February 1 2021

February 1, 2021

Hi Gang:

It’s hard to believe that it was one year ago this month that I played my last show on the road…in Wittenburg, Wisconsin, February 9, 2020. The night before we had performed in Wisconsin Dells, and we stayed over after the show because Wittenburg was not that far away. We didn’t count on the fact that eight inches of snow was going to fall while we slept.

We plowed through it on our tour bus the next morning, arrived in time to set up and do a sound check, but I told everybody we’d be playing to a bunch of empty seats. “Nobody is going to come out in this weather,” I said. Imagine my surprise when every seat in the theater was full. I’ve said it for years – country fans are the best fans in the world! And I miss every one of you!

We haven’t been back out on tour, but quite a few things have been going on just the same. The Grand Ole Opry has decided that they will celebrate my 60th anniversary as an Opry member on Saturday night July 17th, and here’s hoping things will be such that a whole bunch of you can come celebrate with us. Dan Rogers, the Opry manager, told me he did some research and the typical 60th anniversary gift is the diamond. I told him he could give me the diamond at Yankee Stadium!

The Country Music Hall of Fame has also confirmed with us that the Bill Anderson Exhibit, which was originally scheduled to open in 2020, is still on the books for a November 19th opening in 2021. Again, hopefully by then we’ll all feel freer to travel about, and I’ll look forward to seeing many of you at what promises to be one of the true highlights of my life and my career. The exhibit is scheduled to run until March, 2023.

With thoughts toward putting the pandemic in my rear view mirror, I had my first COVID vaccine shot January 12th, and I’m scheduled for my second February 9th. The biggest problem I ran into was all the other 75 and 80-year old drivers out getting their vaccinations on the same day. Most of them probably hadn’t driven in at least a year, and the parking lot resembled bumper cars at the county fair. Nobody could park straight, and a few could barely see over their steering wheels. I told someone I might survive the virus, but I wasn’t too sure I’d survive the ride home!

Many of you continue to reach out and ask what you can do to help get Country’s Family Reunion back on the air at RFD-TV, and my answer is nothing. Unless something unforeseen happens, I don’t think those shows will ever be on broadcast television again. The good news is that you can still stream the episodes on Country Roads TV and, of course, many of you have the DVD’s you have collected over the years. Just enjoy those…for the good times.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful responses my family and I have received in regard to the news I shared last month about my grandson, Gabe, and his upcoming bone marrow transplant. Many of you tell me you have ordered and are wearing the Team Gabe shirts, and we appreciate your support more than you know. Since we last visited, the timetable for Gabe’s procedure has been moved forward into May in order to allow time for him to have a series of radiation treatments that the doctors feel will greatly enhance his chances of never having his cancer return. Those treatments will begin Feb. 8th and could last for up to eight weeks. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks so much for your prayers and your concern.

Elsewhere in my personal world, my son, Jamey, has been called back to work at Delta Air Lines where he will begin training to pilot the 737 airplane in April. My grandson, Blake’s, high school basketball team currently has a season record of 16-3, and will soon be headed into tournament play. Last I checked, Blake is the leading rebounder on the team and #2 in scoring. Due to COVID restrictions, I’ve had to watch most of his games via streaming. I’m just sad that this is his final season.

I hope each of you will continue to stay safe, stay well, and stay in touch. And remember it’s always a good day to have a good day!!

Thanks for everything….

From Bill

April 1, 2021

Hi Gang:

I tried to come up with a good April Fool’s joke to start off this month’s newsletter, but I couldn’t think of a thing. So none of what you are about to read is made up…it’s all true. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Thanks for joining us.

And thanks to all who checked in following our severe Music City weather last week just to make sure my family and I were all right. The bottom floor of my office was flooded, but other than that we’re all fine. Lots of damage in our town, though. Between tornadoes, bombings, and floods, it seems that for the past year Nashville has been in the cross-hairs of bad luck. Hopefully, things will change soon.

I told you in our last newsletter that I had a big announcement that I couldn’t make until March 24th, and many of you wrote in trying to guess what it might be. Nobody guessed correctly.

By now, though, many of you have heard that my song and Connie Smith’s 1964 recording of “Once A Day” has been selected by the Library of Congress in Washington for induction into the National Recording Registry as an “audio treasure worthy of preservation as part of America’s creative legacy.” The Library wanted to make the announcement themselves on March 24th, and I was sworn to secrecy until that time.

This is an incredible honor for a little three-chord country song that I wrote in the front seat of my car at a four-way stop in the Nashville suburbs almost 60-years ago. And it came from the very first recording session Connie Smith ever had on her way to a Hall of Fame career. And now to think that it will be resting alongside compositions from George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and others. It was the only country song selected for 2020, and I am highly honored and thrilled.

As you know, I still love writing songs even after all these years, and I still get excited when one of my compositions gets recorded. The reigning Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year, Joe Mullins, has just recorded a new song with his Radio Ramblers that Jerry Salley and I co-wrote called, “Go Spread The Gospel,” and it will be in Joe’s new gospel album coming in early May. For some reason, I’ve never written very many religious songs although I have recorded bunches of them. But I really like this one, and I hope you will enjoy its up-tempo feel and up-beat message. Joe and the guys did a great job on it.

