COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS*
*
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday May 1st, 2014
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT
www.countrymusicclassics.com
*
STORY BEHIND THE SONG*
*
A lot of hit songs have been written from real life situations - or -
complications - and according to songwriter John Schweers - Ronnie Milsap's 1980
number one "My Heart" was written following an argument with his wife about a
cat!
And when he recorded it - Milsap didn't think the song was a hit!
He commented, "I never thought the track would be released as a single. I
thought it was just another album cut. But it was released as a single and was a
hit."
Ronnie Milsap's RCA Victor single "My Heart" was written by Charles Quillen, Don
Pfrimmer and John Schweers and was produced by Ronnie Milsap and Rob Galbraith.
It entered the country music charts April 12th 1980 and was in the top slot on
May 31st - where it stayed for three weeks.
The single was 26th charted song and his 14th number one.*
*
*
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*
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: I'm a longtime fan of Cowboy Jack Clement. The radio guys mentioned a CD of
his final recordings. Do you have any information and is Clement in the hall of
fame?
A: Clement was inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in October 2013. A
collection of his final recordings - titled "For Once And All" will be released
in July.
Q: I heard that Hank Williams Jr. has something coming up with St. Jude's
Children's Hospital. Do you have any details?
A: Hank Jr. will co-headline The "Country Life Music Festival July 18th -
20th in Peoria, Illinois. All proceeds from the event go to St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital.
Q: I heard on the radio that the new Ray Price CD set some kind of sales
record. Is that true?
A: The new Ray Price album - "Beauty Is" - reportedly sold out on Walmart.com
in less that 24 hours of being released - the digital download rose to number
three most downloaded country album on Amazon and inside the Top 30 on iTunes.
Q: My dad talks about a song that was played on the radio back in the 50's
about I'm So In Love With You." Do you know anything about such a song?
A "I'm So In Love With You" was co-written by Sonny James and was a number
10 hit for The Wilburn Brothers in 1956.
Q: An uncle of mine used to sing a song about "Too Late To Worry - Too Blue
To Cry." He says it was popular back in the 40's. But I heard that song on the
radio sometime in the 70's. Do you have any information on the recordings of
that song?
A: Al Dexter scored a number one with that song in January of 1944, and
Texas Jim Lewis took it to number 3 that same year. Ronnie Milsaps version
peaked at number 6 in 1975.
Q: I just watched Johnny Russell on one of the old Wilburn Brothers TV Shows.
Did he have any hit records?
A: As a recording artist - Johnny Russell placed 28 songs on the country
music chars between 1971 and 1987. His biggest was "Rednecks, White Sox And Blue
Ribbon Beer," which peaked at number 4 in 1973.
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Your comments, suggestions, gripes, etc. concerning this newsletter---are
welcome. Email *to:
Classics@countrymusicclassics.com*
* ^^^^^^^^^^*
* NUMBER ONE ON THIS DATE:*
*1945*
/Smoke on the Water/ - Bob Wills *
*1953*
/Mexican Joe/ - Jim Reeves *
*1961*
/Dont Worry/ - Marty Robbins *
*1969*
/Galveston/ - Glen Campbell *
*1977*
/Shes Pulling Me Back Again/ - Mickey Gilley *
*1985*
/Girls Night Out/ - The Judds*
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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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A LITTLE MIRACLE IN ASHFORD, ALABAMA.*
By: Jack Blanchard
/
(I know I've sent you this true story before,
but I wanted to hear it again.)/
When you're hitch-hiking cross country
you usually wind up taking circuitous routes,
and getting stranded in places you never knew existed,
and meeting people who are surprised that you exist.
We were once detained as suspected chain gang escapees,
which is where this story will eventually arrive.
You may be trying to go north,
but find yourself heading east or west,
and happy to get a ride,
to get off the side of a long and often creepy road.
When hitching you see the roads differently.
You notice the gum wrappers, cracks, puddles,
weeds and insects on the shoulders.
You get to know them well, sometimes being there for many hours.
A bend in the highway that cars disappear around in seconds,
is a mystery to you.
Maybe there's a town up there,
or an old gas station where you might get water, or a lucky ride,
or more endless miles of nothing,
Hitch-hiking to a place a thousand miles from where you start
can easily cover almost double the AAA route,
moving laterally as often as forward.
