Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 26 February 2020
This week we think back 88 years, to February 25, 1932, the day a little boy was born in a two-bedroom rental home in Shreveport, Louisiana. Five-year-old Dorothy Young stood in the front yard and yelled at those passing by, “We got a new baby brother!” Faron Young remains in our hearts and in our musical selections today.
RESEARCH TRIP TO NASHVILLE
My sister, Lorraine “Kayo” Paver, and I spent Valentine’s Day weekend on a Randy Travis research trip in Nashville, Tennessee. Our first night, we planned to relax in our motel room, after a long day’s drive. Then we learned Mo Pitney was playing that evening at The Local in west Nashville. The club at 110 28th Avenue North advertises itself as a hometown bar that is “cozy, with good music, great drinks, and fun people.” It hosts singer/songwriters and has local live music every evening. The place was comfortably full, with about 70 patrons, when Mo walked in the front door 15 minutes before showtime. He headed to the stage, set up his guitar, did a quick sound check, and visited until 9:00, when he returned to the stage for an acoustic set. When I said hello, I didn’t think to ask if he’d just come from working on the house he’s building.
Friday morning, Kayo and I drove to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, where we spent four hours going through the folders and microfiche Kathleen Campbell had laid out for us in the Reading Room. They included volumes of Randy Travis newspaper articles collected and bound by Warner Brothers Records. The volumes for 1988 alone were seven inches thick; that’s a lot of newspaper coverage. I copied 97 pages while Kayo went through the stacks and paperclipped items of interest. The museum seems to have grown exponentially since its 2014 renovation; it’s even connected to a hotel. I didn’t recognize it as the same place where we held the Marty Robbins book release party in 2012. Security is tight; Kathleen provided access for us from the parking garage to the fifth-floor archives. It’s wonderful to have such an amazing collection of country music history available for the public to use in research.
I was looking forward to Friday evening, when I would meet my first member of the Randy Travis Band. LD Wayne (Rick Money) had invited us to the Scoreboard Deck behind the Nashville Palace to hear the Organic Country Band. We found the Scoreboard Bar & Grill in Music Valley (the Opryland area off Briley Parkway) and walked through the dining room and bar before reaching a building behind the building. The Deck was another large bar. Its windows, instead of glass, had plastic sheets that can be rolled up in warm weather. The place was full, with waitstaff rushing by with drinks and meals. A couple sitting at a tall table invited us to join them and use their two empty stools. When the first band finished, the second of the evening’s three bands–Organic Country–began setting up. I introduced myself to the person I guessed to be LD, and it was. He told me who the other band members were, all professional musicians. One was Steve Hinson, former steel player in the Randy Travis Band. Another was fiddler Joe Spivey. I’ll be spotlighting Organic County in an upcoming newsletter.
After their 90-minute set, during which the musicians’ enjoyment of working together was readily apparent, Kayo and I went up to the stage. Kayo asked Steve Hinson if he knew a steel player named Jim Bob Gairrett. Yes, Steve said, his wife played in the Gairrett family band while growing up in Billings, Montana. Steve pointed to where Becky Hinson was sitting, and Kayo went over to meet her. They reminisced about mutual friends they’d known since the ’70s.
We returned to Music Valley the next night, this time to the Nashville Palace, where I’d bought tickets to see Leona Williams. We got there early enough to eat supper in the bar and enjoy the music of the Nashville Palace House Band, with Becky Hinson on electric bass and vocals. We ran into Randall and Kelly Bart, longtime readers of my newsletter. They also had tickets to see Leona. Her show took place in the large back room of the Palace. When I introduced myself to Leona, we were both happy to finally meet each other. She’s been a newsletter reader since I featured her in 2017: https://dianediekman.com/dianes-country-music-newsletter-24-may-2017.
Leona was a special guest of Gary West, whose “For the Love of Cash” show paid homage to Johnny Cash and the legends of country music. It was an excellent show, with members of The Gary West Band having been sidemen for country stars such as Del Reeves and Little Jimmy Dickens. Leona sounded as good as ever in her 30-minute set, with her daughter, Cathy, singing harmony on several songs. The performance ended with a duet of “Jackson” by Gary and Leona.
