The Right Place at the Right Time: Rock & Review Host Eric Dahl Shares His Story

Eric Dahl with Nevada Bob Gordon

Sometimes the hardest part of being a writer is getting that opening sentence down. The easy part is finding people and stories to write about. There are so many interesting people in the world. One of these is Eric Dahl, author of a book about B.B. King and his beloved Lucille, a guitar that had been stolen and pawned, only to be discovered (in a pawn shop) and retrieved (returned) by Dahl himself. As they say, "You can't make this stuff up."

Eric Dahl's career spans both print and broadcast media. Today he is host of a show called Rock & Review which airs on FOX 17 in Nashville as well as a Rock & Review TV series. He is also a magazine editor and freelance writer. 

I was introduced to Eric via Nevada Bob Gordon who was in Nashville to record his sixth album with some of Nashville's finest, including Charley McCoy. Gordon had been a guest on Dahl's Rock & Review, sharing stories from a storied life that has been captured in a newly released memoir titled 50 Years with the Wrong Woman. Dahl is not only congenial, he shows genuine interest in other people's stories. Here's a brief snapshot of his.

EN: You were born in Peoria and raised in Missouri. You eventually came to Nashville about a dozen years ago. What motivated you to come when you did? 

Eric Dahl: Sinclair Broadcast Group promoted me to Las Vegas, NV to work with two TV stations there from 2001 until 2011.  They promoted me to Nashville, TN in 2011 to work with our triopoly of TV stations.

EN: Certain professions give people an opportunity to meet lots of interesting people. I immediately think of Johnny Carson and Barbara Walters. You obviously can't list them all, but who have been some of your most memorable interviews?  

Eric Dahl: There have been so many amazing interviews over the years but the one that put the Rock & Review TV interviews on the map was Dolly Parton.  Other big names that have gained national exposure for our interviews included Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Daniels, Charley Pride, the Doobie Brothers and CeeLo Green.

EN: Your show Rock & Review was initially about music gear. It evolved into much more than that and has a million viewers. What has been the big takeaway for you personally with regard to this adventure?  

Eric Dahl: I started it as a fun idea to cover music gear and then as we added in side musicians and eventually stars it just kept getting bigger.  It became a passion of mine to interview interesting artists and bands and I look forward to every single interview no matter how big the star is or the style of music.  I truly find it fulfilling.

EN: Your first book was about finding B.B. King's stolen guitar (Lucille) in a pawn shop. Had you thought about being an author as you were growing up? Did it surprise you to suddenly find this urge to write?  

Eric Dahl: I have always loved writing articles and features, but I never dreamed of writing a book.  After I returned Mr. King’s Gibson Lucille it struck me that no one had ever written a book about Lucille and her origins.  I asked permission from B.B. and he allowed me to write a book about his guitars.  In 2020 I added six additional chapters to the original book, which came out in 2013, and Charlie Daniels wrote on opening page for the new edition.

EN: How did B.B. King's Lucille end up in Las Vegas? There are all kinds of pawn shops much closer to home, yes?  

Eric Dahl: B.B. had lived in Las Vegas, NV since the mid 70’s.  I frequented the Pawn Shops and Music Stores while I lived there and provided values on the used gear to help stores out for fun.  In turn they would give me deals on instruments and let me know when cool music gear was coming out of pawn.  One of Mr. King’s own people supposedly stole his 80^th Birthday Gibson Lucille from his home in Las Vegas and hocked it a Pawn Shop that knew me.  The rest is history, but I’m thankful that I was the one that discovered and got to return it to B.B..

EN: You said you were working on a new book. What is it going to be about and when will it be available?  

Eric Dahl: I recently got permission from Jerry Reed’s daughters to write a book on Jerry.  So that will be my third book that I am currently working on.

EN: What's the best was to see your shows? 

Eric Dahl: The Rock & Review interviews air Wednesday and Friday mornings on FOX 17 in Nashville and can be viewed at www.fox17.com live through the stream or the STIRR App nationally.  The half hour TV show airs in Nashville, TN, Tri-Cities, TN and on the STIRR app.  Extended interviews can be found at our YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/user/RockandReview17

EN: Thanks for your time, and best to you in all your future projects.

Related Links

Eric Dahl's B.B. King's Lucille and the Loves Before Her

Nevada Bob's 50 Years with the Wrong Woman

Photos courtesy Gary Firstenberg

www.firstinphoto.smugmug.com

Nevada Bob Gordon Is On the Road Again

Nevada Bob at the grave of Robert Johnson.

There's something about surviving cancer that not only gives you "a new lease on life" but also a new attitude toward all of your future experiences. Nevada Bob Gordon had two things going for him: a wonderful lifelong love of 58 years and a willingness to do whatever hard work was necessary to make a go of whatever they had to face. 

