Bill Anderson's Blog, page 22
November 2, 2021
Ask Bill – November 2, 2021
1) Can you tell us about your first ever tour bus? When did you purchase it and how much did it cost? How many miles did you put on it? Have you ever purchased an RV Diesel Pusher for your personal and private pleasure?
I got my first bus in late 1965, and after several years of travelling the highway in a car pulling a trailer, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The bus I purchased (for something like $4500) was a GMC Silversides, often called “Old Frog Eyes” because of the two small windows high in the back. I think it was made in the fifties. There’s no telling how many miles it had on it when I bought it (it had been operated by Greyhound), but I added several thousand more. I put a bunch of additional money into it, too, adding bunks, a bathroom, carpeting, new tires, and the like. The two happiest days of my life were the day I bought Old Frog Eyes and the day I sold her. I’ve often thought I would enjoy having an RV for my own pleasure, but I’ve never owned one.
2) Why do all the singers have these ear phones in their ears? They can surely hear the music, or is someone telling them the words?
Those little “ear phones” are actually what we call “in-ear monitors” or “ear buds.” They enable us to hear not only our own vocals, but the instruments that we want to hear at the volume we want to hear them. Singers who perform at the big outdoor stadiums and arenas use them to also help block out echo and crowd noise. Ear monitors can keep a singer from trying to sing too loud and risking injuring their voice. Trust me, they are for hearing the level and the balance of the vocals and the music. Nobody is feeding us the words!
3) QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Since it’s your birthday November 1st, if you could go back in time, what age would you like to be? And career wise, would you do anything different going forward again? Or do you like the age you are now and you wouldn’t do anything different?
(Our panel chose this as our first Question Of The Month because of its timeliness and its general level of interest. The prize goes to Ed from New York.)
There are days when I wake up and wish that I was 21 again (like in my song), because young people in our business have so much to be excited about in terms of their music being heard by more people now than ever before. With steaming and all kinds of audio and video technology already here and on the horizon, I get excited just thinking of all the possibilities. At the same time, I’ve always felt I got into the business at the perfect time…the years at the end of the “hillbilly” era and on the cusp of country music’s golden age. Like everyone, I’d probably handle a lot of the smaller things in my life differently, but nothing major. Things have turned out pretty well, and I’m happy right where I am. I have been very blessed.
Quickies: If offered, would you ever take on another game show like Fandango or a talk show? I try to never say “never,” but at this point in my life, I don’t see myself hosting another television show. What channel does Country Road TV come on? It does not come on a regular television channel, but is a subscription service that you have to order and sign up for. You can do that by going to www.countryroadtv.com. With Thanksgiving coming up this month, what food items would you include with your dinner? Oh golly, there are so many foods that I like. Turkey and cornbread dressing with giblet gravy would have to lead off the menu, followed by a sweet potato & marshmallow casserole, green beans, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, and cranberry salad. For dessert, lemon ice box pie and/or carrot cake. Actually, I am not a picky eater. I’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat me first!! How does it feel to be where your dream took you? I’m sure music was your dream. Music was certainly one of my dreams, and obviously, the one that came true. It feels wonderful to have succeeded in something that I love so much. I feel extremely thankful and blessed.
I’m thankful for all your questions, too, and just wish I had space to answer them all. Don’t forget our monthly prize – your choice of any one item from our online store absolutely free including shipping – if your question is chosen as our Question Of The Month. Send yours to me at askbill@billanderson.com and we’ll see you back here in December.
Latest Photos
Beth and Jamey went all out in decorating their outdoor patio for our family birthday celebration. Unfortunately, my grandson, Nick, who turned 21 on October 27th, was not able to be with us due to a night class at his university. Greta and Sophie and I had a great evening, though, and ate far too much ice cream and cake. A few days later there was a lot to smile about during our Grand Ole Opry’s 5000th broadcast celebration. I walked the halls backstage with my cardboard cutout singing “Rose Colored Glasses” to John Conlee and anybody else within earshot. Later, Jeannie Seely and I got serious onstage singing our duet from her album, “When Two Worlds Collide.” It was a night to remember. I can’t wait for the next 5000!!