Kayo and I then walked across the parking lot to the Music City Bar & Grill to meet up with fiddler Ernie Reed, whom we’ve known for years. He was one of Faron Young’s Country Deputies and Mel Tillis’s Statesiders. I featured him in my newsletter in 2017: https://dianediekman.com/dianes-country-music-newsletter-6-december-2017. The band on the stage contained young musicians, with a lead singer who reminded me of Josh Hedley–great voice, great fiddle, and the beard. Later, I looked up the club on the internet and discovered the band that night had been “William Bagby & The Band Featuring Josh Hedley.”
When Ernie invited Kayo and me to go outside to the patio, I didn’t know I was missing my chance to see a Josh Hedley performance. We had an enjoyable conversation, with Ernie telling us about his days with Mel Tillis and how he’d started a new band to back Mel Tillis, Jr. We also talked about writing books. He said many people are encouraging him to publish his memories; he’s one of the few left who remember the ’50s and ’60s. I looked across the parking lot and marveled at the amount of live country music to choose from. Behind us we could hear the band in the Music City Bar. Directly south across the parking lot was the Nashville Palace, with its two stages. To the left, we could hear the music coming from the Scoreboard Deck.
The tip jar is a Nashville tradition. Whether it’s modern country downtown on Lower Broadway or classic country in Music Valley, whether the musicians are young ones looking for their break or professionals enjoying the camaraderie, the tip jar sits in front of the stage. Some of these clubs have three acts performing each night, all week long. The places we visited were all comfortably full, with a steady supply of drinks and food being served.
This was probably my first trip to Nashville without attending the Opry or visiting Lower Broadway. During our three nights in Nashville, Kayo and I experienced three evenings of live traditional country music with an abundance of bands.
We left our Nashville motel at nine o’clock Sunday morning and, after a pleasant day of travel and reminiscing, were in my house in Sioux Falls by midnight.
NEWS
Willie Nelson’s longtime drummer, Paul English, died February 12 following a bout with pneumonia. He was 87. One of my all-time favorite Willie Nelson songs, “Me and Paul,” was about him. The pair met in 1956, in Fort Worth, Texas, where Willie had a noontime radio show. Paul was a leatherworker, not a musician, when Willie asked him to drum on a cardboard box as Willie sang on the radio. The Vernon, Texas, native joined Nelson’s Family Band in 1966 and never left. In addition to being drummer and friend, he served as Willie’s bodyguard.
The Tennessean recently featured Charlie Monk, 81, the “Mayor of Music Row.” He is one of the founders of Country Radio Seminar, which recently held its 51st annual event in Nashville. Charlie and radio promotions man Tom McEntee started Country Radio Seminar in 1969 to help all-country stations battle the Top 40 pop stations that dominated radio. The convention now lasts a week and draws more than 2,000 people, with live performances and artist showcases all over the city. Charlie has been inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame, the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame. He has a regular radio show on SiriusXM’s Willie’s Roadhouse, as the Mayor of Music Row. He says hello and shakes hands with people when he’s out in public, a trick he learned by watching Frank Sinatra individually greet 50 people at a private Opry party in 1974. As far as life goals, The Tennessean reports, Charlie is happy he graduated from high school.
One of the traditional shows during the annual Country Radio Seminar is Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley. This year, it was held in Bob’s memory, in the Omni Nashville Hotel, with Garth Brooks as host. CMT News reports Garth saying, “Songwriting. That’s what we’re here to celebrate. This is it.” He said he came to Nashville with one song he wanted George Strait to cut. When George didn’t cut it, Garth recorded it himself. Years later, when Garth was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012, the emcee said, “And here tonight to perform ‘Much Too Young,’ please make welcome Mr. George Strait.'”
During the Warner Music Nashville luncheon show of the Country Radio Seminar, Kenny Chesney, 51, was named Country Radio Broadcasters’ Artist Humanitarian of the Year. According to CMT News, Kenny’s charitable efforts include his Spread the Love Foundation for amputee survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing and his Love For Love City Fund with Virgin Islands disaster relief after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, along with Drew Brees’ Dream Foundation, MusiCares, St. Jude, Matthew McConaughey’s Just Keep Living Foundation, the Smoky Mountain fire recovery, Music & Memory for Alzheimer’s patients, the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Drive, and Farm Aid.
