Country's Family Reunion News, August 2020

Country’s Family Reunion

NEWS

August 2020

Farewell Charlie Daniels

Hank Williams’ House National Barn Dance Country Music Mayhem Music Row Beginnings Ring of Fire August 2020

… and more

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Who’s inside?

Charlie Daniels, p. 3 Music Row, p. 6 Lemon Pie, p. 8 “Fancy”, p. 9 National Barn Dance, p. 10 Lefty Frizzell, p. 12 Nadine, p. 13 Ring of Fire, p. 14 Kelly Preston, p. 16 Laine Hardy, p. 17 Taping, p. 18 “Devil…Georgia”, p. 20 Nudie, p. 22 Tippin, p.23 CFR News is published monthly by

Country Road Management, 710 N. Main St., Suite B, Columbia, TN 38401 Larry Black, Publisher Paula Underwood Winters, Editor, Print Layout & Design Claudia Johnson, Writer, Online Layout & Design

Annual Print Subscriptions $29.95; renewals $24.95 To subscribe or renew call 1-800-8 20-5405 or mail payment to P.O. Box 610 Price, UT 84501 Online Subscriptions $15 per year countrysfamilyreunionnews.com/ August 2020

Ju l y w a s a b u s y month starting with the 4th of July. Our 4th was a let down with most of the Fireworks near us canceled.

We taped four more “Larr y’s Countr y Diner” shows in July. Yes, we are back in our Diner, and it is so good to be back home. You will see more new shows this year. Of course we all miss our Sheriff, Jimmy Capps.

“Send Me a Book Club” News For everyone who orders Jan Howard’s book “Sunshine and Shadows,” I will include a copy of her poem “Aging,” which she wrote in 2012. It’s a wonderful poem, and I know you will enjoy it along with her book!

I have added Kenny Rogers book, “Luck Or Something Like It,” to my book club this month.

In honor of Jimmy Capps I have in my book club his instrumental CD “In Time For Diner,” the “Larry’s Country Diner” TV Episode featuring Jimmy that aired in 2012. This includes a guitar pick. Also available is “The Man In Back” documentary, which recently aired again on RFD-TV. It includes Charlie Daniels who passed away in July. He’s another great musician and singer that will be missed.

I have had a lot of questions about my two books, “Precious Memories Memorial” and “Cemetery of the Stars.”

My “Memorial” book has more than 80 Country music legends’ final resting places, including how they died, when they died and who was at their funeral. My “Cemetery” continues with more Country music stars not in the first book, like Jean Shepard, Mel Tillis, Patsy Cline, Vern Gosdin and more.

I also include old TV and movie stars like John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Donna Reed, Jackie Gleason, Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lennon, Bob Hope, Audrey Meadows, Jackie Gleason and others. I spent a week in California searching for their final resting places. It was fascinating finding out what happened to them.

I encourage everyone to send your book orders by mail if you can’t reach me by phone. My cell phone has been so jammed up that I cannot clear it fast enough. I pick up mail every day and fill all of the orders immediately.

You can send a check, money order or send your credit card info, or order on my website at www.Renaethewaitress.com. My shipping charge $6.95 is per order so order as many materials as you want and save money! Renae Johnson, PO BOX 681178, Franklin, TN 37068.

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Remembering Charlie Daniels

by Paula Underwood Winters It didn’t take long for Facebook to light up with news of Charlie Daniels death of a stroke at Summit Medical Center on Monday, July 6.

It was mere minutes, in fact, before everyone was commenting about the world’s loss of the 83year-old musician. Charlie had several close calls, from the first catastrophic medical incident he ever had when he tangled with a post hole auger in 1980 causing three complete breaks in the bones of his right arm to 2001 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Then in 2010 he had a stroke 20 miles up a mountain on a snow mobile. But the world was sure he would live on.

I remember Charlie in his younger and wilder days. My boyfriend’s (now husband of 40 years) band had become friends with Charlie and was starting to tour with them as their opening act.

But, as we all seem to do as we get older, we settle down and our priorities change.

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Charlie was born and raised in North Carolina.

He began his career playing bluegrass music with the Misty Mountain Boys. He and Jimmy Capps grew up near one another and Charlie is quoted in Jimmy’s book, “I have known Jimmy Capps probably longer than just about anyone. I met him 65 years ago! Jimmy remembers meeting me at the honky-tonk in Jacksonville, but I actually met him years earlier. I was a fan of Jimmy’s when he was just a young teenager. He was a child prodigy. He was a hero of all of us young musicians. I was a couple years older than he was, but he was already out there doing what I was dreaming of doing.

After moving to Nashville in 1967, he began making a name for himself as a songwriter, session musician and producer. Elvis Presley recorded a tune Charlie co-wrote titled “It Hurts Me,” which was released on the flip side of “Kissin’ Cousins.”

He played on such landmark albums as Bob Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline.”

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In 1970 Charlie let his own unique voice as an Always moving forward in business, Charlie artist emerge when he recorded his self-titled solo launched Blue Hat Records in 1997 with his album in 1970 for Capitol Records. Two years later longtime personal manager David Corlew. The he formed the Charlie Daniels Band and the group label has released such memorable albums scored its first hit with the top ten “Uneasy Rider.” as Blues Hat, Tailgate Party, Road Dogs, Fiddle CDB has been a staple on the radio with such Fire: 25 Years of the Charlie Daniels Band and his memorable hits as “Long Haired Country Boy,” first bluegrass album 2005’s Songs “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” “In America,” “Songs from the Longleaf Pines” and 2007’s “The Legend of Wooley album “Deuces,” featuring Swamp” and of course, his duets with Brad Paisley, signature song, “The Devil Gretchen Wilson, Bonnie Went Down to Georgia,” B r a m l e t t , Tr a v i s Tr i t t , which won a Grammy for Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, B e s t C o u n t r y Vo c a l Brenda Lee and Darius Performance by a Duo or Rucker.

