COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle washer
Email: djdclassics@gmail.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
Several hit records gained popularity because they were banned by radio stations
for one reason or another.
According to Loretta Lynn - her 1967 hit, "What Kind Of Girl Do You Think I Am"
was one of those tunes!
She commented, "A lot of radio stations refused to play that record. Some of
them told me they thought the record was dirty. But they were wrong. There was
nothing dirty about it. That song - like a lot of my other songs - just told it
like it is - I didn't try to fluff it up. I just told the truth and there was
nothing dirty about it."
Loretta's Decca Records single "What Kind Of Girl Do You Think I Am" came on the
charts September 23rd, 1967 and peaked at number five.
It was her 17th charted song and was on the charts for 17 weeks.
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STILL CLEARING OUT BOOKS FROM THE STOREROOM:
220 page hardback "THE NASHVILLE SOUND" –examines the dramatic changes in
country music in the 1950's and 1960's – one chapter focuses on the recording
career of Patsy Cline - with over 20 photos – PLUS: 240 page hardback "THE
LAUGHING MAN OF WOODMONT COVES" by Tom T. Hall – Tom T.'s novel all about the
eccentric inhabitants of a small town – Both books for $25 and I'll pay
shipping. PayPal – Check or Money Order – reply to
djdclassics@gmail.com
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: According to my dad - Elvis Presley was booed at the Grand Ole Opry. Is
that true?
A: Elvis Presley wasn't booed but his performance was not received well at his
one and only appearance on the Opry and an Opry official reportedly suggested
that Presley not quit his day job driving trucks.
Q: The radio folks said that Dolly Parton had set some kind of record with her
recordings. Do you have any information?
A: Dolly Parton has become the first artist to earn a Top 20 hit on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in every decade from the 1960s through the
2010s. After
teaming up with Pentatonix to make an a cappella cover of her 1973 hit
"Jolene" - that reworking of "Jolene" landed Parton and Pentatonix the No. 18
spot on the Hot Country Songs chart, and with that honor - Dolly can now say
that she has charted Top 20 hits during the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s and
'10s — six decades in a row. She is also the only artist to earn a Top 40 hit on
the Hot Country Songs chart in each decade from the '60s through the '10s.
Q: I have heard that George Strait has a new CD at Walmart. Do you have
details?
A: George Strait has partnered with Walmart to release a new hits collection,
"Strait Out of the Box: Part 2." The project will be available exclusively at
Walmart on November 18th. The new project will be made up of three discs,
featuring a total of 56 tracks: 36 hit singles (including 26 No. 1s and his
newest single, "Goin' Goin' Gone"), 18 album cuts and two brand-new tunes.
Q: Do you know if Tammy Wynette ever recorded the Jeannie Seely hit "Don't
Touch Me?" My mother says she heard Tammy sing that song on the radio.
A: Tammy's version of "Don't Touch Me" is in her 1967 "Your Good Girl's Gonna
Go Bad" album
Q: The David Houston song "Already It's Heaven" was my mom's favorite song. Do
you know who wrote it?
A: The 1968 number one for Houston was written by Glenn Sutton and Billy
Sherrill.
Q: Can you tell me why Minnie Pearl isn't in the hall of fame?
A: "Miss Minnie" was induced into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1975
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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
Wine, Women and Song - Al Dexter
1954
I Don't Hurt Anymore - Hank Snow
1962
Devil Woman - Marty Robbins
1970
There Must Be More to Love Than This - Jerry Lee Lewis
1978
Heartbreaker - Dolly Parton
1986
Always Have Always Will - Janie Frickie
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A NASHVILLE SONGWRITER'S JOURNEY WITH THE STARS
A collection of Nashville songwriter John Riggs' stories and experiences with
country music's top recording artists – including George Jones , Hank Snow,
Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty and over 40 more!
John Riggs reveals the real personality of the biggest names in country music
– and a few surprises!
John was also Ralph Emery's assistant on Ralph's all night radio show on WSM –
Nashville for five years and offers an insight to the top stars in country
music that few people ever experience.
$20 for either the printed book or E-book on CD OR $35 for a copy of both.
Check – Money Order or PayPal – email: selectiverecords@comcast.net
for PayPal – or mail check or money order to: Selective Records – P.O. Box 90574
– Nashville, Tennessee 37209
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Courtesy: Bill Morrison
Kendall Hayes, songwriter, "Walk on By," born Perryville, KY 1935.
Al Dexter's "Wine, Women and Song" was #1 in 1946.
Ernest Tubb and Red Foley recorded "Too Old to Tango," 1953.
Marty Robbins' "Devil Woman" topped the charts 1962.
Rex Allen's single "Don't Go Near The Indians" debuted on the charts 1962.
Tim Rushlow, "Little Texas" born Arlington, TX 1966.
Frank "Cicero" Weaver of "The Weaver Brothers & Elviry" died 1967.
Jerry Lee Lewis topped the country charts with "There Must Be More to Love Than
This" 1970.
Claude Grant, age 69, of the "Tenneva Ramblers" died 1975.
Moe Bandy's single "I Cheated Me Right Out Of You' charted 1979.
