Bill Anderson's Blog, page 16

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Not only did my granddaughter, Hallie, attend the CMA Awards with me, she also joined me in walking the red carpet prior to the show. She spoke right up and was amazingly poised when the various interviewers talked with her and asked her questions. I was extremely proud. Here we are seen talking to a reporter from KABC in Los Angeles. The second picture was actually taken in a cemetery, but we deleted the tombstones. This is me with my daughters, Jenni (L), and Terri (R), when we visited the old Anderson homeplace recently in Pike County, Georgia. There is an Anderson Family Cemetery on the property that the girls had never seen, with some of the graves dating back to the Civil War. We spent a couple of days getting in touch with our “roots,” and in the process, learned a lot about our family and ourselves. The third picture was taken at a football game in November when my #1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs played the University of Tennessee at Sanford Stadium in Athens. You can tell from my attire who I was cheering for! I’ve been in that stadium many times, but never heard it as loud as it was that afternoon. All I can say as the college playoffs approach is, “Go ‘Dawgs!”

Bill Anderson Receives First GRAMMY® Nomination as an Artist

Country music titan Bill Anderson receives his first-ever GRAMMY® nomination as an artist in the Best American Roots Performance category for “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” (Bluegrass Version) with Dolly Parton. This is Anderson’s fifth nomination overall, after previously being nominated as a songwriter for “Once A Day” recorded by Connie Smith, “Cold Hard Facts of Life” recorded by Porter Wagoner, “Two Teardrops” recorded by Steve Wariner and “Give It Away” recorded by George Strait.

To stream and download “Someday It’ll All Make Sense (Bluegrass Version)” click HERE.

“What an incredible moment I experienced this morning when my son, Jamey, called to tell me that Dolly Parton and I have a Grammy nomination for our recording of “Someday It’ll All Make Sense.” He heard the news on the radio while he was out running errands and was the first to share it with me,” shared Anderson. “There are so many people to thank, starting with Dolly, who was so gracious to lend her incredible talents to the record. To my co-writers on the song, Bobby Tomberlin and Ryan Larkins; to the record producer, Thomm Jutz; to Cindy Mabe and her staff at Universal Records, who believed from the beginning, as did Rusty Gaston and his staff at Sony Music Publishing….thank you, thank you, thank you. We haven’t won anything yet, but being a nominee makes me feel like a winner. My heart is overflowing with excitement and gratitude.”

Anderson and Parton are featured in the cinematic music video directed by Trey Fanjoy for the original version. “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” was co-written by Anderson with Bobby Tomberlin and Ryan Larkins and is on Anderson’s most recent release, As Far As I Can See: The Best Of, released June 10 by MCA Records/UMe. To stream or download, click HERE.

What an incredible moment I experienced this morning when...

What an incredible moment I experienced this morning when my son, Jamey, called to tell me that Dolly Parton and I have a Grammy nomination for our recording of “Someday It’ll All Make Sense.” He heard the news on the radio while he was out running errands and was the first to share it with me. There are so many people to thank, starting with Dolly Parton, who was so gracious to lend her incredible talents to the record. To my co-writers on the song, Bobby Tomberlin and Ryan Larkins; to the record producer, Thomm Jutz; to Cindy Mabe and her staff at Universal Nashville, who believed from the beginning, as did Rusty Gaston and his staff at Sony Music Publishing….thank you, thank you, thank you. We haven’t won anything yet, but being a nominee makes me feel like a winner. My heart is overflowing with excitement and gratitude.

November 10, 2022

My 14-year-old granddaughter, Hallie, called it, “the best night of my life,” and it was a high-water mark for mine when I took her with me to the CMA Awards on November 9th.
She loves country music more than any of my grandchildren, and experiencing “country music’s biggest night” with her was something neither of us will soon forget. Prior to the show, we walked the red carpet together, and I kept assuring the reporters and photographers that I was, “not robbing the cradle”…that my “date” was my granddaughter.
She loved meeting many of her favorite performers and was thrilled when her very favorite Luke Combs, won Entertainer Of The Year. Moments before his award she had taken a selfie with him. I couldn’t have gotten the smile off her face with a chisel.
I’ve been blessed with many magical moments in my life and my career, and this was definitely one of the best.

November 2, 2022

Hi Gang:

Forgive me, but I was so busy yesterday eating cake, opening birthday cards, and fielding e-mails, texts, and phone calls that I simply did not have time to get our November newsletter out on time. Thanks to each of you who sent me birthday greetings in whatever format you chose….over 4,000 messages on Facebook alone! You have a way of making my getting older not nearly as traumatic as it might be otherwise.

I had a great birthday with family and friends, and I’m ready to rock ‘n roll (in a country way, of course) into the month that lies ahead. It promises to be a good one.

