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Ask Bill – January 3, 2023

1) You sang your song, “Peel Me A ‘Nanner” on the Opry recently, and included a verse that Roy Drusky did not sing on his recording of the song. Did you write it later? And have you made significant changes to any songs you wrote after they were recorded…other than adding a child to “Wild Weekend” after J-Bird was born?

So far as I recall, I wrote that third verse at the same time I wrote the other two verses, but for some reason Roy…or his producer…chose to not include it when they cut the song. Back in those days (mid-60’s), an artist would get more airplay the shorter a record was. Roy’s cut came in under two minutes, and the DJ’s played the fire out of it. I don’t recall any significant changes I might have made to any other songs, but there may well have been some I’ve forgotten about.

2) I have a bunch of your albums and CD’s, and I was wondering how many #1 hits you have had. And which song was your last #1 hit?

Oh boy, you are opening quite a can of worms here. Back in the day when I was having hit records, there were three national country charts published every week. One was in Billboard magazine, one in CashBox magazine, and one in a publication called Record World. These charts would generally reflect the same overall musical trends, but they were seldom identical. A record might be #1 in CashBox and only #5 in Billboard. Or vice versa. No one chart was considered “official.”

Over the years, Billboard kept track of their charts the best, and eventually became the source the industry trusted…partly because the other magazines went out of business and their charts and methodology were lost. If you go by Billboard, I have had 7 #1 records, but if you also include CashBox and Record World, I’ve have had between 15 and 20. In Billboard, I have also had 9 records that reached #2, most of which went #1 somewhere else.

According to Billboard, my last #1 hit was “Sometimes” with Mary Lou Turner in 1975. According to other publications my last #1 was in 1978 with “I Can’t Wait Any Longer.” Now is it clear as mud?

3) What is your biggest regret in your career?

When you’ve had a career as blessed as mine, it’s hard to look back and regret anything. Any regrets I might have would be so few and so insignificant compared to my blessings that they are hardly worth mentioning. So I don’t think I will.

Our Question Of The Month comes from Lori in Alabama: My husband and I love you and your music, but he lost his hearing 10-years ago. We watch Country’s Family Reunion and Larry’s Country Diner, and he likes to watch music videos. But none of your music videos are captioned. Could you maybe caption your videos so that he can enjoy them?

Nobody has ever brought that up to me before, and I appreciate it. My last two videos, “It’s A Good Day (To Have A Good Day)” and “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” with Dolly Parton, were both released in a lyric video format with the words to the songs printed on the screen. You might try checking those out on my website or on YouTube. And I’ll certainly stay aware of your request for any future videos I might put out. Thanks for the suggestion.

Quickies: Are you related to any Anderson’s in California or Washington? Not that I know of. A few of my Anderson kinfolks got as far west as east Texas, but that’s about it. Did you write “Peanuts & Diamonds?” It is right up there with “Golden Guitar” as my favorite of all the songs I’ve heard you sing. Well you picked two songs that I did not write! But I’m glad you like them. Bobby Braddock wrote “Peanuts & Diamonds.” Do you prefer to write by yourself or with others? I enjoy both and feel blessed to be able to do both. Do you have a favorite co-writer? If I did, I wouldn’t mention it here because I’d make all the other co-writers mad! And from England: Did you ever meet Ken Dodd? Yes, I did, and for our American friends, Ken is the British artist who popularized several of my songs in the UK, including “Still,” “8×10”, and “Happiness.” He came to see me once when I was performing ln Liverpool, and it was a great honor to meet him. He was an icon in your country long before he was dubbed Sir Ken Dodd. I treasure the memory of our shaking hands and sharing a few laughs. I am 86-years old and my DVD’s of Country’s Family Reunion are such a blessing. Will there ever be more? I’m glad you enjoy them, but right now I don’t see any new ones on the horizon. I try to never say “never,” but that’s the way it looks here in early 2023.