Group in 1979 as well as Charlie has received single of the year at the numerous honors over the Country Music Association years, including induction Awards. into the Grand Ole Opry His annual Volunteer and Musicians Hal l of Jam started in 1974 when Fame. He’s been presented he invited some friends to the Pioneer Award by the join him at Nashville’s War Ac a d e m y o f C o u n t r y Memorial Auditorium for Music and was honored as an all-star concert. The a BMI Icon in recognition event continued for years of his songwriting. and was broadcast in the He also received a star on U.S. and internationally. the Music City Walk of Charlie and Renae the Waitress Over the years, the Jam Fame. featured a diverse line up As I pointed out earlier, that included Willie Nelson, The Winters Brothers Charlie’s priorities had changed as he got older Band, Ted Nugent, Roy Acuff, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and he got to the point where he’d rather shine the Crystal Gayle, James Brown, Emmylou Harris, spotlight on the many causes that are close to his Amy Grant, George Thorogood, Kris heart. He’s always been a staunch supporter of the Kristofferson, Little Richard, Tammy Wynette, military, and he has headlined a special concert at Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, B. B. King and the David Lipscomb University benefiting the Yellow Allman Brothers.

Ribbon Program which provides scholarships for In 1994 he released his first Christian album, veterans.

The Door, on Sparrow Records. The album won Each year there are surprise guests in addition the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award for to the announced line up. Among those who have Best Country Album and “Two Out of Three” was supported Charlie Daniels for an evening of great named video of the year by the Christian Country music include Luke Bryan, Kellie Pickler, Clint Music Association. In 1997, Sony Wonder released Black, Jason Aldean, Chris Young, Rascal Flatts, Charlie’s first children’s album, “By The Light of Lee Greenwood, Darryl Worley, the Grascals and The Moon: Campfire Songs and Cowboy Tunes’. actor Gary Sinise.

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Charlie’s funeral escort Charlie also lent his time and talent to numerous other charitable organizations, including the Jason Foundation Golf Classic, an organization that targets teen suicide prevention, and the Galilean Children’s Home in Liberty, KY, which provides a home for abused and neglected children.

“I’ve been affiliated with them for a long, long time and it’s just a great place,” Charlie said of the home founded by Jerry and Sandy Tucker. “They take in babies whose mothers are going to prison. They give kids a good stable Christian home and love them.

It’s just a wonderful place.”

Charlie has been the host for The Charlie Daniels Celebrity Golf Classic & Angelus Concert in Hudson, FL, a benefit for The Angelus, a full-time residential facility and day school program for the severely handicapped. He has been a member of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Professional Advisory

Board and has been a longtime supporter of the T. J. Martell Foundation and its numerous events aiding cancer research.

He has also been the headliner many years for the Christmas 4 Kids concert at the Ryman Auditorium, a fundraiser to provide a happy holiday for needy children. In 2014, Charlie Daniels founded The Journey Home Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, with his manager, David Corlew to help Veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

Charlie said of using his celebrity status to aid worthy causes, “I have a very unique opportunity because of being in the music community, you try to give back to some extent. I do feel like people should.

We should all do as much as we can.”

Charlie was a true patriot and caring philanthropist. He will be missed by many. o

Charlie shared his talents on “Larry’s Country Diner” August 2020

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Memories of Music Row Welcome back to my Memories of Music Row as I share stories and day-to-day happenings through my personal interviews with the “architects of music row” – record producers, songwriters, artists, studio musicians and recording engineers.

by Areeda Schneider Stampley

The Beginning of Music Row As I pondered this topic, I was awed by the which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting Network in creativity that flowed through the recording studios the 1940s. Brown Radio Productions studio was in this quaint neighborhood of 16th & 17th Avenue. located downtown Nashville and, interestingly, it was In the early 1950s, beautiful 2-story homes in this upstairs just over Andrew Jackson’s original law once-affluent neighborhood were falling into offices at the northeast corner of 4th & Union.” disrepair due to the encroachment of downtown He continued, “I started working for WSM radio Nashville. Record labels such as Columbia, RCA and around 1950, engineering their radio shows during Decca were scooping up and converting them to the day, and moonlighting at Castle Studios, where offices/recording studios. Record producers and so many of the early hit records were being recorded r e co r d i n g e n g i n e e r s we r e t h e – all of Red Foley’s stuff, Ernest Tubb, masters creating this movement Webb Pierce, Hank Williams, all of that would turn Nashville into a those old Countr y records. Castle world-renowned Music City USA. recorded nearly half of the hits that were WSM radio went on the air on Country radio and some on the pop October 5, 1925 and, two months charts between mid-1940s and 1955.” later, began airing what would be its I asked about Hank Williams, and he most famous show, the Grand Ole replied, “Now Hank, he was a very Opry. unusual man. I shied away from him. He To keep these country artists used to come in, and it was well known from heading to New York or other that he carried a little pearl-handled cities to record, three WSM sound pistol with him, so I stayed out of his engineers decided to build a way, just observing. Audrey came in a lot recording facility in WSM Studios. with him, and I used to be the recipient Due to space not being large enough of many great arguments between them, for the lathe to cut the vinyl, they usually regarding whether she would get Hank Williams soon set up their newly-named to sing or not.”

Castle Studios in the old historic In Early 1947 Hank recorded “Honky Tulane Hotel.

Tonkin’” at Castle, which got him a record deal with I had the honor of interviewing one of the MGM Records. On Dec. 22, 1948, he recorded original premiere recording engineers in Nashville’s “Lovesick Blues,” and it became a 16-week No.1 hit music industry – Glenn Snoddy. crossing over to the pop Top 25 and winning an Mr. Snoddy enjoyed recalling those early days as invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry. he shared, “In the late 1940s, I engineered with Hank performed it for his Opry debut on June 11, Brown Radio Productions’ show “Sunday Down 1949, and created a sensation playing six encores to South” that aired on WSM Radio and used big bands thunderous applause. His career would skyrocket headed up by Francis Craig, Beasley Smith or Owen and turn him to superstardom.

