Ricky acknowledge that I was overusing the phrase. He knew that I'd become beaten down emotionally by the stress of the situation. But there was nothing he could do. If the only casualty that would come from keeping his secret was my emotional unhappiness, he counted it as collateral damage. No big deal.  Ricky started using a catch phrase of his own - "NBD." He'd used it about three different times before I put it together. It was a kind of parody refrain in answer to my "no big deal" phrase. No big deal. NBD. It became a terse joke between us. He would ask me if I minded if one of his new band members spent a few days on our couch. I would reply "No big deal." Ricky would respond, "NBD." I'm amazed how often I hear "no big deal" on TV, in movies, and in day to day life. And each time I hear it, I always imagine hearing Ricky's voice echoing back - "NBD."  NBD was to Ricky and me, what TCB was to Elvis. It simply meant "go ahead and do what you need to do to TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS."

Ricky and me on stage at Savvy's during the final weeks of playing together. At the moment this
photo was taken, the look on my face pretty much gives away how I was feeling about things.

Telethon time had traditionally been something we all looked forward to. The 1983 Telethon was tough to call. There were hundreds of reasons that none of us really wanted to see Ricky leave Savvy. Obviously, Ricky had been a powerhouse for us. He'd helped tremendously in launching us into the limelight. He'd given us a catalog of original songs we called our own. And Ricky Lynn Gregg had been a blast to play with on stage. But aside from all the work stuff, I was personally going through a sort of separation anxiety episode from losing my best friend as well. The band had grown sick and tired of all the drama and just wanted it to be over. It was a bit like the old joke about giving someone going away presents but they won't go away. We were all finally ready for Ricky to go away if it would just stop the torment, the hurt, the madness -- and make him happy. 

It wasn't that we were turning our backs on him. Things had simply continued to get more and more out of hand with every passing day. We loved Ricky, but we hated knowing he felt he could have a better career without us. That was the elephant in the room that nobody wanted to look in the eye. The public knew that Ricky was quitting to form his own band, but why was he doing it? Only Ricky knew for sure. Which story you got depended on who you were - and who you asked. Ricky told me that he just needed to go out and try to see what he could do on his own. Laurie told me that he was claiming to need a change in order to get his creativity sparked again. Marty confided that Ricky wanted to have his own band, with his name up on the marquee, and everyone else would be like a backup band. 

Savvy's soundman, Marty Warren, with his future boss, RLG.  With 
pants THAT tight, who needs suspenders?

The real answer was most likely a combination of all those things, plus the simple fact that Ricky Lynn Gregg had become bored and complacent in Savvy, and wanted to make a bold, radical move that might kick-start his creativity again. He'd been a hot commodity locally and wanted to try to cash in on his name while he still had a chance. Ricky had come into Savvy a boy, and was leaving a man. The other members of Savvy had been, on average, 7 years older than Ricky. We'd probably started to look like old geezers in a retirement home to him towards the end. (I'm reminded of how at thirty-three years old, Jerry Coker seemed ancient to me when I first started playing with the Royal Kings back in 1975 when I was twenty.)  

Hours could be spent trying to figure out why Ricky was leaving (and were), but it was pretty obvious really when I finally started looking at it from his perspective. Savvy was beginning to spiral downward and lose popularity.  We'd had a really great run and our time in the spotlight was drawing to an end. Ricky saw the ship was sinking and decided to commandeer one of the lifeboats, with Marty, Dave, and Hud as his crew. The rest of us would work really hard to keep the ship afloat, and succeeded at least for a while.  Ricky decided to consider the end of Savvy to be the beginning of his career - rather than the end of it, as he figured it would be for the rest of us. It had been a fun ride, but the whippersnapper was finally ready to leave the nest. That was all there was to it. There was never any pushing. When the moment came, he would simply step over the edge and wander into the dark night.

