ASK BILL – PAST QUESTIONS

That would be a wonderful collection, at least from my point of view, but it would take a lot of people cooperating with one another to make it happen. The records were on many different record labels, and each label would have to be contacted and willing to share the income from such a project with all the other labels involved. It’s certainly not an impossible project, but it would require a someone taking the bull by the horns and making it happen. Any bull-tamers listening??

Wow, what a question! I’ve never thought about it before, but I guess if God wanted me to write such a song, He would give me the guidance as to what I should say. It should probably be a prayer for peace, love, tolerance, forgiveness…all the things that seem to be in short supply these days. Maybe an attitude of “we’re all in this together,” so let’s try to understand and help one another as we go through each new day. And it should be laced with thankfulness for the blessings we have already received. No wonder I’ve never written it….it’s a mighty big subject.

Absolutely not. All you need to do is to obtain a license from the publisher of the song. That costs you nothing. If it’s a real old gospel song, you might check and see if it is old enough to have gone into the Public Domain. In that case, you could claim your own arrangement on the song and not have to obtain a license from anyone.

Yes, and the same thing goes for a collection of recordings by various artists. Each artist gets a pro rated share, and usually under what is called a “Favored Nations” agreement. That assures that no one artist gets more than any other artist and that the royalties are equally divided.

If someone has ever put out such a list, I don’t think I have ever seen it. Larry Black, who produces our Country’s Family Reunion DVD’s and television shows, put together a beautiful, full-color picture book a few years ago honoring the 29 artists who had appeared on CFR and subsequently gone home to be with the Lord. I’m sure you can contact Larry at Gabriel Communications orwww.cfrvideos.com and learn more. Anybody out there know of another list??

No, not at all. I got the idea one afternoon following an argument between me and my wife. I was sitting on the sofa in my living room, leaning on the arm rest. My daughter, Terri, who was about three years old at the time, walked into the room and put her little hand on top of mine. She started patting my hand as if to say, “Everything will be all right, Daddy.” I was struck by the difference in the size of my hand and her tiny little fingers. That image was burned into my mind…so much so that I carried it out on tour with me and actually wrote the song a few nights later sitting on a loading dock outside an auditorium in Kansas.

“From This Pen” has never been released on a CD, but all the songs from that album will be on my boxed set coming out this fall….”Bill Anderson – The First Ten Years.” I don’t know about Mary Lou’s record, but you can contact her at marylouturner@hotmail.com.

I loved his music when I first heard it, and realized, like everyone else, that he was truly something unique and different. His career blossomed during my disc jockey days, and I devoted the last hour of my show every Wednesday to nothing but Elvis songs. He was that popular, and I had an audience to please. At the same time, it hurt to see some of my traditional country heroes having to suffer at the hands of this new thing called rock ‘n roll. Country records stopped selling. Concerts quit drawing fans. And even the Opry had a few tough years before the pendulum began to swing back again.

Not in the least. Conway, Porter, Dolly, Loretta…these are all unique first names that don’t require a surname for a country fan to know who they are. Bill is a pretty common name and can’t really be used like that. In recent years, though, lots of my friends and fellow artists have taken to calling me, “Whisper,” so, in a way, I guess I do have a one-word handle of sorts.

It would depend on the individual song as to why it might be done. Most of the time I would say it’s for emphasis…the writer has a particular point he or she is trying to drive home. A song like “Big Bad John,” for example, wouldn’t be nearly as effective without the constant repeating of,”Big John….Big John….Big bad John.” Some songs, like the old folk ballad, “Tragic Romance,” never have the title inside the lyric at all. Repeating certain words or phrases does not mean the songwriter was lazy. It’s just the method that particular writer chose at that particular time to try and best tell that particular story. (See how I repeat “particular” words sometimes? I guess I’m lazy!)

You’re half right regarding Jimmy Gateley. He passed away back in 1985 at the far too young age of 53. However, he was never married to Lorrie Morgan. Snuffy Miller died a couple of years ago. Jimmy Lance is still in Nashville, having played guitar with Eddy Arnold until Eddy’s death. Sonny Garrish continues to be one of the top steel guitar players in all of country music. They were each valued members of my Po’ Boys band at one time.

You cannot believe how many times I get this question…and I’ve even addressed it in this space. However, folks keep right on asking. The Opry’s official response continues to be, “We are currently on a production hiatus and plan to return to the air (soon) with new episodes.” I think they tried streaming the show a couple of times, but for some reason they have not continued to move forward in that area. Believe me, when we know anything more than this, you’ll be the first to know.

