Not long after Dolly Parton began her career, she and her then-singing partner, Porter Wagoner, came to Albany and performed at the Clinton County Fair. The date was July 24, 1973. At the time, they were one of the most heavily-booked acts operating out of Nashville.
By July 1973, Dolly had already become one of the most successful songwriters In Nashville. She and Porter came to Albany because, at the time, Porter was concentrating their shows in the smaller, more rural areas of the country in order to bring their music to people who would not ordinarily have a chance to see them. Accompanying them to Albany was comedian Speck Rhodes, who was known for his missing front teeth and his bright and colorful wardrobe, and the famous Wagonmasters band.
At the fair, Dolly sang, "Coat of Many Colors," which was already massively popular. She also sang her first #1 hit, "Joshua." Her song, "Jolene," would be released almost three months later. That night Porter and Dolly sang all their hit duets, like "If Teardrops Were Pennies" and Daddy was an Old time Preacher Man." It was a most memorable occasion, a great night to be at the Clinton County Fair and WANY broadcast it live on the air!
Dolly gained a national audience of millions of viewers by virtue of that TV show and one year after appearing at the Clinton County Fair she split from Porter in order to expand her career as a solo artist. Coming soon would be her massive hit, "I Will Always Love You," a song she wrote on the very bus that brought her to Albany fifty-three years ago. She dedicated it to Porter. The rest of the story you know.
Some years ago Harlan Ogle wrote a book entitled "The Spirit of the American Doughboy" - A history of the "Doughboy" memorial in Monticello, Kentucky. The book contains eleven chapters and is a beautiful tribute to the service men from Wayne County, those "Doughboy Heroes," who participated in the first World War. Much of the material he used was directly from the Wayne County Outlook, while other material was provided by the Wayne County Library, Wayne County Historical Society and family members. The book was dedicated to a very special group of men and women of Wayne County "we proudly call veterans," he said. In 2010, KET aired a segment on the Monticello Doughboy and Harlan was interviewed. He talked about the sculptor and the background of the memorial, from the idea of it to its dedication.
The sculptor of this magnificent memorial in the middle of the town square that stands as a silent, but highly visible, reminder that Wayne County "boys" have died for the freedoms enjoyed by all Americans, was Ernest Moore Viquesney (1876 - 1946) of Spencer, Indiana. He was responsible for scores of statues and monuments memorializing soldiers of the Civil War, and both world wars. "Without doubt," wrote Ogle, "his most popular sculpture is "The Spirit of the American Doughboy," described as "100% perfect regarding its representation of the World War."
Even before the war ended, Viquesney is said to have first conceived the idea of an inspiring monument that would honor those who were serving and dying in the war. In 1920, he copyrighted what was to become the most famous and well-known war memorial statute in U.S. history.
Those early ideas and the efforts to transfer those sketches from paper to reality became one of the fascinating stories ever to be associated with Monticello and Wayne County.
These statues are located in at least 38 states. The one Wayne countians have been celebrating these past several days arrived in Monticello on January 19, 1923 and was dedicated April 8th that year. It was unveiled by Captain John Tuttle, a prominent Wayne County Civil War veteran, whom I have previously written about. Its acquisition was sponsored by American Legion Post No. 134. The sculpture cost $1,500, including freight. The total cost, including the marble base and monument area, required over $2,000 in cash and the donation of many hours of work on the monument by American Legion members.
The "Doughboy," in all of its 32 ounce bronze glory, is part of the rich heritage of the people of Wayne County. According to Bro. Ogle, the original intent of it being on the public square was to serve as a constant and visual reminder of the sacrifices made by brave men from the area. It has been faithful to that cause for one hundred years, a silent reminder of the price that must be paid for Americans to enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Viquesney indicated the memorial was the image of the spirit possessed by the soldier. A spirit of love of man, God, country devotion, commitment, sacrifice, patriotism, and unquestionable courage.
"May those who are blessed to look upon the Doughboy ever be mindful that freedom is never free. There is a price to be paid for freedom and "The Spirit of the American Doughboy" standing in the middle of the town square is a silent memorial to those who paid that price." - Bro. Harlan Ogle
I was thinking about this photo that appeared in my Facebook history this morning. The year was 2011. It was Halloween. Jerry Perdue and I were at Stony Point's fall festival, and there they were, Ralph Clark and Buddy Bell, two legends on stage with Cartwright Express. We couldn't wait to ask for a photograph. The plan was for us to take each others' photo, only after I took this photo I got distracted somehow and missed my opportunity to have my photo taken with them.
For a long time, I was a little bit jealous that Jerry had gotten his photo made with these icons and not I, because we never had another opportunity to be together, the three of us, as Buddy died on Jan. 17, 2012 and Ralph died on Aug. 30, 2014, and then Jerry died on Thanksgiving Day in 2017.
Time and tide wait for no man. As I get older I realize more and more that some things are just inevitable - birth, death, the sun rising in the morning, and the passage of time. There is no way to control those things.