And you can plan on a number of extra days
in the burning sun or cold rain.
This isn't all bad.
Looking back on it It's an adventure.
At the time it seemed like punishment.
Bob Egan and I were trying to get back to Buffalo from Florida,
and got dropped off at nightfall in a tiny southern town,
by a bakery truck driver going in for the night.
The two-lane county road traffic amounted to a vehicle an hour,
it was dark and getting chilly,
we hadn't eaten, and were practically broke.
We were in Ashford, Alabama,
at the intersection of US84 (now called "Old US 84"),
and the road going northward was the narrow County Road 55.
There was a streetlight on the corner, so we stood under it,
trying to look wholesome and non-threatening.
Kids from the village came around to watch us stand there.
We were the biggest thing going on in town.
They were just a few feet from us,
but we couldn't understand a single word they said.
We were from another planet.
After an hour or maybe three,
a dump truck rumbled toward us from the wrong direction.
Shovels were hanging on its sides and clanging.
It stopped and large elderly man in a plaid shirt got out.
He was the sheriff or maybe the chief constable.
The big man was friendly, but said he had to take us in
because we fitted the description of two chain gang escapees...
two young Yankee fellas, one dark-haired and one blond.
We tried to tell him how innocent and nice we were,
but the report said that they were smooth talkers,
and not to believe anything they said.
We climbed up into the truck cab
and he drove us about two blocks to the police station,
where we sat and were given coffee and a sandwich,
while the sheriff made some phone calls.
The police station was on Main,
which in my memory was an unpaved dirt street.
After a while he said "We don't have a regular jail here,
but we've got a place for you to stay until court in the morning."
Then he drove us to a big wooden house of indeterminate color,
and introduced us to a matronly lady
who was the proprietor of this rooming house.
She was as friendly as he was,
but we were surely headed for life on the chain gang,
and that took a little edge off the fun.
We did get some needed sleep and some breakfast in the morning.
The rugged old cop picked us up
and said we had been cleared of all suspicions.
He drove us to the county line.
Like an idiot I said "Good luck catching those guys."
He waved out the truck window and headed back to town.
It only took a few decades for me to figure out what really happened.
He knew we would be stuck all night on that corner.
He could see that we were tired and probably hungry,
and he made the phone call to the boarding house lady
to put us up for the night.
There were no escaped convicts.
Just two youthful strangers who needed some help.
I have a warm spot in my heart for Ashford, Alabama,
and those good people.
*
Jack Blanchard
*http:// - http:///
www.jackandmisty.net -
http://www.jackandmisty.net
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY*
compiled by Bill Morrison*
*
1894 - Sam McGee 1894~1975, of the Grand Ole Opry's /"The McGee Brothers"
/was born in Williamson County, Tennessee.*
*
1910 - Ott Devine 1910~1994, WSM executive, Grand Ole Opry manager, was born in
Gadsden, Alabama.*
*
1926 - Dr. Humphrey Bate, a Nashville M.D. and leader of the Possum Hunters
appeared on the WSM Barn Dance this evening. Dr. Bate was known as /"The
Dean Of the Opry," /after the Barn Dance was renamed the Grand Ole Opry in
late 1927. Dr. Bate played the harmonica, and was a practicing physician in
Music City. Also appearing on this evenings program were the Carthage
Fiddlers.*
*
*1929 - *Sonny James singer, songwriter, and guitarist was born
/James Loden/ in Hackleburg, Alabama. Sonny joined the Grand Ole Opry
in 1965, and was inducted into the CMHF in 2006.*
*
*1931 - *Jimmy Gately was born in Springfield, Missouri.*
*
*1938 - *Vernon Dalhart the /first /country artist to sell a
million copies of a record, (/"The Prisoner's Song") /on the Victor
label in 1924, recorded his /last /recording session today.*
*
1944 - Rita Coolidge singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress was born in
Nashville, Tennessee. Rita and Kris Kristofferson were married from 1973~1980.
*
*
*1954 - *Andy Griffin the pride of Mt. Airy, North Carolina, debuted
on the Grand Ole Opry.*
*
*1954 - *Don King singer, songwriter was born in Fremont, Nebraska.