November 1, 2021
5,000 Shows Later, the Grand Ole Opry Is Still the Sound of Nashville
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5,000 Shows Later, the Grand Ole Opry Is Still the Sound of NashvilleA two-hour celebration for the milestone broadcast captured the shifts and strides in country music that played out over the past century on the Opry stage. NASHVILLE – The survival of the Grand Ole Opry was anything but guaranteed when Bill Anderson started performing in it six decades ago.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME ® AND MUSEUM TO OPEN NEW EXHIBITION BILL ANDERSON: AS FAR AS I CAN SEE
The exhibit, which opens Dec. 3, examines the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s
unprecedented career and enduring musical legacy
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 1, 2021 – In 1957, a nineteen-year-old college student, Bill Anderson, sat atop a three-story hotel overlooking a few stoplights in the small town of Commerce, Georgia, and wrote “City Lights” on his guitar — singing to the starry night and envisioning a bustling metropolis:
“A bright array of city lights as far as I can see / The great white way shines through the night for lonely guys like me”
The song, which soared to the top of the country charts for singer Ray Price a year later, kicked off Anderson’s unprecedented career in country music spanning more than six decades, and it defined the depth and imagination of his songwriting that still resonates with audiences and artists today.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will explore Anderson’s life and musical legacy in the exhibition Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See, which opens Friday, Dec. 3, and runs through March 19, 2023. The exhibit will trace the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s story from childhood to his days in Georgia, where he excelled as a baseball pitcher and sportswriter while in high school and a disc jockey in college, through his contributions as one of the most decorated recording artists, songwriters and entertainers in history.
Known as “Whisperin’ Bill” for his soft-spoken and conversational singing style, Anderson has placed 80 records on the Billboard charts as a recording artist, with his singles reaching country’s Top Twenty more than 40 times. His original songs have been recorded by a wide array of artists, including James Brown, Elvis Costello, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Louvin Brothers, Dean Martin, Willie Nelson, Charley Pride, Connie Smith, George Strait and many more. As a songwriter, he’s placed songs on the country charts in seven consecutive decades.
Anderson, who also achieved popularity as an actor and game show host, remains a mainstay performer on the Grand Ole Opry today, recently celebrating his 60th anniversary as a member on the historic radio show. More than 60 years after composing “City Lights” on that starry night in Georgia, Anderson is still flourishing as a contemporary songwriter in Nashville, collaborating in recent years with artists Kenny Chesney, Jamey Johnson, Brad Paisley and many others.
“Bill Anderson not only fortified and evolved country music, but his remarkable body of work establishes him as one of the most prolific and preeminent American artists and songsmiths across all genres,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “But it’s his natural curiosity, humanity and ability to forge true, emotional connections with audiences – both as a performer and songwriter – that constantly replenishes his relevance and endears him to so many today.”
Items featured in Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See include historic photographs, treasured keepsakes, instruments, manuscripts and more. Touchscreen interactives will also give visitors the opportunity to delve into Anderson’s songs and songwriting process through archival materials, performance clips and exclusive interview footage in which Anderson reveals the stories behind his songs.
“I grew up dreaming of the day they’d put my ball glove into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, never dreaming that one day it would end up in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville,” said Bill Anderson. “But now that old glove, along with some guitars, a few rhinestone suits and some scribbled song lyrics are on display in the Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See exhibit in Music City. When the museum does an exhibit, they really do it up right, and I’m honored to know that I am now a small part of their incredible legacy. I’m not sure I could have ever seen this far.”
