Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 27 November 2024
NEWS
The Nashville Public Library Foundation has announced a $4.5 million investment from Dolly Parton through her Dollywood Foundation, home of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The contribution will kickstart a new program called Begin Bright, an initiative to ensure reading literacy for kindergarten-age children in Music City, reports the Tennessean. “I really believe this partnership can make a huge impact on inspiring a love of reading for children and families,” Dolly said in a statement. ”One of the best parts is that Nashville can once again light the way for the nation.” Beginning in the spring of 2025, every childcare center in the county will receive a little library — carts filled with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Books and other foundation resources. Parents and teachers will have access to on-demand digital early literacy training.
News Channel 5 Nashville reports Jamey Johnson, 49, was arrested on November 17 in Williamson County and charged with possession of drugs and speeding. According to Saving Country Music, he was pulled over on Interstate 65 North for doing 87 mph in a 70-mph zone. A search of the vehicle, precipitated by the smell of marijuana, found a large enough amount that charges were increased to a Class E felony. Jamey was released on $5,000 bond, with a court date set for February 6, 2025.
Savannah Worley, 16, daughter of Darryl Worley, was seriously injured in a car crash, reports WSMV/Gray News. She was airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville with a broken leg, bruises, and lacerations. Darryl left his show in New Mexico and flew home on November 17.
David Parton, 82-year-old brother of Dolly Parton, 78, died the morning of November 15. David Wilburn Parton was one of Dolly’s 11 siblings, all born to Robert and Avie Lee Parton. According to Country Now, David is the fourth of Dolly’s six brothers to die–Larry in 1955, Floyd (a close collaborator and songwriter) in 2018, and Randy in 2021.
The “Happiest Girl In The USA,” Donna Fargo, 79, recently experienced two falls that resulted in three pelvic fractures, reports Tracy Pitcox. She will soon be moved from the hospital to a physical rehabilitation center. Donna was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1978, and she had a stroke in 2017. In 2022, she released a six-track CD, All Because of You, following the COVID-related death of her husband, Stan Silver, whom she married in 1968. She said the collection contained “just our favorite songs that I’d written.”
Nashville-based LuckySky Music celebrates its first #1 with artist/songwriter Tori Martin.Her”Lost In The Country,” produced by Bill Warner and written by Bill Diluigi, Kirsti Manna and Martin, has topped the Texas TRRR Charts. Tori has been on tour with Drew Baldridge in Georgia, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Their final two shows will be in Minneapolis and Des Moines on December 5 and 6.
LETTERS
Jeannie Seely writes from Nashville, “Sorry I haven’t been in touch much lately as I’ve had some health issues but just wanted to tell you I agree about Zach Top!! He’s a bright spot on our music horizon. I got a chance to visit with him backstage at the Opry in my dressing room and I think that will air on my Sundays with Seely Show on Willie’s Roadhouse on November 24. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!”
Jon Philibert writes from the United Kingdom, “It is with sadness that I have to report the death of Duncan Warwick the editor of the much respected country magazine Country Music People. Duncan died peacefully on Sunday November 17th as a result of cancer. Duncan was a fine editor and a strong supporter of traditional country music in his excellent record reviews. Although a British publication, Country Music People is known and respected throughout the world and Duncan had many international friends in country music in particular, in Nashville and the USA generally. Duncan was 63 years old and a pretty nice guy. It was a shock to us all here in the UK.”
Diane: I’m so sorry to hear of his death. He has been a newsletter subscriber since I was writing Faron Young’s biography.
Bobby Fischer writes from Nashville, “I lost a great pal. Robert Lewis passed away. A music man on Music Row for years handling copyrights etc. while being almost blind he could enter our song info. He was a music director at radio and in Hawaii he was on Hawaii Five O. He worked at Johnny Morris pub. When Diane Jordan got me on your newsletter, I gave it to him. He looked forward to it every time. His real name was Robert Volberding. Miss him greatly.”
Sherry Gomes says, “I smiled when I read the section about country music making people happier. Even the sad songs let you cry or feel your hurt so you can move on. I read once that studies show that if a person is sad, sad music helps them move from sad by listening to the sad and gradually moving to peace or happy. Country music has been that for me, a way to cry it out and then to smile or laugh and feel glad. As for the question about what concert style I prefer, definitely the first. I remember seeing George Strait in the mid-eighties. I loved how he just sang his songs for us. He didn’t talk much, didn’t tell stupid jokes, as far as I know, there was no light show. It was one of my favorite concerts ever, right up there with John Denver and Paul McCartney. I know Sir Paul had some special effects, but our concert was three hours of solid music.”
Diane: I’ve seen George Strait in concert several times. He always did his shows in the round. I enjoyed watching him walk from one mic to the next to sing to the audience on that side of the venue. It was all about the music.
Joseph Allen responds, “Would you rather see singers and bands standing onstage and providing music? Yes, yes, yes! Lights on all the stage. flashing lights and a kaleidoscope of background video scenery as the singer runs around the stage and the band stands in the dark? No, no, no. I love seeing the musicians providing the sounds that aid the singer in his or her singing.”
Jacqueline Allen Thomas in Sun City, Arizona, says, “In answer to your Question of the Week: I would prefer to hear the music, forget the flashing lights, etc. I want to hear the main performer and the backup band, that’s why I’m there. When I saw Kris Kristofferson, he came out, sat down with his guitar and sang, and that was what I wanted to see and hear. I don’t think I’m alone.”
