John Moore remembers picking up a guitar at eight in Southwest Arkansas and tracing a path from garage bands to radio booths and back to live shows. The Doobie Brothers’ “China Grove” threads through his story, from late-night AM crackle across to his bedroom to a Reunion Arena stop in Dallas and a recent reunion concert. Along the way Moore talks about teachers, the first red-and-black acoustic from his dad, shifts at KMLA and KTFS, and the stubborn pleasure of nailing a riff.
My first teacher was Mike, and his parents’ home is where the whole thing began. The guitar felt enormous in my small hands and nothing I played sounded like the records I loved. Still, learning chords and strumming patterns there laid the foundation that kept me coming back.
The first instrument I practiced on belonged to my dad: a 50’s era red and black acoustic with a wide neck and thick strings. Blisters were part of the process and feeling the pain meant I was getting closer. Even then, the guitar felt like a stubborn friend that demanded patience.
At age ten a song hit the radio with an opening riff I couldn’t shake: “China Grove” by the Doobie Brothers. The AM radio crackled while the tune rode late-night waves from WLS in Chicago straight to my bedroom in Southwest Arkansas. I listened until the song was part of me, and I wanted to play every note.
By fourteen we were a garage band—Doug, Paul, Keith and me—and every high school had at least one group of guys hauling amps and dreams from house to house. We practiced at my place more than anywhere else, partly because we had a big game room and doors that kept my mom and neighbors sane. We started on Johnny B. Goode and Jailhouse Rock and eventually worked our way into China Grove, which felt like a victory every time we nailed the riff.
When I turned seventeen I got a job spinning records at KMLA, the little station that served the Millwood Lake Area, and I worked eight to midnight. A couple of years later KTFS in Texarkana hired me for the same shift and the thrill of cueing vinyl and hitting a local ID never faded. Playing China Grove at the top of the hour became one of those radio rituals that made nights feel electric.
Sometimes I would open a show with the line I loved saying into the mic: “It’s Ten-oh-five at 14-KTFS, Solid As A Rock. And here are the Doobies, and China Grove.” Saying it felt like carrying a torch for those songs and for the fans tuned in across the airwaves. There was power in that little moment between the station ID and the needle hitting vinyl.
At twenty the station owner Jim handed me tickets to see the Doobie Brothers at Reunion Arena in Dallas while they were on a farewell tour. Hearing China Grove live was the high point of that night and a memory I kept returning to. Not long after, my own band drifted apart, and life filled up with marriage, kids, college and the steady grind of real work.
I stored my guitars and amps for a while, but the itch to play never went away. Years later I started jamming again with a couple of friends who also held onto their gear and their songs. We met at each other’s houses and, like before, I’d slip in that opening riff to China Grove because some things are worth repeating.
The Doobies eventually reunited and began touring, and recently my boss surprised me with a ticket to see them when they came through town. Our seats were about seven rows back, center, and to my surprise the intro said we could take pictures and shoot video on our phones. I kept mine ready and hit record just as they launched into China Grove.
At home I uploaded the video to my iPad and then shared it on social media, amazed at how well the sound held up. In true radio fashion I framed the post with a little DJ line I dusted off for the night: “”…Its Twelve-Oh-five at my house. And here are the Doobie Brothers, on my iPad…with China Grove.”
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