Thursday February 13th, 2014 Country Music Classics

COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS*

*


Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/

Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer


Thursday February 13th, 2014


CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT www.countrymusicclassics.com


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STORY BEHIND THE SONG*

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A lot of hit songs have gone thru title changes before making it to the
recording studio.

According to songwriter Sonny Throckmorton, T. G. Sheppard's 1979 number one,
"Last Cheater's Waltz" was one of those tunes!

Throckmorton commented, "I started out calling it "The Strawberry Waltz," and I
could imagine people dancing through the night at a strawberry festival or a
cherry festival.

He added, "I was remodeling my house when I started writing the song so I had a
hammer or a saw in my hand all the time. And I just started singing the melody
to the chorus over and over. Then a few days later I started writing words to
the melody."

T. G. Sheppard's Warner Bros single "Last Cheater's Waltz" came on the country
music charts August 4th, 1979 and was at the top of the list on October 6th,
where stayed for two weeks.

It was Sheppard's 15th charted song and was on the charts for 14 weeks.*

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS


Q: I haven't heard anything about Randy Travis in a long time. Do you have any
news?
A: Doctors are reportedly well pleased with Randy's progress. He is now able
to speak and has begun to play his guitar.

Q: I heard on the radio that Lorrie Morgan is doing a new "Hee Haw" show. Do
you have any information?
A: Lorrie Morgan is part of the artists lineup scheduled to recreate "Hee
Haw" on March 4th at The Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville. Proceeds from
the event will benefit The Rochelle Center for people with disabilities.

Q: I know the song "City Lights" was a big hit for Ray Price. my dad says that
several other singers also has hit records on that song. Is that true?
A: "City Lights" was a hit for Ray Price, Johnny Bush. Mickey Gilley and Mel
Tillis.

Q: My dad says that Merle Haggard recorded a song about another country singer
who died years ago. Do you have any info?
A: Haggard wrote and recorded "Leonard in 1981 - as a tribute to Tommy
Collins - who's real name was Leonard Raymond Sipes. The record peaked at
number 9 in 1981. Sipes died in 2000 at age 69.

Q: Do you remember a song about "I Ain't All Bad?" It was on the radio
several years ago.
A; The song was written by Johnny Duncan and was a number 6 hit for Charley
Pride in 1975.

Q: I saw Billy Grammer on one of the old "Country Family Reunion" TV shows.
I don't know when that program was recorded but do you know whatever happened to
Grammer?
A: Billly Grammer died in August 2011.


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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:*





* 1948*
/ Ill Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)/
- Eddy Arnold *

* 1956*
/ Sixteen Tons/ - Tennessee Ernie Ford *

* 1964*
/ Begging to You/ - Marty Robbins *

* 1972*
/ Ones on the Way/ - Loretta Lynn *

* 1980*
/ Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight/ - The Oak Ridge
Boys *

* 1988*
/ Wheels/ - Restless Heart*







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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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CRAZY SHOW BIZ RULES.*

By: Jack Blanchard

Remember Crazy Gugenheim on the Jackie Gleason Show?
That was Frankie Fontaine.
Not too many of us remember
that he had the number one comedy show on radio,
when television was young and not every home had a TV.
Many folks stood in the cold and looked into store windows
to watch Milton Berle.
At that time Frankie Fontaine was king of the airwaves.

Misty and I were on The Mike Douglas Show
along with Gleason and Fontaine.
In the first segment I was seated next to Frank,
and we chatted during commercial breaks.
He asked how the music business was going,
and I said, "Okay, so far."
He said, "Even when your right on top things can go wrong."
He was a nice guy, obviously depressed.

On the Gleason show Frankie Fontaine was limited to one bit,
"Crazy Gugenheim", which was the one that made him famous.
That character was originally called "John L. C. Silvoney"
when The Frankie Fontaine Show was America's favorite.

Frank did a lot of different character voices on his own show,
the way Red Skelton did, but not on the Gleason Show.
It was Jackie's show,
and everybody on it was there to make the star look good.
That's perfectly normal in show business.

We knew a comedian named Danny Rogers
who worked clubs and did some bit parts on TV and films.
I saw him for a minute in a Jerry Lewis movie.
Rogers told us that when he was on the Milton Berle Show
playing in Las Vegas,
he (Danny) made his entrance with "a hilarious six-way take".
That's three times as funny as a double take.
Uncle Milty immediately fired him.
Rogers said, "Berle was right. It was his show."

Bert Lahr, The Cowardly Lion, was upset after his stage show
because some local emcee came on after Bert had finished.
He said, "The last person on the stage, it's his show!
He made it look like HIS show! I'm Bert Lahr!"
This business has its rules.

