BK: That was one incident, but we won’t
go into that. It was minor, it really was.
JTG: Bobby, you have been rock-androlling
since an early age. You have been
around the best hotels, the prettiest
women, and the finest instruments. What is
it about RC that draws you to the field and
away from rock ’n’ roll?
BK: I think I’m trying to capture those
youthful days of yesteryear. I flew Control
Line when I was a kid growing up in Slaton,
Texas. I had a Ringmaster and a Fox .29. I
would take 60 feet of flying wire, and I would
get out there in the hot sun and spin around in
circles. No one could really figure out what I
was doing except me! I just enjoyed it.
My father was a pilot in World War II
until the war ended. I always had a fascination
with airplanes.
JTG: When did you pick up RC airplanes?
BK: You know. You were there when I
started [five years ago]. I spent several years
in Wingo School and Slow Stick School. I
electrified my neighbors by flying over their
trees and dazzled the pets in my area.
JTG: You told me once that you had a little
bit of hard living under your belt and that
flying RC gave you that same kind of thrill.
BK: RC just takes me away from myself. I
am sometimes a pretty dark character to live
with. To me, it’s just a release. You don’t
have to do anything except watch a plane go
’round and ’round.
80 MODEL AVIATION
Born to Fly Jim T. Graham | [email protected]
RC meets rock ’n’ roll: Bobby Keys of the Rolling Stones
Bobby Keys, of the Rolling Stones, usually shows up at the field with a few airplanes
that need some “tweaking.”
Bobby prepares for a flight with his four-stroke-powered
Spacewalker. Bobby and the author do the “thousand-mile stare.”
BOBBY KEYS is the saxophone player for
a little band called the Rolling Stones and
has played on every album the band has
recorded since 1969. His sax can also be
heard on records by Eric Clapton, John
Lennon, B.B. King, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Sheryl Crow, Joe Cocker, Yoko Ono, and
more.
I was unaware of Bobby’s rock ’n’ roll
heritage when I started helping him learn to
fly RC at my local field. But when you
hear someone telling stories about John
Lennon at the flying site, you know you
aren’t dealing with the average RC pilot.
Bobby would usually show up at the
field with a new airplane, and he would ask
me to fly his maiden for him and help him
trim the model out. Flying other people’s
airplanes usually makes me nervous, but I
always said yes to Bobby. I think I might
have torn up only one of his models in the
process.
01sig3.QXD 11/19/07 3:04 PM Page 80
The Stones were like, “Wait a minute, what
do you need a sax tech for?” I said, “Well,
because, don’t you know how the saxophone
works? I need someone to carry it.” They said I
needed a sherpa.
It wasn’t the Stones that weren’t buying it;
it was the business manager. So try as I might,
I could not get my roadie/air tech aboard on
this last one.
JTG: I want all of you out there to imagine
this scenario if it were to happen to you. You
are approached by one of the Rolling Stones’
band members, and you get to travel with the
Stones all over the world. Your job is to
maintain RC airplanes and make sure they are
ready to fly at all times. That would be the
ultimate RC gig.
BK: Listen man, we would have had it
knocked in the head if only Mick [Jagger],
January 2008 81
Bobby loves his electric-powered Telemaster.
You can’t take the rock ’n’ roll out of a guy who has been playing with the Rolling
Stones since 1968.
JTG: So, it’s a better way to get your
adrenaline going?
BK: I get more excited about flying RC
airplanes now than I do playing rock ’n’ roll.
After 50 years of it you get used to it.
JTG: What kind of airplanes are you flying
these days?
BK: I have some new ones with me. I have a
Spacewalker and a Sopwith.
It’s the first time I have tried four-stroke
engines and everyone is telling me, “That’s
very complicated, young man. You want to
make sure you are ready for this. Can you
read?”
So I read but it doesn’t do any good. I still
have to come to people like you. I can’t figure
out the bottom end or the top end. There are
people on this planet that have that knack, and
I’m not one of them.
JTG: What is the next level for you in RC?
BK: Ultimately I’d like to fly multiple
engines. I’d like to fly bigger and louder. I
enjoy flying everything now. I have a lot of
airplanes. I just haven’t flown them yet. I
guess I have 16 or 17 planes right now.