The official ambassador for South Carolina tourism in 2020 is Darius Rucker, 53. The Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism has announced he will make appearances at several major tourism events, appear on marketing material, and be the subject of the cover story for the state’s official vacation guide. The Charleston, South Carolina, native tells Nash County Daily, “Charleston is home. I can live wherever I want, but when I think about it, I don’t want to live anywhere but Charleston.” He titled his 2010 album, Charleston, SC 1966.
Whenever I hear “L.A. International Airport” by Susan Raye, I think of my dad; her 1971 top-ten hit was one of his favorite songs. Susan recorded with Buck Owens, who managed her career and brought her to Hee Haw. She left the music business in the mid-1980s, earned a counseling degree, and raised a family with husband Jerry Wiggins, the Buckaroos drummer who died in 2018. CMT News recently called her at her home in Santa Barbara, California, for an interview. “I decided at 40 that I didn’t want to be an old entertainer who sings in crummier and crummier places for less and less money, to hang on for the last hurrah,” she explains. “So I decided to go to college and become a counselor, and I got my Master’s in psychology and sociology, and became a marriage, family, and child counselor.” While in college, with six kids and a large house and 10 acres, the only way she could find time to exercise was by signing up for a running class. The coach asked why she didn’t run track or cross country. She responded, “Because I’m 40 years old! What do you think?” She reconsidered because “if they think I can, maybe I can! So I did! I had never done sports in my life and I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Susan, now 75, has been running the Los Angeles Marathon for the past seven years. Two albums of her music have just been reissued: The Very Best of Buck Owens & Susan Raye and Susan Raye’s 16 Greatest Hits. When she’s told someone loves her music, she jokes, “Really? I didn’t know there was anybody left who would know who I was.” About the new releases, she says, “It’s very humbling to me that someone would even know who I am, and I hadn’t even thought about the fact that people might be hearing me who didn’t even know who I was.”
The 7th All for the Hall benefit concert on February 10 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena helped raise more than $800,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum’s education programs. Keith Urban hosted the all-star concert, themed Under the Influence. The artists each sang one of their own hits and one song recorded by an artist who strongly influenced them. Over the years, reports Nash Country Daily, Keith’s All for Hall concerts have raised $4.2 million to support education programs at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
CMT News reports the results of a study commissioned by CMT and Coleman Insights to provide research on country radio listeners’ habits and attitudes toward female artists. The study showed that 84% of listeners want equal play for women on radio, with 70% wanting more female artists in the genre. This debunks the long-perpetuated myth that listeners (both female and male) don’t want to hear female voices. When asked if they would turn to country radio more if women were specifically highlighted, 28% of listeners said they would listen more; 11% would listen less.
As part of two recent shows in Las Vegas, George Strait grossed $4.2 million and sold 31,556 tickets, according to Billboard Boxscore figures. This marks the 21st time he’s topped the touring chart since 1990, reports Saving Country Music. His recent Las Vegas shows also put him in the category of over 10 million tickets sold since first officially reporting touring revenue. He is only the 16th artist in history to achieve that mark. Kenny Chesney, with over 15 million tickets sold, is the only other country artist to attain the status.
CMT News reports Rascal Flatts has revealed 11 more dates for the Rascal Flatts Farewell: Life Is a Highway Tour. It begins June 11 in Indianapolis and ends October 30 in Nashville. Special guests and opening acts will be announced in the coming months.
Saving Country Music provides an update on the restaurant scam involving Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts. The first Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill locations opened in Oklahoma in 2005, with others spreading across the country. They began closing in 2014, due to unpaid bills. The company that operated them, named Boomtown Entertainment, was owned by Frank Capri, the new name of gangster Frank Gioia Jr., who had gone into the witness protection program in 1999. His company closed in 2015 with millions of dollars in unpaid bills, followed by $65 million in judgments against Capri. He launched a new restaurant chain with Rascal Flatts, first announced in 2012; a location opened in Connecticut in 2017 and closed less than a year later. Capri insists these restaurants were a failed business venture, but a federal grand jury indicted him on January 28 with 16 counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.