Artifact highlights in the exhibit include:
Anderson’s Rawlings leather glove used when he was a pitcher for Avondale High School’s baseball team, circa 1955.The Royal electric typewriter used in the 1960s by Anderson to type song lyrics and answer fan mail.Anderson’s 1958 Martin D-28 that he called his “second voice.” He used the guitar extensively on stage, in the studio, and to write songs, including “Still,” “The Tips of My Fingers,” “Po’ Folks” and “Once a Day.”Stage costumes worn by Anderson, including rhinestone-studded suits from the 1960s designed by S.A. Formann, a Buffalo, New York-based tailor, and Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors.Custom-made boots by L.M. Easterling Custom Boot Company, embellished with the initials “WBA”—for Whisperin’ Bill Anderson.A Manuel shirt, embellished with rhinestones and metallic embroidery, designed for Anderson in the 1990s.Anderson’s handwritten lyrics, with corrections, to “Give It Away.” Written with Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson in 2005, it yielded a #1 hit for George Strait.
In support of the exhibition’s opening, the museum will host an interview and performance with Anderson, as well as a Songwriter Session with his collaborators, on Saturday, Dec. 4, in the museum’s Ford Theater:
Songwriter Session: Bill Anderson’s Co-Writers: Erin Enderlin, Buddy Cannon and Bobby Tomberlin – 11 a.m.
Anderson’s songwriting collaborators will share songs they co-wrote with him and the stories behind them in this special songwriter round.
Interview and Performance: Bill Anderson – 2 p.m.Anderson will sit down for a one-on-one interview with the museum’s Peter Cooper. The interview will be illustrated with archival photos, film and recordings related to the exhibit. Anderson will also perform briefly.
Tickets for both programs will be available on the museum’s website on Friday, Nov. 5, beginning at noon Central.
Musical beginnings
James William Anderson III was born on November 1, 1937, in Columbia, South Carolina. He was fascinated by music from the age of three and as a youngster spent hours listening to country music on the radio. In late 1945, when Anderson was eight, the family moved to Georgia, settling near Atlanta, in Decatur. He learned the guitar and wrote his first song by age 11.
In high school, he formed a band and the group took first place in his school’s talent show on the strength of one of his self-penned songs. But at the time, Anderson was as interested in writing and sports as he was in music. He was a baseball pitcher at Avondale High, while also writing stories about sports for Decatur’s DeKalb New Era newspaper. Anderson entered the University of Georgia in 1955, where he studied journalism and began working as a disc jockey at local radio stations.
After recording his own composition, “City Lights,” in 1957 for Texas-based TNT Records, the song eventually made its way to Country Music Hall of Fame member Ray Price, who took his own version to the top of Billboard’s country charts in 1958. Anderson soon graduated college, signed to Decca Records, and began his long string of hit recordings with famed record producer and Country Music Hall of Fame member Owen Bradley in Nashville, Tennessee. Anderson wrote many of his hits himself – “The Tip of My Fingers,” “Walk Out Backwards,” “Po’ Folks,” “Mama Sang a Song,” “Still” and “Bright Lights and Country Music,” among many others.
Anderson also played a major role in launching Country Music Hall of Fame member Connie Smith’s career after hearing her perform at a talent show he was judging. He wrote her debut hit, “Once a Day,” and introduced her to RCA’s Nashville chief and Country Music Hall of Fame member Chet Atkins, who signed her to the label.
Television and duets
At the beginning of 1965, Anderson began hosting the syndicated TV program The Bill Anderson Show, a widely aired country music showcase. When popular singer Jan Howard joined The Bill Anderson Show in 1966, she and Anderson began recording successful duets together, including four Top Five country hits and four Decca albums between 1968 and 1972. Meanwhile, Anderson’s ease and ready wit on camera led to more television opportunities. He began appearing on Match Game, Tattletales, Password, Hollywood Squares, and other daytime game shows, and even hosted The Better Sex game show on ABC. He also acted in soap operas, including ABC’s One Life to Live.
