Ask Bill – October 1, 2025
1) What kind of rules, bylaws, or whatever it may be called does the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame have? It seems to me that there are a lot of good people out there who deserve to be in the HOF that are getting shunned. Why?
First, the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame are two entirely separate and different things. The Opry is a show, and membership in the cast is by invitation only. A panel of electors from the Country Music Association votes on Hall of Fame membership. There is no such thing as the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame.
2) Of the many songs you have written, what song is the hardest for you to sing? Is there one that reaches deep down inside of you and gets to you while you are singing it? Maybe it brings tears to your eyes?
There are several, and it depends on the time and the place and what may be going on in my life at the moment as to what degree a particular song affects me. I always get a bit emotional when I do “Mama Sang A Song.” “Five Little Fingers” touches me in a similar way, and more recently I find myself having to fight back the tears when I perform, “The Last One I’ll Forget.” And there’s one old song that I didn’t write and never even recorded that always gets to me, and that’s “Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine”. I often perform it around Father’s Day.
3) On YouTube there is a video titled, “Bill Anderson FINALLY Opens Up About Hank Williams, Sr.” It’s an intriguing video, but I wonder if it was ever approved by you for public use and for accuracy. I’m hoping someone didn’t just manufacture a story and then put it on YouTube without your approval.
Well, that’s exactly what happened. I’ve seen that video, and nothing about it is accurate. First, I never laid eyes on Hank Williams, much less had a conversation with him backstage at the Opry. I was 15-years old and a sophomore in high school when he passed away. And this isn’t the only video that’s totally fabricated. I’ve seen other ridiculous pieces reflecting lies and inaccuracies about me and Connie Smith and Jeannie Seely and others. All I can say is please don’t believe this malarkey. Delete it when it pops up on your screen and don’t give it another thought. This junk gives “Fake News” a bad name.
4) Our Question of the Month comes from Lorraine in Iowa who asks: I was wondering if, in all the years you have been in the music business, you have ever hit that proverbial wall where you didn’t want to go on stage, write another song, or sing one? Even if it was just for an hour, a day, or a week? I don’t blame you if you have, and I congratulate you if you never have in 64-years!
Sure…I’ve hit that wall just as we all have. I dare say everyone reading this column has had those kinds of feelings in their own jobs and their own lives at one time or another. We’re all human. But the key is to recognize those feelings when they come and don’t let them hang around. First thing I do is try to get my mind on something as far removed from the music business as I can. I’ll watch a ball game, go sit on the porch with a good book, or go to the driving range and swing at a few helpless golf balls. Thankfully, I have friends I can call and family I can reach out to. I do that, and before I know it, the negative feelings have disappeared and I’m grabbing my guitar again. I think the process is called “Life!”
Quickies: Is there any particular reason when you hold a microphone in your left hand you wrap your entire hand around the mic, but when you hold it in your right hand you put your little finger behind the mic? No, because frankly I never realized that I do that. Maybe it has something to do with my being left-handed. You obviously watch me closer than I watch myself! I haven’t heard Mike Snider on the Opry in a while. Do you know if he has retired? I miss the guy and his funny jokes and awesome music. I miss him, too. He’s one of my favorite people. I reached out to Dan Rogers, our Opry General Manager, and he told me that Mike has had some personal issues in his life lately that have kept him away from the Opry…the death of his wife last year as well as a motorcycle accident. Hopefully, he’ll be back with us soon. Would you be comfortable sharing what items remain unchecked on your bucket list? As successful as you have been it’s hard to think there could be very many! Thank you…and you’re right. I have been so blessed in my life and my career that my list would fit into a very small bucket. And, at the moment, it’s a blank sheet of paper. Can a group who plays traditional country music make a living in today’s era? That’s a toughie. I’d say perhaps in a place like Texas and maybe Oklahoma they could, but probably not everywhere. In an area with deep traditional musical roots it might be easier. How many songs have you and Steve Wariner written together? I had to turn to Steve’s wife, Caryn, for this one. She keeps better records than Steve and I do. Caryn says we have written 21 that have been recorded and another 12 to 15 that haven’t. All I know is we’ve had a lot of fun doing it. Have you ever recorded “Peel Me A ‘Nanner” and, if so, what album is it on? No, as many times as I’ve sung this song on the Opry and other stages across the country, I have never recorded it. Maybe I should put that on my bucket list! How many years did you live in South Carolina? I always thought you were from Georgia. I was born in South Carolina and lived there until just after my 8th birthday. We moved to Georgia at that point because both my parents were Georgians, and they each had family there that they wanted to be closer to. Is Country’s Family Reunion ever coming back on RFD-TV? I doubt it, but you can find many of the episodes these days on YouTube. Does it ever happen to you that you sit down to write a song and have nothing to write about? What do you do in those cases? Go to lunch!!
And I guess that’s my cue to take a lunch break right about now…and let you have one as well. Thanks for all your questions this month, but don’t stop now. Let me know what you’re curious about by writing to me at askbill@billanderson.com. If yours is chosen our Question Of The Month you’ll win any item of your choice from our online store absolutely free. I’ll see you back here in November. Thanks for taking part…we couldn’t do it without you!