In other news, I want to thank those of you who joined us for our first Facebook Live Chat back on March 20th. We had over 3,000 messages from people all around the world, so many, in fact, that they overloaded my computer and shut us down for awhile. We had to regroup at my webmaster, Stephanie Orr-Buttrey’s, house where we stayed on for almost an hour. I really enjoyed it, and can’t believe how many of you have asked us to do it again. So…to prove that we really do listen when you speak, we will be chatting with you again on Saturday April 24th at 2 p.m. Nashville (Central) time. Spread the word and let’s beat our terrific March turnout. I might just bring my guitar along this time…so there’s no telling what we’ll end up doing!

Several of you have written lately wanting to know if we are planning anything special for our fans and fan club members in connection with my 60th Anniversary at the Grand Ole Opry coming up July 17th. Yes, we are working closely with the Opry management, but due to the pandemic and all the restrictions, everyone is having to move slowly. Nobody knows today just what the situation will be in July, but we are working on group seating and a meet ‘n greet after the show. Stay tuned, and when we know more I’ll let you know.

I was almost through writing this letter when I got an invitation from the folks at the Mike Huckabee Show to come be their guest announcer the weekend of April 10th. I’ll be substituting for Keith Bilbrey, and it should be fun. With all the great announcing voices in Nashville, I’m not sure exactly why they reached out to me, but I’m glad they did. You can catch the show on TBN Saturday night April 10th and again Sunday night April 11th. Check for local times in your area.

Folks have also been asking me if I went to Spring Training with the Braves down in Florida this year, which is my usual springtime ritual, but no, I didn’t get to go this time. I’m getting my baseball fix, though, by watching some college and high school games in and around Nashville. Our local Vanderbilt team is the defending College World Series Champion from 2019, and they are fun to watch. The regular major league season opens today. Shouldn’t it be declared a national holiday??

The latest from my grandson, Gabe, is that he has finished his series of radiation treatments and he now has a little over six weeks to rest up before his bone marrow transplant in May. Thanks one more time for all your prayers, your wearing the Team Gabe t-shirts, and all the positive vibes you continue to send our way. My family and I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.

Enjoy the April showers (as long as they come in moderation)…hope they bring lots of pretty May flowers…and we’ll see you back here again next month. I wish for each of you a Happy and Blessed Easter, and I thank you for everything.

From Bill

March 1, 2021

Hi Gang:

I don’t know if March came in like a lion or a lamb in your corner of the world, but I hope you are safe and well wherever you are. It’s good to be visiting with you again through the pages of our fan club newsletter. Thanks for staying connected.

I went out and got my second COVID vaccination shot early last month then spent a week…as many of you did…trapped inside my house thanks to the ice and snow that paralyzed much of the south and southwest. My power stayed on, my water continued to run, and I was very fortunate, especially compared to some of my friends out in Texas. I sure hope those of you down there are doing better. The good news is that Spring is just around the corner!

Lots of you have been asking when the band and I plan to go back on tour, and I’ve made a decision in that regard: The earliest I might be back on the road will be 2022. I have asked my agent to clear my slate for this year for a couple of reasons. First, of course, is COVID-19. I’m not sure that any of the venues where we were scheduled to perform will even be able to have crowds this year anyhow, and even if they are, I don’t think I would want fans and friends of mine to take any risks by coming to our shows. New variants of the virus are popping up all over the place, and it’s evidently not out of steam just yet.

Second, is the situation involving my grandson, Gabe. He began his radiation treatments in early February, and from now until at least the end of July, things are going to be anything but normal in my family. I simply cannot picture myself riding on a tour bus hundreds of miles from home while my grandson is in the hospital receiving a bone marrow transplant, my granddaughter is in there, too, as his donor, and my family is needing me to help out with the million and one other things that will have to be taken care of at the time. It’s just not something I can do, and I appreciate very much your understanding. I’ll miss you guys for sure, but right now my family has to come first.

Hopefully, I can do a few things music-wise without having to leave town. When the Opry opens back up to the point where my band can go and perform with me, I plan to return there. And, of course, I’ll be celebrating my 60th Opry Anniversary July 17th. I’ve agreed to record an episode of Larry’s Country Diner this summer, and they can’t crank up the recording studios soon enough to suit me. I’ve got lots of new music I want to put down. Plus, I’ll be opening up my closets and my scrapbooks and my guitar cases when the Hall of Fame comes to collect memorabilia for my exhibit scheduled to open in November. So, I might not be travelling, but I’ll be busy.

Starting on Saturday March 20th, which just happens to be the first day of Spring, I am going to begin a series of live Facebook chats with you and fans like you all around the world. I want to do one of these every month while I’m not on tour just so we can stay in touch. We’ll have more information headed your way shortly, but meantime mark March 20th at 2 p.m. Nashville (Central) as the time for our first get together and plan to join us if you can. We’ll visit and talk about all kinds of things.

