The True Story of Take One Magazine (November 1979)

Richard Harbert, Editor & Publisher
Thom W. King, Editor-In-Chief
John M. King, Senior Editor

Contributors: Daryl Sanders, Gary Kanter, Larry Glick, Alis Petit, Scott Perry, Lanny Glick, Rex DeYonker, Nicole Chappin, Bette Blackman, Hunter Harvey

Articles
Nashville’s Take One: The True Story (Thom King)
Summertime Blues (Richard Harbert)
A Letter From The Publisher (Richard Harbert)
Personal Comments From the Staff (Thom King & Richard Harbert)
The Alternative According To Sanders (Daryl Sanders)
Comments From The Staff (Hunter Harvey, John King, Charlie Johnson, Scott Perry, Sharon Bell, Louie Rosenberg

Comments: The out-of-town investor who Thom sold a controlling interest in the magazine to bankrupted Take One by going weekly without an accompanying growth in advertising income to offset the cost of publishing four issues a month instead of one. Thom and Take One editor Richard Harbert published this one-shot, “The True Story of Take One Magazine,” providing transparency to the demise of Nashville’s first alternative publication. King and Harbert would subsequently launch The Nashville Gazette with publisher John Lomax III (see below).  

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The Nashville Gazette: April 1980 (First Issue!)

Columns
“On The Home Front” (Thom King)
Real World News
“Street Talk”
The Rock Lawyer’s Corner (Edd Gross)
Hot Picks (Lisa Richards)
The Month Ahead (calendar)
“Star Notes” (Carolyn Dodson)
The Trivia Contest (Thom King & Margaret Cash)
Books: “Living Proof” (Robert K. Oermann), “Pickers & Poets” (Curtis McGuirt), “Willie’s Time” (Gary Kanter), “Stand By Your Man” (Mary Bufwack), “Happy Trails” (Douglas B. Green), “Jimmie Rodgers” (Douglas B. Green), “Lost Highway” (Douglas B. Green), “Waylon & Willie” (Douglas B. Green)
Movies: Coal Miner’s Daughter (John Pugh)
“Flickering Images: TV’s Second Season” (Gary Kanter)
Mind Over Platter (Lynne Mitchell)
Restaurants: The Old Spaghetti Factory (J. Valerie Nasatir)
Sports: The Soundettes Strut Their Stuff (Sam Hunnicutt)
Vinyl Views: Kenny Rogers (John Lomax III), Linda Ronstadt (Bette Blackman), Marianne Faithful (Tom Russell), Bob Seger (Sam Borgerson), Richard Dobson (Jim Rooney), Cloverbottom (Thom King)

Articles
On The Campaign Trail: Learning How Democracy Works (Tom T. Hall)
Many Night’s Stands (Karen Gray)
The Joys of Inflation (Don Cusic)
Never Say Die! (Jan Simmons)
The South: Political Battleground In 1980 (Michael R. Harbert)
Dog Scratch Fever (Marjorie Reeves)
More Problems For Sequoyah (John S. Hepler)
An Open Letter To TVA Nuclear Workers (Jeannine Honicker)
Coal Miners’ Daughters (Mary Etta Cook)
Gram Parsons: The Outcast Southerner (Sid Griffin)
Nightmoney Pays Off (Rick Hull)
Roger Cook and Nashville’s Pop Factory (Al Cunniff)
Song City Serenades (John Lomax III)
“Hossman” Allen: Back On WLAC (Harvey McGee)
The Shake-Up At The Radio Station (Scott Perry)
Riders In The Sky: Nashville’s Home Grown (Robert K. Oermann)
Stars of the 80’s: Four Acts To Watch (John Lomax III & Stacy Harris)
More Than Meets The Eye: There Is A New Wave In Nashville (Rick Champion)
Hot Wax: A Close Look At The Bootleg Racket (Keith A. Gordon)
Tonto Remembered (Gary Kanter)
Revival/Survival, Oldham-style (Kurt Benz)
Antiques & Auctions (Cindy Kent)

Comments: From the ashes of Take One came The Nashville Gazette, which published roughly six issues if I remember correctly. They went BIG right out of the gate with an impressive 40pp debut issue in April 1980 with a four-color cover photo of country music legend Tom T. Hall, who also wrote the issue’s cover story.

