Thursday December 17th, 2015 COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS

COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS

Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

Thursday December 17th, 2015

Email: djdclassics@gmail.com


STORY BEHIND THE SONG

Eddie Rabbitt's 1983 number one "You Can't Run From Love" was the result of what
the three co writers (Eddie Rabbitt – Even Stevens and David Malloy - called
their "round robin writing sessions." Many of Eddie Rabbitt's songs were
co-written by the three – seated around the chrome legged formica dinette table
in their DebDave Music Publishing office kitchen.

Seems that none of the three remembered who had the idea for the song but all
three agreed that Rabbitt came up with the bridge for the tune.

The song was the second single released from Eddie's "Radio Romance" album and
came on the country music charts April 2nd, 1983 and was at the top of the
charts on June 18th.

It was his 23rd charted song and on the charts for 17 weeks.

Eddie Rabbitt placed 43 songs on the country music charts from 1974 thru 1991
– including seventeen number ones.

He died at age 56 in 1998

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Still have a few copies of the first book – "Stories Behind The Songs." This is
the first collection of "Story Behind The Song" columns from all the newsletters
– starting in 1998 thru 2004. This 400 page collection is in a bound spiral book
with front and back cover. Some have a few water marks but in very good
condition. Priced at $45 each – I'll pay the postage. PAYPAL ORDERS ONLY. Email
to djdclassics@gmail.com

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: I heard on the radio that a new Ray Price single is being released. Do
you have any information?
A: The song "No More Songs To Sing" is being released from Ray's final album
"Beauty is . . . The Final Sessions" which was released April 2014.

Q: The radio guys mentioned a guy named Don Chapel passing away. I never
heard of him. Can you give me any information?
A: Don Chapel was the former husband of Tammy Wynette. They divorced in 1968.
He was also a songwriter and his songs were recorded by Tammy Wynette, Conway
Twitty, David Houston, Jack Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Louvin, Lynn
Anderson, George Jones, Melba Montgomery, Webb Pierce, the Osborne Brothers,
Ernest Tubb, Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Bush, Ray Price, and others.

Q: I've heard that Hank Williams Jr. has recorded the song "Are You Ready For
The Country?" Wasn't that a Waylon Jennings song?
A: "Are You Ready for the Country" was written and first recorded by Neil
Young, on his 1972 album, "Harvest." Waylon Jennings released it as a single in
1976 for a Top 10 hit. Hank Jr. and Eric Church debuted their version of the
tune at the 2015 CMA Awards; it is Hank Jr.'s first song on Nash Icon and the
first single off of his upcoming new album, "It's About Time."

Q: My mom used to talk about a friend of hers who had some records under the
name Terri Melton. Have you heard of a singer by that name?
A: Terri Melton was a Knoxville, Tennessee singer who placed two songs
(along with Jim Mundy) on the charts in the late 70's – neither of which made it
into the top 50's.

Q: Ronnie Milsap's record "It Was Almost Like A Song" is one of my favorites.
Do you know who wrote that song?
A: Ronnie's 1977 number one was written by Hal David and Archie Jordan.

Q: There was a song on the radio years ago about "We're Over." Do you know who
had that record.
A: "We're Over" was a number three hit for Johnny Rodriguez in 1974

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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 at no
charge.

For information, email me at djdclassics@gmail.com

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NUMBER ONES ON THIS DATE

1946
Divorce Me C.O.D. - Merle Travis
1954
More and More - Webb Pierce
1962
Don't Let Me Cross Over - Carl Butler & Pearl (Dee Jones)
1970
Endlessly - Sonny James
1978
The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
1986
Hell and High Water - T. Graham Brown

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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
1910
Born on this day, was Spade Cooley, American Western swing musician, big band
leader, actor, and television personality. His career ended in 1961 when he was
arrested and convicted for the murder of his second wife, Ella Mae Evans. Cooley
died on November 23, 1969.
1933
Born on this day in Atlanta in Cass County, Texas, was Nat Stuckey country
singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the
top 10 of Hot Country Songs with "Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Thang
and Cisco" and "Take Time to Love Her." He died on Aug 24th 1988.
1966
Born on this day, was Tracy Byrd, country music singer, songwriter, who broke
through on the country music scene with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven", which
reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although he did
not land a second #1 until 2002's "Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo", Byrd has
charted more than thirty hit singles in his career, including eleven additional
Top Ten hits. He has also released nine studio albums and two greatest-hits
albums.

1994
Joe Diffie started a four week run at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart
with "Pickup Man".
2003
Wynonna Judd who was arrested for drunk driving near Nashville, Tennessee, lost
her driver's license for one year and was orderd to perform 200 hours of
community service. Judd, was pulled over on Nov 13 for driving 47 miles per hour
in a 30 mile per hour zone. After consenting to a Breathalyzer, Judd blew a .175
- more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.
2008
Paramedics were called to country singer Mindy McCready's Nashville home after
an apparent suicide attempt; they transported her to a hospital after finding
wounds on her wrists.
2012
Glen Campbell's Country Music Malibu Mansion sold for $4.45m. The singers home
which has about 6,500 square feet of living space for just four bedrooms,
featured travertine floors and African mahogany cabinetry, and a theater room,
billiard room, office, 8-person spa, outdoor dining area with full kitchen,
ocean views, and proximity to Point Dume.