Thankfully, a few things are happening on the songwriting front as we wait for life to return to normal. Ray Stevens has just released a new album on Curb Records called, “Great Country Ballads,” and he has included an amazing version of “City Lights.” That song has been recorded dozens of times over the years, but nobody has ever done it quite like Ray. I hope you’ll check out his recording on whatever platform you get your music.

As you’ll see in our photo section, I got together with two of my favorite people last week, Bobby Tomberlin and Lance Miller, for my first live co-writing session in exactly a year. We had a great time laughing and catching up, although with the masks I told them I couldn’t see a word they were saying! The best part, though, is that we ended the day with a pretty darned good new song.

I have another piece of songwriting-related news I’m anxious to share with you, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy until March 24th. We’ll have a special announcement then, so be on the lookout for it.

I’ve got to change the subject and play proud PawPaw here for a minute and tell you that my grandson, Blake, was named to the All-District high school basketball team as voted on by the coaches, and with a season record of 21-5 his team qualified for the State Tournament. They traveled to Knoxville for the opening round, but unfortunately lost their first game in overtime. Nonetheless, it was a great season, and I’m awfully proud of Blake and his friends for all they accomplished.

Gabe is into his fourth week of radiation treatments now in preparation for his bone marrow transplant in May. Thanks to all of you who ordered the Team Gabe shirts in support of his journey and for all the prayers that you’ve been sending up on his behalf. They are appreciated more than you know.

Have a great month of March, and thanks for your continuing support of me and my families….the biological one and the musical one. Stay in touch, and I’ll try my best to do the same.

And remember…every day is a good day to have a good day.

From Bill

January 4, 2021

Hi Gang:

You don’t know how glad I am to finally be able to say, “Happy New Year!”

I’m like many of you….I didn’t stay up on New Years Eve to welcome in the new year as much as I did to make sure the old one was gone! 2020 was not exactly the best of times for any of us. Hopefully with the turning of the page, the light at the end of the tunnel will soon begin shining on us all.

I hope Christmas was a merry one at your house and that Santa didn’t have any trouble fitting inside your chimney. In keeping with the craziness that was 2020, Christmas Day in Music City was not exactly the day of peace and love that we had all hoped to celebrate what with the senseless bombing downtown. The day that began with a few stray snowflakes and the promise of a white Christmas soon faded into something far less serene. Many of you messaged me with words of concern for me and my family, and I appreciated that very much. Fortunately, all of us live on the outskirts and a good distance away from where the explosion took place.

I tried to stay safe over the holidays, seeing very little of my family and friends and staying outdoors with my mask on when I did. My holiday highlight came when six of my eight grandchildren came over to bring me the picture you’ll see in our photo section. It had been eight years since there had been a picture of all of them together, and kids change a lot in that amount of time. We gathered on my front porch with a bunch of happy smiles behind our masks and elbow bumps instead of the hugs we were dying to give. As George Jones sang in an old song, “Maybe Next Christmas.”

I thank you for all the beautiful Christmas cards, text messages, and greetings of the season that you sent my way. I read and appreciated every single one. Quoting country music again, my friend Mac Wiseman said it best when he sang, “Tis Sweet To Be Remembered.”

What’s happening on the musical front in Whisperville? Not a lot other than the release of our new lyric video for “It’s A Good Day To Have A Good Day” coming soon. We will have two videos on that song then, and I hope you will check them out at www.billanderson.com and/or on YouTube and share them with your friends. When the new one is released, hopefully later this month, you can watch your screen and sing the words right along with us. Maybe it will put some warm smiles on some chilly faces during these cold winter days.

People are asking me when we are going back on tour and when we will be performing again at the Opry, and my answer to both questions is simple and the same: I don’t know. I plan to get the COVID vaccine as soon as possible, listen to the experts, and decide from there.

I hope to get back into the recording studio sometime soon because I have several new songs I’m anxious to put down. I’d love to release a new album in 2021. I have some additional songs I’ve written (or helped to write) waiting to be cut by some of my friends, and hopefully I can share some news on those before too long as well.

From the personal corner of my world, my oldest granddaughter, Rae, and her fiance, Zach, have set their wedding day. They will be getting married on Saturday August 28th here in Nashville. I’m sure I’ll have many more details to share as the time approaches.

And speaking of family, I’d like to ask you to check out the latest Bill’s Journal on our website. The new edition is a letter from my daughter-in-law, Beth, with information regarding my grandson, Gabe, and a major decision that has been made in treating the cancer he has been fighting for ten years. So many of you have prayerfully been in this fight alongside us, and we wanted you to know the latest. The next few months are going to be very intense for our family, and we’re going to need your prayers and your support and understanding more than ever. Please check out Bill’s Journal and share it with your family and friends.

Meantime, stay well and stay safe. The page on the calendar may say it’s a new year, but we’re not out of the woods yet. This virus is a mean ol’ animal with a lot of life left in it. Please continue to respect it.

Thanks a BILLion for your many kindnesses to me, and I’ll look forward to seeing you back here again next month.

February 1, 2021

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