That someone will ask me a question like this and I won’t have an answer! Seriously, I don’t know if I have any one large, over-riding fear. I had a wooden ladder give ‘way beneath me when I was a teenager, so I am a little spooked by those, but overall I figure fear is a type of worry. And I believe that worry is the opposite of faith. So I choose to have faith instead.

Your question is not off base at all. There are all kinds of different ways to compose a song, but I would say that in country music, most of us write the lyrics first and let the lyrics suggest a melody. For example, if you’re telling a happy story, you want a happy sounding melody to match. And the same with a sad song. You might try finding someone in your community who is a good musician and let them match melodies to your lyrics.That happens a lot in our business.

No we didn’t. I don’t think Ferlin ever tried to write many songs, although he was a marvelous singer and a great interpreter of other people’s songs.

I could plead temporary insanity, but I won’t. Actually, it wasn’t even written as a song. We were sitting on the bus outside the auditorium where we had been booked for a concert one Sunday afternoon, and a fan offered to go get us some sandwiches. She was driving a Chevy Super Sport and told me it was a stick shift. While she was gone, I went to the back of the bus and starting making up this story where as many words as possible started with the letter “s.” When she returned, I took my writings up front and read them to the band….just trying to amuse everybody more than anything. When I got back to Nashville, just for fun I took the lyric in and read it to Buddy Killen, who was producing my records at the time.

He laughed and said, “I love it. Let’s record it.” I said, “But it’s not a song. It doesn’t even have a melody.” He walked over to his piano, started playing a few chords and said, “It’ll have one in a minute.” Sure enough, he finished the melody, and the next thing I knew we were in the studio recording it.

When I read your question, the first thing that popped into my mind was a Sunday afternoon many years ago at a place called Ponderosa Park near Salem, Ohio. There was a warm-up band onstage just before us, and as a finale to their show, they did a TRIBUTE to me! They sang about half the songs I was planning to do when I got onstage. I realized later that they were young kids who didn’t know any better, and they were trying to honor me, and looking back on it now it’s funny. But at the time, I was in no laughing mood!

It’s best to never say never, but I can’t imagine a case in which I would agree to do that. My time outside the spotlight is very precious to me, and I’ve never felt an urge or a need to share that time with the world.

Boy, that would be great, but right now we haven’t made any plans in that regard. With Brad, though, I’ve learned that some of his best moments are totally unscripted. If he should decide to show up somewhere during that weekend, he would certainly be most welcome.

My mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth Smith. She didn’t have a middle name. All her friends called her “Lib.” My dad was known as “Jim,” but his full name was James William Anderson, Jr. I am James William Anderson III.

Whoa, I never thought about it. But I can imagine that, being in Trisha’s place, I would have been intimidated too. I’ve never been a big fan of singing in front of people in the music business, and especially other singers. If I were to look out and see somebody like Merle Haggard or George Jones staring at me from the front row, I’d probably suddenly remember something I needed to go do someplace else!

Yes, I know what you mean and I get letters like yours every day. I’m not sure that drums themselves caused any changes. Western swing bands featured drums back in the forties. Rock ‘n roll was born out of a mixture of country, pop, and rhythm ‘n blues, and the more it evolved the farther it got away from its original sources. Much of what bothers you came about because many of the powers-that-be in country music wanted to try and broaden the music’s appeal. Country does have a larger audience today than ever before, but for lovers of the traditional country sound there has been a price to pay.

That’s a very good question, and one that I didn’t know the answer to. I asked my good friend and top record producer, Buddy Cannon, for this thoughts. He said, “My honest answer is that in the 60s the songwriters were writing from inspiration and there were no formulas to follow. These days there seems to be a structure template which almost everyone writing songs thinks they are obligated to follow and, no matter what they’ve said, they aren’t finished until they’ve written a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge and chorus again. I believe you should write a good idea until it’s said and then put the pencil away.” Makes sense to me.

I wrote the song in late 1962 after having seen an old girlfriend for the first time in years. When I couldn’t sleep a few nights later, I got up out of bed, went into my den, and wrote it around three o’clock in the morning. I recorded it live on December 18, 1962, but I wasn’t happy with my performance. Owen Bradley, my producer, allowed me to go back into the studio in early January and do my part again. I’m glad he did, because to this day it is my best-selling record and most requested song.

Thank you for your prayers and your concern. He is undergoing treatment for a very rare form of cancer at Vanderbilt Hospital here in Nashville. It will be a lengthy process, and unlike someone who is recovering from an injury, updates are virtually impossible to come by. When I have something to share with you, I will share it. Meanwhile, thanks for caring and for understanding.

