| Dayton Music Guide -Get The Full Effect THE LEGEND OF BIG J BUSH The date was October 10, 1972. A musical group had been contracted to play the weekend at the Baby Grand Club, in Canton Ohio. Leading the group was saxophonist, J. Bush, known through out the tri-state area as "Big J Bush". The Band had formally been called "Big J Bush and The House Rockers", but Bush had wanted to modernize and increase the appeal of his band, and had hired a singing group known as "Ultra Exposure." On this night, "The House Rockers" were also debuting with the new name "Ohio Exchange." The club was jumping. The band was about to start their 3rd set, when a guy walked in, wearing a full-length shop coat, which was odd even on a brisk autumn evening, in north-eastern Ohio. It just wasn't that cold, yet. Some of the members of the group acknowledged his presence, with a nod, but he did not return their friendly gestures. Instead he just allowed himself to blend in with the crowd, and was dismissed as one of the many crackpots or drunks that frequented nightclubs all over America. Somebody gave the signal and the band went to the stage, and started their 3rd set. A bunch of girls rushed up to the edge of the dance floor, to insure that the boys in the band would notice their sexy dance steps. Their moves were being wasted on guitaist, Jesse Partridge, who was feeling the groove, and had zoned out, allowing his eyelids to fall, in order to maintain his concentration. Over the kick of the drum, and the boom of the bass, he thought that he heard a small explosion, and his eyes fluttered open as a flash of light faded just at the lip of the stage. Everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to center stage, where, Big J was gesturing wildly with his left hand, pointing at that same rude fellow wearing the full-length coat. Jesse looked more closely at the man this time, just as he closed his coat over the barrel of a cold steel weapon, and turned and walked out of the club. When Jay waved his hand again, it was covered with blood, collected at his chest. He fell back against the brick wall behind him, and slid down to a sitting position, mortally wounded. He died at the hospital a half hour later. As far as
anyone still knows, Big J Bush had never even met his
assailant. The guy was arrested outside the club, and
it was determined that he had a history of mental
problems. He told the police that he "had to
kill Bush", because Bush was giving him the evil
eye. It has also been speculated that the name change
to Ohio Exchange may have confused
the dude, who perhaps thought that it was the Ohio
Players, who also frequented the Baby
Grand's stage. Some say that it was perhaps a
case of mistaken identity, and that the mad gunman
was actually gunning for another saxophone player by
the name of Clarence "Satch" Satchell.
A witness to the
event recounted this story. Big J Bush was a veteran
musical pioneer, whose business head and desire to
entertain lead to the spirited music scene of Dayton,
Ohio. He was one of the fathers of the DMG". The
idea of "each one teach one", was
duplicated over and over again as the many Dayton
Groups splintered and merged, and forever changed the
face of music throughout the world. |
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