The bible says 'to everything there is a season, a time to be born, a time to die; a time to build up, a time to weep, a time to laugh and a time to mourn.' (Ecclesiaste 3)
I miss those guys. Funny how this photo, the one I was once jealous of, now means the world to me. 💕
Wynonna and Naomi Judd, the successful mother-daughter singing duo, released their debut EP in 1984. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. In October of that year, their debut studio album, "Why Not Me," was released. It peaked at number one on the country albums chart. Three months later they walked out onto the stage at the Clinton County high school gymnasium. It would be a night we would not forget. The date was January 18, 1985. Lisa Beaty of the Clinton County News wrote in a follow up article that it was "girls' night out" that night in Albany.
Without a doubt, the Judds were country music's hottest act when they came to town that night. The price of admission was $9 for reserved (floor) seating. General admission tickets were $8 in advance and $10 at the door.
Naomi did most of the talking for the duo that night. "As if we haven’t bragged about it enough, we’re from Ashland, Kentucky, and let me tell you, it’s great to be home, she said.” Most people around here first new about Naomi and Wynonna Judd by seeing on Ralph Emery’s morning show in early 1980, where the host named them the “Soap Sisters” because Naomi said she used to make her own soap. The duo signed a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1983. Later that year, their debut single was released called "Had a Dream (For the Heart)." Their next release, "Mama He's Crazy", became their first number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Over the course of seven years, the Judds collected fourteen #1 singles. Between their concert in Albany and today, they amassed six studio albums, three live albums, 18 compilation albums, five video albums, two extended plays, one box set, five music videos, 28 singles and one album appearance. They won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven from the Academy of Country Music, and together earned five Grammy Awards. After they won the Horizon Award at the 1984 CMA Awards on the success of their early single “Mama He’s Crazy,” Naomi started her speech by saying “Slap the dog and spit in the fire!”
In 1990, Naomi announced her retirement after being diagnosed with Hepatitis C. The group disbanded in 1991. In 2016, she opened up about mental illness during an appearance on "Good Morning America," saying she had been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. In announcing her mother's death yesterday, just nine days after the Judds had performed at the CMA Awards, daughter Ashley, the actress, said, “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” The Judds had earlier announced a return to performing, their first tour in over a decade. "The Final Tour," as it was being billed, was to be a 10-date arena tour beginning this September 30th in Grand Rapids, Michigan and ending at Bridgestone Arena on October 28th.
That night in Albany, reporter Lisa Beaty wrote down The Judds' set list. They opened with “Girls’ Night Out,” from the "Why Not Me" album, and followed it with “Had a Dream About You Baby," one of their first hits. The other songs in the set list were“Mr. Pain”,“ Drops of Water,” “My Baby's gone," "Bye Bye Baby Blues," “Love Is Alive” and “John Deere Tractor.” They also sang the Elvis Presley hit, “Rip It Up,” and Ricky Skaggs' song, "One-Way Rider.” Near the end of the show, as the band began playing the intro to “ Mama He’s Crazy,” Wynonna smiled and said, “Love you all for this one.” They closed with “Why Not Me."
Snow was in the forecast for our area that night and it dampened attendance figures just a bit. Concert promoter David "Red Mule" Piercey estimated around 2,000 people attended the show. While it didn't snow that evening, seven inches was recorded here a week later. Red Mule told Beaty in a follow-up interview that the Judds were real easy to work with. “We took them down and fed them beans and taters at a local restaurant, he said."
January 18, 1985 was definitely a night to remember. As you know, Wynonna went on to have a successful solo career. This evening (Sunday, May 1, 2022), she and her mother are being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Ray Charles.
Diana Ellen Judd was born in Ashland on January 11, 1946 to gas station owner Charles Glen Judd and his wife, Pauline. Her first child, Christina Ciminella (Wynonna), was born when Naomi was 18. Daughter Ashley was born three years later, in 1968.
"Had a dream about you baby
Had a dream about me and you
Had a dream and woke up crying
Well, I can roll but I just can't rock
And the time's goin' by, tick-tock
For the heart, I just can't love no one but you"
How sad it is that Charley Pride would leave us in 2020, in this crazy, awful year of a pandemic, instead of in his world of burgers and fries and cherry pies. It was simple and good back then, he said of that world we used to know.
Charley was one of my favorite country music singers of all-time. In the 1970's he sold more records than any other artist at RCA, with the exception of Elvis. He was country music's first black singer and he was a member of her hall of fame.
Dolly Parton said, "It's sad enough that he has passed away, and it's even worse knowing he died from COVID-19." I agree. So very sad.
I have always loved his music and i loved playing his songs on the radio. If there is one thing of his we can always be thankful for it is his songs. Kiss an angel good morning, Charley. May you Rest in Peace.
Although Bro. Henry C. Slade, Kentucky's famous "feud breaker," created perhaps
more sensations during the course of his life than the average mountaineer of
his state he broke all records the day his own voice preached a funeral sermon
over his dead body, directed the music and made one last impassioned address to
the rough people among whom he had lived and worked for so many years.
When this man, who in his little mountain church had won widespread fame was
breathing his last in his humble cabin under the mountains, he had a talking
machine drawn ⁵close to his bed and then poured into it the story of his life
and a last plea to the rough mountaineers. This was the climax of his life's
noble work.
Bro. Slade died on March 7, 1905 and a couple of days later the strange funeral
service was held. Word had gone far and wide that the minister would preach his
own funeral sermon, for the members of the congregation had spread the news till
it became the wonder of the mountains. When the body was carried Into the church
and placed upon the trestles in front of the altar, hundreds had gathered to
hear the dead pastor presch. One of the minister's friends started the machine
and a familiar voice spoke saying: "The Lord giveth and the lord taketh
away."
