Ask Bill – August 3, 2026
1) Bill, I am such a fan of you and your music! I know you like gospel music like I do. Have you written any gospel songs that other country artists have recorded? Oh yes…a whole bunch of them. Not counting “Mama Sang A Song,” which was covered in the early 60’s by Walter Brennan, Stan Kenton, and many more, one of the first was “A Great, Great Day” by the Oak Ridge Boys back in the early 70’s. It was their final gospel single prior to their seeking a career in country music. Later, when they released a gospel album, I won my only Dove Award for co-writing (with Tia Sellers) their recording of “Jonah, Job, & Moses.” Jerry Salley and I co-wrote a #1 bluegrass gospel hit last year called, “Go Spread The Gospel,” recorded by Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers. The most recent gospel song I’ve had released is one called “God Is Great God Is Good” by Moe Bandy.
2) I wrote you a couple of years ago to see if you remembered a concert promoter in Virginia and the Carolinas named Carlton Haney and you did. When he would book four or five of you on one show back in the 60’s, and the admission prices were so low, how much money did each act make? I’m not trying to be nosy, just curious. Go ahead and be nosy…it’s all right. I don’t remember the actual figures that we got paid back in those days, but it wasn’t very much when you consider the expenses we incurred hiring a band, buying and maintaining a tour bus, having fancy show-clothes custom tailored for ourselves and our groups, paying commissions to a booking agent, a fee to our managers, and the like. Not all the acts on those shows made the same amount, but I’d say the average fee was probably in the neighborhood of $1250 to $1500. That’s a mighty long way from what the country stars are raking in today!
3) I know you are a big baseball fan as am I. There is talk that major league baseball may expand to two more cities, and Nashville has been mentioned. I was thinking a good team name would be the “Brakemen,” in honor of Jimmie Rodgers. What do you think? I think the chances of that happening are somewhere between slim and none. We might get a team someday, and, hopefully, we will, but it will not be named in honor of Jimmie Rodgers. He had no connection to Nashville other than being one of the first three people elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was from Mississippi, and his career flourished long before songs were being written and recorded in Music City. He probably performed here at some point but that’s about all.
4) Our Question Of The Month comes from Scott in Illinois and it brings back some good memories: “I never went to the Opryland theme park, but what was your opinion of it? I read often where people loved it and miss it.” You’d be hard pressed to find a native Nashvillian, or even a longtime resident of our city, who won’t tell you that the closing of Opryland USA tore out a piece of their heart. The park opened in the early 70’s and closed in 1997 when the powers-that-be decided our town needed an indoor shopping mall more than it needed one of the greatest outdoor family attractions in the country. The park offered rides, shows, food, and more in a clean, wholesome environment. For parents with young kids, it was the greatest babysitter in the world. Many’s the morning I’d drop my children and their friends off when the gates swung open and not see them again until the sun went down. I knew they were safe, entertained, and well taken care of. As a performer, it was so much fun to do shows in the park…both live shows and television programs during the Nashville Network days. We knew we were entertaining folks who had come to Nashville from all over the globe. My opinion in four words? I miss it terribly!
Quickies: Who was the first artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame? Has anyone ever said no? Can an artist be removed? There were three inductees into the Hall of Fame’s first class back in 1961: Hank Williams, songwriter Fred Rose, and the aforementioned Jimmie Rodgers. I don’t know of anyone who has ever turned down a chance to be inducted, and I’ve never heard of anyone being removed once they were part of the HOF family. Were you at the Opry the night Onie Wheeler passed away on stage? Also, can you tell us how Onie’s daughter, Karen Wheeler, is doing? No, I was on tour the night that Onie, who was Roy Acuff’s featured harmonica player, died (May 26, 1984) during an Opry performance. I’m almost glad that I wasn’t there, because I was such an Onie Wheeler fan. I loved his songwriting and his unique vocal stylings. He was only 62 at the time of his passing. I am told that his daughter, Karen, a beautiful lady and fine singer herself, is not in good health and is not singing or performing these days. I have been a fan of yours since you started, and was wondering how many songs of yours you have recorded. I know there are many. I’d like to know the number myself, but truthfully, I don’t. I tell folks I’ve been too busy writing and recording them to stop and count! I think most country music fans are familiar with the phrase, “Nashville Sound.” It seems that Chet Atkins is usually considered on the major forces of that sound. Did he impact your records, especially the early ones? Chet Atkins was one of the two “architects” of the Nashville Sound back in the late 50’s and early 60’s…the other being Owen Bradley. Chet produced records for RCA Victor and Owen for Decca. I was signed by Owen in 1958, and he produced everything I recorded for the better part of 20-years. Chet produced several of my songs by his RCA artists including Jim Reeves, The Browns, Eddy Arnold and others, but he did not ever “impact” any of my own recordings. Thank you for writing, “Give It Away.” It was one of my late father’s favorite songs. What inspired you to write it? Don’t give me all the credit for creating that song. It was a three-way co-write between me, Buddy Cannon, and Jamey Johnson. Jamey was going through a divorce at the time, and he came up with the original idea. Buddy came up with the idea for a “talking section” in the song, and I went out and got coffee for everybody. I’m glad to know that your dad liked it. I was lucky enough to be at the Opry for your 65th anniversary. My favorite moment was when you and Mary Lou sang, “Sometimes.” I was just wondering when the last time was that you had sung “Sometimes” together and if you had ever performed together on the Opry. Mary Lou was part of my touring group for seven years in the late 70’s and early 80’s, so we performed on the Opry together many times during those years. The last time we sang “Sometimes” prior to my 65th anniversary was in 2025 at my 64th. I have enjoyed several of your military and patriotic-themed songs through the years. Did you ever appear on any of the radio shows sponsored by the Armed Forces such as “Country Music Time” or “Country Hoedown?” I did many of those shows which were used as recruiting tools for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Sometime I took my band into the studio to record those shows, and sometimes they just played our records. The shows must have been effective, because they were in production in one format or another for quite a few years. Who would you love to record a song with if you could choose anyone? Dolly Parton. Ooops, I just did that, didn’t I? Who else? Golly, I really don’t know. I have recently written a song about an older country singer having a conversation with a younger one. I’d like to record that with the right young artist someday. It’s a pretty interesting piece of material.
And with that, I need to “Ride Off In The Sunset,” which was an interesting piece of material as well. Thanks for all your questions this time, and we’ll do it again in September. Tell me what you’re curious about by writing me at askbill@billanderson.com and I’ll do my best to respond. If yours is chosen our Question Of The Month, you’ll receive any item of merchandise you’d like from our online store absolutely FREE! Let me hear from you, and I’ll see you next time.
