June 1 2020

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.”

From Bill

June 1, 2021

Hi Gang:

Well, I’ll have to admit that returning to the Opry stage after our long, COVID-induced absence was a real hoot. Once I remembered which end of the microphone to sing into…and which way to face standing on stage…it was like riding a bicycle. I just hope I never have to be away for such a long time ever again.

And it was so cool to see fans sitting shoulder to shoulder in the pews and smiling and laughing without masks covering their faces. I’ve taken that for granted for almost sixty years, but never again. Now if we can just return to our normal backstage atmosphere. That’s where so much of the fun is for us…not to mention the free coffee and the free popcorn!

Our next Opry appearances will be on Saturday June 5th, Tuesday June 15th, and Friday June 25th. Hope you’ll tune us in when you can.

And speaking of the Opry, our fan section for my 60th Anniversary on July 17th has almost sold out, so they are adding more seats for those of you who have yet to sign up. Remember, to be part of our group…and a meet ‘n greet following the show if we’re allowed to have one…order your tickets from www.opry.com and put in the code BILL60. Did I mention you get a 20% discount? Well, you do.

I’ll have to admit that there was a bit of a bitter-sweet feeling to being back at the Opry because my longtime guitar player, Les Singer, wasn’t with us there for the first time in 40-years. Les is having some health issues that prohibit him from playing right now, and I hope you’ll keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Kerry Marks and Danny Parks from the Opry staff band filled in. Lester, it took two of them to take your place, Pal!

I’m getting ready to go into the recording studio here in a few days to begin working on what I hope will be a new album to be released later this year. At the moment I’m not sure if we’re talking a complete album or maybe a shortened EP with six or seven cuts, but regardless I’m anxious to put down some of the new music I’ve been working on. Stay tuned.

My buddy, Dallas Wayne, from Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirius-XM satellite radio, came to town recently and recorded a new song that he, Buddy Cannon, and I wrote called, “He Even Brought Her Flowers.” I’m not sure just when it will be released, but I’ll keep you posted. Steve Wariner has recorded a great new version of our song, “Christmas In Your Arms,” that will be featured in his new Christmas album later this year, and Joe Mullins’ bluegrass version of, “Go Spread The Gospel,” is now available in his new collection titled, “Somewhere Beyond The Blue.” Jimmy Fortune is hosting a new television show called, “My Life My Songs,” and I recorded an episode with him, laughing and discussing my crazy career. Hopefully, that will be airing soon. I may not be on tour this year, but I’m managing to stay busy. And I like it that way.

I was saddened, as I’m sure you were, over the Memorial Day weekend to learn of the passing of B. J. Thomas. He was a terrific singer, a wonderful man who overcame a lot of adversity in his life, and, I’m proud to say, a good friend. He left us a lot of great music. May he rest in peace.

On the personal side of things, I can’t begin to tell you how much my family and I have appreciated your thoughts, prayers, and concerns expressed for my grandson, Gabe, and his sister, Hallie, as they went through a bone marrow transplant this past month in an effort to rid Gabe’s young body of the rare form of cancer that he’s been fighting for the past ten years. It’s been a very intense period of time for all of us, but knowing you were lifting us up in prayer has meant more than you’ll ever know.

The transplant itself went well, but this was only the beginning of the journey. Gabe will be in the hospital for several more weeks followed by a long recovery time at home. I hope you will continue to keep him, his parents, and his siblings in your prayers. Hallie is sore and moving slowly, but overall she is doing fine.

I goofed in last month’s newsletter by failing to wish all the moms a Happy Mother’s Day, and, believe me, I heard about it. My apologies. So, lest I forget again, to all you dads out there, let me wish you a Happy Father’s Day on the 20th. Enjoy the hazy, crazy, lazy days of summer, and we’ll see you back here in July. Thanks for everything.

From Bill

May 1 2021

Hi Gang:

And here’s wishing you a merry, merry month of May!

It’s starting off merry for me because I just found out we’ll be returning to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry this month….Tuesday night May 18th to be exact…for the first time in six months. I just hope I remember the words to my songs and which end of the microphone to sing into!!

The COVID restrictions have been lifted to the point that I can return with my full band, and it’s hard to know if I’m more excited or if my band members are. We’ll only be on once in May as they try to ease other Opry members back into the rotation as well, but they have promised us more appearances leading up to my 60th Opry Anniversary on July 17th.

And speaking of that very special occasion, the Opry is offering our fans not only group seating that night but a discounted ticket price as well. To sign up and be part of this exciting evening, go to www.opry.com and click on the July 17th show. Enter promo code BILL60 and follow the instructions. You will receive a 20% discount on your tickets and be seated (socially distanced, of course) with others in our group.

It still depends on the COVID restrictions as to whether we will be able to have a fan club meet ‘n greet after the show, but I’m hoping we can. Stay tuned, and I’ll pass that information along as soon as I receive it.

In other news, I just got word that the studio where I like to record these days is opening back up this month, and I’m hoping to book some recording sessions within the next few weeks. I can’t wait to make some new music for you. And the opening of the Bill Anderson Exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame has been moved from November 19th and will officially open on December 3rd. I’m told that date is set in stone, and I hope that it is. We’ll have more information on the Exhibit as the time approaches.

I’m sorry our Facebook Chat scheduled for April 24th didn’t get to happen as planned, but it was totally out of our hands. About ten o’clock that morning, I was checking Facebook messages and everything was fine. A little before noon, Stephanie Orr-Buttrey, our website manager, called and said we were in trouble. Our Facebook page had suddenly disappeared and she was unable to get it back up and working. She quickly posted the cancellation notice that most of you received, and we had to start looking for a Plan B.

Assuming that Facebook will cooperate, we’re shooting for an evening Chat on Thursday May 20th at 6 p.m. Nashville (Central) time. Hopefully, lots of you will be able to join us then. Taking our most recent incident and coupling it with our first Chat when my computer blew up, let’s hope the third time will be the charm.

As most of you know, May 25th is the scheduled date for my grandson, Gabe’s, bone marrow transplant, and our family continues to appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers. Gabe will actually go into the hospital on May 19th to begin preparations for the transplant. His donor, his sister Hallie, will have some pre-testing done on May 7th. This procedure is the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel for the Anderson’s, as Gabe has been fighting a rare form of cancer for over ten years. Please keep your prayers going up on everyone’s behalf, and I’ll keep you posted as best as I can.

In other family news, Gabe’s older brother, Blake, graduates from high school on May 15th. No word yet on exactly where he’ll land for college. Sisters Hallie and Sophie have both been named to next year’s cheerleading squad at their middle school, and Hallie has been elected Student Council President. I am one proud PawPaw!

Guess I should stop popping the buttons off my shirt and let you get on with reading the rest of our newsletter. Thanks for your continued support and friendship, and we’ll see you back here again next month.

Still,

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.

June 1, 2020

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