He then invited the congregation to stand and join him in singing "Blest Be The
Tie That Binds," afterwhich the dead preacher began telling his life story, his
struggles, his hopes and his fears. He spoke of how the first three years of his
pastorate church members met in each others homes because they had no meeting
house, and how his efforts were rewarded in the fourth year when families, who
for generations had bitterly fought each other, with many murders being the
result, were brought into the Christian fold, and how those families had helped
build a church building.
At the end of the sermon the voice admonished the people to be constant in
well-doing. And then the voice asked the congregation to rise and sing "Jesus,
Lover of my Soul" and the members of the church joined their dead pastor in that
old hymn.
When the ceremony was over the congregation, awed and whispering, stood in
groups while the body was borne out of the church to the burying ground, where
it was laid to rest.
For eleven years, Bro. Slade had preached to his mountain congregation, first in
the homes of the people and afterwards in the little church at Rideout. Through
his efforts, the Howard-White feud, and the famous Tolliver feud were ended.
Bro. Slade had become interested in the talking machine while on a visit to
Louisville, and on returning to the mountains took with a talking phonograph
machine and a number of records, among which were the latest musical successes,
the best in oratory and many humorous recitations. Such a luxury had never
before been heard of in that remote mountain district, so when Bro. Slade turned
his Wednesday evening prayer meetings into talking machine entertainments the
church was crowded.
He became so impressed with the importance of the talking machine he believed he
could do good after death, and hence conceived the Idea of preaching his own
funeral sermon. By doing so he helped to settle the difficulties between many
families who were threatening declare open war at any time.
"Joe Diffie possessed one of the most incredible pure country voices on the planet," said Steve Wariner after learning of the singers death on Sunday. According to Diffie's publicist, the 61-year-old Oklahoma native died from the effects of the Coronavirus. He had just announced his illness on Friday.
Diffie, who helped set the standard for upbeat, rock-influenced country music in the 1990's, was born in Tulsa on Dec. 28, 1958. He came from a musical family. His aunt had a country music band, his father played guitar and banjo, and his mother sang. Following in her footsteps, Diffie began to sing at an early age, often listening to the albums in his father's record collection. According to him, his parents claimed he could sing harmony when he was three years old.
After college, Joe had several jobs. He worked in oil fields, drove a concrete truck and ended up working in a foundry. It was during this period that he began working as a musician, first in a gospel, then in a bluegrass. He built a recording studio and began sending demos to publishers in Nashville.
After the foundry closed in 1986, Diffie declared bankruptcy and sold the studio out of financial necessity, divorced his wife and spent several months in a state of depression before deciding to move to Nashville, where, he took a job at Gibson Guitar Corporation. While at Gibson, he contacted a songwriter and recorded more demos, including songs that would later be recorded by Ricky Van Shelton, Billy Dean, Alabama, and the Forester Sisters. By mid-1989, he quit working at the company to record demos full-time. It was along about that time that he met Howard Perdew.
Howard had been writing songs most of his life. In 1978, Kenny Starr and Loretta Lynn recorded a duet of a song he wrote entitled "Tuffy." But, everything up until meeting Joe Diffie was met with minimal success. "Meeting Joe changed everything," he told me on Sunday. "He was my career." Between 1993 and 1995, Diffie had major hits on three songs Howard had a part in writing: "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)," "Pickup Man" and "So Help Me Girl."
"Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" was released on July 19, 1993 as the second single from Joe Diffie's album, "Honky Tonk Attitude." Written by Howard, Kerry Kurt Phillips and Rick Blaylock, it peaked at #3 on Billboard, which ranked it #13 on its year-end chart.
"Pickup Man," written by Howard and Kerry Kurt Phillips, was released by Joe Diffie on October 17, 1994 1994 as the second single from his most successful album, "Third Rock from the Sun." The song was his longest-lasting #1 hit, having spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart between December 1994 and January 1995.
Rolling Stone Magazine wrote "Inarguably one of the best truck songs in country music history, “Pickup Man” excels for two reasons: songwriters Howard Perdew and Kerry Kurt Phillips’ fine-tuned wordplay, and Joe Diffie’s charming delivery. In lesser hands, such a song - chockfull of double-entendre - could come off as creepy, but Diffie sang it with a grin, well aware of the absurdity in lines like 'I got an 8-foot bed that never has to be made.' "Pickup Man" became Joe Diffie's signature song.
"So Help Me Girl," written by Howard and Andy Spooner, was released in January 30, 1995 as the third single from the "Third Rock from the Sun" album. It peaked at #2 on Billboard. The song was covered by Gary Barlow of the pop group, Take That, and included on his debut solo album, "Open Road," which was released in England on July 11, 1997 and in the U.S. on September 30th. The single was eventually released in 65 countries around the world and topped the charts in 13 of them. In America, it peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart.
Joe Diffie was a country star who was treasured by many of his peers. Several of them took to social media to praise Diffie after learning of his passing. "He was a singers singer," said Marty Rabon of Shenandoah. Tim McGraw said he was "one of the most influential vocalist of our time in country music." "Joe was a great singer, songwriter, and entertainer that left his mark in Country Music," said Ricky Skaggs. "His clear voice and unique singing style made him immediately recognizable." Billy Dean said "Joe Diffie set the standard for our Country sound back in the 90’s. He was just a regular Joe, as he would put it, but he also will go down in history as one of the greats, I do believe.”
