COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday April 16th, 2015
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT www.countrymusicclassics.com -
http://www.countrymusicclassics.com
Email: Classics@countrymusicclassics.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
A lot of hit songs have been written from something the writer overheard someone
else say or from observing people or situations.
And Merle Haggards 1982 number one, Big City, was one of those tunes!
A friend of Haggard was visiting him when he was recording the Big City album in
West Hollywood and was complaining about how dirty the city was. Haggard picked
up on the friends complaints and Big City was born.
According to Haggard, he wrote the song in about 20 minutes and recorded it
right away.
Merle admitted that he used a shuffle beat on the song something he had never
done before.
He commented, I think anyone could have sang that song and had a hit. It was
just at the right time and was what people wanted to hear. They were tired of
all the slums and the song worked.
Merle Haggards Epic Records single, Big City came on the country charts January
16th, 1982 and was in the top slot on April 10th.
It was his 72nd charted song and his 28th number one. The single as produced by
Lewis Talley and Merle Haggard And was on the charts for 19 weeks.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: The radio folks mentioned something about "Country Music Of Your Life." What
is that?
A: "Country Music Of Your Life" is a 10 CD, 150 song set featuring country
hits from the 1950's thru the 1970's. It also features two bonus CD's including
hits from Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Left Frizzell, and more, plus a full-color
booklet of photos and stories about the artists and their music.
Q: My dad has mentioned hearing Conway Twitty sing the Ray Price hit song
"Crazy Arms" on the radio years ago. Did Conway record that song?
A: Conway's version of "Crazy Arms" is in his 1969 I Love You More Today"
album.
Q: I love the old Hank Snow tune "I'm Movin' On." My mom says that some girl
singer also had a hit on that song. Is that true?
A: "I'm Movin' On" scored a number 5 hit for Emmylou Harris in 1983
Q: Will you please settle an argument? My dad says that Carl Perkins wrote all
his hit records but I don't think he did.
A: Carl Perkins placed 15 songs on the country charts between 1956 and 1987 and
he wrote or co-wrote twelve of them.
Q: I love Don Williams record of "Turn The Radio On." Didn't a female artist
also have a hit on that song?
A: Kathy Mattea had a number 64 hit on a song by that title in 1993 but it was
a different song from Don Williams' number three hit in 1982.
Q: Years ago Waylon Jennings had a record about "I Got You" with a girl singer.
Do you know her name?
A: The girl singer on "I Got You" was Anita Carter.
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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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NUMBER ONES ON THIS DATE
1946
Guitar Polka - Al Dexter
1954
Slowly - Webb Pierce
1962
Shes Got You - Patsy Cline
1970
Tennessee Bird Walk - Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
1978
Someone Loves You Honey - Charley Pride
1986
She and I - Alabama
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CHEERING YOU UP AGAIN.
By: Jack Blanchard
When Tom T. Hall called and asked me to write the liner notes for his
new album,
I said "What do you want me to write?"
He said "Just write the way you do."
I asked "Have you read my stuff?"
He said "Yep. Loretta Lynn lent me a book of yours on a plane."
Roger Miller had a bunch of country stars in his suite drinking until
about 6 AM.
Roger opened the drapes
and sunlight poured in from the East like a nuclear blast.
He said, "Gods coming, and hes got his brights on."
Roy said, "Do you want something to eat?"
Trigger said, "No thanks. I'm stuffed."
I used to be a great whistler, and whistled in some of our records.
I can't do it anymore.
But I can stillI grip a perch with my feet!
If they make a movie of our life it better be a talkie!
IN THE NEWS...
The Israelis are developing an airport security device that will not
X-ray you,
but will detonate any explosive device
you may have on your person.
I asked the guy behind the counter
if he had wild cherry cough drops.
He said yes.
I said "Are they really wild?"
He said "We can hardly keep them in the box."
In today's headlines: "A man bit a snake... twice!"
He said he just doesn't like snakes.
The authorities took him to jail and rushed the snake to a hospital,
where it received numerous stitches on the bites.
The snake had no comment,
but had an expression that said "What the HELL?!"
In my grandmother's last days I sat by her hospital bed.
We talked and joked a little. She always had a sense of humor.
She said she wasn't afraid to die, but she just didn't want to.
Like a young idiot I asked "Why?"
She smiled and said this:
"I'm afraid I might miss something."
We met two young British songwriters on the street in Nashville.
The song they pitched us was "Let's Go Out and Kill Something".
Two words helped to make us famous... or infamous...
"Chirp chirp".
Misty's running the vacuum cleaner around my desk.
Why am I afraid of it?
I'm gaining weight.
I'm going to have to do a sit-up.
Misty just came from Publix.
She told me a guy said this to her:
"I saw you over there giving the bananas a dirty look."
The Sound of Music came on and Misty was singing along in a high soprano
range.
When the song ended she said:
"OH, CRAP! MY SOUP! IT'S ALL OVER THE STOVE!"
I had a chance to go straight, but I went into music instead.
Jack Blanchard
http://www.jackandmisty.net
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myhillbillymusic.com, the largest streaming online radio station of classic
country music has affiliated with the A-1 networks. The affiliation means
myhillbillymusic.com is now found more readily by those searching for such
music. Simply go to a-1audionetwork.com/classiccountry/ to access or you can
still go to myhillbillymusic.com. The site has over 7,000 classic country cuts
including the entire RCA and Abbott output of Jim Reeves, the entire Columbia
and Mercury output of Johnny Horton, and every known commercial recording of
Hank Williams. In addition to cuts taken from cd, the site has hundreds of cuts
from 45's and LP's, cuts that haven't made it to cd by such stars as Carl &
Pearl Butler and Bill Phillips.
