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Decatur Jones - Destined for Musical Greatness
In 1970 Chapel Hill seemed to be at the epicenter of the music world as James Taylor's chart topping album Sweet Baby James brought national attention to our little town. While our village was certainly the incubator for many great singer-songwriter talents in those days, including Bland Simpson, Don Dixon, and Mike Cross, the one person everyone knew was destined for stardom was Decatur Jones. He reeked of charisma and talent, yet for some inexplicable reason the stars did not align themselves for Decatur, and his flame has largely faded from our collective memory. Former band mate, and long time Chapel Hill musician, Skip Via recounts for us the recording of Jones’ album that sadly was never released. If any of you have photos or additional memories of Decatur please contact us at chmemories@gmail.com.
Decatur Jones (center with orange t-shirt) and friends Coconut Grove, Florida circa 1982. (photo is by Wayne Sloop)
by Skip Via
In the summer of 1970, Chapel Hill native Decatur Jones assembled a group of local musicians and brought them to New York to record an album. Over the course of a week or so, we recorded 12 tracks in a small studio called Blue Rock Studios in Greenwich Village. All of the tracks were recorded as live takes with Decatur playing and singing in real time along with the other musicians. All of the songs were written by Decatur and arranged by the musicians that played them.
Decatur passed away several years ago at age 44. The album we recorded was never released.
Included here are two of the tracks we recorded with notes on the musicians.
Where Will You Be
Harlan Collins (known during high school as Paul) was living and performing in NYC at the time this recording was made and stopped in to record backing vocals on this track.
Decatur Jones: vocals, acoustic guitar
Jack Becker: double bass
Harlan (Paul) Collins: backing vocals
Corodon (Don) Fuller: piano
Jay Norem: drums
Skip Via: mandolin
Ode to Uncle Sam
The album's producer (name not remembered) brought in a "hot" bass player who was new on the NYC scene. He was a tall, thin, African-American who played excellent bass. Given the time of this recording and my memories of what he looked like, I like to think it was Stanley Clark. I have no proof at all--just my rock and roll fantasy, probably.
Decatur Jones: vocals, acoustic guitar
Unknown: electric bass
Corodon (Don) Fuller: exquisite blues piano
Jay Norem: drums
Skip Via: electric guitar
(Editor's note): Via claims that Corodon (Don) Fuller was possibly the finest musician ever to come out of Chapel Hill
.
Comments:
Sam Shetley
8:23 PM Sat 7/24/2010
Decator played his Guitar for us at my wedding in 1991. He was quite a charictor. I think of him often.
Al, I have been looking for you, I am on Facebook.
Sam Shetley
8:22 PM Sat 7/24/2010
Decator played his Guitar for us at my wedding in 1991. He was quite a charictor. I think of him often.
Al, I have been looking for you, I am on Facebook.
Gary Henson
8:27 PM Sat 7/10/2010
In the fall of 1973, I attended Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. I met Decatur, who was on the same floor of my dorm. We instantly became friends. He used to hang out in my dorm room and jam. I was amazed by his exceptional talent and charisma. I, like so many others felt he was destined for greatness. I eventually lost touch with him and have wondered over the years what had become of him. Today, I picked up my old guitar from my brother who had borrowed it a couple of years ago and began reminiscing about some great times I had shared with it. I recalled that Decatur liked the guitar and played it on several occasions. It prompted me to google his name and I discovered this posting. I was shocked and deeply saddened to discover that he had passed at such an early age. It's such a shame that his music couldn't be shared by the multitudes.
luis martinez
5:11 PM Sat 5/8/2010
I remember Decatur very well. We were both at the UM studying classical guitar with Juan Mercadal. He was a talented musician and fun to be around, I enjoyed his singing and guitar playing. RIP Decatur.
choco
6:49 PM Wed 4/21/2010
I grew up w/Decatur, and was pleased to find this site! I have pics of Decatur at an early age playing drums, fr/the Chapel Hill Herald...my mother wrote for them, and due to our always being in the same neighborhoods, she semi-mentored him when he was kind of searching for some direction in life. I will always remember him, as both he and his brother, Al, were like my own blood brothers.
harriet: I will try to find you on Facebook, but just in case, I think the guy who helped you w/the CDs was probably Ronnie taylor, another talented local musician that also grew up in our neighborhood. Ronnie can be found on Facebook, also.
and AL! If you read this, email me thru Facebook! I have been trying to track you down, but you are elusive...I'd really like to talk to you. If it's easier, and you are still at the beach living wild, call my sister in law at Tazy's Restaurant: barbara....
thanks for a wonderful site..think I'll look up my mother, Paquita Shafer now...