By the way, the two Joe Diffie albums containing songs co-written by Howard Perdew, "Honky Tonk Attitude" and "Third Rock from the Sun," both shipped a million copies in the United States and were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Diffie was inducted into the Grand Old Opry in 1993.
"Kenny Rogers' songs endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world," read the statement announcing the singers' death Friday night at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia, where he died from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by family.
He was one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with hits like "Lucille," "The Gambler" and "Lady." He scored several hits, including eight #1 records with duet partners like Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Kim Carnes and Sheena Easton. He was particularly fond of singing the harmony part on the duets. In 2013, he told interviewer Dan Rather that harmonies had fascinated him ever since he first heard his older sister, Geraldine, singing them in church. He said, “I’d never heard harmony before." When he asked her what she was doing, she replied "it's called harmony, where you don’t sing the melody, but you sing something that sounds good with the melody," to which Kenny replied "Oh, I’d like to do that."
I played his songs on the radio quite often. His distinctive, husky voice was filled with warmth and sincerity and it attracted you to him. He showed us what he had at the very beginning of his long stretch of hits when he sang, "You've painted up your lips and rolled and curled your tinted hair," the opening line of the 1967 hit, "Ruby," by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.
Even though his songs crossed music genres many times, he always wanted to be thought of as a country music singer. “You either do what everyone else is doing and you do it better, or you do what no one else is doing and you don’t invite comparison and I chose that way because I could never be better than Johnny Cash or Willie or Waylon at what they did. So I found something that I could do that didn’t invite comparison to them." And, he did it very well. A CMA spokesperson tweeted that Rogers forever left a mark on Country Music's history.
I don't know whose idea it was to form the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet, but boy was it a good one. Formed In the late 1970s, the quartet consisted of Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Grandpa Jones and Kenny Price. They would gather around a microphone and sing a gospel hymn at the end of the show's last segment. Several of the quartet's performances were released as recordings. We had two albums at WANY and we played them a lot. When Elmer Goodman died Sid Scott told me he had regretted not taking him into a recording studio with The Singjng DJ's and recording a gospel album in Hee Haw Quartet fashion. That would have been awesome.
Yesterday when I first heard that Roy Clark, a Grammy-winning country music singer-guitarist, had died of pneumonia complications at the age of 85, I immediately thought of the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet.
Clark was born on April 15, 1933 in Meherrin, VA, but his family moved to Washington, D.C. when he was a kid. His father played in a square dance band and took him to free concerts by the National Symphony and by military bands. “I was subjected to different kinds of music before I ever played,” Clark once said. “Dad said, ‘Never turn your ear off to music until your heart hears it — because then you might hear something you like.”
Roy started playing the guitar when he was 14 years old. In the early days of his career, he performed with banjo player David “Stringbean" Akeman. He said, "We would play drive-in theaters, standing on top of the concession stand. If the people liked it, they'd honk their horns."
Roy began making records in 1954. It didn't take long for people to sit up and take notice of his guitar playing. In the mid 1950s, he honed his television chops as a regular on Country Style, the D.C.-based television show hosted by Jimmy Dean, eventually taking over as host after Dean relocated to New York
.
His big break came in 1960, when he was invited to Las Vegas to open for Wanda Jackson. After her band broke up, Clark hired her manager, who secured him appearances on The Tonight Show and Beverly Hillbillies. Clark was guest host on “The Tonight Show” several times in the 1960s and 1970s, a rarity for a country performer at that time. Yankee's baseball great Mickey Mantle was moved to tears when he heard Roy sing “Yesterday When I Was Young” and for years made Clark promise to sing it at his memorial, a request granted when Mantle died in 1995.
His first hit single came in 1963 with his recording of the Bill Anderson song, "Tips of my Fingers." He scored a huge hit in 1969 with one of his most beloved recordings, "Yesterday When I Was Young." He followed that up in 1970 with, "Thank God and Greyhound She's Gone." His 1973 hit "Come Live With Me," went to #1. His recording of "Alabama Jubilee" won him a Grammy Award in 1982. He was also known for his instrumental versions of “Malaguena,” on 12-string guitar, and “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”
As if his pickin' the banjo or the guitar wasnt enough, Roy's sense of humor captured the hearts of his fans. In a 1966 appearance on the TV show, Swingin’ Country, the host, Rusty Draper, asked him, “About how long have you been performing?“ Without skipping a beat, Clark said, “About three months.”
The music-comedy TV show, Hee Haw, greatly impacted a whole generation of people, thanks largely to one of Kornfield Kounty's most popular residents, the show's co-host, Roy Clark. CBS launched Hee Haw in summer 1969 as country music’s answer to Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Each episode was filled with country music stars and down-home comedy skits. It lasted three seasons on the network before moving to syndication, where it aired for 22 more years.
Hee Haw was theme-based on rural culture, although it was not limited to a rural audience. It was successful in all of the major markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago.
