neon of a beer sign above the bar. As Johnny swept into the dust pan, the phone behind the bar, began to ring.

Johnny picked up the phone and informed the person on the other end that they had reached the Silver Palace, but that the bar was closed for the night. “That’s fine, Johnny, I’m trying to reach you anyway,” the familiar voice on the other end said.

"Mr. Gold, is that you?" Johnny asked.

"It is indeed, Johnny. It is indeed. Listen, I’m in town and have some news I’d like to share with you," Gold said.

Johnny’s heart rate spiked. "Is it good news?" Johnny asked.

"Oh, Johnny, this is news that needs to be delivered in person. Why don’t you meet me tomorrow afternoon at the Hotel Tulip Poplar? I know you probably aren’t a morning person, and neither am I, so let’s say 1:00, Gold said with a hint of a chuckle in his voice."

Johnny thought Gold was toying with him. He felt like Gold was tugging on his strings just because he could. "Okay then, Mr. Gold," Johnny said, "I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon - well, this afternoon. You sure you can’t tell me anything?"

"Oh, it can wait till I see you. Sleep well, Johnny. Good night."

The call disconnected and Johnny held the phone listening to the dial tone for a few stunned seconds before he hung up the avocado green phone.

Johnny didn’t sleep much that night.

Room 217 at the Tulip Poplar hotel was somehow hotter and stuffier than it had been on Johnny’s first visit, but Mr. Gold and his sweat glands were oblivious to that fact.

Gold sat on the green sofa with his left arm draped over the couch's back. His right hand held a glass of whiskey that he swirled with as Johnny leafed through a small stack of papers. “The contract's fair, Johnny. I made the deal myself,” Gold said. “But you take your time looking through it.”

“I mean, it looks good, Mr. Gold,” Johnny said. “But I don't really know what I'm looking at. Maybe I should have Mr. Carpenter review this?”

Gold shrugged. "Like I told you, Johnny, TennGem Records is just a small regional label. Nobody's going to get too rich off this deal. But it's going to get you on the radio and it's going to get you some gigs. Your next deal will probably be the big one. This one will be just enough to pay some bills and it'll let you live until we get you there.”

“No, I understand that,” Johnny said, "I just want to make sure I'm not giving anything away."

Gold smiled at him. "Of course you're giving something away. That's part of every deal. You give away a part of yourself and you get a little something in return. But, speaking more specifically, you're going to get paid fair for this record. And so am I. And so is the label. We're all going to make a little bit of change. But you're going to get the most change, Johnny, not in cash but As a starting point for what will soon be a glorious career.”

Johnny stared blankly at the contract, still trying to make sense of it. His head was swimming both from the legalese and from the fact that a few minutes ago he had been informed that he had an offer for a record deal.

“My point is that yes, you could spend time and money talking to a lawyer every time I hand you a piece of paper,” Gold paused and took a sip of whiskey. "You could trust me," he said. "Believe me, Johnny, I have your best interests at heart."

Johnny wasn't quite sure he believed that, but he did Understand that when Johnny did well, so would Mr. Gold. He also knew that Mr. Gold wanted to keep him around running his errands and he probably wouldn't do that if he got the bad end of the deal.

"Sign this, you want me to sign this."

“Johnny, I want you to do what you want to do. I'm never going to force you to sign anything or do anything. It's all your choice. But if you're asking my advice, I think you should sign that and get ready to hit the road to your destiny."

"You really think that's what will happen?" Johnny asked.

"Listen to me, and listen good,” Gold said, a serious tone slipping into his voice. “’m never going to do is lie to you. I'm not going to ask you to trust me. But what I am going to ask is that you understand and believe that I will always tell you the unvarnished truth. It's in my best interest. And I believe, Johnny, that it is also in yours. "

Gold finished his glass, sat it down on the coffee table, and looked at Johnny with a smile. "So, what do you think?"

Johnny sat with the pen in his hand. His hand began to shake. The radiator clanged and a bead of sweat rolled from his temple down the side of his face. He started to question himself. He wondered why he was even hesitating. This is what he had wanted from the moment he left Birmingham. He understood that this deal may not be the brass ring, but it might at least be his ticket onto the merry-go-round. Johnny licked his lips, but his mouth and tongue were dry and felt cracked.

All the while, gold looked at him with a patient but keenly aware expression on his face. Johnny felt like he was being measured up by a cobra ready to strike.

Johnny looked down at the paper, took a deep breath, and signed his name on the line on the final page.

Johnny handed the contract to Gold who took it without even looking at Johnny's signature. Gold clapped Johnny on the shoulder and told him he had made the right decision, offering him a celebratory whiskey, which Johnny declined.

"Fair enough. I'll get the tape delivered to TennGem In the next couple of days, from there, I would expect the vinyl to be pressed in no more than three weeks.”

”Then what?" asked Johnny.

Then you're going to be a professional musician.” Gold laughed. “As soon as that record's off the press, I'll get it to local radio. I've already got some folks lined up to host you and a band on a short tour of the region.”

“Band? What band? Goose and Honi?” Johnny asked.

“No, we're not going to send a band with you. Locals will back you up, at least for now,” Gold said. “Don't expect a tour bus or anything like that. You're going to be getting yourself from gig to gig."

Johnny felt a pang of disappointment. For a moment, he thought that maybe Honi would be on the road with him. He wondered if that might change her Views on dating him. Or, at least, her timetable.

Johnny nodded. "So, what do I do until then?"

"Practice and get ready," Gold said. “"Your life is about to take a very serious turn, young man."

Johnny thanked Gold and hesitated, waiting for the man to tack on some extra little task for him.

“Goodnight, Johnny,” Gold said.

Johnny made his goodbyes and walked to the hotel door. As he put his hand on the brass doorknob, Gold stopped him. The knob grew warm in Johnny’s hand.

“I did forget one thing. Come on, close quote. Gold said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope which he handed to Johnny.

"What's in here?" Johnny asked with a slight hitch in his voice.

"Open it and see," Gold said, a sly grin on his face.

Johnny slowly opened the envelope. Inside, he found five $20 bills. He looked up at Gold.

“It's your advance from the record company," Gold said with a laugh. "Were you expecting something else?"

Johnny didn't respond.

"I suggest you use part of that money to get yourself a phone. You're going to need a way for us to reach you during the day."

Johnny thanked him and said he would do that, and then he left the room. He walked downstairs into the lobby and made his way towards the hotel Tulip Poplar's front door. All the while, he waited for the desk clerk to stop him to give him another envelope to add to his burden. But no one said a word as Johnny left the hotel into the cool March air.

Part Eleven will follow in the next installment.

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