Bob Jennings answers the Question of the Week: “I prefer the Traditional Concert Experience–I like seeing the Singer/Singers and their Band on Stage just doing their Songs and Background Music–They can move a bit like Hank Williams Senior did in the video singing ‘Hey Good Lookin’’ or move with the Music like Marty Robbins did in the videos from the 1950s. The last big Package Show I went to see was in Bloomington, Indiana in 1992–This Show featured Ferlin Husky, Bobby Helms, Leroy Van Dyke, Melba Mongomery, Dick Curless, and Sheb Wooley. It was a show for Disabled American Veterans; they wanted money to buy vans to take Disabled Veterans to and from VA Medical Centers in Bloomington and surrounding areas in Indiana. After the Show, they all signed the Program Booklet–I stood in line and when I got to Sheb Wooley, I looked at him real serious and asked, ‘Ya got them Dollar Glossy Prints you’ll autograph?’ I kept a stern look as he replied, ‘When’s the last time you been to a Country Music Show?’ I answered, ‘Saw Webb Pierce in 1953 and got his glossy print and he signed it to me.’ Then we both got a good laugh as he saw I was joking–we then had a nice talk about the Golden Age of Country Music; Sheb and the rest of the Crew were Genuine People that appreciated their Fans–I got all their Autographs. When Webb signed the photo to me, he said, ‘Bob Jennings… you’re a Disc Jockey and Singer…’ I answered, ‘No, I’m just a Fan of yours.’ I gave it no more thought. Several years later when I was in my Civil Service Career, I moved to Milwaukee and had an assignment in Hartford at a manufacturing plant Inspecting an item for the Army–one of the Company Reps asked if I was a Disc Jockey–I said I wasn’t and began to wonder some….One afternoon after coming home from work, I had the radio on and the Disc Jockey announced himself as Bob Jennings and he also had a song popular that he recorded. It then came back to me what Webb Pierce had said to me about ten years earlier. Small World! I should have gone to the radio station and met Bob Jennings Disc Jockey and Country Singer.”
Eric Calhoun writes from Los Angeles, “Concerning Lainey Wilson, there are a few comments I have for this: Thank you for the review of her concert. I find her sound to be more on the lines of country Americana and Southern rock. She really comes off as a ‘cowgirl’ than anything else. Concerning when she rose to prominence, I kept hearing her music as early as 2015, right after the controversy of ‘Girl Crush’ from Little Big Town. She got her start at Fort Worth’s Billy Bob’s Honky-Tonk. And she has been loved, ever since! With regard to newer artists, there is a 25-year-old out there from Alabama, and one of her songs is ‘You Look Like You Love Me.’ I am speaking of Ella Langley. She, kind of, reminds me of ‘soulful’ country. Last, but not least, I want to wish all of you here in the United States, a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.”
Roger Ryan says, “Many thanks for the latest newsletter. I am spending some time in Nashville and heading back to Cork on Friday.”
Larry Sloven of ExtraGrande Music writes, “Just wanted to say thanks and let you know that I always enjoy your newsletter—particularly your straightforward writing style. Keep ‘em coming.”
Bobby Fischer in Nashville says, “In the ‘70s I was writing with Don Wayne at Starcrest Music. I was thinking how lucky I was to have Helen. I thought ‘what in her world did I do?’ Don liked it. We wrote it I started pitching it on the cassettes. Our secretary Sylvia buzzed me and said ‘Bobby, Eddy Arnold is on the phone for you.’ I thought ‘who’s putting me on?’ Eddy was my hero growing up I learned all his songs. It was really him. He said he had my song he liked but the copy wasn’t good. Wow I said could I hand carry a copy? He said yes. I took it to his office. He said, ‘It’s my birthday. Hang around.’ So I spent the day. What an honor. I had a hit with Eddy, ‘What in Her World Did I Do?’ Later it was recorded in the German language by a German star Gunter Gabriel. Sooo ‘cause of Helen we had a dandy hit record. Good old memory.”
AN EDITORIAL ON TODAY’S COUNTRY MUSIC
For the first four decades of the CMA awards, I never missed a broadcast. I recognized everyone there, knew all the songs, and had an opinion as to who should have won each award. Over the years since then, as the show went non-country, I stopped watching. When I tuned in last week to the 58th annual CMA awards show, I recognized less than a third of the names or faces and none of the music. I empathized with George Strait, sitting silently in his chair and watching the show, while everyone around him stood swaying and singing.
I’ve always been a traditionalist and still am, but I long ago realized that music has to expand to survive and grow. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson became so famous because they reached outside the genre and collaborated with other artists, spreading their names and their music to new audiences. Faron Young, who recorded what his fans (like me) wanted to hear, is largely forgotten.
I see a parallel with the aging of veteran service organizations. We’ve been talking for years in the VFW and American Legion about how to get young people involved. We invite them to bring their ideas and activities, and they’re largely uninterested. Meeting rooms contain mostly gray-haired people, with health issues being a common topic of conversation. These organizations worry about dying off without younger involvement.
Country music doesn’t have that problem. There is a constant flow of young people beating at the door to be allowed to perform and record. If their music isn’t traditional country & western, should we try to deny them? Young traditionalists still exist, fortunately, to keep our style of music alive; they’re simply in the minority. We can complain that country music isn’t what it used to be and watch the genre shrink, or we can welcome the new styles that keep the genre alive and vibrant. We can’t have it both ways.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
