Bill Anderson's Blog, page 44

Ask Bill – September 1

1) I enjoyed your new book very much, but I was disappointed that there was almost no mention of “Country’s Family Reunion.” I was sure there would be at least a full chapter on the wonderful show that’s been on for almost 20-years and was so full of so many beloved stars. Are you planning a separate book devoted to the show?

That’s actually a good idea! My co-writer, Peter Cooper, and I discussed a chapter on CFR as we were writing this book, and decided it was difficult to fit it into the narrative flow of the rest of what we were trying to say. I think it might, indeed, be worthy of its own book. Maybe that’s a conversation Larry Black and I need to have.

2. Bill, do you think your studies and degree in journalism had some influence on your songwriting?

I’m not sure, but it probably did. I don’t think a person can go to school and learn how to write country songs, but in journalism school they taught us to always include the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story we were writing. Most of the time, you need to include the same elements in a country song lyric. So, to that degree, saying that my studies influenced my songwriting would probably be correct.

3. After reading your book, I realize you can say “been there and done that” about almost anything. I wonder if there is anything in this old world that you have not already accomplished? Do you have a bucket list?

Oh, there’s jillions of things I haven’t accomplished, but I can truthfully say I don’t have a bucket list as such. Being a country music songwriter and performer was never on my bucket list…it all just sort of “happened.” I’m content with letting the rest of my life just “happen” as well, rather than to set out following some particular road map. I believe the Good Lord is going to take me wherever He wants me to go whenever He wants me to go there. And I’m happy with that.

Thanks, as always, for your questions. You can send yours to me at whisperinbill@aol.com and I’ll try to answer them as best as I can. See you here next month.

Latest Photos

I recently recorded an episode of Larry’s Country Diner along with Thomm Jutz, the guitar player who helped produce and play on my upcoming audiobook and acoustical CD. My granddaughters, Rae and Caroline, were able to be at the studio with me. Our show will air the first time Sept. 15th on RFD-TV. In the bottom photo, I was honored to take part in the Opry’s 25-year salute to Vince Gill and perform our song, “Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn)” with him. Singing on the Opry Circle with someone as talented as Vince can be a bit intimidating, but it was fun. Thanks, Vinny, for inviting me.

Bill Anderson Has Lunch With Acme Radio (Listen)

Bill Anderson starts about 1:15:00. Bill sits in with Tim Hibbs during the Vinyl Lunch.

Bill Anderson Accepts 5 BMI Million-Air Awards

Bill Anderson visited the BMI Nashville office on Thursday (Aug. 11) to celebrate five of his songs achieving Million-Air milestones.


 


The awards are given to acknowledge the tracks’ millions of radio spins. Certificates were awarded for “Tips of My Fingers” for three million, “Whiskey Lullaby” for two million, “Give It Away” for two million, “Saginaw, Michigan” for one million and “Lord Knows I’m Drinking” (a No. 1 hit for Cal Smith in 1973) for one million.


 


Named a BMI Country Awards Icon in 2002, Anderson is the only country songwriter to have a Top 40 hit in seven consecutive decades. His autobiography, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life In Country Music, is due in September.

Ask Bill – August 2, 2016

1) I’ve read that Wanted! The Outlaws from 1976 was the first country album to sell a million copies. How many copies were popular country records selling in the era when you had hit albums like I Love You Drops?

That’s a very interesting question, and I don’t know of a one-size-fits-all answer. My “Still” album and the “I Love You Drops” album you mentioned sold in the 3/4 million range when they first came out, but both contained cross-over songs. In other words, people bought those albums because of songs they heard on pop radio as well as country radio. Unfortunately, strictly country albums from those days, like “Bright Lights & Country Music,” didn’t sell quite that many.

2) Are you going to be on the new Match Game?

I would love to be on that show, but so far my phone hasn’t rung. I’ll  keep it in my pocket, though, just in case.

3) You and Vince Gill have talked about your return to songwriting in the mid 90’s with “Which Bridge To Cross – Which Bridge To Burn,” but did you write any songs at all between 1982-1983 or so? If so, were any recorded?

I talk about this at great lengths in my new book, but the short answer is yes, I did write a few songs during that time and, yes, some were recorded. “Southern Fried” and several of the songs I recorded on The Atlanta Sessions were from that period as was “Pity Party” which I recorded for Swanee. I can’t remember any that I wrote, though, that were cut by other artists. It was a pretty dry time.

4) Do you have your own music publishing company?

Yes, but only as a way to co-publish my own songs. I do not solicit or accept songs from other writers.