In addition to myhillbillymusic/a-1 classic country, our group also offers
mybluegrassfavorites.com, mymountainviewmusic.com (music of Mountain View,
Arkansas), a new site dedicated to classic southern gospel called
myhope1079.com. We hope you will visit all of these sites and enjoy thousands
of cuts you simply won't hear anywhere else!
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Compiled by Bill Morrison
1877 - Simeon E. Neill Acuff 1877~1943, father of Roy Acuff was born in
Tennessee. Mr. Acuff played the fiddle, and was a hard working, intelligent man.
He was an ordained Baptist minister, served as postmaster of Maynardville,
County Clerk of Union County, worked as a lawyer and member of the Tennessee Bar
Association, law partner of Judd Acuff, and served in Knox County as a General
Sessions Judge. Of course he didn' t do all of these things at the same time,
but they all represent a portion of this dear man' s resume. He did find the
time to teach his son the moral values of a Christian family. The things Roy
Acuff learned from his father he applied to his life, and shared with those
around him that he cared about.
1904 - Delia Bell singer, songwriter, and guitarist was born Delia Nowell in
Bonham Texas. Delia was one half of the Bill Grand & Delia Bell duo, one of the
best duets in country and bluegrass history.
1935 - Bobby Vinton was born Stanley Robert Vinton in Canonsburg, PN 1935. Bobby
has charted 7 country singles on Billboards country charts.
1942 - Rick Blackburn, record company executive, born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1946 - Al Dexter' s "Guitar Polka" topped the charts.
1954 - Webb Pierce' s single "Slowly" topped the charts.
1956 - Kathy Cash, second child of Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash, was born
in Memphis, Tennessee.
1961 - Claude King' s first recording session for Columbia Records.
1962 - Patsy Cline' s "She' s Got You" topped the Country charts.
1966 - Ray Charles' #1 hit "Together Again" hit the Country charts.
1968 - Dorsey Murdock Dixon 1897~1968, singer, songwriter, guitar, and fiddle
player, a member of the "Dixon Brothers," died at age 70.
1969 - The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour featured special guests Nancy Sinatra, Al
Martino, and Tim Conway.
1969 - Glen Campbell's Capitol album "Galveston" was certified Gold by the RIAA.
1970 - Tammy Wynette' s Epic Records "Greatest Hits Album" was certified gold.
1972 - William Howard "Jesse" James 1916~1972, age 55, of Jesse James & All the
Boys, died in Texas.
1977 - Waylon Jennings' #1 single "Lukenbach Texas" charted.
1978 - Charlie Pride' s "Someone Loves You Honey" topped the charts.
1983 - Alabama' s album, "The Closer You Get," went to #1.
1993 - Marty Stuart' s "Hey Baby," charted.
1997 - Janis Gill filed for divorce from Vince after 17 years of marriage.
1999 - Shania Twain became the first female artist to win the "Songwriter,
Artist of the Year Award" from the Nashville Songwriters Association.
2000 - Aaron Shelton, age 89, WSM recording engineer, died in Nashville,
Tennessee.
2002 - The Dixie Chicks were sued by Sony Music for breach of contract.
2003 - Darryl Worley gave a concert at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. for the
military. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld introduced him. The concert was
broadcast over Armed Forces Radio and TV, and the Fox News Cable Network.
2003 - June Carter Cash was released from Baptist Hospital in Nashville, after
treatment for congestive heart failure.
2007 - The CMT Music Awards were presented in Nashville; however there wasn't
much country music to be heard. Kris Kristofferson was presented with the Johnny
Cash Visionary Award by Rosanne Cash. That was certainly the highlight of the
evening.
Courtesy Bill Morrison:
<http://www.talentondisplay.com/countrycalMAR.html>
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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Being an early riser, almost all my lifebeing up before the Sun, you learn to
expect that this time of day is your most productive. As Tom T said, I get up
early and write, there is no one up that time of day to phone or try to get hold
of you. I practice that same routineNo turning on the tv to watch the World
News.plenty of time for that later in the dayI dont subscribe to newspapers for
the same reasonyou can let outside news sources set the mood of your day. In the
World Events happening all around us, I know without going to the News that it
is gonna be bad things being done to good people by bad peoplethats it. So,
first thing in the morning, I concentrate of getting myself strong for the
coming dayprayerful meditationthinking things out, as best I can, to handle the
challenges that I might face. Setting a Positive Attitude in my mind. There is
something so peaceful and calming, when the first light brightens up the Eastern
skyits almost like opening up a present that God has given youa brand new day!
Takes about two good cups of strong coffee for the sky to brighten fullyand then
another couple cups to help the Sun ease over the Mountain. So, if I were a
lay-a-bed type person, I would have missed this beautiful dawn. It is my alone
timewatching God paint the sky one more Morning of my Life.
Time enough, later in the day, to check and see how the rest of the World is
doing, but, right now, by the Chuckling Creek with the Sycamores, across the
field of Buttercups as they raise their heads to watch the Sunrise, to the Old
Farm House with the Front Porch where an Old Man sits with His Dog, raising his
coffee cup in a salute.to another God Given Day in the Country.It is Good.
Stan Hitchcock
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word.
May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
Psalm 119:169-170 (NIV)
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