Rooster & the 2nd National Band

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The “college band” had a country rock vibe and a quintessential country music front man. Rooster and the 2nds came together to put our own spin on some favorite songs, try to stir up a buzz and, of course, to impress some girls. The backdrop – a conservative Bible college in a small west Tennessee town – did not permit full “creative expression” but it had a classic venue and a captive audience that needed something to do on a weekend night (see the pics below).  

Rooster Pitts  – lead singer and front man

Rex Barker – bass, vocals

Jim Jobe – guitar, vocals

Perry Price – drums

Tim Elliott – guitar, vocals

Bobby Colvert – steel guitar, guitar

We played an old-school stage in a small hall with great acoustics, and a basketball gym (that did not). We played several gigs on campus and another in Chattanooga. Opened for a touring act that was booked as a campus-wide event (no idea who that was). 

Be sure to check out King Cov’s slide work on the “Since I Met You Baby/Heartbreak Hotel” medley and the audience response (in the "downloads" segment below).  

And yes, that is a non-reverse Gibson Firebird I'm playin'. That thing sounded glorious and it engrained my taste for a certain tone that remains to this day: A P90 pickup through a cranked black-face Fender Super Reverb. If you know anything about the Rattlesnake Rodeo in south Alabama, you’d trip out to learn that I bought this guitar from J. P. Jones one summer day out of the trunk of his car. The neck was warped and Tringas Music in Pensacola had to delicately straighten it out for me (too bad it would never stay in tune). But the TONE……<insert deep sigh here> . This personal issue will become more apparent to some of the astute and careful readers of this website. 

All of us moved on and out. Bobby is one of my dear friends in this life and we’ve played other music together over the years. In the 90s I'd road trip up to Nashvegas and we'd case the place out. Somehow he managed for us to meet George Jones, Byrd Burton, Larry Gatlin, Vassar Clements, Tommy Allsup, Harry Fontana (who he managed for awhile), Charlie Louvin, Roy Acuff, Tom T. Hall, Reese Wynans, and Mike Henderson (those are the ones I remember!).  Cov shows up on the Sandspurs page. I've also heard from Rooster and I'm delighted to report that he's playin' regular in Tennessee with the FoxFire NewGrass Band and he's still got that great voice! You can find clips of his band online.

Some college bands get together now and then. You shouldn't expect any reunion shows from us.