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Take One: March 1979

Columns
“176 2nd” (Thom King)
Quickies
Leisure (Bob Millard)
Gut Reaction (Kurt Benz)
Top Of The Rock (Scott Perry)
“Offbeat Cartoons” (John Heine)
Performance: Hoyt Axton (Ellen Caldwell)
On Record: The Blues Brothers (Brad Smythe), Larry Jon Wilson (Jan Simmons), Don Bowman (Sharon Bell), Elvis Costello (Brad Smythe), Rod Steward (Bette Blackman), Hall & Oates (Brad Smythe)
Placeboes: Kayak, Eddie Money, Todd Rundgren, Pipedream, Nicolette Larson (Keith A. Gordon)

Articles
Death Row Volunteer, Part Two (Keith A. Gordon)
Mensa: Is Yours Big Enough? (Thom King)
Volunteer Jam V photos (Thom King, John King, Keith A. Gordon)
The Farmer’s Plight (Craig T. Canan)
Music City Song Festival (Sharon Bell)
Pinheads Invade! (Rick Hull)
Earwitness: Nashville Wax For Your Ears (Alan Bernstein)
Going Mobile With Fanta (Sam Borgerson)
Adult Art? Erotica Appears On Second Ave. (Judy Isenhour)
Bar Hopping In Music City (Bette Blackman)

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Take One: November 1978

Columns
“176 2nd” (Thom King)
Quickies
Calendar
Trivia
Culture: Fredrick’s of Hickory Hollow (Judy Isenhour)
Leisure (Bob Millard)
Gut Reaction (Kurt Benz)
Top Of The Rock (Scott Perry)
Rumblings On The Row (Phyllis Martin & Sharon Bell)
Performance: Papa John (Alan Bernstein), John Prine (Sharon Bell), Sammy Hagar & Boston (Keith A. Gordon), Kaz-Fuller & Little Feat (Keith A. Gordon)
Nashville Profile: Colleen Peterson (Sharon Bell)
On Record: Van Morrison (Keith A. Gordon), Eric Carmen (Bette Blackman), “The Muppets Show 2” (Better Blackman), Steve Martin (Brad Smythe)
Placeboes: Moses Jones (Keith A. Gordon), Brian Ferry (Brad Smythe), Neil Young (Sam Borgerson), Johnny “Guitar” Watson (Joe Gramelspacher), City Boy (Keith A. Gordon), Tasty Licks (Keith A. Gordon), Synergy (Keith A. Gordon), Frank Zappa (Keith A. Gordon), Golden Earring (Keith A. Gordon), Devo (Keith A. Gordon),

Articles
A Presidential Visit (Thom King)
Cheap Thrills: Higher Than A Kite (Steve Womack)
$350 Dream Car, Part Two (Thom King)
Seger Live! (Will King)
The Poisoning of America, Part Two (Jerry Shields)
Huell Howser: King of the Jungle (Thom King)
Notes From Huell (Huell Howser)
A New Much Ado (Judy Isenhour)
Winchester Wonder (Judy Isenhour)
On the Air: Sylvia (Bette Blackman)
Byrd Burton: Ace On The Loose (Sam Borgerson)
Cosmic Triggers? (Curtis McGuirt)

PDF download of this issue [BIG!! 124mb - Right click and ‘save as’ to download]