Thanks for another bunch of great questions. Like always, I have a few left over for next month, but don’t let that keep you from sending yours. You can write to me at askbill@billanderson.com and I’ll try to respond to whatever is on your mind. Remember our Question Of The Month earns the sender a free copy of any merchandise item from our online store. See you back here in February.

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Ask Bill – June 1, 2023

1) When they make shows or movies about country artists such as George & Tammy, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash, do you watch them? Or is it hard because you knew them in real life and maybe have a sense of what is real and what is fiction when it comes to their stories?

I do try to watch most of them, but sometimes it’s a bit difficult to swallow the Hollywood version of what I know really took place. Admittedly, some stick closer to the facts than others. I recall asking Hank Williams’ longtime steel guitar player, Don Helms, what he thought of the first movie about his former boss, “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” when it initially came out back in the sixties. He replied, “It’s all right if you like fiction.” In a way that pretty much sums up the overall genre for me.

2) Do you ever visit the cemetery to pay respect to some of your friends from the music business?

I don’t make a habit of hanging out in cemeteries, but, yes, I do visit the final resting places of some of my friends from time to time. It’s a bit difficult, though, because many of them are not buried in Nashville. And even among those who are, they are not interred in any one specific location. You can spend an entire day driving from one cemetery to another and still not get to them all.

3) In the 80’s there was a PBS series that used your recording, “Ride Off In The Sunset,” at the beginning and end of each episode. Do you know if the song was written specifically for that program or was it just chosen as the theme?

I never knew exactly how that particular recording got selected as the theme song to the series, “Six Gun Heroes,” but I’m glad that it did. I couldn’t believe the tremendous reaction I got from it. People who never heard of Bill Anderson became acquainted with me through those programs. Curly Putman and Bobby Braddock didn’t write the song specifically for the show, but it was a stroke of good fortune for us all when it was chosen.

4) Our Question Of The Month comes from Dave in California: One night during the Stump The Band segment of his show, Johnny Carson called the song you wrote for Jean Shepard in 1974 called, “At The Time,” the worst song he had ever heard. Did you ever get an apology from him? Or did you consider it a backhanded compliment that you got mentioned on his show?

I was a big Johnny Carson fan, and I happened to be watching the night someone in his audience tried to stump the band with my song. The man chose one of the “comparison” lines in the song…”If you’ve never had filet mignon..peanut butter tastes just fine”….or “If you’ve never been to Paris, France…Big Spring, Texas will suit you fine”….and Johnny went ballistic. He screamed, “That’s the worst song I have EVER heard!” as the audience roared. I got a big kick out of it and never asked for, nor did I expect, an apology. He didn’t mention my name, but I wouldn’t have cared. I don’t embarrass easily. Hey, I wrote “Peel Me A ‘Nanner,” too, remember??

Quickies: Do you have any plans to return to Commerce, Georgia, anytime soon? We love you here! And I love Commerce, too. I call it my “adopted hometown,” and I try to get back there as often as I can. Hopefully, I can arrange another visit sometime soon. Many years ago I had the pleasure of meeting you at a PoFolks Restaurant in San Diego. Do you know whatever happened to that wonderful chain of restaurants? Sadly, the chain filed for bankrupcty protection back in the mid-90’s. Only a few of the stores remain open, mostly in the panhandle area of Florida. I’d love to bite into one of those big fluffy biscuits ‘n cream gravy right about now! You and Jeannie Seely often appear on the Grand Ole Opry on the same nights. Have you ever considered doing some of the duets each of you has recorded at some time? I assume you mean the duets Jeannie sang with Jack Greene and the ones I recorded with Jan Howard and Mary Lou Turner. We’ve never talked about it, but it might be fun to try sometime. Why did you only record one record with the Swanee label, and why is the picture on the back of your new CD different from the back of the original LP? Swanee didn’t stay in business long enough for me to do more than the one album. We couldn’t find the negative from the original picture on the back cover, so we used the closest thing we could find. And before I sign off here, I was wrong last month when I wrote that my recording of “Suppertime” was never released on a compact disc. A label in the U.K. called Fat Boy Records released it on a CD titled, “I Wonder If God Likes Country Music.” Thanks to several of you for pointing that out.