A second career
After spending years in the limelight as a recording artist and entertainer, Anderson struggled with bouts of writer’s block and feelings of inadequacy in the 1980s. In the 1990s, however, he began co-writing with artists and songwriters, including Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill and Steve Wariner. His name turned up again on the country charts in 1995 with “Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn),” which was co-written with and recorded by Gill. A songwriting renaissance followed. Anderson rounded out the century with two more hits, “Wish You Were Here” by Mark Wills and the Grammy-nominated “Two Teardrops” by Wariner.
A slew of hits continued into the 2000s, including “Whiskey Lullaby,” a ballad Anderson co-wrote with singer-songwriter Jon Randall Stewart about alcoholism and suicide recorded by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. In 2002, Anderson was also honored with Broadcast Music Inc.’s inaugural BMI Icon Award for the genre of country music. “Whiskey Lullaby” went on to sell two million copies and won the 2005 Country Music Association Song of the Year award. Its success was followed by 2006’s “Give It Away,” a #1 hit for George Strait that Anderson wrote with Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon. It won Song of the Year designations from both the CMA and the Academy of Country Music.
Still going strong
Today, Anderson remains an active force on Nashville’s Music Row. Of late, he has completed several solo albums, collaborated with Country Music Hall of Fame members Bobby Bare and Dolly Parton on new album tracks, and has even written songs via Zoom with Brad Paisley during the pandemic. He continues to serve as a performer and beloved ambassador for the Grand Ole Opry.
In addition to his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, he’s been inducted into the National Songwriters Hall of Fame (2018) and several other halls of fame. In 2021, Connie Smith’s 1964 recording of his song “Once a Day,” was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry, alongside works by Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Irving Berlin and other songwriting greats.
More information about this exhibit can be found at www.CountryMusicHallofFame.org.
October 20, 2021
JOHN AND ROBIN BERRY FAITH, FAMILY & FRIENDS CONVERSATION WITH BILL ANDERSON
Grammy-winning artist, John Berry and his wife Robin have worked together most of his music career, and continue to embark on the journey and project they have created together, a podcast series called Faith, Family & Friends. The twice-monthly subscription-based podcast is an interview series where John and Robin provide a warm atmosphere of conversation in their ‘sitting around the kitchen table’ approach to talking with their guests. The conversation with Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry titan Bill Anderson is available now to subscribers of the Faith, Family & Friends podcast at www.johnberry.com.
“I had a great time sitting down across the microphone and visiting with John Berry for his podcast, Faith, Family & Friends. John and I have so many things in common, both born in South Carolina, both raised in Georgia, having lived one street apart in a suburb of Atlanta. Our visit was more like a conversation between two old friends than an interview. I can’t wait for folks to tune in and share some laughs, a little music, and a few old memories with us,” shared Bill Anderson.
“I absolutely loved the conversation shared with Bill Anderson and digging a little deeper to learn about his faith, family and friends,” shared John Berry. “I love sharing time with friends I have made over the years, and learn new things.”
October 4, 2021
Latest Photos
I asked the folks at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum if they had any advance pictures or promotional items from our upcoming exhibit that we might share with you this month, and they sent me this “teaser” picture. I don’t remember ever being this young, and I don’t wear clothes like this anymore, but I guess the picture proves that I once was and I once did. My exhibit will probably be full of scenes from my early life that I’ll be unable to outrun! In the second picture, I’m enjoying time with one of my favorite people, Jimmy Fortune. I had just recorded a guest appearance on Jimmy’s TV show, and a few days after this picture was taken, Jimmy came by the studio and sang on my new record. You’ll be able to hear the results of that session sometime after the first of the year. The third picture is a poster from 1969 advertising a show in Syracuse, New York, featuring me and some of my best friends and fellow artists from those days. Note the ticket prices. You couldn’t park your car at a show that cheaply today! I not only remember the shows on that tour, but the other artists riding with us and the all-night poker games in the front of my bus. I slept through it all, of course, but I remember hearing some wild tales that I’m sworn not to tell.
