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November 2, 2020

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Hi Gang:
There’s been a lot on television and in the news lately about how many people in America do not have access to computers and to the internet.
The subject has come to the forefront because so many children are having to receive their education online these days. Schools are closed due to COVID-19 and our whole world, it seems, is connecting via the world wide web.
But, if we are to believe the ads, there are 10-million households in the US alone with no internet service. I’ve seen stories of school kids tapping into WiFi and doing their homework from the parking lots of Taco Bell and McDonald’s. And it has got me to thinking.
So many of us take the connectivity we enjoy through our phones and our iPads and our computers for granted. We see the world on our screens and we assume that our neighbors and friends see it that way as well. Obviously, that’s not always the case.
When our fan club switched from our printed Journals and went online some dozen years or so ago, we offered our fans the option of receiving our monthly newsletters and related material through the internet or through a special print edition that we would mail to their home addresses. In the beginning, several hundred people opted to pay a small fee to cover the print costs and the postage, but as time has gone by the number of people on the mailing list has dwindled. I’m wondering if it’s because we haven’t continued to promote that we have that service available.
As we head toward the holiday season, it has dawned on me that some of you might have parents or friends or relatives who would like to take advantage of our printed materials….and perhaps you’d like to give a year’s subscription to them as a Christmas or holiday gift. For only $20 you can do just that.
If someone you know doesn’t have internet access, or if they simply like to hold their reading material in their hands like I do, you might think of our fan club newsletters as a gift. Especially if these folks are traditional country music fans and like to be kept abreast of things going on in our world. You can sign them up…or subscribe yourself…by clicking on the link in our store. They would begin receiving our newsletters with the January 2021 edition and go through December of next year. Each recipient of your gift will receive a letter from me explaining the gift and recognizing you as the giver, along with your name and address.
All of my letters to the fans, our Ask Bill column, our personal appearance schedule, our pictures, and our special merchandise offers are in the printed newsletter, other than those few that are only available online. 
 
I hope a lot of you will want to take advantage of this, and I hope you’ll help us spread the word that this service is available. You can order the membership in our store or click this link: http://cwired.co/BAfanclubcopy 
 
Thanks a BILLion….

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July 11, 2020

Hi Gang:

I guess the sports fans among you know without my telling you that tonight is the night they will be playing the 93rd Major League All-Star baseball game out in Seattle. For those of you who do not keep tabs on these kinds of things, now you know.

Why do I bring it up? Because exactly 62 years ago today….Tuesday July 11, 1961….I was sitting in my living room watching a black and white telecast of the Major League All-Star baseball game from San Francisco when I received a telephone call that changed my life.

And I almost didn’t get up to answer the phone. Who would dare to call and interrupt me in the middle of such a momentous event anyhow?

After about the third ring, I got up, shuffled into the den, and picked up the receiver. I’m sure my greeting sounded a bit less than cheerful. “HELLO?” I probably growled.

“Bill, this is Ott Devine,” came the instantly recognizable voice on the other end of the line. I had heard those dulcet tones for years on WSM radio and in his role as general manager of the Grand Ole Opry. He didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. “I’m calling to ask if you’d like to become a member of the Opry.”

Suddenly, the ball game was not nearly so significant. I’m not sure I even watched another pitch. I was too busy calling friends and family to share the news. I was made the 48th member of the Opry cast four days later.

Fast forward to July 22nd of this year when I will celebrate becoming the longest-tenured member of the Opry in its nearly 100-year history. Sixty-two years that have literally flown by. Songs, music, friendships, mistakes, applause, joy and sadness…they’ve all been a part of this 62-year roller coaster ride. What an amazing time it’s been.

Thanks to each of you…whether you’ve been on the journey with me the entire time or only recently climbed aboard the train. It’s been an honor to share the miles, the music, and the memories with you. I’m looking forward to a whole bunch more.

And, oh yes, in case you’re wondering, the National League won the ball game 5-4. With eight Atlanta Braves on this year’s team, here’s hoping they do it again!

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June 28, 2023

Hi Gang:

If you know me very well, or have known me for very long, you know that I have a deep love, appreciation, and respect for bluegrass music.

I have written and recorded several bluegrass-oriented songs throughout the space of my career, and have had many of my country songs given bluegrass/acoustical interpretations by some of the most talented bluegrass artists in the world. It would be easier to list the legendary artists from that genre who have NOT recorded my songs, in fact, than to list the ones who have. Even the Grammy nomination Dolly and I received last year was for our bluegrass version of “Someday It’ll All Make Sense.”

I have toured and performed alongside most of the bluegrass greats and become close friends with many of them in the process. That’s why it hurt so bad this week to learn we’re all having to say goodbye to two of the very best….Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne.

Both Jesse and Bobby were my Opry Brothers, and I can’t count the times I’ve shared the stage alongside each of them. I’ve introduced them on hundreds of Opry broadcasts, stepped aside and marveled at Jesse’s incredible mandolin cross-pickin’, and sung ‘Rocky Top’ with Bobby, off-mike, off-key, and in the shadows, more times than I could possibly recall. I came to know Jesse when he and his brother, Jim, were one of the top duet acts in the world…and the same for Bobby and his brother, Sonny.

I could tell stories about how Jim & Jesse performed with me in front of the largest live audience I have ever sung for…and how Bobby, both with Sonny and on his own, wrapped his indelible voice around a whole bunch of Bill Anderson songs over the years and made them his own.

We’ve shared cars, busses, dressing rooms and laughs…happy times and sad…and I’m a better person for having known them all.

There surely must be some beautiful acoustical music up in Heaven tonight. Rest in peace, my friends, and thanks for using your incredible talents to make this ol’ world…and particularly my little corner of it…a much better place.

 

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May 29, 2023

I hope while you are out today enjoying your grill, your boat, your ice cream freezer, your nearby lake or beach, that you don’t forget to pause and remember why we celebrate Memorial Day in the first place.

An awful lot of brave men and women have laid down their lives over the years so that we can enjoy the wonderful blessing we have in this country called “freedom.”

It’s not asking too much, is it, that we pause for a moment this afternoon to remember?To say thank you…even though we might not recognize a face in a picture or a name on a wall?

These heroes were somebody’s brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers. The least we can do on this day is remember….and whisper, “Thanks.”