Deborah Bair
deborah (fine) Bair
6:40 PM Wed 4/21/2010
I grew up w/Decatur, and have enjoyed reading all the positive remarks made on this site. Decatur was always like a brother to me, as was his brother, Al. I have pics fr/the newspaper showing decatur playing drums at a very early age..my mother kind of helped mentor him for a while, as we always lived in close proximity , and she wrote for the CH Herald. Harriet, if you ever visit this site again in the near future, I think the guy who helped you with the CDs was most likely Ronnie Taylor, another talented local musician who now lives in Charlotte. He was also a neighborhood fixture. ronnie is on facebook, and can be contacted that way.
al: if you read this, email me thru Facebook! I'd really like to hear fr/you..
Debbie
Richard H
3:29 PM Wed 4/14/2010
I knew Decatur in the early 1970's at Western Carolina University and played guitar with him. What an incredible musician. I am saddened that he is gone. What a musical gift he had and joy for life.
Denis Farley
12:43 AM Fri 3/19/2010
This is sad news.
I don't recall what made me recall Decatur just now but I put him into google and found this site . . . we were acquaintances in Miami, probably met at Danny's South Miami (forget the name) restaurant where we both entertained from time to time, I lived and worked there as well, for a time while I was at the U of M. I suppose what led me to this site was 'not' hearing about or running across some reference to him on the net or the music world - he was someone that had a bit of the 'bound for glory' aura around him and I at least expected a body of work to be showing up at iTunes or CD Baby, net radio . . . etc.
When he first turned up in Miami he was in the 'singer songwriter' bag but studying guitar at the U of M meant that he was branching out as an eclectic instrumentalist and composer. He mentioned an association with the Taylor family and that was evident in his style of singing and playing. I grew up in the same town as Pete Seeger, and went back there, to Beacon, NY to spend a year on Clearwater and get back to my roots.
Decatur was not someone you'd forget . . . down the road I know he'll turn up on some byway of my memory - and I'm thankful for this site, the music and links to his other work.
denis
www.pourinrain.com
Jae Leslie
9:09 PM Fri 3/12/2010
I knew Decatur when he was studying composition and classical guitar with Juan Mercadal at U Miami in the late seventies. He was one of the most talented composers and energetic performers I have known. I've picked up a few stray recordings of his off the net, but remember many more. He was great at parties, would just play for hours. I'm very happy to find this page and information, and will see if I might have a photo to upload.
Larry Howell
12:25 PM Tue 2/9/2010
Charly, I don't remember Decatur Jones but the girl in the picture looks uncanningly familiar. I cannot place when or where but I know I have seen or met her somewhere. Also, is Skip Via related to William Via who was a professor at UNC school of dentistry in the early 70's when I was a dental student there?
Doug Long
10:29 AM Fri 12/25/2009
I just found this site and am so sorry to hear of Decaturs' passing. I knew him in Key Largo, Fl. in 1977-78. He accompanied me on a sail to the Bahamas in, I guess '78: I'll always remember his extemperaneous songs about sailing to Bimini. I went jogging a few times with him and he about ran me into the ground! I sure enjoyed his company and his music. I include "Promenade in Green" in my own song repretoire, and think of him every time I sing it. RIP, Decatur
MATT JONES
7:42 PM Tue 11/17/2009
DECATUR WAS MY FIRST COUSIN FRIEND AND MUSICAL MENTOR. I MISS HIM AS WELL.I HAVE A COPY OF DOWNTOWN DECATUR AS WELL ALSO HAVE THE IMPURE HAND TAPE.I WOULD LOVE TO AQUIRE A COPY OF ANYTHING ANONE MAY HAVE MY ADRESS IS mattj65@charter.net I WILL GLADLY SHARE WHAT I HAVE AS WELL
Joff Coe
5:04 PM Tue 10/27/2009
Just found the website. Fantastic memories for this old Chapel Hill native. The music stuff was especially interesting. I knew Decatur Jones fairly well when he was here, being a guitar player myself. His untimely passing was a tragedy, he was a world class guitar player and a great singer and songwriter. On a guitar website I found this quote from his Florida days that you might find interesting.