On the road Misty and I had a lead guitar player
that was doing dumb pantomime humor behind us
while we were singing.
He thought he was funny. We didn't.
We told him that if it happened again he was history.
We worked for years to get up front,
and we were paying him to back us up.

Vegas also has strange rules...
A musical act should come on, do two or three fast songs,
and then stop to say a few very brief words.
After that I think they're allowed to do a slow song
and maybe talk a little more.
Then two or three more songs, and get off.
THEN you come back for an encore whether they applaud or not.
The encore can be a ballad.
I think I've got all this pretty close to right.
Misty and I never paid much attention to the rules.

Most recording artists do their biggest hit last.
We did ours first. It worked for us.

Back to Frank Fontaine...
He had a large family, nine kids, I heard,
and he worked hard all over the country, after television.
He died at fifty-eight years old.
One rainy day,
we saw him lugging suitcases into a Ramada Inn,
where the sign said he would be appearing.

I said to Misty,
"He was a huge star!
Somebody should carry his damn bags!"*

*

Jack Blanchard*

*http:// - http:///www.jackandmisty.net - http://www.jackandmisty.net





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*

TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY*

compiled by Bill Morrison*

*

*1896 - *Rev. Dwight L. Moody held his first/ Nashville revival
at the Ryman Auditorium.


*1914 - *ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and
Publishers, was founded in New York City.


*1919 - *Tennessee Ernie Ford 1919-1991, born "Ernest Jennings Ford,"
in Bristol, Tennessee. Ernie was a writer, and cast member of Hee Haw /from
1969-1987. Inducted CMHF in 1990.


*1919 - *Chickie Williams of "Doc & Chickie Williams," born in
Bethany, West Virginia.


*1920 - *Boudleaux Bryant 1920-1987, of the songwriting team of
Boudleaux & Bryant, master songwriter, born Shellman, Georgia. Inducted NSHF in
1972, Georgia Music Hall of Fame 1982, National Songwriters Hall of Fame 1986,
Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame 1985, National Academy of Popular Music
Songwriters Hall of Fame 1986, Country Music Hall of Fame 1991.


*1927 - *Jim McReynolds 1927-2003, of "Jim & Jesse," born Coeburn,
Virginia. Joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1964.


*1935 - *Charlie Moore 1935-1979, bluegrass singer, DJ and guitarist
was born Charlie B. Moore, Jr. in Piedmont, South Carolina. Charlie was one of
bluegrass music's top vocalists.


*1939 - *Janis Lewis Phillips, of "The Lewis Family" born Lincoln,
Georgia.


*1940 - *Rodney Paul Lay, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor,
born Coffeeville, Kansas.


1943 - Ernest Tubb The Texas Troubadour/ became a member of the Grand Ole
Opry. The best forty years of E.T.'s life was just beginning.


*1947- *Hank Williams recorded "Honky Tonkin."


1958 - Patsy Cline recorded the following songs in Nashville for the Four Star
label: "Just out of Reach (of My Two Open Arms)" /written by V.F. Stewart;
"I Can See an Angel" /by Kay Adelman; "Come on in (and Make Yourself at
Home)" /by V.F. Stewart; "Let the Teardrops Fall" /by C.C. Beam, C.L.
Jiles, and W.S.Stevenson. Owen Bradley produced the session, and the session
personnel included: Patsy Cline-vocals; Hank Garland-electric piano; Grady
Martin-electric guitar, electric bass, and banjo; Bob Moore-acoustic bass; Buddy
Harman-drums; Floyd Cramer-piano; the Anita Kerr Singers-Anita Kerr, Dottie
Dillard, Louis Nunley and Gil Wright-background vocals.


*1958* - David McLaughlin of the Johnson Mountain Boys, born in
Washington D.C.


*1965 - *The Bill Anderson Show aired for the first /time on WSM
TV.


1965 - Roger Miller's self-penned single "King Of The Road" /charted today.
The Smash Label single went to #1. This was Roger's 2nd #1 hit, and earned 3
Grammy's for Roger. This recording is now a Grammy Hall of Fame
record.


1971 - Billy Crash Craddock debuted on the charts with "Knock Three
Times."


1976 - Tom T. Hall recorded "Give Her My Best" b/w I'm Forty Now."


1979 - Willie Nelson's Columbia album "Willie & Family" /was certified Gold
by the RIAA. This album was recorded Live at Harrah's Casino in Lake Tahoe,
Nevada, and eventually went 4 X Platinum.


1980 - The Oak Ridge Boys' "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight," topped the
charts.


1998 - Buddy Lee 1932-1998, age 65, CEO of Buddy Lee Attractions, died today.



