Ask Bill – June 1, 2020
1) My question to you is how big of a part does gospel music play in your shows? Meaning do you include gospel music in each concert you do?
It’s been so long since we’ve done a live concert that I almost don’t remember. But, seriously, yes, I always try to include a gospel song. I don’t do a gospel segment as such, but I include “Mama Sang A Song,” in virtually all my shows and close most of my shows with “I Saw The Light.” If I have requests for other gospel songs, and if time allows, I’m more than happy to sing them as well.
2) I watched the Ray Price tribute you did, and I notice you wear your watch on your right wrist. Are you left-handed? You play the guitar right-handed. Just curious.
Yes, I am totally left-handed…and right-brained! The only thing I do right-handed is play the guitar. I only do that because when I was teaching myself to play, I couldn’t find any chord books for left-handers. My first inclination was to play it left-handed, but I knew I’d have to turn it around if I were ever going to learn. And so I did.
3) In your career you have primarily focused on singing and songwriting. But have you ever had an occasion where you had and accepted an offer to do something professionally that you never in your wildest dreams ever expected to do? And, if so, how did it turn out? And did you continue doing it?
Oh, yes. I never imagined myself as a contestant on and/or a host of a television game show…and in my very wildest dreams I never imagined I would appear on a TV soap opera. Those opportunities both came my way back in the late 70s and early 80s, though, and I took advantage of them, primarily because I knew I would regret it someday if I didn’t. How did they turn out? Well, let’s just say I haven’t been asked back to any of the soaps, but I continue to get game show hosting opportunities. In fact, if the pandemic calms down a bit, I plan to host a new game show pilot in July. Will it continue beyond there? Stay tuned.
4) And a few questions that require only short answers: Will you make a movie about your life? Do you have any CDs of you and Jan Howard singing together? What is your favorite restaurant in the Nashville area – one the tourists don’t know about? And when our country opens back up, what is the first thing you are going to do?
No, I won’t make a movie about my life. Somebody else might, but I won’t. Unfortunately, none of my and Jan’s albums were ever released on CD. If I tell you my favorite restaurant that the tourists don’t know about, then they’ll know about it. But ok…it’s a place called The Yellow Porch. And the first thing I’m going to do as soon as I can is go hug all the people I’ve missed hugging while we’ve been socially distancing. And the second thing I’m going to do is go hug them all again!!
Thanks for your questions. You can always send them to me at askbill@billanderson.com
or to P. O. Box 888, Hermitage, TN. 37076, and I’ll answer as best as I can. Send me yours, and I’ll see you back here in July.