The Pursuit! With John Rich is a new show on Fox Nation, a new streaming service. The point of his show, John Rich, 46, tells Taste of Country, is to bridge sociopolitical divides. “Our Constitution doesn’t guarantee us happiness,” he says. “It guarantees us the right to pursue happiness. There’s a big difference between those two things.” His show will feature exclusive interviews with Gretchen Wilson, Wynonna Judd, and a diverse group of veterans, inventors, and people from across the political spectrum. “The one thing we all have in common is, we all have the right to pursue happiness,” he explains. “That’s such a beautiful thought, and it’s not something I’ve seen anybody focus on to build a bridge that’s higher than the troubled water that is rolling right now through our country. Let’s get up over that for a second and have a deep, positive discussion even with people that may not agree with you on everything.” His experience as an interview subject has prepared him to be an interviewer: “I know what I like about interviews, and I know what I don’t like about certain interviews.”
Scott Swift, father of Taylor Swift, returned home one day to see a man running out of his $4 million penthouse residence in St. Petersburg, Florida. The penthouse in the Vinoy Place towers covers the entire top floor of one tower–5,359 square feet. Although the condominium is loaded with security measures, reports the Tampa Bay Times, “a career criminal recently waltzed through the entrance to climb 13 flights” to burglarize the penthouse. He got past the guarded entrance and ran through the parking garage to the emergency stairwell, according to an arrest affidavit. A security camera recorded his movements. The burglar’s mother told the Tampa Bay Times her son was “looking for churches by the water where his wife could be staying.” His wife left him and his three children six months ago and had been sending him texts. The mother said, “He was lost and should be charged with only trespassing.”
The family of John Prine posted on Facebook: “Unfortunately, John has had to take a break from touring. Being on the road has aggravated a hip injury and he has had to return to the US for surgery. . .. John’s looking forward to getting back out on the road, starting with MerleFest on April 26th.” The Boot reports he was spending February in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with later shows scheduled in Hawaii and Australia.
Late last month, Jerry Lee Lewis, 84, booked his first recording session in more than five years–to see if he could still make music. He hadn’t played since his stroke a year ago at his home in Nesbit, Mississippi; he spent three months in a rehab facility, learning to walk again and trying to use his right hand. He felt ready to start working on his long-planned album of gospel classics he’d learned while growing up in Ferriday, Louisiana. He told producer T-Bone Burnett he didn’t want a piano in the room; since his right hand wasn’t working, he would just sing. But a piano was there. Jerry Lee sat on the stool and lifted his right hand onto the keys. To his own surprise, reports Rolling Stone, his fingers started moving. For the next two days, with wife Judith at his side, he and the band lay down tracks. Kenny Lovelace (his guitar player since 1966) and James Burton were two of the guitarists. Lee Ann Womack and the McCrary Sisters sang backup vocals. Jerry Lee spends most of his time at home with his wife, taking it easy, he tells Rolling Stone: “I mostly just lay around and rest, and watch old TV, and do my exercising and things I have to do.”
Radney Foster, 60, fell while fly fishing on February 14 and hit his head and shoulders. The fall bruised his vocal cords. A post on his Twitter account says, “He is on voice rest for 10 days but is expected to make a full recovery and should be fine to sing in March.” The Boot reminds us the former member of duo Foster & Lloyd had solo hits with “Just Call Me Lonesome” and “Nobody Wins.”
When the Eagles Theatre in Wabash, Indiana, reopens on February 29, following a two-year renovation project, hometown girl Crystal Gayle will be the headlining act. That show sold out in minutes, and a second was added for the next day. Although born in Kentucky, as was sister Loretta Lynn, Crystal grew up in Wabash. She sang in school choirs, for civic organizations, and with her brothers’ country bands. Her first record was released when she graduated from Wabash High School. “I always love coming back home to Wabash to see family and friends,” Crystal says in a press release. “I’m so excited to be a part of the re-opening of the Eagles Theatre. Movies at the Eagles are wonderful memories from my childhood.”
The Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee held its second annual Influencing Women Awards Gala, PHANTOM, at the Grand Ole Opry on February 14. Jeannie Seely presented the Jeannie Seely Standing Ovation Award to broadcast professional Devon O’Day for her contributions to the entertainment industry. The award was named after Jeannie Seely for her influence and significance in the entertainment industry. Devon O’Day is a career broadcaster, most recently a radio host on Nashville Today at 650AM WSM and previously The House Foundation with Gerry House, Mix92.9 Nashville.
