Friday September 17th, 2010 C O U N T R Y M U S I C C L A S S I C S

 

 

C O U N T R Y    M U S I C    C L A S S I C S

 

 

Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/

Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer 

 

Friday  September 17th, 2010

 

 

 

                     CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT   www.countrymusicclassics.com

 

 

                           

                                     STORY   BEHIND   THE   SONG

 

 

 

Hit songs come from strange and unusual circumstances and according to Earl Montgomery, George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s 1973 number one, “We’re Gonna Hold On” was one of those tunes!

 

Earl commented, “George & Tammy were always fussing at each other on the bus. At the time I was playing rhythm guitar in the Jones Boys Band. And we were on our way to Jamestown, Pa. And one of them...I don't remember if it was George or Tammy-- but one of them said, "well I don't think we're gonna make it. We're having too much trouble. They'd get into  arguments about little things that didn't amount to a hill of beans...like who made the most money or who had the biggest hit record or the highest song on the charts or something like that ...just little old ntt pickin' things that didn't amount to squat but they'd still argue about it. So during this argument one of them --I think it was George who said, "we're gonna have to hold on." And as soon as he said that-- I thought that might be a good idea for a song. So that night after we got to the motel, I began to write it ---at The Holiday Inn in Jamestown, Pa. So the next morning I went down to George and Tammy's room  and Tammy was fixin' George's hair. And I went in and Tammy was  unhappy with me over something--I don't remember just what. And I told George that I had a song started but I was kind of hung up on it and needed some help and would he help me with it? So he said he wanted to hear it so I sat down on the bed and sang what I had written. And he started singing and threw in a few lines and Tammy joined in and she put in a line or two. So the next thing we knew---we had the song finished. Then they got back to Nashville, they went in and recorded it and it was their first number one together as a duet.

 

“We’re Gonna Hold On” entered the country music charts October 1^st, 1973 and was at the top of the charts the week of October 19^th and stuck there for two weeks.

 

It was on the charts for 17 weeks.

 

 

 

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                                  QUESTIONS    AND    ANSWERS

 

 

 

QUESTION:   I heard that Hank Williams Jr. was not going to sing the intro to Monday Night Football anymore and then I heard that he was. Is he or is he not?

ANSWER:      Hank Williams Jr. has once again launched "Monday Night Football." This will be Hank Jr.s’  22nd season to provide the opening for the "Monday Night Football" theme.

QUESTION:   Do you have any details on Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard doing something with Neil Young?

ANSWER:     Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, and Ralph Stanley are on board for Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit Concerts. The shows are fundraisers for The Bridge School, which helps students with severe physical and speech impairments. The concerts will take place in Mountain View, California on October 23rd and 24th.

QUESTION:  There seems to be a lot of talk about The Judds getting back together for one last tour. Is that really going to happen?

ANSWER:     The Judds will begin their   “Last Encore Tour” in Green Bay, Wisconsin on November 26th.

 

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“Country Music Classics”  is made possible only by donations from subscribers like you. If you enjoy receiving this newsletter, please support us by sending a check payable to “Country Music Classics”  for any amount to:

Doug Davis—Country Music Classics—3702 Pleasant Grove Road-Texarkana, Texas 75503.  Or use   PAYPAL  ( http://www.paypal.com ) and donate (via your account or their secure credit card site) directly thru our email address (classics@countrymusicclassics.com). Thank you.

 

If you wish to make a contribution but do not have a Pay Pal account, you may use any major credit card and donate thru our secure Pro Pay account.

 

 

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QUESTION:   I heard on the radio that Merle Haggard was sick again. How is he doing?

 

ANSWER:      According to Merle, he had a bout with “walking pneumonia” and thought he was over it, but it seems to keep hanging on-- so he has canceled all concerts for the rest of the month.

 

QUESTION:    I thought that Ray Stevens had sold out and left  Branson, Missouri for good, but my mom says the radio guys said he was back there. Is that true?

ANSWER:      Ray Stevens has just launched a six week stand at The Welk Resort in Branson, Missouri.

QUESTION:  Do you know anything about a Ray Charles and Johnny Cash record? The radio dudes mentioned it.

ANSWER:     A  1981 recording of Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me, Lord" featuring Johnny Cash and Ray Charles will be available October 26^th on the new Ray Charles CD "Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters.”

 

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Your comments, suggestions, gripes, etc. concerning this newsletter---are welcome. Email to:Classics@countrymusicclassics.com

 

 

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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 features, “Classic Country First” and “Story Behind The Song” are now available to radio stations.

Both features are available  at  no charge  thru  barter.

For information, email me at classics@countrymusicclassics.com

 

 

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NUMBER  ONE  ON  THIS  DATE:

 

1951
Always Late (With Your Kisses) - Lefty Frizzell

1959
The Three Bells - The Browns

1967
My Elusive Dreams - David Houston

1975
Feelins’ - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynne

1983
Night Games - Charley Pride

1991
Leap of Faith - Lionel Cartwright

 

 

 

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HOW TO MAKE MISTAKES.