Bradley. We also produced the “Eddy Arnold Show,” August 2020 6

In late 1950s, Mr. Snoddy became chief I told studio manager Harold Hitt we’ll just engineer at Bradley’s Quonset Hut Studio, where have to make one,” he explains. “So I got together he created one of the first stereo recording some transistors, and put a little circuit together consoles in Nashville, and mixed Johnny Cash’s that would produce this sound. I got WSM “Ring of Fire” (1963). He hired a janitor/fledging engineer Revis Hobbs to help me with it. songwriter named Kris We put this thing together, Kristofferson. packaged it and I took it to I a s ke d h i m a b o u t t h e Chicago and presented it to famous Fuzz Tone., and here’s Gibson. Gibson bought it and his story. gave me a royalty on it for 7 “I’ll tell you about that.” Mr. years. I didn’t get rich off of Snoddy said. “It was on the that, but it was income. I think Marty Robbins “Don’t Worry it was two percent of the sales ‘Bout Me” session. The tube price. console I mentioned that we I just took a royalty. They shipped down from New York produced and marketed it, and had backup tubes and it was called the Fuzz Tone. I amplifiers. gave Harold Bradley the original One of these amplifiers went one. o u t a n d , t e c h n i c a l l y, t h e It hit top of the charts in transformer opened up. country and pop. The Fuzz Tone It so happened that Grady became a much-sought-after Ma r t i n’s g u i t a r w a s g o i n g sound by rock/pop artists as well Glenn Snoddy & Owen Bradley, through this particular channel as Country.” o Quonset Hut in the console, and when this malfunction occurred in the amplifier, it produced a buzzing sound. They recognized this as being something they hadn’t heard before and elected to keep it in, and so the record came out. It was a hit record!

It had this sound on it that nobody knew what it was, and people were calling in. Disc jockeys were calling Owen to find out what that sound was.

Some at radio stations were running contests on what produced this sound, and so it was recognized as a hit record. One day we attempted to replicate it, and it wouldn’t work. The amplifier just quit working. Somebody (I believe, Tommy Sands) came in to do a session, wanted that sound and we couldn’t give it to him. He accused us of keeping it for our own artists.”

Areeda Schneider Stampley is a writer, longtime employee of CBS Records and lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with husband country music legend Joe Stampley. Contact her at areedaschneider@bellsouth.net August 2020

Marty Robbins wrote and recorded “Don’t Worry” in 1961. A classic Marty Robbins performance!!

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Areeda’s southern cooking

by Areeda Schneider Stampley

Blue Ribbon Lemon Meringue Pie A light and delicious dessert for summer Filling

Meringue

1 & 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup cornstarch 1/8 teaspoon salt 4 egg yolks 1 & 3/4 cups water 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 8 or 9” pie crust, baked

1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons sugar 3/4 cup water 4 egg whites 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 6 tablespoons sugar

Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan.

Combine egg yolks, water and lemon juice. Stir into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.

Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon rind. Pour into baked pie crust, spread meringue over hot filling, and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 25 minutes until meringue is a golden brown.

Cook first 3 ingredients over medium heat until mixture is clear and thick, stirring constantly, then let cool. Beat egg whites, adding salt and vanilla until fluffy. Add 6 tablespoons sugar gradually, beating well. Add cooled cornstarch mixture.

Continue beat until meringue stands in stiff peaks.

Note: For this pie I normally make the Meringue first.

To purchase Areeda’s Southern Cooking, a collection of oldfashioned recipes send $24.45 check (no credit cards) and mailing address to Areeda’s Southern Cooking P. O. Box 202, Brentwood, TN 37024.

Order online at www.areedasoutherncooking.com.

Credit cards accepted online.

Email Areeda at areedaschneider@bellsouth.net

August 2020

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Ballad of “Fancy” Controversial but Relatable

by Sasha Dunavant “Fancy,” penned by singer-songwriter Bobby Gentry in 1969 became one of Reba McEntire’s signature songs when her “Rumor Has It” album climbed the charts and rested at No.8 in 1990.

First recorded by Gentry, the ballad is the story of a woman named Fancy in her thirties reflecting on events of the summer she turned 18 when her mother initiated a plan to help Fancy escape the squalor in which she dwelled.

The mother spends all her money on a dress and high heels for Fancy that will look glamorous. She also puts makeup and perfume on her daughter, all the while pleading with her to understand and accept that becoming an escort in New Orleans is her “one chance.” Moreover, her mother begs Fancy “don’t let me down.”

“And then I saw the tears wellin’ up in her troubled eyes as she started to speak,” Fancy remembers. “She looked at our pitiful shack and then looked at me and took a ragged breath. “ your pa’s runned off and I’m real sick And the baby’s gonna starve to death.”

After Fancy gets dressed she observes her living conditions, admitting, “I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across the toe of my high heeled shoe.”

The mother knows her family has nothing and that it’s not going to get any better. She concludes that the fastest and the least dangerous way to escape the horrors of Fancy’s current existence is to become an escort.

Fancy is inexperienced and unsure of how her new life will be. Her mother’s simple instructions are to “just be nice to the gentlemen…they’ll be nice to you.”

“Lord, forgive me for what I do,” the mother agonizes, “But if you want out, well it’s up to you..your mama’s gonna move you uptown.”

Though the mother’s choices for her daughter seem reprehensible, listeners can almost sympathize with her actions under the circumstances. Fancy’s mother was proven right, and by “charming kings, congressmen and the occasional aristocrat” Fancy acquired a Georgia mansion and an elegant New York townhouse flat.

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“Now in this world there’s a lota self-righteous hypocrites that’d call me bad,” Fancy sings. “They criticize mama for turning me out no matter how little we had, but though I ain’t had to worry ‘bout nothing for nigh on 15 years. I can still here the desperation in my poor mama’s voice ringing in my ears.”

