IN THE SPOTLIGHT – DAVID ROBBINS (SON OF PIG ROBBINS)

By the mid-1960s, Hargus “Pig” Robbins was a well-known session pianist, part of Nashville’s A-Team. He’d joined the musicians’ union in 1957, at age nineteen. For the first two years he sat by the phone, occasionally getting a call to work a session. Then came “White Lightning” with George Jones in 1959, and the calls increased significantly. The following year Floyd Cramer vacated his slot as number one session pianist when he went on the road to support his solo career. That opened the floodgates for Pig as the A-Team pianist.

BOOK REVIEW – SINGING IN THE SADDLE: THE HISTORY OF THE SINGING COWBOY

Gene Autry. Roy Rogers. Tex Ritter. These are the three most famous singing cowboys from the western movies of the 1930s-1950s. But there were hundreds more. Most of them are documented in Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy, an exhaustive research project by music historian Douglas Green, whose personal zeal shines throughout the book. Not only does Green hold a master’s degree in literature from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, he is a singing cowboy himself. Known professionally as Ranger Doug of the western singing group Riders in the Sky, he is possibly the world’s foremost expert on this topic.

NEWS

The Grand Ole Opry is presenting Opry 100: A Live Celebration tonight. The three-hour special airs on NBC TV from 7-10 and will be hosted by Blake Shelton. Country Now reports the stages of the Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium will both be used. The show will honor legendary Opry moments by featuring exclusive digital content to celebrate past events. Some of the many performers include Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Clint Black, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Lainey Wilson, Marty Stuart, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Jamey Johnson, and Ricky Skaggs. Opry members Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely, Sara Evans, Randy Travis, and Scotty McCreery will also make appearances.

NEWS

I was listening to Bill Anderson singing on the Opry last Saturday night when he announced that his fiddle player, Gail Johnson, had collapsed onstage. He said she had been taken backstage and was being attended by paramedics. He later provided an update in his fan club newsletter. She was taken to Vanderbilt University hospital for observation and treatment; she is still there. Gail is married to Bill’s former keyboard player, Dirk Johnson, who received his long-awaited liver transplant on February 20. Gail had told Bill that Dirk is back home and feeling better than he has in years.Bill sends this request: “I hope you’ll keep Gail, Dirk, and the entire Johnson family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Happy birthday to my sister, Lorraine “Kayo” Paver, known in our family as the “blizzard baby” who came home from the hospital to sleep in a dresser drawer.

CONCERT REVIEW – CLINT BLACK

A younger-generation version of Dolly Parton opened the sold-out show for Clint Black at the Washington Pavilion on Valentine’s Day in Sioux Falls. Emily Ann Roberts, 26, a blonde chatterbox from Knoxville, Tennessee, stood all alone onstage, in boots and a short pink dress, playing her guitar and singing as comfortably as if in her own living room. She began with a song called “Chickens,” after explaining she and her new husband moved out into the country where they raise chickens. She learned that chickens don’t have to be herded. When nighttime comes, they go to bed early. She discovered that applies to young married couples also. “Working on Love” is her acknowledgment song that a relationship takes constant effort.

NEWS

Terry Smith, 80, of Nashville, Tennessee, died January 21, 2025. Born in Oklahoma in 1944 and reared in Texas, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education at North Texas State University. In 1972 he moved to Nashville to pursue a songwriting career and teach middle school English. He released thirteen albums of original material during those years. He retired from teaching after twenty-nine years and focused on music. His most famous song is “Far Side Banks of Jordan,” recorded by over 300 performers, including Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash and Jimmy Fortune. (more…)

BOOK REVIEW – IN-LAW COUNTRY

Geoffrey Himes looked back at the history of modern country music to define a movement that took place between 1968 and 1985, beginning in Los Angeles and moving to Nashville. Its musicians wanted to change and update traditional country music through songwriting and performances that resonated with young baby boomers. Himes describes this period and its history in his book In-Law Country.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – RONNIE MCDOWELL

When Ronnie McDowell called me last week for our phone interview (thanks to Debbie Grisham for setting it up), we began the conversation by talking about our Navy days. We both graduated from high school in 1968. I headed off to college and he enlisted in the Navy to avoid being sent to Vietnam. “When I got out of bootcamp in San Diego,” he told me, “I got a big ol’ manila envelope, and it said, ‘Vietnam,’ and I said, ‘Nooooo.'” He was flown to Saigon in October and then out to the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, which cruised back and forth in the Tonkin Gulf while launching aircraft strikes against North Vietnam. Ronnie was assigned to the deck division.

CONCERT REVIEW—DIAMOND RIO

Diamond Rio came to Sioux Falls to wrap up its 2024 tour, performing its last show of the year at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance on December 21. Promptly at 7:30, following a loudspeaker announcement that welcomed “Diamond Rio,” six band members came onstage as each of their names appeared on the video screen that covered the back of the stage. Lead singer Marty Roe (born in 1960 and named after Marty Robbins) kicked off the first song and went from one song to the next for forty minutes, with very little talking. I didn’t realize they’d had so many hits: “Norma Jean Riley,” “You’re Gone,” “How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “Unbelievable,” “Beautiful Mess,” “One More Day,” “Love a Little Stronger,” “Walkin’ Away,” to name some of them.

This week we especially honor the memories of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. Marty died December 8, 1982, at age 57. Faron died December 10, 1996, at age 64. Both gone too soon. Both never forgotten.

NEWS

The Tennessee State Capitol has honored Brenda Lee, 79, by declaring her famous 1958 “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as the first Official Holiday Song of Tennessee. (more…)