BLABBERMOUTH.NET
According to
TMZ,
Rickie Lee Reynolds, the longtime guitarist for
BLACK OAK ARKANSAS, the southern hillbilly psycho-boogie band with over 50 years of history, has died. He was 72 years old.
Reynolds passed away Sunday morning (September 5) in a hospital, where he was battling long-term health complications.
BLACK OAK ARKANSAS has had an unbelievable streak of bad luck. Aside from divorces, drugs and near-death car wrecks, members of
BOA faced jail time and homelessness. The band went through years of lawsuits with former management. Accusations flew everywhere. Millions of dollars disappeared. When their band compound burned to the ground, singer
James L. Mangrum (a.k.a.
Jim Dandy) was investigated on suspicion of arson and fraud. Early in their career, members formed a corporation, giving away power of attorney, with the aim of sharing their gains equally. Business and brotherhood were great for years.
However, in the late 1970s when members tried to leave, problems arose. Drummer
Tommy Aldridge had tried to leave
BOA, but was not allowed. He finally snuck out of the band compound in the middle of the night and ended up suing band and management for his release. Bassist
Pat "Dirty" Daugherty was arrested and served time in prison for drug possession after he left the band. Guitarist
Harvey "Burley" Jett, who wanted to leave to begin a ministry upon finding Christianity, settled in a court to give up his land, home and royalties in exchange for his freedom. Legal battles continued, with both sides unable to make peace.
For
Mangrum and
Reynolds, the final straw came when they helplessly watched as, in an unprecedented move, the entire
BOA publishing catalog was sold on
eBay.
Headlining arenas in the 1970s with opening acts such as
Bruce Springsteen,
AEROSMITH and
THE EAGLES,
BOA destroyed over 1000 stages from '72 to '76. They became one of the Top 5 touring acts in rock, earned three gold albums, sold close to five million records, and became the largest private landowners in Arkansas. They gave millions to Arkansas charities and gave then-attorney general
Bill Clinton and wife
Hillary their first limo ride.
Boasting the first-ever three-guitar lineup,
BLACK OAK were an explosion of sex, sweat, scrubboards, bare-handed drum solos with a guitar-destroying ritual as their live climax.
David Lee Roth,
Vince Neil and
Axl Rose all took pages (some say stole) from
Dandy's onstage persona. However, in the 21st century, it's been punk and metal bands that have discovered and embraced
BOA.
BLACK FLAG,
SUPERSUCKERS,
BUTTHOLE SURFERS and
PANTERA can be counted as fans.
Through triumphs and tragedies, the
OAK has stood strong. Bad luck, lawsuits and women couldn't keep a fighter like
Dandy down. In the mid-1990s,
Mangrum,
Reynolds and
Daugherty reformed the band and they had been on the road since.
BLACK OAK ARKANSAS has donated many hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities in its career, and both the mayor of Little Rock and the governor of the State of Arkansas even declared a "Black Oak Arkansas Day". There is now a permanent display in the Arkansas State Museum and the Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas dedicated to the band.
Photo by
Ward Boult