These words demonstrate the respect that Fancy has for her deceased mother. Fancy acknowledges that she “ain’t done bad.” Regardless of the method, she became a true rag to riches story and is ultimately satisfied that her mother knew best.

“Fancy is my strongest statement in women’s lib, if you really listen to it,” Gentry said with regard to her initial release of it in 1969 as the fight for women’s rights was beginning to rage. And even now, 50 years later she says “I agree wholeheartedly with that movement and all the serious issues they stand for –equality, equal pay, daycare centers ...”

In the end the rest of the family’s fate was as painful as her mother anticipated.

“The welfare people came and took the baby,” Fancy reveals.

“Mama died and I ain’t been back.”

Before McEntire put “Fancy” in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Hits in 1991, Gentry’s recording made No. 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart as well as making No. 8 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart and No. 31 on the U.S. Billboard 100. The song did well in Canada , too.

Fancy made it to No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks as well as reaching No. 20 on Canadian RPM Contemporary Tracks and No 26 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles.

Though it is a song about a controversial subject, the powerful ballad had universal appeal, perhaps because Fancy took a chance and not only escaped poverty but became a wealthy women.

Throughout the lyrics her mother repeats, “Now don’t let me down” with the promise that she was “gonna move you uptown.” Fancy’s final words are “and I guess she did,” once again confirming that Fancy knew that her mother only had her best interest at heart. o

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“Barn Dance” Show Took Country Nationwide

by Sasha Dunavant

One of the first Country music radio programs, “National Barn Dance,” had its broadcast premiere on Saturday, April 19, 1924, and continued to entertain listeners of Chicago’s WLS across five decades. It is credited with launching national superstars such as Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, Bradley Kincaid, Andy Williams, The DeZurik Sisters, George Gobel, Pat Buttram and Lulu Belle & Scotty.

The show was founded by Edgar L. Bill, who was at the time the manager of the powerful 50,000-watt WLS station owned by Sears Roebuck & Company, which had signed onto the air only days before.

"We had so much highbrow music the first week that we thought it would be a good idea to get on some of the old time music,” Bill said.

Bill was from a farm and was confident that he knew what kind of “down home tunes” rural people enjoyed. Bil l’s intuition wa s right, and an outpouring of support from listeners made the show with its country, western and folk music and humor an early success.

Sears-Roebuck management was aghast by this "disgraceful low-brow music" that was being broadcast on their new station. According to WLS’s August 2020

website, which tells the history of one of radio's longest running programs, when Bill and Agricultural Director Samuel Guard were confronted by the angry executives, they pointed to the audience’s overwhelming approval.

The show targeted Midwest, Appalachians, Ozark, Great Plains and Southern families – those still living in rural areas as well as those who had relocated to the cities and were nostalgic about their rural roots..

In November 1925 WLS claimed to be the first station to build a studio/theater for lives audiences when it moved to larger quarters in the Sherman Hotel in downtown Chicago.

The theatre was designed to hold 100 people as well as technical and control room facilities. Both the station and the show grew, and so did requests for tickets to the live tapings, meaning the Sherman Hotel was far too small to accommodate fans who were waiting as long as seven months to get tickets.

When Prairie Farmer Magazine purchased WLS in 1928, the Barn Dance was moved to the company’s headquarters on Chicago’s Washington Street. WLS officials determined that a move to a much larger venue was necessary, understanding that they would have to charge admission to tapings to break even.

In 1931 the show made its final move to the Eighth Street Theatre. Listeners showed up by the thousands to fill the 1,200 seat theatre twice every Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. WLS’s research data indicate that three million people attended the “Barn Dance” performances at the Eighth Street Theatre during its 26 year run there.

In addition to airing locally on WLS's 50,000 watt signal, “Barn Dance” was picked up for regional airing on NBC's Blue Network in 1932.

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By 1933 more than 30 stations across the United States were carrying the 10 p.m. show, which was sponsored by Miles Laboratories, makers of Alka Seltzer. NBC expanded the program's coverage in 1942, adding it to the schedules of international shortwave stations.

During World War II “Barn Dance” took the show on the road to fairs around the Midwest.

Thousands of listeners who had never been to Chicago would pour into the fairgrounds to catch a glimpse of the stars they had begun to see as friends.

In some locations the price of admission was simply rubber or scrap metal to help the war effort.

Paramount Pictures produced a 1944 movie about “Barn Dance” featuring several of the most

popular WLS stars like Pat Buttram, the Hoosier Hotshots, The Dinning Sisters, Jo e Ke l l y, A r k i e t h e A r k a n s a s Woodchopper and Lulu Belle and Scotty. Paramount Pictures reportedly paid WLS $75,000 for the rights to use the “Barn Dance” as part of the plot.

The screenplay was about a Chicago advertising promoter who wants to put together a radio program featuring "hillbilly performers." He discovers a “barn dance” gang merrily dancing in a barn on Saturday nights in rural southern Illinois.

After some prodding, he gets the troupe to travel to Chicago to appear on a radio show sponsored by Garvey Soup.

After several slip ups and mishaps the Haylofters, as the troupe is called, finally perform on WLS Radio.

Following WWII the show switched to ABC Radio Network, airing from 6:30 p.m. until midnight each Saturday from 1946-52.

ABC-TV began televising “National Barn Dance” in 1949, which by then featured nearly 100 performers per show. Hosted by Jack Stillwell and Hal O'Halloran, the 30-minute musical variety format presented a mix of folk music with country and Western tunes.

Historians blame ABC for the demise of “National Barn Dance.” When ABC cancelled the network radio broadcast in 1952 the audiences began to wane, so live performances at the Eighth Street Theater were halted after 1957 The show continued airing on WLS radio until 1959 when the format changed to rock and roll and “Barn Dance” was eliminated altogether. The program moved to Chicago’s WGN and finally left the air in 1968.