The show provided a lot of laughs, and plenty of country music. Buck and Roy hosted the show through most of its run for most of its run. Their dialogue at the beginning of each show became one of most popular quotes ever: "I'm a-pickin' (Buck Owens)and I'm a-grinnin' (Roy Clark.
My favorite Roy Clark skit was set in a barber shop with Archie Campbell, a barber, cutting Roy's hair as he told one if his stories, like the one about Rindercella, her mugly other, two sad bisters and a very prandsom hince, or how about the "Oh that's good, no that's bad" gag? There was also the one where Roy would raise up from behind the counter to exclaim "Empty Arms Hotel!" Clark said Hee Haw capped off his career. “This was the icing on the cake," he said. This put my face and name together.” Another favorite of mine was the lamentful song "Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me," featuring Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Gordie Tapp and Archie Campbell.
Roy Clark was member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also won the Acedemy of Country Music’s Pioneer Award. Beginning in 1983, Roy opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri, and was one of the first country entertainers to open a theater there. Dozens followed him.
Roy was all about spreading love and good cheer. One of my all-time favorite quotes came when he said, "The next chance you get, do somethin' nice for somebody - say 'good day,' hold a door open - and don't wait around for a thank you...you don't need it." If only we would all do that, the world would be a better place. Roy must have known that.
He appreciated his fans and always let them know that he did. At the end of his concerts, he would tell the audience: “We had to come, but you had a choice. Thanks for being here.”
Yes, we had a choice and we chose you, Roy Clark. Thanks for coming. We were not let down. Thank you for the music, and for the laughs.
I close my story with the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet singing a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace, featuring Charlie McCoy on harmonica.
Mudlick, Kentucky's most well-known resident, Hillbilly Jim, is headed to the WWE Hall of Fame.
The former wrestler will join Goldberg, Ivory, The Dudley Boyz and Jeff Jarrett as part of the 2018 Hall of Fame class that will be enshrined April 6 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 weekend.
Hillbilly Jim, whose real name is Jim Morris, was born in Louisville, Kentucky but raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, although during his wrestling days, and even at his current job as host of of Moonshine Matinee on Sirius XM's Outlaw Country, his character was/is from Mudlick, Kentucky, which, of course, goes much better with his Hillbilly Jim moniker.
Morris was discovered in Bowling Green during the early 1980's by wrestler Mike Mann, son of Dale "TNT" Mann, who trained the soon-to-be WWE hall of famer.
But, how did this giant of a man go from being an Allstate basketball player for Bowling Green High School to being a then-World Wrestling Federation Superstar?
After playing basketball for several colleges, Jim left the states to play for the European League, then tried out for the N.B.A. When that didn't pan out, he made his way back to Bowling Green and spent his time working out in the gym while looking for a job. Some of you probably remember the days when there was this extraordinary huge character working as a bouncer at the Brass A Saloon and Mr. D's in Bowling Green.
This is when Jim's positive attitude began to pay off. Dale Mann asked Jim if he'd be interested in wrestling. He later recalled those days by saying, "It comes down to knowing people, not only knowing them, but being ready to go when you get your shot. Sometimes you only get one shot. If you're not ready, they'll go on to somebody else." Fortunately, Morris knew this was it and went with it.
Soon, he was signed by the Continental Wrestling Association, where he wrestled around the Memphis area as a biker aptly dubbed, Harley Davidson. He started attending WWE marches and soon some of the wrestlers like Rowdy Roddy Piper began noticing him in the crowd. His fame ballooned once he joined WWE, then known as WWF, as a happy-go-lucky country boy babyface known as Hillbilly Jim, who would strut to the ring dressed in overalls. He began his run in the WWF in 1984. His role as Hillbilly Jim came naturally to him, he said. He drew on his Kentucky roots to morph into a larger-than-life version of himself.
"It was always a very doable and easy character to step into," Jim said. "I know a lot of country people. I know what that translates to. I did the best I could to bring that to the ring. It's a lot like I really am in person. I'm a happy, excitable kind of character. And I just wanted to denote happiness."
In the WWE, Jim was aligned with Hulk Hogan and his popularity soared as he was pitted against the likes of Mr. Fuji during the infamous Tuxedo matches. The two rivals battled in formal wear in Philadelphia, St. Louis and most notably at Madison Square Garden in New York.
For the now 65-year-old Hillbilly Jim, his popular Country and Southern rock radio show on Sirius XM is coming up on its 13-year anniversary. He is grateful to all of those who cheered for him from the stands and to WWE for giving him the platform in which he made his name. "I don't have my Sirius XM radio show because I'm Jim Morris. I've got it because I'm Hillbilly Jim," he said. "This company gave me Hillbilly Jim."
Country singer June Stearns was born on April 5, 1939 in Albany, Kentucky. Her family relocated to Franklin, Indiana when she was a small child. The Stearns' were a musical family and June learned to play guitar and was singing locally in her early teens. During the late 60’s and early 70’s, June Stearns could be considered to be one of the ladies-in-waiting for the Country Queen crown.
In 1957, on completing her high school education, June became a member of the WLW Midwestern Hayride in Cincinnati, where she remained for two years. Her big break came in 1960, she became a member of Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Gang. She had written to Acuff, enclosing a photograph with her sister, under which she wrote, "I’m the one with the guitar." No doubt Roy had heard about her work on the Midwestern Hayride. She remained a member of "Smoky Mountain Gang," appearing on the Grand Ole Opry and on live dates. During this time, she also took time out to appear solo on the Louisiana Hayride. In 1965, she broke her ankle in an automobile crash in Roy Acuff’s vehicle and never returned to the group. She can be considered the last regular "Smoky Mountain Girl."
