Curb Service and the Curvettes

Retro Rock Redux

by Mary Margaret Miller

If the South is the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll and the Delta is the root of rhythm and blues, then the Curb Service band is the perpetual jukebox keeping those solid gold sounds alive.

The five-piece party band out of Greenwood started their musical journey together in 1978 as a quest to bring the beat back to the backyard soiree. Determined to move away from the trance rhythms of the 1970s and deliver the rocking backbone of the 1950s and ‘60s sound, Curb Service set out to engage audiences and get bodies back on the dance floor. “Our song list is a formula for a good time,” says guitarist Johnny Jennings. “It is a rock ‘n’ roll recipe, and it enhances the party until the very end.”

Jennings is joined by Johnny Freeman on guitar, Charles Hall on keys, John Elliot on drums and Joe Seawright on bass. Curb Service’s reputation for good time rock ‘n’ roll without the bubblegum pop has paved the road for their success in the Delta and beyond. Curb Service has played everywhere from Memphis to Meridian, and for everyone from cotton queens to fraternity kings.

“Their style is definitely retro 1950s with a rock star edge,” says Clements Odom, Development Coordinator for the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council (YAC) in Oxford, where Curb Service played the Ole Miss homecoming weekend in October. “I thought they were going to blow the doors off the back. The minute the band started everyone from five years old to 55 years old was dancing. Nobody said ‘no!’”

Curb Service only plays private parties and charity events, making their attitude toward the music more about the moment than the money. Their presence at the Green Lizard Parties in the early ‘80s launched Curb Service’s popularity among partygoers from across the South. The group immortalized their 1980 performance with a live recording from the Green Lizard Party. Only 1,000 copies of “Curb Service: Live at the Green Lizard” were produced and the album is now considered a collector’s item. Today, Curb Service is back on stage and in the studio working on a new album.

While little has changed concerning Curb Service’s hard hitting sound and solid set list, one addition has brought the band beyond the limits of their original ambition. “With the addition of the Curvettes, we’ve been able to play some of the good girl group songs that we were never able to play before,” said Jennings. “Connie Black, Cathy Jennings and Vicki Wilkie make up the Curvettes. We have been doing this for 30 years and with the addition of these girls, our passion for playing has been invigorated and it has given the band an entirely new dimension.”

The Curvettes have sung in church choirs and performed harmonies together in the past, but it wasn’t until their 2006 debut at Greenwood’s Alluvian Hotel New Year’s Eve Party that they wowed audiences with their powerful stage presence. Now they are a sought after supplement to the Curb Service sound. “When the Curvettes came on stage it was absolutely electric,” says Odom of their YAC performance. “They were so good and I was astonished by Connie Black’s vocals.”
Curb Service and the Curvettes keep the collegiate sound of the ‘60s alive without sacrificing the rock ‘n’ roll edge. Their renditions of classics from the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, the Beatles and the Beach Boys deliver danceable tunes with a kick of raw-edged energy. Each member brings a bit of professionalism to the stage, generating studio quality sound at each live performance. Curb Service is guaranteed to get the party started, keep spirits high and stay well beyond last call. DM