A documentary narrated by Garrison Keillor containing historic footage and recordings called “The Hayloft Gang: The Story of the National Barn Dance” is a vailable to watch at no charge on vimeopro.com. o

This article is part of the Radio & Records, A Star-Making Combination monthly CFR NEWS series.

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Homes of the Legends: Lefty’s Escape, 1962-1975

by Renae Johnson

“To me every word had a feeling about it. I had to linger, had to hold it. I didn't want to let go of it. I want to hold one word through a whole line of melody, to linger with it all the way down. I didn't want to let go of that no more than I wanted to let go of the woman I loved. I didn't want to lose it”.

–Lefty Frizzell, about his singing

Lefty Frizzell burst into the Country Music world in 1950 with eight Top 10 Hits in one year and four in the Billboard Top 10. He first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry on Dec. 20, 1950 He was not your stereotypical Country-Western singer wearing f ringed rhinestone suits or elaborately detailed boots and accessories.

At the age of 22 he released “If You’ve Got The Money Honey, I’ve Got The Time” and “I Love You A Thousand Ways.”

Like many Country music singers he lived on the outskirts of Music City in the town of Hendersonville, Tennessee, just 15 miles from Nashville.

He and his wife, Alice, and family lived at 234 Sterling Road in Hendersonville.

The home was built 1962 with four bedrooms, three baths and on a one-acre lot. It had 2.083

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square feet with an open floor plan. He lived there from 1962 until his death in 1975.

Behind the house was a boat dock and oversized covered deck. Lefty wasn’t home a lot, but when he was he loved walking out the back door to fish on Old Hickory Lake.

Lefty chose alcohol over taking medication needed for high blood pressure, causing the stroke that took his life on July 19, 1975. He was 47.

He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery’s “Music Row” at in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

His voice and style inspired decades of artists and his songs have become classics.

He was the very first country singer to e given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard. o

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Nadine’s Corner It's been a slow month, still trying to stay ahead of this virus! Me and Homer are getting on each other's last nerve, although that is not anything new.

I was reading the paper to him the other day and said, "Man hit by train critical.”

He looked at me across the table and said, “Well, you can hardly blame him”?!?!?!?!?” I'm telling you, he is driving down the road of life with his handbrake on!

He says marriage is a relationship where one person is always right and the other one is the husband! He told me that our language is called the mother tongue because the father so seldom gets to speak! Well, if he really had something to say.......

A good marriage last forever; a bad one just seems to! And you know another thing? Men don't care what's on TV. They only care about what else is on TV. He switches channels like I switch thoughts in my head. I did find a way to make Homer exercise. When he asks for the remote, I put it between his toes, and he can't reach it without his arms.

I guess mine and Homer's whole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others!

Love y'all, Nadine

August 2020

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Country Music Mayhem

“Ring of Fire” Prophetic for Cash

by Claudia Johnson

Johnny Cash did not actually fall into a burning ring of fire, but in the summer of 1965 he certainly created one.

The official story is that Cash was driving through California’s Los Padres National Forest watershed when his camper truck, which he called “Jesse,” became stuck on a road near Sespe Creek. In an attempt to free the vehicle, he gunned the motor, setting off sparks that ignited a massive fire, which ultimately destroyed 508 acres of national forest land.

In his 2003 autobiography named Cash the star admitted that he pretended to be fishing so he would appear oblivious to the fire raging around him. This illconceived plan backfired when Cash was sued in federal court in 1967 for $125,127.52.

“I sat there while the fire-fighting crews arrived and headed up the mountain with their shovels and axes and then the fire-bomber planes swooped in to drop their loads of boron,” he stated in his autobiography.

By nightfall on June 27, 1965, more than 400 firefighters, a troupe of helijumpers, five air tankers, 150 Navy Seabees and a prison inmate crew were battling the flames. Finally they pinpointed the origin. When Cash was confronted by a forestry officer about whether he had started the fire, he said “my truck did.”

Long before the days of cell phones, Cash could not call for help, and the officer did not offer transportation out of the deep woods. His vehicle was destroyed, and he ended up sleeping on the bare ground not really sure how he was going to get home.

At that time “home” was a ranch in Ventura County, California, where he lived with his then-wife, Vivian, and their daughters, Rosanne, Kathy, Tara and Cindy. The next morning, after several failed hitchhiking attempts and walking several miles, someone finally gave him a ride.

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“As it turned out Jesse and I had picked a bad spot to burn,” Cash wrote, explaining that forests on three mountains scorched by the fire were part of a refuge for endangered species, including condors. “A count of 53 had been made before the fire; after the fire it went down to nine.”

Cash’s nephew, Damon Fielder, has stated that he believed that Cash started a fire to keep warm, and when it got out of hand, Cash was too drugged to stop it. Cash conceded in his book that “touring and drugs is what I did” during that time.

“I was such a mess that I didn’t care,” Cash said regarding his state of mind when he was called in for depositions in the federal court case, saying that he was “full of amphetamines and arrogance, refusing to answer their questions straight.”

When asked how he felt about destroying more than half the world’s population of California condors, he answered, “ I don’t give a damn about your yellow buzzards. Why should I care?”

In its suit the federal government alleged that Cash was negligent in the operation, maintenance and repair of his vehicle; that he failed to take reasonable precautions to control the fire; and that he failed to report it to the proper authorities. The equivalent of $950,000 in today’s money, the damages request was to recover the cost of extinguishing the fire and reseeding the burned land.

When time came for the trial in early 1969, Cash was married to June Carter Cash and had moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee.

When he claimed that he was too sick to appear in Los Angeles for his trial, the assistant U.S. attorney general didn’t believe him and asked for an FBI investigation to include a physical examination by a reliable physician.

