COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday December 10th, 2015
Email: djdclassics@gmail.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
According to co-writer Bob Dipiero, the idea for The Oak Ridge Boys 1983 number
one "American Made" came from a shopping spree. And that shopping spree was made
possible by a royalty check he received for writing the Reba McEntire hit song,
"I Can See Forever In Your Eyes."
DiPiero says he used that check to finance the buying spree that included all
the things mentioned in the Oak Ridge Boys hit like a Nikon camera and a
Mitsubishi TV – but he couldn't find anything to rhyme with Mitsibishi so he
changed the TV to a Sony.
He commented, "But my point was - I bought all that foreign made stuff but my
baby was "American Made."
Pat McManus happened to stop by the writing room while Dipiero was working on
the song and the two of them finished it and showed it to producer Ron Chancy.
Chancy liked the song and thought it would fit the Oak Ridge Boys. When they
recorded it – the Oaks divided the lead among each of the four so as to sound
like each guy had purchased the foreign made merchandise mentioned in the song.
Although the song was not recorded for a single – the initial response to the
live performance was so big that the tune became the title of their 1983 album
and the first single released from the LP.
The Oak Ridge Boys MCA single "American Made" came on the country music charts
February 26th, 1983 and was in the number one slot on April 23rd.
It was their 21st charted song and was on the charts for 16 weeks.
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During my latest attempt in cleaning out the storeroom – I found several copies
of the first book – "Stories Behind The Songs." This is the first collection of
"Story Behind The Song" columns from all the newsletters – starting in 1998 thru
2004. This 400 page collection is in a bound spiral book with front and back
cover. Some have a few water marks but in very good condition. Priced at $45
each – I'll pay the postage. PAYPAL ORDERS ONLY. Email to
djdclassics@gmail.com
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: My dad used to sing a song about "That's How Much I Love You." He said it
was on the radio all the time many years ago. Do you know anything about such a
song?
A: That was a number two hit for Eddy Arnold in 1946. It was his 3rd charted
song.
Q: I remember hearing a song about "you're gonna love yourself in the
morning" by several different singers back in the 70's. Who all recorded that
song?
A: The song was recorded by 20 or more artists but the charted versions were
by Wayne Carson, Roy Clark, Charlie Rich and a duet by Willie Nelson and Brenda
Lee.
Q: The old Hank Snow record of "Hello Love" is one of my favorites. Did he
write that song?
A; Hank's 1974 number one was written by Betty Jean Robinson and Aileen Muich
Q: I heard that Merle Haggard is seriously ill. Do you know any details?
A: Haggard was hospitalized for treatment of pneumonia and forced to cancel
several concerts.
Q: My sons tells me that some radio folks said that Kenny Rogers was retiring
because he hates country music. Did he really say that?
A: Rogers did not say he hated country music. He commented that country music
is very healthy right now and he does not want to compete with today's stars.
Q: Have you ever heard of a singer named Cheryl Poole? My dad says she was
popular several Years ago?
A: Cheryl Poole recorded for Paula Records and placed four songs on the
country charts from 1968 thru 1970. Her most popular was titled "Three Playing
Love" which peaked at number 39.
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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 at no
charge.
For information, email me at djdclassics@gmail.com
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NUMBER ONES ON THIS DATE
1947
I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
1955
Love, Love, Love - Webb Pierce
1963
Love's Gonna Live Here - Buck Owens
1971
Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' - Charley Pride
1979
I Cheated Me Right Out of You - Moe Bandy
1987
Somebody Lied - Ricky Van Shelton
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
1927
The phrase 'Grand Ole Opry' was first uttered on-air. That night Barn Dance
followed the NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour, a program of classical
music and selections from Grand Opera presented by classical conductor Walter
Damrosch. That night, Damrosch remarked that "there is no place in the classics
for realism," In response, Opry presenter George Hay said: "Friends, the program
which just came to a close was devoted to the classics. Doctor Damrosch told us
that there is no place in the classics for realism. However, from here on out
for the next three hours, we will present nothing but realism. It will be down
to earth for the 'earthy'."
1951
Born on this day in Sabinal, Texas, was Johnny Rodriguez who became the first
famous Latin American country music singer, infusing his music with Latin
sounds. He had the 1973 US #1 County hit "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me."
1970
Born on this day in Redding, California, was Kevin Sharp country music artist
and author who made his debut on the country music scene in 1997 with a cover of
R&B artist Tony Rich's single "Nobody Knows", a cover which topped the Billboard
country charts for four weeks. Sharp died on 19th April 2014 after a
long-running and high-profile battle with cancer.
1990
Garth Brooks was at #1 on the US country album chart with his second studio
album, No Fences. The album remains Brooks' best-seller to date with 17 million
copies sold in the US alone.
1996
Faron Young, American singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the
mid-1980s shot himself after apparently being depressed that the music industry
had turned its back on him. He died in Nashville the following day. His hits
included "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die
Young." His ashes were spread by his family over Old Hickory Lake outside
Nashville at Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's home while the Cashes were away.
Top of Form
Top of Form
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AS CHRISTMAS APPROACHES.
By: Jack Blanchard
Merry Christmas all you Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, rich, poor,
and let's not leave out the fringe weirdos.
Merry Christmas I say, to all humans, dogs, cats, and miscellaneous living
items.
Warning: I am armed and extremely jolly.
Christmas has been my favorite holiday my whole life,
and I want to share it with you.
You don't have to buy me anything but it wouldn't hurt my feelings..
Join me in toasting old Saint Nicholas if he will fit in our toaster.