On November 5th, I will spend an hour visiting with my friend, Clint Black, on his Circle Network TV show, “Talking In Circles.” I hope lots of you will tune us in. On the 8th, I plan to attend the BMI Songwriter Awards Dinner for the first time since Covid, and the next night I’m taking my 14-year old granddaughter, Hallie, to her first CMA Awards. She loves country music more than any of my grandkids, and she’s over-the-top excited about getting to go to the show. She’s even going to walk the red carpet with me beforehand. I’ve overheard her saying more than once, “This is going to be the best day of my life!” I hope it is.

October was a busy month in Whisperville. I was voted Songwriter of the Year by the members of ROPE, and I appreciated that honor very much. I joined my fellow songwriter, Steve Dorff, for a night of music and fun onstage at the City Winery October 4th, and throughout the month performed five shows at the Grand Ole Opry. On the 16th, I attended the Medallion Ceremony at the Hall of Fame where I was invited to close the show by leading the crowd in singing, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.” I appeared as a surprise guest on new Opry member, Carly Pearce’s sold-out show at the Ryman on the 26th, and I got to induct my buddy, Steve Wariner, into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on the 30th. I said it was a busy month, and it was.

I lost some special friends last month, too, with the passing of Loretta Lynn, Jody Miller, Anita Kerr, and Jerry Lee Lewis. I talk about my relationship with Loretta in our Ask Bill column later on, but I enjoyed great friendships with the others as well. Jody and I rode together in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade back in the early 70’s (and nearly  froze), plus we co-hosted the TV show, “Country Standard Time,” once or twice on TNN. Anita Kerr’s fabulous singers were the warm, inviting background voices on my recordings of both “Mama Sang A Song,” and “Still,” and played a large role in many of my early recording successes. All three ladies were amazing talents and will certainly be missed.

Jerry Lee and I went back farther than most of you might know. When I was still a disc jockey in Georgia in the late fifties, and Jerry Lee’s career was just shifting into high gear, I booked him to perform at an outdoor skating rink in the small town of Winder. He performed all right…an afternoon concert, an evening concert, and in between he and his band members put on what may have been the best show of all when they strapped on roller skates, and made like Roller Derby contestants across the hardwoods. If you thought Jerry Lee was wild on the piano, you should have seen him on skates! In later years, I toured with him on many occasions, and he recorded at least two of my songs, “City Lights,” and “When Two Worlds Collide.” Suffice it to say, we will probably never see another one quite like “The Killer.”

This Month In Whistory: I was reading through my letter to you from the fall of 2007 after Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson, and I had just won the Academy of Country Music’s award for writing the Song of the Year, “Give It Away.” I wrote: “They say what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, but my trophy didn’t. It sits proudly inside a case in my house, and hopefully it’s not going anywhere.” I never dreamed at that point the trophy would sit today inside a Bill Anderson Exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Thanks for continuing to make so many of my dreams come true by being the best bunch of friends and fans a guy could have. I wish for you and yours a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you back here in December.

Ask Bill – November 2, 2022

1) Did you ever go on tour with Loretta Lynn? Did you ever record together? I will forever miss her.

Many of our questions this month have revolved around Loretta and folks wanting to know more about my relationship with her. She and I came to town about the same time in the early sixties, and my first memory of her was seeing her in a white cowgirl outfit trimmed in red standing in the lobby of the old Cumberland Lodge Building downtown trying to get in to see the Wilburn Brothers. We all know how that turned out! Yes, I toured with her quite a bit in the early days, and used to love standing backstage watching her impersonate me during her performances. We never recorded together, but I sang with her on stage several times. In later years, when Conway Twitty couldn’t be with her, she would call me out to do Conway’s part on “God Bless American Again.” I wouldn’t take anything for those great times and all the memories.

2) I was reading in your autobiography about the song, “Saginaw, Michigan,” and your involvement in writing it. You say your name was added as a co-writer on the album copies, but I’ve never seen it there – even on the budget reissue that came out in 1973.

After Don Wayne asked me to help him finish writing, “Saginaw, Michigan,” I had every intention of recording it myself. And, as the artist, I was not going to ask for part of the songwriter’s share. However, when Don or Buddy Killen, the publisher, or somebody leaked the song to Lefty Frizzell, I felt I should be compensated. Don agreed, and my name was added to the song. By the time that happened, though, the first 45rpm copies of Lefty’s version had come from the pressing plant without my name on them. That was changed by the time his album was released, and my name has been on the song ever since. How it got left off that 1973 re-issue is anybody’s guess. The best part is that my name has been on the royalty statements for almost sixty years.
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3) Do you think that country music has lost its identity? I certainly believe that is has.