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The investigation was conducted between February and July 1969, and under the Freedom of Information Act the 16-page FBI report is now published online. The FBI report specifically stated that Cash’s wife was not the subject of the investigation, but Cash’s past was scrutinized.

In 1961 he was arrested on “drunk” charges in Nashville and forfeited a $5 fine. He was again charged with “drunk” in Minden, Nevada, and released on $50 bail in May 1965.

That same month he was arrested in Starkville, Mississippi, for trespassing to pick flowers. In October ‘65 he was arrested by U.S Marshalls at El Paso, Texas, for smuggling and concealing Dexedrine and Equanil tablets. He was fined $2,000 and sentenced to 30 days on each charge, but the sentences were suspended.

Although Cash landed in jail seven times for misdemeanors, he stayed only one night each occasion and usually got off with small and sometimes no fines.

Even his hit “Folsom Prison Blues” was written after seeing a film about the institution and not because he had been incarcerated there.

The FBI report does not include documentation about a physical examination, but by mid-summer Cash had settled with the government. In Cash’s book he stated that he paid the government the entire $125,000, but according to court documents a final judgement against Cash was entered on June 30, 1969, in favor of the United States in the amount of $82,000 with a six percent interest rate. That amount had the same buying power in 1969 as $557,673.95 does today.

Also included in the FBI file was a 1971 update on Cash, which stated that Cash was “a reformed drinker and “had taken the pledge,” that he had earned a good reputation at that time and was “reportedly religious.” In a 1976 interview with The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), Cash concluded that the reason he was not dead was because of his wife and his religion.

The song “Ring of Fire” was penned by June Carter and Merle Kilgore and would become the most successful recording of Cash’s career. Prophetically, he recorded it in 1963 – two years – before he nearly burned down a national forest and wiped out an endangered species. o

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram

“Broken Bridges” Star Kelly Preston Dies Actress Kelly Preston, 57, died July 12 following a two-year battle with breast cancer.

Preston, who had starred in many movies, also had been featured in movies with country music artists including “Broken Bridges” with Toby Keith and Willie Nelson and “The Last Song” with Miley Cyrus.

She married John Travolta in 1991 long after he starred in “Urban Cowboy” with Charlie Daniels.

Just one week prior, John had sent condolences to the family of Charlie Daniels. “ L a s t w e e k Jo h n Tr a v o l t a s e n t h i s condolences for the passing of my father, now the entire CDB family wishes to do the same for John on the passing of his wife, Kelly.,” Daniels’s son, Charlie Jr. wrote. “So sorry for your loss, John. Prayers headed your way.”

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Rising Star Captures Tiny Town Spirit Rising country music star Laine Hardy released his brand-new song “Tiny Town” July 10. Both a studio version and a stripped-down acoustic track are available at https://smarturl.it/LHTinyTown. The “Tiny Town” acoustic music video went live on July 17.

Written by Michael Tyler and produced by Michael Knox (Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett), the down-toearth lyric rings with humble honesty coming from the Livingston, Louisiana (pop. 2,000) native.

The new music is a welcome bit of good news, as the singer announced a Covid-19 diagnosis last month. The 19-year old is thankful for what has been a mild case and successful recovery.

“What a crazy summer. I am lucky to be feeling better and want everyone to stay safe and healthy out there. It is more important now than ever for younger people to step up,” says Laine. “Thanks for all the well wishes from my own hometown community and beyond. I’m grateful to still be able to get music out over the summer and hope you guys enjoy ‘Tiny Town.’”

Laine plans to continue his virtual tour with a second leg t h i s s u m m e r. Ti c ke t s a n d information for last season’s winner of ABC’s American Idol upcoming digital dates are available now at https:// lainehardy.bubbleup.live/.

The virtual performances follow a highly successful online tour, garnering over 2 million views spanning April and May around the launch of two brand-new songs. Music Row proclaims “(Laine) brims with sincerity on this love letter to his hometown” on “Ground I Grew Up On,” while “feelgood anthem” (Sounds Like Nashville) “Let There Be Country” dials up the fun. Both tracks, a definitive nod to Laine’s deep Louisiana roots, are now available on all streaming platforms via Hollywood Records/ Industrial Media’s 19 Recordings.

Newly released acoustic versions of the tracks, also produced by Michael Knox along with brand new

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videos, are available now at https://smarturl.it/ GIGUOAcoustic/Vevo.

Fans can catch the day-in-the-life official music video for “Ground I Grew Up On,” which has racked up over a million views and counting, filmed earlier this year on the picturesque bayou in his home state at https://youtube.com/lainehardy. In addition to the virtual tour dates, fans can visit Laine’s newly launched online store for a limited selection of Tshirts.

A native of Livingston, Louisiana (pop. 2,000) Laine Hardy was six when he picked up his first guitar and later joined his brother playing in local clubs and bars for upwards of six hours a night, inspired by artists ranging from Morgan Wallen to Luke Combs a n d E l v i s Pr e s l e y to Ma r k Broussard.

After winning American Idol in 2019, Laine focused on songwriting and touring, headlining shows in Denver, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Lexington, Minneapolis and more.

While Louisiana is home, Na s h v i l l e i s w h e r e h e i s destined to be. There he met producer Michael Knox (Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett) and the pair went to work on several new sides releasing in 2020. “ G r o u n d I G r e w Up On” (Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson, Brett Beavers) and “Let There Be Country” (Jason Afable, Steve Moakler, Tim Nichols) relea sed April 10 on Hollywood Records/Industrial Media’s 19 Recordings tell the stories of Laine’s childhood on the bayou where on an average day you’ll find him fishing, riding his four wheeler, spending time with his family, dogs, a n d f e a s t i n g o n j a m b a l a y a o r h i s Ko r e a n grandmother’s homemade kimchi.

For more information about Laine Hardy, visit L a i n e Ha r d y Mu s i c . co m a n d j o i n h i s j o u r n e y @TheLaineHardy. o

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Taping in the New Studio “Larry’s Country Diner” is now being taped at Redking Productions in Columbia, Tennessee. These photos are from the July taping for episodes that will be aired later this year.