So far, Ricky's leaving had brought out nothing but the absolute worst in all of us. Hopefully that would be changing soon. We only needed to get through two more sets; two nights at the Telethon playing one set each night - and then it would all be over. I made a valiant effort to plunge into this Telethon with the same vigor I had during all the previous ones, but there was a lump in my throat that wasn't going away. Everywhere I turned, it seemed people were blocking my way, standing there looking at me with their mouths open as if in shock. It seemed to be the only thing anyone was talking about. Nobody seemed to care that earlier that day, President Ronald Reagan had proclaimed September 4th the beginning of "YOUTH OF AMERICA WEEK."  I saw the news story on the TV set over the bar. There, in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar next to the TV, I caught a glimpse of myself; a fine example of a different kind of American Youth. Scanning the room, noticing all the kids who had probably gotten in on fake ID's, I couldn't help noticing the irony. I read the president's proclamation as it scrolled down the screen, and I felt ashamed.

Proclamation 5094 -- Youth of America Week, 1983

September 14, 1983
By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

More than 50 million American youth are included in the Nation's general population. These young citizens play major roles in our society as they mature into adulthood. They make important contributions to our country by pursuing their educations, working in the economy, upholding the law, and joining the military services.

Our young Americans have every reason to be proud of their contributions to the American way of life. They can look forward to doing more as they complete their educations and move into positions in science, space, education, medicine, business, labor, government, military service, and other fields. The future of America depends on the preparation and dedication of our younger citizens, because one day, it will be their responsibility to ensure the security of our Nation, both at home and abroad. They must be given every opportunity to achieve their goals as they pass through adolescence to full maturity.

Among the American youth population are many in special need. The Federal government works actively with State and local governments and the private sector in important programs responding to the needs of runaway and homeless youth, unemployed youth, and to those who experience physical, emotional, and social handicaps.

To assure our Nation's youth of our commitment to share our knowledge, experience, and wisdom, which will help nurture in them democratic principles, and the development of strong moral and spiritual values so vital to the survival and future betterment of America, the Congress of the United States, by Senate Joint Resolution 116, had designated the week of September 4 through September 10, 1983, as ``Youth of America Week'' and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that week.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning September 4, 1983 as Youth of America Week.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:09 a.m., September 15, 1983]

As beautiful a thing as American Youth Week was, there was even more to talk about in the news besides Ricky's departure. I didn't hear anyone talking about it being the anniversary of the discovery of Manhattan Island. And speaking of New York, nobody seemed to care that on Broadway, the curtain had just gone up on the 747th, and FINAL performance of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Had anyone noticed that Greg LeMond had become the first American to win the Cycling Road Championship, or that Scott Michael Pellaton had set the barefoot water-skiing record at 119.36 mph that day? No. This was SavvyLand, a world all to itself -  and the only thing anyone was talking about around here was Ricky leaving Savvy. I knew from my Ronald media training that I would have to come up with my standard responses for all the questions I would be fielding over the next few days and weeks, and stick to them.  

The 1983 telethon at Savvy's was nowhere near as exciting as the one's before, and that surprised me at first. There weren't that many people coming out, and those who showed up didn't seem to be having a very good time. It later dawned on me that there was a feeling of sadness over the whole place. It was the end of an era. The only time things picked up during the entire '83 telethon was when Savvy played our single late-night set on both nights. People came out of the woodwork for our sets knowing they might never see us all on stage together again. Die-hard Savvy fans were literally shaken by the event. Emotions were running high. It was as if we were all living in a movie that was about to end. Some didn't want it to stop. One for certain, did. In some ways I'd known that if by some crazy chance we'd made it, that success would come at a very dear price, and we would likely end up paying for it for the rest of our lives. But the fat lady hadn't begun to sing yet. We would take some time off and put things back together and see how it panned out. Yes, we'd done far more than I'd ever dreamed of doing in the music business in just four short years with Savvy. It would turn out that Ricky had just been dreaming much bigger dreams. That's all. 

