Ask Bill – May 1, 2024

1) With the evolution of music distribution from vinyl albums to eight-track tapes to CDs to streaming, have these changes impacted the way you write or record songs? No, not really. A good song is still a good song and a bad song is still a bad song no matter what format it is released in. And does the length of a song impact sales? Not directly, no. But it can impact the amount of radio air play a song might receive. Back in my early days we tried to keep our records under three minutes so the radio stations would play them more often. The shorter the records the more commercials a station might squeeze in. And the more commercials, the more $$ the station could make. That must not be as important today because when I am writing with the new, young writers, they don’t think they’ve done their job if the song is not at least three to three-and-a-half minutes long. Radio stations still sell commercials, though, so go figure.

2) When you are performing, do you ever forget the lyrics of songs you wrote? Also, how many songs do you estimate that you know? The late, great Hank Thompson and I once had this conversation, and we both had to laugh. People don’t understand how a guy who wrote the song can forget the lyrics, but I’ve done it. Hank said he had done it, and I imagine every singer/songwriter in history has done it. As to your other question, I have no idea how many songs I know. There is a difference between “knowing” a song and knowing it well enough to go onstage and sing it for the fans. I probably “know” a couple of thousand songs, but only a fraction of those would I try to perform in public.

3) Did you know Gene Autry personally? Any special recollections? I am a big fan of you both. Thank you. I can’t say I “knew” Mr. Autry, but I was around him on several occasions. When he was president of the Country Music Association, I was on the Board of Directors and was in the room with him at several Board meetings. I was also in his presence once at a party at promoter Ed Gregory’s home. But my favorite encounter with Mr. Autry came when he was the owner of the California Angels baseball team and I was traveling to some games with my friend, Dave Bristol, at that time manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Dave often let me put on a uniform and take the field before games, and that’s what I had done one night in Anaheim, California, when I spotted Mr. Autry over by the dugout. I ran over and extended my hand and reminded him that I was on the CMA Board with him. He wasn’t used to seeing me peering out from beneath a ball cap and in a baseball uniform, and I’m sure the last place he expected to see anyone from the CMA was at a Brewers-Angels’ game. He smiled weakly and pretended he knew who I was, but the look in his eye told a different story. He walked away shaking his head and probably wondering what the world was coming to.

4) Question Of The Month: This month it comes from Britt in Texas: What is your favorite part about being a country music icon super star? Gosh, I never really thought about it. I guess the best part is just knowing down inside that I have accomplished most of what I set out to accomplish when I got into this business over a half-century ago. At the same time, I don’t go around thinking of myself as a “country music icon super star.” I’m just a guy who has been blessed to make a living doing something he loves. All the rest has just been the icing on the cake.

Quickies: Were your parents talented? Did they sing, play, or anything? Maybe someone in your family famous that we might know? My parents were talented in many ways, but not musically. You have to go back to my grandparents to find any of my musically inclined kinfolks. And none of them ever became famous. I was watching a TV show from the 50’s and thought I recognized a young Sheb Wooley. As the credits rolled, up popped that name. Did he go by that name back then? He was born Shelby Wooley in 1921 in Erick, Oklahoma, and so far as I know he always performed as Sheb. You’ll find his name on some great move credits including “High Noon,” “Giant,” and “Hoosiers.” Not many people know it, but he was related to Roger Miller by marriage. As an aspiring songwriter, what would be a good piece of advice you might give me on getting started? Be original. Don’t try to write songs that sound like something you’ve heard on the radio. Write what you feel and what you mean and be true to yourself. And be prepared to face a lot of rejection. I’ve had at least a hundred songs turned down for every one I’ve had recorded. Now that your Hall of Fame exhibit has ended, did they keep any of your items for their permanent display? They plan to, yes, but we haven’t taken the time just yet to sort though everything and decide what stays and what goes. Hopefully, we’ll get to that soon. Don’t you ever get the urge to write a song about how you feel? Only every time I sit down to write.

Thanks for heeding my call for questions this month and don’t stop now. We’ll be doing this again in June and I’ll need a fresh supply. Send yours to me at askbill@billanderson.com and join us next month to see if yours was chosen our Question Of The Month. If it was, you’ll be entitled to any item of your choice from our online store free of charge. Thanks, and stay curious.