COUNTRY MUSIC CLASSICS
Doug Davis
Owner/Publisher/Manager/Editor/
Writer/Gopher/Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Thursday December 31st, 2015
Our best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and your family.
Email: djdclassics@gmail.com
STORY BEHIND THE SONG
Several number one songs made it to the top of the charts on their second try
– having been previously recorded by another artist or group.
And Alabama's 1983 number one "The Closer You Get" was one of those tunes!
The song was written by Mark Gray and J. P. Pennington.
Don King recorded the song for his "Whirlwind" album. It was released as a
single and peaked at number 27 in 1981.
"The Closer You Get" was the last song recorded for the album but as a single
the song won Alabama its' second Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a
Duo or Group, and became their tenth number one just two months after hitting
the charts.
Their RCA Victor single came on the country charts May 14th, 1983 and was in the
top slot on July 16th. It was the group's 13th charted song and was on the
charts for 17 weeks.
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Still have a few 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: Heard on the radio that Emmylou Harris is performing at some bluegrass
festival. Do you know when and where?
A: Emmylou Harris will be performing at The 43rd annual Telluride Bluegrass
Festival June 16-19, 2016, in Telluride, Colorado. In addition to performances,
there will be workshops on the Elks Park stage (in the middle of town), band and
songwriting contests, late-night concerts at every indoor venue in town and jam
sessions in condos and at campgrounds. For more information about the Telluride
Bluegrass Festival, or to purchase tickets, visit the event's official website.
Q: The TV folks mentioned Glen Campbell and a Beach Boys anniversary. What is
that about?
A: Fifty-one years ago(Dec. 24, 1964) was the day that Glen Campbell made his
debut appearance with the Beach Boys, filling in for an ailing Brian Wilson at
the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas. Campbell had played on several of
the group's sessions but had never performed live with them until Wilson
unexpectedly canceled a series of dates due to a nervous breakdown. Campbell
toured with the Beach Boys for four months. His last performance was at the
Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 1965. Bruce Johnston then
took over, officially replacing Wilson as a member of the Beach Boys for their
live shows.
Q: My daughter tells me that Charley Pride is going to receive some kind of
"Ameripolitan Award." Do you have any information?
A: The 2016 Ameripolitan Music Awards are scheduled for mid-February, and in
addition to honoring Western swing, honky-tonk, rockabilly and outlaw musicians,
Charley Pride, Wanda Jackson and Red Simpson will also be receiving special
awards. Jackson and Simpson will be presented with the Founder of the Sound
recognition, while Pride will receive a Master Award. He is only the second
recipient of the award, following the late Ray Price.
Q: Are they selling Little Jimmy Dickens guitars? I heard it mentioned on the
radio.
A: Eighteen guitars from Little Jimmy Dickens' personal collection are going
up for sale through Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. Some of the guitars were
restored after being damaged in the 2010 Nashville floods, while others have
undergone other repairs. The 18 guitars are priced between $1,500 and $20,000.
Gruhn Guitars owner George Gruhn — a friend of Dickens who is representing his
estate in the sales — says that two of the instruments have already been placed
on hold.
Q: Do you know anything about a Willie Nelson Luck Festival? My son says he
heard about it on the radio.
A: The 2016 Luck Banquet event is set for March 18, 2016 at the Willie Nelson
Ranch in Luck, Texas and will feature 20 acts with Willie Nelson headlining, as
well as shops from local artisans and chefs, all on the grounds where the
movie Red Headed Stranger was filmed. One of the stages will be situated in a
revival-style tent next to the town's chapel (where the event kicks off), and
the main stage will overlook Nelson's private "World Headquarters."
Q: Do you have any info concerning a new Waylon Jennings record?
A: A new live record "Return of the Outlaw: The Abbott, Texas, Broadcast 1973"
is set for release on March 18, 2016 and is from a concert that Waylon Jennings
performed, along with Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver and Jerry Jeff Walker, on
Nov. 4, 1973, in celebration of Abbott High School's homecoming. Many of the
songs that Jennings performed at this 1973 show were later used on "This Time,"
which was released in 1974. Jennings passed away in February of 2002, at the
age of 64, due to complications from diabetes.
