COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday April 6th, 2017
Email: djdclassics@gmail.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
A lot of songs were written from telephone conversations - or from remarks made
over the phone and according to Billy Walker - his 1954 top ten hit "Thank You
For Calling" was one of those tunes!
Walker commented, "I called Cindy Walker to ask her if she had any songs because
I had a recording session coming up. She told me "No I don't have anything but I
thank you for calling." And I told her "okay - just write that." So she called
me early the next morning and told me she had my song. So I went out to her
house and she had written a verse and a chorus. She recorded me a home demo tape
and I left. When I got home I made a tape of me singing the song and mailed it
to her. Then she got an idea and wrote more lyrics to the song and sent it to
me. So I recorded it and it was my first chart record."
Billy Walker's Columbia Records single "Thank You For Calling" came on the
charts June 26th 1954 and peaked at number 8. It was on the charts for 13 weeks.
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STORAGE ROOM FIND:
If you're into old western movies – this 632 page hardback "SWEETHEARTS OF THE
SAGE" will be your prized possession!
Published in 1992 – this one of a kind reference book contains biographies and
filmographies of 258 actresses appearing in western movies! Lots of photos never
before published! Forward by Charles Starrett (The Durango Kid) and Barbara
Stanwyck.
One of a kind and out of print ! $30.00 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 - Ray Price's "Crazy Arms" was on the charts longer
than any other record. Is that true?
A: According to the record books - "Crazy Arms" was on the charts for 45
weeks. Eddy Arnold's "I'll Hold You In My Heart" charted for 46 weeks and his
"Bouquet Of Roses" was on the charts for 54 weeks.
Q: Do you know which country record holds the record for the number of weeks
at number one?
A: Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On," Eddy Arnolds' "I'll Hold You In My Heart", and
Webb Pierce's "In The Jailhouse Now" each stuck at number one for 21 weeks. Ray
Price's "Crazy Arms" and Hank Snow's "I Don't Hurt Anymore" were in second place
with 20 weeks.
Q: My sister tells me the radio guys talked about Freddie Hart's "Easy Loving"
being the top song of the year two years in a row. Is that true?
A: "Easy Loving" was the CMA's "Song Of The Year" in 1971 and 1972.
Q: Flatt and Scruggs are my favorite country artists. Why aren't they in the
hall of fame?
A: Lester and Earl were inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1985
Q: I still have a copy of Don Gibson's 1960's hit "Just One Time." My daughter
says that song was a hit for some other folks. Is that true?
A: "Just One Time" made the charts for Don Gibson in 1960, Connie Smith in 1971
and The Glaser Brothers in 1981
Q: My mom says that Kitty Wells had a hit on the Webb Pierce song "Back Street
Affair." Do you know anything about that?
A: Miss Kitty scored a number 6 hit with "Paying For That Back Street Affair"
in 1953 - which was an answer to the Webb Pierce hit.
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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
1944
Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry - Al Dexter
1952
(When You Feel like You're in Love) Don't Just Stand There - Carl Smith
1960
He'll Have to Go - Jim Reeves
1968
How Long Will My Baby Be Gone - Buck Owens
1976
You'll Lose a Good Thing - Freddy Fender
1984
Let's Stop Talkin' About It - Janie Fricke
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Courtesy: Bill Morrison.
1883 - Vernon Dalhart 1883~1948, singer, songwriter, musician, born "Marion Try
Slaughter" in Marion County, Texas. Prior to finding fame in the music industry
Dalhart worked as a cowboy, a salesman, and in a hardware store. Vernon became
country music' s first million selling recording artist when Victor Records
released his "Prisoners Song" in 1924. Inducted NSHF in 1970, the CMHF in 1981,
and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995.
1913 - Wade Ray, singer, actor, guitar, banjo and fiddler for the Son' s of the
Pioneers, Roy Rogers, Ray Price' s Cherokee Cowboys, and bass player for Willie
Nelson, was born in Griffin, Indiana.
1937 - Merle Haggard singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Kern General
Hospital, Bakersfield, California. Inducted into the NSHF in 1977, and the CMHF
in 1994.
