COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Wednesday March 20th, 2013
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT www.countrymusicclassics.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
According to Mickey Gilley, his 1976 number one - "Bring It On Home To Me"
was one of those songs that took several attempts at recording before finding the right one.
Gilley commented "I had wanted to record the song and after playing around with it several times - we cut a demo on it at the end of a regular recording session - just to get a feel for the song. Then one afternoon while I was in the Faron Young Building - I sat down at their piano and started playing the tune and that's when I came up with the modulation. My producer - Eddie Kilroy - said that was how we should record the song - so we did."
"Bring It Home To Me" was included in the "Gilley's Smokin" album - was released as a single to become his 10th charted song and his 6th number one.
Gilley's Playboy Records version of the 1962 Sam Cooke song came on the country charts June 26th, 1976 and was in the top slot on August 21st.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: The radio guys mentioned that George Strait set some kind of record for ticket sales. Do you have any information?
A: George Strait reportedly set a record by selling over 72,000 tickets in just six minutes for his June 1st tour stop of his "The Cowboy Rides Away" tour.
Q: I know that Claude King's biggest hit was "Wolverton Mountain." How many hits did he have?
A: Claude King placed 30 songs on the country music charts between 1961 and 1977.
Q: Do you have details concerning a Dottie West project at the hall of fame?
A: The Country Music Hall Of Fame will present "Dottie West: Country Sunshine." beginning March 30th through May 2nd.
Q: Are you familiar with a song titled "Too Much Of You Left In Me?" My dad says it was on the radio years ago?
A: "Too Much Of You Left In Me" was the flip-side of Freddie Hart's 1967 number 63 hit "I'll Hold You In My Heart."
Q: There was a good country song on the radio several years ago about "Ain't She Somethin' Else." Do you know who had that record?
A: The song was a number 46 hit for Eddy Raven in 1975 before becoming a number one for Conway Twitty in 1985.
Q: Going thru some old tapes my dad had recorded off the radio - I found the song "There's New Moon Over My Shoulder." It sounds like Jim Reeves. Did he record that song?
A: The song was a track in Jim Reeves' 1964 "Moonlight And Roses" album.
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Your comments, suggestions, gripes, etc. concerning this newsletter---are welcome. Email to: Classics@countrymusicclassics.com
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NUMBER ONE ON THIS DATE:
1951
The Rhumba Boogie - Hank Snow
1959
Don't Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash
1967
The Fugitive - Merle Haggard
1975
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
1983
I Wouldn't Change You If I Could - Ricky Skaggs
1991
I'd Love You All Over Again - Alan Jackson
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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. (NOT AVAILABLE TO INTERNET STATIONS)
The feature is available at no charge.
For information, email me at classics@countrymusicclassics.com
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THE LAST SALOON.
By: Jack Blanchard
When the bad guy sneaked open our front door to get at Misty,
we were living in Homestead, Florida.
I was playing piano at the Last Chance Bar on US 1 in Florida City,
It's the last saloon on the United States mainland,
before you head down into the Florida Keys.
Next stop: Key Largo.
Misty had picked up a gig at the Redland Tavern,
a couple of towns up.
I had canvassed every bar up and down the highway,
and the Last Chance had an old upright piano,
so I bought a beer and sat down and started playing.
I got the job.
Misty and I rented a small house with a screened in front porch.
From the street, you could look in the windows,
through the living room, and into the kitchen.
I'm telling you this for a reason.
It was our night off, and very dark outside.
We were both in the kitchen.
Misty was by the stove and sink, and was visible from the street.
I was sitting at the table, to the right of the kitchen door,
and could not be seen.
We heard the porch screen door creaking slowly open.
We looked at each other,
and I raised a hand signaling her to stay where she was.
I sneaked silently through the living room, in a half crouch,
to the front inside door.
I heard the screen door still opening.
I jumped onto the porch and slammed the screen door,
catching the guy's arm in it.
He was outside and his arm was inside,
I held it hard, bracing the door with my foot.
I yelled "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"
He said, "Food".
We both knew that the food was Misty.
Right then she came to the living room and said this:
"You hold him and I'll go get the 45".
I said, "Go! I'm gonna blow his head off!"
We didn't have a gun but he didn't know that.
He took off like a shot, leaving his sleeve in the door.
Misty's a creative thinker.
