Song Of The Day 10/10/2013: Boz Scaggs - "Jump Street"

When I was growing up in Sacramento, Harrah's Reno casino and show palace was about as close as we got to exotic entertainment. I tell people that my first actual concert -- meaning one I that I made a deliberate decision to attend and rolled pennies to purchase a ticket for -- was The Police at Cal Expo during the Ghost In the Machine tour. Santana opened. But if you factor in shows I involuntarily attended as part of family outings, then the first show I ever went to was at Harrah's Casino in Reno. It was either Kay Starr -- one of my dad's favorites -- or Helen Reddy. Not sure which. I'm pretty sure there were buffets at both but I can't recall who went first.

I remember my third, though, and it was Boz Scaggs at Harrah's in Reno. It wasn't a family outing. It was a road trip, just me and my late sister Cathy, and I think one other person closer to my sister's age. Might've been Debbie Whitmore. I'm sure there was a third wheel because Cathy needed a buffer for her eight-years-younger brother. But anyway, strictly speaking, my first concert from a person who performed actual rock music was Boz Scaggs. Amend your records accordingly. Silk Degrees was a huge hit in my family along with the rest of America at the time, and "Jump Street" was the coolest song on the record. I over-emoted about this song in a piece I wrote for PopMatters a few years ago. Wicked slide guitar. Impenetrable lyrics, though I think there's some Southern Gothic shit happening in there. Enjoy. I did.