I once heard a guy tell a bluesman named Decatur Jones, "Man, that guitar sounds great!" Decatur just grinned and said,"It ain't the guitar."
So true.
Regards,
Joff Coe
CHHS Class of '65
william patterson
7:26 PM Wed 9/16/2009
Decatur was my soul brother..He was one of my closest friends.
Charly Mann
8:53 PM Mon 8/24/2009
Thanks for stopping by Harriet. We tried to contact you on Facebook, but were unable to locate you there. Can you please send us an e-mail at the Chapel Hill Memories address? We would love to have more material on Decatur.
Harriet
7:13 PM Mon 8/24/2009
I am now and will forevermore be 'Decatur's sister'. Reading about him here was a pleasant surprise.
I have many of the tapes he made and two C.D.'s put together after his death by friend of him with whom I've lost touch,lost his name as well. Ron was the first name.
Decatur will have been dead 10 years this November. Still, I can't bring myself to listen to any of his music. Losing him was the greatest sorrow of my life.
There were rumors of suicide when he died soon after Lea Anne did.
Decatur was taking classes at the Durango Community College. A guitarist with rheumatoid arthritis who suffered terribly when he performed, he took a lot of pain meds and maybe one or two things not from a pharmacy. Who could fault him for that?
The day before he died, one or two days after Lea Anne, he played all day for the residents of the condos where he lived.
The next morning he was found dead in Lea Anne's apartment.
A massive heart attach,according to his death certificate. Nothing but prescribed meds in his system. His death did cause a huge broo-ha-ha in Durango, articles in the local rag,and a comment from the funeral home saying he had died of
a drug overdose.This talking out of school being a no-no within the mortuary business.
Having paid for his cremation and brought him back home with me, I swiftly stopped payment on my check to them and told them they could sue me. They didn't. Never heard back from them.
While I won't give out my email addy, you can find me on facebook as Harriet Jones Zimmerman.
Patricia Fields Neubert
12:19 AM Thu 8/20/2009
Decatur and I were in Mrs. Drake's first grade class together at the Franklin Street School (where Granville Towers were built).
Grew up together.
He played his guitar and sang at my first wedding (I'll forward photo) at the University Baptist Church Christmas 1974.
Mary Hall Rodman
6:15 PM Tue 7/21/2009
Decatur was a sweet, goofy guy who was always well intentioned.
Mary Hall Rodman
6:03 PM Tue 7/21/2009
Thomas Decatur Jones
Thomas Decatur Jones died Monday, Nov. 15, 1999, in Durango. He was 46. The cause of death was not available. The Rev. Larry Osborne will officiate.
Mr. Jones was formerly of Chapel Hill, N.C. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of Miami.
Mr. Jones was an accomplished classical musician and teacher. He was preceded in death by his special friend, Lee Ann Collins of Durango.
Survivors include his sister, Harriett Zimmerman of Lexington, N.C.; his brother, Al Jones of Wilmington, N.C.; and his cousin, Watts Poe Jr. of Chapel Hill, N.C. Joint memorial services for Thomas Decatur Jones and Lee Ann Collins will be 3 p.m. Wednesday at Durango Christian Church.
The Durango Herald
Hugh Nemets
8:24 AM Fri 7/17/2009
I met Decatur in 1979, shortly after he graduated the University of Miami, classical guitar. His esrstwhile gf, Mary, was my room mate for a while. I hired him at the entertainment at Tony roma's Cutler Ridge. He was a real talent, I enjoyed his classical & blues!
Wayne Sloop
6:41 PM Tue 7/14/2009
I knew Decatur in Miami in the early '80's...
He rented a room from me in Coconut Grove for about a year...
I think he might have attended Univ. of Miami prior to meeting me...
While I knew him, he played gigs around Miami and the Grove...
We partied a lot and drank lots of red wine (his favorite)...
He did have a cassette recorded at that time. The cover shot was of him in front of the wall around the Deering estate in South Miami...
He was always broke. He was the ultimate "starving artist". We used to laugh about it...
He couldn't pay his rent towards the end and I am not sure where he went after moving from my house...
