Musicians Web pages - Nashville Musicians Association

At Country Hall of Fame & Museum salute 

www.afm257.org 

Official Journal of the American Federation of Musicians 

AFM Local 257 • 1902-2006 

Musician 

Volume MMVI • Number 4 • October-December 2006 

Local 257’s Bradley receives rare AFM honor 

Local 257 President Harold Bradley holds AFM Lifetime Achievement Award just presented to 

him by AFM President Thomas F. Lee (left), and acknowledged by AFM Secretary-Treasurer 

Sam Folio and Local 257 Secretary-Treasurer Billy Linneman at the ‘Nashville Cats’ salute. 

By WALT TROTT 

It was literally Harold Bradley Day 

at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, 

Aug. 19, as the AFM official participated 

in a “Nashville Cats” celebration, 

during which he was surprised with 

AFM’s Lifetime Achievement award. 

The hall’s Ford Theater was packed 

with family, friends and fans as Local 

257’s President was honored for a more 

than 60-year career as a musician and studio 

pioneer. 

Harold and his late producer-brother 

Owen Bradley - himself a member of the 

Country Music Hall of Fame since 1974 

- established Nashville’s first recording 

and film studio, and later built their unique 

Quonset Hut studio, laying the foundation 

for what is now Music Row. 

Among VIPs on hand for Harold’s retrospective 

were AFM’s President Thomas 

F. Lee and Secretary-Treasurer Sam Folio; 

Teresa E. Gafford, Secretary, Washington, 

D.C. Local 161-710; Michael 

Largarticha, President, Honolulu Local 

677; Oklahoma City Local 375-703’s 

President Joe Settlemires and Secretary 

Donna Settlemires; Houston Local 65-699 

Secretary-Treasurer Lovie Smith-Schenk; 

guitarist Duane Eddy, all-time #1 Rock & 

Roll instrumentalist; acclaimed studio 

steel guitarist Lloyd Green; songwriter 

Bob Tubert, creator of classics like 

“You’re the Only World I Know”; former 

label chief Jim Foglesong, a Country 

Music Hall of Famer (who signed Garth 

Brooks to Capitol Records); Patsy Bradley, 

Senior Director, BMI’s writer-pub- 

Symphony celebrates its new home 

What’s important is that the Nashville 

Symphony Orchestra now has a new 

home, one its musicians could hardly 

imagine two decades back. 

In February 1985, the symphonic players 

went out on strike, and it was scarcely 

three years later they faced bankruptcy. 

Theirs is a glorious comeback, culminating 

in a $123.5 million Schermerhorn 

Symphony Center, with its VIP ribboncutting 

ceremony Sept. 7, and a glittering 

Sept. 9 grand opening to rival a Broadway 

first night or a Hollywood premiere. 

“This is a night to remember for the 

rest of our lives,” stated Martha Rivers 

Ingram,” NSO board chairman. “In the 

long history of Nashville’s quest for excellence 

in the arts, during which it has 

faced and overcome many struggles, the 

opening of Schermerhorn Symphony 

Center will surely stand as a watershed 

event - a moment that quite literally sets 

in stone our city’s commitment to realizing 

its destiny for greatness.” 

Amidst the splendor of the Saturday 

night gala, for which tickets were $2,500 

a piece, thousands of first-nighters, garbed 

in designer gowns and tuxedos, admired 

fellow guests on the red carpet, reveled in 

the majestic surroundings of the $123.5 

million neo-classical structure, and raved 

over the performances by NSO, conducted 

by new Music Advisor Leonard 

Slatkin, that included a premiere of the 

exotic Triple Concerto for Banjo, Double 

Bass & Tabla by Béla Fleck, Zakir 

Hussain and Edgar Meyer, who stood out 

in his bright red suspenders. (Co-commissioned 

by NSO and the acoustic designer 

Akustiks, Inc., the concerto’s dedicated to 

the interconnecting musical influences 

(Continued on page 2) 

lisher administration; Bill Pursell, professor 

and pianist, who scored the 1963 pop 

Top 10 instrumental “Our Winter Love”; 

and Nashville Local 257’s Secretary- 

Treasurer Billy Linneman. 

“Would everybody that’s kin to me 

please stand up,” grinned Bradley, upon 

which the first two rows arose as one. 

Among these were wife Eleanor, a former 

water ski champion, daughters Beverly 

and Bari, their families, niece Patsy, and 

Harold’s brother Bobby Bradley, whose 

son Bobby Jr. is a noted studio engineer. 

Bradley, of course, has been Local 

257’s President 15 years, and is a charter 

member of Music City’s celebrated A 

Team of session players, who helped to 

establish Nashville as a premier worldwide 

recording center. 

“When I was 16, I joined the union in 

1942,” acknowledged Bradley, explaining 

this enabled him to play guitar in big 

brother Owen’s bands, initially as a replacement 

picker. 

Genial host Bill Lloyd, serving as 

moderator for the monthly “Nashville 

Cats” sessions, noted that Harold’s was 

third in a series premiering with steel 

guitarist Lloyd Green, followed by harmonica 

whiz Charlie McCoy. 

Guitar Player magazine hailed Bradley 

as the most recorded guitarist in the 

world. That tells only a part of the Brad- 


CM Hall of Fame 

claims Bradley, 

James and Strait 

On Aug. 30, the Country Music Association 

announced the annual CMA 

awards nominees in New York City and 

Nashville, and also revealed the newest 

inductees into the Country Music Hall of 

Fame. 

Local 257 Life Members Harold Bradley 

and Sonny James were voted among 

the Class of 2006 Hall of Famers, along 

with Texas-based vocalist George Strait, 


Nashville Association of Musicians 

P.O. Box 120399 

Nashville, TN 37212-0399 

- Address Service Requested - 

What’s Inside? 

‘Bionic 

Bryan’ 

brings 

his heroes 

onto his 

new CD 

. . . Page 18 

Leona 

Williams 

and 

Ferlin 

Husky 

tell their 

stories . . . 

He, page 22; 

She, page 25 

New Local 257 members of 

Heartland begin their #1 

country music journey . . . 

Page 27 

See Union Rally pix . . . Page 12 

Hundreds gather at Legislative 

Plaza to protest NLRB rulings! 

See President Bradley’s column 

Local 257’s leader recalls ICSOM 

meeting here in August, his AFM Lifetime 

Achievement honor, Country Hall of 

Fame induction, and recent Las Vegas trip, 

among other happenings . . . See page 3 

Members meet, Dec. 7, 2006 

Musicians of AFM Local 257 are encouraged 

to attend the next scheduled 

General Membership Meeting, 6:30 p.m. 

Thursday, Dec. 7, in the George W. Cooper 

Jr. Hall at the union headquarters, 11 

Music Circle North, on Music Row. 

Agenda items include an overview of 

Local 257’s financial status, and new business 

of getting your ideas on putting together 

a successful campaign for recruiting 

new members. 

For further details, regarding the next 

meeting and its agenda, call (615) 244- 

9514, ext. 224. 

Nonprofit 

U.S. Postage 

PAID 

Franklin, TN 

Permit No. 357

2 The Nashville Musician October-December 2006 

. . . Schermerhorn Symphony Center officially opens 

NSO Music Advisor Leonard Slatkin. 

(Continued from page 1) 

found in Nashville.) 

Among those interviewed on the red carpet 

by various media types were singer 

Crystal Gayle, her trailing five-foot tresses 

giving a new meaning to long-hair; Dollar 

General heir Steve Turner, sporting a 

rhinestoned-emblazoned cutaway denim 

jacket designed by Manuel that would be 

the envy of Porter Wagoner; disco queen 

Donna Summer and husband Bruce 

Sudano; TV’s Nashville Star Search talent 

judge Anastasia Brown in a Christian Dior 

original, on the arm of producer-label chief 

husband Tony Brown; singer Trisha 

Yearwood and high-profile hubby Garth 

Brooks, wearing tuxedo jacket with black 

jeans; dapper Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell; 

television host Meryll Rose; songbirds Amy 

Grant and Vince Gill; and Governor Phil 

Bredesen and wife Andrea Conte. 

“The success of the Nashville Symphony 

has multiplied exponentially in recent 

years,” noted Alan Valentine, President & 

CEO of NSO, now in its 60th year. “Currently 

one of the most active recording orchestras 

in the world, it is earning critical 

acclaim around the globe, including multiple 

Grammy nominations. It is attracting 

the country’s finest musicians to its auditions. 

It is performing for the nation via radio 

and TV broadcasts. It is playing to 

packed houses on tour. Today, the Nashville 

Symphony is internationally-recognized 

and respected. And there is no end in sight.” 

Patrons welcomed the opening Festive 

Overture (Opus 96) by Dmitri 

Shostakovich, which gave them their first 

inkling of what an acoustic marvel the Laura 

Turner Concert Hall truly is. From our vantage 

point we couldn’t spot an empty seat 

in the 1,860-capacity house named in honor 

of Dollar General’s First Lady, but everybody 

there joined in a standing ovation for 

the orchestra’s performance under the 

steady hand of Maestro Slatkin. 

After his thank you, the conductor 

greeted the receptive crowd: “Welcome to 

our home. It’s been a long time coming for 

Nashville.” 

At the conclusion of the intermission, 

however, most didn’t realize it, but the 

unique bit of attention-getting music played 

Frederica von Stade 

on chimes was conceived and recorded by 

the late NSO Conductor Kenneth 

Schermerhorn for opening night in the magnificent 

building bearing his name. Slatkin 

also said that the late conductor had planned 

most of the evening’s program prior to his 

April 18, 2005 death. 

Following intermission, NSO performed 

American composer Samuel Barber’s Essay 

No. 2, Opus 17, and then rendered 

Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor 

“Resurrection,” with its soaring solos 

by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, and 

soprano Janice Chandler-Etemé. Another of 

the evening’s wonders was the exceptional 

Nashville Symphony Chorus, which joined 

the singers in a Scherzo finale featuring offstage 

brass to bring the performance to a 

fulfilling climax. 

Throughout the presentation one could 

sense the extraordinary energy pulsating 

through the players, proud to be part of such 

a breathtaking endeavor, a truly milestone 

event for the 81-member NSO - and Music 

City USA. 

Laura Turner Hall, of course, was a collaborative 

effort among the architecture, theater 

planning and acoustic design teams. Designed 

by David M. Schwarz/Architectural 

Services, Inc., Akustiks, and Fisher Dachs 

Associates, the 197,000-square-foot Symphony 

Center is the crowning jewel among 

Nashville’s great performance gems. 

Formerly while located in crowded 

TPAC, the musicians didn’t have access to 

the type of conveniences offered in their new 

surroundings, including a huge warm-up 

room, a semi-quiet lounge, a quiet lounge 

and, of course, lockers in which to secure 

their belongings. 

Janice Chandler-Eteme 

Following dinner, first-nighters returned 

to Turner Hall to enjoy one of the Symphony 

Center’s most distinctive features: the convertible 

flat-floor system, which allows for 

a huge cabarat-style room. NSO Director of 

Pops Albert-George Schram conducted the 

Symphony for dancing on the converted 

floor, serenading listeners with Strauss 

waltzes. Afterwards, the 11-piece Craig 

Duncan Orchestra continued to play for latenight 

dancers. 

Co-chairs for the opening night gala 

were Julie Boehm and Ellen Martin. Sponsored 

by Ingram Industries, the premiere 

evening’s earnings help fund NSO’s future 

programs. Currently, NSO schedules more 

than 200 concerts, including pops, classical 

and children’s fare. 

A splendid follow-up to the opening gala 

the next night boasted a pair of the gospel 

world’s brightest stars Amy Grant and 

Michael W. Smith, sharing the stage with 

pop-country diva LeAnn Rimes, Grand Ole 

Opry great Vince Gill, violin virtuoso Ruth 

McInnis, the Symphony and guest conductor 

David Hamilton, in an eclectic presentation 

(see concert review page 34), serving 

as the hall’s first paid public performance 

(with tickets ranging from $50 to $250, or 

higher for diners). 

Two earlier invitation-only concerts 

were rendered, however; the first in appreciation 

for the building’s construction workers 

(and their families) as they neared 

The trio in rehearsal. 

completion of the three-year project; and 

then on Sept. 1, only days before the official 

opening, twin-preview concerts for area 

students, in tune with the NSO’s ongoing 

commitment to music education, and which 

included selections from Aaron Copland’s 

Rodeo and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Cappriccio 

espagnol. 

A Free Day of Music scheduled Oct. 7, 

is a way to connect with the community, 

creating greater public awareness of the 

Schermerhorn Symphony Center and its 

programs. (Its co-sponsors are NSO and 

AmSouth Bank.) 

In addition to the contemporary opening 

night commissioned concerto by Fleck, 

Meyer and Hussain, there are two other 

works being commissioned for premiere 

performances by the Symphony early in 

2007: Philip Glass’ The Passion of 

Ramakrishna and Michael Daugherty’s 

Concerto For Piano. 

(Editor’s note: We would like to acknowledge 

NSO Director of Media Relations 

Christy Crytzer’s invaluable assistance 

in letting us cover this major event.) 

- Walt Trott 

Martha Rivers Ingram 

DON HASTY IGNATZ 

Public Accounting 

Computerized Bookkeeping 

and Tax Preparation 

Suite LL-20 

2200 21st Avenue South 

Nashville, TN 37212 

Tel: (615) 385-5224 

Leonard Slatkin named NSO 

Music Advisor, as a search 

continues for Music Director 

Leonard Slatkin, whose credentials are 

world class, was appointed Music Advisor 

of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Aug. 

23, for the next three years. 

The internationally-known conductor is 

also currently Music Director of the National 

Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., 

and serves as Principal Guest Conductor for 

both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the 

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. 

“We are thrilled and honored to have 

Leonard Slatkin as our Music Advisor,” 

noted Alan D. Valentine, NSO President and 

CEO. “Leonard worked with our orchestra 

for the first time in June, and quickly brought 

their performance to a whole new level. We 

jumped at the opportunity to share the expertise 

of one of the world’s greatest conductors 

and believe the collaboration will 

have a lasting impact, shaping the direction 

our orchestra takes in the coming years.” 

Maestro Slatkin, son of renowned violinist-conductor 

Felix Slatkin and cellist 

Eleanor Aller, is married to soprano Linda 

Hohenfeld and is father to their son David. 

“One of the greatest pleasures in recent 

memory for me was to spend several days 

with the Nashville Symphony,” said Slatkin. 

“This outstanding ensemble has a sense of 

direction and purpose. Their music-making 

is of the highest level and their commitment 

to excellence extends from the stage 

to the management. I am thrilled to have 

the opportunity to assist in these crucial 

years of transition, and I look forward to our 

collaborations over these next three years.” 

Following his tenure as Music Director 

for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra 

(1979-’96), Slatkin was named Conductor 

Laureate. The American-born musician (he 

plays piano and violin) was Chief Conductor 

of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London 

(2000-’04), after having served as Festival 

Director of the Cleveland Orchestra’s 

Blossom Festival nine years, and was Principal 

Guest Conductor of their Philharmonia 

Orchestra. 

In Nashville, his most significant assignment 

since assuming his Music Advisory 

role was conducting the NSO in a gala opening 

night performance in the Schermerhorn 

Symphony Center’s Laura Turner Concert 

Hall, Saturday, Sept. 9. 

Slatkin’s appearances have included performing 

with such celebrated musical contingents 

as the Berlin Philharmonic, the New 

York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony 

Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra 

of Amsterdam in The Netherlands, as 

well as with distinguished opera companies, 

among them the Metropolitan Opera in New 

York City, Lyric Opera in Chicago, the 

Washington National Opera, and the Vienna 

State Opera in Austria. 

This year’s dual wins for his recording 

“Bolcom: Songs of Innocence And of Experience” 

brings his Grammy total to seven. 

The Los Angeles-born conductor is founder- 


Symphony CEO Alan Valentine continues the 

search for a Music Director to succeed the late 

maestro Kenneth Schermerhorn (with Alan above).

October-December 2006 The Nashville Musician 3 

Dear Members: 

Time sure flies when you’re having fund 

or traveling on the road . . . 

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of both of 

the above. 

A fun event for me was to give the welcoming 

speech to the ICSOM Conference. 

We are privileged to have Laura Ross serving 

as ICSOM Secretary. Also serving for 

the first time as the ICSOM Delegate was 

Lee Levine. 

It was my pleasure to welcome the 

ICSOM officers and delegates to Nashville 

and give them some of Nashville’s rich historical 

background. 

A very special event was the ICSOM 

tour and dinner served at the Schermerhorn 

Symphony Center. Our ICSOM guests were 

extremely impressed with the Center, and 

we were extremely proud to show it off. 

Local 257 was the official host of the 

Conference, and we were well-represented 

by Dan Lochrie and Brad Mansell, who did 

yeomen work on our behalf. 

Another fun event that my wife and I 

attended was the Amy Grant pops concert 

(for our review, see page 34). Amy and her 

guests Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes and 

Michael W. Smith and the Nashville Symphony 

gave a memorable musical concert, 

which was well-received by an appreciative 

audience. Amy has been a huge supporter 

of the Symphony, and she gave a great performance 

in the very first pops concert in 

Schermerhorn Symphony Center. 

On Aug. 19, 2006, the Country Music 

Foundation & Museum paid tribute to me 

in its Nashville Cats series. 

I was interviewed by Bill Lloyd of the 

Foundation, who did a brilliant job of keeping 

the program moving, and still hitting the 

high spots of my 60 years as a recording 

musician. 

AFM International President Tom Lee; 

AFM International Secretary-Treasurer Sam 

Poster photo and two at right 

by Bari (Bradley) Brooks 

A Reminder! 

Attend the next General 

Membership Meeting, 

6 :30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7 

in George Cooper Jr. Hall. 

President’s 

Report 

By 

Harold R. Bradley 

Folio; Washington, D.C. Local 161-710 

Secretary Teresa E. Gafford; Houston Local 

65-699 President Lovie Smith-Schenk; 

Oklahoma City, Okla. Local 375-703 President 

Joe Settlemires, and Local 375-703’s 

Secretary-Treasurer Donna Settlemires; and 

Honolulu, Hawaii Local 677 President 

Michael Largarticha were all present. 

On Aug. 30, 2006, I was introduced at 

a press conference as an inductee into the 

Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a real 

surprise and I was completely unaware that 

I would be the second studio musician to 

be elected to the Country Music Hall of 

Fame. The first was Floyd Cramer, a Local 

257member for many years. Every three 

years the recording musicians/road musicians 

category will be included on the Hall 

of Fame ballot. 

I hope the CMA’s recognition of recording 

musicians and road musicians will open 

the door for all Local 257 members and I 

accept this honor on behalf of all members 

of Local257, and I hope you will share in 

my joy. 

Oct. 11, 2006 found me in Las Vegas 

for a one-day meeting to address membership 

in the AFM. 

Secretary-Treasurer Billy Linneman 

and I will be discussing a membership drive 

with you in the near future. 

Well, I’ve had enough fun for today, 

until next time . . . Stay tuned. 

Harold R. Bradley 

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 

Harold accepts AFM Lifetime Achievement Award 

from AFM President Thomas F. Lee, Aug. 19 at 

Nashville Cats’ salute in the Hall’s Ford Theater. 

3 to Songwriters’ Hall of Fame 

Local 257 member Jeffrey Steele has 

been named best songwriter of 2006 by the 

Nashville Songwriters Association International 

(NSAI). Hits in 2006 by Steele include 

“Something To Be Proud Of” (Montgomery 

Gentry) and “What Hurts the Most” 

(Rascal Flatts). 

Votes for NSAI Artist/Songwriter of 

’06, resulted in a tie: Toby Keith, whose successes 

were “As Good As I Once Was” and 

“A Little Too Late”; and Phil Vassar, writer 

of “Last Day Of My Life” and “Good Ole 

Days.” The year’s best song is: “Jesus Take 

the Wheel” co-written by Brett James, 

Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson. 

Jimmy Buffett, Hugh Prestwood and 

Jim Weatherly are this year’s inductees into 

the Nashville Songwriters Foundation and 

NSAI’s Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

What’s this all about? 

For details about podcaster Wichita’s 

brand new e-book, “The Bluegrass Way,” 

read page 32. 

During Nashville Cats series, Aug.19, at the Country Music Hall of Fame, host Bill Lloyd 

and studio veteran Harold Bradley chat (above), and then do some pickin’ (below). 

Vol. MMVI, No. 4 

October-December 2006 

The 

Nashville 

Musician 

Official Quarterly Journal of 

The Non-Profit Union 

Nashville Association of Musicians, 

American Federation of Musicians Local 257 

(c) 2006 The Nashville Association of Musicians 

P.O. Box 120399, Nashville TN 37212 

ISBN 0-9632684-1-4 

NEWSPAPER STAFF 

Harold R. Bradley, Publisher 

Billy Linneman, EIC 

Walt Trott, Editor 

Sherri Dickerson, Advertising 

Kathy Shepard, Photographer 

LOCAL 257 

Harold R. Bradley, President 

Billy Linneman, Secretary-Treasurer 

Otto Bash, Sergeant-at-Arms 

Assistant to the President 

Laura Ross 

Assistant to Secretary-Treasurer 

& Office Manager 

Sherri Dickerson 

Executive Board 

Bobby Ogdin 

Dave Pomeroy 

Laura Ross 

Denis Solee 

Bruce Bouton 

Mike Brignardello 

Andy Reiss 

Hearing Board 

Wm. (Tiger) Fitzhugh 

Kathy Shepard 

Buddy Edmundson 

Danny O’Lannerghty 

Jim Grosjean 

Jeff King 

Tim Smith 

Hearing Board Clerk 

Anita Winstead 

Trustees 

B. James Lowry 

Paul Leim 

Shop Stewards 

Laura Ann Ross, 

Nashville Symphony 

Live Engagement 

Services Division 

Kathy Shepard, Supervisor 

Laura Ann Ross, Assistant 

Anita Winstead, Assistant 

Electronic Media 

Services Division 

Melissa Hamby Meyer, Director 

Teri Barnett, Assistant 

Shana Allen 

Mandy Arostegui 

Christie Allen 

Tyler Allen 

MPF Coordinators 

Kathy Shepard 

Anita Winstead 

Business Agent 

Kathy Shepard 

Front Office 

Arleigh Barnett 

Janet Butler 

www.afm257.org 

All material intended for publication should be directed to The 

Nashville Musician, P.O. Box 120399, Nashville TN 37212 (office 

location: 11 Music Circle North, Nashville TN 37203) Telephone 

[615] 244-9514; Fax [615] 259-9140. The Nashville Musician 

assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to 

unsolicitated articles, photographs or artwork. Readers who submit 

editorial materials should enclose a self-addressed return envelope 

with proper postage. All rights reserved. This work may 

not be reproduced or copied in any form, stored in a retrieval 

system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, 

mechanical, photocopies, recording or otherwise, without prior 

permission of Publisher, EIC or Editor. 

A good suggestion 

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Secretary- 

Treasurer’s 

Report 

By Billy Linneman 

It’s really easy for me to start out my column congratulating Harold Bradley 

as a new inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Then we have the 

great Sonny James. What can we say! Two of the three inductees are longtime 

members of our Local. Congratulations!!! The third inductee, George Strait, 

records here and is an AFM member at Local 433 in Austin. 

TIME CARDS ARE THE LOCAL’S TIME CARDS, NOT THE 

SIGNATORY’S TIME CARD. 

We are accommodating in providing multiple copies of the time card. ONE 

of the copies can be given to the signatory, one for the leader/contractor, and 

one for the Local. The time card needs to be in at the union not less than 48 

hours after the session date. If you get any arguments from anyone representing 

the employer, please ask them to read the language within the mid-upper 

block. Then tell them you will get into trouble if you don’t return them to the 

union. We will soon start enforcing this, as this is one of the reasons why you 

are being paid late and this is one of the reasons why we are having trouble 

collecting late payments. Employers have figured this out and are trying to use 

this to their advantage! 

NO SIGNATORY---NO PENSION 

If there is no signatory in place, your pension money will eventually be 

returned to the non-signatory company--The Company that you should not 

have been working for in the first place--and not be credited to you. Remember 

that for any work done off the card that you will be missing approximately 

50% of the scale wages in pension. In other words, for every $100.00 of scale, 

you will in the future also be getting around $50.00 back in your pension. Do 

you want to work for $100.00 or $150.00? It really seems like a no-brainer, but 

every time you work off the card that is what you are cheating yourself (and 

others) out of. I know several musicians that have retired and received their 

pension, but know they could have doubled that amount by helping get work 

put on the card. With our menu of scales, there is NO reason for any work to be 

off the card or contract--INCLUDING ANY CASUAL DATE OR CLUB JOB! 

I know that I am sounding like a broken record but membership is not doing 

any better on this issue and it is COSTING YOU, both in office personnel time 

and directly with your pension! 

WE ARE BOYCOTTING DELTA AIRLINES 

The AFM continues to boycott Delta Airlines because of their policy on 

musical instruments. Just because they let you through here at the Nashville 

Airport (I understand that they are sometimes not letting instruments go 

through), don’t assume they will at other airports. Before you book a ticket on 

any airline make sure that you can take your instrument on board! 

DO NOT WORK FOR PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE ON EITHER 

OUR OR THE FEDERATION’S “DO NOT WORK FOR” LIST! 

Some of our Local people are probably not aware they are on this list (see 

page 10). We would appreciate it if you would bring it to their attention, so that 

we could work that out. 

Good news is that we are slowly catching up on our finances. My goal is to 

be caught up by the end of this office term, 2008. This naturally assumes that 

everything stays at the present pace of business. 

See you at the next General Membership Meeting on Thursday, December 

7, 2006 at 6:30 P.M. at the Local. 

Sincerely and Fraternally, 

Billy Linneman 

Local 257 Secretary-Treasurer Billy Linneman, seen at the Country Music Hall of Fame Aug. 19 

Nashville Cats’ salute to Harold Bradley, with Local 257 member Teresa E. Gafford, who is also 

Secretary, Washington, D.C. Local 161-710. 

Studio fiddler Jim Unger succumbs at 52 

Jim Unger, 52, of Madison, Tenn., died 

from a heart attack Sept. 25. A session fiddler, 

Unger also played mandolin, and was 

a former bandleader for Billy (Crash) 

Craddock. 

James Richard Unger, Jr., son of Christine 

and James Unger, was born July 20, 

1954 in Martinsburg, W. Va. He was a fifth 

generation fiddler, whose father’s friends included 

Vassar Clements and Buddy Spicher. 

“Jim started playing when he was about 

10 years old,” says his widow Melissa. “His 

idols were Johnny Gimble and Dale Potter. 

He left home at 17 to play music in the 

Washington, D.C. area for about a year.” 

She explains that Jim’s Grandfather 

Unger had cut records for RCA, “way back 

before he lost his life in a mining accident.” 

Jim Jr. graduated from high school in 

1972. He was versatile in his playing, and 

once performed with a bluegrass band, the 

Trinity Mountain Boys. 

It was during the 1980s, however, that 

Jim moved to Nashville. According to Melissa, 

he worked about seven years with 

Craddock, who had such hits as “Knock 

Three Times,” “Rub It In” and “Broken 

Down in Tiny Pieces.” 

In the mid-1980s, Jim was working in 

Beaumont, Texas, in a band with Local 257 

picker Mark Nesler, when Melissa met him. 

“Did you know a fellow named Bill Starnes? 

Well, he managed the band, Texas Tradition 

down there . . . ” 

Melissa and Jim were wed in 1990. 

Hearing Board meeting’s 

minutes - May 23, 2006 

8:40 a.m. - Meeting convened with 

swearing in of Hearing Board member Tim 

Smith. 

Present: Board Members Buddy 

Edmundson, Tiger Fitzhugh, Jim Grosjean, 

Jeff King, Kathy Shepard, Tim Smith and 

Hearing Board Clerk Anita Winstead. 

Discussion of Feb. 14, 2006 minutes. 

MSC to approve Feb. 14, 2006 minutes. 

8:50 a.m. - Members charged with violations 

of Article II, Section 4 of Local 257 

By-Laws: 

MSC to fine Justin Niebank $10 for failure 

to pay work dues and $25 for not appearing 

before the Hearing Board; 

MSC to fine Michael Ripoli $20 for failure 



MSC to fine Kurt Goebel $30 for failure 



MSC to fine Guthrie Trapp, Hank Singer 

and Pat Coil $40 for failure to pay work dues 

and $25 for not appearing before the Hearing 

Board. 

The next Hearing Board meeting will be 

8:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 25. 

9:05 a.m. - MSC to adjourn. 

“He did all kinds of studio work,” she 

continues. “Mainly Jim played fiddle, but 

he also played mandolin and once in a while 

did a little back-up singing.” 

A few of the numerous artists Jim 

worked the road with in their bands, were 

Ray Price, Johnny Paycheck and Doug 

Stone. 

More recently, Melissa points out, her 

husband was participating in a show in 

Vienna, Va., where . . . “His parents came 

down to see him and I was so grateful, because 

it had been awhile since they heard 

him play. I think they all enjoyed that.” 

Survivors include Melissa; his father 

James Unger, Sr., who lives in Martinsburg; 

step-son Heath Parrish; step-daughter 

Heather Thomason; grandchildren Briana 

and Ethon; and a sister Kimmie Unger of 

Martinsburg. Funeral services were held 

Sept. 29 at Cole & Garrett Funeral Home in 

suburban Goodlettsville, Tenn., with The 

Reverends Harry Yates and Ray Hughes officiating. 

- Walt Trott 

Jim Unger, Jr. 

Members notice . . . 

You can help the AFM promote 

people to Congress who are interested 

in musicians’ issues. Donate 

now to the AFM Tempo Fund. 

Eddie W. 

JACKSON 

C.P.A. 

Professional Corporation 

Eddie Jackson & Associates 

Airport Executive Plaza 

Suite 600 

1218 Murfreesboro Rd. 


OFFICE 360-8787 

& FAX 360-8795


Can you believe that . . . we’re winding 

up another year! So, as we are getting 

ready to jump in the leaves, and head into 

the holidays, let’s catch up a little with 

what’s been going on. 

First of all, I want to talk about my last 

column. I got a lot of response from y’all 

on that one. I did a whole lot of complaining 

about the fact so many of the checks 

that came through here for the CMA Music 

Festival were for non-members. A lot 

of these checks were for engagements 

played with a combination of members and 

non-members (a violation of the By-Laws). 

I pointed out that a lot of man-hours are 

spent here in the office by Anita and I, in 

the Live Engagement Services department, 

and also by Janet and Arleigh at the front 

desk, for non-members. 

From calls and comments from a lot 

of you, that is disturbing. It is now October 

and time is still spent here on nonmembers 

concerning those checks. Many 

of them are returned (i.e. bad addresses, 

etc.) or never picked up. The system is 

purged now and then, and those checks that 

are still here have to be found in the files, 

picked up in the system, and mailed to 

these non-members. This is more time and 

money (postage) spent. OK people, we 

really need to make some changes. 

Don’t work with non-members! If you 

find out that you are working with nonmembers, 

try to get that person to join this 

Local. If we take a stand for what is right 

here, we can make a difference. 

As a member here . . . and also an employee 

. . . I don’t like paying myself to 

work for non-members. That doesn’t make 

sense. 

Happy 25th anniversary to the Nashville 

String Machine! Carol and Carl 

Gorodetzky generate a lot of work for some 

of our members. Congratulations to them, 

and continued success. (See page 34.) 

So far this year, we have used up a lot 

more of the funds allocated to this Local 

from the Music Performance Fund. This 

is because more of you have been hustling 

to get the performances. Keep in mind that 

the percentage paid by the co-sponsor is 

still at 10 per cent for grade schools and 

middle schools, and 25 per cent for high 

schools. We don’t know how long this will 

be in effect. Hospitals and nursing homes 

are 50 per cent and all others are 60 per 

cent. 

And speaking of Music Performance 

Fund jobs, recently (Sept. 21) blues singerproducer-guitarist-educator 

James T. 

Nixon was the leader for a performance at 

Cloverbottom. For those who are not aware 

of what Cloverbottom is, it’s a facility for 

mentally-handicapped individuals. Performing 

there can be a bit depressing, as it 

can be at some of the nursing homes, etc., 

or depending on your attitude, it can be a 

“feel good” experince. Also the pay is live 

concert scale, which is a pretty low 

amount; so sadly, a lot of our members 

don’t want these jobs. 

