COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT www.countrymusicclassics.com -
http://www.countrymusicclassics.com
Email: Classics@countrymusicclassics.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
Conway Twitty didn't try to hide the fact that he was not impressed with
himself.
He commented "The only thing that matters is that next record. What I've done up
to this point is done. The next record is all that matters."
A big part of Conway's long list of hit records could have been his preparation
for each recording.
According to Conway, "I usually go through about 3,000 songs to pick ten for an
album. Then I cut that 3,000 down to 100. And then down to 50 and so forth. It
all takes a lot of time and a lot of patience."
The selection of his 1981 number one - "Tight Fittin' Jeans" came from that same
song selection process.
The song was written by Mike Huffman and entered the country music charts on
July 11th, 1981 and was in the top slot on September 26th.
The single was produced by Conway Twitty and Ron Chancey.
The MCA single was Conway's 62nd charted song and his 31st number one.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: According to the radio folks - Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash's son are
working on a project. Do you have any information?
A: Loretta has contracted to record several albums for Sony Legacy Recordings.
The recordings are being produced by Loretta's daughter - Patsy Lynn Russell and
John Carter Cash.
Q: Do you know whatever happened to T. Graham Brown? He's one of my favorite
singers.
A: T. Graham has a brand new CD titled "Forever Changed," which he co-produced
and features guests including Vince Gill, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Jimmy Fortune.
Q: Our local radio folks mentioned the Country Music Association donating
money to charity. Do you have any details?
A: The CMA Foundation donated $1.6 million in grants for music education to 13
charities in 2014.
Q: Going thru some tapes my mom recorded from the radio many years ago and
found a song about "This Is The Morning After My Baby Let Me Down." It sounds
like Mel Tillis but my mom says that song was on the radio by someone else. Can
you clear this up?
A: Ray Griff wrote the song "The Morning After Baby Let Me Down" and had a
number 14 hit on it in 1972. Mel Tillis included the song in his 1977 "Heart
Healer" album.
Q: I heard that the Hall of Fame is changing the Alan Jackson exhibit. Do you
have any details?
A: The Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum has extended the "Alan Jackson:
25 years of Keepin' It Country" exhibit thru June 21st. The exhibit was
originally scheduled to close in March.
Q: I heard that The Oak Ridge Boys are doing some project with Charlie
Daniels. Do you have any info?
A: The Oak Ridge Boys have been added to the talent lineup for the Charlie
Daniels 40th Anniversary Volunteer Jam at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on
August 12th.
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A T T E N T I O N: R A D I O S T A T I O N S:
Our short form daily radio feature, Story Behind The Song is now
available to radio
stations.
NOT AVAILABLE TO INTERNET STATIONS)
The feature is available at no charge.
For information, email me at
classics@countrymusicclassics.com
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TRUE STORIES AND A FEW LIES.
By: Jack Blanchard
When I got that colonoscopy in October
they found my car keys, a pair of dice, and a harmonica.
The music business was tough in the old days too.
Most of the unsigned artists and writers that walked Music Row
never got a chance.
I think we had an advantage
because I was an independent producer of other artists for 4 or 5 years
before Misty and I recorded together.
I knew some people.
In the 60's we put a lot of stuff on our own little label, Zodiac,
and shopped the them around to radio stations and labels.
In 1967, a country DJ named Hoss Moss heard our "Bethlehem Steel"
recording,
played it, and called Wayside Records, a label with national distribution.
They signed us for the four songs from our first Nashville indie session,
and that led to an album.
Wayside made a deal for distribution
and that's how we wound up on Mercury Records.
We played a lot of Cavalcade of Stars country shows,
and were often asked to be the closing act,
because we did some other stuff the audience liked.
At The Garden State Art Center there were ten big names on the show.
Every act went overtime and they made us cut our show to 10 minutes.
That's what the union demanded.
We were mad and so was the audience.
I'd do it all again.
We did a show at Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
Our hosts were Harden & Weaver, top DC radio personalities.
Their English comic counterparts, The Two Ronnies, were there too.
Also on the show was The US Navy Band!
Misty and had a lot of fun that day, even if we were outnumbered.
Starday Records was once a giant in country music, with a roster of
superstars.