That cancer at age 31 ought to have killed him. The doctors told him that he was finished. But Bob had other plans. This past year his wife Carol passed and Nevada Bob, who has an authoritative deep baritone voice, wrote a song for her which he recorded on his first album Long Train To Nowhere. "Carol's Song" is beautiful and heartfelt, in a Johnny Cash sort of way.

With the advent of the pandemic he decided also to write a book and is currently in talks with a potential publisher. 

There are some things Nevada Bob has in common with Bob Dylan. After Bob (Dylan) recorded Blonde On Blonde in Nashville, he went back and recorded another, an then another. So, it seems, Nevada Bob has just completed his second album.... in Nashville. 

Come along and ride this train.  

But there are two more pieces of that story. One of the key session musicians of Nashville's A-Team back in the 60s was Charlie McCoy, who played guitar on "Desolation Row" (recorded in New York) and a variety of instruments during Dylan's sessions in Nashville, including that Salvation Army trumpet accompaniment on "Rainy Day Women". Nearly sixty years later, and Charlie McCoy was there in the studio two weeks ago for Nevada Bob's second album, just has he had been there for Bob on Long Train To Nowhere.

There's one more parallel to the Dylan story I will add. No question about it, Dylan was not shy about photographers documenting nearly every aspect of his life. Nevada Bob has a photographer accompanying him, too. Gary Firstenbrg is a first rate photographer who has a passion for all things related to music history, especially the blues. The photos here are just a small portion of the images in my folder from their journey together through points of interest in the Deep South, courtesy Gary Firstenberg.

A lot of history down there.

Studio time.

Hanging out with an old friend.

After hours kickin' back with the boys.

Big mic for a big man.

Everything is bigger in Texas.

Nevada Bob with Charlie McCoy

Jokerman.

These boots are made for walkin'.

Just passin' through, singing the Delta blues.

Tailgating with Dolly Parton.

Ending where B.B. King had his beginning.

If a picture is worth a thousand words.... there's a lot of new stories here. Have a safe trip back to Nevada, Bob.

Links

Come Along and Ride Nevada Bob Gordon's Long Train to Nowhere

Gary Firstenberg's Turning Negatives Into Positives

Lists

Lists can be fun. I've compiled my share over the years. Favorite movies, favorite songs, favorite authors, favorite books by favorite authors. In fact one of the earliest pages on my original website is called My Favorite Things and is a page of lists of this kind.

Then there are to do lists. Lists of character traits for an upcoming novel. Restaurant menus are little more than elaborate lists of dining options... Appetizer list, desserts, lunch fare, dinners, sides. Oh, and let's not forget the wine list.

When I was young and seeking employment after a year in Mexico, the book What Color Is Your Parachute was recommended to me. I'll never forget the exercises in the Appendix of this book, designed to help us gain self-understanding so we can better determine what kind of career would most suit who we are. It's a great book, continuously updated and relevant. Anyways, one exercise was to make a list of seven things you did up to that point in your life that brought you personal satisfaction. Then you were to run this list through an analytical process to see what the elements were that made these particular life victories so meaningful. It's a great exercise and can potentially change your life. And immensely useful for job seekers.

Most serious artists have lists of shows where they've exhibited their work. And most writers keep a log of published works, something like this one (though not current.)

Yesterday I had lunch with Brian Lukasavitz, a lawyer who has been involved in contract law related to the music, arts and entertainment scene. One thing led to another and he shared one of B.B. King's Ten Commanments of Bluesville: "Never make a deal with the devil without first consulting your lawyer." It's a humorous observation because how it ties in with other music legends. Go here to read the rest of B.B. King's Bluesville Ten Commandments.

Some people keep lists in their heads about all the things that make them angry. They arrange and re-arrange their list of peeves till it makes them sick. Other people make lists of things that they are grateful for. These people can be nice to be around. 

All my albums have playlists. Many of us have listened to our music so much that we know the order of every song on the album. I'm fairly certain at least one and maybe two of my brothers can, like I, recite in order the titles on all four sides of the Beatles' White Album.

The website ExpectingRain.com compiles a daily list of new and interesting items pertaining to Dylan. Today's list several new YouTube videos and a letter Dylan wrote to Jerry Garcia. And this page at BobDylan.com lists all Dylan's concerts, including the Set List for each concert. For example, you can see what songs Bob played in Santiago, Chile Wednesday night. It must have been a great concert beginning with Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat and concluding with an encore of Blowin' In The Wind.

Do you make lists? If you're not finished with your To Do list for today, I hope you'll include a visit to the Ochre Ghost Gallery on Second Avenue East to check out two of my paintings that we included in the Homegrown Art Festival this year. The opening is at 6:00 p.m.  I'll be there for about 25 minutes before heading off to the Cirque Du Soleil, another item you might want on your To Do list for to-night.

Whatever your plans on this weekend, make the most of it. Get enriched, and enrich another.