Anyway, one of the musicians who 

Live 

Engagement 

Services 

By Kathy Shepard 

worked that particular job with James 

(a.k.a. Nick of The New Imperials) was 

Nashville native Bobby Hebb. For those 

of you who aren’t familiar with him, Bobby 

wrote and recorded the million-seller 

“Sunny” (which went to #2 on Billboard 

in 1966) and “Natural Man” (a Top 20 

single for Lou Rawls in 1971). I think that 

is so cool that James and Bobby Hebb 

played at Cloverbottom. 

On Nov. 9, Paul Ross’ group, The 

Kadillacs, will be performing at the Granny 

White Park in Brentwood between 12:30 

p.m. - 3 p.m. This performance will be a 

“welcome home” celebration for the 1st 

Battalion of the 327th Infantry Regiment 

of the 101st Airborne Division, returning 

from Iraq. 

The city of Brentwood adopted “E” 

Company last year when they were deployed 

to Iraq, and since that time has been 

sending packages of supplies, sundries and 

assorted entertainment (DVDs, CDs, etc.) 

to the troops in Iraq. There will be a parade 

through town before the concert. This 

concert is funded 100 per cent by the Music 

Performance Fund. Please put this date 

on your calendar. 

We have recently lost member, past 

employee and dear friend Carolyn Austin. 

When she retired several years ago, I inherited 

“keeping dog biscuits” in my office. 

She will be remembered. (See page 

8.) 

May all of you be happy and healthy. 

’Til next time . . . . . . . Kathy Shepard 

Hara Hackett and daughter Sophia. 

Phyllis Sparks and ‘Fiona.’ 

Member Randy Ford performs with student at W.O. Smith School of Music Camp. (- Teresa Hargrove photo) 

President Bradley presents a 25-year 

member’s pin to Tom Wild. 

Curtis Burch accepts his 25-year pin. 

- Photos by Kathy Shepard - 

(7) 

Next General Membership 

Meeting is at 

6:30 p.m. Thursday, 

Dec. 7, at the Union Hall! 

Call in Off-The-Cuff recording 

sessions anonymously to 

(615) 244-9514, Ext. 225. 

President presents Life Member 

pin to Zeke King. 

Jason Hutcheson receives 25-year pin. 

Andrew and Mary Ann Heller 

at Local 257 with pet ‘Cocoa.’ 

R each thousands 

with 

your message . . . 

Call Ad Director 

Sherri Dickerson 

at 

(615) 244-9514, 

Extension 240


Symphony 

Notes 

By Laura Ross 

Nashville Symphony 

Shop Steward 

Where do I begin? 

I guess I should begin where I left off, 

which was the end of a grueling season. By 

the time the orchestra heads into its summer 

hiatus, many are tired and perhaps a 

bit cranky and just looking forward to a vacation. 

This last season was no exception 

and in fact was harder by far than any summer 

season the orchestra has faced in years. 

In addition to our regular summer fare – 

Beethoven Festival concerts, July 4, summer 

parks concerts – the orchestra had numerous 

“tuning” services with large works 

of orchestral repertoire (Stravinsky, 

Bruckner, Mahler, etc.) to allow the orchestra 

to begin getting a feel for the new hall. 

Guest conductors were brought in and so 

were audiences. 

Additionally, three works by Joan Tower 

were scheduled during a week’s visit by the 

National Symphony’s Music Director 

Leonard Slatkin. These works were performed 

in a “hard hat” concert for all the 

construction workers, their families and 

support staff and then we spent a day and a 

half recording them for Naxos. Following 

that, the orchestra was in front of TV cameras 

for the annual July 4th concert. We took 

on bugs, temperature issues (a blazing 94 

degrees at 7:30 p.m., the highest temperature 

possible before calling off a service, 

according to our contract), traffic, and noise 

... incredible noise, I might add. 

Plus the orchestra also dealt with the 

devastating news that one of our 1st violinists 

had been diagnosed with cancer (she 

has my admiration for the way she continues 

coming to work following chemo sessions 

that would wipe out any other person). 

Then there was the sudden death of 

our assistant librarian at age 28. Add to this 

a music director search, where nothing is 

constant and instead we are faced with a 

changing parade of candidates with good 

and bad traits, all for us to evaluate. 

As I said, we could hardly wait for a 

break! Unfortunately, the day before I was 

to set off for Chicago and Virginia on my 

vacation, our concertmaster of 17 years and 

a member of the NSO for more than 22 

years (including a stint when she was in high 

school), had her contract terminated for Just 

Cause. Her musical ability and performance 

skills were never at issue. Instead, management 

made allegations without proof, and 

fired her. The union completely supports 

Mary Kathryn’s reinstatement in the orchestra 

and firmly stands by the charges that the 

master agreement was violated. An arbitration 

date has been set for Nov. 28, 2006. 

Upon my return to Nashville, NSO cellist 

and orchestra committee co-chair Brad 

Mansell (who served as ICSOM conference 

coordinator and host) and I began setting 

plans in motion for the conference the NSO 

and Local 257 hosted Aug. 16-19 – the International 

Conference of Symphony and 

Opera Musicians (ICSOM). The conference 

was held at the Hilton, right across the street 

from the new Schermerhorn Symphony 

Center. As a special treat the traditional 

ICSOM mixer became much more than the 

norm. Delegates, ICSOM/AFM/Local officers 

and staff, Local 257 Executive Board 

members, NSO members and guests, were 

treated to a tour of the facility (it was still 

three weeks away from the grand opening). 

They also witnessed the transition of the 

audience floor from raked seating to a flat 

floor appropriate for table seating. Even 

orchestra members had not seen this in action 

– very cool! Following the tour, guests 

were served a selection of wine, beer and 

beverages and were then led to the West 

Lobby (where the cafe and garden are currently 

situated) for a wonderful dinner for 

130! 

My thanks to Local 257 and the Nashville 

Symphony for covering the cost of the 

dinner and to the Nashville Symphony Players’ 

Assembly for providing the entertainment 

that evening, including our own Executive 

Board member Denis Solee. AFM 

President Tom Lee sat in with the band at 

one point (something I’ve witnessed many 

times in my years of attendance at ROPA 

and ICSOM conferences). Needless to say, 

our colleagues from across the country are 

quite envious of our new digs and had glowing 

words about the hospitality they received 

while in Nashville. They’re even 

coming to our defense! Recently former 

Tennessean staff writer Kevin Nance wrote 

a piece on the architecture of “The Horn” 

(thank you Kenny Barnd) for the Chicago 

Tribune and “let rip” on the design of the 

building. As soon as my colleague in the 

Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra and Grant 

Park Symphony read that article, she fired 

back a letter describing what a delight the 

hall was, how well everyone was treated, 

etc. Others have also responded from all 

over the country expressing their enthusiasm 

regarding our new home. And you 

know what? We like it too! 

The business of the ICSOM conference 

included a number of workshops on contract 

administration, a mock arbitration 

panel hearing, bankruptcy, a discussion 

about the application of the new federal law 

– Sarbanes-Oxley – and its application to 

non-profit board membership, orchestra reports 

and various AFM and player conference 

addresses. The new public relations 

consultant for locals, Barbara Haig, was also 

in attendance. The conference continues to 

find more ways to explore opportunities for 

orchestra delegates to talk together about issues 

of common interest. There was also a 

change in leadership as Bruce Ridge, a bass 

player with the North Carolina Symphony 

was elected ICSOM’s 10th chairman, replacing 

outgoing Chairman Jan Gippo. 

Brian Rood returned after a one-year hiatus 

as ICSOM’s new President. The membership 

of the governing board is quite diverse 

and includes Big 5 orchestras as well as midrange 

budget orchestras in ICSOM – those 

orchestras represented are: North Carolina, 

Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, 

Dallas, Atlanta, San Diego and Minnesota. 

ICSOM is dedicating itself to projecting 

a more positive message about the 

state of the orchestra industry in our communities 

and in the media. 

The orchestra returned to work the last 

week of August (a week earlier than is usually 

allowed by the contract) immediately 

following the announcement that Leonard 

Slatkin had been named Music Advisor of 

the orchestra for the next three years. It 

seems there was mutual admiration back in 

June when we were together and Leonard 

plans to have a very hands-on approach 

during his tenure. The orchestra had to find 

its way without a music director and 

Leonard’s presence will add a lot of direction 

we were missing last year. He has already 

had a great meeting with the orchestra 

committee and my colleagues and I look 

forward to working with him very much. 

The first two weeks were a flurry of rehearsals, 

concerts, TV tapings, gatherings 

to salute Martha Ingram and the ribbon-cutting 

ceremony, plus just getting settled in 

our new home – two lockers and a place to 

keep some stuff! The concert went very well 

and many of my friends tell me they 

watched the concert on NPT as it was broadcast 

live (it will be repackaged and broadcast 

on PBS later this fall). Dinner and a 

party for a cast of thousands (literally) was 

held at the Hilton for orchestra members, 

chorus members, staff members, ushers, 

support staff, and all their guests while the 

floor at “The Horn” was being converted 

from raked to flat floor for dancing. Of 

course, across the circle drive was the big 

tent where 850 of Nashville’s elite ate an 

amazing meal that was described in detail 

in many of the papers before the big event. 

I’ve seen reviews of this opening that state 

there hasn’t been this kind of hoopla in over 

100 years. I guess we were quite the event! 

After dinner, the orchestra had to return to 

play 30 minutes of Strauss waltzes and then, 

if anyone had any energy left, they could 

mingle with the rest of the guests. 

The next day most of the orchestra returned 

to perform a gala pops concert with 

Amy Grant. She was joined by husband 

Vince Gill, Michael W. Smith and LeAnn 

Rimes. The reception prior to the concert 

was a great deal of fun and offered multiple 

opportunities for exploration of the building, 

tasting the delicious food offerings by 

the culinary services at the hall, and hearing 

our own musicians performing in various 

areas around the building. The Beegie 

Adair Trio could be found up in the Curb 

Education Room, Denis Solee and Jack 

Jezioro were in the East Lobby, another 

group was in the West Lobby, the Fisk Jubilee 

Singers were in the Courtyard and a 

quartet from the NSO were in the Balcony 

Lobby. During the concert, Amy’s contributions 

to the NSO were celebrated with the 

announcement that the stage would be 

named the “Amy Grant Performance Platform” 

and it was also announced that 

Michael W. Smith’s contributions allowed 

the orchestra to purchase the nine-foot New 

York Steinway Piano. (See page 34 review.) 

Of course, there was no time to rest on 

our laurels. The next week began the first 

of 14 Classical Series concerts and our first 

experience with triple concerts – Thursday, 

Friday and Saturday evenings. Jean-Yves 

Thibaudet, who found the Hamburg 

Steinway for us in Paris, gave a stunning 

performance of the Liszt Piano Concerto 

and Andrew Litton, outgoing Music Director 

of the Dallas Symphony led the orchestra 

in a performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony 

#5 and a work by Kenneth 

Schermerhorn. The next weekend was a tribute 

to Ray Charles and a first look at the 

cabaret setting on the main floor. Let’s just 

say, it’s a work in progress, as they deal with 

space and food service issues, etc. Our final 

concerts in September featured Branford 

Marsalis performing Milhaud’s 

Scaramouche and Ibert’s Concerto da Camera 

for Alto Saxaphone. The rest of the wideranging 

musical selections included two 

works by Ravel and Augusta Read Thomas’s 

Tangle, which was originally commissioned 

for the Chicago Symphony. The NSO’s current 

mission is to perform works by American 

composers and in a rather innovative 

move, the “second encores” of these underheard 

American works will be packaged for 

possible broadcast over syndicated radio. 

Both the pops concerts and this second Classical 

Series were conducted by Resident 

Conductor Albert-George Schram. 

The orchestra now separates for a few 

weeks as some become the pit orchestra for 

the Nashville Ballet performing Morton 

Gould’s Fall River Legend (a work we recorded 

for Naxos). The rest perform Aida 

with the Nashville Opera and also participate 

in the Day of Music (free concerts provided 

at “The Horn” all day long) on Saturday, 

Oct. 7. The orchestra will also perform 

youth concerts under the direction of NSO 

Chorus Conductor George Mabry. In mid- 

October conductor Anu Tali (who is cofounder 

of the Nordic Symphony Orchestra 

– formerly the Estonian-Finnish Symphony 

Orchestra – with her twin sister Kadri 

Tali) leads the orchestra in Sibelius’ Symphony 

#2, Joan Tower’s Chamber Dance 

and Soovin Kim will perform the Mozart 

Violin Concerto #5. The end of October finishes 

up with movie music “Hits from the 

Silver Screen” and the Carnival of the Animals 

with the Bob Brown Puppets. 

November includes visits from conductors 

Carlos Miguel Prieto (we worked with 

him briefly during the Louisiana Philharmonic 

concert we hosted last October after 

Hurricane Katrina), and Bernhard Gueller 

returns to conduct excerpts of Wagner’s 

Ring Cycle. Matt Catingub conducts the 

pops concerts and Alastair Willis bring us 

Beethoven Lives Upstairs as the second Pied 

Piper concert. Willis also leads the orchestra 

in November and December in Ravel’s 

L’enfant et les Sortilèges (The Child and the 

Magic Spell) and Menotti’s Amahl and the 

Night Visitors, both of which will be recorded 

for Naxos. Guest artists in November 

will include Dionne Warwick, Yakov 

Kasman performing the Prokofiev Concerto 

#2 for Piano, and Awadagin Pratt performs 

Beethoven Concerto #1 for Piano. December 

rounds out with The Nutcracker, 

Handel’s Messiah and a Christmas Special 

with Aaron Neville. 

By the way, our recent recording on 

Decca Records of Porgy & Bess, which was 

conducted by John Mauceri (who recently 

got a great plug on Aaron Sorkin’s new TV 

show “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”), was 

recently released. While I haven’t had a 

chance to listen to it yet (I’ve hardly got 

time to practice!), I am told it’s a great recording. 

I look forward to hearing it for 

myself! 

I realized at the end of the season that I, 

too, was looking toward going on vacation 

and forgot to acknowledge the contributions 

of outgoing orchestra committee members 

Chris Farrell and Mary Helen Law. They 

were involved up to the end of their terms 

and I thank them for their thoughtful participation. 

New members Beth Beeson and Steve 

Brown join returning members Liz Stewart, 

Brad Mansell and Dan Lochrie, who now 

shares chairman duties with Brad. I extend 

my thanks for their wisdom, advice and considerate 

participation. I’d also like to thank 

Bruce Christensen for his service as ICSOM 

delegate and as ex-officio member of the 

orchestra committee. Lee Levine began her 

term as delegate this summer at the ICSOM 

conference. 

All these positions are of vital importance 

to oversee the administration of our 

contract.This being the last year of our 

agreement, we will be looking toward the 

negotiation of a new agreement this coming 

spring. Carrie Bailey, Gary Armstrong, 

and Brad Mansell will join Lee Levine and 

myself, along with Harold Bradley and 

AFM SSD negotiator Chris Durham in those 

negotiations 

- See ICSOM 

photos 

on page 33 -


Be The Best On-line Detective 

Over the years in my law practice, I have 

often thought that a great many lawsuits 

would never be filed, if the persons involved 

had known more about their partners and 

business associates. 

In the music business, we often take 

people at face value and rarely check them 

out before entering into contracts, partnerships 

or checking to see if 50 other people 

have already sued them. It is important to 

get a clear idea about whom you are dealing 

with in any relationship, especially when 

it comes down to money and rights. 

Sometime ago I discovered a website 

known as www.BestOnlineDetective.com I 

laughed at the name thinking that I was the 

“best on-line detective” because I often take 

the time to search for lawsuits, judgments, 

bankruptcies and criminal charges. It is not 

uncommon for someone in the music business 

to join a band and have the members 

borrow money for equipment. 

Wouldn’t you like to know that a member 

of the group had just filed bankruptcy 

or had a history of writing worthless checks? 

Being informed is your right, and checking 

someone out is the first step to saving yourself 

money and headaches down the road. 

During a discussion with a Music Row 

On the Jazz & 

Blues Beat . . . 

By ROBERT 

AUSTIN 

BEALMEAR 

By the time you read this, I'm sure we will 

all have forgotten about the July-August heat 

and are now complaining about the cold 

weather. 

It seems odd to me that all the jazz and 

blues festivals around are summertime. Yeah, 

I know the kids are out of school, people like 

to travel, vacation and do festival type things 

in the summer, but why not have an indoor 

jazz festival in January or February? With the 

right venue, it could be unique enough to actually 

attract an audience. 

There are some large events to look for 

this fall. The Wright Music School at Middle 

Tennessee State University begins its Jazz 

Artists concert series with world-renowned 

trumpeter and composer Tom Harrell on Nov. 

2. Harrell's resume includes stints with Woody 

Herman, Horace Silver, Phil Woods and dozens 

of his own CDs on various labels. Harrell 

will front the MTSU Jazz Ensemble I, a big 

band playing his arrangements and featuring 

saxophonist Don Aliquo. 

The new Schermerhorn Center in downtown 

Nashville opened in September to rave 

reviews for its acoustics. (I'd like to hear the 

musicians’ opinions.) Among the first jazz 

events in the new hall was the Nashville Jazz 

Orchestra with Annie Sellick. And a sold-out 

house greeted the reunion of duo virtuosos 

Chick Corea (piano) and Gary Burton (vibes). 

Gary no doubt remembers his early years jamming 

in Printers’ Alley with Hank Garland and 

Boots Randolph, and recording in the Quonset 

Hut on Music Row. Upcoming jazz events at 

Schermerhorn include Dianne Reeves, Feb. 1, 

2007, and Wynton Marsalis with the Lincoln 

Center Jazz Orchestra, March 21, 2007. 

Although no longer home to the Symphony, 

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center 

(TPAC) is still going strong. The 

Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra appears there 

Nov. 15, led by the legendary David Baker 

(composer, historian, educator). The Nashville 

Jazz Workshop (NJW) is co-sponsor of that 

event. On Nov. 3, NJW will benefit from a 

“Holiday Tasting” presented by Nashville 

Wine & Spirits at Convent Place on 21st Avenue 

South. 

LEGAL TIPS 

By 

Marshall M. Snyder 

Attorney - at - Law 

private investigator, I learned that many 

data-bases have information available that I 

was frankly surprised was available to the 

general public. 

To quote him, “you just need to know 

where to look to find out anything about 

anyone.” Being that I questioned the validity 

of finding such information easily, I 

asked him to look up information on a person 

that was involved in a legal matter that 

I was working on. I was amazed that a criminal 

background check showed that our person 

in question had been arrested for passing 

bad checks. This interested me greatly, 

as it gave me a greater insight. Additionally, 

we performed other searches and found that 

our person had had a recent DUI and had a 

revoked driver’s license. 

Time and time again we learn the impor- 

NJW continues its "Snap on 2 & 4" concert 

series in their Jazz Cave on the second 

and fourth Friday of every month. Watch for 

guitarist Shawn Purcell in performance on Nov. 

10, and the Lori Mechem Trio with guitarist 

Andy Reiss on Dec. 15. A very special concert 

featuring two solo sets by world-renowned pianist 

Kenny Barron (Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, 

Sphere, etc.) will happen on Dec. 1. Details 

on events, tickets, and evening classes are at 

www.nashvillejazz.org 

Some new jazz gigs include every Monday 

and Thursday at Basil Asian Bistro (the 

Pat Coil-Jim Ferguson Duo does Thursdays); 

a trio at Chappy's Seafood Restaurant Thursday, 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday brunches; a 

trio at Scojo's Café on Fridays; jazz nights and 

a Sunday jazz jam at Café Coco (watch the 

newspapers); various groups at Whitfield's and 

at Darfon's on Saturdays; and on Sundays at 

Raz'z in Smyrna; various nights at the newly 

expanded Ellendale's; and various nights at 

Sambuca. Sadly, The Blue Bar ended its Sunday 

modern jazz series hosted by Pat Coil. 

On the blues scene, it's time for submissions 

to the 2007 International Blues Challenge, 

to be held in Memphis Feb. 1-3. The 

Music City Blues Society sponsors a local contest 

to select a band to represent Nashville. To 

submit your band, or to join the party bus going 

to the finals in Memphis, contact MCBS 

as soon as possible at www.musiccityblues.org 

Jam-wise, James "Nick" Nixon has moved 

his Blues Jam to the Millennium Maxwell 

House Hotel on the first and third Monday of 

every month. Also check out the open jam at 

Cragnacker's Bar & Grill in Hermitage every 

Tuesday, sponsored by Superior Music. For a 

weekly update of blues events around town, 

call MCBS's Blues Hotline at 615-292-5222. 

WMOT-FM Jazz89 held its fall fundraiser 

in October, and I hope you all contributed to 

this local treasure. Sundays in September featured 

an hour of Afro-Cuban jazz hosted by 

Latin piano legend Eddie Palmieri. “Jazz At 

The Workshop” features NJW concerts by local 

musicians, Sundays at 4 p.m. “JAZZ On 

The Side” continues its series of music and 

stories, Sundays at noon, including a special 

holiday Halloween show called “Feets Don't 

Fail Me Now” on Oct. 29. If you're traveling 

to Memphis, you can now catch “JAZZ On 

The Side” on WUMR The Jazz Lover 

(91.7FM) on Sundays at 9 a.m. 

And speaking of Memphis, next time 

you're there, check out the Memphis Jazz Orchestra 

every Sunday at 6 p.m. at a Beale Street 

joint called Arnold's. The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra 

is also going strong, go to 

www.knoxjazz.org for their schedule of events. 

And the Nashville Jazz Orchestra's schedule 

is at www.nashvillejazzorchestra.com 

If you want to see some amazing perfor- 

tance of information and being informed. 

Since hindsight is 20/20, researching a potential 

co-writer, business partner or friend 

on the front end will pay great dividends 

later. 

An example I like to use is to take a 

person who is a great drummer. He joins a 

group and learns that the lead singer wants 

him to pay for the gas when they travel. He 

will, of course, be reimbursed at a later date. 

A few months go by and he has not received 

payment. The drummer then uses an information 

source and learns that the lead singer 

owes child support and is behind several 

months. To avoid jail, he uses every bit of 

money he can acquire. Had our drummer 

friend performed a search when first asked 

to cover expenses, he would have saved 

himself the money and the headache. 

Background checks, background checks, 

background checks. When entering into an 

agreement, use a good source for a background 

check. I have found that the T.B.I. 

search for $29 (www.tbi.gov) is a great resource 

for seeing if someone has a Tennessee 

criminal record. If your party has lived 

in other states, it is best to perform searches 

in those states as well. 

In a final note, as I stated earlier in this 

article, I have used a great site called 

www.BestOnlineDetective.com and for a 

mances by jazz legends, filmed in Europe, 

check out the new videos of the Buddy Rich 

Orchestra (1978), Art Blakey & The Jazz 

Messengers ('58), Dizzy Gillespie ('58 & '70), 

Louis Armstrong ('59), Quincy Jones Orchestra 

('60), Thelonious Monk ('66), Ella 

Fitzgerald ('57 & '63), Count Basie Orchestra 

('62), and Chet Baker ('64 & '79). For example, 

the Blakey concert features the band that made 

the classic "Moanin’" album, just a month after 

its recording! Released on DVD, with all 

proper royalties going to the artists and the 

sidemen, the sound on most of these is quite 

good. Check out the schedule of releases at 

www.jazzicons.com 

Recent CDs include "Thirty Years of 

Stony Plain," a three-disc (CD & DVD) retrospective 

of Canada's great blues label, Stony 

Plain Records. The many classics include local 

resident, Tracey Nelson, jazz organ great 

Jimmy McGriff, and jazz-blues legend Jay 

McShann explaining how he got the nickname 

"Hootie"! Jazz vocalist and saxophonist Pattie 

Cossentino has released "Invitation," featuring 

great tunes with some of Nashville's finest 

jazz cats. For details, go to 

www.pattiecossentino.com Veteran L.A. tenor 

man Pete Christlieb is featured on the new 

"Live at the Jazz Workshop" with the Lori 

Mechem Quartet; call 242-JAZZ. 

Recent jazz passings include trumpet legend 

Maynard Ferguson, a Canadian who 

amazed everyone with his high note work on 

the 1950 Stan Kenton band. Not just a high 

note virtuoso, he was an excellent soloist on 

trumpet and valve trombone, led a successful 

big band for most of 50 years, and was a major 

contributor to jazz education. 

Tenor saxist Dewey Redman could play 

inside or outside with equal force and was a 

mainstay of the New York loft scene of the 

’70's. Pianist Duke Jordan was one of the last 

or the original beboppers, playing with 

Coleman Hawkins ('46) and Charlie Parker 

('47), but had been working in Europe the past 

three decades. Also Piedmont blues guitarist 

Etta Baker, Buck Page, original founder of the 

Riders of the Purple Sage, and Rufus Harley, 

the only man to play modern jazz on the bagpipes! 

Local musicians were saddened at the 

death of David Schnaufer, a virtuoso and historian 

of the dulcimer. His passion for the 

lowly dulcimer, an instrument with definite 

roots in Tennessee, seriously increased its profile, 

from recordings by Cindy Lauper to concerts 

with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. 

David never heard a type of music he 

didn't like, and his own recordings included 

tunes by Charles Mingus and other jazzers. 

Get out and celebrate our artists while they're 

here. And so long, T. Bear, I hope you dug the 

music. 

minimal fee, you have access to background 

resources when dealing with people you 

don’t really know. Get informed and avoid 

problems later. 

(Marshall M. Snyder is a Music Row attorney 

who can be contacted by e-mail - 

marshall.snyder@earthlink.net - or by telephone 

(615) 742-0833.) 

Award-winning artists 

to participate in music 

fund raiser for children 

Gibson Guitar, a Nashville-based instrument 

firm, has donated four guitars to be 

auctioned off at Music4TNKids’ Auction, 

Nov. 2, in the Gibson Showcase cafe at Opry 

Mills. 

Guitars on the block to benefit the nonprofit 

Music4TNKids, will be three 

Epiphone acoustic guitars and one Gibson 

Custom guitar signed by legendary artist Les 

Paul. 

Last year’s donation by the Nashvillebased 

guitar maker, a Custom Shop Lucille 

guitar signed by the legendary B.B. King, 

was a highlight at the annual event. Live 

music, great food and original art work – 

guitar tops painted by juried artists and 

signed by music legends – will round out a 

fast-paced night ending in the signature live 

auction. 

Stars volunteering their time include 

new Country Music Hall of Famer George 

Strait, plus Faith Hill, Brooks & Dunn and 

Wynonna. More than 20 artists will sign 

original art work for auction, along with the 

other donations. 

Music4TNKids is a non-profit program 

of the Tennessee Artist Guild, which 

funds music education and art enrichment 

programs for elementary children. The organization 

was co-founded by Jeff and Kelly 

Smagacz. 

“Although we’re living in Music City, 

music education for the next generation of 

musicians is suffering,” said Smagacz, 

Music4TNKids’ president. “In fact, according 

to a recent study of the No Child Left 

Behind Act by the Center on Education 

Policy, most U.S. school districts have cut 

time for music programs to make more time 

for reading and math in elementary schools. 

“Kelly and I were convinced that once 

the leaders of the music industry knew that 

our children were not being given the opportunity 

to develop their talents, people 

would get involved. Thanks to Gibson Guitars 

and our other sponsors, we know that 

this year we’ll be able to really invest in the 

lives of future musicians.” 

Since 2005, additional area businesses 

have partnered with Music4TNKids, among 

them Integration Management, Ergonomic 

Concepts, Inca Molded Products, Advocate 

Printing, Andrews Cadillac, Lyman 

Davidson Dooley, Inc., Dr. Doug Nally 

DDS, Lipman Brothers, Marry Rutland 

Graphic Design, Batten & Shaw, 

CornerStone Partners, and Music City Auction, 

while national donors have included 

the Guitar Center, Dippin’ Dots, and AXA 

Advisors. 

For further details on Music4TNKids’ 

programs or to donate to their worthy cause, 

or this year’s auction, check out their 

website at either www.music4TNKids.com 

or music4TNkids@yahoo.com -- or by telephoning 

organization President Jeff 

Smagacz at (615) 289-4479. 

Local’s holiday schedule 

The Union offices will be closed 

for the following holidays: 

Veterans’ Day, Friday, Nov. 10 

Thanksgiving, Nov. 23-24 

Christmas-New Year’s, Dec. 25- 

Jan. 1. Local 257 reopens Jan. 2, 2007.


Mr. Harold Bradley, President of the 

Nashville Association of Musicians’ Local 

257, is finally getting a little of the recognition 

he so greatly deserves. On Saturday, 

Aug. 19, the Country Music Hall of Fame 

& Museum saluted Harold, celebrating the 

Music City Session Players. This year he 

is also being inducted into the Hall of Fame, 

in the Recording and/or Touring Musician, 

Active Prior to 1980 category. What a huge 

honor! Harold is a humble man, a man of 

truly great talent, wisdom, and experience, 

one who represents you with great compassion 

and kindness. He’s been a blessing to 

this Local for many years, and we’re all so 

very proud of him. 

With an adjustment to our phone system, 

calling our main line will get you a 

personal, friendly greeting. That’s right, 

personal. We’re now turning off the automated 

system during business hours, and 

directing your calls, per your request. It’s 

been very well-received, and we’ll do our 

best to maintain the communication during 

our busier times of the year. Thanks for 

letting us know it’s important to you. 

Your 2007 Annual Membership Dues 

are upon us. Your present membership card 

will expire Dec. 31, 2006. To remain in 

good standing, you should pay your full 

membership on or before that date. Postcards 

are being mailed to all active members, 

notifying of all itemized amounts, due 

Producer’s notice 

All payments for recording sessions 

are to be made through the office 

of Local 257. Please be advised 

that AFM may be notified of instances 

where this is not done. In such 

cases it could jeopardize and violate 

the terms of your AFM Phonograph 

Record Labor Agreement. Your recording 

license with the AFM could 

be subject to cancellation! Check with 

us now. 

CHANGE IN BENEFICIARY? 

Be sure to report important 

changes to the Union office! 

Call (615) 244-9514 

Please patronize 

The Nashville Musician 

Advertisers! 

Member’s accounts payable 

now via VISA or MasterCard 

For the convenience of our 

members, we now accept both 

MasterCard and VISA credit 

cards. For information, call 

Billy Linneman, Secretary- 

Treasurer, Tel: (615) 244-9514, 

Ext. 224. 

Office 

Manager’s 

Notes . . . 

By Sherri 

Dickerson 

dates, late fees, etc. The 2007 regular membership 

renewal rate is $204.00, and lifetime 

members pay a reduced fee of $115.25. 

The only increase this year is in the AFM. 

Per Capita Dues amount. The Federation 

charges each Local a set amount per member, 

a small increase of $2.00 this year, 

which we pay on a quarterly basis. 

If you know of a member who has recently 

passed away, please ask a family 

member to contact us in regards to their 

Funeral Benefit Fund. This fund is paid into 

by all members, and has a benefit for any 

active member at the time of their death. 

The procedure is simple. As a new member, 

please fill out the beneficiary card and 

we’ll keep it on file. If you’ve been a member 

for a while, it may be a good time to 

review your listed beneficiary. You can fill 

out a new card at any time. Upon the death 

of a member, we’ll need an original statecertified 

Death Certificate for our files. 

Member must be in good standing, with all 

dues and charges paid-to-date. 

Thanks to Mr. Otto Bash, who graciously 

performed the fall trimming of our 

Ficus tree. Great job, Otto! I wish you, and 

all our members, a very blessed holiday season. 

[Note: The Office Manager can be 

reached on line at Sherri@afm257.org or 

by calling (615) 244-9514, Ext. 240.] 

Carolyn Austin displays ribbon 

won in official cooking bake-off. 

Carolyn Austin 

former Union 

admin assistant 

Carolyn Austin was not only Assistant 

to the President, but she was handling the 

Electronic Media Services Division 

(EMSD) workload for Local 257 over 15 

years ago, when we started editing The 

Nashville Musician. 

The lady’s incoming box appeared to be 

bottomless, meaning Carolyn would often 

burn the midnight oil to make sure people 

got their checks in a timely manner, sometimes 

working 15-hour days. 

“I always wanted the musicians to know 

that I was here for them, not merely to collect 

their work dues,” confided Local 257 

member Austin, in an earlier interview with 

this reporter. “I genuinely enjoyed hearing 

what it was they did, and to learn about them 

and their families. I know whose wife was 

sick or who was having a baby. I heard it all: 

the good, the bad and the ugly. The members 

were my children - and I’m gonna miss 

them.” 