And thanks, too, for sending in lots of interesting questions this month. If you’re curious about something connected my career or to country music in general you can ask me about it at AskBill@BillAnderson.com and I’ll do my best to answer. Submit our Question of the Month and win free merchandise from our online store. See you back here again in July.

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Ask Bill – May 1, 2023

1) I have heard you worked with Ferlin Husky in your early days, and I wonder what it was like working with him. He seemed like a real character.

He truly was that! Ferlin’s publicity referred to him as the “Star of Any Stage He Steps On,” and he was that as well. Whether he was singing one of his million-sellers like “Wings Of A Dove” or “Gone”….or tickling the audience’s funny-bone as his alter-ego, Simon Crum…there wasn’t anybody in country music who could follow him onstage back in his heyday. I learned so much just standing in the wings watching him entertain, and he helped me so much personally. When he saw that I was having trouble accepting him and other artists impersonating me, he pulled me aside and said, “If you weren’t different, there wouldn’t be anything to impersonate,” and “If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t give you the publicity!” Ferlin was one of my true heroes. I’m so glad I got to be a small part of his life during his primo years.

2) What country song do you believe to be the best song to capture the essence of country music?

Almost everyone says that “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is the perfect country song, and it’s hard to disagree with that. But again, like so many things in life, the “best” is often in the eyes and ears of the beholder. Country music is certainly about love, but it’s also about trains and trucks and Mama and home and prison and beer and dogs and peeling bananas and Jesus and just about anything else you can think of. I’ll say the “best” one is the one that best reaches out and touches your heart.

3) This is purely hypothetical, but if I were watching a Malpass Brothers performance on a cruise ship and I requested “Tips Of My Fingers,” and they sang it, are they obligated to slip you some royalty cash the next time you have lunch with them? Do you ever extend to friends the offer to freely perform your songs?

Once a song is licensed and out on the market, anyone can perform it on stage at any time. The writer is compensated through whichever performing rights society he or she is affiliated with. In my case, that would be BMI. The Malpass boys wouldn’t be obligated to pay me anything, but I’d be glad to let them buy me lunch!

Our Question Of The Month comes from Deb in Missouri: I just finished reading a book about Roger Miller. When he was awarded all those Grammy’s back in ’64 and ’65, some categories sounded the same to me. For “King Of The Road” and “Dang Me”, he won for SINGLE of the year and then for RECORD of the year. What makes them separate categories.?

I had our folks do some serious searching on this question because I didn’t understand the difference myself. It turns out that Roger won country music Grammy’s in 1964 for Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Male Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and as Best New Artist. There was no such category as Record of the Year. Evidently, the book you were reading was in error.

Quickies: Have you ever recorded “Suppertime” on an album? I recorded it on an album that was only released on a cassette tape if you can believe that. The collection was called Yesteryear, and it was so obscure that up until recently I didn’t even have a copy myself. But, thankfully, I finally found one. Did you ever write any songs with Mel Tillis? No, because back in the day we were affiliated with different publishing companies and they wouldn’t split copyrights. I would love to have written with Mel. One of my favorite singers was James O’Gwynn. Did you know him and do many shows with him? I knew him and, in 1962, wrote one of his biggest hits, “My Name Is Mud.” I worked with him a couple of times on the Louisiana Hayride where he once let me borrow his guitar. It was one of the best sounding Martin’s that I’ve ever heard. You wrote a song, “You Lied To Me” that Tracy Byrd recorded. Did you ever record it. If not, why? Charlie Walker had the first record on that song, Tracy had the second, and Charley Pride recorded it in his final album. I never recorded it, but I’ve sung it on the Opry several times, once with Tracy. No real reason why I’ve never cut it…maybe I will someday. Do you know what happened to the inventory of LPs from Lawrence Brothers Record Shop that used to be on Broadway near the Ryman? I have no idea. Anybody?

