June 1, 2020

Hey Gang:

Things are still crazy in our COVID-19 world.

I had a scheduled dental cleaning last week, received two reminders the week before, drove to the dentist’s office at my appointed time, and was turned away because, “we only see people 70-years old and younger.” Age discrimination? No, just folks following the CDC guidelines.

But, hey, I understand and not everything is bad. There have been some good things and some interesting things going on in and around Whisperville.

First, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has told me that they are moving my Hall of Fame exhibit from November, 2020, forward into November, 2021. And instead of the display being up for ten months as originally planned, it will now be up for fifteen months…from late November 2021 until March, 2023.

In one way I’m sorry the exhibit will be delayed, but I had so much rather it be pushed back than to be rushed and not done well. This will give everyone involved plenty of time to do their homework and make the exhibit something we can all be proud of. The building that houses the Hall and the Museum has been closed since March, and it will take time to get things back up and running again. I hope lots of you will plan to attend my exhibit, and as the details come forth I promise you’ll be the first to know.

Another exciting thing happened in May: An organization called The Book Authority released its list of the “81 Best Country Music Books of All Time,” and my autobiography, “An Unprecedented Life In Country Music” was ranked #5 on the list! According to their website, Book Authority “identifies and rates the best books in the world based on public mentions, recommendations, ratings, and sentiment.” I am extremely honored to know that my book earned the #5 spot on their chart.

What else? Well, the Opry is still only opening for one hour on Saturday nights with no audience, but lots of you are telling me you’re watching and listening. There’s no word on when things might be back to normal, but we’re hoping it’s soon. The same goes for our live concerts, most of which have been postponed or re-scheduled. Meantime, we do have some new music by way of our new CD titled, “The Hits Reimagined.” These are ten of my best-known songs done acoustically with ten instrumental versions as well. Even though you’ve heard me sing most of these songs before, these are new versions that I hope you will like. And the instrumentals are like nothing I’ve ever done before. The record won’t actually be released until July 24th, but we’re offering our fan club members a chance to order in advance.

In fact, if you order during June, the 20-song CD is only $15.00 plus $5.00 shipping. It will be $20.00 after its national release. If your total order is $25 or more, shipping is free. All advance copies will come autographed. You can order through our website at www.billanderson.com under the SHOP icon. Your records should ship between June 22nd and June 29th, and possibly earlier. I hope you will enjoy hearing the new vocal arrangements and singing along with the instrumentals.

On another subject, does anyone out there happen to have a copy of the sheet music to Jan Howard’s legendary song, “My Son?” If you do, would you please let me know as her son, Corky, wants to use the cover of that sheet music as part of a special marker being created for Jan’s final resting place at Spring Hill Cemetery here in Nashville. Reach out to me as soon as you can at whisperinbill@billanderson.com. Corky only wants to borrow it. He will return it to you as soon as he is finished with it.

I know most of you are like me in that you’re missing time spent with your friends and your family during this pandemic. I have been able to enjoy a couple of out of doors, socially-distanced meals with both my daughters recently, and saw my son at his daughter’s drive-by birthday party. I can’t wait until this is all over, though, so I can communicate with everyone from closer than six-feet away. I’m sure you feel the same.

Stay well, stay safe, and I’ll plan to see you back here next month. Meantime, to quote an old song, “Put more water in the soup….there’s better times a’ coming.”