Sadly, they will now miss Carolyn Totty 

Austin, who some affectionately referred to 

as “Mama.” She died on Aug. 24 at age 65. 

Carolyn was the wife of Local 257 drummer-educator 

Tony Austin for 45 years. 

On St. Patrick’s Day 1995, when Carolyn 

stepped down, her replacement was immediately 

assigned an assistant. Today, Melissa 

Hamby Meyer heads up this operation, with 

an assist from four employees and a parttimer. 

“Carolyn Austin retired March 17, after 

20 years of dedicated service to our Local,” 

stated President Harold Bradley, acknowledging 

her tireless devotion to duty in 1995. 

“Carolyn is a special person whose heart 

went out to all of our musicians and their 

families. I especially want to thank her for 

the wonderful job she did for me as Assistant 

to the President for the past four years. 

We all want Carolyn and Tony to enjoy themselves 

in retirement, although all of us will 

miss the delectable food she so graciously 

served to us on numerous occasions.” 

Since 1989, Carolyn’s job was to run 

EMSD and also Assistant to the President. 

Prior to that her duties included scheduling 

Music Performance Trust Fund shows and 

various other tasks such as assisting members 

at the reception window. 

In our interview - after 20 years and a 

day of service - she explained, “My primary 

responsibility was to see that members got 

paid for the work they did. For recordings, 

which can emcompass demos, limited 

pressings or masters; for all types of television 

(shows), including network, public television, 

pay television, cable television; for 

whatever they do, there’s a scale for that particular 

type of work. If it’s not a ‘live’ performance 

and it’s recorded in any shape, form 

or fashion, then it goes to the Electronic 

Media Services Division.” 

As Nashville’s contract supervisor, Austin 

had different regulations to comply with: 

“The federal government says here are our 

guidelines, then the Federation has its rules, 

and Local 257 has its rules.” 

Carolyn’s duties as Assistant to the President 

included dealing with prospective signatories 

who wanted to engage musicians for 

projects: “I would explain the difference between 

union and non-union. A lot of them 

don’t know what’s happening, so I tried to 

be helpful and tell them.” 

She remembered, too, that there were a 

number of unscrupulous types arranging recording 

sessions, who “come in and talk to 

me and though they don’t mean to, they give 

themselves away with every word they 

speak. Those people are not concerned about 

paying a fair share for the musicians’ talents, 

they’re only interested n lining their own 

pockets. They may have a huge budget for a 

recording session - and I mean big bucks - 

but the musicans are the cheapest part of that 

package. In some instances, my guys won’t 

even be a tenth of it.” 

Carolyn admitted that dealing with both 

sides - session producers and musicians - required 

real diplomacy: “Sometimes it was 

like walking on egg-shells.” 

Despite a heavy workload, she would 

bake “goodies” for the office staff or anyone 

who wanted a taste until the plates were emptied. 

It was in 1975 that then-President 

Johnny DeGeorge, a neighbor of the Austins, 

called to see if Carolyn would be available 

for temporary work at the Local? 

“I had a plumbing bill staring at me for 

$400 and I didn’t know how we were going 

to get the extra money to pay that. Then 

Johnny called and asked me to work two 

weeks to fill in,” she smiled. “Until that time 

I had been tending kids before and after 

school, doing arts and crafts for fairs and 

Carolyn with her pet Katie Mae. 

sewing for people in order to send my children 

to private school.” 

When DeGeorge realized what a great 

worker she was, her duties expanded to full 

time, which included working with the 

Local’s bookkeeper, Gertrude (Gertie) 

DeGeorge, the president’s wife: “There was 

no actual job description that we followed, 

and for a long time we could basically interchange. 

That was good if someone was 

out sick or on vacation.” 

After DeGeorge departed, she continued 

working with subsequent presidents, 

Jay Collins and Harold Bradley, each of 

whom she noted had different styles. Being 

on the job for two decades she saw a lot 

of changes, including moving into the 

Local’s own building at 11 Music Circle 

North, after being located at 1806 Division 

Street just off Music Row. 

“Of course, the Opryland complex was 

just getting going and when they started The 

Nashville Network (TNN) in 1983, it created 

even more contracts for us. And the 

face of the Row has really changed so . . .” 

She said her personal musical preferences 

ran the gamut: “I love everything 

from toe-tapping bluegrass to the Nashville 

Symphony and anything in between . . .” 

Among her favorite artists were pianist 

Floyd Cramer, crooner George Morgan and 

folk favorite John Hartford, all of whom she 

got to know. She shared a humorous incident 

with us concerning Cramer: “The first 

time he ever came into the building after I 

started working, I was eating a sandwich 

and had just taken a bite. When I looked up 

and saw Floyd Cramer, I swallowed, but it 

just hung there. Here I am choking to death 

and everybody in the office is laughing so 

hard, nobody thought to pat me on the back 

so I could breathe. How I got that bite of 

food back up, I’ll never know. I remember 

thinking, ‘Lord, help me!’ and then I 

thought I must have been blue in the face 

and I wasn’t pretty! When I asked him if I 

could have his autograph, he said, ‘Sure.’ 

Then I pulled up about 15 albums I’d been 

saving for him to sign!” 

Carolyn Totty was born in Memphis, 

daughter of D.A. and Ida Totty. She grew 

up there, then moved to Chester County, 

where she graduated from Chester County 

High School in 1959. She later attended 

Freed Hardeman College. Tony and Carolyn 

were wed in June 1961. 

Since 1966, Tony, who was also a 

schoolteacher, and his wife, who sang and 

played piano, had lived in the Nashville 

area. A member of the Bellevue Baptist 

Church, Carolyn enjoyed helping several 

area organizations with whatever their 

needs were, such as baking, cooking and 

sewing, at which she excelled. 

According to longtime friend Otto 

Bash, today the Local’s Sergeant-At-Arms, 

Carolyn was a “giving of herself soul.” He 

said she collected labels from soup cans 

which helped funding for elementary school 

playground equipment, and also aluminum 

(Continued on page 9)


Bluegrass award winners and participants in the 2006 

IBMA meeting --All pictures by Patricia Presley -- see 

page 14 for story and additional Presley photographs. 

Members of the U.S. Navy Band perform at 2006 IBMA Awards broadcast in the Grand Ole Opry House. 

Dixie and Tom T. Hall help honor IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Tim O’Brien. 

Members of The Lewis Family assemble after being named to the Bluegrass Hall of Honor. 

(Also inducted into the Hall is the late Syd Nathan, founder of King Records.) 

Alecia Nugent and band entertain attendees at the IBMA awards show in Nashville, Sept. 28. 

New act The Grascals score an upset winning coveted Entertainer of the Year statuette. 

Ricky Skaggs greets labelmate Pop Cherryholmes. 

Marty Stuart, above with Bobby Osborne, hosts 

17th annual IBMA Bluegrass Awards show. 

Bluegrass Hall of Honor, 2006 

The Lewis Family 

Sydney Nathan 

. . . Austin, Local 257 member 


cans to raise money for the Humane 

Society’s efforts on behalf of animals. Bash 

had also pointed out, “Each year, Carolyn 

would win six or seven blue ribbons at the 

State Fair for her cooking and baking. She’s 

that good.” 

When she departed the Local to stay at 

home, Carolyn set a goal of completing 16 

quilts, which would be her legacy to loved 

ones: “These are queen-sized, mind you. 

But it’s a very creative process - and a great 

stress reliever.” 

Besides her husband Tony Austin, sur- 

Mac Wiseman conducts IBMA business panel. 

Veteran bluegrassers (from left) Everett 

Lilly, Jesse McReynolds and Curly 

Sechler at 2006 IBMA meet. 

vivors include their sons, Mark of Nashville, 

Scott, who was stationed in Iraq at the time 

of her death, and Steve of Fort Knox, Ky.; 

mother Ida Totty of Collierville, Tenn.; sister 

Christine Coble of Searcy, Ark.; brothers 

Doug and Bud Totty of Memphis; grandchildren 

Tyler Scott and Coltin Andrew; and 

her mother-in-law Odessa Austin of 

Henderson, Tenn. 

The Johnson Funeral Home of 

Henderson, Tenn., was in charge of arrangements. 

Services were held on Aug. 26 at 

Bellevue Baptist Church with Dr. Mike 

Shelton officiating. Interment followed in 

Henderson City Cemetery, Henderson. 

- Walt Trott 

Marking the late Jan Brock’s birthday at Local 257 were (from left) office staffers 

Beverly Jordan, Carol Hardin, Jan, Carolyn and Tammy Daugherty in an old photo.


I would like to begin by extending my sincere 

congratulations to Harold Bradley on the 

recent announcement of his induction into the 

Country Music Hall of Fame! What an honor! 

It does not seem possible that Fall is already 

upon us and that 2006 is quickly coming to a 

close. With the holidays speedily approaching, 

let us remember to make time each day to give 

thanks for the abundance of blessings around 

us. 

Signatory Renewals 

The Sound Recording Labor Agreement 

(Master/Low Budget) is still in the midst of 

some negotiation. The signatory agreement, 

which expired January 31st, 2006, and scales 

continue to be extended and will remain in effect 

until a Memorandum of Understanding is 

signed. Please check with the Recording Department 

periodically for any available updates. 

Local 257’s Limited Pressing Agreement 

began a new term on February 1, 2006. The 

2006-2009 Agreement was sent out the first 

of the year to existing signatories for renewal. 

If you have not yet renewed your agreement 

and have done any sessions since February 1st 

or intend to do so, please forward a signed 

agreement to us as soon as possible. If you need 

a copy of the current agreement, or scales, you 

can download a copy from our website 

(www.afm257.org) or email a request to 

christie@afm257.org 

Signatory…Pension…SPF… 

It is vital that you confirm signatory status 

prior to your session! Without the appropriate 

signatory agreement on file, you cannot get 

credit for pension contributions that are made 

to the Fund and would not receive SPF credit 

for eligible sessions, even when your wages 

have been paid. It is the Leader and/or 

Contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the 

proper signatory paperwork is obtained prior 

to downbeat. Any session that does not have a 

current signatory in effect at the time your session 

begins is considered a non-union session. 

If the appropriate agreement is not in place 

to cover an employer’s session(s), the employer 

will receive written notification from 

the Pension Fund and/or Local when they make 

contributions that cannot be fully processed. 

If an employer calls you regarding any 

notice(s) they may receive, please contact your 

Recording Department for guidance in how to 

resolve the issue. If the necessary Signatory 

agreement cannot be secured, your pension 

contribution may ultimately be returned by the 

Fund! 

This department spends an inordinate 

amount of time securing signatory after the 

fact! We dedicate a great deal of time to clean 

up what should have been taken care of before 

your session. This is a tremendous drain on 

personnel hours that should and could be dedicated 

elsewhere. It is in your best interest to 

confirm signatory status! This is your pension! 

This is your SPF! This affects your 

future!Time Cards 

It is the Leader/Contractor’s responsibility 

to have a time card completed at a session. 

Time cards are unique to our jurisdiction and 

are the property of Local 257. They should be 

turned in to the Local immediately following 

your session(s). 

Pension & SPF Statements 

SRSPF (Sound Recording Special Payments 

Fund) Annual Statements were mailed 

out this summer and Pension Fund Annual 

Statements are mailed in October. Any engagements 

listed on these statements are for contributions 

that were received and fully processed, 

prior to a Fund’s fiscal cut-off, for work 

that was done during that calendar year. Any 

Electronic 

Media 

Services 

Division 

By Melissa 

Hamby Meyer 

contributions received or fully processed after 

a cut-off date, would be included on the 

next annual statement. It is your responsibility 

to cross-reference your annual Pension 

Fund and SRSPF statements to confirm you 

have received the appropriate contribution and 

credit for the work you have performed. 

Agreement Ratification 

The new CMT agreement has officially 

been ratified. The negotiation of this agreement 

included a series of wage increases, as 

well as an increase in the pension contribution. 

Thank you to those who cast a ballot and 

participated in this process. 

The newly-negotiated OPRY LIVE agreement 

is in the ratification process. You may 

be eligible to participate in this process if you 

have provided services under this agreement. 

If you have met the wage requirement and receive 

a ballot letter in the mail, please be sure 

to cast your vote. 

GAC 

It is imperative that you contact this Local, 

or the AFM, prior to doing any work for 

GAC (other than OPRY LIVE). All programs 

for GAC are being handled on an individual 

basis. You must contact this Local, or the 

AFM, ahead of time to ensure that your services 

will be covered. 

As a reminder, any work done outside of 

our jurisdiction should be filed with and 

handled by the Local that has jurisdiction. We 

will be happy to provide you with the appropriate 

Local’s contact information. 

Your Recording Department staff is an extremely 

dedicated team, which takes great 

pride in their work. Their diligent efforts have 

given us the opportunity to make great strides 

in the last few months. I am extremely thankful 

for each one of them. Together, we can 

accomplish great things! I hope you find great 

joy this holiday season…May you be richly 

blessed! 

**Review the Do Not Work For and Non- 

Signatory Lists in each edition. If you have 

worked for one of these employers, you may 

have unsecured pension or SPF credit.** 

Actors Equity’s PatrickQuinn 

Patrick Quinn, 56, Executive Director 

and former President of Actors’ Equity Association 

in New York City, died Sept. 24 

from a heart attack. An actor and activist, 

who marched in support of AFM New York 

City Local 802’s strike on Broadway in 

2003, Quinn began his equity career in 

1970. Actor Quinn made his Broadway bow 

in Zero Mostel’s revival of “A Fiddler On 

the Roof,” and appeared in such Great 

White Way productions as “A Class Act,” 

“Lend Me a Tenor” and a revival of “The 

Sound Of Music.” In memory of Mr. Quinn, 

donations may be made to the Actors Equity 

Foundation, BC/EFA, or the Actors’ 

Fund of America. 

Singer Don Walser , a diabetic, dies 

Austin singer-musician-songwriter Don 

Walser, 72, died Sept. 20 at home, due to complications 

from diabetes. 

The Texas-born artist came to performing 

late in life, after having been an accountant 

in the National Guard. 

During the late 1980s, he formed the Pure 

Texas Band, and at age 56 gained attention 

performing traditional tunes in Austin In ’94, 

Walser signed with Watermelon Records, and 

released a highly-acclaimed country album 

“Rolling Stone From Texas,” produced by Ray 

Benson of the iconic Asleep At the Wheel. 

Do not work for . . . 

Audio Media Group/Todd McCoig (outstanding contract/limited 

pressing sig) 

Chez Musical/Sanchez Harley (outstanding contracts) 

Compass Productions/Alan Phillips/David 

Schneiderman (outstanding contracts) 

Field Entertainment Group/Joe Field (outstanding 

contract) 

Hot Skillet/Lee Gibson (outstanding contract/limited 

pressing sig) 

Mark Hybner (outstanding contract) 

J.C. Anderson (pension) 

Rory Lee Feek/Giant Slayer (outstanding contract) 

Jack Wilcox (outstanding contract) 

Katana Productions/Duwayne “Dada” Mills (outstanding 

contract) 

Kenny Lamb (outstanding contract) 

MC Productions/Mark Cheney (outstanding contract) 

MCK Publishing/Rusty Tabor (outstanding contract) 

Miss Ivy Records/Bekka Bramlett (outstanding upgrades) 

O Street Mansion (pension) 

On The Green/Kevin Beamish (outsanding contracts) 

Renaissance Music Group/Deborah Allen (outstanding 

contracts) 

Rust Recods/Michelle Metzger (outstanding contract) 

RichDor Music/Keith Brown (outstanding contract) 

Sam Hogin Songs (outstanding contract) 

Sleepy Town/David Lowe (outstanding contract) 

Songwriters Collective (outstanding contract) 

Tony Graham (pension) 

Two Monkeys (outstanding contracts) 

Village Square (pension) 

Eddie Wenrick (outstanding conract) 

Baldwin Entertainment (pension) 

Copyright.net (outstanding contracts) 

Earthtone Publishing/Roy English (outstanding 

contract) 

Fat Possum/Bruce Watson (outstanding contract) 

Home Records/David Vowell (outstanding 

contracts) 

Jeff Tuttle (outstanding contract) 

Marty McIntosh (outstanding contract) 

Multi-Media (outstanding contract) 

Notation Music (outstanding contract) 

Over the Moon Prod./Rick Scott Prod. (outstanding 

contract) 

Raven Records/Coy Ray (outstanding contract) 

Rendale Music (outstanding contracts) 

Rick Tunes (outstanding contract) 

Roxanne Entertainment (outstanding contract) 

RPB Productions/Coy Ray (outstanding pension & 

phono signatory) 

Sean Ruth (outstanding contract) 

Sunbird (outstanding contracts) 

Thrillstreet/Jerry Parent (outstanding contract) 

Century Music/Art Ward (outstanding contracts) 

Golden Vine/Darrell Freeman (outstanding contract) 

Kyle Jacobs (outstanding contract) 

Labeless Records/Coy Ray (outstanding pension) 

------------------------------------------------------------ 

Amentco (American Entertainment Concepts/Ron 

Camacho) 

ARK 21 

Bait & Tackle (pension) 

Bernie Nelson (Heatherington) 

Don Goodman Music (payment/pension) 

Garland Entertainment (Warren Garland) 

James House Productions (outstanding contracts) 

Jeff Best/Clever Cowboy (payment/ pension) 

John Bunzow (pension) 

John Kevin Mulkey (DWM) 

K.A.R.E., Inc. 

Larry Rose (Entheos Group) 

Les Ladd (pension) 

Margaret Bell-Byers (pension) 

Maximus (outstanding contract) 

Mooneyhand Pictures (Wayne Mooneyhand) 

Music Row Records/Gene Cash (outstanding c o n - 

tract) 

Nancy Grant 

On Purpose Prod. (pension) 

Pat Reese, Music Media Int’l. 

Pinebrook (pension) 

Radio Records/J. Gary Smith (outstanding contract) 

Randy Huston (Dr. Vet Music) 

Revelator/Gregg Brown (outstanding contract) 

Rio Star 

River Girl, Inc. 

Roy Salmond, Whitewater Prod. 

Tom Oelson (pension) 

Tyler Music Group (pension) 

Volzone Prod./Gary Lloyd 

William R. Holmes (outstanding contract) 

Wyndstar (pension) 

AFM’s non-signatory agents 

The following companies or individuals are not signatory 

to the AFM Agreements; therefore, do not 

work for those listed below, without first checking 

with the President (615-244-9514): 

Recent additions: 

KJ Entertainment (limited pressing) 

Mark Moffatt (limited pressing) 

Ronald Light (limited pressing) 

Sawyer Brown (limited pressing) 

Wilkinson Audio (limited pressing) 

Domination Records LLC (Limited Pressing) 

Kurt A. Coble (Limited Pressing) 

Point To Point LLC (Limited Pressing) 

Sammy Harp Productions (Limited Pressing) 

Sing Sound Inc. & Chariscourt, Ltd. (Phono) 

Wade Spencer Ministries, Inc. (Phono) 

------------------------------------------------------------ 

Christopher Mortland (limited pressing) 

Cottageworks/Betsy Foster (limited pressing) 

44 West/Mike Welch (limited pressing) 

Francis X. Sullivan 

Jason Kerr Ministries - Don Goodman 

J. Carlos (limited pressing) 

Lance Productions (limited pressing) 

Madacy Music Publishing (limited pressing) 

One G Productions (limited pressing) 

Peer Music (limited pressing) 

Roxanne Entertainment 

Taylor Productions (limited pressing) 

--------------------------------------------------------- 

TBN, Paul Crouch (Phono/Video) 

Campfire Records 

CD Records/Charles Calello 

Chapel Music Group 

MTL Limited 

LaToya Jackson & Jack Gordon 

Westwood One 

Ci-Ber Records International 

Worldwide Agency 

Important notice to members 

Members do not perform with nonmembers. 

If in doubt, call (615) 244-9514. 

Substance abuse problem? 

Need to talk? 

Please call: 

Bobby Kent, LADAC 

Licensed Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselor 

(615) 300-0036 

30-year member of Locals 802/257 

ALL CALLS ARE CONFIDENTIAL 

. . . Slatkin new Music Advisor 


director of the National Conducting Institute, 

and he initiated and developed the St. 

Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, which 

are indicative of his dedication to arts education 

for youth. 

Among his highest honors are the 2003 

National Medal of the Arts, ASCAP awards 

(while with both the National and St. Louis 

symphonies) and an Honorary Doctorate 

from his alma mater The Juilliard School 

of Music. 

Slatkin’s selection here was approved 

unanimously by the Music Director Search 

Committee. Meanwhile, NSO continues its 

search for a Music Director, the position 

held by Kenneth Schermerhorn until his untimely 

death, April 18, 2005. 

The Music Advisor’s present duties include 

programming NSO’s upcoming concert 

seasons, selecting guest artists and conductors, 

and assisting in musician auditions. 

Of course, he will also lead NSO in the ongoing 

American Classics recordings for 

Naxos, plus additional projects with the 

Symphony during his tenure. 

The Maestro looks forward to 

Corigliano’s Dylan Thomas Trilogy, scheduled 

in 2007. 

Valentine pointed out that a Naxos CD 

by composer Joan Tower with Slatkin on 

the podium was their first major project, 

adding, “There is a palpable chemistry between 

Leonard and the musicians, and given 

the Nashville Symphony’s longtime focus 

on American music, and Slatkin’s reputation 

as one of the greatest interpreters of 

American music, I am confident this relationship 

will produce many exciting recordings 

and performances.”


‘Nashville Cat’ Harold Bradley hailed, as he receives AFM’s Lifetime Achievement 

Among the crowd cheering Harold Bradley on as a Nashville Cat, Aug. 19, was wife Eleanor Bradley. 

Yet another guitar legend Duane Eddy applauds Harold’s on and off stage achievements. 

Harold was particularly pleased to see among the faces, favorite niece Patsy Bradley, a BMI executive. 

It was a must-see event for Harold’s buddy Bob Tubert, the songwriter responsible for 

such classic cuts as the Sonny James #1 single ‘You’re the Only World I Know.’ 

(See additional pictures from the Nashville Cats event on pages 1, 3 and 4.) 

AFM bossman Tom Lee attends with helpmate Teresa, longtime Local 257 member and former staffer. 

Harold discusses pickin’ styles with session’s 

moderator Bill Lloyd, host of Nashville Cats. 

Digital Photos 

by 

Walt Trott 

Harold offers audience a sampling of his playing 

during the Nashville Cats session in the intimate 

setting of the Country Music Hall of Fame & 

Museum’s Ford Theater downtown. 

After the Nashville Cats presentation in the Ford Theater, Harold sat in the 

gift shop where he obliges an eager fan with an autograph on her hat. 

Not only did Harold perform for a packed house at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater, 

but he also attracted a long line of autograph seekers in the Hall’s nearby gift shop.


AFL/CIO President John Sweeney (center) speaks out against NLRB efforts to restrict unions. 

Nashville musicians participating (left to right) were G.R. Davis, tuba; Bill Huber, trombone; 

David Balph, trumpet; Marty Crum, banjo; Jerry Vinett, clarinet; and Ray Vonrotz, drum. 

Local 257 players join fellow union workers 

A labor rally to protest the Oct. 3 National Labor Relations Board decision affecting who can 

join a union, was held noon Friday the 13th of October at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. Some 

250 persons demonstrated displeasure with the Republican-dominated NLRB’s ruling that in 

essence could deprive more than nine million workers of union representation. John Sweeney, 

president of the National AFL-CIO, strongly denounced the NLRB decisions, vowing to lead 

opposition against the labor board rulings. 

According to Maura Lee, Co-Chair of Middle Tennessee Jobs With Justice, “The rally was 

decided upon very quickly, about a week ago. We wanted to do something while President Sweeney 

was in town . . .” 

For the uninformed, NLRB decided three cases, collectively known as Kentucky River, with 

the first case involving Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., creating a new definition of supervisor. Voting 

along party lines, the board members trashed long-time federal labor laws protecting workers’ 

rights to form unions, and cleared the way for management to re-classify millions of laborers 

as supervisors. (Under federal law supervisors are prohibited from initiating unions.) 

Members of Local 257, led by Secretary-Treasurer Billy Linneman, attended the rally in a 

show of solidarity. The event was coordinated by Middle Tennessee Jobs With Justice, The Nashville 

Peace & Justice Center, Service Employees International Union Local 205, International 

Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 428, and the United Steelworkers. AFL/CIO National 

Organization Director Stewart Acuff, a Tennessee native, was also here to witness a coffin being 

carried by workers, signifying the death of workers’ rights. 

NLRB representatives were present, and spoke wih President Sweeney and other ralliers. 

Maura Lee especially welcomed the participation of the Nashville Association of Musicians, 

noting, “We would love to broaden our coalition and individuals who would like to get involved 

with our labor-friendly organization, can call me for information. The telephone number is (615) 

227-5070, Ext. 23.” - WT 

Local 257’s Huber (from left), Balph, Vinett, Crum, Vonrotz and Davis aid in New Orleans-style funeral. 

The coffin for the ‘funeral’ represents the demise of workers’ rights, as decided by recent NLRB ruling. 

Eddie Bryan, secretary-treasurer, TN AFL-CIO; Lindsay (Jerry) Lee, president, TN AFL-CIO; John 

Sweeney, and Local 257’s own Billy Linneman lend their support to the Oct. 13 Rally. 

Workers get their point across in protesting the recent NLRB rulings to weaken the labor movement. 

Digital Photos by Kathy Shepard 

Local 257’s Secretary-Treasurer Billy Linneman (with sign) helps protest NLRB decisions.


Local 257’s Jack Logan succumbs at age 78 

Steel guitarist and renowned recording 

engineer Jack Dale Logan, 78, died of pneumonia 

at Vanderbilt Medical Center, July 

24. A former co-owner of Music City Recorders 

Studio in Nashville, Logan had undergone 

recent heart surgeries. 

“He was a good man, a good father and 

a good husband,” says widow Freeda Logan, 

a retired nurse. “He was much loved 

by all his family.” 

Logan was both a touring band member 

and session player for such acts as Lonzo 

& Oscar, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw 

Hawkins, and was brother to former Jim 

Reeves’ Blue Boy bandsman Bud Logan, 

who produced such artists as John Conlee 

and Wilma Burgess, with whom he recorded 

a Top 20 duet “Wake Me Into Love.” 

Jack’s son Steve Logan worked sideby-side 

with dad in his various studios, including 

The Fireside, which Jack designed 

and built for Porter Wagoner, and where 

many of the RCA artist’s hits were recorded, 

along with his Dolly Parton duets. Steve, 

who played drums and steel, was also a 

bandsman for such notables as George 

Morgan, Stonewall Jackson, John Conlee, 

Justin Tubb and Johnny Cash. 

Jack Logan engineered numerous hit 

songs by other artists, as well, including 

Conlee, Jim Reeves, Little Jimmy Dickens, 

Mel Tillis, Sonny James and Marty Robbins. 

He also wrote the novelty number “Herdin’ 

Cattle in an Air-Conditioned Coupe 

DeVille” for Stringbean (Dave Akeman). 

Early in his career, Jack succeeded 

sideman Cousin Jody with Lonzo & Oscar, 

and in addition to playing steel guitar also 

adopted the comedy character Cousin 

Luther. 

“Early on, Dad also played backup for 

Hank Williams, Sr. and Elvis Presley,” notes 

Steve, who today lives in Harrisburg, Ill, 

where he writes and performs Christian 

music with wife Shary. 

“He really enjoyed working in the studio. 

The time when he learned the craft, they 

put everything all down at once, before 

multi-track recording came along. I remem- 

Jack Logan 

ber that he always strived for a natural sound 

. . . he probably wouldn’t fit in too well today 

with all the extra gimmicks they use. 

But he had grown hard of hearing in later 

years anyway.” 

Jack’s daughter Shirl recalled that her 

dad “had a good ear for the music, and the 

way it should sound . . . he recorded some 

of the biggest names in the business, and he 

was instrumental in helping to create some 

great sounds. He was also quite a character, 

a very colorful guy, larger than life. Dad is 

going to be greatly missed.” 

Jack Logan was a 3rd Degree Mason at 

Lodge #560, and Lifetime Member of AFM 

Nashville Local 257. 

Besides his daughter and son, he is survived 

by Freeda (Ervin) Logan, his wife of 

54 years; brother Ira (Bud) Logan; sisters 

Charlotte Tate and Shirley Romonosky; and 

grandchildren Tyler, Hannah, Ira and Matthew. 

Mr. Logan’s services were conducted 

at Forest Lawn Chapel in Goodlettsville, 

with Brother Dallas Frazier officiating. 

Friend John Conlee sang, with added support 

from Steve and Bud Logan. 

- Walt Trott 

Uncle Dave Macon Heritage Award for Rhonda Vincent 

Bluegrass Queen Rhonda Vincent, above 

displaying her Uncle Dave Macon Days’ 

Heritage Award, while surrounded by the 

Murfreesboro Cloggers, at Cannonsburgh 

Village’s annual summer festival saluting 

the pioneer Opry performer. (Tennessee 

banjoist Macon died in 1952). Though Local 

257’s Vincent, 44, hails from a younger 

generation, she qualifies, having made her 

performing debut at age 3 with her family’s 

Music Performance Fund 

needs sponsors . . . 

For details, 

call Kathy Shepard 

(615) 244-9514, Ext. 239 

Sally Mountain Show in her native Missouri. 

Honored, too, was 99-year-old country 

music pioneer James Buchanan, who was 

immortalized via Mrs. Howard (Ruth) 

White’s acclaimed biography “The Original 

Goober” (Nova Books, Nashville, 2004). 

- Photo by Patricia Presley. 

Melody Writers!! 

Clever titles, lucrative lyrics 

await matching music. ASCAP 

writer will give you 75-25 split if 

you do leg-work. Expenses 50-50. 

(757) 481-7792. 

eric.stevens8@verizon.net 

OUR READERS WRITE . . . 

Dear Editor: 

I have been intending to get this to you 

since I received a copy of the April-June 

2006 issue of The Nashville Musician, 

which my good friend Les Leverett had sent 

to me. 

I always enjoy reading The Nashville 

Musician and read every page from cover 

to cover. I want to compliment you on your 

work in the newspaper, and most especially 

of the articles on Gordon Terry, Cindy 

Walker and Buck Owens, all of whom were 

good friends of mine. The content of these 

(obituaries) revealed a lot of research on 

your part, and I want ;you to know it was 

greatly appreciated. 

A few years ago, I was in Local 257’s 

office visiting (former employee) Phyllis 

Hill and happened to mention to President 

Harold Bradley that I had been a member 

of the AFM for over 50 years, and he asked 

me where my 50-year pin was? 

I said I didn’t know anything about a 

50-year pin, and he went to the computer 

and said, “You sure have been a member 

for over 50 years,” and told me I would have 

to go to the officers of my Local 75 in Des 

Moines, Iowa, and they would get it for me 

- and they did. 

By now I have been a member for 60 

years, having joined in the md-1940s in San 

Diego, Calif. If there is any way I could get 

a subscription to The Nashville Musician, I 

would be glad to do so, as I really enjoy it, 

since I have worked with and booked all 

the older artists from the 1950s through the 

1990s. Keep up the good work. 

Sincerely, 

Donald C. Smith 

a.k.a. Smokey Smith 

Des Moines, Iowa 

MusiCares for Music People 

Financial Assistance and Addiction Recovery Services 

for music people in medical, financial or personal crisis. 

Call toll free for information: 

East: 1.877.303.6962 

South: 1.877.626.2748 

West: 1.800.687.4227 

MAP Fund - Addiction Recovery: 

1.888.627.6271 

Happy 

musicares.com 

Insignia pin reminder 

All members who may be eligible 

for 25-year or 50-year membership 

insignia pins, should notify 

our office for assistance. Call 

(615) 244-9514, Ext. 224. 

Holidays! 

Dear Walt Trott: 

I just want to thank you for the nice article 

on Emory (Martin) in The Nashville 

Musician newspaper and Country Music 

People magazine (in the UK). They were 

both good articles and really appreciated. 

They sure brought back memories, along 

with the article about Hal and Velma Smith. 

When I was 15 years old, I worked with a 

girl band on WGST-Atlanta, worked package 

shows with Pop Eckler, Jimmy Smith 

(then his wife was Bonnie Jones, who 

worked with our band), and also Uncle Ned. 

This was in 1941. 

Johnny (Wright) and Kitty (Wells) came 

up for Emory’s funeral. They are special 

friends. Emory will be missed. We were 

married 62 years. Thanks again. 