Several of my songs are based on things inspired by my parents. Most notable among those would probably be “Mama Sang A Song.” Mom and Dad saw me perform on stage many times from the time I was fifteen-years old up until the early 2000’s when they became unable to travel.

We have hit a snag with this project that none of us anticipated. Most of the guest stars on the episodes we have are now deceased, and we’ve run into all kinds of problems in dealing with their various estates and attorneys. As much as I had hoped to release these programs, I’m not sure now that it’s going to happen. The whole situation has become extremely complicated.

Thanks. I’m glad you like it. Roger and I wrote the song riding from Nashville to San Antonio in the back seat of his old Rambler station wagon back in the early sixties. I’d love for any of the current artists to record it….George Strait, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks…anybody who would get a lot of airplay and sell a lot of records! Are you guys listening out there?

Yes, thank goodness. Songwriters get paid based on record sales and also on the number of times their song is performed publicly….such as on radio, television, and in concert. We also get paid on legal downloads, the ones that cost you something like 99-cents on the internet. We don’t get paid on the illegal downloads, however, but that’s another subject for another time.

Oh boy, that’s a tough one. I’ve been blessed with everything from beautiful hand-made quilts to blackberry-prune cakes. A lady once sent me a tin of homemade fudge for my birthday along with a note saying that in order for the fudge to reach me on time, she had to mail it before it “set.” When I opened the tin, there was a big glob of fudge stuck to the side. A soldier once sent me his green beret as a way of thanking me for the music of mine that he heard while in Vietnam. Every time a fan gives me a gift, I consider it “unique,” because I know it is something that came from their heart. And every heart is unique and special in God’s eyes and in mine.

Whoa…another potent question! I never sat down and thought about it, but Jamey Johnson, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Womack, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, and George Strait would probably be at the top of my list. And, of course, there would be others. But if I were a DJ today, I would also go back and play the classic country songs from the past right alongside the current hits. Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard and more still have lots of fans who want to hear their music but can’t.

I don’t know. I never asked him. The late Grand Ole Opry announcer, T. Tommy Cutrer, called me the same thing. I think for some people a two-syllable name just rolls of the tongue easier than a one-syllable name. I have a friend named Tim that I always call Timmy. My daughter in law, Beth, is called “Bethie” by her mom and other family members. I always thought Jimmy’s calling me that was cool though. He probably knew lots of other “Bill’s,” but I never heard him call anyone “Bill-O” except me.

I never thought about that. There used to be “answer” songs in country music quite often, such as Kitty Wells’ “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels,” which was the answer to Hank Thompson’s “Wild Side Of Life.” But sequels? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we try to say it all the first time around.

Good news. I just learned today that it will, indeed, go back to a full hour sometime in January. I hope you’ll keep right on tuning us in.

Many of the places we used to play regularly in Pennsylvania are no longer open for business. Places like Sunset Park, Williams Grove Park, Pecway Silver Mines, and Ontalaunee Park, for example, have closed. Many of the smaller fairs and firemen’s carnivals can no longer afford the high prices some acts charge. The good news is that we will be coming back to the Americana Theater in Lancaster, Pa., on April 30th of next year. Details are on the Tour page atwww.billanderson.com.

No, I didn’t. Perhaps I’ll get to meet Paul or Ringo someday. I’ve often had people tell me they think Paul and I look somewhat alike. Poor guy.

Lots of things…in fact, far too many for me to mention here. I suggest you contact the Nashville Visitors Bureau which you can do online at www.visitmusiccity.com. or via a toll free phone number…1-800-657-6910. I think you’ll find these folks to be very helpful in pointing you toward your areas of interest. We’re sure looking forward to having lots of our fans and friends in town and hope you’ll take advantage of all that Music City has to offer.

There is an organization called the Nashville Songwriters Association, International, that offers both advice and assistance to prospective songwriters. I suggest you contact them. Their address is www.nashvillesongwriters.com. Good luck.

Actually, I have hosted two network game shows during my career. The first was on ABC-TV in l977-’78 called “The Better Sex.” I co-hosted that particular series of shows with Sarah Purcell. Later, I hosted a country music trivia show on The Nashville Network called “Fandango.” That show aired from 1983 to 1989. I enjoyed both experiences very much.