             By: Jack Blanchard

I'm an expert on mistakes because I've made so many of them.
When I remember one of them I want to bang myself on the head with a mallet,
which would be a mistake.

Having finally realized and learned from my errors
you'd think I'd stop making them,
but there are always new ones waiting to be committed,
as am I.

When photographs were passed around I only looked at the ones I was in.
It took me a long time to realize that other people's lives are important to them.
I got bored when the conversation drifted away from my life,
but once I started listening to others
I noticed that sometimes what they have to say is actually interesting.

My habit now is to listen and make the occasional appropriate comment,
but sometimes I get excited and cut them off in order to talk about me,
and I see them glance at their watch.
Apparently, to others, my life isn't the adventure I think it is.

It's obvious to me now that I've lost friends and business deals
making these social missteps,
and I'm trying to become more angelic.

If a person states a "fact" in the presence of other people and I know that he's wrong,
should I correct him in front of the others?
It would make me look smarter, wouldn't it?
No.
The person corrected would be embarrassed and so would the onlookers,
and I would be the smarty-pants jerk.
If these people were in a position to help me that opportunity is lost forever.

>From personal experience:
When having lunch with the head of a major record label,
your music is not the most important thing at the table.
The most important thing, if you want to further your career,
is to get that executive to like you... maybe to even become friends.

People help people they like and they like people who are interested in them.
DJs play artists that they like.
Bosses hire applicants they like over more experienced ones.
So now, a little late, I try to shut up, smile, and listen.
Like an alcoholic, I occasionally have a slip, but I hope I'm improving.

When I was younger it seldom occurred to me
that other people's lives are more interesting to them than mine,
and I would have done better to let them talk about it.
And I might possibly have learned something.

Columns that I write are often about my life,
but that's excusable because it's the the subject I know best,
and getting it out there seems to interest readers and is therapy for me..
Besides, this is not a conversation.
I'm just sitting here in the light of my desk lamp, sharing.

Sometimes I get too enthusiastic about a project and want the world to know.
Another excuse is that when I stop sending columns, emails, and posting blogs,
our income shows a decline.
That makes me nervous.

One possible reason for promoting harder is this:
As we grow old we feel we have to hurry
because time is short and it's moving faster every day.

When you die and if you can still hear folks talk,
you might overhear something like this:
"Yeah, we all liked him a lot and he was damn good at what he did.
We're sure gonna miss him. Where do you want to go for lunch?"

So, when I need to talk, thanks for listening.
And I'm always ready to listen to you.

Jack Blanchard                                   

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan...

Grammy Nominees. 

Billboard's Country Duet of the Year.

ASCAP and BMI Awards.

HOME PAGE: http://jackandmisty.com

 

 

 

 

 

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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY

                           compiled by Bill Morrison

 

Hank Williams born "King Hiram Williams," in a log cabin in Mount Olive, AL 1923.  Hank became

the third person to be elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame 1961.

 

Bill Black born Memphis, TN 1926.

 

RCA debuted their first 33 1/3-rpm Long Play (LP) record in 1931.

 

Lefty Frizzell's "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" topped the charts 1951.

 

Steve Sanders, "Oak Ridge Boys," born Richland, GA 1952.

 

Johnny Cash debuted on British television 1959.

 

Loretta Lynn's debut appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, 1960.

 

David Houston's "My Elusive Dream" was #1 in 1967.

 

Reba McEntire debuted on the Grand Ole Opry 1977.

 

Debbie Boone's #1 single "You Light Up My Life" debuted on Billboard's Top 40 Chart 1977.

 

Anne Murray released her single "A Little Good News." 1983. The song went to #1, and was voted CMA Single of the Year.

 

Kenny "Rudy" Trietsch, age 84, "Hoosier Hot Shots," died 1987.

 

RCA Records released Alabama's album "Alabama Christmas, Vol. 2, 1996.

 

Capitol Nashville released John Berry's album "Faces" 1996.

 

The CMHF displayed a new bronze statue of Hank Williams Sr. on the 75^th anniversary of the singers birth in 1998. Hank Williams III, Hank's grandson, was the model that posed for the artist.

 

Varese released Johnny Bond's "The Home Recordings" 2002.

 

Courtesy Bill Morrison: http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalMAR.html

 

 

 

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

 

 

                               SOMETIMES I HAVE TO SING ALONE

 

Sometimes I have to sing alone, just like the bird in the green tree,

Inside my little world I find the song God gave to only me.

 

A butterfly with orange wings, a pebble or a little stone

That sparkles like a diamond makes my heart start singing all alone.

 

I find it in the sun that keeps its smile of gold up in the sky,

I find it in each flower-face and hills that keep on climbing high.

 

Each day there are so many things that make me feel the world’s my own

And so I’m thankful to my God, He gives me songs when I’m alone.

 

                        Marion Schoeberlein

            

 

 

 

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