We had taken on more than we thought, renting the house.
We'd forgotten about the utility bills, deposits, etc.,
and we were worried.
The bartender at the Last Chance,
who was also an NCO at the Air Force base in Homestead,
said he was exhausted and needed a night off.
I told him I'd take his place on a Sunday night, my night off.
He said, "Can you tend bar?"
I said, "Sure. No problem."
Well, the electric bill was overdue.
I learned to tend bar on the job the next Sunday.
A man came in who looked even more depressed than I did.
I got talking to him,
and he told me that everything he touched turned to money.
I thought: "Gee. How sad."
He was wealthy, but had family problems that were getting to him.
I took a shot.
I said, "You should be in my place.
My wife and I are about to get our power shut off, and then evicted."
He said that he could give me the money,
but it wouldn't make us happy,
because "Money never does."
I said, "Don't toy with me. We're desperate!"
He wrote me out a check for $120, which is like about $700 now.
The check was on a Key West bank,
so we worried for several more days, but it cleared.
I never told the regular bartender about the huge tip.
Why make a grown man cry?
I never saw the rich guy again,
but I heard that he owned a major string of truck stops.
If I ever do see him again I'll tell him this:
The money really did make us happy for a while.
I've never seen a problem that money made worse.
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TRADITIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC
For traditional music - visit three different websites all devoted to different branches of country music. For the best in country music from the 1920's to the 80's visit myhillbillymusic.com. This website features mainstream country music including Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jimmie Rodgers, and other legendary singers. The site also features rarities from "vinyl" by such neglected legends as Carl & Pearl Butler, Hugh X. Lewis, and other great artists... 5000 individual cuts with more being added all the time!
mybluegrassfavorites.com features the best from the beginning of bluegrass, all the way back to early Bill Monroe. This site features thousands of cuts by Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, Jim & Jesse, and more.
The only website dedicated to the music of Mountain View, Arkansas is mymountainviewmusic.com. This site starts with Jimmy Driftwood and is filled with locally produced music from dozens of artists who have been and still are active in the "Folk Music Capital of the World".
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
compiled by Bill Morrison
1935 - "Your Hit Parade" debuted on network radio 1935.
1937 - Jerry Reed singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor was born Jerry Reed Hubbard in Atlanta, Georgia. Jerry was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1987.
1937 - Tommy Hunter singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist born London, Ontario, Canada. Tommy hosted the "Tommy Hunter Show," for twenty-seven years on CBC in Canada. This was the longest running network Country music show in history. Tommy is known as "Canada's Country Gentleman."
1938 - Jo Ann Campbell, singer, actress, born in Jacksonville, Florida.
1939 - Don Edwards, Western music singer, songwriter, born Boonton, New Jersey.
1939 - Samuel Wellington of "The Four Guys," born in Steubenville, Ohio.
1946 - Ranger Doug, "Douglas Bruce Green" of Riders in the Sky born Great Lakes, Illinois.
1948 - Eddy Arnold's #1 single "Anytime," charted.
1949 - Hank Williams recorded "Wedding Bells" and "I Just Told Mama Goodbye."
1954 - Jim Seales, guitarist, bassist, of "Shenandoah," born in Hamilton, Alabama.
1961 - Faron Young's single "Hello Walls" charted and eventually hit #1.
1963 - George Hamilton IV recorded his #1 single "Abilene."
1976 - The Governor proclaimed Johnny Cash Homecoming Day in Kingsland, Arkansas.
1984 - The Judds performed their first concert in Omaha, Nebraska, when they opened for the Statler Brothers.
1987 - Capitol released "The Very Best of Glen Campbell."
2001 - Cleveland International released David Allan Coe's album "Songwriter of the Tear."
2002 - Alison Krauss' CD "New Favorite" was certified gold by the RIAA
2006 - The Kennedy Center in partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame ® and Museum presented Country: A Celebration of America's Music March 20'ÄìApril 9, 2006. This celebration featured performances by some of the greatest country music artists from across the nation.
2006 - The Roots of Country Music Concert was held in the Kennedy Center's Rehearsal Room. featuring Ralph Stanley, Jim Lauderdale, John Rumble, and James Shelton. Tickets were $15.00.
2007 - Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Ray Price's 2 CD set "Last of the Breed" was released today.
Courtesy Bill Morrison: http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalMAR.html
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