Sincerely, 

Linda Lou Martin 

Mt. Vernon, Ky. 

Dear Walt: 

Thank you so much for the newspaper. 

Your thoughtfulness is very appreciated. 

The articles (on Danny Patton, Billy Walker 

and Charles Lilly) were well-written. 

Thanks again. 

God bless, 

Teryl Peterson 

Franklin, Tenn. 

(Send your Letter to the Editor c/o The 

Nashville Musician, P.O. Box 120399, 

Nashville TN 37212. All letters subject to 

editing in the interest of space and clarity.) 

Centenarian Corrine Osborn, 

a classical violinist, educator 

Violinist Corrine Kirchmaier Osborn, 

oldest member of the Nashville Association 

of Musicians AFM Local 257, died Sept. 

22, at Carlyle Place in Bedford, N.H. She 

was 101 years old. 

Born Feb. 12, 1905 to Georgia 

(Cauthran) and Wesley Hull in Parkersburg, 

W. Va., Corrine Hull attended schools in that 

area, and later became a member of the Cincinnati 

(Ohio) Conservatory of Music. 

A highly accomplished violinist, Mrs. 

Osborn was also a member of both the Cincinnati 

Symphony Orchestra, and the Nashville 

Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Osborn had 

taught violin herself at Sullins College in 

Bristol, Va. 

She was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota 

Musical Society and of the Daughters of the 

American Revolution. The former Corrine 

Kirchmaier joined Nashville’s Local 257 on 

Aug. 29, 1950. 

A communicant of Grace Episcopal 

Church in Manchester, N.H., she had resided 

in Bedford for the past three years, and before 

that lived in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Her first husband Carl Theodore 

Kirchmaier died in 1981; and she later married 

Leslie A. Osborn, who died in 1996. 

Funeral arrangements were conducted by 

Davis Funeral Home in Nashua, N.H. Survivors 

include a son, Thomas W. Kirchmaier 

of Manchester, N.H.; four grandchildren; 

nine great-grandchildren; and seven greatgreat-grandchildren. 

Memorial donations 

may be made in her name to the American 

Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, 

Mass. 01701.


King of the Dobro 

Ex- Foggy Mountain Boy Josh Graves dies 

Josh Graves 

Three days after his birthday, dynamic 

dobro master Uncle Josh Graves died Sept. 

30 in Nashville’s Skyline Medical Center, 

following a long illness. He had suffered the 

loss of both limbs earlier, as a result of circulatory 

problems. 

The International Bluegrass Music Association 

(IBMA) Hall of Honor member 

(1997) had performed with such acclaimed 

acts as Flatt & Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain 

Boys, Mac Wiseman’s Country Boys, and 

Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper’s Clinch 

Mountain Clan. 

A Lifetime Member of Nashville Association 

of Musicians’ AFM Local 257, Josh 

helped in defining bluegrass music, while 

reviving interest in the dobro which first 

found favor in the 1920s. His energetic 

pickin’ style, including banjo-style finger 

rolls and bluesy lead lines, influenced such 

latter-day players as Jerry Douglas. 

Graves’ performance on Sugar Hill’s 

1994 set “The Great Dobro Sessions” earned 

the IBMA Record Event of the Year award. 

Another highly-acclaimed album, “Josh 

Graves, Sultan of Slide,” was co-produced 

for OMS Records by Hugh Moore & Billy 

Troy (Josh’s son) in 2000. 

Another son Josh Jr. once performed with 

the Nashville-based rock group Ronny & 

The Daytonas, scoring in 1964 with the pop 

Top Five Billboard single “Little GTO,” 

before becoming a Hendersonville, Tenn., 

policeman. 

Burkett Howard (Buck) Graves was 

born Sept. 27, 1927 (although some report 

it as 1925) in Tellico Plains, Tenn., to 

Elizabeth and Troy Graves. 

At age 9, he heard and was inspired by 

Cliff Carlisle playing the dobro while performing 

Jimmie Rodgers’ songs. Later, he 

and Cliff became close friends, and Josh 

called his 1927 model dobro “Cliff” in tribute 

to his mentor. Other instrumentalists who 

influenced him later included George 

(Speedy) Krise and Earl Scruggs. 

In 1942, Graves began playing bass in 

the Pierce Brothers band at Gatlinburg, 

Tenn.; and by the late 1940s, while performing 

with Esco Hankins’ band, recorded for 

King Records. During his tenure with Wilma 

Lee & Stoney Cooper he appeared on 

WWVA’s Wheeling Jamboree broadcasts, 

and later played WSM’s Grand Ole Opry 

as a member of Flatt & Scruggs. 

From 1955 thru 1969, Josh played dobro 

with Flatt & Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain 

Boys. After the duo split, he joined Lester 

Flatt’s Nashville Grass band until ’71, but 

also did sessions in the studio, supporting 

such artists as Kris Kristofferson, Ferlin 

Husky, Johnny Cash, Charlie McCoy and J. 

J. Cale. Then after bowing out of Flatt’s unit, 

Josh went with the Earl Scruggs Revue, re- 

maining until 1974. 

Although Graves went solo in 1974, he 

soon linked up with fiddler Kenny Baker to 

tour and record. The Uncle Josh and Cousin 

Jake Tullock album “Just Joshing” (1975), 

represented a reuniting of the Foggy Mountain 

Boys, the two who had provided comic 

relief for concert audiences. Come 1989, 

Josh and Kenny also toured with fellow instrumentalists 

Eddie Adcock and Jesse 

McReynolds as The Masters. 

Among Graves’ albums are “Alone At 

Last” (Epic Records, 1974); “Same Old 

Blues” (CMH, 1978), “Sing Away the Pain” 

(with Vassar Clements, CMH, 1979) and 

“King of the Dobro” (CMH, 1982). A collaborative 

album with Bobby Smith, “Sweet 

Sunny South” (CMH, 1978), also featured 

The Boys From Shiloh and Benny Martin. 

Graves’ sense of humor and faith - he 

wrote "Come Walk With Me" - helped 

him through a long and costly illness. Reportedly 

the musician joshed that he expected 

it would cost him “an arm and a 

leg” to go in the hospital (financially 

speaking), “but this is ridiculous (referring 

to his amputations, actually done at 

different times).” Despite his great losses, 

he smiled and said he would play again: 

“They didn’t operate on my hands . . . I 

won’t quit.” 

Survivors include his wife of 61 years 

Evelyn Graves; daughters Linda Howell and 

Bambi Lynn Broersma; sons Burkett (Josh) 

Graves, Jr., Billy Troy Graves, and 

Raymond Bryan Graves; sister Jewel Key; 

brother Harold R. Graves; 18 grandchildren; 

and 11 great-grandchildren. Funeral services 

were held Oct. 3 at the Chapel of Madison 

Funeral Home, with Eddie Stubbs giving the 

eulogy, and The Reverend Bruce Lowhorn 

officiating. Performances were offered by 

the Dean Osborne Band, with a prelude by 

Tim Graves, and other participants included 

Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, Lance LeRoy 

and Marty Stuart. Interment’s in 

Hendersonville Memory Gardens. 

Regular Pallbearers were Larry Perkins, 

Hide Watanabe, Rick Keisler, Dan Hays, 

Hugh Moore and Benny Boling. Honorary 

Pallbearers: Earl Scruggs, Kenny Baker, 

Lance LeRoy, Curly Sechler, Mac Wiseman, 

Eddie Adcock, Jesse McReynolds, Jerry 

Douglas, Gary Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, 

Chris Sharp, Johnny Warren, Billy Pack and 

Todd Wright . - Walt Trott 

Josh Graves visiting Local 257, above 

with Jimmy Capps and Billy Linneman. 

Kirk Whalum performs Nov. 15, 17 

Grammy-nominated saxophonist Kirk 

Whalum will perform with the Nashville Jazz 

Orchestra in concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 

17 in Vanderbilt University’s Martha Rivers 

Ingram Center for the Performing Arts. Ticket 

tabs are $15 adults, and $5 for students. 

This follows a Master Class with Whalum 

at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, which is free 

and open to the public. For details, call Jim 

Williamson, NJO director, at (615) 889-6335, 

or contact NJO on-line via e-mail: 

jim@nashvillejazzorchestra.org 

A publicity shot for The Masters (from left) Eddie Adcock, Kenny Baker, Graves and Jesse McReynolds. 

Nathan, Lewis Family, newest Hall of Honor inductees 

Bluegrass group The Grascals, IBMA’s top winner 

There were few surprises at the 17th annual 

International Bluegrass Music Association 

(IBMA) awards show, which again 

saw Rhonda Vincent, Doyle Lawson and 

Ricky Skaggs adding to their trophy cases. 

Last year’s newcomer award winner The 

Grascals accomplished the amazing feat of 

taking home IBMA’s big one - Entertainer 

of the Year - during the Sept. 28 show at the 

Grand Ole Opry House. 

The event, carried live over XM Satellite 

Radio, was hosted by Marty Stuart, who 

also performed on the program with his 

Fabulous Superlatives. It was being syndicated 

globally, as well. 

Rhonda Vincent was voted her seventh 

straight Best Female Vocalist statuette, 

while Tim O’Brien repeated his 1993 win 

as Best Male Vocalist. Tim also scored best 

song honors for “Look Down That Lonesome 

Road.” 

A winning pair, Doyle Lawson and Rhonda 

Vincent announced the IBMA nominees. 

. . . Brouhaha broils backstage 

As a result of a controversy brewing by 

a performance of the U.S. Navy’s Country 

Current bluegrass contingent at the 2006 

International Bluegrass Music Association’s 

annnual awards, Sept. 28, IBMA President 

& Chairman of the Board David S. Crow 

tendered his resignation. 

Some in the Nashville-based organization 

criticized the music selections of the 

Naval musicians (sharing the stage with vocalist 

Rhonda Vincent). Their music included 

military anthems, even after the 

IBMA board had cautioned them on this, 

requesting they perform an original bluegrass 

song instead. 

When Crow, himself a bluegrass picker 

and Nashville attorney, heard the selections 

backstage, he resigned. Crow, also a member 

of Local 257, pointed out, “It’s a dangerously 

fine line between patriotism and 

politics, and the line is so fine that trade organizations 

probably need to avoid it . . . 

Resigning was not a political statement, it 

was a statement about losing control from a 

leadership perspective.” 

Meanwhile, Executive Director Dan 

Hays also told The Tennessean newspaper, 

“We’re encouraging David as best we know 

how, to reconsider his resignation” 

Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver earned 

their sixth award in the vocal group category, 

and also picked up another trophy, 

best gospel recorded performance, thanks 

to the disc “He Lives In Me.” 

It was the eighth time Ricky Skaggs & 

Kentucky Thunder carried home the best instrumental 

group award, and Skaggs’ Family 

Records proved victorious in winning 

best album honors with the label’s worthy 

all-star CD “Celebration of Life: Musicians 

Against Childhood Cancers,” boasting bluegrass 

notables Vincent, Lawson, The 

Cherryholmes, Dan Tyminski, Bela Fleck, 

Bryan Sutton, Alecia Nugent, Blue Highway, 

Marty Raybon, Aubrey Haynie and 

Tony Rice, among many others. It was coproduced 

by Darryl Adkins, Jack Campbell 

and Bob Kelly. 

Instrumentalists honored were: Bryan 

Sutton, guitar (see separate story on page 

18); Michael Cleveland, fiddle; Rob Ickes, 

dobro; Missy Raines, bass; Adam Steffey, 

mandolin; and Jim Mills, banjo. Instrumental 

Album winner: Michael Cleveland & 

Flamekeeper for “Let ’Er Go Boys.” 

Their album “One Day At a Time” 

gained The Steep Canyon Rangers this 

year’s Emerging Artist statuette. Announced 

earlier were the 2006 Bluegrass Hall of 

Honor recipients: Syd Nathan, who founded 

the King Records label in Cincinnati, Ohio, 

during World War II; and The Lewis Family, 

gospel-bluegrass pioneers who also performed 

at the 2006 awards gala. 

Others entertaining included Lawson & 

Quicksilver, Vincent & The Rage, Skaggs 

& Kentucky Thunder, The Nashville String 

Machine, Del McCoury, Vince Gill, The 

Grascals, Steve Wariner, Cherryholmes, 

Claire Lynch, Blue Highway, Curly Sechler, 

Larry Sparks, 3 Fox Drive, U.S. Navy Band 

Country Current, and The Isaacs with Sheri 

& Jeff Easter, as well as reigning instrumentalist 

winners. - Walt Trott 

Best male vocalist Tim O’Brien with Sam Bush.


A World War II hero 

Local 257’s John Bellar dies at age 83 

John E. Bellar, 83, of Ashland City, 

Tenn., died Aug. 8. Bellar, who sang and 

played harmonica, had suffered from diabetes 

and heart disease. 

According to his son Johnny Wayne 

Bellar, also a member of Local 257, his father 

first underwent heart bypass surgery in 

1993. 

Born in Montgomery County, Tenn., 

John E. Bellar grew up in Port Royal. Starting 

at about 9 years old, he began playing 

harmonica, having admired DeFord Bailey’s 

harmonica playing on the Grand Ole Opry. 

He was also fond of the playing by Herman 

Crook (of the Opry’s Crook Brothers) and 

later became a fan of Wayne Raney & 

Lonnie Glosson of “Why Don’t You Haul 

Off and Love Me” fame. 

In December 1941, Johnnie was next up 

as a contestant in a radio talent contest when 

the network interrupted to announce 

America was at war with Japan (after the 

bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii), and 

thus the competition was cancelled. 

Bellar, during World War II, served with 

the Army’s 475th Infantry Regiment, assisting 

the legendary Merrill’s Marauders (led 

by General Frank Merrill) in the China- 

Burma-India Theater of Operations. While 

serving over there, Johnnie was wounded 

in the right leg and hip by enemy fire in 

1944. 

“It took him three weeks to get to a hospital 

by ox-cart,” explains the younger 

Bellar. “Then he had to spend six months in 

the hospital for treatment.” 

In the immediate postwar era, Johnnie 

took jobs selling appliances in and around 

Clarksville, and worked as security on the 

gates at Fort Campbell, Ky. 

It was in 1948 that he began selling insurance 

as a Life of Georgia agent, continuing 

for over 36 years with the company, until 

he retired at age 62. 

“The computer age kind of run him off,” 

says Bellar. 

Throughout his life, Johnnie kept up his 

chops, playing local events and dances, and 

during the 1960s and ’70s, performed with 

the Cumberland River Boys in Tennessee 

and Kentucky. 

“Dad enjoyed gospel music and hymns, 

but among his favorite songs were ‘Wabash 

Cannonball’ and ‘Today, I Started Loving 

You Again.’ He also made some CDs he was 

proud of,” says Johnny, adding that his father 

had enjoyed performing until recently 

at the former Fan Fair with the pioneer 

Reunionaires. 

He also recalls his dad saying he was 

John E. Bellar 

pleased by an audition he once did for Roy 

Acuff, during which Roy praised his playing, 

but in the interest of economics chose 

Jimmy Riddle for his Smoky Mountain 

Boys band, as Jimmy could play other instruments 

than harmonica. 

Son Johnny Wayne, who plays dobro, 

bass, guitar, dulcimer and autoharp, made 

pop proud by landing his first professional 

gig at 15, with the Stoneman Family. 

“But I think he was most proud when I 

got to perform on the Grand Ole Opry with 

Wilma Lee Cooper (and the Clinch Mountain 

Clan) for four years.” 

On his own part, Johnny Wayne says, 

“Dad was my music hero, but I got all hung 

up watching Josh Graves and (Bashful) 

Brother Oswald (Pete Kirby) and chose the 

dobro.” 

John’s daughter Carolyn also played 

autoharp and was blessed with a beautiful 

voice, notes her brother. Johnny says their 

parents were wed on dad’s birthday Aug. 2, 

1946: “He kept hanging on, and hanging on, 

waiting for that anniversary.” 

Besides his wife of 60 years Martha 

(Ingram) Bellar, and their son, survivors include 

daughter Carolyn Baker of Ashland 

City, Tenn.; brother Felix Bellar of Adams, 

Tenn.; sisters Betty Smith of Allensville, 

Ky., and Lucille Barlow of Littleton, N.C.; 

grandchildren Valerie Broadway of Ashland 

City, and Amy Ferry of Foley, Ala.; and 

great-grandchildren Jonathan Broadway, 

Daniel Broadway and Alan Wade Ferry. 

Cheatham Country Funeral Home was 

in charge of arrangements. Graveside services 

with full military honors were held 

Aug. 11 at the Highland Cemetery in 

Guthrie, Ky., and officiated by Brother Paul 

Robert Gupton. - Walt Trott 

Ryman plaque denotes birth of bluegrass 

During dedication of a marker commemorating the Ryman as the birthplace of bluegrass, Patricia 

Presley snaps ceremony participants (from left) artists Ricky Skaggs, Earl Scruggs, Opry announcer 

Eddie Stubbs and Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell. The downtown auditorium was the long-time home to 

WSM’s Grand Ole Opry. Among the genre’s earliest Opry practitioners were Bill Monroe and his Blue 

Grass Boys, in which the late Lester Flatt & Scruggs were early band members. 

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. . . AFM award for Bradley 


ley story, which includes contracts for 

session leader, arranger, producer and solo 

artist with his mid-1960s’ Columbia albums 

“Harold Bradley’s Misty Guitar,” 

“Bossa Nova Goes To Nashville” and 

“Guitars For Lovers.” Harold quipped, 

“Don Law hired me to be their answer to 

(RCA’s) Chet Atkins . . . and was he surprised!” 

Rear-screen projected images accompanying 

Bradley’s humor-sprinkled narrative, 

aided in depicting his musical beginnings, 

including spending summer ’43 

as a teen-aged touring Texas Troubadour, 

when an Ernest Tubb regular was drafted 

into World War II. (A rare shot showed 

usually dapper Harold in cowboy regalia.) 

His first recording stint was in 1946, 

in Chicago, with Pee Wee King’s Golden 

West Cowboys, after spending two years 

in the Navy. 

Under the GI Bill, Harold studied at 

George Peabody College. Meanwhile, he 

continued to perform and do occasional 

studio work, while earning his degree. 

Probably one of his more unusual sessions 

was being the only caucasion in the 

studio when Ivory Joe Hunter, legendary 

R&B pianist and vocalist, recorded for 

King Records in 1947. Lloyd played snippets 

of Hunter’s rendition of “All States 

Boogie” from that session. 

Another audio medley by Bill Lloyd 

featured Bradley playing on bandleader 

Ray Anthony’s 1952 Capitol pop success 

“The Bunny Hop,” as well as Patsy 

Cline’s 1957 breakthrough hit “Walkin’ 

After Midnight,” writer Willie Nelson’s 

demo leading to Cline’s classic “Crazy,” 

Don Gibson’s 1958 charttopper “Oh 

Lonesome Me” and Bradley’s banjo intro 

for Johnny Horton’s 1959 #1 pop and 

country million-seller “The Battle of New 

Orleans.” 

Lloyd selected a single page from 

Harold’s vintage studio log: “Let me just 

read from his session book, there’s Les 

Paul & Mary Ford, Conway Twitty, Don 

Gibson, Clyde McPhatter, Del Wood and 

some fellow named Elvis Presley, this is 

all in one week!” 

“Between 1962 and 1967, I was fortunate 

to play on 12 million-selling Elvis 

records,” Harold added, including film 

soundtracks such as Presley’s “Kissin’ 

Cousins” (1964), “Clambake” (1967), and 

more recently Tom Hanks’ “You’ve Got 

Mail” (1998). 

Lloyd also pointed out that Harold 

played on three of the most popular 

Christmas recordings ever: Burl Ives’ “A 

Holly, Jolly Christmas,” Bobby Helms’ 

“Jingle Bell Rock” and Brenda Lee’s 

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” 

Helms’ and Lee’s were recorded in 1958 

(though Lee’s wasn’t released until ’60). 

Harold recalled that the first single 

he played on to sell a million records was 

Red Foley’s 1950 #1 pop-country crossover 

“Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy.” It 

also reminded Harold of an amusing incident 

in the studio, involving drummer 

Farris Coursey, who volunteered to create 

a sound-effect of a shoeshine boy 

poppin’ his polishing rag by beating his 

hands rhythmically upon his lap. After an 

hour-and-a-half of this personal abuse, 

Coursey’s skin was smarting! 

Known as the Dean of Nashville Guitarists, 

Bradley paid homage to departed 

A Teamers Hank Garland and Grady Martin, 

also citing fellow players Buddy 

Harman, Ray Edenton, Bob Moore, Floyd 

Cramer, Pete Drake, Pig Robbins, Tommy 

Jackson, Charlie McCoy and Boots 

Randolph. 

He also strolled into the performing 

spotlight to demonstrate Bradley guitar 

licks for the crowd which responded enthusiastically. 

Bradley, a picker identified 

with the innovative tic tac guitar style invented 

in the late 1950s, noted it consisted 

of muting the six-string bass to 

double the bass part: “Everybody started 

using that sound . . . I did it on Brenda 

Lee’s, Patsy Cline’s, Eddy Arnold’s 

(records).” 

As the ‘Cats’ program wound down, 

AFM’s Tom Lee took the podium addressing 

the audience, acknowledging in part, 

“What you have just (witnessed) is just a 

short treasure of a phenomenal story that 

Harold has to tell. He, his brother, Chet 

Atkins, the A Team, they’re all responsible 

for the country music sound of Nashville, 

they’re all responsible for the roots that 

took hold and without this group, you 

probably wouldn’t have this building in 

this city . . .” 

Lee went on to praise Bradley as an 

officer in both the Local and for AFM International, 

and as a goodwill ambassador 

for the Union and Nashville, then directed 

his comments to his startled V.P.: 

“We’d like to give you an award. There 

are only three other individuals that have 

gotten this award, that’s Willie Nelson, 

Rod McKuen and Chet Atkins, so on behalf 

of all your International Executive 

Board (members) and on behalf of 

100,000 brothers and sisters throughout 

the United States and Canada, we want 

to give you a Lifetime Achievement 

Award for all the things you’ve accomplished.” 

It was a fitting climax to an afternoon 

of musical nostalgia for Nashville’s premier 

picker. 

Harold above with his AFM award. 

Watch for our 

Americana Music 

Festival coverage 

in your next issue 

of The Nashville 

Musician 

newspaper! 

Stopping by Local 257 Hq . . . 

Dave Pomeroy with ‘Duke.’ 

Alison Prestwood and ‘Ruby.’ 

Anita Winstead with parents Bob 

and Kathryn Ayers at Local 257. 

Office assistant Tyler Allen. 

Office staffer Christie Allen. 

Barry Walsh and ‘Nigel.’ 

B. James Lowry’s pet ‘Lola.’ 

Janet Butler with daughter Tara 

and grandson Landon. 

Bryan Sutton at the Union (see page 18) 

All photos by 

Kathy Shepard


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APPLICATION REVOKED 

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Attention members 

Any musician currently seeking work can 

take advantage of a free listing, which actually 

kicked off in the April-June 2006 issue of 

The Nashville Musician. 

An “At Liberty” column could continue 

if we get additional entries for the October- 

December 2006 edition. 

There is no charge. Simply send name, 

instrument(s) played, relevant gigs if pertinent, 

and appropriate contact information, including 

e-mail data. 

Keep submissions brief. We reserve the 

right to edit all copy received, in the interest 

of space requirements. 

Mail to: Editor, The Nashville Musician, 

Local 257, P.O. Box 120399, Nashville, TN 

37212. 

AT LIBERTY 

Top-notch & road-ready 

Classic to new country lead guitarist 

With back-up vocals 

References upon request 

Contact information 

Brad Orcutt 

Day (615) 797-6075 

Evening (615) 797-9105 

e-mail: singatune31@hotmail.com 

Have Guitar, Will Travel 

Lead Guitar 

Bobby Vogel 

Contact information 

108 Dennis Road 

Hendersonville TN 37075 

Tel: (615) 826-0474 

Cell: (615) 545-5801 

e-mail: bv108@comcast.net 

DECEASED LOCAL 257 MEMBERS 

Lifetime Name Date Deceased Birth Date Date Joined 

CAROLYN T AUSTIN 08/24/2006 01/20/1941 10/24/1984 

JOHN E BELLAR 08/08/2006 08/02/1923 06/07/1973 

Y CURTIS C GIBSON 09/16/2006 07/31/1926 08/29/1958 

MACK P KING, JR 08/11/2006 04/22/1954 09/07/1977 

Y JACK DALE LOGAN 07/24/2006 04/12/1928 07/14/1952 

MICHELLE J MCTEAGUE 09/11/2006 05/07/1958 10/13/1982 

Y JOHN BRYAN MILLER 08/08/2006 10/01/1912 09/01/1992 

DAVID SCHNAUFER 08/23/2006 09/28/1952 08/26/1985 

JAMES RICHARD UNGER 09/25/2006 07/20/1954 10/29/1990


One of Nashville’s first-call pickers has solo album 

Guitarist Bryan Sutton pays his homage to heroes 

By WALT TROTT 

Session musician Bryan Sutton runs on 

his own adrenalin. 

This high-octane picker, who in the studio 

has backed such high-profile performers 

as Dolly Parton, Trace Adkins and The 

Dixie Chicks, occasionally tours with the 

likes of Earl Scruggs, Hot Rize and Béla 

Fleck, and still finds time to release yet a 

third solo album “Not Too Far From the 

Tree” on Sugar Hill. 

“I had to come to the realization that as 

comfortable as it is to stay in Nashville and 

do sessions, I have to go entertain and play 

music for my sanity and to continue to grow 

as a player.” 

Sutton, reigning 2006 Academy of 

Country Music instrumentalist of the year, 

has also just been honored with multiple 

IBMA award nominations: Guitarist of the 

Year; Instrumental Album of the Year for 

“Not Too Far . . . ,” which includes a best 

producer nod; and for Best Recorded Event, 

thanks to bringing together his music heroes, 

such as dad Jerry Sutton, Doc Watson, 

Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs and 

Scruggs. Bryan was IBMA guitarist of the 

year in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005. 

Despite the acoustic guitar recognition, 

Sutton is also a pro on fiddle, banjo, mandolin 

and electric guitar His skill playing 

at high-speed got him dubbed “Bionic 

Bryan,” but when he does so, it’s never at 

the expense of clarity, tone or volume. 

“I’m not sure where that nickname came 

from, but I try to maintain the quality, no 

matter how uptempo the tune,” he insists. 

“I tell a lot of people, in workshops and 

classes or whatever sort of teaching environment 

I find myself in, that it’s mainly 

about the clarity and tone before speed. Generally, 

when you pick up speed, the volume 

tends to go down, but I try to do just the 

opposite . . . 

“As far as the actual technique of 

flatpicking goes in playing bluegrass guitar, 

obviously a lot of that stuff is really fast, 

but I would much rather hear somebody play 

clear and clean at a slower tempo, than try 

to play something fast and sloppy.” 

A third generation player, James 

Bryan Sutton was born Oct. 16, 1973 in 

Asheville, N.C., a city steeped in musical 

heritage, and raised in suburban Candler. 

“Jerry, my dad, is a great rhythm guitarist, 

but plays really good melodic banjo, 

and is a good bass player, who reads music. 

My grandfather Grover was an oldtime fiddler. 

Later in life, he got into building and 

fixing fiddles and trading fiddles back and 

forth. Anything to do with fiddles on any 

level, he was into. He played every day, and 

was a big fan of Jimmie Rodgers and the 

Delmore Brothers. 

“Being around Asheville when he was 

young, it was a hot spot for country music 

back then. You have the old-time bluegrass 

tradition there in the mountains. But 

Asheville was also a standard stop on the 

trail for the Carter Family and Rodgers and 

that kind of sound in those days.” 

Glen Duncan, equally adept on fiddle or violin. 

Bryan Sutton helped headline the 7th annual American Music Festival at the Ryman, Sept. 22. 

According to Bryan, WWMC-Asheville 

was a powerful country station to listen to: 

“Growing up there and not too far removed 

from them time-wise, a lot of the same musicians 

locally were still playing. I was of a 

different generation, but I got to hear and 

be around a lot of old-time musicians, who 

were hallowed and revered there.” 

Grampa Grover, who gifted 10-year-old 

Bryan with an Ibanez guitar, had a brother 

Hershel, who played harmonica. Bryan’s 

mother Carol played piano, mainly as pastime, 

while his older sister Leesa played 

fiddle. 

“And in my dad’s mother’s family there 

were some grand uncles back in the 1800s, 

of whom we have pictures with fiddles and 

banjos, things like that. It was such a rich 

area for music, kind of like Texas, where a 

lot of not necessarily professional musicians, 

but just active musicians on the scene, 

never felt the need to leave there as far as 

the enjoyment of playing was concerned.” 

Bryan recalls that through his childhood, 

his father and grandfather were in a group, 

the Harmony Valley Stringband: “My earliest 

memories were listening to them practicing, 

through the late 1970s and early ’80s. 

I would sit in my room with my little play 

guitar and strum along with them.” 

At 8, he started getting a chance to play 

for real when dad began providing music 

lessons on a Gibson L-00 that belonged to 

his granddad. 

“When we were kids, Leesa and I also 

played in a family band with my dad and 

another friend of ours. Leesa played all 

through her elementary and high school 

years, but didn’t have the same fire about it 

that I did. She quit playing in college, and 

since then doesn’t play anymore, though 

she’s really involved behind-the-scenes on 

a volunteer level handling planning and logistics 

for things like festivals and events. 

She actually has a job with the state in what 

they call the Office of Tourism & Cultural 

Heritage Development, some long title like 

that . . . Good for her.” 

“One thing about my mother, she made 

lots of sacrifices, driving us all over the 

place for lessons. I was taking guitar and 

banjo lessons at one point from different 

people on opposite sides of town. I studied 

classical guitar and jazz. I always felt like 

she and dad both were very supportive. I 

think they thought Leesa and I had a talent 

for music.” 

Bryan also would “jam” at different 

houses and places around Asheville: “It was 

a great way to meet other musicians and to 

learn about our area, and all the while I was 

learning to play better. I liked that because 

there was never any sort of pedagogue of you 

learn this song, you learn the scale and you 

apply certain theory . . . It was the basis of 

my learning and ear training, I guess.” 

In high school, Bryan even played in a 

rock and roll band. 

“It was a show choir backup band, with 

probably 15 girls in the group, a singerdancer 

ensemble thing, and we had two gui- 

Bryan goes over a number with vocalist Dolly Parton. 

tars, bass, drums and keyboards. I’d never 

played anything much involved with pop 

music and it was neat to have that opportunity.” 

He still regards Eddie Van Halen as 

a favorite guitarist. 

During school days, pianist Anthony 

Burger, one of the more renowned gospel 

players (and late member of Local 257), 

moved next door to the Suttons. 

“He performed with The Kingsmen, a 

Southern gospel quartet based out of the 

Asheville area. As a senior in high school I 

went to Anthony and told him I was interested 

in getting into the music business. I 

had a sense that being a sideman was what 

I wanted. When I would see bands on MTV 

or The Nashville Network I was more into 

what the guys in the background were playing, 

not the singer. I’d see the acoustic 

player in Eric Clapton’s band or some guy 

playing on the Grand Ole Opry, or different 

bluegrass players, and knew that was 

more what I wanted to do, as opposed to 

being an artist or such. 

“I also knew Anthony did a lot of session 

work with Southern gospel groups,” 

continues Sutton. “There was a studio that 

not only did The Kingsmen’s records, but 

had a stable of artists and different groups 

that came in to do custom records. So they 

were basically doing two or three records 

a week there. I’d go over after school, hang 

out and meet all the players. 

“There were about six or seven 

musicans who would get calls to do all 

these records. Luckily, some of the best musicians 

I ever heard were there including 

Tony Creasman, a drummer who a lot of 

guys here know about, and another named 

David Johnson. Primarily on Asheville sessions 

they used a drummer, bassist, pianist 

- and David. David worked sessions in 

Asheville, in East Tennessee, down towards 

Charlotte, and around Greenville, 

S.C., sort of in a 150-mile radius that was 

his to work.


“I realized if I’m gong to even think about 

dong sessions around Asheville, I can’t just 

show up with acoustic guitar. I had been 

playing some electric, but it was mainly jazz 

and rock stuff, so I started learning more 

country kinds of stuff and got to know the 

work of Brent Rowan and Brent Mason and 

got a Telecaster and started into that realm. 

“David was what we call a utility player. 