JTG: I was approached at one point to be a
roadie for Bobby on the last Rolling Stones
tour. I have worked in the music business and
have long hair, so I met all of the
requirements, but musical talent was not what
Bobby was looking for. Bobby, why did you
really want me to be a roadie?
BK: Well, see, we have a lot of time on the
road. We usually play only two or three
concerts a week and we spend an equal
amount of time not doing anything, so we sit
around in hotel rooms in various cities around
the world. I always take a simulator, and after
awhile that gets boring too. I was trying to
figure out a way [points to the author] to
incorporate a roadie/air tech/advisor.
Keith [Richards], or Charlie [Watts] had taken
up RC. Now I campaigned with Keith a little
bit with little response. Mick, no response
either. Charlie just likes to look at them.
JTG: I envisioned a big road box full of RC
airplanes, radios, and chargers.
BK: We shared that same vision! It didn’t
come to pass, did it?
JTG: So have you pulled out an RC airplane
in front of Mick and Keith and said, “Hey, I
want you to check this out”?
BK: We played down in Louisville
[Kentucky] at Churchill Downs. Charlie and
Mick were saying, “Oooh! Ah!” and I was
flying a Hobby Lobby Eagle. I thrilled the
crowds, but not enough to keep Mick and
Charlie’s interest to let me have my own air
tech.
JTG: What was your first band?
BK: First time I ever played with a band was
with a guy named Buddy Holly. They were
going to a radio station in Lubbock, Texas, to
record a record. Buddy said “Well, we might
need a saxophone; these other bands have
saxophones. Bobby, you got one?”
JTG: How old were you then?
BK: I was 14. No, 13 actually.
JTG: How did you get from Buddy Holly to
the Stones?
BK: There’s a lot of in between, but I met the
Stones in San Antonio, Texas, in 1964 or
1965. The single they had out at the time was
a song called “Not Fade Away,” which was a
Buddy Holly song. We were staying in rooms
adjacent to each other. I was around 18 or 19
years old at the time.
01sig3.QXD 11/20/07 10:35 AM Page 81
That is when I met Keith and Brian
[Jones]. They were in the room next to me.
Keith and I found out that we have the same
birthdate in the same year. We bonded over
that startling revelation.
JTG: How long have you been on the road
with the Stones?
BK: I started recording with them in 1968 on
“Let It Bleed,” and I started touring with them
in 1970. It has been a steady job since then.
JTG: What do you think your most famous
saxophone lead is? “Brown Sugar,” maybe?
BK: “Brown Sugar” pays the rent. It is
something that everyone recognizes.
82 MODEL AVIATION
No Flameouts!
Sullivan New Onboard Glow Driver will keep the plug hot at all
times. This unit features a quick and easy one button set point
programming or automatic operation, so the plug receives power
at any throttle setting. Ignition set point is permanently stored
in memory until changed. The LED indicates burned out plug by
flashing on the glow control panel. The Glow Control panel can
be mounted on the fuselage side or anywhere inside the plane.
Ready to use, just plug to receiver, throttle servo and any 1.2V
to 12V battery. No Y-Harness required. At Your Dealer Now!!!
Engine Quitting While Taxing or Down
Flight?
www.sullivanproducts.com
One North Haven St.
Baltimore, MD 21224
410-732-3500
HOT NEW
Product!
Reliable By Design.
BK: Just one! It made me famous for life.
One is all you need.
JTG: You and [The Beatles’] John Lennon
crossed paths back in the day, right?
BK: Ah yeah, I met John a long time ago. Of
course everything was a long time ago. I
rented some property in England that was
adjacent to his and Yoko’s; that is when we
got to know each other and hung out. We used
to get together in the afternoon. It was our
approach to meditation.
I was sort of out of the loop with Yoko
until one day John came over and said, “Get
your saxophone; Yoko has a spot for you on
her new album.” I thought, sarcastically, “Oh
thank you, Yoko.” Yoko’s music was a little
out of strike to say the least.
So they put the music on, and it was just a
bunch of sounds and stuff. I’m looking at
John and he’s looking at me, so I put my horn
together and just hit the lowest note I could,
and Yoko goes, “That’s it! That’s it! You
have found my frog!” So I played a bullfrog
on Yoko’s record, and it made it so John and I
could play around together again.
JTG: What would you say to the beginners
out there just starting out in RC?
