Bill Anderson's Blog, page 10

January 3, 2024

Hi Gang:

And Happy New Year!

Gee, it seems like only yesterday that I was beginning to date my autographs “2023”, and now it’s 2024. I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun!

And I had a lot of fun in ’23….everything from the joy of being nominated for a Grammy Award early in the year to releasing a new record toward the end with my friends Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Jimmy Fortune, and Bobby Bare. And there were many more good times in between. Here’s hoping ’24 will provide us all with lots more happy and memorable moments.

We’re staring off the new year with the release of a lyric video for the song I recorded with my buddies, “The Country I Grew Up With.” I’m writing this letter before all the folks are back in their offices at Universal Music, so I can’t give you an exact date and time for the video premiere, but you can be watching for it on our website at www.billanderson.com and other sites where you usually see your music videos.

I wish we could somehow do a live video with all the people who are singing on the record, but right now that doesn’t seem possible. We’re a pretty spread-out bunch. The lyric video contains some incredibly beautiful and appropriate scenes, though, that I think you will enjoy. In addition, of course, you get the words to the song so you can sing along with us. Be watching for it. It should be coming soon.

I’ve also got several new songs recorded that I hope to be releasing before the new year moves too far on down the track. Some are songs you’d probably expect Bill

Anderson to be writing and performing, while about a half-dozen others are a bit more unique and “outside the box.” Again, I’ll know more when the record company folks get back into their offices and we can begin matching their plans and schedules with my own.

Right now I’m hoping to return to the Opry on February 3rd with additional performances scheduled for Feb. 17th and Feb. 24th. I’ve sure missed being there these past several weeks. And I’ve appreciated the notes I’ve received from many of you saying you’ve missed me too.

Speaking of notes, I want to thank all of you who reached out to me and and my family at Christmastime. I appreciated all of your beautiful cards, thoughtful text messages, and e-mails. I had a wonderful “Tender Tennessee Christmas” with all three of my children and all eight of my grandchildren. It doesn’t get any better than that. I hope your Christmas was special as well.

And New Year’s Eve was special too. I went to a private, age-appropriate place for dinner followed by, as they said in their advertising, “Dancing until 9 p.m.!” That didn’t leave  me much time for getting in trouble!!

See you back here in February. Have a great month, and thanks for everything…

Ask Bill – December 1, 2023

1) I was wondering if you ever anticipate writing another book since you just celebrated your 62nd Anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member. I have two of your books and would love to hear your stories of the last few years.

I’ve got a few new stories I could tell, believe me, but I can write at least a couple dozen new songs in the same amount of time and with less effort than I could write another book. Too, I’m at the point in my life where I want to spend my time with family and the people I love. Writing a book is a lonely thing to do, and while I may tackle it again someday, I don’t anticipate it being anytime soon.

2) I understand that when you become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame you get a medallion. How many people who already have medallions come to congratulate the new members? What all happens during a Medallion Ceremony evening?

For those of us who are members of the Hall of Fame, the Medallion Ceremony is one of the most special nights of the year. It’s always held on a Sunday afternoon in the fall inside the Hall itself. The members who are able to attend (there were 24 total this year) have an hour or so together in the Rotunda where we visit, laugh and tell lies, munch on some goodies, enjoy some liquid refreshment, and pose for a group photo. We are then taken downstairs to await the start of the ceremony itself. After the audience is seated, we are escorted into a special section of the theater as the fans stand and applaud their favorites. It never fails to be a chill-bump moment for me. We are then seated and treated to the music and the history and the unveiling of the plaques for our newest members. Each inductee speaks, we stand and sing, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” and afterward we all come together for a marvelous buffet dinner upstairs. There’s nothing quite like it, believe me.

3) Aren’t you at least a little bit sad to see the direction the Opry has taken? It used to be a star would host a segment of the show and introduce other acts on the show. Now each act comes on and sings three songs and goes off. I guess I’m from the old school….if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

I understand where you are coming from, and I’ve expressed similar feelings to those in charge at the Opry. I used to enjoy hosting the segments almost as much as I did singing the songs. It gave me a chance to meet many of the newer performers early in their careers and welcome them to the most special stage in country music. Too, during the commercial breaks, I loved visiting and cutting up with the audience. It changed because it had to change during Covid, and so far management has not seen fit to change it back. Will they ever? I have no idea. I’m not sure they even know. Stay tuned.