When you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you accumulate a long list of things like these, and it’s hard to narrow it down to one or two instances. But the first thing that came to my mind regarding “shocking” was the night the woman in Dayton, Ohio, came onstage while I was singing “Still” and began to remove her clothes. Fortunately, a policeman was nearby, and came and removed HER!

And the first thing I thought of under “kindest thing” was the Sunday afternoon at Sunset Park, Pennsylvania, when a lady asked me to autograph her Bible. I pulled her aside and explained to her that I had a policy of never autographing Bibles or American flags. I just didn’t feel it was the proper thing to do. Big ole tears welled up in her eyes and she said, “But this is my family Bible. It is the most special thing I have in my life. It has the names of all my family members and has been handed down for generations. Your music is so special to me that I feel like you’re like a member of my family. That’s why I want you to sign it.” I took my pen and wrote my name. What greater compliment could I have been paid?

Thank you. I can’t think of any one specific thing other than to say I’d like to be able to continue down this marvelous road I’ve been on for a little while longer. I still have some songs I want to write, another book or two I’d like to try and put together, and people I’d still like to entertain. Believe it or not, there’s still a few places I haven’t been and a mountain or two I have yet to climb. As long as I’m blessed with the health to stay at it, that’s what I hope to do.

The Opry’s first performance was in November of 1925, so we’ll be celebrating the show’s 85th birthday this fall. Every show during those 85-years has been broadcast on WSM radio. The Opry was first televised in the fifties, and has been on and off televison throughout the years. It is currently not televised on a regular basis.

I started making up songs when I was ten or eleven years old, so I’d guess I had written quite a few. Only three of them, however, had been recorded. Songwriting is not something that you roll out of bed one morning and start doing successfully. It often takes writing lots of bad ones before you learn enough to write a good one.

My manager is Lee Willard, who started nine years ago as my tour manager and worked his way on up. My agent is Nick Meinema with The Agency Group in Toronto.

This has probably been my most asked question over the past few months. No, she is not my wife, but a professional actress from Florida named Cindy Hogan.

Wow, I never thought about that before. I guess right now I’d just like to think that I will be remembered….period. As my friend Mac Wiseman sang many years ago, “Tis Sweet To Be Remembered.”

To be honest, neither one. I haven’t had time to work on improving my cooking skills, but I’m not big on carry-out either. I manage to make a pretty decent breakfast in the mornings, and I try to eat my major meal of the day at noontime. That usually means in a restaurant near Music Row if I’m writing, or nearby if I’m working in my office. I can whip up some pasta or a pretty good salad when I get home at night, and grill some salmon or chicken to put on top. You can look at my waistline and tell I’m not starving!

The leasing company had another bus and driver come to Branson to retrieve us. (The damaged bus was towed back home by a wrecker.) I don’t know about the ghosts, but it sure sounds suspicious, doesn’t it?

I get questions like this all the time, and the only answer I have for any of them is to tell folks to check the Tour page on our web site from time to time. New concert dates are always being booked, and as soon as they are confirmed, they are posted there. Right now, nothing is scheduled for either Mesquite or Bakersfield, but I know from past experience that could change by the end of the day.

Jimmy worked with me (and Jan) for thirteen years and was certainly a vital part of all our concert dates. He was also a prolific songwriter, “The Minute You’re Gone” for Sonny James, and “Alla My Love’ for Webb Pierce being among his hits. I had not thought of doing a tribute to him (I assume by “tribute” that you mean recording some of his songs), but I appreciate the suggestion.

That’s something else I get asked a lot, and I have so many great Opry memories that it’s always hard to single out any one as being the “favorite.” One that always comes to mind, though, was the night years ago at the Ryman when my mom and dad were in the audience. I did “Mama Sang A Song,” and received a standing ovation. The look on my mom’s face at that moment will stay with me forever.

Yes, including some local entertainers in the areas where I was living at the time. In Columbia, South Carolina, I idolized a local radio performer named Byron Parker, and listened to him and his band every day on my dad’s little radio. In Atlanta it was James & Martha Carson, Tommy Trent, Bill Lowery, Bob Corley, and others. When I got to Nashville, I opened shows for George Morgan, Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, and Johnny Cash . I was inspired and influenced by them all.

Yep, that comes up in nearly every interview that I do, and the answer is always the same. The name was hung on me back in the late sixties by the comedian on my syndicated television show, Don Bowman. By the way, I heard recently that Don is not in good health. He made lots of us laugh over the years. I hope you’ll keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

You’re right. And it would probably win a CMA Award… “Comedy Record of the Year!” Thanks for your suggestion, but don’t hold your breath. It ain’t gonna happen.

