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The Cadillac in Bloom |
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I said, "Don't pay it. I want to make her come up with it. Yon will only encourage her to steal further."
Bright Red didn't like the idea that I had caught her stealing
and she decided to try a little undercover work. She sent to New York for the pianist, Hageman. One day, when 1 walked into the Cadillac to get my meals. I saw somebody at the piano and I say, "Is that Hageman?" He say, "Who's talking?** I say, "jelly Roll." "Gee, I'm glad to see you." (I'd always thrown a lotta work his w^ay, so naturally he's glad see me.) "What you doing here?" I say. Tin gonna work here.** "You mean at the Cadillac? That*s strange. They didn't tell me anything about it. Tm working here"
I asked the boss what kind of tricks he was pulling and he said I was hard to get along with, not realizing that I was right and Bright Red wras wrong—"So i sent and got somebody as good as you/* I told him, okay, I would close his joint in two weeks.
it might not have been two weeks, but it wasn't more than two and a half.
There was a road house out in a little place called Watts, about nine or ten miles from Los Angeles, The colored owner, George Brown, wasn't doing any good, so, when I offered to come out there, he immediately accepted. I told him I didn't w7ant to open until he notified Hollywood that I'd be working there. We had invitations printed and, my opening night, al Hollywood was there. That ended the Cadillac. They kept on going down and down until they had to close. Then another friendship landed me in trouble.
Willie Taylor, considered one of the greatest violinists in the United States, came to town and I gave him a fob in my band. After Willie came in, he decided to take the band away from me, out-talked George Brown, and did take the band over. When I left there, he brought Hageman in as pianist, and I told him I would close him up right away. By that time the Cadillac was sure I was the man, so 1 took over half the business, went back in there with a four piece band and ran |
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