Loretta Lynn, 87, posted on Instagram after her “country music is dead” comment: “I’m still getting lots of chatter about my thoughts last week on the state of Country Music. I’ve loved hearing from all my fans and so many of the other artists. Let’s keep it country, y’all.” The post has 9,900 likes.
Fox News reports the former home of Gene Autry, The Singing Cowboy, is on the market for $8.2 million. “Rancho Autry,” a restored 1930s property containing 13,461 square feet, is located in the prestigious Old Las Palmas area of Palm Springs, California. The main house has seven bedrooms, eight baths, five fireplaces, hardwood floors, French doors, and coffered carved ceilings. It is surrounded by an expansive central courtyard with a glass mosaic-tiled pool and spa with mountain views. Gene Autry was living there with his wife, Jackie, when he died in 1998 at age 91.
LETTERS
Jean Earle writes from England, “Another birthday…and.. NO.. Faron.!!! We miss him so much…Alan and I were lucky enough to meet Faron and his lovely Family on several occasions. We very much valued their friendship. Please send our love and best wishes to Hilda and her lovely family. Thank you for your newsletters…much appreciated…and enjoyed.”
Whisperin’ Bill Anderson writes from back at home in Nashville, “I know people read your newsletters all over the world, but I read your January issue in the middle of the Caribbean aboard a ship called Liberty Of The Seas. I was part of our annual Country’s Family Reunion Cruise and had borrowed my manager’s laptop computer to catch up on some e-mail. Your newsletter brought a touch of home, along with the great traditional country music we were playing on board the ship. Among others, Jeannie Seely was there, Gene Watson, our newest Opry member, and Rhonda Vincent who played music all day and half the night. I asked her when she slept and she never answered. She just changed clothes (again!) and kept on pickin’ and grinnin’. You ought to go on one of those cruises sometime…they are a ton of fun. The next one is in December. Take care, and keep up the good work.”
Dean Mann in Sioux Falls says, “Another interesting and informative newsletter. I appreciate all you do to keep us fans of traditional country music up to date. I am a great fan of Gene Watson and have seen his shows quite a few times. A reader in your last newsletter, who also sounded like a great fan of Gene’s, mentioned his sickness some years back. I guess I had never heard of that. Do you know what he was referring to? Keep up the good work!”
Diane: I hadn’t heard about an illness, either. When I featured Gene in a 2014 newsletter, he didn’t mention any health issues. I expect to see him in Brady, Texas, at the end of March, and I hope he’s feeling fine.
Lee Shannon writes from Port Charlotte, Florida, “Re: Loretta Lynn’s comment that Country Music is Dead. One thing I learned many years ago in my radio career about her; Miss Loretta was never bashful about expressing her mind. It might not be ‘Dead’ but it surely is dying. Thanks though, to XM Radio and people like Charlie Monk, and possibly a few other stations still programming the Classic artists, we can still enjoy the Greats of Country Music. And, I just read in your newsletter that Jon Pardi’s record, ‘Heartache Medication,’ which features the fiddle of Janee Fleenor tops the Country Radio play list. Imagine that. A recording heard on Country Radio in these days, with a prominent fiddle not only being ON that list, but sitting at the very TOP. I congratulate Jon and his producer for including the fiddle on the session. I also salute those radio Music Directors and PDs for ‘Bucking the Tide’ by adding Jon’s recording to their play list. Is it possible that we are slowly reverting to my days at KFDI & WIRE Radio, when people in those lofty positions had a mind of their own? We can only hope. Perhaps the tide is turning, Loretta!”
Mike McCloud says, “I won’t say country music is dead, but traditional country is getting harder to find these days. We have a few artists who still sing traditional country. Anita Stapleton being one of them. Gene Watson, Rhonda Vincent and several others still sing it. Traditional country is dying, but it’s not dead. Not quite yet. Congratulations Loretta Lynn on 60-year recording anniversary. Keep that good ole country music coming.”
Jean Seither writes, “Loretta Lynn said in an interview that country music is dead. I realize country music on mainstream radio and mainstream music in general is dead, but I think there are so many young country music performers who are never given a chance. I’m grateful I am able to hear a lot of their music. I suppose that in one sense the music is dead. I really feel sorry for so many talented young people who will never get their music heard except by a few stations.”