He would bring everything, steel, electric 

guitar, banjo, dobro, fiddle and harmonica, 

you name it, he played it, kind of like 

Jonathan Yudkin, Bruce Watkins, different 

people who do it here now.” 

By honing his talents on a variety of 

stringed instruments, including electric 

guitar, Bryan set himself up to fill in for 

David when he had an opening. 

“Around Christmas, during my senior 

year, I got a call to do a bluegrass session 

and (gospel singer) Karen Peck was part of 

this. With this label in Asheville there was 

a real influential guy for me named Tim 

Surrett, who was in the gospel world, but 

grew up playing bluegrass like me. He and 

I could talk a lot about the same things. Well, 

he put this record together that basically had 

all traditional songs like ‘I’ll Fly Away.’ I 

think it was called ‘Gospel Music Salutes 

Its Bluegrass Heritage.’ Big gospel names 

would come in and play over these bluegrass 

tracks. 

“I met Karen there as she was putting 

her band together. At the time I was trying 

to decide whether to go on to college or 

jump in professionally. My thought was after 

four or five years of college, I could still 

basically be looking for a gig.” 

Following his 1991 graduation, Sutton 

joined Karen’s New River gospel group, 

based in Georgia. He toured with her band 

for more than two years, but when possible 

continued his session playing. 

“Once I had a taste of being in the studio, 

I’ve always harbored the thought that I 

wanted to build as much of a session career 

as possible. But working with Karen was a 

‘Bionic Bryan’ joined Local 257, July 19, 1994. 

great place to get your feet wet on the music 

scene, because it was basically clean. I 

was riding in a bus, putting up sound systems 

and playing out in the heat in places 

like Oklahoma and traveling all over the 

country. I wasn’t making any money and 

still living at home, but it was right for me 

at the time - a wholesome experience versus 

playing bars.” 

Ever since high school, Bryan’s girl was 

Lori: “I’ve known her since I was 15 or 16 

years old, when I went to high school with 

her in Asheville.” 

Then in late 1993, an opportunity arose 

for Bryan to work with contemporary Christian 

country gospel group Mid-South, based 

in Nashville. 

“I knew that I wanted to move to Nashville 

eventually, and Mid-South was at the 

peak of their career at the time. They were 

on the Christian division of Warner Bros. 

(Alliance), and one of the first things I got 

to do with them was cut a couple great 

records. One was produced by Larry 

Stewart, and the great steel guitar player Al 

Perkins produced one. It was exciting to 

work at that high a level. I was as green as 

anybody when I moved here.” 

Meanwhile, Bryan maintained his close 

ties to Lori. 

“She went to college when I first moved 

here. I was still doing sessions over there, 

and a lot of times I would make stops in 

Greensboro where she was going to school. 

We’d hang out a day or two, then I’d head 

out for another session. We were actually 

engaged most of that time, but she wanted 

to finish college.” 

So how did Bryan break into the Nashville 

session pool? 

“Through my gospel connections I knew 

a few people here, such as (pianist) Otis 

Forrest, whose son Shannon is one of the 

great drummers here, and Bobby All, a fine 

acoustic guitarist. I met him because I was 

a huge fan of his playing. I learned that the 

way the Nashville session scene works is 

through networking. I was with Mid-South 

less than a year and all that time I knew traveling 

wasn’t what I wanted to do.” 

Another session player he would “jam” 

with locally was fiddler Aubrey Haynie, and 

they soon became fast friends. Back in the 

days with New River, however, he had met 

bassist Mark Fain in the gospel group Gold 

City at a package show in Alabama, and they 

became buddies. 

It was in July 1995, that Bryan had to 

rethink his career plans: “I had made this 

decision that I was not going to travel ever 

again, that I was just going to do sessions. 

That’s what I came here to do, and it was 

starting to take off, so I had enough confidence 

to make that statement. 

“In the back of my mind I wondered, 

since I was such a fan of Ricky Skaggs, 

whose music I listened to so much as a kid, 

what will I do if he ever calls? Then all of a 

sudden there he was on my answer machine 

. . . I thought OK here we go!” 

Fain, who began with Skaggs’ Kentucky 

Thunder early in ’95, had recommended 

Sutton when a vacancy occurred. Bryan auditioned 

for the job, which called for a utility 

player. 

“That was kinda scary. We went into this 

room above his garage and we played for a 

little while, but he hired me right then. I was 

heavy into the days of wanting to be a utility 

player, so all the work I’d done learning 

to play different instruments paid off. At that 

point, Ricky still had a country band exclusively. 

I would play basically rhythm, acoustic 

guitar and some mandolin, banjo and 

fiddle, playing all the double parts with 

Bobby Hicks. 

“Then Ricky started fusing some bluegrass 

into his country shows,” Sutton explains. 

“He had this record ‘My Father’s 

Son’ and was trying to make his transition 

from country into bluegrass. So we’d do 

about 30 minutes of country and then totally 

reset the stage, come out, do a set of 

bluegrass, then follow it with more country. 

He had a neat way of doing that. 

“Through that transition, the electric 

guitar player Keith Sewell was leaving, so 

I had enough experience on a Telecaster to 

ask him to give me a shot. During the last 

few months of Skaggs’ country touring, I 

played electric guitar. Ricky hired another 

guy Dennis Parker to do what I’d been doing. 

I also felt like it would be the smart 

thing to be lead guitarist in the country show 

and lead guitar player in the bluegrass set.” 

One of his first shows with Skaggs, 

ironically, was playing in Asheville: “That 

was a big outdoor street festival, and it 

was really cool.” 

Bryan garnered good reviews person- 

At recent MerleFest in Carolina (from left): George Shuffler, 

Jack Lawrence, Tony Rice, Bryan, Jerry Douglas and Jerry Sutton. 

ally for his participation in Skaggs’ Kentucky 

Thunder albums’ “Bluegrass Rules!” 

and “Ancient Tones,” both award winners. 

“It was weird because I had sort of gotten 

away from playing bluegrass guitar and 

my initial start was playing flatpicking 

acoustic guitar. So playing in Kentucky 

Thunder with Ricky was a great opportunity 

to get that back out there. It took me 

awhile to sort of brush up on all my chops. 

But I was pretty much on fire to be at my 

best, and really worked at it.” 

Bryan found that his background in 

bluegrass and Ricky’s were not too dissimilar: 

“We had a great connection 

within the bluegrass world, especially 

working up arrangements. He does a lot 

of double guitar kind of things, so he and 

I would work out little grooves, and we 

had a very good, natural musical relationship 

because we grew up listening to a lot 

of the same kinds of songs. So we would 

just sort of fall in with each other. Ricky’s 

got such a wealth of knowledge and just 

to be around that and hear stories about 

the Stanley Brothers and Bill Monroe was 

great.” 

He was also appreciative of Skaggs giving 

players a chance to show what they 

could do: “It’s part of the inherent nature of 

bluegrass, which is kind of like jazz in that 

respect, where you’ve got a basic form of 

the tune, but everybody gets a solo. We did 

a version of the old Bill Monroe tune ‘Get 

Up, John,’ on that ‘Bluegrass Rules!’ record, 

where everybody took extended solos. It 

was almost a kind of be-bop jam thing, giving 

us a great opportunity to really explore 

and not just play within a 16- or 32-bar 

framework.” 

Despite a hectic touring schedule, Bryan 

still did what sessions he could while with 

Skaggs. He was being heard on solo discs 

by pals Haynie (“Doin’ My Time”), Jerry 

Douglas (“Restless On the Farm”) and 

Bobby Hicks (“Fiddle Patch”) -- and it was 

in 1996 that he and Lori were wed. 

That, plus their desire for a family and 

the fact he was losing money by missing 

out on sessions being offered, prompted 

Bryan to revisit his previous plan. 

“It was a hard decision for me, because I 

liked working with Ricky and playing live, 

but I also knew I needed to stay put to build 

my career here as strongly as I could, and I 

knew we were going to have kids (they’re 

now parents to Maggie, 6 and Lily, 2). So 

in late 1997, I felt like I needed to stick to 

my original plan and I let Ricky know.” 

Sutton did do gigs with Skaggs through 

the winter of ’97 and early ’98, but then reverted 

to full-time studio work. Players like 

Haynie, Jerry Kimbrough, Brent Rowan, 

Glenn Worf, and producer-songwriter Frank 

Rogers, were among those throwing work 

his way early on. 

“There’s such a great community of 

players, producers and session leaders 

around here that I feel so connected to, it’s 

hard to pick any one as being more helpful 

and I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out.” 

Despite his ability to play a variety of 

instruments, Sutton still feels more comfortable 

on acoustic guitar. So what’s his favorite 

instrument? 

Well, he was carrying a 1940 Martin D- 

28 Herringbone with him at the time of our 

chat, and even brought it inside though we 

hadn’t scheduled any pictures. 

“It’s one I don’t leave in the car.” 

There’s an interesting story behind it. 

“That guitar belonged to Greg Luck, a 

friend of mine over in North Carolina, who 

had it a couple of years. I actually saw it 

here when I was doing a show at the Ryman 

with a band called Hot Rize featuring Tim 

O’Brien. Greg let me play it - and I said I 

wanted that guitar. But Greg wouldn’t sell. 

Over the next year or so every time I’d see 

it, I reminded him that when he was ready 

to sell I wanted to buy it. Aubrey (Haynie) 

kind of helped me out when he told me that 

Greg might be ready to sell some stuff. So I 

called, made an offer, and we got the deal 

going. It’s now my primary instrument.” 

So what’s its value? 

“They did that particular trim from 

1934 or ’35 up to ’46, for about 10 years. 

The ones before World War II are easily 

the most sought-after. A ballpark figure? 

. . . It’s probably worth $30,000 or more.” 

Sutton’s also a fan of Maine guitar 

builder Dana Bourgeois, as is Ricky Skaggs. 

“I first bought one of Dana’s guitars 

back when I first started playing for Skaggs. 

I wanted an all-purpose type guitar that I 


Bryan in Kentucky Thunder with Ricky Skaggs and Mark Fain.


. . Sutton salutes guitar 

heroes on his latest CD 


could play on bluegrass sessions and live 

stuff, and also play on country sessions. At 

Gruhn’s downtown, I discovered one of his 

and was just blown away by its clarity and 

its volume. It seemed to sound the way I 

wanted to sound. I could hear exactly what 

I wanted to hear. 

“Then I found out how to contact him, 

so when Ricky took us up to Maine (January 

1996), we got a chance to meet him. He 

lives in Lewiston (near Portland, where they 

were gigging). We bought two guitars from 

him. He brought along two dreadnoughts, 

and I chose the one for me (Bougeois Slope 

D, a slope-shoulder dreadnought) and the 

other went to Ricky. That started our relationship 

and both of us have been playing 

his guitars a lot in the last 10 years. To me, 

he’s the best Luthier currently out there.” 

(Dana and Ricky later collaborated on a new 

Ricky Skaggs’ model guitar.) 

So what’s the difference between playing 

the acoustic and the electric guitars, and 

can one be equally skilled on both? 

“There obviously is a difference. When 

I play electric I try to sound like an electric 

guitar player, not an acoustic guy playing 

an electric guitar. Basically when you hear 

an electric guitarist playing acoustic, they 

generally don’t have the strength that most 

acoustic pickers do. On the other hand, a 

lot of acoustic players tend to overdrive the 

thing when they play electric guitar . . . ” 

Has your earlier training on jazz and 

classical guitars helped in studio work? 

“It has. Obviously there are certain 

theory things about jazz chords and relationships 

as a rhythm acoustic guitar player that 

helps. I like to get inside what a keyboard 

player’s playing for certain extensions to the 

chord. I can pick up on that stuff rather easily. 

As far as chart reading, we’re more on 

the Nashville Number System for country 

sessions, yet there are instances where I read 

a standard lead sheet or a jazz chart or standard 

notation kind of thing and I can pull 

from that knowledge, to be able to get 

through that sort of stuff. With a classical 

bit, a lot of it is just acoustic guitar with a 

real sensitive mic, you’ve got to basically 

produce a really clean sound. A lot of the 

basic technique of playing classical guitar 

is producing a loud clear tone that can be 

heard over an orchestra. 

“I apply a lot of that basic approach to 

technique, no matter what I do, especially 

in bluegrass playing, where again you’re totally 

acoustic, and you’re still trying to produce 

this clear tone and as strong a tone as 

possible. Just a lot of left and right hand 

technique, techniques that apply to anything 

you do based on that knowledge. You know, 

left hand positions especially, just learning 

to get three-chord changes and different 

lines cleanly with the best sort of efficient 

use of yourself.” 

How important to you is tone? 

“To me, it’s a good part of everything. 

I’ve got specific guitars that sound a certain 

way. I like a lot of different kinds of 

sounds. I feel like there are certain acoustic 

guitars that are great for particular things. 

Again, it all comes back to having the right 

tone for the right song. A session player always 

carries lots of stuff around for various 

purposes. I put a lot of stock into the tones 

of guitars.” 

He’s also hung up on D’Addario strings, 

specifically their phosphor bronze EXP17s. 

Regarding picks, “I’m a pick experimenter,” 

but has relied on Dunlop Delrin 500s of 

various thicknesses, and sometime a Wegen. 

Sutton did more than “experiment” with 

a new mobile recording rig he utilized in 

his Ralph Peer-style field recording stint to 

help make possible his 2006 album “Not 

Too Far From the Tree.” 

Bryan enjoys doing occasional gigs with banjo god Earl Scruggs, who plays guitar on Sutton’s new CD. 

Bryan used the mobile studio to capture 

the traditional sounds of his guitar heroes, 

where they could be more comfortable, such 

as recording “Give Me the Roses” with Earl 

Scruggs in his and late wife Louise’s living 

room; Norman Blake and Bryan recorded 

“Bully of the Town” at Norman’s home in 

Rising Fawn, Ga.; “Billy in the 

Lowground,” one of the first tunes taught 

Bryan by his dad, was the selection they cut 

for the CD in his parents’ living room back 

in North Carolina; and his and Doc Watson’s 

take on “Whiskey Before Breakfast” was 

accomplished in a Colorado hotel room. 

The idea for the heroes concept came to 

Bryan in 2004, while on a trip: “The reason 

the artists were chosen for the record was 

because of some specific influence they had 

on me musically. Doc Watson inspired me, 

though I didn’t try to mimic him. He’s a 

clean flatpicker, and I’ve always loved the 

rhythmic groove of his playing. But I still 

try to sound like me. In showcasing the guest 

artist, I would hope that somebody listening 

would hear the connection between my 

style and his style.” 

Sutton’s duets included additional icons 

like Tony Rice, David Grier, Russ 

Barenberg, Jerry Douglas, Jack Lawrence 

and Ricky Skaggs. 

So how did they pick a particular song? 

“Some had a specific idea like Dan Crary, 

who was a big early influence and the song 

we played ‘Forked Deer’ was neat, because 

it was one I learned off a teaching series he 

had out when I was a kid.” 

Sutton points out: “Now like with 

George Shuffler, I didn’t have a clue. That 

song was just chosen when we were sitting 

there and I asked what his favorite song was 

to play, well we had the mic on and there 

we go. It’s on the record (‘The Nine-Pound 

Hammer’). I actually had another tune in 

mind. Other songs were chosen because I 

felt they would highlight what stylistically 

was going on. ‘Give Me the Roses’ was one 

Earl played guitar on with Lester Flatt and 

that was a big influence on bluegrass players 

in general. And I didn’t want to do something 

that had been done a lot.” 

Did he get a yes from all his heroes he 

had in mind? 

“No. As I said in the liner notes, Mark 

O’Connor didn’t do it. Now he was one of 

my flatpick guitar heroes and he just doesn’t 

play guitar anymore. That was a decision 

he made kind of like I decided to quit playing 

fiddle,” Bryan says, smiling. “It’s one 

of those things that if you want to play at a 

certain level on something you can’t expect 

to apply that to several different instruments. 

Some people can, I suppose, but I know that 

I wanted to focus on acoustic guitar just like 

he wants to focus on the violin. Just picking 

up the guitar and playing it wouldn’t do 

it justice. I can totally understand that.” 

Has he played for audiences abroad? 

“I’ve gone over a couple of times. I 

played Ireland last year with Béla Fleck. I 

also went to Slovakia once with Jerry Douglas 

for a dobro festival over there. I think 

European audiences are maybe even a little 

more attuned to musicians and more interested 

in the deeper side of what’s going on 

musically than Americans are as a whole.” 

How was it performing with Parton? 

“One of the good things that came out 

of time spent with Ricky was that shortly 

after I left I did a solo record on Sugar Hill 

called ‘Ready To Go’ and have done two 

more since then (‘Bluegrass Guitar’ and 

‘Not Too Far From the Tree’), and I guess 

because of some of the good critical reviews 

and that successful time with Skaggs, it garnered 

me a little bit of a profile in the bluegrass 

community . . . ” 

As a result, Parton engaged him for a trio 

of CDs: “The Grass Is Blue,” “Little Sparrow” 

and “Those Were the Days.” 

“Working with Dolly was great, fairly 

effortless. I have heard her say she feels real 

comfortable with me. She made the comment 

that I can play what she’s hearing in 

her head, you know musically what she’d 

like to have there as an accompaniment. As 

a session player you learn to try to fit what 

you do into somebody else’s sound. That’s 

a big part of the job and having a good attitude 

about it. I try to sound as confident as I 

can.” 

A satisfied Parton invited Sutton to 

play in her band when she made the TV 

rounds to promote her music, on such as 

Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, David 

Letterman’s Late Show and Austin City 

Limits. 

Another high-profile stint came touring 

with The Dixie Chicks: “I think they are 

very talented. If anything, they’re not yet 

exactly what they want to sound like, which 

is nice. On a personal level, we live in an 

era where people are sometimes afraid to 

make a decision or to say anything. They’re 

not afraid to speak their minds, obviously, 

politically. Even if they didn’t know what 

they want ncessarily in the studio, they were 

willing to work and try stuff out. 

“It was a great time and opportunity to 

work with them. We all had a lot of input 

on that first record with them, their ‘Home’ 

album, the acoustic thing they had. We did 

‘Home’ recordings down in Austin (Texas) 

over a week or two, working with (Natalie’s 

father) Lloyd Maines, a legendary Texas 

producer. I played some solos on their ‘Fly’ 

album, but that was it.” 

More recent recordings have been with 

Trace Adkins, Randy Travis, Dierks Bentley, 

Phil Vassar, Rhonda Vincent, Trent Willmon 

and Trisha Yearwood. 

“Today I’m doing a tune or two for a new 

band on RCA. They’re called Due West. I 

think it’s a developmental deal, so we’re 

doing some production demos. Hopefully, 

they’ll get more of a record going later on.” 

Any plans? 

“Yes, I’ve got some upcoming dates with 

Earl (Scruggs). He doesn’t have a specific 

band and so a lot of times there will be different 

calls for different shows. I’m still 

playing some with Hot Rize, and I’ll also 

do some playing this fall with the mandolin 

player Chris Thile of the Nickel Creek band. 

He’s got a solo album out and Nickel 

Creek’s not doing anything much. We’re big 

pals. I’ve known Chris quite awhile, back 

when he was just coming up on the scene.” 

Does he lose money by passing up sessions 

to do the occasional tour? 

“It balances out. I’ve found that performing 

live is something I can’t live without. 

I’m very blessed and fortunate to have the 

opportunity to do both. It’s a hard balance, 

but I’ve looked to people like Jerry Douglas, 

Stuart Duncan, musicians throughout 

the years, who have managed both ends of 

it. I’ve tried to learn from people like that.” 

Alias Chamber Ensemble 

approaches fifth season, 

with trio of Blair concerts 

The Alias Chamber Ensemble marks its 

fifth anniversary via an innovative 2006-’07 

concert season, with its first program in the 

group’s Double Take Series, launched Oct. 

13. That concert at Blair School of Music’s 

Turner Recital Hall boasted Chamber Works 

By Acclaimed Living Composers Stephen 

Paulus, Gabriela Lena Frank, Michael 

Daugherty and Kevin Puts. 

According to Alias’ Artistic Director 

Zeneba Bowers’ announcement, works performed 

included Paulus’ Air on Seurat for 

cello and piano; Frank’s Leyendas An 

Andean Walkabout for string quartet; 

Daugherty’s Paul Robeson Told Me for 

string quartet; and Puts’ And Legions Will 

Rise. 

Bowers, also Assistant Principal Second 

Violin for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, 

noted that the non-profit group earmarks 

its performances to benefit fellow 

non-profit partners. The season’s Oct. 13 

concert benefitted Better Decisions. 

Alias aligns itself with educational organizations 

in Middle Tennessee, in an effort 

to present its unique chamber music offerings 

to students across the spectrum. Two 

more charitable performances by the ensemble 

are scheduled for March 7 and May 

12, also in Turner Recital Hall. 

In addition to Bowers, participants include 

violinists Alison Gooding and Jeremy 

Williams, clarinetist Lee Carroll Levine, 

harpist Licia Jaskunas, horn player Leslie 

Norton, oboist Roger Wiesmeyer, percussionist 

Christopher Norton and cellists 

Michael Samis, Christopher Stenstrom and 

Matt Walker. 

The next concerts and their dates feature 

the following: 

Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - Leonard 

Bernstein Three Meditations from MASS for 

cello and piano; Gabriela Lena Frank’s 

Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout for string 

quartet; Johannes Brahms’ Trio for horn, 

violin and piano. This concert benefits the 

Martha O'Bryan Center. 

Saturday, May 12, 2007 - J. S. Bach’s 

Cantata, BWV 199, Mein Herze schwimmt 

in Blut; Michael Daugherty’s Paul Robeson 

Told Me for string quartet and tape; Kevin 

Puts’ And Legions Will Rise for violin, clarinet, 

and marimba; Amy Beach’s Piano 

Quintet in F sharp. This concert benefits Big 

Brothers, Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. 

All concerts start at 8 p.m. Tickets for 

Alias’ Double Take Series are $5 and $12 

for students (with ID). For details, call 1- 

800-838-3006 or visit www.aliasmusic.org 

Are you moving? 

Report any changes in address or 

beneficiary, to your Local, 

(615) 244-9515, Ext. 240.


By WALT TROTT 

This reporter was fearful the Pirates of 

the Mississippi might order “walk the 

plank,” after arriving 15 minutes late for our 

interview. 

“Hey, it’s show business,” boomed Rich 

(Dude) Alves, who fortunately seemed in a 

jolly mood that a.m. when we met at their 

p.r. agency Aristo/Media. 

Fellow “Pirate” Bill McCorvey seemed 

less hearty, as he glanced with what looked 

like the evil eye. 

“Blame Harold Bradley,” the coward in 

me called out, indicating my meeting with 

Local 257’s chief took longer than anticipated. 

“I’ll bet he doesn’t even know who we 

are,” scowled “Wild Bill,” lead vocalist. 

“You’d lose, because he sends his greetings.” 

McCorvey’s concern may have to do 

with the fact that the original Pirates abandoned 

ship several years back, leaving him 

and Alves to hoist their new banner - a new 

album “Heaven & A Dixie Night” - under 

the colors of Evergreen Records. 

With Alves and McCorvey as the crew’s 

main songwriters, the five first scored via 

their self-titled 1990 Capitol country-pop 

crossover album, and such singles as 

“Rollin’ Home,” “Speak of the Devil” and 

“Til I’m Holdin’ You Again.” 

And after copping the ’90 Academy of 

Country Music’s Best New Vocal Group 

Award, they hit with what’s now their signature 

song “Feed Jake” (#15, 1991), a tune 

that also generated a best video award. 

It’s been a baker’s dozen years, however, 

since the Pirates last charted, so what 

spurred the comeback CD (released Aug. 

29)? 

“One of the songs on the album’s called 

‘Fish Bait,’ it’s about hard times. Bill and I 

feel it’s self-biographical as we were between 

writing stints at the time,” explains 

guitarist/vocalist Alves. “I just had this wild 

idea about fishbait. Economically like many 

people today, we were just living from paycheck-to-paycheck, 

just getting by. My big 

cuts had dwindled down to hundreds of dollars 

instead of thousands. I thought, ‘God, I 

need a big cut. I feel like fish bait with sharks 

circling all around me.’ So it kinda came 

from that. 

“Bill and I had seen each other from 

time-to-time, but hadn’t done anything creative 

together. So I said, ‘I have this idea 

for a song. Why don’t you come over to the 

house, and let’s see what happens.’ We wrote 

that song in about an hour. And I thought, 

‘Man! This is great!’ So we decided to play 

a couple of gigs and see whether the chemistry 

was still there. We went out of town, 

and found that it felt really good again . . . ” 

McCorvey, who also plays banjo and 

guitar, adds, “It was great to get back out 

there to see the reaction of listeners. I was 

surprised at how easy it was to jump back 

in there and start singing again . . . You don’t 

realize how much you like it, until you get 

back on it. So yes, ‘Fish Bait’ was the song 

that brought us back together.” 

Augmenting the duo now are Ross Sermons, 

bass; Pasi Leppikangas, drums/percussion; 

and Gordon Mote, keyboards. Filling 

in has been Dan Nadasdi, ex-Michelle 

Wright pianist. 

Alves and McCorvey have written hits 

for such acts as Alabama, Sammy Kershaw, 

Rascal Flatts, Jamie O’Neal and Mark Wills. 

Part of the reason they initially banded together 

as Pirates of the Mississippi, insists 

Wild Bill, “Was that we were writing stuff 

that really wasn’t mainstream, so we had to 

perform it ourselves to get ’em out there for 

people to hear. It was an outlet for our writing.” 

“Kickin’ Up Dust,” their new CD’s first 

single, apparently is shaking things up a bit, 

according to Bill, “It’s been out only a few 

weeks, but it went from 61 to 54 and now 

to 44. So the initial response has been positive.” 

Rich: “That business is a whole other 

deal. I can’t think about that and try to be 

creative and write songs . . . but we’re very 

appreciative of anyone that cares enough to 

play it.” 

They’re also thankful to Evergreen’s 

Johnny Morris, who heard a demo of their 

newly-penned songs and suggested recording 

the album, which hit the street a year 

later. 

“Bill and I co-produced this new album 

with John Kelton, and did it together our 

way. A lot of times I hadn’t heard what Bill 

had done, or he might be off doing his thing, 

but we’d call each other at night and maybe 

say ‘I love that guitar portion’ or ‘That banjo 

part, it kills!’ It’s a natural thing for us, and 

that’s how focused we are.” 

While their album was in production, 

Morris asked the artists, “Can you guys 

come up with a Christmas song? We’ll put 

that out (December ’05) there and kind of 

let them know the Pirates are starting up 

again. Otherwise, people might think that 

the Pirates were dead - or sunk at sea.” 

Thus Alves and McCorvey, who wrote 

or co-wrote all 12 tracks, joined regular contributor 

Don Goodman to collaborate on 

“Snowman in Birmingham” (on the CD). 

“Rich had this title that he kept running 

by me, so I came up with a (guitar) lick that 

we liked and the rest just kinda flowed.” 

So without fanfare, Evergreen released 

it as a holiday single, says Alves, “It got 

good airplay and did OK. Mainly, it got 

some things stirred up for us.” 

Since the other three original Pirates 

were out of the picture, why not just call 

your act Bill & Rich? 

“(Ha! Ha!) Probably Big & Rich 

wouldn’t like that, replies Alves. “I think 

mainly because it’s the way we were known 

before and that’s the way we are. The Pirates 

is basically our sound. The only change 

is we took the steel out for the keyboards.” 

Former drummer Jimmy Lowe is now 

a computer programmer and fully involved 

in a career outside music, says Alves, “but 

he says he misses the Pirates and if our 

drummer ever gets sick to call him, as 

Jimmy’s got plenty of sick days coming.” 

Meanwhile, steel guitarist Pat Severs is 

playing guitar for “American Pie’s” Don 

McLean: “He always wanted to be a guitar 

player anyway . . . and Dean (Townson) is 

living in town, and not playing bass anymore. 

But he’s doing fine.” 

Pirates Alves and McCorvey. 

Starting over, how do they hope to compete 

against such younger hotshots as Rascal 

Flatts? 

“We’ll just do what we do,” answers 

Bill. “But I’d love to open for ’em, I’ll say 

that. Ours has always been a band thing, not 

a big image thing. The music is our image.” 

Could all the hoopla about “The Pirates 

of the Caribbean” movie trilogy transfer interest 

from a new generation of fans? 

“We didn’t have a clue that would be 

going on,” grins Rich. “But it’s cool!” 

Bill muses, “We don’t have a generation 

gap at all. We’ve got the same people 

that came to our 1990s’ shows. I mean we’ve 

got parents, grandparents and children. 

Yeah, they’re older now, but we’re not.” 

Then Rich points out, “When we did 

the CMA Riverfront Park festival this summer, 

which was sort of our official comeback 

into country music, we didn’t know 

what to expect or whether fans would even 

know who we are. 

“But there was this little girl, like about 

5 or 6, and she was singing along with our 

song when we did ‘Feed Jake.’ Then she 

comes through our autograph line and hands 

me this little scribbled piece of paper she’d 

ripped from a Spiral notebook, and calls 

‘Rich! Rich!’ She even knew my name - and 

it said on that paper, in a big heart, ‘I love 

the Pirates of the Mississippi!’ I said, 

‘Dang! That must be some kind of a sign 

from someone on high.’ 

“All we need this time is to keep our 

wits about us, and our focus now is on the 

album. I think the best thing now is that Bill 

and I are back together again, and having 

fun. I’m actually enjoying doing this . . . As 

you can tell, we don’t take ourselves too 

seriously.” 

Since they no longer qualify as best new 

group, what award would they aim for this 

time out? 

Wild Bill’s response: “Best new career 

award, how about that?” 

New Music award nominees 

New Music Weekly magazine has announced 

the nominees for its 2006 music 

awards, including the best in country 

sounds. 

Nominees for Country Female Artist of 

the Year are Taylor Swift, Carrie 

Underwood, Sara Evans, Danielle Peck and 

Miranda Lambert; And for male artist: 

Collin Raye, Eric Church, Todd Fritsch, Tim 

Murphy and Joe Nichols. 

Other categories include Country Group/ 

Duo of the Year: Well Hungarians, 

Sugarland, Blue County, Hometown News 

and Emerson Drive; Best New Country 

Group/Duo: Pirates Of The Mississippi, 

Heartland, Lantana, Poverty Neck Hillbillies 

and Hot Apple Pie. 

Nominated for best country single: "I 

Loved Her First" Heartland; "Bring It On 

Home” Little Big Town; "Findin’ A Good 

Man" Danielle Peck; "Leave The Pieces" 

The Wreckers; and "Why" Jason Aldean. 

Local 257’s Bill Wence and his firm 

Wence Promotions competes in the category 

of Country Promoter/Company of the Year, 

with Alan Young (Alan Young Promotion); 

James Williams (James Williams Promotion); 

Debbie Green (BGM); and Nancy 

Tunick (Grassroots Promotion). 

Winners will be announced Nov. 18, 

2006, at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, 

Calif., during a live program co-hosted by 

American Idol artist Carmen Rasmussen and 

syndicated radio personality Buck McCoy. 

New Music Weekly, a trade publication, 

boasts more than 500 reporting radio stations 

as a source for its lists. - WT 

Curt Gibson, guitarist, dies 

Local 257 Lifetime Member Curt 

Gibson, 80, died Sept. 16 in Nashville, following 

a heart attack. His son Steve Gibson 

is also a union musician. 

Curt Gibson 

The senior Gibson underwent heart surgery 

about 10 years ago, his widow Mary 

explained. In his last week he suffered from 

pneumonia and a stroke. 

Curtis Clarence Gibson was born July 

31, 1926 in Missionary Grove, near 

Cullman, Ala. He attended West Point, Ala., 

schools, and became interested in music 

from an early age. 

At age 6, a dynamite accident resulted 

in the loss of fingers on his left hand. According 

to Curt, his brother restrained doctors 

from amputating his hand at the wrist. 

His greatest feat was that he noted his guitar 

strings with only two-and-a-half fingers 

on his left hand. King of Country Music Roy 

Acuff later commended Curt for “doing 

something that couldn’t be done.” 

In 1945, Curt came to Nashville to perform 

on WLAC radio, having performed on 

radio in Birmingham with the Johnny 

Sullivan Band. Sullivan, just discharged 

from the military, would later replace Ken 

Marvin (as Lonzo) when he left John’s 

brother Rollin (Oscar) Sullivan’s act Lonzo 

& Oscar, to go solo in ’50. 