Amos Binkley, age 90, of the Binkley Brothers Dixie Clodhoppers, died 1985.
Janie Frickie's "Always Have, Always Will," was #1 in 1986.
Alan Jackson debuted on the Opry 1990.
Theron Eugene "Ted" Daffen, age 84, songwriter, bandleader, died 1996. Inducted
NSHF 1970.
Courtesy: <http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalendar.html>
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FUZZY LITTLE WEST VIRGINIANS.
By: Jack Blanchard
We were up around Wheeling doing some shows...
The Wheeling Jamboree and a couple of county fairs.
An old singing partner, Tony Arbonaise, came to one of the shows.
and he urged us to come and visit his home in Gipsy, West Virginia.
He's a hard guy to say no to.
We had a new Corvette and Tony insisted upon driving.
There were only two bucket seats so Misty was on my lap,
with her head bumping the roof all the way.
My legs went to sleep.
It was getting dark
and the narrow road was all ess curves.
It was foggy and the pavement was wet,
but that didn't stop Tony from driving like Super Dave.
His foot went back and forth from the gas pedal to the brake
trying to maintain 70 mph on the hairpin turns.
There was a woman front of us with kids in the car.
Tony was on their bumper, scaring them to death.
The kids horrified faces pleaded with us
from their back window.
Tony didn't seem to care.
That's when I knew this side trip was a mistake,
and that he was nuts.
I got carsick and yelled at him until he stopped,
and I drove the rest of the way.
I don't know how Misty fit into the little space behind the seats,
but she was not about to sit on his lap.
Gipsy WV was just a wide spot in the road,
where Tony and his wife owned a little grocery/convenience store.
We slept in an old brown bedroom up over the store.
The tightly wound stairway to the upper floor
had steps too small to handle a normal foot.
I called to Tony in the night:
"Hey, how do I get to the bathroom?'
He yelled back: "Take the stairs. I know you can do it."
We couldn't wait to escape from there,
but we did enjoy the return trip
through the winding mountain roads,
in our sports car with the top off,
on a cool, crisp autumn afternoon.
Big fat woodchucks were on the sides of the roads.
Later, we were telling an audience about it,
and I forgot what they called those creatures.
I asked the people, "What do they call those little animals
that sit up and grin at you from the side of the road?"
Some wise guy from the back of the crowd yelled this:
"West Virginians".
Jack Blanchard
http://www.jackandmisty.net
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View From The Front Porch-Stan Hitchcock
October 1961, Bradleys Quonset Hut Studio, and I don't have a clue about this
studio recording stuff. Don Law, the grand old master of producing hit records,
was leading me through the process with kindness and patience, just as he had
done on countless other occasions with new artists. I was 25 years old, and had
been singing bout as long as I could remember, but not in a studio. I had
started out singing in old country churches, no amplification at all, just rear
back and sing loud to reach those on the back row that might be trying to get in
a nap, "Wake 'em up son.", Brother Pringle, the old white haired pastor at New
Hope Baptist Church, would tell me. And I did just that.The sound engineer at
Columbia Records was Mort Thomasson, a man that I grew to love over the years,
with his magic of sound capturing. But, on this day, I was the new kid that had
to be taught this art of making a recording. Mort had me placed toward the back
of the room, about 12 feet from the window into the little room that had the
sound board and all the recording machines, and where Mr. Law would sit, next to
the engineer at the board. My back was to this window, and I was facing the
musicians, fanned out in a U shape, with the open part of the U toward me. On
the far left was Pete Drake on steel guitar, next to him was Ray Edenton on flat
top, then, sitting sideways so he could look at Pete and Ray, was Jerry Kennedy,
on electric guitar. At the very back of the U was the piano, with Pig Robbins,
fingers doodling on the piano keys, and to the right of him was Bob Moore, on
his stand up bass, and all the way to my right, in a little enclosed space, was
Buddy Harmon on drums. To my immediate left, separated from the musicians by a
sound baffle, were the background vocalists, The Jordanaires. The musicians and
background vocalists had listened to an acetate demo record of the song that we
were starting off with, written down the chord numbers and worked up a head
arrangement, and we were ready to put one down. I was so nervous that my mouth
had dried up, so I had gotten a little bottle of Coca Cola and had been sipping
on it to keep my throat moistened.The musicians kicked off the intro to the
song, and I reared back and hit the first notes......causing an immediate
clicking of the intercom between the engineer and the studio...."Hold
it!"....Mort Thomasson came running out of the booth and said, "My gosh man,
what are you doing! You almost blew up the microphone with that voice! Here,
let's set you back further...you don't have to sing at the top of your
voice....we can hear you...let the mike do the work its supposed to do."So, the
kid from the old country churches learned to tone it down and let technology do
its stuff...I no longer had to try to wake up that old man in the back
pew....just relax and let the words and music do the magic.Mort Thomasson was a
great man of music, responsible for so many hit records in the 50's and 60's,
and we laughed together for many years about that first time I stood at the mike
and tried to wake up the world, and almost blew up his microphone. stan
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house
of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
– Psalm 134:1-2 (NIV)
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