In our next issue of CFRNews we’re beginning a new series about Columbia. We’re interviewing Rory Feek about his numerous projects from restaurants to original TV productions.

We’ll look at a new 55,500-square-foot concert venue in a converted church. George Hamilton V will be talking to us about his current Country music activities and future plans.

Larry Black’s son, Jared, is giving us a preview of plans for Country Road TV, “Country’s Family Reunion” and “Larry’s Country Diner.”

There’s a lot of excitement on2020 taping days, but August especially in our new studio.

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Rory Feek and Danny Potter Mac McAnally

Janee Fleenor with Mike Johnson

Ben Hall with T. Graham Brown

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Devil Soundly Defeated in Country Fiddle Classic

by Claudia Johnson Many tales of the devil bargaining for the souls of mortals have been told in literature, music, folklore and the Bible, it was a poem by a 19th Century writer that inspired a Country hit song that has endured across the decades.

“The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” according to its co-writer Charlie Daniels, was born during a recording session when he and his band realized they did not have a fiddle song for their “Million Mile Reflections” album. Daniels told journalist Dan Rather in a 2014 interview that the band took a break to compose an additional tune, and with the various band members contributing to Daniels’ original idea, Daniels said “it happened very simply; it happened very quickly.”

“I just had this idea ‘The Devil went down to Georgia.'

The idea may have come from a n o l d p o e m t h a t S te p h e n Vincent Benet wrote many, many years ago,” Daniels explained in an interview for songfacts.com. “He didn't use that line, but I just started, and the band started playing, and first thing you know we had it down.”

W h i l e B e n e t ’s p o e m , “ T h e Mo u n t a i n Whippoorwill: How Hill-Billy Jim Won the Great Fiddler's Prize,” is about a determined young boy winning a new fiddle at the Essex County Fiddlers' Show, Daniels’ song is about a contest between a Georgia Fiddle player, Johnny, and the Devil himself, with the very soul of young Johnny at stake. Seems the Devil is behind on his soul-stealing quota, so the reward to Johnny is a golden fiddle if he wins and the loss of his soul if he doesn’t.

Not only did Daniels determine what each of the contestants would sound like, he played the fiddle for both.

“The Devil's just blowing smoke,” Daniels explained, pointing out that there is now music in the Devil’s playing. “If you listen to that, there's just a August 2020

bunch of noise. There's no melody to it, there's no nothing. Just confusion and stuff.”

Johnny is undaunted, and takes the bet assuring the Devil that he’ll regret it and confidently asserting, “I’m the best that’s ever been.”

For his performance, Johnny chooses parts of four separate tunes, with just lines from them referenced in the song. “Fire on the Mountain" and "Granny Does Your Dog Bite?" are traditional Appalachian tunes.

"Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough" is a line from a square dance tune called "Ida Red." And the often-recorded Southern folk song "The House of the Rising Sun," is the fourth reference.

The Devil is soundly defeated, and he concedes by laying the golden fiddle at Johnny’s feet.

“Everybody likes to see the Devil get beat,” Daniels observed during the Rather interview. “It goes by the old Faust stor y, the Devil and Daniel Webster and everything, but it did it with a fiddle instead of a trial.”

Daniels had the foresight to produce two separate endings that would ensure that AM radio would play it. In the last stanza Johnny challenges the Devil to a future contest, calling him a son of a gun for the radio version and something much less polite for the album release.

“I tell people I did a Baptist version and a Methodist version, and I’m not going to tell them which is which,” he laughed.

The song three and a half minute song, which is primarily spoken, was released May 21, 1979, and spent 14 weeks on the Hot Country Singles charts, peaking at number 1 and holding the position for one week in the U.S. and also on the Canadian Country Tracks chart.

It was a pop hit as well, and spent two weeks at a peak of number 3 on U.S. the Billboard Hot 100. It was a charted hit in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the Netherlands.

Continued, p. 21

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The Charlie Daniels Band, to which writing credits for the song are attributed along with Daniels, won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.

“I had no idea that this many years later we would still be talking about this song,” Daniels said in a 2017 interview with the Grammy Foundation for its “Living History” video series.

The single was certified P l a t i n u m b y t h e R I A A i n December 1989 for sales of more than one million copies in the United States.

It was re-released to radio in June 1998 and spent seven weeks on the country charts. Since the advent of digital downloading, it has sold nearly two-and-one-half million digital copies.

Across four decades the hit has been covered by rock, rap, folk, alternative and country stars. It’s been parodied, translated for foreign recordings, used in video games, included in movie and television soundtracks and even sung by Muppets!

“It’s a song that has transcended three generations because the story never wears out,” Daniels said. o

Country’s Family Reunion Fridays 7 p.m. Central Saturdays 11 p.m. Central

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Nudie Cohn: From R ags to Rhinestones

by Claudia Johnson

August 2020

“Porter paid $7,500 each for them,” recalled Wagoner’s fellow performer Jim Ed Brown. “He could still fit into every one of them when he died.”

Standing out from an extensive list of celebrities clothed by Nudie are John Wayne, Gene Autry, Cher, John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Elton John, Robert Mitchum, Pat Buttram, Tony Curtis, Michael Landon, Glenn Campbell, Hank Snow and groups such as America and Chicago.

The $10,000 gold lamé suit Elvis Presley wore on the cover of his 1959 album, “50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong,” was a Nudie creation.

Robert Redford’s costume Nudie designed for the 1979 film “Electric Horseman.”

It is now owned and exhibited by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

He created Hank Williams's white cowboy suit with music note embellished sleeves. ZZ Top band members sported Nudie Suits on their 1975 album “Fandango! album cover.”