Dominique ‘Imperial’ Anglares checks in from France, “Thank you very much for the newsletter and Jack Pruett’s memories. Keep the good work going on. Warmest regards from your French friend.”
Pejay Mirtschin writes from Australia, “Thank You for sending through the latest addition of your fantastic newsletter. I read each month’s newsletter over and over to make sure I haven’t missed something. Just love it and keep ‘em coming.”
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
In 2000, I received a telephone call from Bobbe Seymour, a well-known Nashville steel guitarist. He wanted to contribute to my Faron Young biography. Although we never met, we stayed in touch until his death in 2014, at age 74. He owned Steel Guitar Nashville and was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.
Lloyd Green and Joe Vincent told me to call you. They weren’t aware that you knew of me. I’m so glad you’re doing this. Of all the people in the world that I’ve worked with in this town, Faron and another weirdo are my favorites–Johnny Paycheck. To work with. I worked with just about everybody in Nashville in the ’60s and ’70s, but the two that everybody in the world thinks were the worst are really the guys that were the best–Paycheck and Faron Young.
The funniest story that ever could possibly happen was the first time I worked with him, in 1969. Of course, he was legendary. I’d heard all kinds of stories about him and was kind of leery. But I got on the bus, and we get to Charlotte, North Carolina, and he’s a very nice reserved calm businessman. I mean he is just a dream of a person. We set up our stuff on the stage in the Charlotte Coliseum. We were opening for Charley Pride, he was really big at that time. We went back to the bus, waiting for Charley’s guys to set up behind us. Faron’s on one side of the aisle, reading a dime store novel or something, and I’m on the other side reading a hotrod magazine. About this time Charley Pride gets on the bus. Faron never looks up. Charley walks down the aisle and stops right in front of Faron. Faron doesn’t say a word and doesn’t look up. I’m noticing both of them, and I’m wondering what’s happening here. About sixty of the longest seconds in the world go by. Faron never looks up, and he says, “All niggers to the back of the bus.” It just took the breath out of me when he said that. About that time Charley’s wife gets on the bus and walks down the aisle. Faron looks up at them finally, doesn’t say a word, and looks over across the aisle at me, and says, “Seymour, this is the great Charley Pride. The most successful singer in country music today. And this is his wife Rozene. You’d think he could afford a white woman by now.” I about fell on the floor. I thought, “Oh, my gosh!” Then he jumps up and kisses Charley Pride right on the mouth. I realized then that the whole thing was a put-on, it was a joke on me personally. It was just Faron, the way he was. I didn’t know what to do. I thought there was going to be a horrible fight, or a lawsuit–I didn’t know what was going on. But all of a sudden, they’re both dancing up and down, all three of them are, and they’re all laughing at me.
Faron got out there and introduced Charley. He told everybody in the audience that day, probably 8-10 thousand people, just how much he thought of Charley and how much he loved Charley, and how much he appreciated people in the South accepting Charley and making him the number one country music star at that time. He and Charley, I found out later, were really the greatest of friends. He was probably one of Charley’s biggest supporters from day one. But, boy, they got me. I can still feel this horrible pain, every time I tell the story, of how terrifying it was–when he looked at them and looked over at me and said, “You realize, with the money he has today, he could afford a white woman.”
He would do anything at any time. He was just hilarious. The first thing I ever said to him when I first met him in a club, “I’ve sure heard some awful things about you, Faron, about how you’ve treated the steel players. I don’t know if I could ever work for you.” He said, “Sit down here,” rather than wanting to fight or anything, like I thought he would. “Let me explain some things to you, son.” When he got to telling me about the other steel players that had worked for him, that had jerked him around, suddenly I felt real bad. I said, “I won’t ever do that to you.” Years later, when I gave him the money back for the three days I didn’t work with him, he grabbed me six months after that, and said I was the only steel player that had ever given him money back when I hadn’t done the work. Poor steel players in this town, most of them didn’t have two nickels to rub together. I was always much better off financially because I always had a studio thing going.
This is wonderful. I’m sure glad you’re doing this, I can’t tell you how glad I am. Faron I loved so much. He’s the most under-rated hero of country music, plus I think he’s probably the best singer that was ever in country music. I was so tickled when Lloyd told me about this.