Harlan “Shady” McClendon

On a warm New Year’s Eve in 1920, Harlan “Shady” McClendon was born an old man. Raised in the foothills of the Smokies, he didn’t have two nickels to rub together until he started working at the age of 13. Picking up shifts at the Shady Corner Luncheonette (a quaint little joint on this very corner with a seedy underside) he developed a knack for charming customers, cooking up a quick grilled cheese, and telling tall tales. However, Shady soon learned that outside of the life of a working stiff, there are other… more creative ways to turn a buck. But we won’t get into that. 

Life on the corner was good until 1941 when the draft called Shady over to Europe. While serving for Uncle Sam, Shady racked up a number of medals, a sizable number of Nazi kills, probably an illegitimate kid or two, and an eye-popping amount of disciplinary infractions. 

Post V-Day and back in the States, Shady never settled into the traditional family life. He kept things loose and moving: a man about town in Chattanooga and beyond where he had the dirtiest jokes and the cleanest cars. And you always knew when Shady was in town, but you never knew where he'd run off to. Sometimes he'd have to skip town because he pissed off the wrong woman. Other times he'd run off with who he thought was the right one. 

Shady became the sort of man everyone had an opinion about but nobody ever went toe-to-toe with. No bigger than a minute, he'd pop your jaw if you talked bad about his mama (he was the only one allowed to do that). He was the kind of guy who took care of the people he loved and let everybody else know exactly where they stood with him. And if you needed something, he’d get it for you. But if you had something, he’d get it from you.

Known for his loose relationship with the truth, Shady’s run-ins with the law, luck, and ladies seem to take on suspicious proportions, but who are we to say what is and isn’t truthful? Maybe he really ran with the Rat Pack in Vegas? Maybe he actually had Sophia Loren's number? Maybe he really did drink Hemingway under the table? He even liked to brag that he taught James Brown how to dance. Now all that sounds like a load of bull, but nobody could ever prove him wrong. So as far as we're concerned, the legend stands.

Unfortunately but fittingly, no one knows what happened to Shady. At this point, he’d be well over 100 years old, so there’s not much of a chance he’s even around. But maybe he snuck away to the mountains to ride out another century? Maybe he finally settled down with someone? Or maybe he’s here tonight? 

So if you see an old man who looks like he's lived a shady life… buy him a beer and ask him if he's got any good stories.