BK: Find somebody that knows what they are
doing with the patience of Job and start out
slow and build up. Find an elementary
airplane with three or four channels and learn
the basics. It’s just like readin’, writin’, and
’rithmetic.
JTG: What is next for you and the Stones?
BK: We are going to do some more recording
and have a tour projected for next spring.
JTG: Bobby, thanks. I have always wanted to
interview you.
BK: Thank you, Jim T., and happy landings!
“I get more excited about flying RC
airplanes now than I do playing rock and roll, ”
he said.
Since Bobby was a teenager he has
traveled around the globe in the world’s most
famous rock band. He has been able to take
advantage of some of the best things this
world has to offer, yet at the end of the day the
thing he wants to do when he has spare time is
fly his RC airplanes. The same tranquility and
adrenaline rush we get from RC is the same
for Bobby.
It is amazing that RC is as addictive to the
schoolkid who looks up to the sky every time
an airplane flies over as it is to a member of
the Rolling Stones who flies from show to
show in a private jet. The thrill of RC
transcends all lifestyles.
Does Bobby make flying RC a little bit
cooler? You bet, but flying an RC airplane
because it is something you love to do is the
coolest thing of all.
You can view the full-length video of this
interview on RCGroups.com. MA
JTG: There is something else you are
famous for that is a little more dubious.
Can you tell me about that?
BK: One night myself and my ablebodied
assistant Keith Richards found
that the nonfunctioning TV in our hotel
room was taking up valuable space where
we could store beer and whiskey. So out
the window it went. That deed has
followed us ever since. People will say,
“You’re not the guy that played so-andso;
you’re the guy that threw the TV out
the window!”
JTG: How many TVs have you thrown out
of windows?
01sig3.QXD 11/19/07 3:05 PM Page 82
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 80,81,82
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 80,81,82
BK: That was one incident, but we won’t
go into that. It was minor, it really was.
JTG: Bobby, you have been rock-androlling
since an early age. You have been
around the best hotels, the prettiest
women, and the finest instruments. What is
it about RC that draws you to the field and
away from rock ’n’ roll?
BK: I think I’m trying to capture those
youthful days of yesteryear. I flew Control
Line when I was a kid growing up in Slaton,
Texas. I had a Ringmaster and a Fox .29. I
would take 60 feet of flying wire, and I would
get out there in the hot sun and spin around in
circles. No one could really figure out what I
was doing except me! I just enjoyed it.
My father was a pilot in World War II
until the war ended. I always had a fascination
with airplanes.
JTG: When did you pick up RC airplanes?
BK: You know. You were there when I
started [five years ago]. I spent several years
in Wingo School and Slow Stick School. I
electrified my neighbors by flying over their
trees and dazzled the pets in my area.
JTG: You told me once that you had a little
bit of hard living under your belt and that
flying RC gave you that same kind of thrill.
BK: RC just takes me away from myself. I
am sometimes a pretty dark character to live
with. To me, it’s just a release. You don’t
have to do anything except watch a plane go
’round and ’round.
80 MODEL AVIATION
Born to Fly Jim T. Graham | [email protected]
RC meets rock ’n’ roll: Bobby Keys of the Rolling Stones
Bobby Keys, of the Rolling Stones, usually shows up at the field with a few airplanes
that need some “tweaking.”
Bobby prepares for a flight with his four-stroke-powered
Spacewalker. Bobby and the author do the “thousand-mile stare.”
BOBBY KEYS is the saxophone player for
a little band called the Rolling Stones and
has played on every album the band has
recorded since 1969. His sax can also be
heard on records by Eric Clapton, John
Lennon, B.B. King, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Sheryl Crow, Joe Cocker, Yoko Ono, and
more.
I was unaware of Bobby’s rock ’n’ roll
heritage when I started helping him learn to
fly RC at my local field. But when you
hear someone telling stories about John
Lennon at the flying site, you know you
aren’t dealing with the average RC pilot.
Bobby would usually show up at the
field with a new airplane, and he would ask
me to fly his maiden for him and help him
trim the model out. Flying other people’s
airplanes usually makes me nervous, but I
always said yes to Bobby. I think I might
have torn up only one of his models in the
process.
01sig3.QXD 11/19/07 3:04 PM Page 80
The Stones were like, “Wait a minute, what
do you need a sax tech for?” I said, “Well,
because, don’t you know how the saxophone
works? I need someone to carry it.” They said I
needed a sherpa.