Our last two sets would take place over a period of two days. The first was at 1:30am on the morning of September 5th;  the grand finale of the first day's events of the telethon. The second, and final set would be just after midnight the following night, to end the telethon with a big bang. That was the thing people were waiting for. Regrettably, thanks to Ricky's departure and the break up of our band, children in wheelchairs weren't going to be the focus of the '83 Savvy's Labor Day Telethon. In past years we'd been completely into the spirit of trying to raise as much money as we could for MDA, and we had great fun along the way. But this time it was all about us, and how our lives were about to change. The club still raised money for the charity, and people donated their time to try to make it a success, but the fact that there was even a telethon going on was lost on most of the patrons there that year, dwarfed by the news that Savvy was breaking up. The only reminders that it was a telethon were the few lame attempts at auctioning off goods, and the flickering image of Jerry Lewis' mug on the TV screen behind the bar. Jerry would do just fine. In 1983 he would raise a record $30,691,627. Roughly about $10,000 of that came from the good people of Savvy's who'd paid to see a train wreck.

There were many faces from the past at Savvy's on those last two nights. Many were people I'd probably never see again. All had kind words about how much the band had meant to them. Some were in tears. Others just glared and shook their heads as if we were doing this to them on purpose to disrupt their lives. Julie (Myrick's ex) felt compelled to come out and tell me she'd been having bad dreams about me. Had my karma drifted all the way to the other side of town? Interesting. 

Several bands came out to help fill the time with live music. There was the typical telethon fare; hot dogs, nachos, and Savvy Nightclub T-shirts. During lulls between bands, Larry Patton would go out on the dance floor and auction off anything that our vendors would donate. He also played a few games of musical chairs, giving free drinks to the winners. But all the old tricks that had turned our telethons into big, happening events in the past, just weren't clicking this time. And it was all because of the dark cloud parked in the skies over 5415 East Lancaster in Ft. Worth, Texas for two days and nights in early September of 1983. 

Larry Patton MC's a game of Musical Chairs on the Savvy dance floor during the MDA Telethon.

Time stands still for no one, and so it was that we found ourselves assembled in a rented RV out in the alley behind Savvy's for one last time as a group. There wasn't a lot to say to each other. We'd given it our best shot, and even though it hadn't been enough in Ricky's eyes, I wasn't the only one in that RV who knew we'd accomplished a hell of a lot. We'd played the big shows and lived like rock stars, and we got to do it without leaving home for months, or years at a time. We didn't get rich, but we did about as well as a band can do without a successful record deal.  We got to sleep in our own beds most nights. We never once had to worry about having a place to play, or having an audience to play for. We broke attendance records all over North Texas, and were invited to play at all the big colleges. We had fans who were friends, and friends who were fans. We could look out over a packed house and know most of the people by name.  Couples met, fell in love, and later married after slow-dancing to Broken Man, or Hold Me Tight on the Savvy's dance floor. We had a library of over 30 original songs that we were proud of, and we often played shows consisting of original material only. Our songs were played on the radio and people knew them. They requested them by name. We'd even won an award for having the best original album in Texas in 1982. Years later, I would even learn that several people we'd known back in the Savvy days had actually named their children after us. One couple in particular named their son Steven Richard (after me and RJ). What an honor that was. There's no telling how many little "Ricky Lynn's were born over the next few years.

Suddenly there was a flash! Someone had stepped into the RV and snapped a photo of us sitting there, waiting to go on for our final set. It turned out to be a very telling photo indeed. 

The last known picture of the rock and roll band SAVVY 
before Ricky Lynn Gregg left the group to pursue a solo career.

The photo captured a lot of emotions, indicative of what each of us seemed to be feeling.  Rich Mauch and I were having trouble hiding our somber moods. Dan Kostura seemed indifferent. RJ had a very forced and sarcastic smile which covered his great dislike for Hud, and feeling of betrayal from Ricky. Rick Miller always had a picture perfect smile, even when the chips were down. He knew we were about to take some time off to regroup. His motto, adopted by the entire band, had long been "Ain't Nuthin' Wrong" and he was living up to his words. Hud was already signed up to continue on with Ricky's new group, and nobody was sure what he was even doing there, unless perhaps he'd already started punching the clock as Ricky's road manager.  And then there was Ricky. Poor, young Ricky. I had to give him credit. He was giving up a steady thing for the unknown. He knew it would be a struggle for a while, but he had a plan and the plan was in action. There was no turning back. If for no other reason, leaving Savvy would give him the motivation to at least make sure nobody would ever be able to say he'd made a mistake by staying after he felt it was time to move on. Only time would tell if he'd made the right move or not.

