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FromBill-btn-brn

October 3, 2023

Hi Gang:

And welcome to my favorite month of the year. Baseball, football, cooler temperatures, bright fall colors….it doesn’t get any better than October!

Lots of good things are happening music-wise this month as well. I told you last time that I was hoping to be able to share some news about some upcoming record projects from Whisperville, and I can. We are hard at work right now putting the finishing touches on an amazing new recording that will feature FIVE Hall of Fame members performing on one song. From what I can determine, this has never happened before.

The artists will be myself, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Jimmy Fortune, and Bobby Bare. The song is one I co-wrote with Bobby Tomberlin and Lance Miller, and one which think a lot of you will relate to. It’s called, “The Country I Grew Up With,” and if all goes as planned, it will be released in early November on Universal (UMG) Records. Stay tuned.

And sometime after the first of the year, Universal plans to also release a six-song EP of new love songs that I have written or co-written, and I’m really excited about that as well. Steve Dorff, who went to the University of Georgia as I did, and who went into the Songwriters Hall of Fame the same night that I did, has produced these recordings which he calls, “Modern day versions of ‘Still’.” The recordings are sparse musically, and each song takes a different approach to the subject of love. One of them may be my favorite song that I’ve ever written. I’ll share more as the time approaches.

What else is going on? Well, down at the Hall of Fame they are beginning to dismantle the Bill Anderson – As Far As I Can See exhibit which has been on display since December, 2021. It’s been a great run and a fun ride, and I thank each of you who took time to take it in. I visited for one final time the Thursday before it closed, and marveled all over again at how incredible it was and how much meticulous hard work went into its creation. My friend, the late Peter Cooper, had so much to do with the exhibit’s content and tone, and I will always be indebted to him for all he did to  make it happen.

I guess by now most of you have heard that the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame will be awarding me their very first Lifetime Achievement Award in April of next year. I am extremely honored that the state where I was born and lived the first eight years of my life wants to honor me in such an incredible way. I hope I can be there…on the campus of Furman University in Greenville…for the actual presentation on April 25th.

Oh, before I forget, I will be on the Grand Ole Opry for four appearances this month…two shows on the 7th and one show each on the 28th and the 31st. The 7th will be special in that we’ll be celebrating the Opry’s 98th birthday that night along with the induction of our newest member, Sara Evans.

On the personal side of things, my granddaughter, Caroline, and her fiance, Jacob, are moving from Nashville to Savannah, Georgia, this month. I hope you will join me in wishing them well in their new jobs and new locale.

Have a great month, enjoy all the beauty that it has to offer, and I’ll see you back here again in November. Thanks so much for everything….

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FromBill-btn-brn

December 1, 2023

Hi Gang:

Thanksgiving Day may be behind us now, but my thankfulness continues for all of you who lifted me up in your thoughts and prayers during my Thanksgiving week surgery. There were many of you, and your prayers were certainly heard and answered. I got to come home the following day, and my recovery is right on course. I’ll have to be taking things easy from now through the end of the year, but I could use a little downtime anyhow. Thank you again for being the best group of fans and friends anybody could ever have. I hope your Thanksgiving was as special as mine.

Our new record, “The Country I Grew Up With,” featuring Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson, came out just before my hospitalization, and the reaction has been incredible. Thanks to all of you who have reached out to tell me how much you like it. If you haven’t listened to it yet and shared it with your friends, I encourage you to do so. People are telling me that the message of the song really hits home. That’s awfully nice to know. There aren’t any “hard copies” available, but you can download it from wherever you stream your music.

Because music released around the holidays sometimes tends to get lost in the craziness of the season, our record company and our team have decided to hold up the release of the lyric video until after the first of next year. Sometime in early January we will have a mini re-release of the record along with the video. We want our music to stay fresh on your mind and not risk your tossing it out with your used Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons!

Lots of you reached out to tell me you saw me and Sara Evans present the Song Of The Year Award on the CMA Awards telecast last month, and I’m glad to know so many of you were tuned in. That’s always a fun experience. For the second year in a row, I took my granddaughter, Hallie, 15, to all the festivities with me and tried to watch through her eyes as she rubbed elbows and took pictures with her favorite stars. She loves this crazy thing called the music business almost as much as I do, and hopes to be a part of it someday. If she follows through on her dream, all I can say is, “Look out, Nashville!!”

If you’ve been connected with our fan club since back in the early days, you will be saddened to learn, as I was, that we lost one of our most devoted members of all time this past month. Barb Gamble, who was our Pennsylvania fan club representative for more years than I can count, passed away in mid-November. We always had more members in Pennsylvania than any other state during the time Barb served us, and she will truly be missed. My deepest condolences and sympathies to her husband, Leroy, and the entire family. And my unending appreciation for all Barb meant to my career and to me personally throughout the years.

My Christmas plans will be a bit subdued this year due to my ongoing recovery, and I will be forced to miss a lot of the things I always look forward to at this time of year. I will especially miss singing my Christmas songs onstage at the Opry (“Ho Ho Ho – We was Po’ Po’ Po’!”) and sharing the spirit of the season with my friends and fellow performers. Guess I’ll just relax and look forward to next year.

Meantime, though, I wish for each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’ll get to spend the holidays with my family and close friends, and I hope the same for you. It’s still, “the most wonderful time of the year,” so ENJOY!

And I’ll see you back here in 2024.

FromBill-btn-brn

November 2, 2023

Hi Gang:

And welcome to “birthday month” in Whisperville!

