A legendary figure in country music has had enough of the pothole situation in Kinston.

“Whenever we go on tour I love to come through Kinston and eat at King’s,” said country music legend Garth Strait on Monday. “And it never fails that the tour bus hits a dozen or so potholes when we’re in town. Riding tanks into Afghanistan to do shows for the USO is a smoother ride than Queen Street in Kinston.”

Strait – who now wears a helmet and shin guards when riding through Kinston – looked like a middle-aged Wayne Gretsky as he put on his protective gear just before crossing the Wayne/Lenoir County line on Saturday.

“I love the town and the people so much,” Strait said. “Many years ago I used to play at a bar in Kinston called Fours-E-Nuff. Jon Hughes and Greg Baker were the bouncers who made sure we got paid. There was a bartender there named Donna who was a gold medalist when it came to miniskirts. A guy named Lynn Hill would introduce us in a way that would run Sam Kinison up a tree. I have a ton of great memories when it comes to Kinston.”

Strait says he wrote “Kinston Pothole Blues” while sitting in the parking lot of Kinston Wheel Alignment.

“We had a new driver and we were coming through Kinston about four in the morning,” Strait said. “He was trying to make up a little time and had the hammer down. One second everybody in the band was asleep in their bunks, the next they were shoulder-rolling down Vernon Avenue. Every time that bus hit a pothole, a band member went flying. Our poor bass player (who sleeps in the nude) landed on top of our drummer, who woke up thinking someone was attacking him. According to the drummer’s religion, they’ve got to get married now.”

Listen above to Garth Strait’s “Kinston Pothole Blues”

While it would be easier to drive around the pothole-laden town, Strait’s tour manager says his boss wouldn’t have it.

“Garth loves Kinston too much to bypass it,” said Bob Pridden, Strait’s long-suffering tour manager. “Between the women and the barbecue, he demands we come through here. To that end, we’ve equipped the bus with military-grade shock absorbers. Still, no matter what we do, we’re going to take on some damage when we come to town. Some of these potholes are so big you can fish out of them. Look – that one over there has whitecaps in it!”

To listen to live and archived broadcasts of The Bryan Hanks Show with Jon Dawson and Jonathan Massey, visit www.BryanHanks.com.

Proceeds from “Kinston Pothole Blues” will be donated to the Pothole Unification Tradesman Zone (P.U.T.Z.), an organization that raises awareness of potholes by writing songs about them.

Jon Dawson’s books are available at http://www.JonDawson.com