4) Our Question Of The Month comes from Tom in Pennsylvania: All those rhinestone and embroidered suits you guys and gals wore over the years…what happens to them?

I can’t speak for everybody else, but mine have just laid around the house and gotten smaller! I haven’t gotten any larger, but they have definitely shrunk! Seriously, I have loaned several of mine to various museums around the country, some of which have gone out of business never to be heard from again. Some were in my Hall of Fame exhibit and will be returned to me shortly. Some are in the Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia, I gave one to the Tennessee State Museum, and some are in a display outside the Bill Anderson Performing Arts Center in Commerce, Georgia. Some are downstairs in my basement, and a few I have simply lost track of. They will probably pop up on e-Bay when I am dead and gone. I wonder where Porter’s are?? Next time I see his daughter I’ll ask.

Quickies: How do they decide when and what nights people are to be on the Opry? I know Jeannie Seely is on quite often. The talent coordinators ask us for our availabilities several weeks in advance and then program the shows accordingly. Seely lives virtually in the Opry’s back yard, so she can get there on shorter notice than the rest of us! Have you and your friends ever performed in New York City like Carnegie Hall or the Lincoln Center? I can only speak for myself, but I have performed at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and several other venues in and around the Big Apple. And I’ve always enjoyed it. Is there ever going to be a time when you will visit the UK? Again, I’ve toured there many times and always enjoyed the fans and the culture. Right now I am not touring at all, so there’s nothing on my immediate radar. Did you ever work with Jerry Clower on your tours? He seemed like he would have been a lot of fun to be around. He was, and I had the pleasure of touring and laughing with him on many occasions. In the sixties and early seventies I lived near Long Beach, CA., and listened to KFOX radio. One of the D.J.’s was named Bill Patterson who I remember saying that the two of you were cousins. Did I dream this or is it true? Either you dreamed it or my parents neglected to tell me about ol’ Cousin Bill. I don’t recall ever seeing him at any of our family reunions!

Thanks for your questions as always. I hope I’ve helped to satisfy your curiosity a bit. We’ll do it again in January, so load us up with whatever you’d like to know about. You can always reach me at askbill@billanderson.com. If yours is chosen our Question Of The Month you’ll receive any item of your choosing free of charge from our online store. See you next year.

Latest Photos

Our first picture this month shows you what it can look like backstage when I arrive for a night at the Grand Ole Opry. It’s always fun to see the smiling faces, some of which I recognize and others which I don’t. I always try to make a few new friends with each appearance, though, and hopefully I succeed more often than I fail. In the second photo, I think I succeeded in making my granddaughter, Hallie, happy by taking her with me to the recent CMA Awards. She loves country music more than any of my other grandkids, and we had another great night of making some lasting memories together. In the last photo, I’m relaxing in my Opry dressing room…..the room called, “It All Begins With A Song.” This room is dedicated to the Opry members who are/were also songwriters, and as you can see, my picture hangs between Dolly and Hank. I’d say I’m in some pretty special company!

December 1, 2023

Hi Gang:

Thanksgiving Day may be behind us now, but my thankfulness continues for all of you who lifted me up in your thoughts and prayers during my Thanksgiving week surgery. There were many of you, and your prayers were certainly heard and answered. I got to come home the following day, and my recovery is right on course. I’ll have to be taking things easy from now through the end of the year, but I could use a little downtime anyhow. Thank you again for being the best group of fans and friends anybody could ever have. I hope your Thanksgiving was as special as mine.

Our new record, “The Country I Grew Up With,” featuring Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson, came out just before my hospitalization, and the reaction has been incredible. Thanks to all of you who have reached out to tell me how much you like it. If you haven’t listened to it yet and shared it with your friends, I encourage you to do so. People are telling me that the message of the song really hits home. That’s awfully nice to know. There aren’t any “hard copies” available, but you can download it from wherever you stream your music.

Because music released around the holidays sometimes tends to get lost in the craziness of the season, our record company and our team have decided to hold up the release of the lyric video until after the first of next year. Sometime in early January we will have a mini re-release of the record along with the video. We want our music to stay fresh on your mind and not risk your tossing it out with your used Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons!

Lots of you reached out to tell me you saw me and Sara Evans present the Song Of The Year Award on the CMA Awards telecast last month, and I’m glad to know so many of you were tuned in. That’s always a fun experience. For the second year in a row, I took my granddaughter, Hallie, 15, to all the festivities with me and tried to watch through her eyes as she rubbed elbows and took pictures with her favorite stars. She loves this crazy thing called the music business almost as much as I do, and hopes to be a part of it someday. If she follows through on her dream, all I can say is, “Look out, Nashville!!”