I had just turned fifteen when I sang in public for the first time. It was in a high school talent show. No, none of my family has been in the entertainment field up to now, but I’ve got at least one granddaughter…and maybe two…who appear to be heading in that direction.

I think the first show was in 2001, and I devoted both my first and my second show to the music and the life of Chet Atkins. He had only recently passed away, and I had several guests on each show who came to talk about him. They included Boots Randolph, Steve Wariner, Jerry Reed, Danny Davis of the Nashville Brass, Bobby Bare, and many others.

We don’t have any overseas tours on the books right now, but that can always change. Now that our Country’s Family Reunion shows are on television in the U.K., we are getting quite a few requests to come over. I always enjoyed my visits there in the past and would look forward to returning. Thanks for asking.

I can’t speak for Little Jim, but I try to never say “never” about anything. Cruises can be a lot of fun, and if the right opportunity were to present itself, I’m sure I would enjoy going on another one.

I don’t know how “hilarious” it is, but me and Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Jamey Johnson and a cast of thousands are cutting up while Darryl tries to sing a song called “Don’t Show Up If You Can’t Get Down.” It’s on his new CD, “Sounds Like Life.” It was a lot of fun being in the studio with that bunch of clowns.

I wish I had some good news in that regard, but I really don’t. At this point in time, nobody seems to be interested in putting such a set together.. Someday, perhaps, I’ll just take the bull by the horns and do it myself.

Jan and I do sing together from time to time at the Opry and we work the occasional road show together. I don’t foresee our ever becoming an “act” again, however, because of our many individual commitments. The good news is that she and I remain the best of friends.

Thank you. We’ve had a lot of fun putting them together. I’ve been told that if we can get commitments from several of the major stars who have not yet appeared with us on the series that we will record some new shows in January, 2010. Meantime, be looking for some live on-stage Family Reunion shows at the RFD Theater in Branson beginning in November.

Yes I do. I have tried to save copies of all my own records, the recordings made of songs I have written, and records that I simply enjoy listening to. I have a lot of old recordings that have been re-mastered and re-issued on CD’s as well as a large collection of current music. My tastes run from country to bluegrass to gospel to jazz. You’ll find it all on my shelves..

I guess my favorite flowers are roses, but this time of year in Tennessee, it’s hard to not be partial to azaleas. They are so pretty right now. What kind of flower would I be? Probably a “blooming idiot!”

Of course I do. When I don’t have to be on stage or in a business meeting of some kind, I dress for comfort. And like my old song says, I’m not afraid to “get a little dirt on my hands.”

Yes, I sing around the house, in the car, exercising, shopping, and virtually any other place I happen to be. Sometimes I’ll be singing or humming the tune to a new song I’ve written, other times something I’ve heard on the radio. Often I sing and don’t even realize what I’m singing….like the time I got strange looks walking through the grocery store singing, “I was born a coal miner’s daughter….”

I am hoping to get back into the recording studio this summer and record a new album. I’m also hoping to make a new song available for downloading before then. Stay tuned.

Thank you, but you don’t miss them nearly as much as I do. I hope to be able to do some new ones at some point, but I have no idea just when that might be. Meantime, you can still catch some of our re-runs on the weekends.

Thanks. Me too. I can’t think of any life I would rather have lived than my own. I have been most richly blessed.

I recorded it once, but the record company chose to not release it. I sing it on stage quite often and tease that it’s the worst song I ever wrote. I think a lot of people agree! I may give it another shot in the recording studio one of these days. But don’t hold your breath!

I have three children, two daughters and a son. They have blessed me with a total of seven grandchildren (so far!), four girls and three boys. I am not married at the present time. A few pictures are below. I’ll have the rest of them for you next time.

Les, the guitar player in my band since 1981, has not been on tour with us since August, 2008. First it was a case of shingles and then surgery to repair a hernia. He is still not feeling up to par, and is undergoing more tests. The doctor has allowed him to return to the Opry, but has not yet cleared him to travel.

Both of my former singing partners are still active in the music business. Mary Lou lives and performs in Branson, Missouri, and Jan is still a regular on the Grand Ole Opry.

Travel has been such a big part of my life for so long now that I’d probably go stir crazy if I had to stay in one place all the time. Sure, I miss home, and I’m always glad to get back. I think striking the proper balance between the two is the answer.

I guess it’s a little of both. I couldn’t write about things that I was totally unfamiliar with, but if I had lived every song I’ve written, I’d be 400-years old and extremely tired by now.