(Haha. I do get jolly at Christmas.)
Cry with me at the ending of "It's a Wonderful Life".
Let's boo and hiss together at Old Mr. Potter.
We'll get sentimental listening to the Christmas carols at Walmart.
And let's all pray for snow even if we're in Florida.
What time is Charlie Brown on?
Enjoy new times with old friends.
If we don't have any friends, let's make some.
Find somebody who looks down in the dumps,
give them a big smile, and toss them a "Merry Christmas".
If they just look at you funny and walk away, so what?
There are other people waiting to be annoyed with our Christmas glee.
Think about your home town and try to recall the good times.
I think about Buffalo this time of year
because that's where I got all my Christmas spirit to begin with...
shopping downtown, and trimming the scotch pine
with people we loved more than we knew at the time.
I laugh and cry a lot as Christmas approaches.
I even cry at commercials.
I laugh easily at funny remarks, especially mine.
It's embarrassing but I don't care.
Ten minutes after a joke has slipped into the past,
I think about it and start laughing again.
Everybody tries not to notice, but the more I try to stifle it, the more I
laugh,
and tears come out of my eyes.
Christmas makes me weak.
So, whatever your religion or non-religion is, Merry Dang Christmas!
You don't have to go to church if you don't want to.
I probably won't, but I might watch Midnight Mass on television,
and I'm not even Catholic.
It's all part of the pageantry that is my holiday,
and I plan to eat too much, mellow out, and enjoy the feeling.
I'm working on my new song, "Pat, The Christmas Rat".
The other reindeer won't let him play any reindeer games.
He can only play rat games,
and yet, he's full of Christmas cheer.
One Christmas Eve Pat slinks down a chimney
with his bag of presents,
and is beaten to death by a couple of toddlers.
It's a sad story, but there's probably a moral in there somewhere.
Call me on your holiday and I'll join you, but listen...
What I'm saying to you right now is this:
"Merry Christmas to all good people."
Jack Blanchard
http://jackandmisty.net
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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Traditionally, the Front Porches of America were one of the most important parts
of any home design. The big porches of the late 1800's through the mid 1900's
were more than just shelters from the weather when opening the front door, they
were essential to a pleasant lifestyle. When weather permitted, the Front Porch
was the family gathering place, where neighbors would come to visit and sit and
have actual conversations. Front Porches, along with screened-in back or side
porches had practical uses also. In the years before air conditioned comfort,
day beds were kept on the screened-in porches to sleep during the heat of
Summer. From May through September that was my bed of choice, growing up on the
farm in the Ozarks.
When America started building houses without big front porches, closing
themselves up in their climate controlled cocoons, the interchange between
neighbors changed. There is just something inviting and open about a family
sitting on their front porch that invites others to join them. You drive down
most new neighborhoods today, and it is hard to find a single person sitting out
front, if they are outside at all, they have built a patio behind the house that
isolates them from the neighbors. Lots of folks, in the big subdivisions, have
never even met their neighbors.
When Denise and I first drove in the driveway of The Old Farm House, back in
1997, looking to buy a place in Tennessee and move back from Branson to our
preferred Home, the first thing that I saw was the big front porch that
stretched all the way across the front of the house. It just looked
inviting…friendly…open. It looked like Home. And, that it has been now, for all
these years, raising our boy Scott, always having our home open and welcoming
visitors, and giving me a place to view the World as it goes by our road…by the
Chuckling Creek with the Sycamores.
We have taken this old 1920's Farm House, sitting on the hill above the creek,
and cared for it with the respect that old homes deserve. The work is never done
on a home this old, and that is the blessing of owning older homes, you are
never without a challenge. They built them different in the periods of 1890 to
1930, doing the underpinnings with huge squares of Oak and Yellow Poplar,
building the interior walls with two sets of interlocking tongue and groove
boards, on each side of the thick studs and rafters, then covering the wall with
thick plaster. They covered the exterior with Cypress Siding that continues to
get harder and stronger every year, and is naturally Termite proof. When our
home was built, in 1920, it was designed with four coal fireplaces, which heated
the whole house, upstairs and down. It was built before REA brought electricity
to Rural America, and sometimes I still get a whiff of the coal from the
fireplaces, and the Coal Oil Lamps lingering almost a hundred years later. The
Fireplaces have been sealed now, to better accommodate the modern Heat and Air,
but the four hearths still proudly attest to their heritage.
As I have written in the past, sometimes when Old Buck and I are in our favorite
spots on our Front Porch, I can sometimes sense the Spirits of the Old Folks,
comfortable as they settle around us. The old folks that lived through the
Depression, the Second World War, Korea and Vietnam…who watched their Sons and
Daughters go off to serve and waited for them to return…and sometimes, not
return. Ninety five years of the Sun coming up and shining on this Front Porch,
sheltering the families that lived and loved here.
I believe that you never really own an old home, you simply are the Caretakers
for awhile, to enjoy and love the old place, being respectful of the ones that
were here before us, and leaving it to the ones that come after. My View From
The Front Porch is probably pretty slanted toward a way of life that is now,
mostly ancient history. Yeah, I used to collect antiques, now I am one. I accept
that my views are old-timey, but, you look at life the way you were brought up.
Just like Grandpa, who used to sit at his kitchen table, smoking his pipe,
saucerin' his coffee and looking back at what I do not know…life can be like a
movie, and if you are lucky enough to have lived it, and remember it, then you
can watch it in your mind any time you'd like.
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
BLUEHIWAYS TV is now on Dish Network Channel 73
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One
is understanding.
– Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)
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