If you ever find yourself stuck in a convalescent-type situation, pray that you have a friend as good as Terry Anderson. That's him on the right, in a long-ago picture with his rock/roll brother-in-arms David Enloe -- who passed away Tuesday from liver failure after being laid up for six weeks. Anderson and his other longtime bandmate, Jack Cornell, spent as much time as they could keeping Enloe company during that time. They also put out the call to friends and family to come hang out with him while they could.

Wednesday's paper has a story recounting this, and also Enloe/Anderson/Cornell's shared past in Fabulous Knobs and The Woods. In the course of talking to people who knew Enloe, I got plenty of quotes I couldn't fit into the story. Click through to see further remembrances from various folks (including Don Dixon).

UPDATE: Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church, 651 E. Hemp St. in Robbins.

ADDENDA (11/29/07): Two obituaries; a remembrance on Don Dixon's blog; a memorial page; and a video tribute.

Also, here is Terry Anderson's eulogy from the funeral.

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"I almost hate to say this, but I always thought of the Woods and Knobs and all those bands as David's bands. Just like the perception of Creem was that it was Eric Clapton's band. David was just such a fine guitar player, so those bands seemed like his, through the prism of looking at his guitar expertise."

-- Jeff Hart

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"I don't think any of those guys got what they deserved, but so few people do. That's not the exception. There are millions of talented people who don't ever quite get enough, but that's just the way it is. There are only a few slots and it takes a lot of luck. The other thing is, being famous or successful can be even worse -- he might've died sooner. Fame is horrible, a true killer, and very few people are suited to it.

"He truly was a great guy, and he was GOOD. A really great player. And he was fun to be on tour with. With Marti (Jones) in Europe one time, he stole her 8mm movie camera and took a bunch of shots of boy's crotches in their underwear dancing around. 'You, uh, had a lot of fun on this tour, I see,' I told her when we got that film developed. You can't have enough of that on the road."

-- Don Dixon

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"They had the triangle by the tail. Full-blown rock assault, with David, Keith, Jack and Terry jacking up the audience behind Debra Demilo's Jagger-ish swagger. They brought so many different musical influences to the table. Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Rolling Stones, Patsy Cline... Their shows were beer-drenched, sweaty tributes to rock and roll."

-- Dick Hodgin

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"David's style was pretty wonderful. He did this thing where he used a pick and also his fingers to pull at the strings at the same time, like a banjo. So he had this cool percussive rhythmic thing that was really unique. When I first met David and Terry (Anderson), that's what struck me, the odd way he played...

"The Woods played South By Southwest one year in what looked like a bombed-out building, this giant room, and we were big stars that night. 'Battleship Chains' was out and we launched into that right when the PA blew up. I remember the three of us screaming it unamplified, and the crowd screaming along with us. A memorably bizarre moment."

-- Jack Cornell

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"David and I have been playing together ever since junior high. In high school, we jammed along and wished we had a bass player. We put an ad up when we got to college and Jack answered it -- although his handwriting was so bad we thought it said 'Jade Cordero.' But Jack knew Debra (DeMilo) and the four of us had it goin' on. We were a bit outrageous and could pass for punks. Debra would shove the mike down her pants and run around, do crazy stuff. But we were playing industrial-strength soul, like Aretha Franklin. Eventually we started writing our own songs and putting out our own records...

"David was self-destructive, there was always a party around him. I've been looking through old pictures, and he's holding a beer in just about every one. After a while, it catches up with you. He tried to kill it, whatever it was, with alcohol and that just didn't work."

-- Terry Anderson

11/28/07 at 08:31
I still cannot get through a day without some sort of Woods reference coming out of my mouth. Touring with them was a privilege. I could barely sing at night because I laughed all day long. The combination of those three boys was just amazing. David's absence will be difficult. Big loss for all of us, but to Terry and Jack especially. The bond between longtime bandmates is like nothing else. Keep on playin', boys... We love you.