June Stearns first recorded for Starday in 1963, who teamed her with Gene Martin. She signed with Columbia Records in 1967. In December of that year, she and Lefty Frizzell recorded ‘Have You Ever Been Untrue’ and ‘If You’ve Got The Money (I’ve Got the Time),’ which Columbia released as a single under the pseudonyms of Agnes And Orville."
In 1968, June Stearns was voted third "Most Promising Female Artist" by Cash Box. That year, she enjoyed three Billboard country chart hits ‘Empty House,’ ‘Where He Stops Nobody Knows’ and the biggest, which peaked at #21, ‘Jackson Ain’t A Very Big Town,’ a duet with Johnny Duncan. They recorded an album together and had further chart success in 1969, with ‘Back To Back (We’re Strangers).’ She also had three solo hits that year, including ‘Walking The Midnight Road.' She moved to Decca Records in 1970, where she gained three Top 60 solo hits: "Tyin' Strings," "Your Kind Of Lovin" and "In Case Of A Storm / Man (Sensuous Man)."
(June Stearns' Discography) RECORDING SESSIONS
June 1963 Starday Sound Studio, 3557 Dickerson Road, Nashville, TN – June Stearns and Gene Martin
001 6402 Three Sides to the Story - Starday 639/SLP-261 SLP 274
002 6403 Family Man - 660/SLP 276
003 6404 Just Another Song - 639/SLP-276
w. Roy Acuff - Starday SLP 274 The Country Music Festival (1964); Starday SLP 276 Country Music Cannonball (1964)
July 1963 Starday Sound Studio, 3557 Dickerson Road, Nashville, TN – June Stearns, and Red Sovine [1] Gene Martin [2] (Producer: Tommy Hill)
004 6493 A Dear John Letter -1 7014//SLP-261 SLP-341 SLP 9-385 S-SLP 9-449 NLP-2044
005 6494 Slippin' Around -2 7012/SLP-261
006 6496 Accidentally on Purpose-2 SLP-261
007 6497 We‘ve Got Things In Common -2 660/SLP-261 SLP-276
6495 is by Bobby Sykes and Helen Carter
May 15, 1967 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
010 NCO 120217 Habit Not Desire 4-44206/CS-9783
011 NCO 120218 Where Did The Good Times Go 4-44321
012 NCO 120219 I'm The Queen (Of My Lonely Little World) 4-44483
013 NCO 120220 Tear For Fear 4-44206
September 8, 1967 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
014 NCO 120277 River of Regret 4-44321/CS-9783
015 NCO 120278 Empty House 4-44483/CS-9783
December 5, 1967 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – Lefty Frizzell and June Stearns aka Agnes and Orville (Lefty Frizzell [vcl], June Stearns [vcl], Grady Martin [gt], Ray Edenton [gt], Harold Bradley [gt], Joseph Zinkan [bass], Buddy Harman [drums], Floyd Cramer [piano]. Producer: Frank Jones)
016 NCO 120911 Have You Ever Been Untrue 4-44490/ BCD 15550
017 NCO 120912 If You’ve Got The Money (I’ve Got The Time 4-44490/C 30896 BCD 15550
March 1968 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
018 NCO 98496 I Cry Myself Awake 4-44575
019 NCO 98497 Where He Stops Nobody Knows 4-44575/CS-9783
August 9, 1968 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
020 NCO 98595 Some Of These Days 4-44795 4-44946
September 4, 1968 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns and Johnny Duncan, and June Stearns (*solo) (Producer: Frank Jones)
021 NCO 98604 The True And Lasting Kind* 4-44656/CS-9910
022 NCO 98605 Jackson Ain't A Very Big Town 4-44656/CS-9910 CCM331-2
023 NCO 98606 Walking Midnight Road 4-44695/CS-9783
024 NCO 98607 No Good Man 4-44795
September 1968 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
025 Flower OF Love CS-9783
026 I Started Loving You Again CS-9783
027 NCO 98628 Plastic Saddle 4-44695/CS-9783
028 To My Sorrow CS-9783
029 The Future Ex-Mrs. Jones CS-9783
030 Time Wounds All Heels CS.9783
December 1968 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – Johnny Duncan and June Stearns (Producer: Frank Jones)
031 NCO 100582 If That's The Only Way 4-44752
032 NCO 100583 Back to Back (We're Strangers) 4-44752/CS-9910
March 28, 1969 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
033 NCO 100769 What Makes You So Different 4-44852
