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In this excerpt from the work "The Two JRB's Tour Guide of Val Verde and Coahuila",

our tourguides Dr. John Romulus Brinkley and Judge Roy Bean talk about

Wolfman Jack and Chicken Shack

Dr. Brinkley, as world-famous poineer of Border-Blaster Radio and the man who built the station which eventually sold to Bob Smith (Wolfman Jack) from Lousiiana, sums up his own personal abridgement of Wolfman Jack in Del Rio, Texas.

"My fellow friends, let my impress upon you the vital importance that the addition of radio has made upon our national landscape, be it that the signal originates from where-ever, by virtue of escaping regulations put upon by the unfeeling arm of governments and other self-interested parties that seek to control the marketplace of ideas by basic the clearly unholy and immoral infringement that most cherished and basic of freedoms; the right to express yourself and push it across national boundaries without anyone being able to stop you because no one gives a hoot about authority or the common good when you can cross their heart and hope to die by crossing their palms with silver.
"Take for example this John Doe, a non-descript man I'd describe as a hard-livin' macho Coon-ass growlin' and spinning music no one had ever heard before over the powerful station I built in the thirties. This man, named Bob Smith, clearly had to change his name to something more memorable, more palatable to the refined sensibilities of that day and age, and so, inspired by the hand of God and the Holy Rock'n Roller Church, he baptized himself Wolfman Jack and commened to howl across America every night from little Villa Acuña, spreading the energetic and religiously inspired music of those muscular black churches that exist on a faith of the highest order, the faith of the downtrodden, marginalized, despized, and enslaved; the people God talks to the loudest, the people who package God's message so that it's the most enjoyable to hear, the joy and pleasure of life expressed in the dancin' and jivin' of pure souls free in th4e knowledge that nothing their opressors could do would keep them out of heaven to make their appointed rounds."

GARRETT'S BAR-B-QUE CHICKEN SHACK

"Seventy years ago, in Garrett's Bar-B-Q Chicken Shack, the local black community began to enjoy live musicians playing a powerful new musical form, 'Rhythm and Blues'. Born of the synthesis of acoustic Blues, the electric guitar and amplification, and rhythms imported along with the slaves from African cultures, this R&B music would form the foundation of America's musical heritage, continuously influencing Rock and Roll, Pop music, modern Rap and hip-hop, and "the only uniquely American Art form", Jazz.
"Garrett's Bar-B-Q Chicken Shack, situated almost half-way between either San Antonio or Houston and El Paso, hosted concerts by the greats of the Blues era. B.B. King, Ray Charles, Smiley Lewis, Chubby Checker, and a many other legends played songs to the local audience that have since become classics.
"Wolfman Jack deserves most of the credit for changing the nature of American Popular music and incorporating the musical elements developed in the negro cultures of the South. All the experts agree that the acceptance of negro musicians by the white youth of America was instrumental in bringing about the civil rights reforms of the sixties, whether or not they did any good or truly resemble God's master plan.
"It's easy to assume that Wolfman Jack frequented Garrett's Bar-B-Q Chicken Shack and had many friends within the Black community. With Wolfman Jack's radio show blasting to all the people of America, he went around the racial intolerance and bigotry of the dominant cultures and allowed people to enjoy a music that celebrates the human experience with songs depicting our most common shared experiences; the joy and excitement of love, and the despair of loss and loneliness.
"The Chicken Shack symbolizes the important role played by the small Black community of of San Felipe Del Rio in shaping our modern America. Many of us, including this author, value tolerance and find racism unacceptable precisely because of this early vicarious musical contact with the Afro-American cultures. We should never forget the lessons of the past, and forever remember the beauty of human truth in songs such as "They Can't Take That Away from Me" or the warnings of the true evil of intolerance in songs such as "Strange Fruit", a song title that graphically depicts a young girl waling down a country road and stumbling upon the evidence of a mass lynching.
"Hurricane Charley, who wasn't a musician, but a storm that stalled over this Texas area, created the Flood of August 1998 which destroyed much of Garrett's Bar-B-Que Chicken Shack. It carried away the refridgerator, the photos, the memorabilia and knick-nacks, souvenirs while the remaining Garrett women stood in chest-deep water, terrified by the thunder and the next floatby of the 'fridge. After the flood, the piano was covered with mud and then someone stole it before they could get it repaired. The building has been demolished, razed flat, by the city and all they left was the sign. The sign is presently (Winter 2002) on the grounds of the Whitehead Memorial Museum, where it awaits restoration and installation as a monument to Del Rio's role in American culture." Dr. J. R. Brinkley

This excerpt from a real piece of work called "The Two JRB's Tour Guide of Val Verde and Coahuila", where the ghosts of "Doctor" Brinkley and Judge Roy Bean lead us around the Oasis of West Texas and Mexico for some great Coahuilan desert snorkeling, might soon be released as a hardcover coffee table book, part of a publication on CD-ROM and with high-resolution multi-media; photographs, sound and music, filmclips, artwork, and textual ruminations.

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