It wasn’t the Stones that weren’t buying it;
it was the business manager. So try as I might,
I could not get my roadie/air tech aboard on
this last one.
JTG: I want all of you out there to imagine
this scenario if it were to happen to you. You
are approached by one of the Rolling Stones’
band members, and you get to travel with the
Stones all over the world. Your job is to
maintain RC airplanes and make sure they are
ready to fly at all times. That would be the
ultimate RC gig.
BK: Listen man, we would have had it
knocked in the head if only Mick [Jagger],
January 2008 81
Bobby loves his electric-powered Telemaster.
You can’t take the rock ’n’ roll out of a guy who has been playing with the Rolling
Stones since 1968.
JTG: So, it’s a better way to get your
adrenaline going?
BK: I get more excited about flying RC
airplanes now than I do playing rock ’n’ roll.
After 50 years of it you get used to it.
JTG: What kind of airplanes are you flying
these days?
BK: I have some new ones with me. I have a
Spacewalker and a Sopwith.
It’s the first time I have tried four-stroke
engines and everyone is telling me, “That’s
very complicated, young man. You want to
make sure you are ready for this. Can you
read?”
So I read but it doesn’t do any good. I still
have to come to people like you. I can’t figure
out the bottom end or the top end. There are
people on this planet that have that knack, and
I’m not one of them.
JTG: What is the next level for you in RC?
BK: Ultimately I’d like to fly multiple
engines. I’d like to fly bigger and louder. I
enjoy flying everything now. I have a lot of
airplanes. I just haven’t flown them yet. I
guess I have 16 or 17 planes right now.
JTG: I was approached at one point to be a
roadie for Bobby on the last Rolling Stones
tour. I have worked in the music business and
have long hair, so I met all of the
requirements, but musical talent was not what
Bobby was looking for. Bobby, why did you
really want me to be a roadie?
BK: Well, see, we have a lot of time on the
road. We usually play only two or three
concerts a week and we spend an equal
amount of time not doing anything, so we sit
around in hotel rooms in various cities around
the world. I always take a simulator, and after
awhile that gets boring too. I was trying to
figure out a way [points to the author] to
incorporate a roadie/air tech/advisor.
Keith [Richards], or Charlie [Watts] had taken
up RC. Now I campaigned with Keith a little
bit with little response. Mick, no response
either. Charlie just likes to look at them.
JTG: I envisioned a big road box full of RC
airplanes, radios, and chargers.
BK: We shared that same vision! It didn’t
come to pass, did it?
JTG: So have you pulled out an RC airplane
in front of Mick and Keith and said, “Hey, I
want you to check this out”?
BK: We played down in Louisville
[Kentucky] at Churchill Downs. Charlie and
Mick were saying, “Oooh! Ah!” and I was
flying a Hobby Lobby Eagle. I thrilled the
crowds, but not enough to keep Mick and
Charlie’s interest to let me have my own air
tech.
JTG: What was your first band?
BK: First time I ever played with a band was
with a guy named Buddy Holly. They were
going to a radio station in Lubbock, Texas, to
record a record. Buddy said “Well, we might
need a saxophone; these other bands have
saxophones. Bobby, you got one?”
JTG: How old were you then?
BK: I was 14. No, 13 actually.
JTG: How did you get from Buddy Holly to
the Stones?
BK: There’s a lot of in between, but I met the
Stones in San Antonio, Texas, in 1964 or
1965. The single they had out at the time was
a song called “Not Fade Away,” which was a
Buddy Holly song. We were staying in rooms
adjacent to each other. I was around 18 or 19
years old at the time.
01sig3.QXD 11/20/07 10:35 AM Page 81
That is when I met Keith and Brian
[Jones]. They were in the room next to me.
Keith and I found out that we have the same
birthdate in the same year. We bonded over
that startling revelation.
JTG: How long have you been on the road
with the Stones?
BK: I started recording with them in 1968 on
“Let It Bleed,” and I started touring with them
in 1970. It has been a steady job since then.
JTG: What do you think your most famous
saxophone lead is? “Brown Sugar,” maybe?
BK: “Brown Sugar” pays the rent. It is
something that everyone recognizes.
82 MODEL AVIATION
No Flameouts!