He dated a friend of mine, Valerie Chagnon, for a short time...
I met him through one of his friends, Lesley Cooper, who still lives in Miami...
I have a picture of him and our friends at the time...
If anyone is interested in seeing it, email me...
I'm sure I can get more information for those who are interested...
Regards,
Wayne Sloop
srx6822@yahoo.com
Nancy Watkins Jones
9:18 PM Sat 7/11/2009
Hi Everyone,
I am Decatur Jones former sister-in-law. As for the family holding a copyright to his music, you could contact his sister, Harriet Jones Zimmerman in Lexington, NC. It is listed under Herman "Butch" Zimmerman.
When Al, Decatur's brother and I were married we had a copy of an album called "Downtown Decatur" and he sent us a cassette called "The Impure Hand".
Interestly enough, The cassette was named after a book of poetry written by his father, who was also, Thomas Decatur Jones, in the late 40s. It was an incredible piece of work which I am sure was way ahead of it's time. Had the publisher not folded, it would, I am sure left a lasting legacy.
I attended the funeral and a memorial service out on a farm in Chapel Hill. Seems like the guy was affiliated with an oil company up there, so someone in CH may know who I am talking about.
They put together a post-humous CD that was fabulous. I remember sending a guy some pics and he had started a nice website. I think if any of you asked around the Cat's Cradle and found some of his old friends, you may be able to get someone to burn a CD. I wouldlike to have his music myself.
I am so glad he has not been forgotten. His girlfriend died 3 days before he did. This was 1999 or 2000.
Yes, he was quite a presence.!!!!
Respectfully,
Nancy Watkins Jones
Skip Via
12:22 PM Thu 6/25/2009
I can fill Dan O in a bit. Bland Simpson collaborated with members of the Red Clay Ramblers (http://originalredclayramblers.com/) on a Tony-award winning musical called Diamond Studs (http://originalredclayramblers.com/studs.htm) and had a musical career of his own. Diamond Studs was a hoot.
Don Dixon was the bass player and front man of a well-regarded band called Arrogance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrogance_(band)) which was formed when he was a freshman (or sophomore? It was the sixties...) at UNC. I played with him a few times but was never in the band.
Skip Via
7:57 PM Wed 6/24/2009
I actually have a CD copy of Decatur's "other" album which was called Jones Crossing. It was recorded in 1988 in Florida. I don't know if it ever had a commercial release. I suspect it didn't since no database has a record of it that I can find. He apparently also had a cassette of some of his classic guitar pieces, which I have never heard.
I don't know who holds the copyright to Decatur's songs. I'd like to make them available here but I don't want to go against his family's wishes if in fact they hold copyright to them.
steve hull
9:42 PM Tue 6/23/2009
I studied musically (classical guitar) for a short time with Decatur in the mid 90s in Durango, Colorado. The 1st time I met him, he was alone playing classical guitar in a small city park and I was in awe of his talent. I asked him if he would give me music lessons and he said it would cost me a soda and a sandwich so we walked up Main Street to a small general store (now gone) and took it from there. Soon afterwards,all my friends wanted lessons from Decatur because they saw how good I was getting at guitar! He was a good teacher and he became a great friend. In a way, I guess he was almost like a father figure to me.
Decatur had a great presence and was a real force of nature! If I am not mistaken,he chose music over going into sports after playing some basketball in college or perhaps going all-state in high school. He wonce showed me some news-clippings from his BB days.
When I knew Decatur in Colorado he tried his best to make ends meet with a variety of odd jobs while he still practiced and recorded classical music;it is worth searching a cassette (and CD?) around 94 and that has some great classical pieces on it plus an original track with a haunting melody. I wish I still had a copy of that cassette(I lost it in a move)!
Unfortunately,his girlfriend had severe MS and I think he was devastated when she died and I was told he had a heart attack. Decatur lives on through the lives he touched with his music,teaching and humor. I feel fortunate to have known him. My search for Decatur Jones on the internet led me to this site and I hope my responding brings a smile to someone out there! God Bless
Steve Miles Hull
Alex Eyre
4:42 PM Wed 4/29/2009
Thank you for this posting. I search for references to Decatur every once in a while but have not learned much beyond that he was teaching music at UNC Chapel Hill for a time and that he passed away three days after the death of his then-girlfriend; a suicide?