I was producing at Starday Studios in the 1960s,
when Willie Nelson was a writer there,
and not getting enough respect from the owner.
I wrote and produced for several Starday Records artists.
Also some for Pete Drake's Stop Records.
Misty Morgan recorded a song on Starday under the name Maryanne Mail.
It was called "The Lonely Sentry"
and was on the Starday LP "Country Music Goes to War".
The war at the time was Viet Nam.
Bill Littleton has died. He was a fellow writer,
and I admired his takes on music and life.
We were sort of pen pals, exchanging points of view,
which included the occasional argument.
As is true with all of my late cohorts, I miss knowing that he's there.
We were having dinner with Major Schwab at the Shaw AFB Officers' Club.
The waiter poured a tiny bit of wine in Misty's glass for her to okay it.
She had such a disappointed expression!
Misty looked up at him and said, "Is that it?"
I just learned how many people uploaded our songs to YouTube.
Along with the songs we uploaded, we've had well over a million views.
Amazing, the money we don't get!
Misty says Social Security is "Go away money."
It's "Here's some money. Now go away."
A LOVE SONG... "Fly Me to Your Room.."
A TROUBLED MARRIAGE SONG.. "You light up my wife".
A LOVE SONG FOR WHEN YOU DON'T REALLY CARE ALL THAT MUCH...
"I get empathetic over you."
VINTAGE CARS...
My '47 Packard was the first car to have power operated seats. Great car.
Our '64 Plymouth Valiant was the first car to have an alternater.
It was still a piece of crap.
A SIDE EFFECT...
Misty said, "All those inhalers are making you depressed."
I said, "I get depressed when I can't breathe."
If I've ever accidentally written anything to offend radical Muslims,
I was only kidding. Haha.
I'm heading for the roundhouse.
They can't corner me there.
Jack Blanchard
http://www.jackandmisty.net
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Compiled by Bill Morrison
1912 - Tex Atchison, of "The Prarie Ramblers," born in Rosine, Kentucky.
1933 - Claude King, singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Shreveport,
Louisiana. Became a cast member of the KWKH Louisiana Hayride in 1952. Claude's
first #1 hit was his Columbia single "Wolverton Mountain" in 1962.
1938 - Roy Acuff made his second guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. The
huge amount of fan mail generated by this guest appearance was enough to
convince acting Opry manager Harry Stone, to make Roy a regular member of the
Opry. Prior to Acuff becoming a member of the Opry, the show featured mainly
instrumental music. Vocal acts would soon become the mainstay of the Grand Ole
Opry. George D. Hay was on medical leave from the Opry at the time Stone hired
Acuff. Hay didn't like Roy's music, and had refused to hire him in the past.
1939 - Brian Golby, fiddler, was born in England.
1940 - Jimmie Davis recorded "You Are My Sunshine" for the Decca label in New
York City. Davis co-wrote the song with Charles Mitchell, and it became a huge
hit.
1941 - Henson Cargill 1941-2007, "Skip-a-Rope," born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1943 - Ernest Tubb's first movie debuted at the New Liberty Theater in Fort
Worth, Texas. Ernest's wife Elaine attended the showing of "Fighting Buckaroo"
and took pictures of the marquee for friends, and neighbors. Ernest had already
moved to Nashville, and when he wasn't playing the Opry, he was playing concert
dates with Pee Wee King.
1957 - Bill Haley began his first tour of England.
1960 - Elvis Presley returned to the U.S. from Germany, after he was discharged
from the Army.
1963 - Patsy Cline recorded her Decca single "Sweet Dreams." Exactly one month
later on March 5, 1963, Patsy would die in a plane crash near Camden, Tennessee.
Sweet Dreams hit the charts on May 11, 1963.
1971 - Sara Evans, singer, songwriter, dancer, and mom, born in Boonville,
Missouri.
1972 - Link Davis 1914-1972, singer, session musician, and multi-instrumentalist
died at the age of 57.
1972 - Jeannie C. Riley, Buddy Alan, and Johnny Bench were featured guests on
"Hee Haw."
1972 - Loretta Lynn's Decca single "One's On The Way" was the #1 country record.
