Cactus Jack: the Last Go Round
- Cactus Jack circa 1978
Cactus Jack January 1980 – The Last Go Round
Durty Nellie’s – Palatine IL
As the first release from the JBM Archives we bring you some very special music from the ever popular group the Cactus Jack Band.
The last performances of the band took place at Durty Nellie’s West Irish Pub (the old Nellie’s) in Palatine Illinois. The back room at Nellie’s was one of the rock-ingest rooms in the Chicago Area at that time. The room held about 200 and was usually cramped, loud, and crazy. It was home to all the big names from the Chicago Country-Rock scene. Along with Cactus Jack you could regularly dance to the sounds of Jump ‘N’ the Saddle Band, Walter Williams Band, Ouray, the Famous Potatoes, as well as Sunday nights with Big Band Jazz and Jethro Burns and Friends. You could always count on a Rockin’ good time.
The final night for the band was both sad and joyous. Cactus Jack had performed on hundreds of stages large and small all over the U.S. for better than six years with some of the biggest names in the Country and Country Rock fields. These last performances were a recap of those years and the band members were all moving on to new projects.
Cactus Jack performed two shows that night as the demand was too great for tickets to allow for just one seating. Both shows were packed to the rafters and everyone left sweaty and contented. I still hear from people that attended shows at Nellie’s that couldn’t believe that the floor of that old place didn’t collapse under all the raucous dancing. The floor would actually move up and down with a harmonic pulsing. The tables were all dented from the pounding of beer mugs. Unforgettable!
These recordings included the key players of the Cactus Jack Band, although there were other stellar players, most of which performed that night also.
The Songs included in these recordings are:
“Woman Where Are You?” and “Victim Of Life’s Circumstances”
the players:
Jim Bartholomew vocals-rhythm guitar
Rick Winking vocals-lead guitar
Steven Steel pedal steel
Michael Kueffer vocals-bass guitar
Billy Shaffer drums
So send an email to Bart9250@aol.com, for mpeg copies of these great tunes on us, with our thanks for all the years of support. Thank You!
Feel free to leave your comments and remembrances for all of us to enjoy.
jimbartholomewmusic.com 
God bless Cactus Jack!
Colleen and I will always remember you ❤️
Thanks Jeff. It means a lot.