Sullivan New Onboard Glow Driver will keep the plug hot at all
times. This unit features a quick and easy one button set point
programming or automatic operation, so the plug receives power
at any throttle setting. Ignition set point is permanently stored
in memory until changed. The LED indicates burned out plug by
flashing on the glow control panel. The Glow Control panel can
be mounted on the fuselage side or anywhere inside the plane.
Ready to use, just plug to receiver, throttle servo and any 1.2V
to 12V battery. No Y-Harness required. At Your Dealer Now!!!
Engine Quitting While Taxing or Down
Flight?
www.sullivanproducts.com
One North Haven St.
Baltimore, MD 21224
410-732-3500
HOT NEW
Product!
Reliable By Design.
BK: Just one! It made me famous for life.
One is all you need.
JTG: You and [The Beatles’] John Lennon
crossed paths back in the day, right?
BK: Ah yeah, I met John a long time ago. Of
course everything was a long time ago. I
rented some property in England that was
adjacent to his and Yoko’s; that is when we
got to know each other and hung out. We used
to get together in the afternoon. It was our
approach to meditation.
I was sort of out of the loop with Yoko
until one day John came over and said, “Get
your saxophone; Yoko has a spot for you on
her new album.” I thought, sarcastically, “Oh
thank you, Yoko.” Yoko’s music was a little
out of strike to say the least.
So they put the music on, and it was just a
bunch of sounds and stuff. I’m looking at
John and he’s looking at me, so I put my horn
together and just hit the lowest note I could,
and Yoko goes, “That’s it! That’s it! You
have found my frog!” So I played a bullfrog
on Yoko’s record, and it made it so John and I
could play around together again.
JTG: What would you say to the beginners
out there just starting out in RC?
BK: Find somebody that knows what they are
doing with the patience of Job and start out
slow and build up. Find an elementary
airplane with three or four channels and learn
the basics. It’s just like readin’, writin’, and
’rithmetic.
JTG: What is next for you and the Stones?
BK: We are going to do some more recording
and have a tour projected for next spring.
JTG: Bobby, thanks. I have always wanted to
interview you.
BK: Thank you, Jim T., and happy landings!
“I get more excited about flying RC
airplanes now than I do playing rock and roll, ”
he said.
Since Bobby was a teenager he has
traveled around the globe in the world’s most
famous rock band. He has been able to take
advantage of some of the best things this
world has to offer, yet at the end of the day the
thing he wants to do when he has spare time is
fly his RC airplanes. The same tranquility and
adrenaline rush we get from RC is the same
for Bobby.
It is amazing that RC is as addictive to the
schoolkid who looks up to the sky every time
an airplane flies over as it is to a member of
the Rolling Stones who flies from show to
show in a private jet. The thrill of RC
transcends all lifestyles.
Does Bobby make flying RC a little bit
cooler? You bet, but flying an RC airplane
because it is something you love to do is the
coolest thing of all.
You can view the full-length video of this
interview on RCGroups.com. MA
JTG: There is something else you are
famous for that is a little more dubious.
Can you tell me about that?
BK: One night myself and my ablebodied
assistant Keith Richards found
that the nonfunctioning TV in our hotel
room was taking up valuable space where
we could store beer and whiskey. So out
the window it went. That deed has
followed us ever since. People will say,
“You’re not the guy that played so-andso;
you’re the guy that threw the TV out
the window!”
JTG: How many TVs have you thrown out
of windows?
01sig3.QXD 11/19/07 3:05 PM Page 82
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 80,81,82
BK: That was one incident, but we won’t
go into that. It was minor, it really was.
JTG: Bobby, you have been rock-androlling
since an early age. You have been
around the best hotels, the prettiest
women, and the finest instruments. What is
it about RC that draws you to the field and
away from rock ’n’ roll?
BK: I think I’m trying to capture those
youthful days of yesteryear. I flew Control
Line when I was a kid growing up in Slaton,
Texas. I had a Ringmaster and a Fox .29. I
would take 60 feet of flying wire, and I would
get out there in the hot sun and spin around in
circles. No one could really figure out what I
was doing except me! I just enjoyed it.
My father was a pilot in World War II
until the war ended. I always had a fascination
with airplanes.
JTG: When did you pick up RC airplanes?
BK: You know. You were there when I
started [five years ago]. I spent several years
in Wingo School and Slow Stick School. I
electrified my neighbors by flying over their
trees and dazzled the pets in my area.
