Bucky Mitchell
Age: 74
Hometown: Steep Falls, Maine
Profession: Music Booker
Bar of Choice: Westbrook Memorial American Legion Post 197
Drink of Choice: Miller High Life
On a frigid Friday evening in late January, we rolled into Westbrook Memorial American Legion Post 197 to meet up with Maine Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Bucky Mitchell. Inside, classic rock tunes played at a low volume and TVs were showing college basketball as the bar filled up with Legionnaires, family members and friends. Groups of men and women sat at round tables playing cards and scratching lottery tickets. The walls are covered with plaques and flags and pictures paying respectful tribute to area veterans.
In the spacious back room, a four-piece band was setting up. Bucky had booked the night’s entertainment. As the musicians tuned their guitars and checked their microphones, we ordered a round of Miller High Lifes and sat down with Bucky to talk about country music, his long career booking shows, and why the Legion is such an important place in the community. We could have talked for hours but, unfortunately, Bucky could only be with us a short time. Once he was sure the band was ready to go, he had to race across town to Lenny’s Pub to check on another band he had booked that night.
How long have you been coming to the Legion?
I’ve been booking the music here at the Legion on Friday nights since about 2017. The Legion was kind of in a desperate situation at the time, and they asked me if I could come over and help them. I was already booking music at Lenny’s on the other side of town in Westbrook, so they knew that I knew a lot of music acts. It just kind of developed.
Now, I have about fifty acts that I’m booking here at the American Legion and at Lenny’s and at other places. A lot of the bands want to play for the veterans. So, all the time, I’m asking, “Hey, guys, can you go over to do a night for the veterans?” The veterans don’t have a lot of money as some of the clubs do, and they’re not as big as some of the clubs, but we’ve had so many top-name and great bands come in. Some of them play for half price. Some will donate it back. It’s wonderful.
How did you get into the booking business?
I learned about booking while I was playing drums on the road. I started working for Dick Curless, who was a Maine country music singer who sang truck-driving songs. He sang a song about the Haynesville Woods here in Maine called, “A Tombstone Every Mile.” It became a hit, and he was signed to Capitol Records. I was twenty years old, and he hired me to be his drummer.
After a few months of playing with Dick, I ended up going to him and I said, “Gee, is there some other way I can make some money in music? Maybe I could book some shows to get us some more gigs or to make more money, you know?”
And Dick said, “Tell you what. You come up to Bangor Monday and talk to my agent who’s up there.” Sleepy Willis is his name, and he’s now a Country Music Hall of Famer here in Maine. So, I went to Bangor and spent the day with Sleepy and kind of learned the ropes about booking. This was about 1971. After that, I opened my little Mitchell talent agency, and I started doing bookings. And by 1977, I was called by the John Penny agency in Massachusetts, and I worked for him for many years. I worked with clubs around Boston. I worked with “bottle clubs” — five or six bucks to get in. Bring your own booze, enjoy the music, and dance all day.
What was it like to be a touring country musician?
I did quite a bit of touring. I spent four years with an Elvis impersonator from Wheeling, West Virginia. We would play Boston for two weeks, then we would go to Buffalo for two weeks, then we’d go to Port Huron, Michigan, for two weeks. Then we’d go to Wheeling, back to Boston, and then I’d come back to Maine, back home for a bit, and then we’d work in New England for a bit, and then we’d start the tour again. We’d also go up and down the East Coast and do shows.
Eventually I got to meet up with the Hager Twins, who were on the Hee Haw show. I got to play drums for them, and we traveled all over. We would open shows for Roy Clark, and we played with Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones. We did a cruise for ten days around the Caribbean. We left out of Miami, and I don’t know how many countries we went to on that trip. So, yeah, I’ve played all around. I’m a high-mileage unit!
Do you still play the drums?
No, I finally retired. I had a heart attack five or six years ago, and that was the end of me lugging the drums around! Now, I’m pretty much just doing the booking thing, which keeps me in touch with all the musicians and all the folks around the music.
Why is it important for you to book bands at the Legion?
When I was eligible to go in the service, I was all signed up, and I expected I was going to Vietnam. But all of a sudden, they had this lottery thing, and my number came up too high, and they didn’t take me. So, I didn’t become a veteran, and I’ve always had the feeling that I wanted to be involved with the veterans because I appreciated so much what they did.
Through my playing years, I played all the military places I could. I played Fort Dix. I played Fort Devens in Massachusetts. I played Hanscom Field. I played the Navy base in Boston. I played the Bangor NCO. I played in Brunswick at the Naval Air Station. I was always playing music for the people I love, although I never was a veteran. So, that’s what I’ve always loved about coming to the Legion. I feel like I’m kind of doing my duty, trying to return what I can. That’s my connection with these guys, and they’ve taken me in like family.
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