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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
1944
I'm Wastin' My Tears on You - Tex Ritter
1952
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Skeets McDonald
1960
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky
1968
Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
1976
Sweet Dreams - Emmylou Harris
1984
Why Not Me - The Judds
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TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY
Top of Form
1943
Born on this day in Roswell, New Mexico, was John Denver (Henry John
Deutschendorf, Jr.), singer, songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. Denver
recorded and released over 300 songs, earning him 12 gold and 4 platinum albums
with his signature songs "Sunshine on My Shoulders", "Take Me Home, Country
Roads", "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Rocky Mountain High", "Annie's Song" and
"Calypso". Denver was killed on October 12, 1997 at the age of 53 when his
experimental Rutan Long-EZ plane, crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Pacific
Grove, California.
1943
Hank Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in
Charleston, West Virginia but due to an ice storm in the Nashville area,
Williams could not fly, so he hired Charles Carr, to drive him to the concert.
When they arrived at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, Williams
complained of feeling unwell and saw a doctor. Carr and Williams checked out of
the hotel, and at around midnight in Bristol, Virginia, Carr stopped at a small
all-night restaurant and asked Williams if he wanted to eat. Williams said he
did not, and those are believed to be his last words. Carr later stopped for
fuel at a gas station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where he realized that
Williams was dead.
1954
Born on this day in Aylmer, Quebec, was Charlie Major Canadian country music
artist. He was blinded in one eye as a result of a pellet gun accident when he
was 12. Through the 1990s, he won the Juno Award as Country Male Vocalist of the
Year for two years in a row.
1977
Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again" spent its fifth week at #1 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles chart. It would be the last song to spend that long atop the
chart until 1990's "Love Without End, Amen" by George Strait.
Top of Form
Top of Form
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NOTHING IS OVER LIKE CHRISTMAS.
By: Jack Blanchard
Nothing is over like Christmas.
Months of anticipation, and then it's gone.
Try to hold on to it and it slides away like this morning's dream.
People who tell us that it's a pagan holiday,
just because it's near the winter solstice,
may not realize what an intrusion that is upon our enjoyment.
We can each bring our own thoughts to the season,
and make it our personal non-pagan celebration.
It's in the spirit of the beholder.
It's hard to work up the spirit here in Florida,
but we give it a shot every year.
Misty decorates a tree,
and puts Christmas stuff all over the place.
We listen to Christmas music with the air conditioning on
and with palm trees lurking in the yard.
Television doesn't help, with reports of all night sales,
talking heads urging us to be good consumers,
stranded travelers sleeping in airports,
and carolers singing "Happy Honda Days".
I toss up futile prayers for snow here in the subtropics,
but this is the time of year
when we just get a cheap imitation of early autumn.
A couple of trees around here get a touch of red,
and I go look at them.
I get sentimental about Christmas,
probably because I had real Christmasy holidays years ago,
with folks who are no longer with us,
and my childish subconscious thinks it will happen again.
I think next year I'll write a letter to Santa,
and ask him for one more snowfall in Buffalo,
where the night is silent, the homes are warm,
and Christmas is strong in the air.
Jack Blanchard
http://jackandmisty.net
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VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH
By: Stan Hitchcock
Denise and I are enjoying our coffee on the front porch in 67 degree temps
probably for the last time til Spring. We are packed up and getting ready to
head West into the Storm system coming up out of Texas and Arkansas, as we make
our way to Springfield, Missouri to visit brother Sam and sister Vickie and Stan
2nd and grandkids and assorted friends in the Ozarks where I grew up. It is an
annual journey I like to make to start the New Year back where It all began for
me.
You just never know where the Journey Of Life is gonna lead you. When I first
left home in 1954, going off to the Navy, I fully believed I would come back to
the Ozarks and live my life out in those hills. At 18 I was so wide eyed and
green that I was just holding on for the ride with not a clue as to where it
would lead. Funny thing, after all those long years, I still feel wide eyed and
green...and open to where ever the Lord leads me.
I always marveled at those who had their lives all planned out...knew exactly
what they were gonna be when they grew up. I suppose that I, early on, realized
that I was not in charge of my destiny, and for sure it has been a blessed
journey, far beyond my imagining.
I wish for you all a great week, to end the year, and a New Year of good health
and happiness. God Bless Us All.
www.hitchcockcountry.com -
http://www.hitchcockcountry.com
BLUEHIWAYS TV is now on Dish Network Channel 73
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined
to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be
spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a
sword will pierce your own soul too."
– Luke 2:34-35 (NIV)
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Our best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and your family.
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