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Ask Bill – October 4, 2021
3) I heard Connie Smith say that your drummer, Snuffy Miller, played on her original cut of “Once A Day.” Did your other Po’ Boys play as well? At the time Connie recorded “Once A Day,” I only had a 4-piece band, and three of the four played on her first session. Snuffy did play the drums, Jimmy Lance played rhythm guitar, and Weldon Myrick created the record’s signature musical lick on the steel guitar. Weldon, in fact, became such a big part of Connie’s overall sound that she hired him away from me and he became part of her band. Jimmy Gateley was the only Po’ Boy who didn’t play on Connie’s early sessions, and had she used a fiddle, I’m sure he would have chimed in too. Quickies: Someone told me that the famous weightlifter, Paul Anderson, was your brother. Is that true? No. Paul Anderson was from Toccoa, Georgia, not far from my adopted hometown of Commerce, but we were not related. I just watched a recording of your 40 Years on the Opry, and I wonder if the guitar player with you was the same man who played in the Opry staff band? No, but a lot of people used to think that Les Singer, my guitar player, looked a lot like Jimmy Capps, who played in the Opry band. They were good friends, both great musicians, but not related at all. Did you lose many songs in the Universal fire of years ago? I’ve never been told exactly, but most of my recorded masters seem to still be in tact, so I can only assume that the answer is no. Did you ever sing “Still” to a real still the same way Elvis Presley once sang “Hound Dog” to a real hound dog? This may well qualify as the wackiest question I’ve received in a long time…and maybe ever. The answer is no. Where do you folks come up with stuff like this? Well, wherever it is, this is your invitation to come up with some more questions next month. Remember, beginning in November, we will select a “Question Of The Month,” and award a prize from our online store to the person who submits it. The winner will be chosen on the basis of the question’s content, originality, and aptness of thought. (The question above about my singing “Still” to a real still might well have won this month had we started the contest earlier!) If you are curious about something to do with country music, send your questions to me at askbill@billanderson.com and watch for the answers in this space. Thanks, and I’ll see you back here in November.
October 4, 2021
In other news, we haven’t even gotten to Halloween and Thanksgiving yet, but I’m beginning to see Christmas decorations in the stores already. I want to remind you that our Christmas CD, “No Place Like Home On Christmas,” has been repackaged and is available now if you’d like to start your shopping early. The CD has a new cover picture, is in the “wallet-style” format instead of the old jewel case, which makes for easier shipping and storage, and still contains all 14-songs as before. You can check it out farther on down in our newsletter. It might make the perfect gift for a country music fan on your list. In going through the questions you have submitted this month for our Ask Bill column, I came up with the idea of starting to select a Question Of The Month for each newsletter and awarding a prize to the person who submits it. It can be a funny question, a serious question, but something that stands out from the other ones submitted that particular month. I’ll put together a team of judges, and the monthly winner will be given their choice of any one item from our online store absolutely free of charge including free shipping.
So, put your thinking caps on and give it your best shot. Questions will be judged on content, originality, and aptness of thought. I’ll look forward to receiving yours. On the personal front, I am going to be out of commission for a couple of weeks this month while having a small squamous cell cancer removed from the front of my left leg. Because of where the growth is located (on my shin), the procedure will also include some skin grafts, quite a few stitches, and will force me to be off my feet for at least two weeks. The surgery is set for October 6th, so I’ve had to cancel my Opry appearances on the 16th and the 19th. Hopefully, I can return Oct. 26th and Oct. 30th. If you’d like to whisper a little prayer for me during this time it would be most appreciated.