I appreciate very much all the cards, e-mails, and text messages you sent my way over the past several days in celebration of one more candle being added to my birthday cake on November 1st. I had a great day laughing, eating more than I should, and reminiscing with family and friends. What more could I ask?

November is shaping up to be quite a month for me and all my gang. First, the Country Music Association has invited me to be a presenter on the CMA Awards Show airing on ABC-TV the night of Wednesday November 8th. I’m not sure which award I will be presenting, but I’ve been told that Sara Evans will be joining me in the moment. I hope lots of you will be tuned in. Those nights are always special.

Then, less than 48 hours later on November 10th, UMG Records will be releasing a new Bill Anderson single record called “The Country I Grew Up With.”  I’m joined on the record by a few guys you might have heard of: Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson. They tell me it’s the first time 5 Hall of Fame members have ever appeared together on one song, and I’m excited for you to hear it. There is a  lyric video on its way as well. Hang on.

What else is happening? Well, my webmaster, Stephanie, and I have put our heads together and created something I think you will enjoy. We got to talking one day about all the artists outside of country music who have recorded songs of mine, and we’ve put together a list of titles that you might want to check out. It includes everything from very diverse recordings of “Still” by James Brown and Bing Crosby to cuts by Nancy Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Rick Nelson and more. You can hear these cuts and others on my Spotify playlist at https://cwired.co/BASurpriseCuts. Some of the interpretations might shock you a little bit, but I’ve always considered it a compliment when someone puts their own stamp on something I created.

On a personal note, you might remember earlier this year when I had a surgical procedure scheduled and it had to be canceled. Well, it’s back on the docket for Monday November 20th, and I would really appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers on that day and the days following. If all goes well, I’ll only be in the hospital one night and back home eating turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving. But if you would put in a good word for me with The Man Upstairs I would be most grateful. Meanwhile, prior to the surgery, I will be on the Opry November 4th, 11th, and 18th.

And speaking of Thanksgiving, I hope each of you has a great day as we pause to count our blessings and offer up thanks for every one of them. I’m certainly thankful for each one of you and all the good things you bring into my life. Tell your friends about our newsletter, and I’ll look forward to seeing you…and maybe some of them… back here in December.

Gratefully,

I just learned that Mr. Ed Haley, the World War II U.S. soldier on whose true story my song, “Old Army Hat” was based, passed away three days short of his 100th birthday on Oct. 31st. My condolences to the friends and family of this remarkable man. I plan to honor him on the Opry on Veterans’ Day Nov. 11th.
FromBill-btn-brn

September 5, 2023

Hi Gang:
August went out with a bang and now, following Labor Day, here comes September in with a roar. Things are never dull in Whisperville.
I guess by now most of you have seen the footage of my asking Sara Evans if she would like to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry last month. I flew home early from a business trip to California in order to be the one to pop the question, and it was so worth it. The look on Sara’s face and the tears in her eyes told me how much it meant to her, and on October 7th her lifelong dream of Opry membership will come true. That’s the night she will be formally inducted, and it comes during the Opry’s 98th birthday celebration. I hope lots of you can come be with us or at least tune into the festivities.
Sara becomes the fourth artist to whom I have personally extended an Opry membership invitation….joining Brad Paisley, Mel Tillis, and Jamey Johnson. Each of the others has made me awfully proud over the years, and I’m sure Sara will do the same.
What else is going on? Well, my big September weekend will be the 15th and 16th of the month when I will perform on the Friday Opry and then take part in an exciting program inside the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame the following afternoon. It will be a panel discussion called Opry Memories with Bill Anderson, and will feature myself, Jeannie Seely, Mark Wills, and former Opry general manager, Bud Wendell, talking about what the Opry has meant in each of our lives. The panel will be moderated by the Hall’s Paul Kingsbury and followed by a meet ‘n greet with the fans and all the participants afterward. Several of you have told me that you’ve already gotten your tickets and made your plans for a “wild weekend,” and I hope more of you will join us. Hurry, though, because I’m told it’s almost sold out.
I can’t tell you how many people have congratulated me recently on my becoming the oldest member of the Grand Ole Opry. NO…NO…NO…I am not the oldest member. I know of at least four members who are older than I am. What we were celebrating a few weeks ago was my becoming the LONGEST SERVING member of the Opry in the show’s history. I’ve simply been an Opry member for over 62 consecutive years, longer than any other performer in history. Please don’t try making me any older than I am!
On a more somber note, we have had to say goodbye recently to two ladies who were each, in their own way, a big part of my career back in the day. Bev Porter who played keyboards and sang back-up vocals with my Po’ Folks Band in the eighties, passed away last month from a rare type of leukemia that went undetected until it was too late. She was 67. And Jeanne Chennault, whom some of you knew as Jeanne Gaddis, died Labor Day weekend at the age of 94 near her home in Texas. Jeanne worked for me for 24-years, serving as both my secretary and fan club president. She was the mother of my longtime assistant, Kathy Gaddy. Both Bev and Jeanne contributed so much to my life and my career. They will both be missed.
I had planned to spend the last few days of August and the early days of September relaxing amid the surf and sand in Florida, but unfortunately, a hurricane named Idalia had a similar idea. She was bigger and stronger than me, so I let her have the territory at first. I just relaxed at home until she moved out and I could move in.  Hopefully, I’ll arrive home refreshed and ready to climb back in the saddle. Lots of things involving new music are on the horizon, and I hope it won’t be long before I can share some of them with you.
Have a great month with whatever is on your plate, and we’ll see you back here in my favorite month of October. As always, thanks for everything….