*
*
*1960 - *Johnny Horton appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.*
*
1965 - Wayne The Train Hancock, was born in Dallas, Texas.*
*
*1967 - *Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Priscilla filed for divorce on August 11, 1972, and the divorce
became final on October 11, 1973.*
*
*1967 - *Tim McGraw was born in Delhi, Louisiana. He grew up as Tim
Smith, not knowing who his father was until he was twelve years old.*
*
1973 - Tammy Cochran was born in Geneva, Ohio.*
*
1973 - Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member Max D. Barnes moved to
Nashville.*
*
1976 - Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter's RCA duet single /"Suspicious
Minds" /charted today for the second time in their career. The song was
/first /released by RCA in 1970, and it topped out at # 25. Six years
later the duo had become a little more famous, and the 1976 release topped out
at #2 on the Billboard charts.*
*
1979 - Wynonna and Naomi Judd moved to Nashville. Their first residence was at
the Music City Motor Inn.*
*
*1980 - *Loretta Lynn was named Artist of the Decade, by the Academy
of Country Music. Larry Gatlin won three awards; /Male Vocalist, Top Album
/"Straight Ahead," /and Top Single /"All The Gold In
California."*
*
*1982 - *Randy Parton's RCA single /"Oh, No" /hit the
country charts today. The song was written by Lionel Richie. Randy is the
brother of Dolly, and Stella Parton. He charted five songs for RCA between
1981-1983.*
*
*1993 - *Charley Pride became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. *
*
*1993 - *Tracy Lawrences Atlantic single /Alibis/ went to #
1.*
*
1999 - Charlie and Emily Robison were married. *
*
2001 - Nashville police arrested Terri Clark for DUI. Clark was released after
posting a $2,000 bond.*
*
*2003 - *Record producer, Tony Brown, was flown from UCLA Medical
Center in Los Angeles, to Nashvilles Centennial Medical Center. Tony was
recovering from a head injury received in a fall on April 11th in Los Angeles.
*
*
*2004 - *Tim McGraws new movie Black Cloud, debuted at the Nashville
Film Festival. This was Tims first acting role.*
*
2004 - Joe Diffie, age 45, and wife Theresa welcomed daughter Kylie Tarissa
Diffie into the world.*
*
*2004 - *Brad Cotter, age 33, was selected as the winner of the USA
Networks Nashville Star, Season 2, contest. Prior to the contest, Brad was a
demo singer in Nashvillesound familiar? Last years winner Buddy Jewel, also came
from the ranks of Nashville Demo Singers. *
*
*2008 - *Charlie Pride celebrated his 15th anniversary as a member of
the Grand Ole Opry.*
*
*2008 - *Jim Hager 1946 - 2008, one half of the Hager Twins, was found
dead in a Nashville coffeehouse parking lot. He was pronounced dead at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center from natural causes. Jim and his twin
brother Jon joined the cast of /Hee Haw /in 1969, and remained with
the show until 1988. A Memorial Service was held for Jim Hager at the Ryman
Auditorium, and his body was cremated.*
Courtesy Bill Morrison:
<
http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalMAR.html*>
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*
*
VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock*
*
Back in 1985, right before Denise and I got married, she had flown into
Nashville to spend some time with me and I had just taken her back to the
Nashville Airport to catch a plane back to California. I sat in the Parking Lot
and watched her plane take off...and I picked up a pencil and the back of a
receipt of some kind and wrote a song I had on my mind about her. *
"You Took The Sad Out My Songs"*
Stan Hitchcock-writer*
I used to sing those lonely tear jerking songs*
The kind where everybody gets done wrong*
That was my view of love til you came along*
Lady, you have changed my song...*
Cho:*
You took the sad out of my songs*
You put the happy right back where it belongs*
You kissed the hurt away, you made everything right*
You have changed my song tonight*
Until You I never gave love a chance*
I played the music, never stayed for the dance*
But now I realize that melody was wrong*
And you have changed my song*
It was the first time I had ever written a happy song...I was tearjerker all the
way. It just took the right woman to open up the possibilities that true love
can bring to a life. Every song I have written since has a positive slant to it,
because I think different. That's just the way it is. *
*Stan Hitchcock*
*
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*
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:*
*
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not
alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
*
* Matthew 24:6-8 (NIV)*
*
*
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*
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