Fans – Bill Anderson

FROM BILL

Hi Gang:

And welcome to our first newsletter of the new decade!

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you know how much I appreciated all the beautiful Christmas cards and messages that you sent. I hope, too, that you’re as excited about moving into a new year as I am. Lots of exciting things are on the horizon.

Christmas in Whisperville was a bit unorthodox this year (and not just the unseasonably warm weather), but it was enjoyable just the same. Both me and my son-in-law, Grant, had just come through medical procedures that produced some unforeseen complications; my grandson, Gabe, had just been released from the hospital; granddaughter, Greta, was down with the flu, and I was afraid Santa might decide to pass us all by. Thankfully, he didn’t. I was able to go to Christmas Eve church services with the family, and spend Christmas Day with friends. Everybody was up and hitting on all cylinders by New Year’s (other than my daughter, Terri, who had a short hospital stay), and looking forward to all that lies ahead.

I’ll be starting off the new year with a 4-show trip to Texas, a bit unusual for this time of year. I hope we’ll see lots of our friends and make a bunch of new ones as we visit Kenney on January 8th, New Braunfels on the 9th, Victoria on the 10th, and wrap things up in Kerrville on the 12th. Here’s hoping for good weather. Texas is a lot like Tennessee this time of year in that the elements can be extremely unpredictable.

We’re off to Hinton, Oklahoma, on January 18th, and then set sail on our Country’s Family Reunion cruise to the Caribbean on January 26th.

Did I tell you there will be two CFR cruises in 2020? The second will be in December, and I’m sure it will have a bit of a Christmas theme. That should be fun, and I hope some of you will consider giving yourselves an early present and come sail away with us. You can get the details by calling 800-820-5405.

I plan to get back into the recording studio on the 23rd of this month and again in February and March. I have some new songs I want to put down, in particular the song we have been opening our road shows with for the past few months, “It’s A Good Day (To Have A Good Day).” Many of you have been asking for it which I appreciate. I’m going to take James, Ziggy, Kenzie, and Cotton into the studio with me and try to capture the “live” feeling of the song just like we do it on stage. I’ve been writing some other new songs as well, both by myself and with some great co-writers, and I may try out a few of those while I’m in a recording mood. Wish us luck.

Of course, the “biggie” in my life for 2020 will be the opening of the Bill Anderson Exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in November. I’ll be keeping you posted as we begin collecting things and deciding what to include in the exhibit. Putting everything together is going to take a lot of work, I’m sure, but hopefully it will be rewarding as well. I’m still pinching myself over the news that it’s actually going to happen!

There will be a slight change in our Po’ Folks Band this year as Pat Severs, who has played steel guitar with us on the Opry for the past ten years, has decided to retire and move his family back to his home state of South Carolina. Pat has been a valuable member of our family, and we wish him nothing but the best. Eddie Lange and Donna (Hammitt) Blanton, both of whom have worked with us in the past, have promised to help pick up the slack.

On the personal front I have an exciting piece of news: My oldest granddaughter, Rae, came home for the holidays sporting a beautiful engagement ring!The lucky guy is Zach Kunde, whom she met in Chicago. They haven’t set a date, but I’ll keep you posted.

I’d better stop for now and get ready to go to grandson Blake’s high school basketball game. His team has an 11-3 record so far and they’ve been a lot of fun to watch. I’m awfully proud of Blake and the improvements he has made in his game.

Have a good January wherever you are…stay warm…and we’ll see you back here again next month. Thanks for everything….

LATEST NEWS

Ask Bill – January 6, 2020

CMT MUSIC NOW AIRING BILL ANDERSON’S STAR-STUDDED “WAFFLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS” VIDEO

Bill Anderson Over the Years | The Tennessean

ASK BILL

1) When I first started learning to play guitar years ago the first song I wanted to learn was, “Cincinnati, Ohio,” due to the fact that I live just north of Cincinnati. I love hearing you sing it as well as Connie Smith’s cover. I wanted to ask what inspired you to write “Cincinnati, Ohio?”

I was between flights at the airport outside Cincinnati when I got the idea to write that song. In those days, back before all the tight airport security that we have today, passengers could wander about as they saw fit, and I walked out in front of the airport and looked up at the big sign on the terminal that read “Greater Cincinnati Airport.” And just like the line in the song, “I got to thinkin’ ’bout some friends I know in Cincinnati, Ohio,” and song just started coming to me. The airport was (and still is) south of Cincinnati in Kentucky, and I thought of how the Ohio river winds “across the Mason and the Dixon lines,” and before I knew it I had the majority of the song written…including the melody even though I didn’t have a guitar with me. I wish every song came to me as easily as that one did. I’m glad you like it.

2) I am a 40-year country radio veteran, and you have been kind enough over the years to grant me a couple of interviews. I know artists get the same questions over and over, but I wonder if there is a question you don’t like to be asked or that you get tired of answering.

The only questions I don’t like to be asked are the ones that the interviewer could have easily looked up before he or she started talking with me. Like, “Where were you born?” or “How did you get started in the music business?” Anybody with a computer or a book about country music could find the answers to those without having to ask me. I’ve been asked a million times how I got the name “Whisperin’ Bill” or which one of my songs is my own personal favorite, but as long as there are people who are interested and don’t know, I’ll gladly tell them. But if you’re going to interview me, do a little bit of homework before we start.

3) Is the Circle Network going to be available in Canada?

Perhaps not at first, but it’s my understanding that after about six months the Circle Network will be available anywhere in the world. It won’t be a traditional broadcast network as such, but folks everywhere will be able to stream it and watch it. I have been told that It is scheduled to launch in the U.S. at 4 a.m. on January 1, 2020. That’s the morning following New Years Eve. I will probably sleep through the first couple of programs!!

4) When you and other country singers have a cruise, do passengers pay extra to go to the shows? I would like to know what a cruise like that is like and would appreciate any information you can provide.

I can only speak for our Country’s Family Reunion cruises, but no, passengers do not have to pay extra to go to our shows. At the same time, they do have to book their cruise through Gabriel Communications and not through the cruise line itself. The tickets might be slightly more expensive, but those passengers receive more for their money as well. They not only get to attend the shows (regular passengers do not), but have access to autograph sessions, late night jam sessions, and all sorts of little extras and perks along the way. A large majority of our passengers are repeat customers, so I assume we must be doing something right or they wouldn’t keep coming back.

I hope we’re doing things right with our newsletters, too, and that you’ll keep coming back month after month with your questions. Send them to me at askbill@billanderson.com and I’ll try to answer as best as I can. See you back here in the New Year!

LATEST PHOTOS

There’s nothing quite like the smile on a child’s face at Christmas. I gave my granddaughter, Sophie, the doll she is holding for her birthday in November, then found a matching set of pajamas for the two of them for Christmas. Her smile says it all. After Christmas, I was able to get away and spend a few days in the Smoky Mountains. I wore my Georgia Bulldog hat and watched the Dawgs win the Sugar Bowl while I was there. Moving into the New Year I’m reminded of friends I got to spend some time with in 2019, including Toby Keith and my special buddy, Jamey Johnson. I can’t wait to see what 2020 holds for us all. Happy New Year!

LATEST JOURNAL

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 told him Ray Price had just covered it for Columbia Records, he laughed and said, “Well, never mind!” I worked with Mac when he ran the Wheeling Jamboree, toured with him on many occasions, and welcomed him several times to the circle on Country’s Family Reunion. He probably knew more songs than anyone in country music, and he loved to share them with his friends. He was truly a gentleman in every sense of the word. We’ll miss you, Mac. Thanks for blessing us with your music…and for allowing me to be a small part of your world.