1977 - Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Lorne Greene and Jana Jae were featured
guests on "Hee Haw."
1978 - Eddy Noack 1930-1978, a.k.a. Armond A. Noack Jr. age 47, singer,
songwriter, died today from a cerebral hemorrhage. Eddie recorded for Gold Star,
K-Ark, and D Records. When Eddy recorded Rockabilly songs he used the name Tommy
Wood. Noack moved to Nashville in 1965 and concentrated on his songwriting.
Among those who recorded Noack's tunes were Hank Snow and George Jones.
1979 - Anne Murray's Capitol album "New Kind of Feeling" was certified Gold by
the RIAA.
1980 - T. G. Sheppards "I'll Be Coming Back For More," topped the charts.
1987 - Dan Seals' EMI America label album "Won't Be Blue Anymore," was certified
Gold by the RIAA. The album charted in 1985 and went to #1. Three singles from
the album also went to #1. "Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)" "Meet Me
in Montana (a duet with Marie Osmond" and "Bop."
1991 - Arista Records released Diamond Rio's single "Meet In The Middle." This
was the group's first release, their first chart record, and their first #1 hit.
James Foster, Chapin Hartford, and Don Primmer wrote the song. The members of
the band; Marty Roe; Dana Williams; Jimmy Olander; Gene Johnson; Brian Prout;
and Dan Truman. Diamond Rio joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1998.
1998 - Patty Loveless' Epic album "The Trouble With The Truth" was certified
Gold by the RIAA. The album was released in February 1996.
2002 - RCA released Eddy Arnold's "Looking Back" album.
2005 - Brad Paisley's single "Mud on the Tires" topped the charts.
2005 - Sonny Spencer, age 75, of the "Sons of the Pioneers" died in Tucson,
Arizona.
Courtesy Bill Morrison:
<http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalMAR.html>
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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Man, them biscuits and Chuck and Stan 100% Pure Sorghum really hit the spot on a
Cold Morning in February. It brought to mind my Grand'pa Ed Johnson, every
morning of his life that i can remember, him sitting at the Kitchen table in the
old Sided over Log House, across the road from our house, with a plate of fresh
biscuits out of Grand'ma's wood cook stove...pouring out his Sorghum in a
plate...taking a fork and mixing it with fresh churned butter, then covering two
biscuits with the Sorghum/butter mix, eating that with a couple more saucered
cups of coffee, and that was his breakfast. After he had devoured the cat-head
biscuits...he would lean back in his chair...fire up his Prince Albert Smoking
Tobacco Pipe...and make a sound kinda like a humming noise...which let Grand'ma
know that the biscuits and Sorghum and the strong coffee were, as usual, World
Class Good. He never said it in words...just that Humming noise...but, Grand'ma
knew, and a little smile wold come on her face, making the dimples on both
cheeks show for an instant.
Ya'know, I don't reckon I ever saw a store bought jar of jam or jellies or
Sorghum on Grand'ma's table. She canned her own Jelly and Jams, and they would
buy their Sorghum from a farmer down the road who made it, and put it in Gallon
tin containers. I doubt that Grand'pa ever once tasted frozen biscuits...or
biscuits popped out of a can...it was Grand'ma's daily chore to make scratch
biscuits...and they were about as big around as your hand...they pulled apart so
white and fluffy and the aroma of home cooked food was just different than what
it is today.
As a 10 year old gawky, jug eared country kid, Grand'ma would let me turn the
handle on her butter churn...seems like it would take hours for the butter to
finally start coming together and hardening, and it sure was good on a hot
biscuit.
Sorghum was the sweetener of choice and necessity for the old folks...they could
grow the Sorghum plants themselves and press them out to cook up into Sorghum to
put up and can. They carried it across the plains in their Covered Wagons, or in
their saddlebags a'horseback. Sugar was not available to most of the hill people
in the Pioneer days, or to the farmers on the Plains States, either. It was
Sorghum for the Sweetener. Grand'ma would use it to make her cookies, pies and
cobblers...and I still do that today in my baking.
Call me Old Fashioned...and you would be right...but, I love the taste of
Sorghum and I always will.
Stan Hitchcock
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
Proverbs 3:7 (NIV)
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