Over Easy: The Goldens
Have you ever wondered what’s in Gandalf’s pipe? No, me neither.
It was easy getting lost on the backroads near Hendersonville, Tennessee. We were on our way to interview Rusty and Chris Golden, the sons of legendary Oak Ridge Boys singer William Lee Golden. William Lee was well-known; his bio described him as a singer, painter and wizard and the Gandalf/ZZ Top look made him readily identifiable (see photos below). The boys, who favoured the Bon Jovi/Warrant mullet look, had formed a band and I’d been invited to interview them at the family home, one of the oldest in Tennessee, built in 1786.
The boys seemed pretty giddy about being interviewed, at least partially because earlier that day, they’d purchased one of the oldest stills in Tennessee from a retiring fourth generation moonshiner. A ceremonial tasting had no doubt been in order. A tour of the grounds included a visit to William Lee’s sweat lodge, where he reputedly spent days at a time, and we were told to take a close look at a large painting in the entry way that had a long slit down the middle where a Union soldier on horseback had made his opinion of the work known by slashing it with his sword.
As we set up for the interview, the brothers established one condition - that we sample the new acquisition before beginning. ‘When in Tennessee’ I thought. I took a sip and was surprised by how smooth it was… how easily it went down… (as the boys suppressed giggles) until…
“Aaarrrggghhh”... A torrent of liquid flame ripped the length of my body, leaving me breathless and stunned while Rusty and Chris hooted and hollered, knee-slapping and clapping in delight at the prank they’d played on this Canadian peckerwood as they affectionately referred to me.
A roadhouse in the woods was the perfect location for the private gig that had been set up for us to shoot. While waiting for the band, I stood outside in the parking lot when William Lee introduced himself. He was every bit the country gentleman, and well into the conversation he fired up a joint and offered it to me. Admittedly a bit tender from my first experience with moonshine, still I didn’t feel that I could turn down William Lee’s hospitality and took a small hit. As we continue chatting, I was glad to know that I had survived the experience, until I noticed that the parking lot had turned into a reflecting pool and I had no idea what we were talking about. I don’t remember anything about the band, the music or how we got back to the hotel but I do know what the wizard has in his pipe.
And later that night I wrote in my notebook “white lightning bound to drive you wild”.
