That girl's a Superfreak.

December 1983, Mid-South Coliseum, Rick James Street Songs tour, Memphis, TN.  Ed Slaughter always had money.  He always had tickets.  And he always asked me out.  Natch, I was in the "Just friends, RIGHT?" mode with the kid, but what a gent.  Funny, smart and a 40-year-old in a 14-year-old's body.  He was the pill fiend teenager before there was such a thing and I don't even really know if he actually used pills, but I thought he did, even then, when I had probably--by the time this picture was taken--had smoked marijuana about 10 times, MAYBE.

Anyway, this was a fabulous evening.   Rick and the Stone City Band tore it up and the Mary Jane Girls were real and hot where Vanity 6 were weird and hot (not the same show, just comparing/contrasting).  Rick pulled a screeching woman out of the audience that night and laid her down on a brass bed he had on stage, poured champagne on her and licked it off.  I don't think I even did drugs that night but well, you didn't have to be high to feel high watching that man!

I had my heart broken by My First True Love, Steven Pittman, about a month before this night and when I look at this photo now, I am so relieved to see a true smile on my face.  Ed,  you always showed  me a supremely good time.  And I'll always love you for it.  I hope you are alive and happy somewhere out there and I wish I'd run into you so we could go get drunk together again and laugh it up.