FROM BILL
Hi Gang:
Well, with Labor Day now in our rear view mirrors, I guess we can declare summer to be officially over. Not on the calendar, of course, but most folks I know get in the mood for fall right about now. I hope each of you had a great “end of summer” weekend. I did.
It was an interesting August to say the least. I had a wonderful, relaxing, week-long vacation at the beach early in the month, came back to some great nights at the Opry, then went back on the road…only to break the crown off a front tooth just before the final show of our tour. My manager, Lee, helped me secure the crown long enough to get through the concert, then to show my appreciation, I went off and left him inside a truck stop on the journey home.
Well, I didn’t personally leave him, but we stopped for fuel in the middle of the night, and the bus driver assumed everyone who had gotten off the bus had gotten back on board so he pulled away. It wasn’t until his cell phone rang a few miles down the road that he realized Lee wasn’t with us. Even then he accused Lee of phoning him from his bunk! When he realized Lee was serious about not being on board, he turned the bus around and went back for him. What did we ever do before cell phones?
And speaking of August road dates, I want to thank Dirk Johnson for filling in for his brother, Ziggy, playing keyboards and handling background vocals on our final few shows. Ziggy is feeling better and was back with us at the Opry last week.
We’re only on the road for one date in September. That will be Saturday the 7th at the Paramount Theater in Bristol, Tennessee. I understand they have renovated this old building, where stars like Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb performed back in the 40’s and 50’s, and that it’s a wonderful place for concerts. I hope lots of our friends from around the southeast will come be with us. Early October dates find us in Loudonville, Ohio, on the 3rd and Marion, Illinois, on the 4th.
Our Opry dates this month will be the 6th, 13th, 14th, 17th, and 21st. I’m hoping to slip away toward the end of September and go back to one of my favorite places in the world…the state of Maine. I have some friends up there that I haven’t seen in ‘way too long, and I always look forward to seeing them…along with enjoying the beautiful colors and the cooler temperatures that time of year.
Let me remind you again that Ken Burns’ marvelous documentary on country music will begin airing on PBS television the 15th of this month, and you won’t want to miss an episode. Check your listings for dates and times. It’s really going to be worth watching. A pre-documentary special will air Sept. 8th.
On a somber note, I’m sad to tell you that one of our former Po’ Boy band members, Roger Pirtle, passed away August 19th at his home in Michigan. He played bass with us in the sixties under the name of Roger Sloan, but realized after a couple of years that the road was not his calling. He returned home and continued to play in local groups around the area. He and I wrote a song together a few years ago that Ricky Skaggs recorded called, “Can’t Control The Wind.” Roger was 76-years old and will certainly be missed.
My grandson, Gabe, slipped on a wet tile floor in the bathroom at his house last month and broke a bone in his left wrist. He’s wearing a cast, but trouper that he is, he hasn’t missed a beat. His brother, Blake, now over 6’5″ and 195 pounds, is gearing up for high school basketball season; their sister, Hallie, made the cheerleading squad her first year in middle school; and grandson, Nick, is getting into his first year away from home at college. It’s a job just to keep up with them all.
Thanks for continuing to tell me you enjoy our newsletters, and thanks for allowing us to send them to you. We’ll see you back here again in October. My best wishes to you all.
LATEST NEWS
ASK BILL
1) I just read where there is a Music City Walk of Fame with stars on it like in Hollywood. Where is it, is it new, and how many stars are on it?
The Music City Walk of Fame is located in downtown Nashville on Demonbreun Street between 4th and 5th Avenues South. Or, in simpler terms, it’s in the park right across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Walk originated in 2006, and currently it contains 84 stars recognizing people in the music business. I am honored to be one of those 84.
2) While playing a song by Curtis Leach on my radio show recently, I noticed he wrote and recorded “Golden Guitar” and “Big Railroad Man” which you also recorded. Did you ever meet Curtis Leach? Or were those songs just pitched to you?
No, I never met Curtis Leach, but have often wished I had. He was killed not long before my recording of “Golden Guitar” was released. Neither of the two songs you mentioned were pitched to me. I heard Curtis’ version of “Golden Guitar” on the radio late one night riding down the road on my tour bus. I obtained a copy of his one and only LP, “The Indescribable Curtis Leach” and learned it from there. “Big Railroad Man” was on the same album, and I liked it and recorded it as well. Based on those songs and others in his album, I think had he lived, Curtis would have been a force to be reckoned with in country music.
3) Will there be any plans for you coming to San Antonio, Texas? I actually live 100-miles from there, but would happily make the drive if you did.
That’s nice of you to say. We are not currently booked in San Antonio itself, but in January we’re coming to south Texas for several shows. We will be in Kinney, Tx., New Braunfels, Victoria, Roscoe, and Kerrville between January 8th and the 12th. We’ll have details on our website sometime this fall. I hope one of these will be convenient for you, and I’ll look forward to meeting you there.
4) Do you think 50-years old is too late in life to pursue a career in country music? I think you are a great example of the past being brought into future generations.
Thank you. I don’t think it’s ever too late to dig into something that you are passionate about, so in that sense, 50-years old is not too old to begin. However, being realistic, do it because you enjoy it and not because you have visions of yourself becoming the next Garth Brooks. Show business is, by and large, for the young, and the chances of someone 50-years of age becoming a star lie somewhere between slim and none. If you’d like to write a few songs and release them on the internet and perform them in your local area, then go for it. And good luck.
Thanks one more time for your questions. I always enjoy reading what’s on your mind. We’ll do it again next month, and if you have something you’re curious about, let me know and I’ll try to find out the answer. Send your questions to me at askbill@billanderson.com or to P.O. Box 888, Hermitage, TN. 37076. We’ll see you back shortly.
LATEST PHOTOS
What better way to preserve great memories than with great pictures? Here I’m seen with my 11-year old granddaughter, Hallie, prior to her going with me to the Grand Ole Opry. She has been there with me so many times now that everybody treats her like part of the family…which she is. Below, I am being interviewed by my longtime friend and University of Georgia broadcaster, Loran Smith, prior to the Georgia-Vanderbilt football game on August 31st. I attended the game with another special friend and Georgia alum, Gus Arrendale, president of Springer Mountain Farms chicken. Fans know him as The Chicken Man on Larry’s Country Diner. We were both happy as Georgia won the game, 30-6. At the bottom, another Georgia connection as I visited with the Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, prior to the recent Georgia On My Mind celebration at the Ryman Auditorium.
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.