Take One: October 1978

Columns
“176 2nd” (Thom King)
Quickies
Calendar
Trivia
Politics: Catfish Alliance (Alis Pettit)
“Mug Shots” (Take One staff)
The Arts: Musical St. Fair (Judy Isenhour), Alternate Roots (Judy Isenhour), Center Floor (Sam Hughes)
Nashville Profile: Rafe Van Hoy (Sharon Bell), The North Star Band (Sharon Bell)
Top of the Rock (Scott Perry)
Concert Reviews: Yes (Bette Blackman), Dixie Dregs (Keith A. Gordon)
Records: The Who (Sam Borgerson), Sonny Throckmorton (uncredited), Boston (Keith A. Gordon)
Placeboes: Lynyrd Skynyrd (Will King), Gary Toms & Empire (Joe Gramelspacher), Heart (Bette Blackman), Wendy Waldeman (Keith A. Gordon), Rodney Crowell (Keith A. Gordon), Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg (Keith A. Gordon), Talking Heads (Brad Smythe), Faith Band (Brad Smythe), Steve Gibbons Band (Brad Smythe), Moody Blues (Keith A. Gordon), Thin Lizzy (Keith A. Gordon), Crack the Sky (Keith A. Gordon), Lisa Burns (Keith A. Gordon)

Articles
The Poisoning of America (Jerry Shields)
Consumers’ Guide to Health Food Stores (Nicolle Chappin)
The Continuing Saga of My $350 Dream Car (Thom King)
A Nashvillian’s View of Tourist Traps (Doc Crouch & Henriette Rousseau)
In Search of Naz-Dar (Curtis McGuirt)
Keith Moon (Sam Borgerson)
Gene Cotton Update (Sharon Bell)
Jesse Winchester (Sam Borgerson)

PDF download of this issue [BIG!! 98mb - Right click and ‘save as’ to download]

Take One: August 1977 (First Issue)

Columns
Give & Take (Letters To The Editor)
Trivia (Scott Lee, Tom Heath, Robert Corlew, Thom King)
Calendar
Books: In The Mirro District (Scott Newton), Crowned Heads (Sharon Bell)
Records: Neil Young (Derek Fielding), Crosby Stills & Nash (Wil Joyner), Jessi Colter (Daryl Sanders), James Taylor (Karl Frisch)
Recommended: Dixie Dregs, Gregg Allman, The Beatles, The Meters (uncredited)

Articles
A Seedy Store (Cathey Arlt)
Nashville’s Foor Fairs (Greg Gardner)
The Tennessee Constitutional Convention (Chrisopher Edwards)
Spare-A-Dime: Death of A Gentleman (Thom King)
Pathways For Peddlers (Greg Gardner)
Gene Cotton: L.A. or Bust! (Daryl Sanders)
Tulsa On My Mind (Thom King)
The Big Bucks of Rock Concerts (Greg Gardner)
Ted Nugent (Gail Thomas)
What Next? Platinum Gospel! (Daryl Sanders)

Comments: The very first issue of Take One, published in August 1977 and featuring Thom King’s engaging cover story about street person ‘Spare-A-Dime’ as well as articles on singer/songwriter Gene Cotton and the sort of arts and music coverage that the magazine would later become known for throughout its existence.

PDF download of this issue [BIG!! 70mb - Right click and ‘save as’ to download]

Your Nashville Zines Wanted!

This Take One archival site currently has only 15 of the 28 issues of the magazine that were published between 1977 and 1979. If you have copies of the publication that aren't currently featured on the site, I'd be glad to take them off your hands! If you want to donate the zines, I'd be glad to reimburse you for the shipping costs. Ditto if you just want to lend them to us to scan for the site. I'd also be willing to negotiate a price if you'd rather sell your copies (note that we're on a tight budget).

Along with vintage copies of Take One magazine, I'm also interested in getting copies of The Metropolitan Reader and The Nashville Gazette to scan and archive here. We'll also take old copies of Hank magazine to archive on our Anarchy In The Music City! website. Any donated zines will be donated to an archive after scanning, as they'd be better at preserving the decades-old newsprint.

Contact the Reverend with the form above and I'll get back in touch as soon as possible. Thanx!