1944 - Al Dexter topped the charts with "Too Late To Worry, To Blue To Try."
1946 - Roy Acuff quit the Grand Ole Opry, after being refused a raise from Opry
management. At the time, the Opry required members to appear every Saturday
night of the year. Roy was being paid $15.00 per night on the Opry, and could
make $100.00 per night touring. Mr. Acuff would later return to the Opry at the
request of Ernest Tubb, and Opry management.
1957 - Ferlin Husky's "Gone" had a grip on #1, and refused to let go for 10
weeks.
1957 - Marty Robbins and Ray Price won Golden Guitar Awards in Nashville.
1957 - Brenda Lee debuted on the country charts with "One Step At A Time."
1958 - Merle Haggard turned twenty-one in California' s San Quentin prison.
1959 - Johnny Horton 1925~1960, Louisiana Hayride star, nicknamed "The Singing
Fisherman" went to #1 with his Columbia single "When It's Springtime In Alaska
(It's Forty Below)." Three months later Columbia released "The Battle of New
Orleans," another #1 (for 10 weeks). The following year Johnny was killed by a
drunk driver in Texas, on his way home to Shreveport after a short concert tour.
1966 - Buck Owens recorded "Open Up Your Heart."
1968 - The Grand Ole Opry was cancelled for this evening' s performance for the
first time in history. There was rioting in the streets of Nashville, as a
result of Martin Luther King having been shot and killed two days earlier.
Nashville Police imposed a 7:00 PM curfew as the result of the rioting
1970 - Capitol Records released Buck Owens' single "We're Gonna Get Together"
b/w "Everybody Needs Somebody" w/Susan Raye.
1976 - Freddy Fender' s "You' ll Lose A Good Thing" topped the charts.
1982 - Marty Robbins released "Some Memories Just Won' t Die" b/w "Lover,
Lover."
1982 - The Oak Ridge Boys' MCA album "Bobby Sue" was certified Gold by the RIAA.
1987 - Gene Autry debuted as the host of The Nashville Network' s "Melody Ranch
Theatre." Along with his sidekick Pat Buttram, they presented 65 of Gene' s
Western films.
1987 - Hank Williams Jr. was the Academy of Country Music' s Entertainer of the
Year.
Courtesy: <http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalendar.html>
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HOW MEN AND WOMEN WATCH TV.
By: Jack Blanchard
He: "I hope this movie isn't a lavish Broadway musical.
I'd rather watch milk sour."
She: "It's better than those car chases".
He: "That guy's a hell of an actor."
She: "He's wearing a toupee."
He: "How do you know that?"
She: "I can tell."
He: "You think everybody and his dog is wearing a hairpiece."
She: "Look at the lip job they did on Geena Davis."
He: "Aren't you interested in the story?"
She: "Lips and boobs. Talent not required."
He: "Who's that guy?"
She. "He reminds me of some old time actor.
What was his name?"
He: "He's got a gun! I think he's gonna kill that bank teller!"
She: "Did his name start with a 'B', Or was it an 'M'?"
He: "Wow! He shot all of them, and he's getting away!"
She: "Was it Marcus something? Or Morris?"
He: "Please don't start going through the alphabet looking for names.
There's a car chase coming up."
She: "Montgomery? No. That's not it."
He: "Mathew, Medford, Mildew, Moe, Munchausen...For God Sake!"
She: "Murphy?"
He: "Aaaargh!"
She: "I like that song they're playing in the background."
He: "Whoa! They're gonna hit that ambulance!"
She: "That was a hit song. I wonder who's playing it?"
He: "Randy Newman. He plays all the movie songs.
Can we PLEASE watch the movie?"
She: (Silence.)
He: "What are you doing?"
She: "Looking at the newspaper."
He: "You're missing the best part of the picture!"
She: "I see it. I'm just reading this one page."
He: "Oh, crap. A love scene."
She: "Why did you turn the sound off?"
He: "I can't listen to all the heavy breathing."
She: "You'd listen if you were doing it."
