JACKS AND THE BOOM BOOM ROOM HISTORY AND SPOKEN WORD By Tony Adamo

 JACKS AND THE BOOM BOOM ROOM HISTORY AND SPOKEN WORD

By Tony Adamo

Before the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco’s Fillmore District came to be, it was Jack’s. A poppin’ groove organ funk soul jazz club on Sutter Street. This jumpin’ home cookin’ get down no nonsense dive hang bar was for the working-class African Americans and late-night music junkies. They dug deep in Jacks get down twenty-four seven party hardy music scenes. The gritty soul funk blues music blew into the air in the Fillmore District. Man, have you ever gotten hip to grits, gravy and biscuits at 6 AM after you come off the bandstand playin’ a set at Jack’s? Well, be there or be square cause Jack’s got your work day pumpin’ and flowin’ at 6 AM with Jacks’s egg and spam jam. The Fillmore’s musical legacy was due to the African American business owners. Their pool halls, clubs, stores, and theaters were the glue that held the Fillmore District together in the Forty’s, Fifty’s and Sixty’s that is felt to this day. Jacks moved several times before ending up on the corner of Fillmore and Geary, where the Boom Boom Room currently resides.

You may ask how did the Boom Boom Room get its name? Alex Andreas, former bartender at Jacks asked John Lee Hooker, who frequented the club, if they could use one of Hooker’s songs as a name for the new club. Thus, the club was named “Boom Boom” after Hooker’s 1962 to hit.

JACKS

Before the Boom Boom Room took the stage/

there was Jacks a soul jazz heartbeat on Sutter Street/

Jacks on Sutter there was no other/

yeah, that’s where we gathered, the hipsters, African Americans, the working class/

a dive alive with organ funk jazz music that made you come alive

where your soul danced in smokey air.

It was a home cookin’ feelin’, no pretense here,

just hard-working folks with grooves in their souls, and peace in their hearts/

getting down till the sun came up,

twenty-four seven,

party hardy,

cuz when the music hit,

you just had to feel it in your bones.

Have you ever sunk your teeth

into grits and gravy with a side of biscuits at six AM?/

after a long night on the bandstand/

Well, Jacks egg and spam jam got you jumpin’ for your day ahead.

Jacks was a place where the heat of the kitchen

matched the pulse of the night/

“Be there or be square,” the sign should’ve read/

as the music danced, crackled, and popped, till you dropped,

the pool halls be buzzin’, laughter spillin’, eight ball in the corner pocket/

making memories woven together,

held the Fillmore tight,

like the threads of a fine quilt.

For those of us,

under the flashing lights and the smokey haze,

Jacks club still lingers tight/

a legacy so rich and deep/ man, that’s way out of sight,

from the heart of African American dreams,

building a home where music thrived,

where blues and rhythm memories painted our days,

hard like concrete that will never fade.

But 1988 came too soon,

the doors closed on Jack/

the laughter, the sweat, the love, the passion, the friendships/

were all part of the soulful echoes of Jacks/

whispering through the streets/

a soundtrack of lives lived loud and proud/

Jacks on Sutter rest in peace.

BOOM BOOM ROOM

It’s loud,

crowded, a pocket full of joy,

hip, funk, jazz and hip-hop, soul,

bands pack the dance floor,

energy buzzing that floats into the street.

When a drink spills,

man, who cares?

the blues band plays,

their notes melting away your fears.

You feel the groove, the pulse,

the vibe hits you right away,

the Boom Boom Room’s party,

highlife flowing, people talking, listening,

a heartbeat in the music that won’t fade.

Sing house boogie blasts,

louder than the city outside,

and you light up a joint,

the smoke climbing like laughter,

passing it around sharing the magic.

A woman says, “Take it daddy, I’m all yours,”

as she moves, pumps and grinds to the DJ’s mix,

the dance floor is electrified,

the crowd chants, “Don’t stop now!”

Keep that acid jazz groovin’ high,

the energy ignites the night,

the Boom Boom Room is more than just a place,

it’s an echo of life, love and friendships made where the music never dies,

at 1601 Fillmore the heart of the beat is where life’s dreams are made,

and the Boom Boom Room will never fade.

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