Some wanted to stall and drag out the last moments together as "brothers." Others were just wanting to get it over with. At long last there was an awkward lull and we all knew it was time to do the thing. We walked from the RV into the back door of the club, hooked a right - and entered the dressing room. The next door led directly from the dressing room onto the back of the stage. As we walked out into the darkness, cheers went up. People were gathered around the stage. Camera flashes were going off before the stage lights came on. It gave me an eerie feeling as if I were part of an astronaut team about to climb into a capsule and blast into oblivion. It was also a bit like being a rare artifact in a museum exhibit. The fact that so many people were taking so many photos was a constant reminder that the set would carry more importance, more weight, than any other we'd played together before, or perhaps ever would again. 

Oddly enough, we didn't play an all original set. We had all those wonderful songs that had represented who we were and what we were all about, but instead, we started with a Night Ranger cover tune, "Don't Tell Me You Love Me."  Every person in the club swarmed to the dance floor. Some were dancing and some were just watching. Then Rick clicked his sticks to count the intro to "Maneater" by Hall and Oates. Would we even do an original? Or were we going to boycott them to make some kind of bizarre statement to Ricky? The third song had me worried. It was "Billie Jean", the Michael Jackson smash hit that Ricky seemed to enjoy singing. That was followed by The Tubes song "Talk To Ya Later". People were starting to shout the names of some of our original songs. I was glad because I didn't want to end it the way it had been going. 

We did a triple shot of Savvy songs; "Love Light", "Midnight", and "Pistol."  Two more cover tunes followed - "She Shiela" by the Producers, and "Photograph" by Def Leppard.  Those were two of our weakest songs in my opinion. I was glad that Rick called two of our strongest originals to end the set, "I'll Come Alive" and "Long Way From Home." There was no encore.

The club had been open for two days without closing for the telethon and as soon as our set was done, the bouncers started running people out in a hurry. By the time I'd put my guitar in the case and dried the sweat from my face in the dressing room, everyone but employees and personal guests of the band were gone. I just wanted to load up my amp, mics, cables, gig clothes, and guitars and go home. It wasn't going to be quite that easy though. Rick came out of the office and told us to meet at the bar. There were some expenses to dicker over, and tabs to settle. With that done, my faithful friend Jim Wise helped me drag my stuff out to my car. That's when I noticed the broken window on the driver's side door of my Volare'. Someone had busted in and stolen my wallet from under the seat. I'd been leaving it under the seat while I played since I'd been with Savvy. I guess I thought it was safe. This was before I even knew how to get a credit card. There was only about $20 in the wallet. So all the thief really did was put a nasty exclamation point on a major chapter of my life. 

 
My trusty friend Jim Wise with me in the dressing room at
Savvy's. Jim helped me load up my gear after the final gig.

We loaded everything up and Jim told me to be sure and call him in a day or so. I went back in the back door and stood off to the side of the stage and took one long last panning look of the room, the stage, and then turned to leave. Rhonda was standing there. A wave of unexpected emotion swelled through me, and I thought for just a second that I might get weepy. She stepped close and hugged me tightly.  I breathed deep and then sighed so only she could hear. "What am I gonna do now?" I asked. 

Rhonda broke the hug and stepped back from me, still holding on to my hands. Without missing a beat,  she looked me in the eyes, gave my hands a squeeze, and said the magic words I needed to hear.

"Let's go home."

CHAPTER 50:  SAVVY: A NEW BEGINNING

SAVVY STORY INDEX

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