The elusive Ruby Tuesday

“Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday. Who could hang a name on you?”

Who was Ruby Tuesday, and how did she get that name?

There was no real life “Ruby Tuesday,” It is a nickname penned by the immortal Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. When I thought I had died, I recall thinking that I couldn’t believe Keith Richards had outlived me. And he probably still will.

Richards dubbed his former girlfriend, Linda Keith, a British model, as Ruby Tuesday to signify a free spirit, something elusive to him yet he misses her so.

“Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday. Who could hang a name on you? When you change with every new day. Still I’m gonna miss you.” The Rolling Stones’ song hit Number One on the charts in early 1967, the greatest single year in rock music history.

My friend Steve Rosenberg was an army disc jockey during the Vietnam War. He told me that it was easy to be a DJ then, because every song was great. Time washes away the less enduring songs, and we remember the great songs, and there were a lot of great songs in 1967.

In 1972, Sandy Beall III was starting a new restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee, and needed a name. A fraternity brother suggested Ruby Tuesday from the Stones’ song. The company, headquartered in Maryville now, grew to over a billion dollars in sales by 2004 with a profit of $110 million. And then, as fast as a snap of the fingers, sales plummeted.

Casual dining is notoriously fickle. Applebee’s came along, now Chili’s, Cheddars, Cracker Barrel, Longhorns, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and others. It’s a crowded market and creating a great brand, and staying on top is tough.

Everybody thinks they can do better, so Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins is lined with new casual dining competitors. Chances are your hometown boulevard is the same. They all will not make it. Five years from now, some will be gone. Ten years from now, I bet half or more of today’s lineup will be gone.

Yes, the frat brother was right. Naming a restaurant after a mystical, elusive, “here today, gone tomorrow,” phantasm was spot on.

“When you change with every new day, still I’m going to miss you.”

Kelly Burke was born in Knoxville where he spent his younger years, followed by high school years in Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia Tech, and then graduated from Mercer Law School. He has been in private practice, a magistrate judge, and an elected district attorney. He writes about the law, politics, music, and Ireland. He and his wife enjoy gardening, playing with their Lagotto Ramanolo named George Harrison, and spending time with their grandchildren.