JTG: You told me once that you had a little
bit of hard living under your belt and that
flying RC gave you that same kind of thrill.
BK: RC just takes me away from myself. I
am sometimes a pretty dark character to live
with. To me, it’s just a release. You don’t
have to do anything except watch a plane go
’round and ’round.
80 MODEL AVIATION
Born to Fly Jim T. Graham | [email protected]
RC meets rock ’n’ roll: Bobby Keys of the Rolling Stones
Bobby Keys, of the Rolling Stones, usually shows up at the field with a few airplanes
that need some “tweaking.”
Bobby prepares for a flight with his four-stroke-powered
Spacewalker. Bobby and the author do the “thousand-mile stare.”
BOBBY KEYS is the saxophone player for
a little band called the Rolling Stones and
has played on every album the band has
recorded since 1969. His sax can also be
heard on records by Eric Clapton, John
Lennon, B.B. King, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Sheryl Crow, Joe Cocker, Yoko Ono, and
more.
I was unaware of Bobby’s rock ’n’ roll
heritage when I started helping him learn to
fly RC at my local field. But when you
hear someone telling stories about John
Lennon at the flying site, you know you
aren’t dealing with the average RC pilot.
Bobby would usually show up at the
field with a new airplane, and he would ask
me to fly his maiden for him and help him
trim the model out. Flying other people’s
airplanes usually makes me nervous, but I
always said yes to Bobby. I think I might
have torn up only one of his models in the
process.
01sig3.QXD 11/19/07 3:04 PM Page 80
The Stones were like, “Wait a minute, what
do you need a sax tech for?” I said, “Well,
because, don’t you know how the saxophone
works? I need someone to carry it.” They said I
needed a sherpa.
It wasn’t the Stones that weren’t buying it;
it was the business manager. So try as I might,
I could not get my roadie/air tech aboard on
this last one.
JTG: I want all of you out there to imagine
this scenario if it were to happen to you. You
are approached by one of the Rolling Stones’
band members, and you get to travel with the
Stones all over the world. Your job is to
maintain RC airplanes and make sure they are
ready to fly at all times. That would be the
ultimate RC gig.
BK: Listen man, we would have had it
knocked in the head if only Mick [Jagger],
January 2008 81
Bobby loves his electric-powered Telemaster.
You can’t take the rock ’n’ roll out of a guy who has been playing with the Rolling
Stones since 1968.
JTG: So, it’s a better way to get your
adrenaline going?
BK: I get more excited about flying RC
airplanes now than I do playing rock ’n’ roll.
After 50 years of it you get used to it.
JTG: What kind of airplanes are you flying
these days?
BK: I have some new ones with me. I have a
Spacewalker and a Sopwith.
It’s the first time I have tried four-stroke
engines and everyone is telling me, “That’s
very complicated, young man. You want to
make sure you are ready for this. Can you
read?”
So I read but it doesn’t do any good. I still
have to come to people like you. I can’t figure
out the bottom end or the top end. There are
people on this planet that have that knack, and
I’m not one of them.
JTG: What is the next level for you in RC?
BK: Ultimately I’d like to fly multiple
engines. I’d like to fly bigger and louder. I
enjoy flying everything now. I have a lot of
airplanes. I just haven’t flown them yet. I
guess I have 16 or 17 planes right now.
JTG: I was approached at one point to be a
roadie for Bobby on the last Rolling Stones
tour. I have worked in the music business and
have long hair, so I met all of the
requirements, but musical talent was not what
Bobby was looking for. Bobby, why did you
really want me to be a roadie?
BK: Well, see, we have a lot of time on the
road. We usually play only two or three
concerts a week and we spend an equal
amount of time not doing anything, so we sit
around in hotel rooms in various cities around
the world. I always take a simulator, and after
awhile that gets boring too. I was trying to
figure out a way [points to the author] to
incorporate a roadie/air tech/advisor.
Keith [Richards], or Charlie [Watts] had taken
up RC. Now I campaigned with Keith a little
bit with little response. Mick, no response
either. Charlie just likes to look at them.
JTG: I envisioned a big road box full of RC
airplanes, radios, and chargers.
BK: We shared that same vision! It didn’t
come to pass, did it?
JTG: So have you pulled out an RC airplane
in front of Mick and Keith and said, “Hey, I
want you to check this out”?