I don’t know that country music has “lost” its identity, but its style and its sound has definitely evolved and changed in recent years. But that’s nothing new. I imagine when Bill Anderson and Roger Miller and Willie Nelson and Harlan Howard and Loretta and Dolly and all the rest of us came to town in the early 60’s that Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb and the other pioneers thought country music’s identity had been lost too. We wrote songs and recorded them differently from the way it had been done up to that point, and I’m sure some longtime artists and fans didn’t take too kindly to our innovations. The one constant in music is that it’s constantly changing. It always has and it always will.

Our Question of the Month comes from Diane in Michigan and is an insightful one: “Back in 1969 I saw you perform at the Ryman Auditorium. When the time came to move on, what was it like to no longer have the Opry at the Ryman?”

It was strange at first. The Ryman was the only Opry home that I had ever known, as both a fan and as an artist, and there was a certain sentimentality to leaving it behind. It felt weird to drive to another part of town on Friday and Saturday nights, even though for the first time we had free parking near the stage entrance and spacious dressing rooms inside. As a performer, the distance from the stage to the front row at the Ryman had been short and the fans always felt close to us and us to them, an intimacy that was compromised in the move to the new, larger Opry House. At the same time, it was a move that had to be made. The Ryman had fallen into a sad state of dis-repair, and the surrounding area downtown had grown neglected and seedy, nothing like it is today. Some people wanted the Ryman to be torn down, but fortunately wiser and cooler heads prevailed and the building has a vibrant life today. What felt awkward at the time has turned out to be a win-win situation for everybody.

Quickies: Several of you responded to last month’s question asking if Hank Williams ever recorded a Christmas song. Many referred to his version of, “At The First Fall Of Snow” as being his one and only Christmas recording. I checked out the lyric, and while that’s a  wintertime country song, it is not “religious,” as some suggested, nor does it have any connection to Christmas. I think it stands that Hank never recorded a Christmas song. Who was your steel player on “Walk Out Backwards?” It was the legendary Hall of Famer, Pete Drake. Did you write the song, “Old Things New?” I know you have a version and so does Joe Nichols. I like them both. Thank you. I co-wrote it with Buddy Cannon and Paul Overstreet. What is Carol Lee Cooper doing these days? Does she still perform? I reached out to her to try and get an update on her current activities, but so far I have not heard back. I’ll let you know when I do.

Thanks for a great group of questions again this month. If you’ve got one rolling around in your head, feel free to send it to me, and I’ll try my best to answer. Write to me at askbill@billanderson.com and watch for your answer in a future column. Win your choice of any item free from our online store if yours is chosen our Question Of The Month. See you back here in December.

Latest Photos

I tried to talk the person who puts together our photo section into flipping this first picture over so that my birthday candles would read “58”, but he said he couldn’t do it. Besides, that would make my granddaughter, Sophie, “31” and that wouldn’t be fair. We shared our birthdays with each other once again, and as always it was special. It was also special to share the Ryman stage with the current Female Vocalist of the Year, Carly Pearce, a few days prior. Carly is a terrific singer, a super-nice young lady, and the perfect kind of person to help guide the Grand Ole Opry into and beyond its 100th birthday. As I told her onstage, she’s what the future of country music is all about. Our third picture shows three guys who have each had some big nights over the years, and Steve Wariner’s induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was one of his biggest. I was the one who got to hand him his Manny Award after Garth stilled the crowd with his rendition of Steve’s “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven.” Later, as you can see, we were all smiles backstage.

October 4, 2022

The world has lost a treasured icon, and I have lost a friend of more than sixty years. I have so many wonderful memories of touring with Loretta, sharing stages all over the world, laughing together, and admiring her strength and tenacity. She was one of a kind as a singer, songwriter, and human being. We are all better off for her having walked among us.

 

Ask Bill – October 4, 2022

1) I recently heard a song of yours I had never heard before – “Ninety Nine Years.” I’ve been a fan of yours for 40 years and never heard you sing it or Eddie Stubbs play it. Now it’s my favorite Bill Anderson song. Did you write it? You need to sing it more often.

Thanks. I’m glad you like it. Yes, I wrote it, and it was actually the second single record I ever had released on Decca Records back in 1959. In some parts of the country…particularly in the upper midwest and in western Canada…it was a pretty big hit. It rose to #13 in the Billboard national charts. I sing it occasionally on the Opry, but now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I’ll try to remember and do it a bit more often.

2) Like you, I am a big Hank Williams Sr. fan. A buddy and I were talking today about the fact that there are no recordings we know of of Hank singing a Christmas song. Do you know of any Christmas recordings that he might have made? Also, did you ever get the chance to see him in person?

What an interesting question. I’ve racked my brain and called on a few of my friends who are large Hank Sr. fans, and none of us can recall his ever having recorded…or even having sung…a Christmas song. If anybody knows of one that we may have overlooked, please let me know. It seems very strange that of all his great country and gospel performances there was never a Christmas song included. And, no, I never saw him in person.

