COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday May 5th, 2016
Email: djdclassics@gmail.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
Back in the 50's – a lot of recording sessions were done in radio stations – one
of which was Jim Reeves 4th single release – his first charted single and his
first number one!
Jim's Abbott Record single "Mexican Joe" was recorded at KWKH Radio in
Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a KWKH announcer/D.J. and a Louisiana Hayride
emcee at the time.
Floyd Cramer was a Hayride staff musician at the time and played on Jim's
"Mexican Joe" session.
Jim's "Mexican Joe" came on the country charts March 28th, 1953 and made it to
number one – where it stuck for nine weeks. It was his first charted song and
his first number one. The single was on the charts for 26 weeks.
Jim Reeves placed 80 songs on the country charts between 1953 and 1984 –
including duets with Ginny Wright, Dottie West, Patsy Cline and Deborah Allen.
The duets with Cline and Allen were produced electronically after his death.
He joined The Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and was inducted into The Country Music
Hall Of Fame in 1967.
Jim Reeves died in a plane crash in 1964.
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Now into cleaning out boxes and shelves of books – finding several I had
forgotten about:
500 page "Mayberry 101– Behind The Scenes of the TV Classic" play by play
description of 79 episodes from 1960 – 1967 plus photos from the films – 1998 -
P L U S: 286 page "The Andy Griffith Show" – quotes from interviews with the
principal characters of the show who trace the show from beginning to end plus
photos taken on the set and behind the scenes – 1981 – PLUS: 500 page "2,548
Best Things Anybody Ever Said" – includes who said it and when - 1982 – Forbes
Magazine stated that "reading this book is like eating peanuts- once you start
– you can't stop." PLUS: 500 page "The Friars Club Encyclopedia of Jokes" – 1997
- full of one liners, straight lines, stories, gags, roasts, rubs and put downs.
ALL FOUR BOOKS FOR $40 and I'll pay shipping INSIDE THE U.S.A. PayPal – Check
or Money Order – reply to djdclassics@gmail.com
PayPal – Check or Money Order – reply to djdclassics@gmail.com
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: Whatever happened to the singer named Collin Raye? I always liked his
records.
A: Collin is currently working on a new record: 25 of his biggest hits,
re-recorded in their original keys and he hopes to finish the new album in time
for summer release.
Q: I enjoyed the Dolly Parton "Coat Of Many Colors" movie on TV. Could you
tell me anything about the other movies she is doing for TV?
A: Dolly Parton has plenty more film projects in the works — though they
won't all be as faith-based as "Coat of Many Colors." She's currently working on
"Jolene" and plans to do a movie on" The Seeker" - based on her song by the same
name.
Q: Was Charley Pride ever a member of The Grand Ole Opry? My daughter says he
is and my son says he is not.
A: Charley Pride became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in May 1993.
Q: My dad says that years ago Willie Nelson recorded an album that was on the
charts for over 500 weeks. Is that true?
A: Willie's 1978 "Stardust" album was on the Billboard Top Country Album
charts for 551 weeks.
Q: My daughter says a monument honoring Merle Haggard is in the works. Do you
have any details?
A: The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame is reportedly planning to place a monument
to Haggard on the Muskogee Civic Center's north lawn which will include a bronze
sculpture of Haggard, sitting on a bench with a guitar case and a hat.
Q: A friend of mine has a piece of a song titled "I Got You" by Waylon
Jennings that he recorded from the radio years ago. There is a girl singing on
that record with Waylon. Do you know who she is?
Q The girl singer is Anita Carter. Waylon & Anita's version of "I Got You"
was a number 4 hit in 1968 and is also in Waylon's "Just To Satisfy You" album.
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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
1949
Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams
1957
Gone - Ferlin Husky
1965
This is It - Jim Reeves
1973
Behind Closed Doors - Charlie Rich
1981
Rest Your Love on Me - Conway Twitty
1989
Young Love - The Judds
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The majority of our readers are at that age where health issues have become a
problem. If you're having health problems - I urge you to check out this
website:
www.lynncapehartwellness.com -
http://www.lynncapehartwellness.com
– a site which provides cutting edge
wellness information not available any place else.
The site contains blogs about everything from sleep problems, to hair and
eyebrow loss, heart disease, asthma, high cholesterol, cancer, morning sickness,
erectile dysfunction, hangovers, bad breath, fatigue, flu, sports injuries,
allergies, body sculpting exercises, and much more.
So - P L E A S E - take the time to check it out !
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
1928
Born on this day in Bessemer City, North Carolina, was Marshall Grant, bass
player with Johnny Cash's original band, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and
electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became known as The
Tennessee Three in 1960, with the addition of drummer W. S. Holland. Grant also
served as road manager for Cash and his touring show company. He died on August
7, 2011.
1942
Born on this day in Tremont, Mississippi was Tammy Wynette. Known as the first
lady of country music. Her best-known song, "Stand by Your Man", was one of the
biggest selling hit singles by a woman in the history of the country music
genre. Later in her career Wynette had the 1991 hit "Justified and Ancient" with
The KLF which became a #1 hit in eighteen countries. She died from cardiac
arrhythmiaon aged 55 on 6th April 1998.
1976
Mickey Gilley had the #1 song on the country singles chart with "Don't the Girls
All Get Prettier at Closing Time". Written by Baker Knight the song became
Gilley's fifth #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
1992
Aaron Tippin was at #1 on the US Country charts with, "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong
with the Radio". The fourth single of his career, it was also the first release
from his second album, 1992's Read Between the Lines. The song was not only the
first #1 hit of his career, but also his longest-lasting, at three weeks.
