COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday February 4th, 2016
Email: djdclassics@gmail.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
According to songwriters – a lot of different things cause songs to be created
– and in the case of Earl Thomas Conley's 1983 number one – "You Love's On The
Line," – came to be because of another of his hits – "Chance Of Lovin' You."
Conley commented, "Your Love's On The Line" was inspired by the creativity of
"Chance Of Lovin' You." Randy Scruggs were trying several different things –
different riffs and chord changes and things like that. We were searching for
different things that would work melodically – but at that same time – trying to
come up with some lyric ideas that would work and make sense. And when we got
into it – "Your Love's On The Line" just came together and fell right into
place."
Earl Thomas Conley's RCA Victor single "Your Love's On The Line" came on the
charts May 14th, 1983 and was in the number one slot on August 6th. It was
produced by Earm Thomas Conley and Nelson Larkin. The single was Conley's 16th
charted song and on the charts for 19 weeks.
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Found in the storage room – 38 issues of Country Song Roundup Magazine – most
of them from the 1960's and 70's. Half a dozen have covers missing and a few
other covers have separated – but most in good condition. These have been in a
file cabinet for the past 30 years and no water damage. If you collect classic
country song lyrics – this is a load of them – plus interviews and features
–with photos – which were CSR exclusives. $85 for the box of 38 – includes
Media Mail packing & shipping. PayPal – Checks or Money Orders accepted. Reply
to djdclassics@gmail.com
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: The TV news had a mention of Tanya Tucker being seriously ill. Do you have
any details?
A: Tanya Tucker has been struggling with clinical depression for several years
but during a recent interview she commented that with the support of family,
friends and medicine, she has been able to successfully battle her depression.
Q: Is Loretta Lynn recording in a Johnny Cash studio? I heard about this on
the radio?
A: Loretta Lynn's new "Full Circle" album was produced by Lynn's daughter,
Patsy Lynn Russell, and John Carter Cash, the only child of Johnny Cash and June
Carter Cash and recorded at Cash Cabin Studio, constructed by Johnny Cash on his
Hendersonville, Tennessee property in the late 1970s.
Q: Heard part of something the radio guys were talking about concerning Glen
Campbell's Goodtime Hour. Is it going to re-run?
A: I don't know of any plans to re-run "The Goodtime Hour." The radio guys
were probably talking about this being the 47th anniversary of the premiere of
the CBS
series - on January 29th, 1969.
Q: I have heard that Merle Haggard has canceled some more concerts. Is he
still ailing?
A: Haggard canceled two concerts - reportedly due to "double pneumonia." He
was previously forced to postpone some December tour dates due to a bout of
double pneumonia that sent him to the hospital. His next scheduled concert is on
February 2nd in Riverside, California - which is one of the ones that was
postponed during the singer's original bout of double pneumonia.
Q: Do you know anything about Kris Kristofferson going into the hall of fame?
My daughter says it was on TV.
A: Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Class of 2016 includes Kris Kristofferson,
Bonnie Raitt and the late B.B. King. The induction ceremony is scheduled for
October 12th at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas.
Q: Is Don Williams ill? I heard that he canceled his tour which was to begin
very shortly.
A: Don Williams has postponed his upcoming concert tour due to unexpected hip
replacement surgery. He was scheduled to begin his 2016 trek on February 17th in
Jacksonville, Florida, and play in 19 cities through mid-April.
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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
1947
Rainbow at Midnight - Ernest Tubb
1955
Let Me Go, Lover! - Hank Snow
1963
The Ballad of Jed Clampett - Flatt & Scruggs
1971
Flesh and Blood - Johnny Cash
1979
Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For - Crystal Gayle
1987
You Still Move Me - Dan Seals
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Top of Form
1962
Born on this day in Long Branch, New Jersey, was Clint Black, country music
singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and actor. Black made
his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four #1 singles on the US
Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. He has amassed more than 30 singles on the
US country charts (of which 13 have reached #1). Black has also ventured into
acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a
starring role in 1998's Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack.
1963
Patsy Cline started what would be her last recordings at Bradley Studios cutting
a dozen tracks including "Love Letters In The Sand", "Crazy Arms", and "The Blue
Moon Of Kentucky."
1973
Charlie Rich was at #1 on the US country album chart with Behind Closed Doors.
The album received three Country Music Association awards: Best Male Vocalist,
Album of the Year, and Single of the Year, for the title song which gave the
singer his first #1 hit.
1989
Old 8 x 10 the third album by Randy Travis was at #1 on the US Country chart.
The album produced the singles "Honky Tonk Moon", "Deeper Than the Holler", "Is
It Still Over", and "Promises". All of these except "Promises" reached #1 on the
Hot Country Songs charts.
1989
Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns American country musician, comedian, and mandolin
player died aged 68. He was better known by his stage name Jethro from his years
with Henry D. Haynes as part of the comedic musical duo Homer and Jethro
beginning in 1936.
Top of Form
Top of Form
Top of Form
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HARD TIMES IN HOUSTON.