I always appreciate your questions and I hope you’ll keep right on sending them in. Write to me at whisperinbill@aol.com and watch for yours in this space in the months to come.

Thanks.

August 2, 2016

Hi Folks:

Well, did we have a good time celebrating my 55th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary or what?

Thanks to so many of you who made the trip to Nashville and, in turn, made it such an extra special night for me. I wish every one of you could have been here, but many have written that you were listening on the radio, watching our streams on Facebook, and were otherwise plugged into all the festivities. I know you were here in spirit, and that’s what counts.

I am thrilled to tell you that our silent auction appears to have raised over $6,000.00 for us to donate to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital! There’s no way to begin thanking you for your generosity. The donation will be made directly to the Oncology Unit where my grandson, Gabe, has been undergoing cancer treatments for the past five years. It will be made in his name. God bless you for being part of Team Gabe and not allowing him to fight his cancer alone.

Now that the big weekend is behind us, the real fun is about to start. I spent most of the day yesterday autographing copies of my new book and we’re getting ready to begin putting them in the mail later this week! Although the actual release date is not until the first of September, we promised those of you who ordered in advance that we’d be getting copies to you in early August and now we’re keeping our word. I am thrilled with the quality of the book and the reaction to it from those who have received Advance Reader copies. The folks at the University of Georgia Press outdid themselves on this one. I’m proud of it, and just hope you’ll enjoy the stories and pictures inside.

We’ve got a busy month ahead what with my doing dozens of book promotion interviews, TV and radio shows, and concert dates stretching from Pennsylvania to Utah. Many of you have asked if we’ll have the books at our shows and the answer is yes. If you didn’t pre-order yours, you can get an autographed copy when you come to see us. I will also be on the Opry several times during August, but the Opry Souvenir Shop probably won’t have our book until September.

I am continuing to hear from many of our fans who are being contacted on Facebook by someone pretending to be me. Most of you realize this is a scam, but I hope you’ll continue to pass the word until everybody recognizes it for what it is. Other people have taken to selling counterfeit merchandise in my name and the names of other country artists. If merchandise you see advertised is not from billanderson.com please do not purchase it. We do not license merchandise to outside parties, and I’m sure most of my friends don’t as well.

Stay cool during these hot, hot days…and thanks for keeping me cool by continuing to be the very best “fans” in the world! (Gee, that’s bad. I think I’ll end with that one.)

My best to you all….

Latest Photos

At The 55th Opry Anniversary Celebration –

Opry general manager, Pete Fisher, presented Bill with a specially designed plaque commemorating the big event. The Po’ Folks Band was on hand to provide the music and help eat the Anniversary cake backstage. L. to R. – Pat Severs, steel guitar; James Freeze, bass; Ziggy Johnson, keyboards; Les Singer, guitar; Bill; Kenzie Wetz, fiddle; and Cotton Payne, drums. Bill’s three children were all smiles on their dad’s big night. L. to R. – Jamey Anderson, Jenni Robeson, Bill, and Terri Whitman.

  

July 28, 2016

Hi Gang:

A week before my recent concert date in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, my assistant, Judy, received an e-mail that began, “I hope this gets to Bill Anderson.”

She immediately hit “forward” on her computer and sent me the message.

It came from a lady in Winston-Salem, N.C. who wrote: “I’m taking my mother to see Bill at the Earle Theater in Mt. Airy on July 23. This will be her first concert.

“I’m always trying to get her to go somewhere with me just to get her out of the house. Most of the time she says, ‘No, I just don’t feel like going’. So when I heard that Bill will be at the Earle I asked her if she would like to go. To my surprise she said, ‘I would love to see Bill Anderson’.

“So, I bought the tickets and she is so excited to be going. Whenever I spend the night with her and we’re watching RFD-TV she will go to bed early but always says, ‘If Bill Anderson sings wake me up. I don’t want to miss him’.

She told me her mother’s name and then added, “I would love for her to have an autographed picture of Bill. Does he do any autographs after his concerts?” She went on to list her seat locations for the show.

“I guess seeing Bill must have been on her bucket list. She sure agreed to go quickly. I love Bill, too, but this is really my mother’s night out.”

Now is that a sweet letter or what? I immediately wrote the lady back and made arrangements to meet her and her mom before the show. I did meet them, took pictures and signed autographs, and feel as though I made two new friends.

Oh, by the way….did I mention that this lady….the one who was attending the first concert of her life…just happens to be 99-years young??

