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Print This Story'Freebird' Tattoos Lyrics On His Back
Local Man Wins Radio Contest
POSTED: 8:30 a.m. EDT October 19, 2001
UPDATED: 11:35 a.m. EDT October 19, 2001
A prominent theme in Lynyrd Skynyrd's epic song "Freebird" is that the narrator cannot change his ways, and while a local Skynyrd fan insists that that's why he got the song's lyrics tattooed on his back, one look at Jesse Lamb shows that he's done nothing but change.
Lamb's body was artwork-free until this year. But now, after an installment of 23 lines of lyrics that took nearly 10 hours to apply, Lamb's body is decorated with five tattoos.
"Most of my tattoos deal with periods of time," said Lamb, who explained the reason behind why a sixth tattoo is in the plans next month. "When I was getting the lyrics tattooed, I was staring across the room at a portrait of Jesus Christ. He gave me the strength to stay in that chair, so I'm getting that same portrait tattooed on my right shoulder."
Such a habit could become costly, but Lamb's most recent slaughter was free of charge. That's because Louisville radio station WQMF sponsored the event. Afternoon DJ Rocky Knight happened across a recent story about a man who had the lyrics from Led Zeppelin's legendary "Stairway to Heaven" tattooed on his back. Knight said that Louisville could outdo that.
"I thought, 'We can one-up this,'" Knight told Web site affiliate TheLouisvilleChannel.com. "We can do a southern version of this." So Knight and the station sponsored a contest whose winner would get the lyrics ... well, you know the rest.
"Within 48 hours, we had 30 idiots willing to do it," Knight said. "I was just hoping to get three people interested." Only three? Lamb's party alone topped that.
"My friend Philip Dell and I called and entered, and then I asked them if I could enter my girlfriend's name, Linda Regenavar," Lamb said. "And then another one of our friends came over, so he called and entered his name."
When the call came from Knight to notify the winner, the DJ wanted to make sure he was talking to more than a little lamb.
"Rocky called and asked, 'You're not going to chicken out, are you?'" said Lamb, whose easygoing outlook is unmatched by Knight.
"This whole thing has given me the idea that I'm never getting a tattoo," Knight said. "(Lamb's) back was a bloody, pulpy mess."
It could have been worse, but Tattoo Charlie, of ... Tattoo Charlie's, manned the needle with the utmost precision for the entire time.
"You just keep your mind on what you're doing, and if you get tired, you take a break," Charlie said. "Needless to say, we took a few breaks."
The occasion wasn't the first time that Lamb, who turns 45 next month, won a radio contest.
"About 30 years ago, I won tickets to an Elton John concert and got to meet him," he said. "I'm retired now, and I listen to the radio a lot. If they have a contest, heck, I'll enter."
Lamb's body was artwork-free until this year. But now, after an installment of 23 lines of lyrics that took nearly 10 hours to apply, Lamb's body is decorated with five tattoos.
"Most of my tattoos deal with periods of time," said Lamb, who explained the reason behind why a sixth tattoo is in the plans next month. "When I was getting the lyrics tattooed, I was staring across the room at a portrait of Jesus Christ. He gave me the strength to stay in that chair, so I'm getting that same portrait tattooed on my right shoulder."
Such a habit could become costly, but Lamb's most recent slaughter was free of charge. That's because Louisville radio station WQMF sponsored the event. Afternoon DJ Rocky Knight happened across a recent story about a man who had the lyrics from Led Zeppelin's legendary "Stairway to Heaven" tattooed on his back. Knight said that Louisville could outdo that.
"I thought, 'We can one-up this,'" Knight told Web site affiliate TheLouisvilleChannel.com. "We can do a southern version of this." So Knight and the station sponsored a contest whose winner would get the lyrics ... well, you know the rest.
"Within 48 hours, we had 30 idiots willing to do it," Knight said. "I was just hoping to get three people interested." Only three? Lamb's party alone topped that.
"My friend Philip Dell and I called and entered, and then I asked them if I could enter my girlfriend's name, Linda Regenavar," Lamb said. "And then another one of our friends came over, so he called and entered his name."
When the call came from Knight to notify the winner, the DJ wanted to make sure he was talking to more than a little lamb.
"Rocky called and asked, 'You're not going to chicken out, are you?'" said Lamb, whose easygoing outlook is unmatched by Knight.
"This whole thing has given me the idea that I'm never getting a tattoo," Knight said. "(Lamb's) back was a bloody, pulpy mess."
It could have been worse, but Tattoo Charlie, of ... Tattoo Charlie's, manned the needle with the utmost precision for the entire time.
"You just keep your mind on what you're doing, and if you get tired, you take a break," Charlie said. "Needless to say, we took a few breaks."
The occasion wasn't the first time that Lamb, who turns 45 next month, won a radio contest.
"About 30 years ago, I won tickets to an Elton John concert and got to meet him," he said. "I'm retired now, and I listen to the radio a lot. If they have a contest, heck, I'll enter."Copyright 2001 by NewsNet5.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
