duffey's plantation band [circa 1970]

duffey's plantation band: [original line up]:
doug duffey [vocal,piano,hammond b3]
pebble daniel [vocal]
bill dunn [vocal,sax,flute]
thumper sweeney [guitar]
toni sehulster [bass]
raymond battillo [drums]

some later members:
gary acklen [hammond B3/piano//vocals]
rick potter [guitar]
robert jackson [drums]
sonny farmer- [drums/vocals]
mike foreman- [B3-vocals]
arnold loe-[trumpet]
lamond whitten- [sax]

the band came about because merging traffic was defunct and i needed a band to promote the record. i put a tribe together in little rock made up of some of merging traffic [me, bill, thumper], raymond battillo from white lightning, pebble daniel and toni sehulster. i'm not sure how much tony moon [producer and eventually agent & manager] had to do with the line up; i do remember rehearsing off music row by jack clements... i also remember i was 20 when the single came out and had to have my parents sign legal papers etc.

we lived in and toured from Nashville, toured across america and did some notable "opening act" slots: for edgar winter-and- grand funk railroad; both at their peak.
we were a great band, doing a sort of delaney and bonnie/ leon russell style of southern gospel/r&b flavored rock. we had the potential to do great things... but... like so many bands i have formed we were ahead of our time. Nashville was REALLY country, red neck and closed minded, back then- and we were NOT! we wore pretty wild stage clothes... and rocked hard and loud!

we did some band recordings- and bill, pebble and i did some backing vocal work- most notably on 2 gene simmons [of "haunted house" fame] songs: "my ring dang doo"- and- "memphis blue"- which i have somewhere on an old 45rpm!
we stayed together a few years, went through various changes/band members, going from a 5 piece to 7 piece- and then broke up. pebble and toni stayed in nashville

[c]2009 doug duffey

white lightning- circa 1968-1971

'white lightning' onstage at the exodus- denver- september 1968

me at my vox organ & keybass- exodus denver- 1968 [w/3 packs of marlboro on the organ?] appreciative fans used to put joints & hits of acid and everything else on it! the altar of psychedelia

denver- 1968- promo foto

raymond & doug- outside the exodus- denver-1968

pete, dabney & raymond- denver- 1968

raymond & dabney- the exodus- denver- 1968

raymond & dabney-monroe, louisiana- 1968 or 1969

L to R: raymond battillo, bill dunn, doug duffey, rusty mccraw,

white lighting-post dabney- we were way too crazy for poor rusty

white lighting:

[original members]

doug duffey- vocals/organ/bass [vox organ/key bass- later hammond B3/foot pedals and key bass]
bill dunn- vocals/keyboards/flute and sax
dabney tannehill- guitar and vocals
raymond battillo- drums

later member:
rusty mccraw [guitar/bass/vocals]

white lightning was the "creme de la creme" of the best musicians from the best bands in the ark-la-miss [tri-state area]. we all quit our respective bands to form one 'super group'. we had a vision: to do original music... and some cover music we liked! this was the psychedelic 60s, and we were a VERY psychedelic rock/soul band.

we started out working Monroe-Jackson, getting the thing together, but left Louisiana to seek our fortunes in L.A.- but only made it as far west as Colorado. we lived in Nederland a while w/a family friend of Dabney's- then landed a semi house gig at the Exodus- Denver's hippest music club and moved to the city.

We became a cult band there, and had a great following; people lined up around the block to get in to see us. We were known for VERY long extended jams... ala Traffic/the Doors/Led Zeppelin- a lot of improvisation and theatrics... and Who like destructive chaos as a grand finale. We performed regularly at the Exodus- and in the Colorado area [mostly denver/boulder/fort collins/colorado springs] with trips back to Louisiana, periodically, to do some shows, but were too nuts for the provinces; 60s hippie psychedelic denver/boulder was our oyster

our star was ascending- beginning to get opening gigs for top name acts like 'black pearl' and 'janis joplin'- but due to busts and some members getting strung out- the band folded. dabney [guitarist -and irreplacable in the mix, as any of us were to 'the' band] quit- and we tried to keep it going with rusty mccraw- but it was never the same. dabney was the heart if not the soul of the band.

it's too bad there are no recordings of us. i THINK we did record some demos, but they have vanished. i wrote a lot of the music for the band, but as there are no recordings, i do not remember any of those songs. i have found some lyric notebooks with chords written in them, but the melodies are gone like the band...


[c]2009 doug duffey