July 15, 2016

Hi Gang:

A few days ago I got an invitation from George Hamilton V to come to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, next Tuesday for the dedication of an interstate bridge that will be named for his father and my longtime friend and fellow Opry star, George Hamilton IV.

As you know, George IV passed away back in 2014. The bridge dedication will take place on what would have been his 79th birthday.

As I read the invitation I couldn’t help but think this might be the most fitting tribute I have ever heard of….a bridge named for a man who built more bridges than anyone in the history of country music.

George was known as The International Ambassador of Country Music. He took our songs to places they had never been heard before. While most of his contemporaries were bouncing around county fairs and honky tonks in rural America, he worked to become a household name on television and in prestigious  venues across Canada, in England, Ireland, Scotland, Scandanavia, and beyond. He was the first singer to spread country music behind the Iron Curtain. Where others had once gone with rifles and bombs and hand grenades, George went with a guitar and a smile and a song in his heart.

Through his music, his endless worldwide travel, and a relentless dedication to his craft, he built bridges between countries, between peoples, between cultures….bridges that brought us all closer together and made the world a smaller and more cohesive place. And he paved them all with love….with class….with humility….and with grace.

And now they are naming a downtown bridge in his honor…in his hometown, the place where it all started….a  bridge that will serve as a lasting reminder of all he was and all that he stood for.

Thank you, Winston-Salem. You definitely got it right.

July 6, 2016

Hi Gang:

I hope everybody had a great 4th of July weekend and that you’re settling back into those hazy, crazy, lazy days of summer!

Nobody has time to be lazy here in Whisperville with our big 55th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary celebration just around the corner. We’ve been busy getting all the last minute arrangements made, all the souvenirs manufactured and ready to be put into the goodie bags for our fans, and trying our best to make sure it’s a fun weekend for all of you who are coming to celebrate with us. I’m sure we’ll forget something along the way, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

Two of our longtime fan club members from New England, Joan Perrotelli and Dodie Goguen, have volunteered to fly into town a couple of days early to help with the set-up and the logistics. You’ll be seeing them when you check in, and I hope you’ll take a minute to thank them for all their extra efforts.

By the way, if you can’t be here to help celebrate my Opry anniversary in person, I hope you’ll tune in and listen. As always you can hear the Opry on WSM-AM650, at  www.opry.com  or at Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirius/XM satellite radio.

I had a great time at CMA Music Fest back in June, especially taking part in a mock version of the old Match Game television show that I appeared on many times back in the late 70’s. Lorrie Morgan, Mark Wills, Kristan Bush, J. T. Hodges and others made up a panel about as wacko as the original group back in the day. It wasn’t music, but the fans seemed to love it. For a few minutes there, I felt like I was back in Hollywood again!

I have finished recording the acoustical CD which will be released as part of my audio book package, and I really hope you’ll like it. It’s ten of my best known songs done in a way they’ve never been done before. They are very simple instrumentally and sound a bit more intimate than you’ve ever heard them. They are definitely “country,” with no intent of them being anything else. I did two songs I’ve never recorded before, “I’ll Wait For You,” and “Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn).”

The audio book will now be released October 1st, but we’ll start taking pre-orders on August 1st. As we did with pre-orders on the print version of the book, we’ll offer free shipping on all orders received during August. Keep watching our website for further details.

I’m going to be part of a very special day on the 22nd of this month when I fly down to northeast Georgia to take part in helping dedicate a stretch of highway to my lifelong friend, Billy Dilworth, who passed away last year. Billy was a well-known newspaper writer, radio disc jockey, and television personality in that area, and he spent most of his life riding up and down the byways of Georgia and South Carolina bringing local news and entertainment to the people of that area. I thought nothing could be more appropriate than for the state to name a road in that area in Billy’s honor, and with the help of my good friend, Gus Arrendale of Springer Mountain Farms chicken, we’ve been able to make that happen. I hope lots of you in that part of the country will come be with us for the dedication.

On the personal side, I had a great Father’s Day with my three children and all the grandkids except one. Gabe had gone to a special camp for children with cancer, a place he loves and where he sang karaoke, did a magic trick in the talent show, and asked a 15-year old girl to a dance. Gabe is eleven. Exactly a week later, on Sunday June 26th, James Freeze, our bass player for the past 25-plus years, lost his father at age 90. Mr. Clifton Freeze, who first began encouraging James in music when his son was not yet a teenager, was buried in Loretto, Tennessee, alongside James’ mother, Helen, who passed away in 1999.

I hope all is well with you and yours, and we’ll see you back here in August. Stay cool. And thanks for everything.