2001 - Sugar Hill released Rodney Crowell's album "The Houston Kid."


2001 - Koch Records released Johnny Dowd's "Temporary Shelter."


2002 - Waylon Jennings 1937-2002, age 64, died in his sleep in Chandler,
Arizona. Inducted NSHF 1995, Texas CMHF 1999, and the CMHF 2001. Waylon was laid
to rest in Mesa Cemetery, Mesa, Arizona. Willie Nelson did not attend the
funeral, or the Memorial Service held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on
March 23rd.


2003 - Earl Scruggs was honored with a star, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Earl's star is located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood,
California.


2005 - A memorial service was conducted for Sunny Spencer in Branson, Missouri.
A twenty-two year member of the Sons Of The Pioneers, Sunny died in Tucson,
Arizona, earlier this month.


2005 - Garth Brooks performed at a fundraiser in Fort Worth, Texas. The concert
raised money for the purchase of an MRI machine for Cook Children's Medical
Center. Tickets cost $1,000 each.


2005 - The 47th annual Grammy Awards were held at the Staples Center in Los
Angeles, California. The winners in the Country category were: Gretchen Wilson
for Best Female Vocal Performance; /Tim McGraw for Best Male Vocal
Performance; /Jack White & Loretta Lynn for Best Country Collaboration With
Vocals; /Earl Scruggs, Jerry Douglas, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Randy
Scruggs, and Vassar Clements for Best Country Instrumental Performance (Earl's
Breakdown)./ Craig Wiseman & Tim Nichols (songwriters) for Best Country
Song) "Live Like You Were Dying," /Tim McGraw; and Loretta Lynn for Best
Country Album "Van Lear Rose."/

/

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







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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH

By: Stan Hitchcock*

*

Sitting here in my old leather lounge chair, Denise over across the room in her
overstuffed leather lounger, watching the Olympics, here in the living room of
the old Farm House, Old Buck The Collie, fast asleep on his big overstuffed dog
pillow, oblivious to the Olympic action....just glad to be in the house by the
fire. I'm trying to be patient, just keep focused on the boys and girls
swooping, skiing, boarding, skating and having the best time....but, my mind
keeps wandering back to other adventures, other times....like the time, in
July,1988, my friend Ron Thompson and I decided to canoe the Caney Fork River on
a Tennessee Summer day. Now, the idea was a slow, gentle float, fishing for the
trout that abound in the river...but, the Corps Of Engineers, that run the
Center Hill Dam, had other ideas. The Caney Fork is the water source for Center
Hill Lake, and we were downstream from the dam, just fishing along, telling
stories, laughing and kidding each other like we are apt to do....when up at the
dam...the Dam engineers did an unscheduled water release...a big water release.
They probably sounded their alarm, bur we were having too much fun to hear it so
we were totally unprepared for what was to come. Now the Caney Fork, under
normal conditions, is an easy canoe trip...until they release the water at the
dam. We were very engrossed in the fishing, looking downstream when the first
wave of water hit us...the Caney Fork went from placid to a raging torrent in a
matter of minutes...from a depth of maybe 6 feet to 25 feet in a matter of
minutes....we were going so fast that the paddles were very little use...Ron was
sitting in the front and I was in the back of the canoe, as we raced down the
river like we were surfing or something...the current swept us close to the bank
and trees hanging over the water...Ron ducked just in time to miss the big
limb...I didn't. I was knocked, butt over appetite, out of the canoe and into
the torrent of water. Yeah, I sunk like a rock cause...uhhh, I did not have my
lifejacket on. On top, in the canoe, it was about 90 degrees....under the water,
which was being released from the bottom of Center Hill Lake...the water was
about 40 degrees, and the entry and drop was a real shock. It was so cold that I
felt paralyzed for a moment, as the turbulent current swirled me over and over.
I was wearing a tee shirt and shorts and tennis shoes, so the clothes in the
water was no problem. I fought my way to the surface, and swam with all my might
toward the shoreline...meanwhile the canoe was swept clear out of sight on
downstream about three miles before Ron could get it under control, and beach
it. I made it to a tree hanging over the water and pulled myself out of the
water. I managed to find a trail along the river and started walking downstream,
looking for my partner. It was about three hours before we found each other and
got the canoe out and loaded up to go home. Driving home, I thought about it for
awhile, and finally decided...."yeah, we need to start wearing our dad blamed
lifejackets, I reckon." Just another little adventure in a lifetime of fishing.
An uncool way to cool off on a hot summer day. *

*

Stan Hitchcock*

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:*

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Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. *

* Psalm 16:5 (NIV)*

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