034 NCO 100770 unknown title unissued
035 NCO 100771 A Piece at a Time 4-44946
036 NCO 100772 Trouble in Mind 4-44852
May 23, 1969 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – Johnny Duncan and June Stearns (Producer: Frank Jones)
037 NCO 100835 We'll Get Married or Nothing 4-44992/CS-9910
038 NCO 100837 Now I Lay Me Down To Dream 4-44992/CS-9910
May 1969 [some tracks possibly recorded earlier] Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – Johnny Duncan and June Stearns (Producer: Frank Jones)
039 We Had All The Good Things Going CS-9910
040 What Locks The Door CS-9910
041 Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain CS-9910
042 The Wild Side of Life CS-9910
043 Sweet Thang CS-9910
044 Can You Match That Kind of Love CS-9910
September 22, 1969 Columbia Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, TN – June Stearns
045 NCO 100983 He Was A Carpenter 4-45042
046 NCO 100984 Drifting Too Far (From Your Arms) 4-45042
July 7, 1970 Bradley's Barn, 722 Bender’s Ferry Road, Mount Juliet, TN – June Stearns (Producer: Owen Bradley)
047 122994/NA 16137 Pack Your Lunch unissued
048 122995/NA 16138 Tyin' Strings 32726
049 122996/NA 16139 Don't Trouble Trouble 32726
March 19, 1971 Bradley's Barn, 722 Bender’s Ferry Road, Mount Juliet, TN – June Stearns (Producer: Owen Bradley)
050 123463/NA 16381 Another 32876
051 123464/NA 16382 Sweet Baby On My Mind 32828
052 123465/NA 16383 How's My Ex Treating You? 32828
053 123466/NA 16384 Your Kind of Lovin' 32876
June 12, 1972 Bradley's Barn, 722 Bender’s Ferry Road, Mount Juliet, TN – June Stearns (Producer: Owen Bradley)
054 123984/NA 16806 Man (Sensuous Man) 32986
055 123985/NA 16807 In Case of a Storm 32986
056 123986/NA 16808 Am I Still A Part of You
ca 2009 Whiteway Recording Studio – June Stearns with Petie Stearns (Danny Shatswell [gt], Carl Lambert [steel], Dan Furmanik [bass/gt], Earl White [fiddle/gt], Terry Duncan [piano], Shelton Bissell [sax]. Producer: Earl White)
057 Fiddle Diddle Boogie*
058 Bouquet of Roses
059 If My Heart Had Windows
060 He Called Me Baby-Baby
061 The Heart of a Clown
062 All of Me
063 End of the World
064 Only You
065 Try Again
066 Kansas City
067 Some Day
068 Make The World Go Away
069 Too Many Rivers
070 You Belong To Me
071 No One Will Ever Know
072 Trouble In Mind
ALBUMS Starday SLP-261 Slippin' Around: [Gene Martin and June Stearns:] Slipping Around; 3 Sides To Every Story; We've Got Things In Common; Accidentally On Purpose; [Cowboy Copas and Dottie West:] Loose Talk; [Carter and Willis Brothers:]; Wild Side; [Young:] Window Up Above; [Wilson and Warren:] Back Street Affair; [George Jones and Jeanette Hicks:] Yearning; [Benny Martin:]; Sinful Cinderella; [Blue Sky Boys:] Don't Trade; [Bobby Sykes:] Release Me; [Frankie Miller and Dottie Sills:] Out of Bounds; [Red Sovine and June Stearns:] Dear John Letter - 64
Columbia CS-9783 River Of Regret: River Of Regret; Flower Of Love; I Started Loving You Again; Plastic Saddle; Empty House; To My Sorrow; Where He Stops Nobody Knows; Habit Not Desire; The Future Ex-Mrs. Jones; Time Wounds All Heels; Walking Midnight Road – 03-69
Columbia CS-9910 Back To Back: Jackson Ain't A Very Big Town; We Had All The Good Things Going; What Locks The Door; We'll Get Married Or Nothing; Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain; The Wild Side Of Life; Back To Back; Sweet Thang; Now I Lay Me Down To Dream; Can You Match That Kind Of Love; The True And Lasting Kind – 09-69 w. Johnny Duncan
"Release Me -The Best Of Dolly Parton Dottie West Jan Howard And June Stearns," was released in 1977 on the Birchmount label (BM 834).The album features June Stearns singing Three Sides To The Story and Just Another Song, Dolly Parton singing Release Me and Two Little Orphans, Dottie West singing Angel On Paper and I Should Start Running, and Jan Howard singing Weeping Willow and The One You Slip Around With.