Indeed during the early 1950s, Curt 

toured as a solo act on a bill with the Opry 

comedy duo Lonzo & Oscar, now consisting 

of brothers John and Rollin. Gibson 

liked to tell of how he had the distinction 

during a gig in Indianapolis of receiving top 

billing over newcomer Elvis Presley. 

During the latter 1950s, Curt became associated 

with George Morgan of “Candy 

Kisses” fame, and later played rhythm guitar 

for the Grand Ole Opry great. He remained 

a picker and right hand man with 

Morgan 13 years. 

Starting in 1973, Gibson also worked 

for Opry comedian-banjoist David 

(Stringbean) Akeman, a regular on the Hee 

Haw TV series. On Nov. 10, 1973, Akeman 

and wife Estelle were murdered, Curt had 

sung harmony on the Opry with Stringbean, 

for a novelty number “Hot Corn, Cold 

Corn,” something he always remembered. 

Another sad, but ironic twist was that 

Gibson rehearsed with Akeman a song they 

planned for their next appearance, “Lord, 

I’m Coming Home,” before the beloved 

comic left for his fatal encounter. 

Gibson next became a Rainbow Ranch 

Boy with Canadian Hank Snow, who took 

Curt on his 1974 tour Down Under in Australia. 

Snow had just scored his #1 RCA 

comeback hit “Hello, Love.” Gibson 

claimed proudly that he also had a #1 single 

of his own in Australia. 

After 12 years with the Opry legend, 

Gibson retired from touring in 1986. He 

liked playing the occasional Music Performance 

Trust Fund show in later years with 

son Steve, who can play drums or guitar. 

Gibson, who joined Local 257 on Aug. 

29, 1958, recently enjoyed chatting about 

his George Morgan era with the late singer’s 

daughter Lorrie, fondly recalling the hilarious 

skit the duo did on stage pretending to 

argue about their respective home states Alabama 

and Ohio roots. 

Survivors include Mary his wife of 55 

years; son Steven D. Gibson; and grandsons 

Jimmy, Matthew and Curtis Gibson. 

Arrangements were handled by Phillips- 

Robinson Funeral Home, with a memorial 

service highlighting Mr. Gibson’s country 

music career, conducted on Sept. 19. 

- W.T.


The three faces of Ferlin - a dynamic entertainer 

By WALT TROTT 

Ferlin Husky, who recorded a trio of million-selling 

country-crossover singles, is back 

after heart surgery with a brand new album 

“The Way It Is (Is the Way It Was).” 

A happier Husky, now in his 80th year, 

claims he’s feeling better and even boasts a 

new beauty on his arm, vivacious vocalist 

Leona Williams. 

Ferlin says the first time he had heart surgery 

was in Minnesota, “I had four bypasses. 

The next one was when they flew me in from 

Cody, Wyo., and it was at Baptist Hospital here 

in 1990. Then while working in Branson, I had 

another heart attack. I’ve had nine bypasses 

in all.” 

Perhaps best known by fans for his soaring 

rendition of the inspirational ballad “Wings 

Of a Dove,” Husky’s also celebrated for 

“Gone” one of the first signature songs marking 

the birth of the late 1950s’ revolutionary 

Nashville Sound. It was followed by Ferlin’s 

Top 10 cover version of Jimmy C. Newman’s 

1957 hit “A Fallen Star.” 

“It’s Leona’s idea really that I did the latest 

album . . . I didn’t really look forward all 

that much to going back into the studio. I just 

had eye surgery, wasn’t feeling all that well, 

and had given up on recording,” Husky muses. 

“For one thing, I had shortness of breath. 

Then while we were still in the midst of pulling 

it together, I had to go in for my heart again 

. . . and I got back in the studio about three or 

four weeks after that. But in the end, it came 

out pretty good.” 

In addition to the title tune written by 

Leona, Ferlin sang four of his own compositions: 

“We included some songs I’d done years 

ago. Leona sang on ‘A Dear John Letter’ and 

‘As Long As I Live,’ the old Kitty Wells-Red 

Foley duet, with me.” 

“A Dear John Letter” earned Ferlin his first 

Gold Record in 1953, featuring newcomer 

Jean Shepard singing, while Husky as a heartbroken 

Korean War GI read a tear-stained farewell 

letter from a former sweetheart. It stayed 

#1 six weeks on Billboard’s country charts (out 

of 23 weeks) and simultaneously scored Top 

Five on pop lists. 

Its success prompted Capitol Records to 

follow up within 90 days a popular answer tune 

“Forgive Me, John,” in which Jean Shepard 

renounced the brother she spurned him for. By 

its seventh week, it was a #4 country click - 

and also Top 20 pop. Briefly it appeared Husky 

was doomed to recitations, including “The 

Drunken Driver,” then cut songs that failed to 

chart, among them “Hank’s Song,” “Homesick” 

and “I Wouldn’t Treat a Dog Like You’re 

Treating Me.” 

It was 15 months after his second duet 

single that he again charted, this time with a 

solo two-sided hit, the upbeat “I Feel Better 

All Over, More Than Anywhere Else” (#6) and 

(about newsboy) “Little Tom” a tearjerker (#7, 

1955). That same year, Ferlin’s rube creation 

Simon Crum stormed the charts via the Top 

Five novelty number “Cuzz Yore So Sweet.” 

With his newly-formed Hush Puppies 

band, Husky charted - one week only - with 

“I’ll Baby-Sit With You” (#14, 1955). It was 

nearly two years before Ferlin returned to the 

Billboard charts, this time with a much bigger 

bang: “(Since You’ve) Gone,” #1 country 10 

weeks (out of 27 weeks’ charting), and yet 

another pop entry (#4, 1957). This time critics 

were in tune with the powerful baritone, 

which boasts a melodic but tearful vocal catch 

that captivates listeners. 

Ferlin in 1962 with then-wife Bettie, and their 

children: Dana, Denise, Danny and David. 

Husky: ‘When I seen anybody who had 

talent, I tried to help them . . .’ 

The million-selling “Gone” was written by 

veteran entertainer Smokey Rogers, and first 

recorded by Husky (1952) when performing 

under the stage name Terry Preston. Rogers, 

who recorded a Capitol Top 10 himself in 1949 

“A Little Bird Told Me,” also wrote or cowrote 

the hits “Tho I Tried” for Wesley Tuttle 

(#4, 1946), “You Can’t Break My Heart” (#3, 

1946) with Spade Cooley, and “Spanish Fandango” 

with Bob Wills (flipside to Bob’s 

“Bubbles In My Beer,” #4, 1948). 

During a hit-and-miss 20+ years with the 

Capitol label, Husky charted 41 songs on Billboard: 

“I don’t know just how many years I 

was on there, but they did about 40 albums on 

me.” 

After his Capitol departure in 1972, he 

added another 10 singles for ABC; out of 51 

chartings, Ferlin totaled some 30 at or near 

Top 20. Although the trade weekly didn’t chart 

country albums until 1964 - thus ignoring 

Husky’s many earlier hit LP’s - he still managed 

to chart 14 Top 40 albums, notably “I 

Could Sing All Night,” “Just For You” and 

“Your Love Is Heavenly Sunshine.” 

Husky discussed these chartings and his 

60-year career, including successes, business 

associates, latest album and about being beset 

by health and personal problems in a twohours-plus 

interview at Shoney’s in suburban 

Hendersonville. 

“When troubles surround us, when evils 

come/The body grows weak, the spirit grows 

numb . . .” penned Bob Ferguson in his composition 

published by Husky Music in 1959. 

“When these things beset us/He doesn’t forget 

us/He sends down his love/On the wings 

of a dove . .” 

The lasting success of that song, and its 

eternal message, has sustained Ferlin Husky 

throughout a long and problem-prone life 

which included the loss of a son and multiple 

divorces. Fellow Missourian Ferguson, who 

10 years later wrote “The Carroll County Accident,” 

once explained “. . . Dove’s” inspiration: 

“This is a personal expression of faith 

and joy in achieving a goal. When I wrote it, I 

had just completed 13 films on wildlife (for 

the Tennessee Game & Fish Commission), and 

I was elated that the job was done.” 

Ferlin Husky was born Dec. 3, 1925 on a 

farm in Missouri, near the communities of Flat 

River, Hickory Grove and Cantrell, some 50 

miles south of St. Louis. (Various biographies 

have listed as his hometown one or the others, 

none of which are shown on our map.) 

The youngster received his musical inspiration 

from his mom, whose front parlor was 

a rehearsal hall for boys and girls with guitars. 

An uncle named Clyde Wilson taught 

Ferlin to play guitar, which he found under 

the Christmas tree shortly after his 9th birthday. 

In appreciation, he later gave Clyde a 

touch of celebrity by putting his name on songs 

that Ferlin wrote (notably the Top 10 “Little 

Tom”). 

“I loved Clyde. He passed away and was 

so proud that I put his name on them. He’d 

come to see me and I introduced him around. 

Another name I used on songs was Billy Cole. 

He was my cousin who died of cancer. I’ve 

used 17 different writer names.” 

Growing up in the Great Depression, and 

coming of age during World War II, helped to 

strengthen Husky’s character. He had a big 

heart and would help such struggling entertainers 

as Tommy Collins, Billy Mize, Dallas 

Frazier, Buck Owens and Roy Drusky. 

The latter’s son Roy Jr., nicknamed 

“Twig,” told us that shortly before dad’s death, 

Ferlin came up to the hospital to visit. Twig 

said he was unaware of Ferlin’s role in Roy’s 

early career: “After he left, my dad told me 

that Ferlin had helped him out back when he 

needed it, by letting him perform (and also recording 

Drusky’s ‘I Will’ in 1958). We were 

glad to see him.” 

“When I seen anybody who had talent, I 

tried to help them,” smiles Husky, recalling 

his early Bakersfield days. “Dallas Frazier was 

like my adopted son, just as Tommy was. They 

stayed at the house. When Tommy or Leonard 

Sipes (his real name) came out there to Bakersfield, 

I changed his name to Tommy Collins, 

taking it from a drink (Tom Collins). Buck 

Owens? I dressed him up, putting some decent 

clothes on him and got him with Capitol, 

and also Chester Smith, who wrote the hit 

‘Wait a Little Longer, Please Jesus.’ He had a 

great little run.” 

Husky himself would push the boundaries 

of country music, taking it in different directions 

simultaneously, stretching it by the 

sophisiticated balladry of “Gone,” then turn 

around and gently antagonize the era’s honky 

tonk stylists via his near-chart-topping parody 

“Country Music Is Here To Stay” as mimicked 

by alter ego Simon Crum. 

A versatile showman, Ferlin developed a 

unique ability to impersonate fellow entertainers, 

notably Roy Acuff, Jimmy Dickens, Eddy 

Arnold, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Lefty 

Frizzell and even pop crooner Bing Crosby. 

Simon also managed the feat of singing a duet 

with himself, imitating Red Foley and Kitty 

Wells, then a popular recording duo. His was 

truly a one-man show. 

In fact, Ferlin/Simon’s sets were so dynamic, 

it got so other artists balked at following 

him in the spotlight, and bookers had to 

schedule Husky last, which didn’t phase him 

as that’s the traditional star spot. During 

Ferlin’s peak period, a beginner named Elvis 

Presley opened shows on tour with the headliner, 

from whom it’s said Elvis picked up 

pointers as an entertainer. 

With a 1957 summer replacement stint for 

CBS’ legendary Arthur Godfrey, Ferlin became 

one of the first country stars to host a 

network TV show. He also appeared in a 1957 

dramatic role on the Kraft Television Theater, 

and guested on numerous top-rated programs 

like Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town and Steve 

Allen’s Tonight Show. 

Ferlin appeared in Alan Freed’s 1957 romp 

“Mr. Rock & Roll,” then Capitol labelmate 

Faron Young and Ferlin co-starred in a 1958 

take-off threatening to set the movie business 

back on its ear, titled “Country Music Holiday,” 

featuring Zsa Zsa Gabor and June Carter. 

These achievements resulted in Husky being 

the first country artist having a star in his honor 

placed on the 1950s’ Hollywood Walk of 

Fame. 

Not bad for a kid who dropped out of 

The veteran star’s 2006 album. 

Ferlin in his hey-day. 

school after the eighth grade, and who later 

joined the Merchant Marine, shipping supplies 

and troops abroad. 

“I began entertaining on ship. We were 

transporting troops and to entertain them I had 

an old guitar I’d play on and sing songs. When 

we’d have a sub alert or an air raid, I’d tell 

stories, and all them boys would gather ’round 

me ’cause they were scared, ’n’ hell, truth is, I 

was scareder than they were. I’d make up the 

stories.” 

What sort of stories were they? 

“They were true stories to start with, but 

I’d tell ’em like I was somebody else and in 

this different voice,” explains Husky, adding, 

“You see, our neighbor across the creek back 

home in Missouri was named Simon Crump. 

I would tell stories about him out there in the 

country. Most of my shipmates were Yankee 

boys - oh, there were a few blacks who were 

my buddies, because like me they were from 

the South - and they all called me ‘Country.’ 

“They would say, ‘C’mon Country, tell us 

some of those Simon stories.’ I told them Mr. 

Crump was a big tall guy, sort of like Gary 

Cooper when he played ‘Sergeant York’ and 

that was the type of man Simon was. Actually, 

he was like an uncle to me, and his daughter 

still writes to me. Anyway, they got to 

where they enjoyed hearing me tell stories.” 

With World War II concluded, Ferlin returned 

to the St. Louis area seeking an opportunity 

to put his talent to use: “Roy Queen was 

a gentleman who used to be on KMOX radio 

there, and had been like Happy Cheshire and 

Uncle Dick Slack, who were radio personalities 

when I was a kid working on the farm. 

Roy was a big DJ later for years and years. He 

passed away about three years ago . . . But 

Roy got me started . . . ” 

Ferlin took a stage name of Tex Terry and 

gained a radio slot on KXLW-St. Louis: “After 

I left home, the reason I never used my 

own name is because my parents never wanted 

me in the music business. So when I started 

working the honky tonks in St. Louis, I used 

Tex Terry as I didn’t want to disgrace them. 

After I became a success they were proud.” 

In 1947, Ferlin relocated to the West Coast 

where he worked in radio and met up with a 

name artist who himself had “graduated” from 

radio to movie stardom, playing sidekick to 

cowboy king Gene Autry. 

“Smiley Burnette helped a lot of people. I 

got a job working with Smiley at the Big Barn 

when he had a four or five-piece band workin’ 

that place. He talked to me backstage and 

asked me to go on tour with him. Well, I went 

on the one tour and when we got back, he got 

rid of all them and just kept me. I worked with 

Smiley about two years.”


After arriving in California, Ferlin discovered 

every club and station had their own Tex 

somebody. Capitol Records had two Tex’s 

signed, Ritter and Williams. He recalls it was 

Smiley who urged the name change: “The film 

actor Preston Foster was one of his favorite 

people. Smiley always liked him and so that 

was one of his favorite names. We were on 

tour in upstate New York, Buffalo actually, 

with a guy by the name of Foster Brooks (later 

famed for a comedic drunk act), whom Smiley 

and Gene Autry both knew. Foster Brooks had 

a hell of a speaking voice, a good announcer. 

“So Smiley said ‘Tex Terry. There’s already 

a Tex Terry.’ I had met him and later 

worked with him. He had a bullwhip act. 

Smiley says, ‘You can keep the name Terry, 

that’s a good name. What’s your real name? 

Ferlin Husky! That’ll never do.’ 

“Smiley gave me the actor’s first name as 

my last name and I became Terry Preston. His 

friend Brooks already had the name Foster 

anyway. One of the first times I performed as 

Terry Preston was doing Spade Cooley’s TV 

show, which Smiley set up. That was back 

when TV was just gettin’ started. I remember 

Foster Brooks and I walkin’ down the street 

in Hollywood when I turned to Foster and 

asked, ‘Foster, do you think we’ll ever amount 

to anything?’ Without a pause, he said, ‘I will, 

but I don’t know about you.’ Well, Foster 

worked with me about 10 years ago in Branson 

at the Cristy Lane Theater and we got to talkin’ 

about old times. He reminded me of when we 

were walkin’ and talkin’ that day in Hollywood, 

and had a good laugh. You know we 

have a lot of memories.” 

Ferlin said he has fond memories of Gene 

Autry, another of his boyhood heroes: “Gene 

was a gentleman and I thought the world of 

him. He and Smiley helped me to get into the 

Durango Kid film series (as an extra). Durango 

was Charles Starrett. I think Gene later bought 

Four-Star Records (with Joe Johnson).” 

In 1948, Bill McCall saw Ferlin’s potential 

and signed him to Four-Star: “I was Tex 

Terry, then Terry Preston on Four-Star. Smiley 

was a good entertainer and a better writer than 

people knew (with songs such ‘It’s My Lazy 

Day’). He had a deal with Four-Star, his band, 

doin’ some recordings and had people singin’ 

on them. I did the singin’ on a couple. 

“I wrote ‘Remembrance of Franklin D.’ on 

ship when I heard the President (Roosevelt) 

had died (1945). So I recorded that and I believe 

it’s in FDR’s archives at Hyde Park 

(N.Y.). Another was ‘Ozark Waltz,’ which is 

on the back-side. Really, that’s why Four-Star 

signed me because of my songs. I’d go down 

the road and write one song, then I’d take a 

line out of it and make another. I’d take one 

song and make 10 out of it.” 

Regarding Bill McCall, Ferlin stresses, 

“You hear all these negative stories about Bill 

McCall later gypping different artists. I’ve 

heard it and didn’t realize it until after that 

Capitol Records and the people I met since 

were worse than he ever was. It’s the gospel 

truth! He’s one of the best gentlemen I ever 

met. Yes sir, Bill helped me more than anybody 

in the business. I’ll tell anybody. I give 

credit where credit is due.” 

McCall stepped aside for Husky to sign 

with Central Songs and subsequently Capitol 

Records, a major label with Ken Nelson as its 

country A&R. 

“Cliffie Stone got my contract from Four- 

Star. (Stuart) Buzz Carlton, who helped run 

Central Songs for Cliffie, and (promoter) Steve 

Stebbins talked to Bill to buy my contract. Bill 

knew it was for Central Songs. I was young 

and new to the business, so I went with Capitol 

in 1951.” 

Ferlin with friends Don Pierce (left) and Tommy 

Hill a few years ago at ROPE. - Patricia Presley photo 

Husky emphasizes that Four-Star was a 

great training camp for future stars: “Lord oh 

mercy, he had some of the classic artists on 

his label first. Acts like the Maddox Brothers 

(& Rose), Webb Pierce, Slim Willet, Hank 

Locklin, Patsy Cline and Carl Belew. Don 

Pierce came in (as an investor) and at first I 

didn’t like him because he seemed young and 

cocky. I had been there about a year before he 

came aboard. But, I’ve known him the longest 

of anybody I know in Nashville, and I just 

loved Don Pierce.” 

Did Husky and Cliffie Stone get along? 

“I liked Cliffie, and a lot of the songs I had 

written, he got them published for me. He 

hosted Hometown Jamboree (KCOP-TV Pasadena) 

and gave us a chance to perform, you 

know Tennessee Ernie (Ford), Molly Bee, 

Johnny Horton and me. Of course, he also recorded 

and co-wrote some songs with others 

like Merle Travis.” 

Ferlin signed with Capitol as Terry 

Preston, releasing such singles as “Time,” 

“I’ve Got a Woman’s Love,” “Watch the Company 

You Keep” and “Gone,” first cut in 1952. 

Shortly after another of Ferlin’s heroes 

Hank Williams died on Jan. 1, 1953, he wrote 

a tribute tune, “Hank’s Song,” marking the first 

time to use Ferlin Husky professionally. 

“The reason I put my real name on that 

was because I had a little following as Terry 

Preston, and I didn’t want them saying, 

‘What’s Terry Preston doing, trying to ride on 

Hank Williams?’ 

“So I read later on one of my albums that 

Ken Nelson takes credit for that (the name 

change), too. But when my dad was talking to 

’em, he said, ‘If he’d used his real name first, 

he would’ve been heard of a long time ago.’ 

You know a lot of that stuff they wrote on the 

backs of my records was fictitious. I looked at 

’em one time and wondered, Where did they 

get that? It ain’t true. So much of it was made 

up - and that’s part of what turned me against 

the damn business.” 

When “A Dear John Letter” was first issued, 

it credited Terry Preston for the recitation, 

what happened there? 

“Well I didn’t want any name on there but 

Jean Shepard’s. I didn’t want to take anything 

away from her. Actually, I was a disc jockey 

and Bonnie Owens and Fuzzy Owen had put 

it out on an independent label. It made the local 

jukeboxes and I got to thinkin’ it was a 

pretty good song, so when Ken Nelson asked 

me to get some material for Jean, I suggested 

that one, and first he said, ‘No!’ But I told Ken 

to just listen to those lines and convinced him. 

“Well, when we got in the studio, I was 

there to play bass, or maybe it was rhythm 

guitar, on the session, and Ken said, ‘Who are 

we going to get to do the recitation?’ I said, 

‘You, I guess.’ He said, ‘Why don’t you do 

it?’ Well, I remembered when Jean did her first 

record, Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant were 

on the record and got equal billing to her. 

That’s because back then they said girl singers 

didn’t sell records. Miss Kitty (Wells) was, 

but that was it. Anyhow, I was told do the recitation. 

But in the end Ken said everybody 

wanted to know who was the guy talking, so 

he made the decision to use my name.” 

Coincidentally, it was during this time that 

Capitol was changing Terry Preston’s billing 

to Ferlin Husky, so when the next pressing 

came around, Terry was changed to Ferlin. 

Why did Capitol record Simon Crum? 

“When I was working on radio in Bakersfield, 

I called on this character to help me read 

the news and I found I was more comfortable 

letting Simon do it, and he was good at doing 

Simon kids with Kitty & Smiley Wilson on the bus. 

Here’s how an early magazine depicted Husky, who has had several personalities a la Preston, Crum, etc. 

commercials. He was becoming more popular 

than I was . . . ” 

Why didn’t Ferlin fire Crum to eliminate 

the competition? 

“Oh, I’d done that, too. We were in Vegas 

at the radio station and got in a row and they 

had the sound effects gong as Simon took off 

outa there and slammed the door! Well, everybody 

was asking me afterwards ‘Where’s 

Simon?’ Kids would ask about him. It was 

news all over town that he had left me.” 

Capitol-izing on the character’s popularity 

Nelson recorded Crum (who lost the ‘p’ 

from shipboard days). His faith was rewarded 

when Simon charted Top Five with “Cuzz Yore 

So Sweet” in 1955, and then spent 24 weeks 

on the Billboard charts with the self-penned 

“Country Music Is Here To Stay” (#2, 1959). 

Hush Puppies bandsmen have alleged that 

Ferlin stopped the tour bus sometimes to duke 

it out with Simon on the roadside! And their 

bossman doesn’t deny it. Husky’s proud of his 

Hush Puppies alumnus: “There were some 

great musicians, including Don Helms, Randy 

Hughes, Pete Wade, Ike Inman and Red Hayes, 

among others (like Sammy Pruett, Howard 

White, Smiley & Kitty Wilson).” 

In the mid-1960s, Ferlin did additional 

movies, among them “Country Music On 

Broadway” featuring an all-star cast with Hank 

Snow and Stonewall Jackson; “Las Vegas Hillbillies” 

with Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van 

Doren; and its sequel “Hillbillies in a Haunted 

House” with Joi Lansing, Merle Haggard, 

Sonny James, Molly Bee and Basil Rathbone.. 

Which celebrity most impressed Husky? 

“I would have to say (former heavyweight 

boxing champ) Jack Dempsey. He was my 

referee back when I was boxing with the Merchant 

Marine. You see he was in the Coast 

Guard while I was with the Maritime. There 

was a fence between us and we shared the 

same sickbay and a lot of things connected 

with our training. I was boxing against them 

and he refereed and even gave me some pointers. 

I was so proud that he always called me 

‘Champ,’ until I learned later he called everybody 

champ,” Husky said, laughing aloud. 

“When I came back, I was walkin’ down the 

street in New York City’s Times Square where 

he had a restaurant and was seated in the window. 

I went in and talked to him, and he re- 

membered me.” 

Isn’t Ferlin a Life Member of the Nashville 

Association of Musicians AFM Local 257? 

“Oh sure! That’s because I’ve been there 

forever, since George Cooper was president 

(for 36 years) - me and Simon both! What happened 

there is Don Helms and Randy Hughes 

and them boys backstage used to pull jokes on 

George, to kid him because they knew how he 

liked to be the authority figure. So they started 

tellin’ him about this guy Simon working with 

me and wanted to know how come he didn’t 

have to join the union. Well, ol’ George was 

ready to can me for not havin’ Simon Crum in 

the Local, since he played guitar! Once he 

found out the joke, he was a good sport and 

every year when he gave me a new union card, 

he’d always have one made out for Simon, as 

well. George was a good old man.” 

Husky said he first joined the Opry in July 

1954, but was summarily sidelined for accepting 

a national network TV offer. 

“They said I couldn’t leave the Opry to sub 

for Godfrey on national television. Somebody 

in the higher ups said it, ‘He can’t go because 

that’s CBS and we’re NBC.’ It’s a long story, 

but it’s true. That’s why I left then, though I 

came back. But back then they wouldn’t let 

you guest on Smilin’ Eddie Hill’s TV show as 

he was on WLAC here, or work clubs right 

around town because you were on the Opry.” 

According to a 1961 WSM-Opry handbook 

Husky was a member that year, until finally 

on Dec. 6, 1964 he was again dismissed from 

the Opry roster, along with other acts for failing 

to appear on 26 shows annually. 

“But you know I done as much to promote 

the Opry as anyone who was ever on there.” 

Harking back to his California days, did he 

and the other artists realize that they were pioneering 

the fabled Bakersfield Sound? 

(Editor’s note: Stay tuned . . . Ferlin 

Husky’s story will be concluded in the 

next issue of The Nashville Musician 

newspaper. Read about his associations 

with Tommy Collins, Buck 

Owens, Dallas Frazier, and Ken 

Nelson, and how he recorded “Gone” 

and “The Wings Of a Dove” in Nashville.) 

A proud Dad welcomed youngest son Terry as a member of the Local 257 several years back.


Recording 

Musicians 

Association 

a.k.a. RMA’s 

^ . . . Corner Dave Pomeroy, RMA President 

By now, almost everyone who is not living 

under a rock knows that technology is 

changing our world at an ever increasing pace. 

The Internet has forever changed the way that 

the world gets its news, how it does business 

and especially, how it entertains itself. New 

business models are being developed every 

moment of every day all over the world, and 

any one of them could alter the landscape of 

the music business forever. 

The major record labels are owned by large 

corporations who are frantically trying to figure 

out how to turn these new technologies 

into revenue to help them survive in a market 

that has been invaded by TV, movies, DVDs, 

videogames and many other forms of entertainment. 

Do you think that these companies 

care about the artists, musicians and 

songwriters who create the music they sell? 

They consistently don’t want to pay us 

properly or include us in the “found money” 

generated by these new technologies. I have 

participated in every round of the latest Phono 

Agreement negotiations, which have been 

prolonged and often contentious, and unfortunately, 

the end result is that we STILL do 

not have a deal, even though we THOUGHT 

we had a tentative agreement last May. Because 

of this, the pay raises for Master and 

Low Budget Scales that we negotiated for this 

year have not taken effect. (Limited Pressing 

and Demo Scales are local and set by Local 

257.) 

Assuming we can finally agree on terms, 

the cumulative bump up in pay and pension 

next year will be larger, but that won’t bring 

back the lost wages and our share of the income 

these new technologies are already 

bringing in. Many of the issues that are unresolved 

relate to the exploitation of “new media” 

- Ringtones, ringbacks, and rates for audio 

and video downloads. I have been trying 

to stay on top of the latest developments, and 

I can say cautiously that we ARE moving forward, 

but at a much slower pace than I would 

like to see. 

Hopefully we will have good news to report 

in the near future and an Agreement that 

incorporates the new technologies in a way 

that we can live with. These Agreements are 

not perfect by any means, but they are still 

the best protection we have against unauthorized 

use of our work. 

Something else that has come up this year 

is a Videogame proposal from another Local 

which allows videogame work to be done as 

a “buy-out” at a scale that corresponds roughly 

to our Demo scale. To make matters even 

worse, this proposal would allow music made 

for a videogame to be used for ANY other 

purpose wihout any additional payments to 

musicians who worked on the recording! It’s 

not hard to imagine how a major artist could 

record a “Soundtrack to a Videogame” and 

subsequently decide to release it as an album 

and/or license it for film or television work, 

ALL WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL NEW 

USE PAYMENTS! 

This proposal is very short-sighted and 

dangerous, and if adopted, could easily and 

severely compromise, if not eliminate, New 

Use and Re-Use payments and our participation 

in the Phono and Film Special Payments 

Funds. The RMA has offered our own very 

fair and reasonable Videogame proposal that 

is very well researched and preserves the New 

Use and other payments that we deserve. 

Rest assured, the RMA is doing all we can 

to convince AFM Leadership to do the right 

thing and reject any type of buy-out proposal. 

It should be noted Local 257 President and 

AFM Vice President Harold Bradley has supported 

our “no buy-out” position in AFM 

meetings on this issue. Thanks, Harold, and 

congratulations from all of us on your selec- 

tion as the first session player to enter the 

Country Music Hall of Fame! 

I wish that there was not a need for the 

Recording Musicians Association. Those of us 

who are fortunate enough to be in the position 

of getting paid to do recording work are typically 

too busy to keep an eye on the inner workings 

of the AFM and its relationship with its 

own members and with Industry. However, if 

we don’t pay attention and keep working with 

our heads in the sand, the rug can be pulled 

out from under us in a heartbeat, and how and 

why it happened won’t even matter. 

For many years, the RMA has brought its 

collective knowledge to the bargaining table 

and helped protect our ability to make a living. 

The RMA is a watchdog for the concerns 

of recording musicians, which at times may 

differ greatly from the majority of the AFM, 

and even its leadership. While it is understandable 

that those who do not “do what we do” 

may have a different viewpoint on what our 

important issues are, that single fact gives us 

all the more reason for to stick together and 

get involved. It is a healthy part of any decision 

making process to have honest, knowledgeable 

feedback and opinions on the issues 

that affect us everyday, and that is what the 

RMA brings to the AFM’s table. 

If you are a recording or touring musician, 

you should know that the RMA is working tirelessly 

on YOUR behalf and protecting YOUR 

rights. It’s easy to do nothing, and think that 

as long as you are busy, everything is OK. The 

reality is that NOW, more than ever, we have 

to stand up for ourselves and speak with a unified 

voice. The RMA is that voice and if you 

are a member, you can help change OUR 

Union for the better. It’s your future - Join the 

RMA! 

Musically Yours, 

Dave Pomeroy 

President - RMA Nashville 

P.S. The long rumored RMA Nashville Directory 

will be a reality next year. This will be 

made available as an invaluable resource for 

producers, publishers, and songwriters who 

want to quickly locate the best of Nashville’s 

recording musicians. Be sure and renew for 

2007 early at so you 

will be included! 

Writer-musician-promoter 

Tillman Franks dead at 86 

Bassist-songwriter-manager Tillman 

Franks died Oct. 26 in Shreveport, La., following 

a long illness. He was in a hospice at 

the time of his death. 

Franks was well known in Shreveport, especially 

during the historic KWKH-Louisiana 

Hayride era, and was involved with the careers 

of many of its earliest stars, among them Hank 

Williams, Johnny Horton, Webb Pierce, Kitty 

Wells, Johnnie & Jack, Red Sovine, Faron 

Young, Claude King, Goldie Hill, Jim Reeves, 

Slim Whitman, Elvis Presley and David Houston. 

At one point, he led his own band the Rainbow 

Valley Boys, and was with Pierce’s Southern 

Valley Boys, where he was referred to by 

the nickname “Radar.” He later managed 

Pierce, who was soon signed to Decca Records 

and onto WSM’s Grand Ole Opry program. 

He was born Sept. 29, 1920 in Stamps, 

Ark., and he was 2 years old when his family 

moved to Shreveport. At 14, he taught himself 

to play guitar. While attending suburban Byrd 

High School, Tillman formed his first band, 

the Rainbow Boys. 

During World War II, Franks served with 

distinction in the Army Air Corps, including 

service on Saipan in the Pacific. While in the 

military he also formed a band, this time in- 

cluding fellow GI (and future folk star) Pete 

Seeger as a key member. 