So many good questions this month I couldn’t get to them all. If you have one, send it to me at askbill@billanderson.com and I’ll answer as soon and as best as I can. If yours is chosen Question Of The Month, you’ll receive any item of your choice from our online store absolutely free. Let me hear from you, and I’ll see you back here again in June.

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Ask Bill – April 3, 2023

1) I always wondered when artists are on the road in a bus who pays for what? When pulling over into a truck stop, does each person pay for his own meal? Who buys the water for the bus? The toilet paper? And even coffee and the other essentials of life?

This probably varies from artist to artist and bus to bus, but in my case I always supplied the bottles of drinking water, the ice to keep it cold, the paper towels, the toilet paper, and other basic essentials. The band members were responsible for their own meals, their own personal items (toothpaste, etc.) and their own individual cups of coffee. If we made a pot of coffee, which in our case was seldom, I furnished that. There are no set rules and, like I said, it probably varies from group to group.

2) You said you planned to read a lot while recovering from your surgery. What kinds of books do you like? I’m just wondering because I am an avid reader too.

If you were to look at the bookshelves in my house you would definitely wonder what kind of an idiot lives there. I read the widest range of books imaginable. I like mysteries, humor, biographies, books on history and current events, sports…almost anything that is well written, informative, and entertaining. I have a very large collection of books written by and about my friends in country music, many of which are personally autographed to me and highly treasured. Although I enjoy reading at any point during the day, I do most of my reading at night before going to sleep. I find it’s a great way to relax and de-stress from the events of the day.

3) What was it like recording a combination of country music and disco on your “Ladies Choice” album? Has anyone ever described you as the Barry White of country music?

Yes, they have, and I take that as a compliment. Barry White was a great communicator. It was my idea to see if country music melodies would mesh with disco rhythms, and along with my record producer at the time, Buddy Killen, we discovered that they would. I’ve never been afraid to try different things with my music, and I saw the country/disco merger as a challenge. People either seemed to love what we did or they didn’t like it at all. There wasn’t a lot of middle ground. Frankly, if I could go back to that time in my career, I would probably try to ride that horse a little longer. It might have been interesting to see just where it would have taken me.

4) Our Question Of The Month comes from Chris in Wisconsin:  “My question to you is what makes someone a legend? A pioneer in the industry? The years in the industry? The number of hits by an artist? Why are some country singers called legends and some are not?”

That’s a great question. I just wish I had a great answer. In fact, I’m not sure there even is an answer. I would say, though, that it’s a combination of the things you mentioned above mixed in with factors that are far less tangible…things like charisma, originality, uniqueness. Even the dictionary has a hard time pinning it down. Mr. Webster says a legend is “one who achieves legendary fame.” I think we all knew that! I would say that a legend is quite possibly defined in the eyes and ears and minds of the beholder. A legend to one person is not necessarily a legend to another. Do you agree?

Quickies: Is there a celebrity you really want to meet or record with? There probably is, but at the moment I can’t think of who it might be. Hey, when you’ve recorded with everyone from Dolly Parton to David Alan Coe, there’s not a lot of uncharted water remaining. Have you ever recorded with BRELAND or with Jeannie Seely? Jeannie, yes, BRELAND, no. When people have been nominated for a Grammy, who votes or determines the winner? The members of The Recording Academy. How did you come up with the song, “Unicorn?” I did not write that song. Shel Silverstein did, and he was a creative genius. Did you write “Slippin’ Away” for Jean Shepard and, if not, how did she come to record it? And when you wrote it, which came first the lyrics or the catchy melody? I seldom write songs for a particular artist. In this case, I think Jean’s producer, Larry Butler, heard the song and thought it would be good for her. I started composing the song with the lyric first, which I usually do, and let the lyric “suggest” the melody. And before I sign off here, the vast majority of you agreed that “Tips” of my fingers is correct rather than “Tip” of my fingers. Thanks for your input…it was fun hearing from you.

If you have a question you’d like for me to try and answer, send it to me at askbill@billanderson.com and I’ll give it my best shot. If yours is chosen our Question Of The Month, you will win any item from our online store free of charge. Put your curiosity cap on, and we’ll see you back here again next month.