The man who, over sixty years ago, unknowingly jump-started my songwriting career by recording the first song I ever had cut in Nashville, has passed away. Most of you probably never heard of him. Some of you were and continue to be big fans of his unique style of singing. Others knew him only as […]
It’s a sad day in Music City today what with all the death and destruction from last night’s tornado. Personally, I am fine and all my family is fine, and I appreciate your many messages of concern. I am without electricity, but so are some 50,000 other people. That’s a small price to pay for […]
I was extremely saddened by the news of Mac Wiseman’s passing over the weekend. My relationship with him went all the way back into the late fifties when he was an executive with Dot Records and called me at WJJC in Commerce wanting to buy my master recording of “City Lights” for his label. When […]
I wish each one of you who is reading this could have known my sweet Vickie.She was the kindest, gentlest, classiest, most compassionate, giving and loving person I have ever known.Sadly, she left us and went home to Heaven today…years before it should have been her time to go.I met her when she was only […]
When I first heard that Roy Clark had passed away this morning, I was, like everyone else, saddened by the news. But shortly thereafter, a friend of mine sent me this picture taken when we saluted the Kornfield on Country’s Family Reunion a few years ago, and I smiled. “How can you look at this […]
I lost a dear, longtime, and special friend of mine today when Freddie Hart passed away. He was in his early nineties, and I’m told he died of pneumonia. I first got to know Freddie in the early sixties when I performed with him in California, both on various concert dates and on the legendary […]
What an incredible night it was for me at the Ryman Auditorium last night when the Nashville Songwriters Association, International, presented me with their prestigious Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting. I thought you might like to see a few pictures from the evening. My friend, Vickie Salas, Jon Randall, and I had time […]
Hi Gang:
I’ve been all over the world singing about having a “Wild Weekend” for years, but in real life, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a weekend quite like the one I just had.
It’s always exciting to see new members named to our Country Music Hall of Fame, and this year’s inductees are no exception. Congratulations to Ricky Skaggs and to the families of Johnny Gimble and Dottie West. I’ve been fortunate enough to share stages, ball fields, and backstage areas with each of them, and thought you […]
If, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, these three pictures are worth their weight in gold. They were taken on one of Mel Tillis’ last appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. You can see from the smile on my face how easily he could make me laugh…and in the last picture you can see how much we genuinely cared for one another.
I probably knew Mel longer than I knew any other Nashville artist. We met in late 1957 or early 1958 on a show called the Peach State Jamboree in Swainsboro, Georgia. I was one of the “local” entertainers and Mel was the week’s special guest from Nashville.