When the Hayride premiered April 3, 1948, 

Franks performed, playing bass for the Bailes 

Brothers. In time, Tillman co-wrote Webb’s “If 

Crying Could Make You Care,” Kitty Wells’ 

“How Far Is Heaven,” Claude King’s “The 

Comancheros” and several for Johnny Hortom, 

most notably “Honky Tonk Man,” “I’m a One 

Woman Man,” “When It’s Springtime in 

Alaska” and “Sink the Bismarck,” the latter 

two #1 country singles that crossed over. 

Franks served as manager for such key 

artists as Claude King, Jimmy C. Newman and 

Horton, with whom he was riding when a car 

crash claimed Johnny’s life (Nov. 5, 1960). 

As an artist himself, Franks charted Billboard 

with two Top 30 tunes he co-authored: 

“Tadpole” (1963, co-written with Merle 

Kilgore) and “When the World’s On Fire” 

(1964). 

Mr. Franks is survived by his widow Virginia, 

two daughters, two sons, eight grandchildren 

and a great-grandchild. 

Freddy Fender’s 

fight finally over 

Freddy Fender a.k.a. Baldemar Huerta 

Cancer has claimed Tex-Mex icon Freddy 

Fender, 69, who waged a courageous battle 

against the deadly disease over the past several 

years. 

Fender, best known for his #1 million-selling 

country cross-over singles “Before the 

Next Teardrop Falls” and “Wasted Days and 

Wasted Nights,” died at his home in Corpus 

Christi, Texas, Oct. 14, with his manager-wife 

Vangie Huerta by his side. 

A veteran of hard knocks, Fender was 

grateful on Jan. 24, 2002 that his daughter 

Marla Garcia donated a kidney (transplant) for 

him, helping to prolong his life. In 2004, 

Fender had a successful liver transplant. 

“Freddy was an icon for country music and 

the American dream. While recording a duet 

of ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’ with 

Freddy this year, it was evident that he still 

had the fire that burns in the belly of ‘true’ 

artists. It was the first time I have ever had 

chill bumps in a studio. He was a champion 

and a warrior and now he has become my 

hero,” says singer Clay Walker in a prepared 

statement. “Thank you my friend - save a spot 

in heaven for me in your angel band.” 

Born Baldemar Huerta, June 4, 1937, in 

Benito, Texas, he was the son of immigrant 

Mexican parents and grew up in a “Barrio,” 

the term for a poor Hispanic neighborhood. 

Baldemar worked side by side with his parents 

in the fields during picking season in the 

Rio Grande Valley, where he heard fellow laborers 

entertaining themselves by singing. 

Music became his life-long love, and at age 

10 he won an amateur talent contest singing 

“Paloma Querida” at the Grand Theater in 

Harlingen. His prize was a tub-full of food (valued 

at $10). He also sang “Paloma Querida” 

when in 1947 he made his broadcast bow on 

KGBT-Harlingen radio. 

A decade later, he recorded in Spanish under 

his real name for the Falcon and Mission 

labels. Baldemar took time out to join the U.S. 

Marine Corps in 1954, serving for three years. 

As an artist, Huerta actually tried various 

music styles, including country, conjunto, 

rockabilly, R&B, playing under different stage 

names, among them El Be-Bop Kid (1957), 

Eddie Medina (1961) and Scotty Wayne 

(1962). Then in the mid-1970s he returned to 

the Anglicized Freddy Fender, a nom de plume 

he utilized briefly in 1958, taking the surname 

from the guitar he played, and “Freddy” be- 

cause it flowed well with Fender. 

It was in 1959, for Duncan Records in San 

Antonio, that he first recorded his then-poporiented 

cut “Wasted Days and Wasted 

Nights” (which he co-wrote with label owner 

Wayne Duncan). Early the following year, it 

registered nationally after being picked up by 

Imperial Records (home to such legends as 

Fats Domino). 

Arrested on a marijuana possession 

charge, however, Huerta's career was sidelined 

as he spent nearly three years of a five-year 

sentence in Angola State Prison (1960-’63). 

Country Music Hall of Famer Jimmie Davis, 

then Louisiana Governor, helped Fender obtain 

an early release. After being paroled, 

Freddy did session recordings in New Orleans, 

and also performed regularly at Papa Joe’s on 

Bourbon Street. 

From 1969 on, except for weekend gigs, 

he dropped out of music professionally while 

furthering his education at Del Mar College, 

thanks to earned military benefits. During this 

period, Freddy also became friends with Houston-based 

producer Huey P. Meaux. 

In 1974, he returned to the recording scene 

to cut the Ben Peters-Vivian Keith ballad “Before 

the Next Teardrop Falls,” on Meaux’s 

Crazy Cajun label. Picked up by ABC/Dot, 

the single charted country Jan. 11, 1975, and 

shot to the top of the country chart March 15 

(for two weeks), then also went #1 pop on May 

31. It won the CMA Single of the Year award. 

In turn, Fender was voted the Academy of 

Country Music’s Best New Male Singer 

(1975). 

His signature was singing portions of the 

lyrics in English and Spanish, which made 

them seem all the more romantic to female 

fans. As a result, Fender enjoyed a diverse fan 

base, ranging from country to pop to Tejano. 

Freddy’s follow-up single “Wasted Days 

and Wasted Nights” also went #1 country on 

Aug. 9, 1975, and peaked at #8 pop. Those 

two country-pop hits earned Fender the trade 

weekly Billboard’s Artist of the Year award, a 

well-deserved honor because before the year 

was out Fender hit #1 country again (Dec. 6) 

with “Secret Love,” via his cover of the 1954 

#1 Doris Day disc (his also hit Top 20 pop). 

Indeed from 1975 thru ’79, Freddy’s 

chartings were impressive, including another 

#1: “You’ll Lose a Good Thing,” which 

peaked pop at #32 in 1976. 

Covers were his refuge as he scored with 

his Top 10 version of “Since I Met You Baby,” 

an Ivory Joe Hunter classic; followed by successes 

on “The Wild Side of Life,” Hank 

Thompson’s top seller; and “Vaya Con Dios,” 

a #1 pop recording by Les Paul & Mary Ford. 

Writer Ben Peters had furnished “Living 

It Down,” yet another near-charttopper for 

Fender in 1976; and producer Meaux encouraged 

Freddy to cut Meaux’s “The Rains 

Came” (#4, 1977), an earlier hit for Sir Douglas 

Quintet. 

On May 17, 1977, Freddy sang with Hank 

Thompson, Roy Clark and Don Williams in a 

performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall, recorded 

live for ABC/Dot as “Country Comes 

to Carnegie Hall.” His own solo #1 albums 

were “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and 

“Are You Ready For Freddy” in ’75. That 

same year he had a Top 10 LP “Since I Met 

You Baby.” Other Top Five albums: “Rock 

’n’ Country,” “If You’re Ever in Texas” and 

“The Best of Freddy Fender.” 

Fender is heard on the 1982 soundtrack for 

the Jack Nicholson film “The Border,” and 

appeared in the Robert Redford 1988 movie 

“The Milagro Beanfield War.” 

Freddy and friends Flaco Jimenez, Doug 

Sahm, and Augie Meyers became The Texas 

Tornados in ’90, earning a best performance 

Grammy for their Latino recording, “Soy de 

San Luis.” In 1998, he, Sahm and Jimenez 

joined Joe Ely, Cesar Rosas, Ruben Ramos 

and David Hidalgo as the Los Super Seven, 

and another Grammy was awarded for the new 

group’s self-titled album debut (1999). 

Climaxing an amazing comeback era, 

Fender was honored with yet a third Grammy 

in ’02, for a solo effort “La Musica de 

Baldemar Huerta,” featuring him paying homage 

to the songs he heard while growing up. 



Leona Williams, a new life, a new love . . 

Leona Williams at her peak. 

By WALT TROTT 

Leona Williams is a survivor.. 

She’s also a classy lady we first met at 

Fan Fair 20 years ago, one who licks her 

wounds and comes out smiling. 

Today, Leona’s still a charmer who 

doesn’t care to dwell on hard times, which 

includes a troubled teen-aged marriage, a 

second ill-fated union with a man afraid of 

commitment, and a third hubby, who 

brought her happiness before being cut down 

by cancer, the dreaded disease that also 

threatened her life. 

During our chat, the blue-eyed singer 

was nursing a sprained ankle suffered as 

she misstepped while trying to accommodate 

a fan’s request for a picture with her 

days earlier: “Oh, it’s a lot better now.” 

Leona, known for such numbers as “Yes 

M’am, He Found Me In a Honky Tonk,” 

“Once More” and “The Bull & The Beaver,” 

has been keeping company of late with 

Ferlin Husky. 

Earlier this year, Leona celebrated the 

release of a new album, “I Love You Because,” 

which Canadian music critic Larry 

Delaney summed up in the July 2006 issue 

of Country Music News: “If you like a lot 

of soul and hurt in your country music, 

Leona Williams is the lady to listen to. On 

‘I Love You Because’ she pours her heart 

out on a number of new original songs, with 

truly outstanding efforts . . . Do not miss 

this album, it’s a modern day country classic.” 

Likewise, veteran reviewer Al Moir of 

the UK’s Country Music People magazine 

proclaimed Leona’s latest: “A solid country 

album, packed with strong original songs 

from a lady who knows what country is all 

about, backed by a group of musicians who 

share the knowledge. Those who yearn for 

good country music should do themselves a 

big favor and check this out.” 

Justin Trevino produced that album, as 

well as “Honorary Texan” her Heart of Texas 

debut CD a few seasons earlier, which also 

earned them upbeat reviews. 

“Until then, I just kinda stopped my career 

and tended to my husband Dave 

(Kirby). I learned how to push a wheelchair 

and pull that little oxygen tank behind, to 

get him to all his doctor appointments and 

everything,” recalls Williams, whose husband 

of nearly 20 years died on April 17, 

2004 at age 65. 

“Everywhere I went with him, even at 

the hospital, there would be fans or people 

who had seen me performing in the Grand 

Ladies of Country Music Show there in 

Branson (at 76 Music Mall Theater), who 

would ask, ‘What theater are you working 

at this year?’ I’d say, ‘Well, I’m not at one 

right now. This is the first day of my new 

job.’ I quit everything to take care of Dave 

. . . He was a great player and a terrific 

songwriter.” 

Kirby, born in Brady, Texas, home of 

Leona’s new label, was indeed an accomplished 

session picker and songwriter, having 

penned hits for such as Ray Price (“You 

Wouldn’t Know Love”), Charley Pride 

(“Anybody Goin’ To San Antone”), Merle 

Haggard (“Sidewalks of Chicago,” “What 

Have You Got Planned Tonight, Diana?”), 

Gene Watson (“Forever Again,” “Memories 

To Burn”), Jo-el Sonnier (“No More One 

More Time”) and Johnny Cash & Waylon 

Jennings (“There Ain’t No Good Chain 

Gang”). He was also nephew to Big Bill 

Lister for whom Hank Williams Sr. wrote 

“There’s a Tear In My Beer.” 

“I was married longer to Dave - 19 years 

and some months - than to any of my husbands. 

He was the best guy in the world. 

He got throat cancer . . . ” Leona relates, 

wistfully. “Then 14 months after Dave died, 

we lost my only son-in-law Jack Lee to cancer 

(at age 48). Jack had that real fast kind 

that spread to his kidneys, his brain, just 

everywhere. He got so that he didn’t want 

anybody to see him.” 

Jack’s widow, Cathy Lee, Leona’s firstborn, 

can be heard singing harmony on 

mom’s “I Love You Because,” while 

Leona’s vocalist son Ron Williams co-wrote 

mom’s CD track “It’s Tearing This Ole 

Heart Right Out Of Me” with her (and Leon 

Rhodes). She also has a younger son Brady 

Williams, who lives in Ozark, Mo., where 

he’s an auto firm’s finance manager. 

When did Leona learn she had cancer? 

“Before Dave died, back in 2001, I was 

diagnosed with breast cancer,” she replies. 

“It was on my left side and I had to have a 

mastectomy. No one in my family had ever 

had that before. It was a bad deal and I had 

no idea I’d live five more years and be sitting 

here for an interview with you. I was 

scared to death . . . ” 

As most tabloid readers know, Merle 

Haggard was her second husband, from 

1978-1984, during which they recorded together 

and she either wrote or co-wrote several 

songs for Merle, who had just ended a 

long association with Capitol. 

“We did that (Top 10) duet ‘The Bull & 

The Beaver’ (1978, MCA), then I sang harmony 

on “The Way I Am” (#2, 1980, MCA) 


Leona and her new companion, legendary Ferlin Husky, strike a pose for Patricia Presley. 

Sonny James 

. . . Country Hall of Famers 


of Austin Local 433. These and CMA’s 40th 

annual awards will be presented Nov. 6 at 

the Gaylord Entertainment Arena in Nashville. 

Hosting the ABC-TV event will be 

Brooks & Dunn, who are also nominees. 

Brooks & Dunn, vying for best vocal 

duo (have a record 13 wins in that category), 

are up against Big & Rich, Montgomery 

Gentry, Van Zant and The Wreckers. 

Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Martina 

McBride, Carrie Underwood and Gretchen 

Wilson are nominated as best female vocalist; 

while their male counterparts seeking 

a win in their respective division are 

Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, 

Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. 

The competion for best vocal group: 

Alison Krauss & Union Station (featuring 

Jerry Douglas), Little Big Town, Lonestar, 

Rascal Flatts and Sugarland. Seeking to take 

home the newcomers’ Horizon Award: 

Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, 

Sugarland, Josh Turner and Carrie 

Underwood. (It would seem that if an artist 

qualifies for best female vocalist or best 

vocal group honors, they shouldn’t be competing 

for a Horizon Award.) 

Instrumentalists voted best nominees for 

this year are: Eddie Bayers, drums; Jerry 

Douglas, dobro; Paul Franklin, steel guitar; 

Dann Huff, guitar; Brent Mason, guitar; and 

Randy Scruggs, guitar. 

Nominees in remaining divisions are as 

follows: Best Single: “Believe,” Brooks & 

Dunn; “Better Life,” Keith Urban; “Jesus 

Take the Wheel,” Carrie Underwood; 

“Summertime,” Kenny Chesney; and 

“When I Get Where I’m Going,” Brad Paisley 

& Dolly Parton. Best Album: “Hillbilly 

Deluxe,” Brooks & Dunn; “Me & My 

Gang,” Rascal Flatts; “Precious Memories,” 

Alan Jackson; “The Road & The Radio,” 

Kenny Chesney; and “Time Well Wasted,” 

Brad Paisley. 

Best Song (writers): “8th of November,” 

Big & Rich; “Believe,” Craig 

Wiseman & Ronnie Dunn; “Jesus Take the 

Wheel,” Hillary Lindsey, Brett James & 

Gordie Sampson; “Tonight I Wanna Cry,” 

Keith Urban & Monty Powell; and “When 

I Get Where I’m Going,” Rivers Rutherford 

& George Teren; Music Event: Brooks 

& Dunn with Sheryl Crow & Vince Gill, 

“Building Bridges”; Faith Hill & Tim 

McGraw, “Like We Never Loved At All”; 

Gretchen Wilson & Merle Haggard, “Politically 

Uncorrect”; Brad Paisley & Dolly 

Parton, “When I Get Where I’m Going”; 

and Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles, “Who Says 

You Can’t Go Home”; 

Best Video (artist & director): “8th of 

November,” Big & Rich, directed by Robert 

Deaton, George Flanigen & Marc 

Oswald; “Believe,” Brooks & Dunn, by 

Deaton & Flanigen; “Jesus Take the 

Wheel,” Carrie Underwood, by Roman 

White; “Kerosene,” Miranda Lambert, by 

Trey Fanjoy; and “When I Get Where I’m 

Going,” Brad Paisley & Dolly Parton, directed 

by Jim Shea. 

Dean of Nashville Session Guitarists 

Harold Bradley becomes the first inducted 

into the Country Music Hall of Fame’s new 

instrumental division, although last year 

Grand Ole Opry harmonica player DeFord 

Bailey was named, following picker Chet 

Atkins (also a major producer) and pianist 

Floyd Cramer (who became a recording star 

thanks to his “Last Date” single). 

Bradley, of course, has spent the last 15 

years as Local 257 President, and was the 

first president of the National Academy of 

Recording Arts & Sciences’ Nashville 

branch. He is also currently Vice President 

of the American Federation of Musicians International, 

the first Nashville official to ever 

hold office in the international organization. 

Bradley, one of the esteemed A Team session 

players helping to launch the renowned 

Nashville Sound, also joined big brother 

Owen Bradley (inducted into the Country 

Music Hall of Fame in 1974) in pioneering 

Nashville’s recording and film scene in the 

early 1950s. In 1955, the brothers Bradley 

opened a recording studio on 16th Avenue 

South, which they augmented with a quonset 

hut, inaugurating what has since become 

Music Row. Additionally, Harold recorded 

his own solo albums, and produced such stalwarts 

as Slim Whitman and Eddy Arnold. 

“For the past 60 years I've been focused 

on playing the guitar in the Nashville recording 

studios. I never thought about being inducted 

into the Country Music Hall of Fame 

because it seemed to be reserved for famous 

artists,” says Bradley. “I want to thank the 

CMA for putting studio musicians on the ballot, 

and I want to accept this honor on behalf 

of the pioneer studio musicians, the A- 

Team studio musicians and all recording musicians 

everywhere, because they're all in my 

Hall of Fame. Somewhere my brother Owen 

is smiling.” 

Sonny James’ career began with a family 

band, playing regional radio stations 

throughout the Southeast. He went on to 

record for Capitol Records, scoring his biggest 

hit with the #1 country-pop crossover 

single “Young Love.” Hailed as “The Southern 

Gentleman,” he set a record on the Billboard 

charts early on with 16 straight #1 

singles (1967-’71), giving him a total of 23 

charttoppers, out of an overall total of 43 Top 

10s. 

In addition to his own recording successes, 

James produced other artists, most 

notably Marie Osmond, including her #1 

million-seller “Paper Roses.” He also cowrote 

many of his own hits, among them 

“You’re the Only World I Know” (with Bob 

Tubert), “Room in Your Heart” (with Frances 

Long) and “Don’t Keep Me Hangin’ On” 

(with Carole Smith), and appeared in several 

movies. James was named Artist of the 

Decade by Record World, a trade publication 

of the 1960s. Of this latest accolade, he 

says: “It's a great honor to join many of my 

friends in the Hall of Fame.” 

George Strait recently set a new record 

of #1 country singles (41) with “Give It 

Away,” surpassing the late Conway Twitty’s 

Billboard record of 40 #1s (though Twitty 

also had a pop #1, “It’s Only Make Believe”). 

Strait’s enjoyed a 25-year career of Top 10 

successes, since his chart breakthrough “Unwound” 

(#6,1981), all for MCA. 

From 1986-’89, he had 11 straight #1 

records, among them “Ocean Front Property” 

and “Ace In the Hole.” He starred in 

the 1992 movie “Pure Country,” and was 

twice voted CMA Entertainer of the Year. 

- Walt Trott 

George Strait


Trottin’ about the music scene 

Dolly Parton to be honored. 

Local 257 member Dolly Parton is the 

country pick this year for the Kennedy Center 

(KC) For the Performing Arts’ annual honors 

in Washington, D.C. 

“I am thrilled and humbled to be receiving 

the (KC) honors this year. When I look at 

the list of past recipients, it is hard for me to 

believe that a poor, country girl from the hills 

of Tennessee could be included in such distinguished 

company,” she said in a prepared 

statement. 

President George W. Bush and First Lady 

Laura Bush will help pay their respects to 

Dolly and fellow honorees Andrew Lloyd 

Webber, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson and 

Steven Spielberg for this career achievement 

recognition, Dec. 3 

Bits & Pieces: The Hollywood pair who 

scored with the award-winning “Hustle & 

Flow,” director Craig Brewer and actor 

Terrence Howard, are reteaming for a planned 

film bio on Country Music Hall of Famer 

Charley Pride. Oscar-nominated Howard (who 

portrayed a pimp in “Hustle & Flow”) would 

play Mississippi-born Pride, who placed 29 

#1 hits on Billboard, the trade weekly. Among 

these are “Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone,” 

“Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’,” and “Mountain 

of Love” . . . Vivendi SA’s Universal 

Music Group agreed Sept. 6 to pay $2.09 billion 

to buy BMG Music Publishing Group 

from the German media conglomerate 

Bertelsmann, making it the largest music publisher 

in the world. The French company (Vivendi 

) will now own the rights to international 

song hits by such artists as Coldplay, Barry 

Manilow, Nelly, and the Beach Boys, as well 

as country successes recorded by the likes of 

Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, and Martina 

McBride . . . The latter country singer has recorded 

a “duet” with Dean Martin, “Baby It’s 

Cold Outside,” thanks to the wonders of electronics. 

Of course, “Dino’s” original track was 

cut in Hollywood’s Capitol Records studio in 

1959 (he died Christmas day 1995). The 

Martina-Dean Martin coupling appears on a 

16-track CD “Christmas With Dino” in time 

for yule holiday sales. Waxing enthusiasm, 

McBride says, “It’s an honor to be able to be 

a part of this. Dean had such a great voice and 

to be able to sing with him all these years later 

is a thrill.” She’ll include the song on her 

Buddy Killen 

fourth annual 16-city Christmas tour starting 

Nov. 24 . . . RCA’s legendary 1950s’ act The 

Browns - Maxine, Bonnie and Jim Ed - reunited 

for a Sept. 10 performance in 

Russelville, Ark., their first home-state appearance 

in 40 years. It was a fund-raiser for a proposed 

$6 million hospice center there. The 

family trio’s best known for their #1 pop-country 

crossover hit “The Three Bells” in 1959. 

Big sister Maxine bared all in a provocative 

bio titled “Looking Back To See,” after their 

first hit she co-wrote in 1954 (the University 

of Arkansas Press published her book in 2005) 

. . . KZLA-FM-Los Angeles, the city's only 

country station, has changed its format to adult 

contemporary music. So now there are no 

country stations in L.A., San Francisco or New 

York City hubs. 

Legal File: A Sept. 25 order by the Supreme 

Court of Tennessee disclosed upholding 

the Jan. 20 ruling by the Middle Tennessee 

Court of Appeals denying PolyGram 

Records’ and Legacy Entertainment Group’s 

petition for ownership of Hank Williams’ performance 

tapes of the WSM Mother’s Best 

radio program, most of which were broadcast 

in 1952. This marks another victory for Williams’ 

heirs - Hank Jr. and Jett Williams - who 

brought a joint lawsuit claiming ownership of 

their dad’s works. Many songs he performed 

on the radio show were covers of other artists’ 

hits, among them “On Top Of Old Smoky” 

(The Weavers) and “Blue Eyes Crying in the 

Rain” (Roy Acuff). 

More News Items: Tim McGraw is the 

latest superstar to start up his own record label, 

StyleSonic Records, this in partnership 

with longtime producer Byron Gallimore. Reportedly, 

StyleSonic will work in liaison with 

Tim’s current major label Curb Records (to 

which he owes several more albums). The 

indie’s first release? The movie soundtrack to 

the McGraw starrer “Flicka,” with a CD streetdate 

of Oct. 17. McGraw, also executive producer 

on the film, stated, “I am so excited to 

officially announce the new label. We also 

have several new artists that we are in the studio 

working on.” By the way, Tim and wife 

Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul II current concert tour 

has been labeled the highest-grossing North 

American country tour ever by Billboard, taking 

in some $89 million ($27 million more than 

pal Kenny Chesney’s previous high). 

Soul2Soul II also ranks as the top-selling show 

among all genres. Other country acts currently 

ranking in the all-genre Top 10 for ’06 are 

Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts, each scoring 

over a million tickets sold to fans across 

the nation . . . Meanwhile, “Time Marches On” 

hitmaker Tracy Lawrence is another star 

launching his own label - Rocky Comfort 

Records - in a partnership with brother Laney 

Lawrence. Laney is president, while Tracy’s 

A&R chief. Lawrence’s first single “Find Out 

Who Your Friends Are” is out, while the first 

album’s due by early ’07 . . . A Dixie Chicks 

documentary titled “Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and 

Sing” was screened to favorable reviews at the 

recent Toronto International Film Festival. The 

documentary deals with the trio’s career ups 

and downs since lead vocalist Natalie Maines 

blasted President George Bush during a concert 

appearance in Great Britain in 2003. It’ll 

be unspooled next at the London Film Festival. 

Honors: Singer Emmylou Harris received 

Leadership Music’s Dale Franklin Award, during 

a filmed tribute in the new Schermerhorn 

Symphony Center, Sept. 19, hailing her contributions 

to music. She was praised by exbandsman 

Rodney Crowell as an “arbiter of 

integrity,” and by yet another former sideman 

Tony Brown as having “her handprint all over 

Nashville.” British star Elvis Costello, acting 

as emcee, described Harris’ voice as “a wonder 

of both the air and the earth.” Leadership 

Music is a Nashville-based charitable organization 

dedicated to promoting educational 

projects . . . Ronnie Milsap is this year’s Lifetime 

Achievement artist recipient durng the 

International Entertainment Buyers Association 

awards banquet, Oct. 17, in the Nashville 

Hilton Hotel downtown. Earning the 2006 In- 

Patricia Presley snaps The Cherryholmes family 

band at the recent IBMA Festival in Nashville. 

- Photo by Patricia Presley 

At the proposed Nashville Walkway of Stars - note sample sidewalk plaque - are (from left) Sam Bush, 

Pam Tillis, Earl Scruggs, Steve Cropper, Megan Mullins and Gunnar Nelson, singing son of Ricky Nelson. 

dustry Achievement award is manager-guitarist 

Narvel Blackstock, husband of singer-actress 

Reba MeEntire . . . ASCAP will honor 

veteran songwriter Jimmy Webb with its prestigious 

Voice of Music Award at the 44th annual 

ASCAP Country Music Awards, Oct. 23, 

in the historic Ryman Auditorium. Webb wrote 

such winners as “By the Time I Get To Phoenix,” 

“MacArthur Park,” “Wichita Lineman,” 

“Honey, Come Back” and “Didn’t We.” The 

Grammy-winning writer from Oklahoma is 

only the sixth to receive the Voice of Music 

honor, joining previous recipients Garth 

Brooks, George Strait, Diane Warren, Amy 

Grant and Kenny Chesney . . . Incidentally, 

ASCAP recently revealed it will award some 

$2.68 million to writer-members during 2006- 

2007, as part of the performing rights 

organization’s ASCAP-Plus program, which 

seeks to reward composers whose works possess 

a unique prestige value for which adequate 

compensation would not otherwise be received. 

ASCAP boasts over eight million copyrighted 

works among more than 250,000 members. 

Star Bright: Gibson Music, the Country 

Music Foundation and the City of Nashville 

combined forces to announce a new Walkway 

of Stars slated for Music City USA, come November 

2006. Mayor Bill Purcell was on hand 

Aug. 10 to give the city’s official endorsement 

of the pending walkway (which will stretch 

from near the Country Music Hall of Fame up 

close to Music Row), along with such celebrities 

as Hall of Famer Earl Scruggs, singers Joe 

Cocker, Pam Tillis and Gunnar Nelson, son of 

late rockabilly legend Ricky Nelson, and various 

other music VIPs . . . Steel Guitar Hall of 

Famer Don Helms will be showcased in the 

next quarterly program of The Nashville Cats 

series, sponsored by the the Country Music Hall 

of Fame & Museum, 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. 

Helms’ career retrospective, conducted in the 

hall’s Ford Theater, will be hosted by curator 

Bill Lloyd. Helms, one of Hank Williams’ Drifting 

Cowboys, can be heard on such classic 

MGM Hank Sr. cuts as “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” 

“I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You),” 

“Kaw-Liga” and “Cold Cold Heart.” Don also 

played steel for other legendary singers like 

Lefty Frizzell, Ferlin Husky, Ray Price and 

Patsy Cline. The program covers an 

instrumentalist’s career, highlighted by Lloyd’s 

interview with the spotlighted artist, augmented 

by audio-visual elements, such as recordings, 

rare pictures, film clips and sometimes playing 

by the artist. The audience is invited to ask questions. 

Previous honorees: Lloyd Green, Charlie 

McCoy and Harold Bradley. For details, call 

(615) 416-2001. 

Get Well Wishes: To Local 257 Lifetime 

Member W. D. (Buddy) Killen, bassist-producer-publisher, 

who’s been suffering from 

pancreatic and liver ailments. Killen, of 

course, is the fellow who helped build Tree 

Music into one of the world’s major publishing 

houses (sold to Sony in 1989), and produced 

acts like Joe Tex, Exile and Ronnie 

McDowell. Killen also wrote the pop hit “Forever” 

and recorded with singer Bonnie (“Dark 

Moon”) Guitar on such duets as “A Truer 

Love You’ll Never Find.” 

Final Curtain: Rocky Morales, 65, tenor 

sax man best known for his work with Doug 

Sahm, died Aug. 2 of lung cancer. He was a 

member of the West Side Horns, with fellow 

sax player Louis Busto and trumpeter Charlie 

McBurney. They toured and recorded with 

Sahm and the Grammy winning Texas Tornados 

. . . Mississippi-born singer-songwriter 

Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, 73, died Aug. 29. 

He’s best remembered for his Halloweenstyle 

pop hit “Haunted House” (#11, 1964). 

The rockabilly artist once recorded for the 

historic Sun Records (with little success) and 

also opened shows for fellow Tupelo-born 

Elvis Presley. Another of Simmons' songs is 

the novelty hit “Indian Outlaw” (co-written 

with John D. Loudermilk and Tommy 

Barnes), which launched the career of Tim 

McGraw in 1994 . . . Nashville author and 

photo-journalist Jerry W. Langley, 71, died 

Aug. 17, following a lengthy illness. He cowrote 

the 2005 books “Number One Country 

Hits: 1944-2004” and “Many Tears Ago: 

The Life & Times of Jenny Lou Carson” (both 

with Arnold Rogers), published by Nova 

Books. Mr. Langley once worked with 

Nashville’s WSMV-TV Channel 4, an NBC 

affiliate . . . Charles Derrington, 51, a master 

mandolin maker with Gibson Music, died 

Aug. 2, after his motorcycle was hit head-on 

by an illegal immigrant Julio Villasana. Witnesses 

stated Villasana was driving the wrong 

way on Briley Parkway in Nashville when 

his car collided with Derrington’s 2005 

Yamaha, knocking the victim into the median 

strip. The car’s driver attempted to flee on 

foot, but police arrived in time to apprehend 

Villasana, allegedly driving under the influence. 

He was being held on immigration-hold 

until authorities could ascertain his situation. 

Derrington built and repaired instruments for 

many artists, most memorably restoring Bill 

Monroe’s celebrated 1923 Gibson F-5 - now 

valued at more than $1 million - after an intruder 

had smashed it into pieces . . . Norman 

(Gene) Clark, 66, of Chattanooga, Tenn., died 

Aug. 10. In 1962, he relocated to Nashville, 

where he became a WMAK personality, who 

helped raise over 100,000 toys to benefit the 

Marine Corps’ Toys For Tots’ fundraiser. 

Clark was also founder of Spotland Productions 

in Nashville, producing numerous commercials, 

while also training potential ad producers 

during his tenure. In turn, Clark received 

many Addy, Clio and Silver Mic 

awards. He moved back to the Chattanooga 

area in 1997. Among his urvivors are daughter 

Vikki Shumake; son Jay G. Clark; and 

grandchildren Jacob Hamby, Zachary Hamby, 

Rebecca Hamby and Meagan Stone. - WT


Heartland: ‘I Loved Her First’ 

By WALT TROTT 

No more playing for free, as Heartland's 

all over the music map these days. 

This Alabama-based band played for 

Jerry’s Kids, the annual Labor Day 

fundraiser by comic Jerry Lewis to benefit 

Muscular Dystrophy victims; they’re opening 

shows for the likes of Gretchen Wilson; 

and their debut single “I Loved Her First” 

is inching its way into Billboard’s Top 10 

singles chart. 

As we write this, it’s already at #7 on 

iTunes’ country download list, its hot video 

is #9 on CMT’s Country Chart USA, and 

it’s fast becoming a wedding favorite, all of 

which makes Heartland the new flagship act 

of the Lofton Creek label. 

What other differences have occurred 

careerwise for Heartland, since signing with 

Mike Borchetta’s indie record company? 