He: "Well, that's the end of the picture.
Did they go to jail or not? I missed it."
She: "Wait. Don't turn it off. I want to read the closing credits."
He: "Why?"
She: "To see when the picture was made. The hairstyles looked like 1987."
He: "What's the difference? They were all wearing toupees,
lip jobs, and breast implants. Even the dog."
She: "I enjoyed that movie."
Jack Blanchard
http://www.jackandmisty.net
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View From The Front Porch-Stan Hitchcock
1966, Nashville, Tennessee.
Ya'know, television in the early years could be dangerous…could get you
hurt…could make you walk funny…
In 1966, we started my first television series called, "The Stan Hitchcock
Show". We produced the show at Channel 5 studios in Nashville, and we wanted to
do it up right. So, on every show, we wanted to push the envelope and make it
look different from the other stand up and sing in front of the mike shows. We
attempted to accomplish this by having some kind of special opening, every show.
Channel 5 had just installed a Green Screen on the back wall of the studio,
where you could project different scenes as I would be singing. It worked out
real well until that one time…….
This particular show we had invited the President of the Campana Corporation
that was our show sponsor, to come down from the Home Office in Chicago, so he
and his wife could be our guest and watch the show production. We wanted to do
something really special….Shoot, we wanted to go Hollywood! I don't know who
came up with the idea, the director, the producer…one of the crew…but, the gist
of the idea was this: We would open the show with a song about flying..I dunno,
maybe Silver Wings…or In The Early Morning Rain…something like that there. They
would project video of a small airplane flying along…the side door opens and a
man jumps out with a parachute…now, here was the tricky part. Nashville is close
to Fort Campbell, Home of Air Assault Division of Paratroopers…they wrote the
book on jumping out of flying objects. So, the Production Crew called Fort
Campbell and had a Jump Instructor come down to the Studio and hook me up with a
flight suit and Parachute harness. They would put this contraption on me, hook
me up to a block and tackle that was hooked to the high ceiling of the
studio…pull me up about15 feet off the concrete floor and then let me down slow,
like I was chuting in and singing my song.
The Instructor got me to put on the flight coveralls, than he started hooking me
up to the harness. He ran two straps between my legs, over my back and chest and
up to the rope that was gonna pull me up to the ceiling.
Them darn harness straps are tight and very uncomfortable….but, what the hey,
it's only for a three minute song, then it goes to break and I can get out of
it. Three crew menbers started pulling on the rope…cracking wise and having a
good time at my expense as they pulled me to the ceiling…dad-blame, this harness
is about to cut the blood off my lower body…the director hollered, "Stand
By!!"…"Music!"…."Start the Green Screen Video!!" "Ok, Start Lowering Stan!!"
I will never know if it was the boys in the crew trying to be funny or it was an
accident…but, the result was the same. They slowly started lowering the rope…I
started singing….the rope slipped through their hands for a moment…they
franticly grabbed it and stopped it…In the process, when they jerked it, the
straps shifted and captured a very tender part of my manly self. I stifled a
choking scream and continued singing…oh, the pain…the agony…as I slowly hung
from the ceiling of the studio, my whole weight centered on those dang straps
between and betwixt my legs, pinching me where I had never been pinched
before…It seemed like the song went on forever….I could have hit a high note
that nobody would believe…but I just kept on a'singing…tears rolling down my tv
make up cheeks, as the camers do a close up…and it ain't even a sad song!
Finally, I felt my boots hit the concrete….the song was over and the director
hollered, "Cut! That's a take!" I stood there, weak kneed, and stomach churned,
as the Instructor took the harness off my poor bruised body. As I waa standing
there, getting ready to run to the Mens Room to check and see if I was still all
there…the nice President of Campana come hurrying over to me, "Stan, my boy,
that was simply superb…such emotion…makes us proud to be your Sponsor!" Uh huh,
I thought, as he walked back to his seat, buddy that was not emotion…...that was
sheer, unadulterated Pain…I may never walk the same ever again. stan
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good
thing.
– Psalm 34:10 (NIV)
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