Pluto Jones evolved from a band called the Memphis Rockers, which originated in
Memphis in 1977. The lore is that Jimmy suggested the name change, and we
assumed our new identity in 1979. John once speculated that Pluto Jones signified
"an intense desire to go to the planet Pluto". Yes...Pluto was still a planet back then,
and should still be a planet dammit! But that's another story for another day. We
were mostly a cover band, and recordings of us playing cover tunes well...and
poorly...still survive. But that's how we paid our bills, and it gave us the opportuniy to
temporarily reside in some cool places and to write and record a few decent original
tunes. We spent a lot of time in the Florida Keys and around the Sunshine State, but
we did play in other states east of the Mississippi. Between the Memphis Rockers
days and the Pluto Jones era, we played in New York, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois,
Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Pretty much all the time we were
together, we worked constantly...48-50 weeks a year. We were truly road dogs! In
1981, we decided to go our separate ways, but did reunite in 2008 for three days of
camaraderie and recording at John & Teri's house in Florida.