TMS Muses of the Week: Kay Poorboy & Francine Brockey

(via cockerpowerbook.com)

One of the YouTubers I watch regularly, Abigail Devoe, recently created a 90 minute-long video on the history and legacy of the 1970 album ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’ by Derek & the Dominos. This is actually her second epic video on the album, since it’s her favorite classic rock record and she is also a fan of rock muse Pattie Boyd [aka, ‘Layla’ herself]. Because there was even more information/trivia in this update, I kept expecting Abby to mention the other, more elusive lady related to the LP, Kay Poorboy. As Eric ‘Derek’ Clapton was attempting to woo Pattie during the making of ‘L&OALS,’ Dominos bassist Carl Radle was involved with longtime on-again/off-again girlfriend Kay Poorboy. Like Pattie, Kay was a fixture in the rock music scene intimately, although nowhere near the fame and reception as the blonde model. On top of that, Kay’s lifelong friend Francine Brockey was also just as popular, making them one of the rare pair of BFF groupies in the subculture. While Pattie and her sisters were a trio of legitimate muses and wives of successful music artists in England; Kay and Francine hail from Tulsa, OK and traveled with their old pal, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Leon Russell, from the southwest to embark on the music community in mid-1960s Hollywood. As Leon and his musician friends were getting their artistic careers going, Kay and Francine had jobs around Los Angeles. Most notably at the nightclub The Classic Cat, where Kay was a dancer and Francine a waitress. Francine also did some modeling on the side.

(MGM Pictures)

Surprisingly, Abby didn’t make any reference to Kay in her very detailed research on ‘Layla,’ even though you can actually spot the light brunette at the bottom of the giant photo collage for the record’s gatefold. So the lack of acknowledgement inspired me to make my latest MOTW piece on the Oklahoma ladies. The majority of my research on both of them primarily come from their close friend and fellow groupie, Nancy Deedrick through her website Hollywood Hangover before she passed in 2016; as well as from interviews with former Dominos member, pianist Bobby Whitlock. While Kay’s birthyear on her grave is 1944, I’ve struggled to find when exactly Francine was born, though I assume not long before or after Kay, if they were friends since childhood. Even with their groupie reps, neither woman was personally involved with Leon himself. The three lived as only platonic roommates when they moved to SoCal. Through Leon, Kay & Francine got to live it up on the town and become acquainted with various music stars. For Kay, her flings included rock frontmen Eric Burdon and Joe Cocker in the late ‘60s, and she was briefly married to popstar Gary Lewis in 1973 and later drummer Buddy Jones in 1983. Her most serious relationship was with Carl between 1970 and 1980, which was constantly battled by the musician’s alcoholism and lack of commitment. On Francine’s end, she had dalliances with country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons circa the late ‘60s and Leon’s drummer Chuck Blackwell in the early 1970s.

Most available photos of Kay and Francine are dated early 1970, which was when they were a part of the entourage of what’s known as the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. This was originally arranged as a way for Joe Cocker to finish a label contract with both a tour and an accompanying record. But it turned into this big, extravagant road show with Leon and nearly all his buddies as Joe’s backing band; the likes of Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Donna Weiss and Donna Washburn included on harmonies; photographers Linda Wolf and Andee Nathanson as press; plus wives, kids, pets, and even Kay and Francine along for the ride. The performances from this tour not only spawned a hit live record, but also a well-received concert doc in 1971 directed by Pierre Aldridge and compared to DA Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop (1968) and Michael Wadleigh’s Woodstock (1970). One of the songs on the Mad Dogs setlist was ‘Superstar,’ co-written by Leon and Bonnie Bramlett in 1969, which is from the perspective of a groupie longing to be seen as a legitimate love interest by her rockstar. During the film, we can actually see Rita sing the chorus of ‘Superstar’ directly at Kay in a playful manner on a bus. When the Carpenters covered the song in ‘71, the lyrics were cleaned up a bit for vocalist-drummer Karen Carpenter to sound like a traditional romantic [i.e. “I can hardly wait to sleep with you” is changed to “I can hardly wait to be with you”]. Three years later, Kay herself actually co-wrote a track, ‘Easy Life’, with future husband Buddy on the Gap Band’s 1974 LP ‘Magicians Holiday.’

(via twitter.com)

At the beginning of the MD&E tour, Gram was supposed to make some guest appearances during the California dates but ended up spending less than a week with the crew when he found out Francine had started seeing Chuck. According to Nancy, Francine was a big reason Gram and former significant other Nancy Ross went through multiple break-ups. After the ‘70s, it’s hard to find info on Kay and Francine outside of the two returning to Tulsa for seemingly ordinary lives. Unfortunately, the little that is out there on the best friends’ later years is very grim. When Carl died of alcohol poisoning in 1980, Kay sank into a deep depression which she never really recovered from, and ultimately shot herself in the heart in 1983—the same year she married Buddy. She left her 11-year-old daughter Moon to be raised by Buddy and his family, since her biological father [singer-songwriter Dr. John] wasn’t in the picture either. Francine died of a drug overdose while visiting a friend’s house in 1996, according to her son Justin. Whenever I bring up Kay & Francine during conversations on classic rock or groupies, I’m always bummed when I have to reveal how they parted. The narrative around the groupie scene these days is that every groupie is underaged and has been taken advantage of by male musicians. While this isn’t entirely false, it’s not the full truth either. Most of those teenage girls that we know of thankfully completely moved on and settled down with families or careers outside of LA and other major cities. There are a lot of adult women who have been involved with music legends with depressing ends like Kay and Francine, or June Fairchild or Debralee Scott or Connie Hamzy. These ladies are cautionary tales, but at the same time, I hate the thought of them being seen as just that because no one should be defined by their death.

Kay Poorboy and Francine Brockey are two more of the fascinating type of women I cover in this series, and it’s a shame they didn’t live longer to give more context and detail to their tales. Also, to not end this piece on such a negative note, if anyone from MGM or whoever owns the rights to the Mad Dogs & Englishmen doc these days happens to read this: the film is in major need of a remaster.