The music samples are great. Wish that there were more.
Nanci Paxton
9:21 AM Fri 4/3/2009
Hey I remember Skip from Chapel Hill schools. He was always in a band. What is he up to today?
Henry Warren
8:47 PM Thu 4/2/2009
This is incredible. I loved Decatur. He was the most talented singer-songwriter of his era in Chapel Hill.
Dan Oakley
5:35 PM Thu 4/2/2009
I'm too young (22) to remember this person. I have not heard of Bland Simpson or Don Dixon, but I love Mike Cross. Are they similar to him?
M Davis
3:24 PM Thu 4/2/2009
I think about Decatur all the time. Thanks for bringing his music back to us.
Jenny Brown
12:38 PM Thu 4/2/2009
Thanks for this piece on Decatur. My older brother took me to see him sing when I was twelve, and I still have not been as spellbound by a performance since.
Chapel Hill is located on a hill whose only distinguishing feature in the 18th century was a small chapel on top called New Hope Chapel. This church was built in 1752 and is currently the location of The Carolina Inn. The town was founded in 1819, and chartered in 1851.
What is it that binds us to this place as to no other? It is not the well or the bell or the stone walls. or the crisp October nights. No, our love for this place is based upon the fact that it is as it was meant to be, The University of the People.
-- Charles Kuralt
Dark Side of the Hill -- Pink Floyd, the creators of the most popular album in history, Dark Side of the Moon, took the second half of their name from Floyd Council, a Chapel Hill native, and great blues singer and guitarist. He once belonged to a group called "The Chapel Hillbillies".
Check out Charly Mann's other website:
Oklahoma Birds and Butterflies
http://oklahomabirdsandbutterflies.com
Oklahoma Birds and Butterflies
http://oklahomabirdsandbutterflies.com
There would probably be no Chapel Hill if the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees in 1793 had not chosen land across from New Hope Chapel for the location of the university. By 1800 there were about 100 people living in thirty houses surrounding the campus.
The University North Carolina's first student was Hinton James, who enrolled in February, 1795. There is now a dormitory on the campus named in his honor.
The University of North Carolina was closed from 1870 to 1875 because of lack of state funding.
William Ackland left his art collection and $1.25 million to Duke University in 1940 on the condition that he would be buried in the art museum that the University was to build with his bequest. Duke rejected this condition even though members of the Duke Family are buried in Duke Chapel. What followed was a long and acrimonious legal battle between Ackland relatives who now wanted the inheritance, Rollins College, and the University of North Carolina, each attempting to receive the funds. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and in 1949 UNC was awarded the money for the museum. Ackland is buried near the museum's entrance. When the museum first opened, in the early sixties, there were rumors that his remains were leaking out of the mausoleum.
The official name of the Arboretum on the University of North Carolina campus is the Coker Arboretum. It is named after Dr. William Cocker, the University's first botany professor. It occupies a little more than five acres. It was founded in 1903.
Chapel Hill's main street has always been called Franklin Street. It was named after Benjamin Franklin in the early 1790s.
Chapel Hill High School and Chapel Hill Junior High were on Franklin Street in the same location as University Square until the mid 1960s.
The Colonial Drug Store at 450 West Franklin Street was owned and operated by John Carswell. It was famous for a fresh-squeezed carbonated orange beverage called a "Big O". In the early 1970s, I managed the Record and Tape Center next door, and must have had over 100 of those drinks. The Colonial Drug Store closed in 1996.
Sutton's Drugstore, which opened in 1923, has one of the last soda fountains in the South. It is one of the few businesses remaining on Franklin Street that was in operation when I was growing up in the 1950s.
Future President Gerald Ford lived in Chapel Hill twice. First when he was 24, in 1938, he took a law couse in summer school at UNC. He lived in the Carr Building, which was a law school dormitory. At the same time, Richard Nixon, the man he served under as Vice President, was attending law school at Duke. In 1942, Ford returned to Chapel Hill to attend the U.S. Navy's Pre-Flight School training program. He lived in a rental house on Hidden Hills Drive.
I woke up this morning thinking of Decatur. I knew him thru a friend at UNC johnny klise. I have fab memories of listening to Decatur at Town Hall and his at his mom's apt. singing "Rocky Top". Anyone know where is mom is? Love you Decatur
Karen