One of Nudie’s more controversial creations was a suit featuring pills, poppies, marijuana leaves, naked women and a cross crafted for Gram Parsons to wear on the cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers' 1969 album “The Gilded Palace of Sin.” However, Nudie did not just tailor people.

Between 1950 and 1975 he customized 18 Cadillac and Pontiac convertibles, using such bedazzlements as silver-dollar-studded dashboards, pistol door handles, rifles on the trunk and fenders, hand-tooled leather saddles and longhorn steer horns as hood ornaments. Many of these Nudie Mobiles are privately owned by collectors, but one is on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Though Nudie wore his own larger-than-life creations, the diminutive tailor often purposely wore mismatched cowboy boots, to remind himself, he said, of his humble beginnings. o Photo: Larry D. Moore

Rhinestone cowboys and rhinestone cars. It seems impossible that a child born in the Ukraine in 1902 could have imagined such things, let alone create them, but that’s what Nuta Kotlyarenko did. At age 11 Kotlyarenko was sent to America by his parents to protect him from widespread persecution of the Jewish community in Czarist Russia.

He worked as a shoeshine boy, a boxer and at other odd jobs as he traveled America until he met and married lifelong partner Helen “Bobbie” Kruger in 1934. During the Depression the Kotlyarenkos supplied showgirls with custom undergarments, which they sold from their New York store, “Nudie’s for the Ladies,” giving Nuta Kotlyarenko the identity by which he was known the rest of his life – “Nudie” Cohn.

In the early 1940s Nudie and Bobbie settled in California and began creating and selling custom clothing from their garage. Drawing attention from performers like Cliffie Stone, Lefty Frizzell and Tex Williams, the business begin to flourish, and a soon a s h o p w a s o p e n e d i n No r t h Hollywood specializing in Western wear. The Cohns became tailors to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who epitomized the popular view of Country-Western. A personal friend, Evans delivered the eulogy at his Cohn’s 1994 funeral, attended by hoards of former clients.

Perhaps the performer most consistentl y associated with Nudie’s clothing creations is Porter Wa g o n e r. In 1 9 6 2 C o h n m a d e a n o r n a t e l y embroidered and rhinestone-studded peach-colored suit featuring a covered wagon on the back and wagon wheels on the legs. He offered it to Wagoner at no cost in an effort to promote Nudie’s of Hollywood’s flamboyant designs, which have come to be known as “Nudie suits.”

It worked. Nudie soon moved his operation to a larger facility and renamed it "Nudie's Rodeo Tailors."

He also garnered a career-long customer in Wagoner, who bought 52 custom designed suits from Nudie, each costing from $11,000 to $18,000.

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Standing for Something for Thirty Years

by Claudia Johnson Aaron Tippin would have been spending his 30th anniversary in the entertainment industry doing what any “workin’ man” would do – entertaining his fans across the country with hit-filled stage performances.

However, the Covid-19 crisis has forced him to reschedule his 2020 shows.

“The fans have been so great to me over the years, and they’re still coming out to the shows,” he told CFR News in a 2015 inter view. “That’s why I still sign autographs every night. I just want to get out there and shake their hand and give them a big hug just to say thank you.”

Tippin’s first hit, the song that endeared him to fans by encapsulating the powerful message about integrity and character into a single line, “You’ve Got To Stand For Something or You’ll Fall for Anything,” also caught the attention of Bob Hope. The comedian invited Tippin to join his USO tour in 1990 to entertain the troops who were serving in the Gulf War. “Performing overseas with Bob Hope is the single most memorable moment in my 25 years,” Tippin reflected. “I will never forget it. It started my career and everyone became familiar with my song ‘You've Got to Stand for Something.’ It also began my desire to give back to our military.”

Tippin said the experience began his own tradition of playing for the troops each year.

“Going overseas and performing for the greatest warriors on the planet is the least I can do for the sacrifices they make to keep us free,” he said.

During the aftermath of 9/11, Tippin, released “Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagle Fly,” a song that he realizes has “become part of the American soundtrack.”

“I wanted to talk to Americans about who we are at heart, and the fact that when the going gets tough, that’s when we really stand up,” he said. “We may have a lot of differences when everything is calm and fine, but when it hits the fan, I think we’re the best in the world at sticking together, and rallying around the cause. That song served that purpose very well. I August 2020

wanted us to be proud as Americans and get back on with living free.”\ Some of Tippin’s biggest hits resonated with a blue-collar, country audience. “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with the Radio,” “My Blue Angel,” “Kiss This” and “Workin’ Man’s PhD” are among those born from his own experience.

“I think several times during my record career, we tried to change and follow trends and stuff,” he said. “But, it never seemed to work for me. The most success I had in the business was with songs that I crafted. I’m very proud of that. I think it makes a fan able to identify with me easier because these songs are about me – my life, who I am and how I was raised.”

That’s not to say Tippin hasn’t captivated listeners with heartfelt love songs. Tracks like “Everything I Own,” “For You I Will” and the 1995 hit “That’s As Close as I’ll Get to Loving You” demonstrate his broad vocal abilities not to mention the romantic side of him that has created a loving home with his wife, Thea, for 25 years.

“She’s got as much stake in this game as I do,” he said. “She saw me at my lowest days, stood right there and stayed – even when things weren’t great, and I wasn’t having hit records. She listened to me whine through it all. I owe her everything.”

Tippin has said that his family, which includes his grown daughter, Charla, and grown sons Ted and Tom, is the center of his universe. The Tippins own a 500-acre farm in Middle Tennessee, complete with a runway (Tippin is a licensed pilot), recording studio and winery. He, Thea and the boys hunt, travel and perform together, and as anyone who follows the Tippins on social media quickly observes, they have great fun together.

Tippin released a 25-song disc that includes a variety of musical genres he’s not recorded before – like gospel and big band – along with some of his best-known hits.

“We just wanted to make sure it was everything I wanted it to be,” Tippin said, adding in jest, “I don’t know if I will make 50 years or not!” o 23

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