1999
Winners at the 34th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards hosted by Reba
McEntire included: Pioneer Award - Glen Campbell, Top Female Vocalist of the
Year - Faith Hill, Top Male Vocalist of the Year - Tim McGraw, Top Vocal Duo or
Group - Dixie Chicks, Song of the Year went to Steve Wariner for "Holes in the
Floor of Heaven." Country Music Video of the Year went to Faith Hill "This
Kiss."
Courtesy: www.thisdayincountrymusic.com -
http://www.thisdayincountrymusic.com
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THE WORLD COULD USE A SMILE.
By: Jack Blanchard
This morning at 1 PM I had my coffee on our screened-in porch
and watched the Spanish Moss sway in the oaks.
A couple of cows browsed in the pasture across the street.
Damn cows better stay off my lawn!
AT FORMAL DINNERS...
I like to wear my plaid hunting cap with ear flaps,
and often, pants.
The guitar books call a pick a "plectrum".
I think the plectrum is a body part.
In the middle of my colonoscopy
the doctor said, "Can you hear me now?"
At the supermarket I saw a guy pushing about twenty shopping carts.
I yelled, :"Hey! Dontcha think somebody else might want to use one?"
My grandfather used to be sent down in the mine
to make sure it was safe for the canaries
LIFE IS LIKE A GAME OF MONOPOLY...
If the other guys have Boardwalk and Park Place,
and you just have Mediterranean,
you're screwed.
I enjoy singing "with no pants on" in songs...
"Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa", with no pants on.
"Santa Claus is coming to town", with no pants on.
"Dance Ballerina Dance", with no pants on.
We were having lunch with a Salt Lake City DJ across the street from The Mormon
Tabernacle. I asked if the angel with the trumpet on the roof was Gabriel. He
said, "No, but we Mormons believe that on Judgement Day that angel will come to
life and blow the horn, but if he does, he's going to blow pidgeon crap all over
The Utah Hotel."
Sometimes I think I should never have quit my old job as a Hen Teaser.
Jack Blanchard
http://jackandmisty.net
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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Late Night At The Old Farm House-Stan Hitchcock
I'll bet every one of my Musician friends,if I would ask, "so, what got you into
this business, anyway?" would be stuck for an answer. I mean, sure, they could
tell you how it physically happened, so and so heard me and gave me a hand up,
or so and so discovered me, or heck, I don't know, I just always have done it, I
guess. I am convinced that the George Jones, Merle Haggards, Red Foley's, Vern
Gosdins or Marty Robbins...they don't just make a plan to do that with their
life and keep working at it til it happens. No, it is much more complex than
that. Course, I am talking about the olden times of music, the times when you
just worked your butt off, making music in any way that opened up, kept
sharpening your vocal or music skills til you could stand out in any crowd of
pickers. I mean, I guess nowadays, with American Idol and stuff like that, you
can become an overnight star, but where are the ones like the characters of old,
the guys who made it in spite of stints in jail or prison, because they just
couldn't fit the common pattern of society, they were always out of sync with
the powers that be. I would like to see some of these young cracker jacks, who
have sudden stardom, riding in the multiple busses given to them by their record
companies...how long would they last riding 5 to a car, jammed up together for
hundreds of miles, doing a series of one nighters across Mid America, working
some of the clubs that have chicken wire around the stage to stop the beer
bottles being thrown by the patrons at the end of each song...and that is if
they like you....if they didn't you had to have a tough band that could fight
their way out of the gig. I'd like to see them sing a great song like Johnny
Paycheck (Donny Lytle)could, and watch how serious they were in music, when a
woman fan, standing in front of the stage, looking up at Johnny with pure
adoration for his talent, and her ex husband stalker, walks in, walks down to
the stage and blows her brains out in the middle of the song. Where is Mr.
American Idol singing star after that....does he go on, like Johnny did, in
spite of the horror of it all or not? I went on Johnny's tour bus, about 30
minutes after that horror happened, and found him crying his heart out back in
the stateroom. But, that was the underbelly of the country music that we all
knew back in the day....no, it was not for the faint hearted. Every one of those
heroes,I mentioned earlier, led this kind of existence, in the beginning of
their careers. We were dang tough, and willing to risk it all, for one more
song, one more encore, one more fan.
So, yeah, I enjoy the peace of my front porch in the old farm house by the
creek, writing my little stories each day, just to keep in contact with the
people who appreciate the classic music, and the lives that went with making
that music. I don't know, I just think it is kinda important, that today, people
know where it all came from. It came from blood, sweat, and miles of two lane
highway. I know, from being there, that the behind the scenes happenings of a
life of music was not always a pretty picture, most of my friends and heroes
knew terrible heartache and loss, could sing about them in the songs that they
wrote, would close their eyes in the middle of the song and see the hurtful
things happen, again and again, when they sung those songs.
A life of music was not for the faint hearted, no, many times it was for the
broken hearted, the troubled and tortured men and women, who could sing about
your heartache, and touch a chord within you, but who really were singing about
themselves. Could anyone listen to "Your Cheatin' Heart", and not know that Hank
was tortured by a wife's infidelity? When Red Foley, on his very last show,
before he went to the hotel room after and drank until he passed out and died,
standing on stage, staring quietly at the crowd, and saying, "Folks, this song
kinda tells how the old Red Head is feeling tonight", and going into his Peace
In The Valley, one last time...."Well, I'm tired and so weary. But I must go
along. Till the Lord comes and calls me away, oh yes."
From watching his pain, for so many years that I knew him, I have to believe
that he got what he had been looking for.....Peace. stan
Stan Hitchcock
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age."
– Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
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