Top of Form
Top of Form
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CHRISTMAS IS A TIME
By: Jack Blanchard

Some years ago Misty and I took a holiday season job
in a Miami department store in a poor neighborhood.
She was the photographer
who snapped and sold the pictures of the children
on Santa's lap. I was Santa.

The Santa suit and the whiskers were hot,
but it was an unforgettable experience.
Little poor kids would tell their dreams,
dreams which I knew could not come true for them,
at least this year.
They had faith in Santa
and even a "maybe" from me made their eyes sparkle,
but somehow, I felt guilty.

One little boy asked me "How come Santa Claus is white?".
I told him I hoped he wouldn't hold that against me,
and he assured me he wouldn't.
There were always a few raggedy strays
wandering around the toy department,
giggling and touching all the magical things
that would soon belong to someone else.
Some of them laughed and pointed at me,
but never came too close.
Others showed off to their pals
by climbing right up on my lap,
like they weren't scared at all.

One little girl, dressed in filthy rags,
was too small to climb up on my knee, so I lifted her up.
She weighed nothing.
I wondered if she was old enough to talk,
as she just smiled at me, wide-eyed.
Obviously, she was alone and uncared for.
I asked her where her mommy and daddy were
and she said, "Drunk".
Then she confessed her true love for me.
I asked her what she really wanted most for Christmas,
and she lisped, "New shoes".
She wasn't wearing any this winter.
"Merry Christmas! Ho -Ho -Ho", I choked,
as she climbed down to be replaced by the next in line.

When business tapered off a little later,
I searched the whole store for the little girl,
to buy her a pair of new shoes.
I was too late.
she had disappeared, and I never saw her again,
except in my mind every Christmas.

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Christmas is a time of sad happiness.
Bar rooms are lined with the lonely, clinging to each other.
Bartenders are parent Images.
Displaced Yankees dream of gently falling snow,
that never turns to slush;
and wandering Romeos often return, temporarily,
to the family fold.

Telephone wires hum with long distance calls
between people who care about each other in December,
which is better than not caring at all.
After shave lotion is unwrapped with oohs and ahs;
toys are getting ready to be broken,
and puppies inhabit stockings.

Trees are always the "most beautiful ever",
if you just turn the bare side to the wall,
and eggs flow like nog.

Roaring hearths and good fellowship
are for the extremely fortunate,
but some will settle for a bag of groceries.
For certain people,
this will be the first Christmas;
for others, the last.

"Merry Christmas"
will be said in shacks, castles, prisons, airplanes,
battlefronts, and churches.

No matter what we say is wrong with it,
Christmas is a time when many people are a little nicer...
and that's something.

Jack Blanchard
http://jackandmisty.net

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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Well, it is another fine porch sitting December morning in Sumner County,
Tennessee, heavy overcast, but warm as a Mother's embrace. If we had a beach we
could lay on it, but, the gravel down by the creek ain't all that comfortable,
so it's the front porch for me, with one of Denise's cookies and my endless cup
of coffee. Not a bad way to start another Saturday.
The birds of Winter, that were singing at the top of their little voices
yesterday are strangely silent this morning, except for one little chirper and a
black crow cawing down by the Sycamores trying to gather up a quorum of his
black brothers so they can have a meeting and sit in the limbs and caw together
loud enough to drive the squirrels crazy, who are curled up in their nest trying
to get some sleep. So far the old black crow ain't doin' nothing but making a
fool out of his own self cause nobodies shown up for the meeting. There he goes,
flying off in a huff. Good riddance, I say.
Gonna be in the 70's today, which I realize don't mean much to you folks down in
the Deep South of Florida (or Cuba), but to the poor folks up in Michigan,
Minnesota or Wisconsin, that is like taking a trip to the Caribbean or
something. So, excuse me as I rub it in a little for our Northern brothers and
sisters.
Well, by golly, that dang old crow came back with his bunch of gangbanger
friends, sure enough, and they are all hollering about something or other,
drowning out the sounds of the one little chirper that was trying to entertain
us this morning. Then help shows up...yessir, as if to help the little feller
out, a red headed woodpecker just landed in the tree in front of the porch and
is putting a good beat to his chirp. Cawing is just noise...but, chirping with a
beat? Priceless.
And so it goes, on the front porch of the old farm house, on the hill above the
Sycamores, by the Chuckling Creek as it makes its way to the Cumberland and the
Ohio and the Mississippi and the Gulf and thus....to the World. Our little creek
has a purpose, you see, refreshing the World's great water bodies from a fresh
Tennessee Spring, in Sumner County, Tennessee. "Everything works together for
good, for those that love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose." I
find a lot of comfort in that knowledge. I wish for you all a good day, as we go
about our own Purpose, on this day of December 12, 2015.
www.hitchcockcountry.com -

http://www.hitchcockcountry.com


BLUEHIWAYS TV is now on Dish Network Channel 73

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in
our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the
face of Christ.
– 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)

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