BK: We played down in Louisville
[Kentucky] at Churchill Downs. Charlie and
Mick were saying, “Oooh! Ah!” and I was
flying a Hobby Lobby Eagle. I thrilled the
crowds, but not enough to keep Mick and
Charlie’s interest to let me have my own air
tech.
JTG: What was your first band?
BK: First time I ever played with a band was
with a guy named Buddy Holly. They were
going to a radio station in Lubbock, Texas, to
record a record. Buddy said “Well, we might
need a saxophone; these other bands have
saxophones. Bobby, you got one?”
JTG: How old were you then?
BK: I was 14. No, 13 actually.
JTG: How did you get from Buddy Holly to
the Stones?
BK: There’s a lot of in between, but I met the
Stones in San Antonio, Texas, in 1964 or
1965. The single they had out at the time was
a song called “Not Fade Away,” which was a
Buddy Holly song. We were staying in rooms
adjacent to each other. I was around 18 or 19
years old at the time.
01sig3.QXD 11/20/07 10:35 AM Page 81
That is when I met Keith and Brian
[Jones]. They were in the room next to me.
Keith and I found out that we have the same
birthdate in the same year. We bonded over
that startling revelation.
JTG: How long have you been on the road
with the Stones?
BK: I started recording with them in 1968 on
“Let It Bleed,” and I started touring with them
in 1970. It has been a steady job since then.
JTG: What do you think your most famous
saxophone lead is? “Brown Sugar,” maybe?
BK: “Brown Sugar” pays the rent. It is
something that everyone recognizes.
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BK: Just one! It made me famous for life.
One is all you need.
JTG: You and [The Beatles’] John Lennon
crossed paths back in the day, right?
BK: Ah yeah, I met John a long time ago. Of
course everything was a long time ago. I
rented some property in England that was
adjacent to his and Yoko’s; that is when we
got to know each other and hung out. We used
to get together in the afternoon. It was our
approach to meditation.
I was sort of out of the loop with Yoko
until one day John came over and said, “Get
your saxophone; Yoko has a spot for you on
her new album.” I thought, sarcastically, “Oh
thank you, Yoko.” Yoko’s music was a little
out of strike to say the least.
So they put the music on, and it was just a
bunch of sounds and stuff. I’m looking at
John and he’s looking at me, so I put my horn
together and just hit the lowest note I could,
and Yoko goes, “That’s it! That’s it! You
have found my frog!” So I played a bullfrog
on Yoko’s record, and it made it so John and I
could play around together again.
JTG: What would you say to the beginners
out there just starting out in RC?
BK: Find somebody that knows what they are
doing with the patience of Job and start out
slow and build up. Find an elementary
airplane with three or four channels and learn
the basics. It’s just like readin’, writin’, and
’rithmetic.
JTG: What is next for you and the Stones?
BK: We are going to do some more recording
and have a tour projected for next spring.
JTG: Bobby, thanks. I have always wanted to
interview you.
BK: Thank you, Jim T., and happy landings!
“I get more excited about flying RC
airplanes now than I do playing rock and roll, ”
he said.
Since Bobby was a teenager he has
traveled around the globe in the world’s most
famous rock band. He has been able to take
advantage of some of the best things this
world has to offer, yet at the end of the day the
thing he wants to do when he has spare time is
fly his RC airplanes. The same tranquility and
adrenaline rush we get from RC is the same
for Bobby.
It is amazing that RC is as addictive to the
schoolkid who looks up to the sky every time
an airplane flies over as it is to a member of
the Rolling Stones who flies from show to
show in a private jet. The thrill of RC
transcends all lifestyles.
Does Bobby make flying RC a little bit
cooler? You bet, but flying an RC airplane
because it is something you love to do is the
coolest thing of all.
You can view the full-length video of this
interview on RCGroups.com. MA
JTG: There is something else you are
famous for that is a little more dubious.
Can you tell me about that?
BK: One night myself and my ablebodied
assistant Keith Richards found
that the nonfunctioning TV in our hotel
room was taking up valuable space where
we could store beer and whiskey. So out
the window it went. That deed has
followed us ever since. People will say,
“You’re not the guy that played so-andso;
you’re the guy that threw the TV out
the window!”
JTG: How many TVs have you thrown out
of windows?
01sig3.QXD 11/19/07 3:05 PM Page 82