By: Jack Blanchard
Just a short time before this true story starts
Misty and I were performing concerts with major stars,
such as Merle Haggard, Jerry Reed, B.J. Thomas, Tom T. Hall,
Faron Young, Charlie Pride, Boots Randolph,
George Jones and Tammy Wynette, and others.
We were never anybody's opening act,
but either "stars" or "special guest stars".
The agents' contracts called it "100% billing".
We also did television with Jackie Gleason, Dick Clark,
Carol Channing, Mama Cass Elliot, and on and on.
This was in the 1970s.
Then things changed.
UPSTATE NEW YORK:
In the 1980s we were doing a few country shows,
booking our trio in jazz lounges in the North East,
and just about breaking even.
When we were playing at a Hyatt hotel in New York
a man approached us with an offer of sixteen weeks in Houston.
We were relatively happy where we were,
but a sixteen week contract is more security, we thought.
HOUSTON:
First of all, two thirds of the audience hated us
because we weren't a cover band, as they were used to.
One woman yelled out at the end of our set,
"They didn't play ONE SONG I know!"
We had our handful of fans so we worked to them,
but it was a rough start
and turned out to be a bad omen.
The temperature was 105 and humid.
We were living in our motor home on a gravel site
behind an RV parts store, the T-pipe on our sewer broke
and there was nobody to fix it but me.
It had to be done. so I slid under the rig on the gravel
and some weeds I didn't recognize as poison ivy.
It was a Sunday and the parts store was closed,
but Misty saw a couple of guys in there and banged on the door.
They refused to sell her anything,
but she found the part, threw the money on the counter and left.
That evening I wound up in the hospital
with the worst case of Poison Ivy they'd ever seen.
Then I got a phone call from my sister Val
that our mother had just died.
I went to work the next night anyway.
We had a drummer that was an 18 year old spoiled brat,
but was a passable jazz player for our New York State gigs.
He was also a jazz snob and hated country.
He said things like "Jack, you can't pay me enough to play that."
He was rude to us, and I started to drink from all the pressure.
Before then I had never used alcohol while working.
We'd rented a junk heap from the Rent-a-Wreck Company...
On a Sunday we decided to get away
by taking a drive to Galveston.
First we got arrested.
The cop said that if we worked in Texas for more than a few weeks
we had to have a Texas driver's license.
Also we were charged with having an outdated license tag.
We had assumed that a good license plate came with the rental.
We finally got to Galveston and the car died forever.
There were no cell phones then,
so I found a pay phone and called Rent-a-Wreck.
No answer. It was Sunday.
We somehow got a bus back to Houston,
and called them the next day
to pick up the car and give us a replacement.
Then the floods came.
It rained continuously for many days
and people were driving under railroad overpasses,
getting into deep water, and drowning.
Misty couldn't get to our jalopy from the Walmart door,
and asked a nice elderly lady to take her to our car.
Misty felt guilty when the high water ruined the lady's carpeting.
Time ground on.
Every night on stage was torture,
and the finance company was looking for our motor home.
We were several months behind on payments.
and trying to catch up.
They knew we were in Texas from a check we'd sent.
One night I drank too much
and said some insulting things about the house band.
They were a really fine group that played opposite us,
and I was wrong.
Everybody liked them, and I'd made our situation worse,
if possible.
When we finished our contract there,
we sent the drummer home to annoy his parents,
and headed for the Louisiana border
to throw GE Finance off our trail.
VINTON, LOUISIANA:
Just across the line there was a KOA campground at Vinton
where we were stranded for over a month.
From the campground,
Misty would ride her fold-up bicycle into town to get groceries.
Our only company there was a big family of Gypsies
that we seemed to meet all over the country.
A job in Arkansas and a stop at a pawn shop got us out of there,
but trouble came with us.
HOME:
It got better in the 1990s, and much better after that.
I never had a drinking problem again.
I think it was just an ordeal we had to go through.
If there's an afterlife, somebody owes us an explanation.
We're still doing our music, and life is looking okay.
Jack Blanchard
http://jackandmisty.net
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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Sometimes I just had to sit down on a rock wall, grab a weed to chew on, and
ponder this: "Is The 70's ever gonna end?" Dang it, I loved the 50's and 60's
but these 70's kinda suck. The music was already starting to change, for half of
the decade we were still embroiled in the Vietnam War...College kids were
rioting and burning flags...a bad marriage was getting even worse, and would
soon end ...and my hair was long enough to make me a Hippie. The 70's were my
dark years....so, don't go telling me how great they were.
Then the 80's hit and it all came together again. In 1984 I met and married
Denise Thornburg, and added Hitchcock to her name. That wiped away all the bad
stuff I went through in the 70's. I put together the team and we all started
Country Music Television (CMT), our Son Scott was born...and all was good in my
life again.
Funny how certain pictures bring back some of your history. I reckon that's why
we make them....to remind us who we were and what we were doing at that place in
time.
So, rock on chillin', that old boggie man, the 70's ain't never gonna be back
again. We survived, and here we are...in the uhhhh....dadblame, is it 2016
already? Time flies when you are having a good time.
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.
– 1 John 1:8-9 (NIV)
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