Whiteway - Many Sounds Of Country: Fiddle Diddle Boogie (with sister Petie); Bouquet of Roses; If My Heart Had Windows; He Called Me Baby-Baby); The Heart of a Clown; All of Me; End of the World; Only You; Try Again; Kansas City; Some Day; Make the World Go Away; Too Many Rivers; You Belong to Me; No One Will Ever Know; Trouble in Mind – ca 09
SINGLES Starday (1963-64)
639 Three Sides To The Story (w. Gene Martin) / Just Another Song (w. Pete Drake) - 63
07-63 (rev. Aug. 3)
660 Family Man / We've Got Things In Common (w. Gene Martin) – ca. 12-63
7012 Slipping Around (w. Gene Martin) / (The Willis Brothers:) The Wild Side Of Life-64
7014 A Dear John Letter (and Red Sovine) / (Eddie Wilson and Dorothy Warren:) ? - 64
Columbia (1967-69)
4-44206 Habit Not Desire / Tear For Fear – ca. 27-06--67
4-44321 Where Did The Good Times Go / River Of Regret -10-67
4-44449 Have You Even Been Untrue? / If You've Got The Money (I've Got The Time) - 02-68 w. Lefty Frizzell as by Agnes and Orville
4-44483 Empty House / I'm The Queen (Of My Lonely Little World) – 19-03-68
4-44575 Where He Stops Nobody Knows / I Cry Myself Awake – 23-07-68
4-44656 Jackson Ain't A Very Big Town / The True And Lasting Kind – 17-09-68 w. Johnny Duncan
4-44695 Walking Midnight Road / Plastic Saddle – ca. 29-11-68
4-44752 Back To Back (We're Strangers) / If That's The Only Way Back – 21-01-69 w. Johnny Duncan
4-44795 No Good Man / Some Of These Days – 69
4-44852 What Makes You So Different / Trouble In Mind – ca. 04-69
4-44946 Some Of These Days / A Piece At A Time - 07-69
4-44992 Now I Lay Me Down To Dream / We'll Get Married Or Nothing - 08-69 w. Johnny Duncan
4-45042 Drifting Too Far (From Your Arms) / He Was A Carpenter – 11-11-69
Decca (1970-72)
"I Love Country Music" by Jack Barlow (Dial Records/4012), written by Jack Barlow, Darrell Speck (my father) and Charlie Stewart, and produced by Buddy Killen, was on the Cash Box Country Top 50 chart for nine weeks in 1965, beginning the week of Aug. 21st and ending the week of Oct. 16th. It peaked at #21 the week of Sept. 25th.
The song was a take off of the Tareyton cigarette commercials, which featured men and/or women models sporting a black eye and delivering the line "I'd rather fight than switch."
#50 the week of Aug. 21, 1965
#44 the week of Aug. 28, 1965
#34 the week of Sept. 4, 1965
#27 the week of Sept. 11, 1965
#22 the week of Sept. 18, 1965
#21 the week of Sept. 25, 1965
#25 the week of Oct. 2, 1965
#31 the week of Oct. 9, 1965
#36 the week of Oct. 16, 1965
Barlow sang the song on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry on November 8, 1965.
Side B is "Number One In The Nation," written by Barlow and Speck.
Lately, I have been compiling a list of my 1,000 all-time favorite songs. 1968's "Wichita Lineman," is one the first ones I wrote down. I played it countless times during my 38 years on the radio. The image of the record label is forever etched in my mind.
What always got to me, aside from the lyrics, was the opening bass line and the awesome solo that comes where the third verse should be. Jimmy Webb wrote the song specifically at the request of Glen Campbell, who was in the studio searching for a song about a town, something 'geographical,' he said. Not only did Webb not think it was a hit, in his mind it wasn't even finished. In late 1967, Jimmy had written “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” for Campbell. Now Glen and his producer were calling him every couple of hours and asking if the song he had asked for was finished. Finally Webb sent the song for them to preview with the notion that if they liked it, he would finish writing it.
Little did Webb know, Campbell recorded the song as it was, filling in what might have been a third verse with a guitar solo, one considered iconic and played on a Danelectro six-string bass belonging to legendary L.A. bass player and Wrecking Crew member, Carol Kaye, who is the one who came up with the famous five-note intro at the beginning of the song.
I am a lineman for the county
And I drive the main road
Searchin' in the sun for another overload
I hear you singin' in the wire
I can hear you through the whine
And the Wichita lineman is still on the line
I know I need a small vacation
But it don't look like rain
And if it snows that stretch down south
Won't ever stand the strain
And I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time
And the Wichita lineman is still on the line
And I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time
And the Wichita lineman is still on the line
Jimmy Webb's inspiration for the lyric came while driving through rural southwestern Oklahoma. Heading westward on a straight road into the setting sun, Webb drove past a seemingly endless line of telephone poles, each looking exactly the same as the last. Then, in the distance, he noticed the silhouette of a solitary lineman atop a pole. He described it as "the picture of loneliness."
At "American Songwriter," Webb was quoted as saying, “What I was really trying to say was, you can see someone working in construction or working in a field, a migrant worker or a truck driver, and you may think you know what’s going on inside him, but you don’t. You can’t assume that just because someone’s in a menial job that they don’t have dreams … or extraordinary concepts going around in their head, like ‘I need you more than want you; and I want you for all time.’ You can’t assume that a man isn’t a poet. And that’s really what the song is about.”
With “Wichita Lineman," less is more. The record is just three minutes long:
Intro.
First Verse.
Second verse.
No chorus.
Guitar solo.
Repeat last two lines of second verse.
Fade.
Why did such an unlikely song become a standard? There are many reasons, but here’s one from American Songwriter's Allen Morrison: "The loneliness of that solitary prairie figure is not just present in the lyric, it’s built into the musical structure. Although the song is nominally in the key of F, after the tonic chord is stated in the intro it is never heard again in its pure form, with the root in the bass. The melody travels through a series of haunting changes that are considerably more sophisticated than the Top 40 radio norms of that era. The song never does get “home” again to the tonic chord - not in either verse, nor in the fade out. This gorgeous musical setting suggests subliminally what the lyric suggests poetically: the lonely journeyman, who remains suspended atop that telephone pole, against that desolate prairie landscape...yearning for home."
The song reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart and remained in the Top 100 for 15 weeks. It topped the American country music chart for two weeks and the adult contemporary chart for six weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA in January 1969. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked it at #192. British music journalist Stuart Maconie called it "the greatest pop song ever composed."