The bone marrow transplant that my grandson, Gabe, received from his sister, Hallie, has not, up to this point, been as successful as the doctors had hoped, and they are moving forward with some new ideas and treatments. We are all naturally disappointed, but far from giving up hope. Gabe continues to fight, and we continue to support him with our love and our prayers. I know that many of you do as well, and our entire family thanks you. Keep the faith! Here’s wishing you and yours a great month, topped off with a Happy Halloween visit from the Great Pumpkin. I’ll see you back here in November. Thanks for everything….
September 1, 2021
Latest Photos
“My grandson, Gabe, turned 17-years old on August 6th, and the family celebrated with dinner and presents at his house. You can never go wrong giving Gabe a set of Lego, because he loves to put the pieces together. He wants to be an architect someday, and I guess this is good practice. He must have gotten at least a half-dozen Lego sets for his birthday, and as you can see, he was all smiles. In the second picture, my oldest granddaughter, Rae, is also smiling big after just exchanging vows with her new husband, Zach Kunde. It was an incredible wedding with lots of laughter and a few happy tears. The newlyweds plan an October honeymoon. In the bottom picture, I’m not only enjoying the water and the sunshine at the beach, but getting ready for the college football season by wearing my bright red Georgia Bulldogs shirt. I had a great vacation, but like all vacations it was far too short. Go Dawgs!”
Ask Bill – September 1, 2021
ASK BILL! 1) I saw where Leroy Van Dyke is 91-years young. Have you ever worked with him or written a song for him? Leroy is an amazing man and still going strong into his nineties. I have long considered him to be both a talented artist and a good friend. We’ve worked together dozens of times over the years, and while he has recorded a couple of my songs, I never wrote one especially for him. I wish I had been able to. 2) When Cousin Jody appeared with Lonzo & Oscar, what instrument was he playing? It sounds like a dobro, but does not look like a conventional dobro. It doesn’t look like a lap steel either. So what is it? Jody jokingly called it his “Biscuit Board,” but in truth it was more like a lap steel than anything else. He did not play with it sitting across his lap, however, but rather in a standing position with the instrument held up by a strap around his neck. It was electrified and had no resonators, which would eliminate it being an actual dobro. To be honest, it was an instrument that didn’t fit into any particular category. As you accurately wrote later in your letter, “Nashville is full of folks who play non-traditional instruments.” Cousin Jody, whose real name was Clell Sumney, was most definitely one of those people.
3) I think your song, “While Talking To Myself” is an awesome song. How did you come up with it? Thank you. I’m pretty proud of that song myself. I borrowed the idea from the title of a book that I heard about….something like “Observations I Gained From Talking To Myself.” I thought the concept lent itself perfectly to a country song, and I still think so. Maybe somebody will discover my song someday and turn it into a hit. I tried, but my version didn’t make it.
QUICKIES: Did you ever work with Ernest Tubb, and if so, how was it? How about Marty Robbins? What was he like? I worked alongside them both, both at the Opry and on the road. I learned a lot by just standing by and watching how they conducted themselves both onstage and off. They were each amazing artists and stylists, and I remain a fan to this day. Did you know Linda Martell at all? Linda was one of the first African American singers who tried to carve out a career in country music. I may have met her somewhere along the way, but I can’t say that I “knew” her because I didn’t. Are any of your children or grandchildren thinking about a career in the music business? Or would you rather they didn’t? All I have ever wanted for my kids or grandkids is for them to be happy, and if a career in country music could do that for them then I’d be all for it. Right now, though, I don’t think any of them are headed in that direction. I’m sure George Jones recorded some of your songs, but was there one that you really wanted him to record? He did cut a few like “Once A Day” and “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” but nothing that I wrote especially for him. I can’t narrow it down to any one song, but I’d have been thrilled to hear George wrap his tonsils around anything that I might have created. He was truly one of the best.Thank for your questions as always. I’m open to receiving new ones 24/7, so if you have something on your mind write and let me know. The address isaskbill@billanderson.comor P.O. Box 888, Hermitage, TN. 37076. I’ll look forward to hearing from you, and I’ll see you back here again next month.
