October 4, 2022

Hi Gang:

If you’ve been a reader of my monthly newsletters for any length of time then you know my next words are going to be, “Welcome to my favorite month of the year!” I say it every October, so why should this year be any different?

And if you’re new to our little chats, you’re probably wondering what’s so special about the tenth month of the year. Well, to begin with, the weather starts to cool, the leaves begin to turn, and for a sports junkie like me there’s no more exciting time than when the baseball playoffs and the new football season collide. It’s probably the only month of the year when I get my money’s worth on my cable bill!

Of course, it’s a great month in country music too. The Grand Ole Opry celebrates its 97th birthday on October 8th, the Hall of Fame inducts its three newest members on October 16th, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame adds its latest class on the 30th. And I’m looking forward to taking part in each of those events.

I’ll be performing on the Birthday Celebration show at the Opry, I’ll be joining many of my fellow Hall of Fame members in attending the Medallion Ceremony at the Hall, and I’ve been asked to induct my buddy and songwriting partner, Steve Wariner, into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. I’m working on my speech already, trying to figure out how to capture Steve’s creative greatness and share it with the audience in my allotted three minutes of time. It won’t be easy, but it’s an honor to be invited to try.

We’ll be continuing to try and make the world aware of my and Dolly’s record and video this month, too, with a special Opry performance on the 18th. The multi-talented Sierra Hull, who is featured prominently playing mandolin on the bluegrass version of our song, is scheduled for an Opry appearance that night, and she, along with her equally talented dobro-picking husband, Justin Moses, have agreed to hang around and join me on an acoustical version of  “Someday It’ll All Make Sense.” I’m really excited about this, and hope you’ll make a note to tune us in.

The only thing better would be if Dolly herself were to show up. Who knows? Maybe someday.

I’m always thinking of ways to try and make our monthly newsletters more interesting for you, and the other day, while thumbing through some old fan club journals from years gone by, it struck me that perhaps I should start including a “This Date In History” section like many newspapers and online publications do. I’d call ours “This Date In Whistory,” and include tid-bits from my career in years gone by. For example:

This Month In Whistory: 42 Years Ago October, 1980. I had just begun a new television adventure and I wrote: “In all the television I’ve ever done…including my own show for nine years, the talk shows, the variety shows, the game shows…I have never had reaction to match that which I’ve received off ONE LIFE TO LIVE. People who have never heard of Bill Anderson, the country singer, are coming up to me in airports, at hotels, in shopping centers, and just about everywhere else I go saying they saw me on the soap opera…or as most of them put it, ‘on MY soap opera!’ No telling where that will all lead, but ain’t it fun?” And I had October concert dates listed for Owensboro, Kentucky; Dover, Ohio; Wilmington, Ohio; Boca Raton, South Miami, Ft. Myers, Tampa, and Orlando, Florida. 

Great memories…and the best part is that we are still making new ones!

Here’s wishing you and yours a great month, and I’ll see you back here around the first of November. Hmmm….that date has a familiar ring to it. I wonder why.

Thanks for everything…