If you’ve been connected with our fan club since back in the early days, you will be saddened to learn, as I was, that we lost one of our most devoted members of all time this past month. Barb Gamble, who was our Pennsylvania fan club representative for more years than I can count, passed away in mid-November. We always had more members in Pennsylvania than any other state during the time Barb served us, and she will truly be missed. My deepest condolences and sympathies to her husband, Leroy, and the entire family. And my unending appreciation for all Barb meant to my career and to me personally throughout the years.

My Christmas plans will be a bit subdued this year due to my ongoing recovery, and I will be forced to miss a lot of the things I always look forward to at this time of year. I will especially miss singing my Christmas songs onstage at the Opry (“Ho Ho Ho – We was Po’ Po’ Po’!”) and sharing the spirit of the season with my friends and fellow performers. Guess I’ll just relax and look forward to next year.

Meantime, though, I wish for each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’ll get to spend the holidays with my family and close friends, and I hope the same for you. It’s still, “the most wonderful time of the year,” so ENJOY!

And I’ll see you back here in 2024.

Bill Anderson Recruits Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, And Vince Gill For ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ | UDiscover Music

Bill Anderson Recruits Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, And Vince Gill For ‘The Country I Grew Up With’

Bill Anderson has recruited Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, and Vince Gill for a new single ‘The Country I Grew Up With.’

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BILL ANDERSON RELEASES NEW COLLABORATION “THE COUNTRY I GREW UP WITH (FEATURING BOBBY BARE, JIMMY FORTUNE, VINCE GILL, WILLIE NELSON)” VIA MCA NASHVILLE / UME

Entertainment titan and Country Music Hall of Famer, Bill Anderson, enlists four fellow Hall of Famers – Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson – on their new collaboration, “The Country I Grew Up With,” available everywhere today.

To stream and download, “The Country I Grew Up With,” click HERE.

The track, produced by Anderson and Thomas Juttz, features a stellar lineup of musicians, including John Gardner (drums), Thomm Jutz (guitars), James Gordon Freeze (bass), Dirk Johnson (piano) Tammy Rogers (fiddle) and Scotty Sanders (pedal steel guitar).

“So far as I can determine, this is the first country record in history featuring five members of the Country Music Hall of Fame performing on one song. I am so proud that Willie and Vince and Jimmy and Bobby wanted to join me in taking this nostalgic look over our collective shoulders. I just hope it stirs up fond memories for everyone who hears it,” Anderson shared.

Nelson added, “Being a part of ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ is like taking a trip down memory lane. I’m proud to be a part of this musical tribute to the country we all grew up with.”

“I’m so proud to be a part of the song ‘The Country I Grew Up With.’ I got to team up with Bill Anderson, Vince Gill, Bobby Bare and Willie Nelson to sing this song. Just to be a part of this and have someone mention my name in the same sentence as those guys is quite an honor, much less to sing this song with them. I was so happy when Bill Anderson called me up and asked me to be a part of it – I really couldn’t believe it. It’s one of the highlights of my life. ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ holds a great message: just like everybody else that’s lived the things that we’ve lived and seen the things that we’ve seen, I miss the country I grew up with, and I know you’re going to love the song as much as we all did doing it,” Fortune noted.

Gill reflected, “When I moved to Nashville, I had the good fortune to meet Bill, and we wrote a hit song together. What I’m most grateful for is his friendship. I’m honored that he asked me to be on this song with him and our fellow Country Music Hall of Famers.”

“Singing on ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ brought back so many memories. Bill has always had a way with words. I’m thankful for our longtime friendship and to have been included on this song,” mentioned Bare.

Recently, Anderson presented the award for Song of the Year with ACM award-winning hitmaker, Sara Evans, during the 57th Annual CMA Awards. Anderson was also celebrated earlier this year for his indelible 62 years as the longest-serving member in Grand Ole Opry history.

Anderson will also be honored with the 2024 Dr. David Godbold Lifetime Achievement Award by the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame. Anderson was inducted by the organization in 1994, and will be the first Lifetime Achievement Award honoree when the event is held April 25, 2024.

The Country I Grew Up With

Recorded by:

Bill Anderson, Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson

Release Date: November 2024