‘MAGIC WAS HAPPENING’ AT BIG MAN’S WEST
Clarence Clemons playing at Big Man’s West in Red Bank in an undated photo courtesy of Lewis Bloom Photo. The Monmouth Street space is now home to a gym. (Click to enlarge)
He’s best known, of course, for his blaring, evocative saxophone solos as a member the E Street Band behind Bruce Springsteen.
But Clarence Clemons, who died of complications from a stroke at age 69 Saturday, also staked out a bit of turf as an impressario of sorts, right here in Red Bank.
Clemons’ club, Big Man’s West, at 129 Monmouth Street, managed to pack a lot of musical history into just a few years of operation in the early 1980s before it succumbed to financial pressures, says George McMorrow, a Red Bank business owner who managed the club through its final months.
Former Big Man’s West manager George McMorrow at the club, now Ultimate Physique. (Click to enlarge)
Joe Cocker, Richard Thompson, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Raitt, James Cotton and Roger McGuinn played there. Tony Bennett once showed up in a limo to catch a performance of his two sons, who had a rock band. And Springsteen, as he has throughout his career, would regularly pop up onstage with whomever was headlining.
After Big Man’s West closed, what had once been the expansive back room of a shot-and-beer joint served as the rehearsal space for Springsteen and his band’s seminal “Born in the USA” tour.
But many lesser-knowns also played there, and that, too, was part of Clemons’ vision for the club, McMorrow told redbankgreen in an interview there Monday morning.
“Clarence believed in nurturing local bands, and he gave them a place here,” said McMorrow, who handled the club’s bookings. The stage, he said, featured state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, so even dirt-broke up-and-comers could be at their best.
Fifty-eight-year-old McMorrow, who owns Cinecall Soundtracks and Red Bank Film Factory, co-managed the place with Springsteen confidante Terry Magovern, who died in 2007.
Clemons was a regular presence at Big Man’s. His own band, the Red Bank Rockers, called the club home. But the garrulous Clemons was too much of a softie as a businessman to profitably run the place himself, and relied heavily on the hard-nosed Magovern to do so, McMorrow said.
Still, the club struggled with a tight economy, a drinking age that had recently been raised from 18 to 21, and fire-code issues. Clemons, who bought the property in 1981 for $215,000, sold it at a loss four years later, for $149,000, according to Monmouth County records. Scott Terhune, son of the buyers, now operates Ultimate Physique in the space.
In the interim were numerous nights on which fans could hang loose with the likes of Steve Van Zandt or Steve Forbert before or after a show, McMorrow said.
One that stands out: September 18, 1982. British rocker Dave Edmunds was booked, and expectations for a Springsteen appearance were high. “Everybody I ever knew in my life was begging me to get them in for that one,” McMorrow recalls, adding that the place got so packed that anyone who fainted from the heat wouldn’t have hit the floor.
Springstreen, did, in fact, play, engaging Edmunds and another guitarist an incandescent dueling-guitars medley of Chuck Berry tunes.
“It was jaws-on-the-floor stuff. Just amazing,” McMorrow said. “And that kind of thing was happening all the time.”
So what is the club’s legacy, given that it is so vastly overshadowed by the likes of the Stone Pony, the Fast Lane and other venues?
It gave musicians a place to do their thing, musicphiles a place to hear top-quality artists, and fans some indelible memories, McMorrow said.
“Magic was always happening here,” he said.
Jun 20, 2011 @ 14:04:43
Nice shot! Lewis Bloom rules!
Jun 20, 2011 @ 14:06:31
I spent many nights at BMW. The Big Man was a wonderful host.Many, many good memories of fantastic music and fun times. In the winter Clarence wore this long raccoon coat. If we were cold, he always let us wear it.
His heart was as big as gold and his talent was even bigger. My heart has a tear in it because I lost a friend.
Thank you for writing this article about the club. knew I could count on Red Bank Green.
Jun 21, 2011 @ 01:29:48
Great times at Big Man’s West. My brother, Tommy Meares, toured the country w/Clarence (CC) & The Red Bank Rockers. I was the luckiest little sister to hang w/the band [& the great staff] when they were home in Red Bank. Always heard great music when I was there. Thanks for the memories… RIP, CC.
Jun 21, 2011 @ 02:33:59
It’s funny because knew I had known George for many years and now I know why, BMW’s goes down in Punk Rock Lore as being one of the first places on the East Coast to have a “Mosh Pit” they had some really great Shore Core Shows – with bands like Fatal Rage, Public Disturbance, Chronic Sick, The Worst and even Shrapnel playing there. I remember one night someone got into the “Toilet paper” locker and started throwing rolls all over the place, when Clarence came in he lost it (in a jovial kind of way) started halfheartedly yelling at every one. the whole scene was hilarious, We must have been kicked out of there a dozen times, But CC would always let us back in. I always thought the place was closed because of the noise complaints. Very interesting days..
Jun 22, 2011 @ 02:33:12
I used the frequent BMW regularly and was in fact there for the Dave Edmonds show as a guest of Clarence. I was president of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Monmouth County at the time and was there to present Clarence with a certificate to recognize the fundraising that he did for the organization. He did have a big heart, especially for needy kids. After the presentation, Clarence took me back to his office and “encouragingly” had me sample from a large punchbowl that he had there. It tasted like they had filled it with all the leftover liquor from the night before; if you had lit a match near it the whole place would have instantly gone up in flames.
Later, George McMorrow and former Springsteen stage manager Glen Palmer helped the organize holiday benefit concerts to benefit the BB/BS organization, one at the Stone Pony and a second, billed as “La Bamba’s Holiday Hurrah”, at the Monmouth Arts Center (aka Count Basie Theater). Most of the reigning Asbury musicians including Bruce performed at those shows, and during a visit backstage at La Bamba’s show, to thank Bruce for coming I found him chatting in a corner with the yet to be E Streeter Nils Lofgren, who also performed that evening. I often wonder if the seeds were being planted at that moment for Nils’ invitation to join the band as Steve Van Zandt left to pursue his solo career around that same time.
There were a lot of great memories from that period, and specifically from Big Man’s West. Sonny Kenn, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, the Bangs, just to name a few put on some great performances. The Edmonds show will always stand out for me because of Clarence’s hospitality and for the amazing performances that took place in front of a packed house that night. Electric.
Jun 22, 2011 @ 16:48:40
Clarence may your soul rest in peace. One of my favorite memories was when BMW first opened and “C” was doing the hiring of bands. I remember my father yelling to me upstairs “Hey Clarence is on the phone and he wants to hire the band!” At first I thought it was a prank, but sure enough it was The Big Man. We talked for about ten minutes and he hired us for steady Wed. nights. There was one catch it was a total door deal. We started to do really well and Bruce even came down a few times. I remember Bruce and Clarence watching me on stage for the first time it just happened to be on the anniversary of Elvis’ death Aug. 16,1981. The Midnight Thunder Band was in full force that night !! The door deal really worked out especially on Thanksgiving Eve we pulled in 700 plus people, with another memorable night that someone just gave me the audio of last month. Thank You for the memories BIG MAN !!