3) One of my favorite songs of yours is “Country D.J.” I retired from radio a couple of years ago and this song has always been one I related to. Could you talk about how that song came about?

I worked as a country disc jockey, as they called us back in the day, for several years, and on many occasions after I came to Nashville and got on the other side of the microphone, I thought back on those days with fondness…along with a bit of sarcasm and humor. One day I just picked up my guitar and started sifting through the memories, and the result was the Country DJ song. I thought it wouldn’t be understood by anyone other than someone who had also worked in the business, and was surprised when so many people outside of broadcasting began relating to it. It went from what I envisioned as an obscure album cut
to an eleven-week chart record in Billboard. Which proves one more time that you never can outguess the public.

Question Of The Month: This month’s question comes from Dusty in Georgia who writes, “One of my favorite things is watching you on Country’s Family Reunion. My friends and I have monthly get-togethers in my basement where we take turns playing our favorite clips from the show. With you being there to see all of those great performances take place in person, I’m very curious as to what moment sticks out to you as one of your favorite performances?

We recorded CFR shows for 23-years, and there were so many great performances that I could never narrow it down to one particular favorite. And not all special moments were musical. Many were woven into the story-telling fabric of the show…such as Merle Kilgore’s hilarious recounting of The Gnat Blowers at Faron Young’s house…a tale I can watch again and again and never grow tired of. Moments like Grandpa Jones interacting with Bill Carlisle….Jimmy Dean and Little Jimmy Dickens picking on one another…and the serious moments visiting with Ray Price’s widow and Merle Haggard’s sons. When we first began CFR we thought we were creating entertainment, which we were. But more than that, we were capturing history…and I wouldn’t take a jillion dollars for the opportunity to have been a part of it.

QUICKIES: What year and place did you make your first appearance making music? It was in 1953 in a talent show at Avondale High School near Atlanta. I was thrilled when some of your early LPs came out digital. I have a lot on vinyl, but they are starting to skip. Will more be released? I have been told that there will be more…possibly totaling as many as 30 or so. I am waiting on specifics from Universal Music, and as soon as I know more details I will pass them along. Are you related to anyone famous or popular? Only Whisperin’ Bill Anderson. He’s a country singer you may or may not have heard of. Are any of your children or grandchildren going to follow you and be a country singer or songwriter? It’s a bit too late for any of my children to get into this business, but my 14-year old granddaughter, Hallie, has shown a real interest in it. I’m not sure she wants to be a performer, but she told the talent coordinator at the Opry that she wants her job when she retires. Stay tuned. My granddaughter loves unicorns. How did you come up with that for a song? I didn’t write The Unicorn, but I wish I had. It was written by the great Shel Silverstein and was a pop hit for a group called The Irish Rovers years ago. I thought it would make a great country song, so I recorded it and have performed it onstage hundreds of times. It has been quite a staple of my career.

Thanks for your questions again this month. I’ll be looking for a whole bunch more for November. Send yours to askbill@billanderson.com and be watching for your answer in a future newsletter. If your question is chosen as our Question Of The Month, you will receive any merchandise item from our online store autographed and shipped to you free of charge. So get your question to me today, and we’ll see you back here again next month.

Latest Photos

There’s nothing like a good late summer vacation to get a guy ready for fall, and you can tell from the first picture here that I was taking advantage of my time away last month. There was an ocean nearby (a week before Ian came calling, thankfully) sandy beaches for sitting (and walking occasionally), and too many good restaurants to mention. I came home refreshed and ready to pick up a big ol’ heavy pencil and get back to writing songs. The second picture shows me and my dear friend and co-worker, Terry Choate, taken one of the last times I appeared on Larry’s Country Diner. Terry was a production assistant on that show as well as on Country’s Family Reunion, and we worked together closely for well over 30-years. Terry believed in me as a songwriter even when I stopped writing back in the 80’s, and he encouraged me to start writing again by producing new demos on some of my old songs. One of those demos was “The Tips Of My Fingers,” which led to Steve Wariner’s 1992 #1 recording of a song I had written in 1960. Terry passed away last month, and I can’t help but remember what a great guy he was and what an impact he had on my life and my career. Rest in peace, my friend, and thanks for the memories. The third picture here was taken when I visited my friends at “Coffee, Country, & Cody” recently to talk about my duet with Dolly. The show, heard on WSM Radio and seen on Circle TV, originates from the Opryland Hotel where my granddaughter, Caroline, works in hospitality. She snuck away from her desk long enough to come hang out with PawPaw and the gang…but don’t tell her boss. L. to R. announcer, Charlie Mattos, yours truly, Caroline, co-host Kelly Sutton, and Bill Cody.