“Well, we’re sitting in the William Morris 

(Talent) Agency, aren’t we? We’ve visited 

with CMT, WSM and other great folks 

here in Nashville and we’re talking to you!,” 

exclaims lead vocalist Jason Albert. “And 

opening shows for Brad Paisley is a far cry 

from playing a bar with chicken-wire (to 

protect the band from bottles thrown by 

unruly patrons).” 

Besides Albert, boys in the band are 

Mike (Mikey) Myerson, lead guitar; Craig 

Anderson, rhythm guitar; Keith (“Wild”) 

West, bassist; Charles (Chuck) Crawford, 

fiddle; and Todd Anderson, drums. These 

musicians are fun-filled, but focused. 

Do they expect to be victimized by Brad 

Paisley’s penchant for practical jokes? 

“No, but we’ve heard it’s coming,” says 

Todd. “We play our first date with him in 

Lake Tahoe, and then in Atlanta and Birmingham. 

We cut up quite a bit, so he better 

watch out.” 

Hard to believe Heartland only signed 

with Lofton Creek on May 3, put their first 

single out in time for Father’s Day, and saw 

it hit #12, after only 10 weeks’ charting. 

“You can attribute that to a couple of 

things,” says Craig. “One being the strength 

of the song itself, it’s a legitimately good 

song, and second to the people at Lofton 

Creek, who are really working hard to get it 

out. I hope that we can match their work 

ethic. If we can do as a band what they’ve 

done as a label, then we’ll do well.” 

The new signees’ introductory song was 

co-written by Elliott Park, an illustrator from 

Texas, collaborating with veteran Walt 

Aldridge, a native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., 

whose prior penned hits include Ronnie 

Milsap’s “No Getting Over Me,” Reba 

McEntire’s “The Fear of Being Alone” and 

Earl Thomas Conley’s “Holding Her and 

Loving You.” 

“We were soliciting material for demos 

to record to pitch to industry people, and 

heard that Walt was having a songwriter 

showcase and we went to listen and he 

played ‘I Loved Her First’ in his acoustic 

set,” explains Mikey. “I have a daughter 

myself and to hear him play that song, I just 

got chilled, it tore me up. 

“We introduced ourselves and said we 

were looking for material and he agreed to 

send us a CD of songs. Well, that happened 

to be on it and we couldn’t believe that nobody 

had recorded it yet. After we had 

signed with Mike we recorded the single . . 

and it was just a natural thing to have Walt 

produce it.” 

Aldridge, who’d worked with the likes 

of Tim McGraw, Lou Reed, Alabama and 

was once lead singer for The Shooters, 

passed the acid test. 

“When Walt speaks, everybody listens,” 

insists Craig. “You have to, whether you 

agree with what he’s saying or not, because 

he’s been there, he’s done it. He was in a 

group situation. He’s high on our list, a 

mentor. We’ve never turned down any of 

his advice. As far as that goes, he took a 

chance on us, too.” 

Aldridge put the finishing touches on 

their self-titled album, in time to hit the 

street on Oct. 1. 

Looking around at the assemblage, 

none of the bandsmen seem of an age to 

have a grown daughter, considering their 

song’s about a father’s acceptance of his 

grown little girl’s groom. 

“From the first breath she breathed/ 

When she first smiled at me/I knew the love 

of a father runs deep . . . And I prayed that 

she'd find you someday/But it's still hard to 

give her away . . . I loved her first.” 

“We understand,” continues Craig. 

“None of us obviously are old enough to 

have a child get married, but we never even 

thought about it like that. We just interpreted 

the song to tell the story. A good song is a 

good song, and we’re not pretentious 

enough to worry about whether someone 

thought us too young or too old to do it or 

whatnot. It’s just a great tune.” 

Mikey, who also has a son, says, “Between 

us we got four little girls ourselves, 

so we kind of related to that . . .” 

“It’s just one of the most moving songs 

I’ve ever heard,” notes Borchetta, who with 

wife Martha launched Lofton Creek three 

years ago. Incidentally, he was the suit who 

first signed Tim McGraw to Curb Records. 

(His son Scott Borchetta heads up a competing 

label, Big Machine Records.) 

“Mike wears Hawaiian shirts all the 

time,” chuckles Todd, “that inspires us, too.” 

Heartland’s not your typical country 

act. Among their number are college boys 

who hold varied degrees. 

“Todd, Craig (who are brothrs) and I 

met in fifth or sixth grade and went all the 

way through college together, and I think 

getting this band together stemmed from our 

mutual love of music,” recalls Jason. “Todd 

was playing since he was like 3 or 4 years 

old, and I’d been singing in my first band 

for awhile. Craig just started playing guitar 

like two or three years before we actually 

started the band. But we got together just 

talking and said, ‘What about starting a 

band?’ I had a little experience, so we felt 

let’s give it a shot. 

“Well we started and we were pretty terrible 

for a time. Then we ran an ad in the 

Huntsville newspaper and got Keith and 

Mikey. We all started jammin’ together, and 

a couple years later, after we put an ad on 

an internet site for a fiddler, Charles answered 

it and here we are.” 

The unnamed garage pickers entered a 

Battle of the Bands’ talent contest in Huntsville 

on the spur-of-the-moment, and when 

the host demanded a name to introduce them 

by, they became Runaway. They lost both 

the contest and the name. 

“We had heard that (#1) song ‘Heartland’ 

which George Strait had on his ‘Pure 

Country’ soundtrack, so we leaned towards 

that, but about a half-mile from where we 

practiced is a housing development called 

Heartland Sub-division. We decided that 

would be a really cool name - and it represented 

Huntsville - so we decided let’s go 

with that.” 

So who among Heartland handles the 

songwriting? 

“Everyone’s a writer, but we didn’t select 

any of our songs to go on the album 

this time around,” says Craig. “We were really 

impressed because being as new as we 

were, we didn’t expect that the writers 

would give us any of their best material. Yet 

when they came in there was one great song 

after another.” 

Mikey chimes in, “We actually had to 

cut out some really great songs because 

Heartland as captured by Patricia Presley at the William Morris Agency. 

there were too many. We simply wanted to 

put the best album out there possible, and 

since ours didn’t stand up to the ones we 

were getting from the songwriters here, we 

went with the ones they had.” 

Jason remembers the process they went 

through in making contact with Borchetta: 

“We cut some demos with Walt and went 

out there like always, hustling it and taking 

it to radio stations, doing anything we could 

do to get some attention. Then we ran up on 

a guy named Dan Hollander (WLLX- 

Lawrenceburg, Tenn.), a program director, 

who took an interest. He called Mike and 

said he heard these guys from Alabama who 

had been at it a long time and suggested he 

hear us . . . That was on Friday and Mike 

called us on Monday and said, ‘Let’s talk 

about some stuff,’ and it kind of grew from 

that.” 

Before the big break, the boys had recorded 

an earlier album in 1996, which Todd 

says, “We thought it was going to be the 

next big thing ever . . . now it’s locked away 

in a safe place.” 

Collectively their main music heroes 

and influences include Alabama and Hank 

Williams, Jr. 

“We are huge Hank Jr. fans,” says 

Chuck. “Absolutely, when we do a live 

show, we’ll close with some of his stuff because 

we enjoy his music so much.” 

Jason continues, “A lot of our inspiration 

came from the group Alabama. They’re 

like our heroes. We got to play their last June 

Jam (1997) and that’s one of the coolest 

things we’ve done. That was awesome!” 

Since playing their share of honky tonks 

in the Southeast, they’ve built up a big fan 

following, acknowledges a grateful Todd: 

“The folks back home have always been 

very supportive, but I can remember when 

we first started out and did shows where we 

literally played for the door (cover charge) 

and only four people showed up, our mom 

and dad and Jason’s mom and dad. The last 

few years we’ve got a throng of people who 

come out and give us a really good fan 

base.” 

“Yes, it’s been blood, sweat and tears 

for over a decade now,” agrees Jason. “But 

we’re guys who genuinely care for each 

other. There’s never been anything that’s 

been that much of a crisis between us that 

we couldn’t sit down together and within 

30 minutes we’re done with it.” 

Craig emphasizes, “We have a philosophy 

that we can agree to disagree, but you 

have to make compromises like anybody 

does.” 

Hey girls, two bandmembers are still unmarried. 

At least Todd is a single parent. Bachelor 

Chuck joshes that maybe the reason 

they’re still available is no one wants them. 

As opening act, what sort of songs do 

they perform? 

“We do mostly original stuff from our 

new album,” explains Craig. “But we also 

do an Alabama medley that includes their 

songs, you know like ‘My Home’s in Alabama,’ 

‘Tennessee River,’ and it goes over 

well. We’ve been doing that for years.” 

What’s a Heartland concert like? 

“We try to have a good time,” says 

Mikey. “We’re like a country version of 

Motley Crue on stage. It’s an ’80s rock and 

roll-meets-country thing. We like to run 

around a lot . . . ” 

Craig picks up on this, “We’ve all got 

wired systems and we can jump around. 

Even when we couldn’t afford it, we always 

had pyrotechnics and stuff like that at some 

club shows, like smoke machines and lights. 

We have a big vision of us being on the 

grand stage with stuff blowing up here and 

there, with elevators and all kinds of neat 

things. That’s what we’re about.” 

Jason emphasizes, “The album’s gonna 

reflect that, too. There’s some that’s really 

rockin’ country music, AC/DC influence, 

Muscle Shoals blues, that sort of thing. We 

enjoy the ballads though, and there’s another 

like ‘I Loved Her First,’ so we feel it’s a 

pretty good representation of Heartland.” 

Mikey says “Play Hurt” may be their 

next single, “It’s almost a testament of what 

we’ve been doing, it’s about persevering . . 

and continuing with what we’re doing.” 

Does each get a moment in the spotlight? 

Keith, dubbed “The Quiet Man” since he 

wasn’t as forthcoming, finally answers a 

question: “If we prefer to, we do. But I guess 

speaking for myself, I feel more comfortable 

when I’m interacting with all these 

other guys on stage. I think I shine when 

I’m up there doing my thing. If I get up there 

next to Todd - he’s the drummer - and I’m 

playing bass and we’re each working to do 

our own thing, we’re gonna put on a show 

that means more to the people out there than 

if I’m playing the funk on my instrument. 

People don’t care about how fast you can 

play your guitar, they’re gonna like that (ensemble) 

bit better.” 

Drummer Todd grins and adds, “I think 

the day of the 10-minute drum solo is gone. 

We’re definitely a band, and we orient ourselves 

around a good song.” 

Mikey says, “We’re not a put-together 

band by a record label in Nashville. We’ve 

been struggling along together for years and 

had we not made the album here, we’d probably 

still be back practicing in Huntsville 

for a showbar somewhere in Birmingham.” 

Craig continues, “We just want to come 

across as who we are, just downhome regular 

guys who enjoy music and want to get 

together and play our own music, which we 

feel is unique. We don’t sound like anybody 

else and we actually got to play about 80 

per cent of the instrumentation on our album 

- and that’s rare in Nashville for the 

most part. So that works out well for us.” 

What unusual experiences stand out? 

“I actually came off the stage two years 

in a row at the same venue,” reflects Jason. 

“Actually, it rained one year after the Big 

Spring Jam and they lowered the lights to 



. . Local 257’s Leona Williams’ new life 

Leona today, in Patricia Presley photo. 


‘Big City’ (a 1982 #1 for Epic, which she 

helped write but got no credit - ‘That was a 

husband-wife thing, I guess’), and we had 

‘We’re Strangers Again’ together (as cowriters 

and duet partners in ’83) on Mercury 

Records.” 

That was then Leona’s label, and the 

tune’s title proved prophetic for the couple. 

Nonetheless, Haggard also enjoyed a pair 

of #1 Epic discs with Leona songs: “You 

Take Me For Granted” (1983) and “Someday 

When Things Are Good” (1984). 

Only a few years after Leona and 

Merle’s wedding, The Hag was admitting 

to journalist Peter Guralnick that his marriage 

was already rocky. He insisted he had 

recently given up drinking, but not “carousing.” 

Perhaps Leona chalked it up to midlife 

crisis, but she was finding it harder coping 

with his mood swings, and living on his 

Lake Shasta houseboat where he partied 

with band buddies. Shortly after their divorce, 

Merle married his maid Debbie 

Parret, though it was short-lived and he’s 

now wed to fifth wife Theresa. 

Throughout their marriage, his ex-wife 

singer Bonnie Owens (with whom Merle 

achieved a career breakthrough in 1964 via 

their duet “Just Between the Two Of Us”) 

performed with the Haggard Show. (Merle’s 

first wife was also named Leona.) 

“I liked Bonnie. She stood up for us at 

our wedding. I even recorded ‘Starting 

Over,’ which she wrote. Bonnie was such a 

big supporter of Merle’s. She’d really get 

out there and promote him with the fans. I 

tried that, too, for awhile, but that wasn’t 

me . . . I was saddened by her recent death,” 

The former Leona Belle Helton was 

born in Vienna, Mo., Jan. 7, 1943, one of a 

dozen children: “I’ve got seven brothers and 

four sisters, a whole bunch of us. Comin’ 

from such a large family was one of the 

greatest things that ever happened to me. I 

learned the meaning of love and togetherness, 

and how to sing.” 

Leona says she would often awaken in 

the morning to her dad playing fiddle. Her 

mother played the organ and played 4-string 

banjo. “Somebody asked my dad one time: 

‘You’ve got 12 kids and they all play the 

guitar or fiddle or something. How did you 

get them motivated to play, anyhow?’ He 

said, ‘I just cleaned all of ’em up, those guitars 

and fiddles, laid ’em all down there on 

the bed and said, ‘Now you kids leave ’em 

alone!’ That’s our little family story. We 

grew up with a lot of love, a lot of kids and 

good parents.” 

Innate talent and a little arm-twisting by 

big brother aided the pretty 15-year-old in 

making her performing bow and landing her 

own radio show on KWOS-Jefferson City. 

“Warren was the brother I’m talking 

about. He used to play fiddle in this little 

band that came to Jefferson City, and the 

guy who led the band was also a DJ on the 

radio station there. They were called The 

Johnny Boys, and were playing at this fun 

place near home. 

“Anyway, Warren asked Johnny if I could 

get up and sing. He said sure. So I sang and 

Johnny thought I was great. He said we’d 

maybe get some sponsors and I could have my 

own radio show. We did and it was called 

Leona Sings every Saturday morning.” 

What was the song she sang? 

“It would’ve been a Kitty Wells’ song for 

sure. I just loved her singing. Kitty was my 

hero. I loved her songs, especially ‘Makin’ Believe’ 

and ‘Whose Shoulder Will You Cry On,’ 

and a bunch of those songs like that.” 

How did Leona land her sponsors? 

She said the whole town rallied, adding, 

“And would you believe our biggest backer 

was the local pool-hall?” 

Little did she know that someone was taping 

her program to send overseas to a sailor 

from the Show Me State, stationed in a region 

where his favored country music was scarce. 

In an earlier interview she’d told us, “Ron 

wrote me a letter and that started our relationship. 

When he came back from the service, we 

met each other and got married. That was when 

I was 16.” 

Leona was barely 17 when baby Cathy arrived. 

But it wasn’t an end to performing, as 

she and Ron, who played bass, formed their 

own band and even lived in St. Louis. It was 

there she met Dave Hooten, a St. Claire, Mo., 

native, who later worked with the Grand Ole 

Opry’s Lonzo & Oscar, little dreaming that he 

would become the last Lonzo when Rollin 

(Oscar) Sullivan’s brother John (Lonzo) 

Sullivan died in 1967. 

After the Willliams’ move to Nashville, the 

couple soon landed in Loretta Lynn’s touring 

troupe, in which Leona played stand-up bass 

fiddle. 

“We worked for almost a year with her, and 

I would sing harmony with her Blue Kentuckians’ 

band. That’s what she called ’em then. 

We logged a lot of miles riding in her Cadillac, 

sittin’ back-to-back. Loretta was real countrified. 

We’d stop at the store and buy some bologna, 

bread and we’d get green onions (ha! 

ha!) and put ’em on sandwiches.” 

Taking a leaf from brothers Wayne and 

Roger Helton (who have cuts on her latest CD), 

Leona began developing songwriting skills: 

“First time I had a song cut, Loretta changed a 

line or two, and did it.” 

Leona’s “Get What’cha Got and Go” appears 

on Lynn’s first #1 Gold album “Don’t 

Come Home-A Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your 

Mind)” released in 1967. She later had cuts by 

divas Tammy Wynette (“Broad Minded”) and 

Connie Smith (“Dallas”). 

“When I moved to Nashville, I was a 

beauty operator. I signed as a writer over there 

with the Glaser Brothers and hoped to get 

myself set up as an artist in the music business. 

Then I met John Hartford and his wife 

Betty. John’s from Missouri, too. At the time 

they lived not too far away and we all got acquainted 

through the Glasers. 

“I would carry on, telling people ‘I’m John 

Hartford’s hair stylist!’ My kids always said, 

‘Mom, you know how to do everything!’ You 

know one story leads to another, but Oscar 

Sullivan had Dave Hooten in his group and he 

used to play in my little band in St. Louis. He 

got Oscar (and Redd Stewart) to take my tape 

to Wesley Rose (of Acuff-Rose publishing) and 

they wanted to sign me. Oscar joked he 

played my tape at slow speed and Wes 

said, ‘I’ve got to sign her, she sounds like 

Roy Acuff!’ (Another hearty laugh).” 

Thus Leona Williams was signed to 

Acuff-Rose’s company Hickory Records, 

where her first charting was a remake of 

Dusty Owens’ “Once More,” which had 

been a hit for Acuff a decade earlier. Before 

leaving the label four years later, she 

charted the titillating title “Country Girl 

With Hot Pants On.” 

Was she concerned about losing her 

wholesome country girl image with that 

tune and other suggestive songs like 

“Since I’m Not With the One I Love (I’ll 

Love the One I’m With)” and “Yes M’am, 

He Found Me In a Honky Tonk”? 

“I didn’t really think about the image 

of it. Conway Twitty wrote ‘Since 

I’m Not With the One I Love,’ and Glenn 

Barber, who was also on Hickory, wrote 

‘Yes M’am, He Found Me In a Honky 

Tonk’ and I didn’t write ‘Country Girl 

With Hot Pants On’ (by Jim Mundy) either, 

so they weren’t my creations. In fact, 

I didn’t want to cut that song at all. I 

didn’t sleep a wink the night before I recorded 

that, because I was so worried. 

Hot pants were the style at the time, and 

I was, after all, a country girl at heart and 

didn’t care to show my legs. Believe it 

or not, I was bashful.” 

Although shapely, Leona wasn’t anxious 

to be typecast a la Jeannie C. Riley, 

forever linked to the mini-skirted mama 

dressing down the “Harper Valley PTA.” 

“But yes, I got some positive publicity 

out of that song and in that way, it 

was good because my shows started paying 

me more after that.” 

A memorable tour in that time period 

took her to Vietnam where she spent 10 

days entertaining troops during hostilities 

in that war-torn country. 

“You know while I was with Hickory, 

Wesley wanted me to also sing some duets 

with Don Gibson. Lord, I would’ve 

loved that, as I was always a big fan of 

his. We even learned a couple of songs 

together, but it never happened. They 

brought in Sue Thompson (of ‘Sad Movies’ 

fame) instead.” 

Did her career disrupt home-life? 

“No, I got married really young and 

had Cathy, but I don’t think being married 

or having children hurt (my) career 

all that much. But sometimes the music 

business won’t let you have a good thing 

in your life; though it’s not the music, it’s 

just the way it is when you’ve got to be 

gone on the road . . . whatever.” 

Why didn’t she hit gold status? 

“Hey, some people get lucky,” she 

retorts. “You really have to have all the 

right people behind you. I tried and I recorded 

with the big labels (MCA, Elektra, 

Mercury), but I think they saw me as 

competition to their acts, like Loretta or 

Tammy, and they already had them on 

their labels. So they let me get pushed 

back. I’d written a lot of songs back then. 

I told Wesley Rose when I wrote ‘Dallas,’ 

if I’m ever gonna have any kind of a 

big hit, this is going to be it. All he said 

was, ‘No, it needs another verse.’ Connie 

Smith cut ‘Dallas’ and it did good for her. 

“Then when I wrote ‘You Take Me 

For Granted,’ Merle heard it and recorded 

it right away. But still I love writing songs 

and I like the way it makes me feel after 

I write ’em. Oh, I finally cut ‘Dallas’ on 

my new CD.” 

In 2004 and again in ’05, that last time 

with son Ron, she did some gigs in Ireland, 

which gave her a lift emotionally: 

“That was really fun going with him. We 

played some of the big hotels, where they 

had the big rooms. We got good crowds. 

This last time, there was a guy named 

Barry Doyle and he had this really great 

band! Ron and I think about them all the 

time. They were the best backup band, and 

we had such a good time over there.” 

Newly-widowed Leona busied herself 

helping the Missouri Country Music 

Assocation as a board member, which in 

turn inducted her as a charter member of 

MCMA’s Hall of Fame in 2004, along with 

Leroy Van Dyke and younger veteran 

Rhonda Vincent. 

The fledgling MCMA enlisted her aid 

in trying to schedule future Hall of Fame 

inductions, and one of those she nominated 

was Missouri native Ferlin Husky. 

“Leona was asked to get in touch with 

me, so she called Jean Shepard to ask how 

to reach me. Then Jean calls me to tell me 

Leona Williams was going to call, and to 

answer the phone,” grins Husky, living in 

Haines City, Fla. “I heard later Jean called 

Leona right back to give her my number and 

said, ‘Now’s a good time to call him, because 

he’s answering his phone’.” 

Leona picks up the story, “I was halfnervous 

about calling. I’m always hesitant 

about calling up any artist. I was at (son) 

Brady’s down in Ozark and when he answered 

I asked how he was doing and all 

that stuff, before getting to the point. I told 

him this group in Missouri had started up 

an association that would include a Hall of 

Fame & Museum eventually. I said that they 

would like to induct him in 2005. 

“Being from Missouri, Ferlin’s always 

been special. Of course, I had met him earlier 

on shows, but we never really got to 

know one another. The first time I was able 

to be there in Nashville to accept a BMI 

award was for my song ‘You Take Me For 

Granted,’ and I was seated at this big table 

and was going through my divorce from 

Merle. Seated on my left was Hank Cochran 

and his wife Ann, while on the right side 

was Ferlin. We all had a lot of fun talkin’.” 

Leona also encouraged Ferlin to return 

to the studio after a 10-year absence: “I 

knew Tracy Pitcox, the young fellow who 

owns Heart of Texas Records, well enough 

to know he would like to have Ferlin record 

on his label. He owns a Country Music 

Museum there, and had done recordings on 

me, Dave, Floyd Tillman (with whom Leona 

sang ‘Let’s Make Memories’), Norma Jean, 

Darryl McCall, Justin Trevino, Big Bill 

Lister, and they’re now fixing to do Hank 

Thompson.” 

A reluctant Husky agreed, if Williams 

and Trevino co-produced, and she sang with 

him on re-recording his first chart hit “A 

Dear John Letter” (which originally featured 

Jean Shepard) and a remake of the Kitty 

Wells-Red Foley hit “As Long As I Live.” 

Ferlin recorded her song “The Way It 

Was (Is the Way It Is),” which also serves 

as the CD’s title track. The couple have since 

been inseparable, sharing the stage together 

on the road and she was there for him when 

he went through his latest heart surgery Dec. 

27 in Springfield, Mo. 

Husky’s name remains conspicuously 

absent, however, from the Nashville-based 

Country Music Hall of Fame. He muses, 

“When my time comes, I don’t think St. 

Peter’s gonna ask whether I made it into the 

Hall of Fame or not.” 

Pressed regarding their relationship, 

Leona smiles, tongue-in-cheek, saying there 

are no marital plans: “We’re going to be like 

the young couples today, just live together.” 

So how does Ferlin feel coming full 

circle, once again residing in (Vienna) Missouri? 

“Yeah, it’s better- and I can understand 

some of the words they’re sayin’ up here.” 

One of Williams’ favorite albums was 

the 1976 MCA live recording “San 

Quentin’s First Lady,” which she recorded 

with Merle’s band The Strangers inside the 

prison, making her the first female to do so. 

(It had also been home to Haggard for nearly 



Vaughan, Crowell among Americana’s best 

- Patricia Presley photo 

Will Kimbrough and Rodney Crowell, previous 

winners, performed at 2006 Americana awards. 

By WALT TROTT 

Americana is somewhat of an anomaly, 

at least as celebrated during the 2006 Americana 

Music Association awards and honors 

presentation, Sept. 22, at the historic Ryman 

Auditorium in Nashville. 

Personally, we’re a bit bored with those 

trying to “define” what Americana is; suffice 

it to say, it’s music outside the mainstream, 

apart from the neatly-boxed genres 

of pop, rock, country, bluegrass, jazz, gospel 

or R&B. 

Obviously, it has roots of any of those 

categories, dependent on your particular 

favorite’s influences. What it isn’t or 

shouldn’t be is a refuge for failed or burntout 

performers from one of the other genres. 

Perhaps the truest representatives of this 

alternative Americana music are artists such 

as Bob Dylan, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, 

Mary Gauthier, Todd Snider, James 

McMurtry (who scored multiple wins this 

year) and Buddy Miller, who again led the 

Americana All-Star Band at the Ryman. 

Despite its sobriquet, Americana also 

embraces artists from abroad whose music 

is worthy but not necessarily welcomed by 

U.S. mass-market radio conglomerates, notably 

Australia’s Anne McCue, Ireland’s 

Kieran Goss, Canadian Corb Lund and 

Britain’s James Hunter (performing here 

with funk group The Dynamites). 

AMA awards’ show host Jim Lauderdale, 

repeating last year’s chore, did his utmost 

to maintain a brisk pace, while tossing in 

touches of humor, a la an announcement of 

Americana Bling, a planned publication 

promising “at home with the stars” features 

on genre artists in their RVs or motor homes. 

Jim, who played George Jones in a local 

stage production, exposes his own leanings, 

singing “She’s in a Honky Tonk Mood 

Again.” In introducing Marty Stuart, he proclaims, 

“If George Strait’s the king of country 

music, then Marty Stuart’s its prince . . . 

a national treasure.” 

Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives performed, 

and Marty paid his own respects to 

Instrumentalist of the Year Kenny Vaughan, 

as “The coolest cat in this town.” In accepting 

the AMA award, Kenny had noted in 

part, “They always say it’s not about the 

money . . . It’s about the friggin’ money!” 

Cool cat Vaughan also received a Lifetime 

Achievement plaque, while Gibson 

Guitars offered yet another prize, a special 

model guitar in recognition of his pickin’. 

Vaughan joined the other instrumentalist 

nominees - Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton 

and Tim O’Brien - to play a salute to Barry 

Poss, recipient of the Jack Emerson Visionary 

Award for Lifetime Achievement as 

founder-producer at Sugar Hill Records. All 

have recorded for the label. 

Another Lifetime Achievement plaque 

went to performer Alejandro Escoveda, 

whose successes include “Velvet Guitar,” 

“Pyramid of Tears” and “She Doesn’t Live 

Here Anymore.” Escoveda, born in San 

Antonio, Texas, is one of 12 children born 

to Mexican immigrants. No Depression 

magazine called him Artist of the Decade. 

Unlike other play-it-safer music awards 

shows, Americana doesn’t shy away from 

outspoken artists, having presented its Spirit 

of America Free Speech Award (jointly with 

the Nashville-based First Amendment Center) 

to past anti-establishment recipients 

Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Kris 

Kristofferson and Judy Collins. This year’s 

honoree, Charlie Daniels, though equally 

verbal, leans further right in his stance. 

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” 

smiled Daniels. “I am deeply honored, especially 

anything to do with free speech, 

because I exercise mine quite often . . . ” 

Performing his ’73 song, “Uneasy 

Rider,” he says, “It was a different era in 

1973. We had two distinct societies - hippies 

and rednecks. I won’t tell you which 

side I was on . . .” 

Shortly after 9-11, Charlie penned his 

“This Ain’t No Rag, It’s a Flag” anthem, 

giving the boot to terrorists, and coming on 

strong in support of Presidential policies. 

Sounding a bit more conciliatory in his acceptance 

speech, however, he acknowledged, 

“Patriotism is not blind allegiance 

to any ideology or political party. Nobody 

is right all the time. Reasonable people will 

sit down and work together.” 

Another of the evening’s winners Neil 

Young as Best Artist of 2006, has a song 

with a self-explanatory title “Impeach the 

President,” much in the news this election 

year. (Young was unable to attend.) 

Still another anti-Bush act, the controversial 

Dixie Chicks were nominated for 

best song with their saucy “Not Ready To 

Make Nice,” but were edged out by James 

McMurtry’s winning entry “We Can’t Make 

It Here.” 

Going off stage, McMurtry took a long 

break, leaving emcee Lauderdale slightly 

speechless after announcing James also 

copped best album award for his “Childish 

Things” - and no McMurtry. Following a 

few minutes of awkward silence, surprised 

winner McMurtry rushed on stage, muttering, 

“They faked me out this time . . . ,” 

then in an aside told any thirsty listeners, “I 

recommend Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge across 

the alley.” 

McMurtry, son of Pulitzer Prize-winning 

author Larry McMurtry (“Lonesome 

Dove”), thanked dad - especially for loaning 

him a sportcoat for the night - then acknowledged 

another writing champion of 

his sounds, novelist Stephen King: “Hey, 

Bangor, Maine is my biggest market!” 

Actress Ronee Blakely, who won the 

1975 National Board of Review’s supporting 

actress accolade - and an Oscar nomination 

- playing ailing country chirp Barbara 

Jean in Robert Altman’s searing screen 

satire “Nashville,” presented AMA’s Emerging 

Artist honor to The Greencards, an 

acoustical but contemporary bluegrass band, 

scoring with their CD “Weather & Water.” 

Ronee recalled having opened shows 

early on for Hoyt Axton and Bob Dylan, 

who later engaged her to act in his film 

“Renaldo & Clara.” 

Among the presenters was singersongwriter 

Chip Taylor, no stranger to Oscar 

winners, being brother to Jon Voight and 

uncle to Angelina Jolie. He had a near miss 

for AMA Best Duo/Group (a new category 

this year), thanks to a duet album with Carrie 

Rodriguez (“Red Dog Tracks”). Winning, 

however, was The Drive-By Truckers, 

a Georgia-based psychobilly band 

boasting a trio of souped-up guitars, heard 

on their CD “A Blessing & A Curse.” 

It’s worth noting that another act nominated 

as best group, the Kieran Kane-Fats 

Kaplan-Kevin Welch trio, put their unique 

mark on a riveting “Postcard From Mexico” 

(off their “Lost John Dean” album), garnering 

plenty of applause. 

Singer-songwriter Kacey Jones trooped 

on stage along with AMA President Tamara 

Saviano to annouce the recipient of the annual 

President’s Award, given posthumously. 

Accepting for this year’s honoree - 

singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury (who 

died Sept. 28, 2002 at age 62) - was his mom 

Mamie Newbury. 

Among Mickey’s memorable compositions 

are “Here Comes The Rain Baby” 

(Eddy Arnold), “Time Is a Thief” (Solomon 

Burke), “She Even Woke Me Up To Say 

Goodbye” (Jerry Lee Lewis), “Sweet 

Memories” (Andy Williams), “Just Dropped 

In” (Kenny Rogers) and the illiterative 

“Funny, Familiar, Forgotten Feelings” (Don 

Gibson). His own milestone recording of 

“An American Trilogy,” was covered by 

Elvis Presley (though we prefer Newbury’s 

version). 

Regarding Mickey as a mentor, Kacey 

Jones recently recorded a Newbury tribute 

album. She cited his reply when asked why 

didn’t he write happier tunes? “When I’m 

happy, I play golf, when I’m sad, I write 

songs.” 

In another of AMA’s tribute moments, 

Grand Ole Opry star Vince Gill, accompanied 

only by his guitar, mesmerized the 

crowd with his interpretation of Rodney 

Crowell’s “Til I Gain Control Again,” then 

proceeded to chat him up before presenting 

Crowell a Lifetime Achievement 

Songwriter Award. Alternating between 

praise of Crowell’s talents and tales of their 

early escapades, Gill grinned, “One thing 

he taught me is when you’re eating magic 

mushrooms, you don’t drive . . .” 

(Incidentally, 12 days earlier we witnessed 

vocalist Vince, accompanied only by 

a pianist, stun a crowd of classical music 

lovers, singing “Feels Like Love” at the 

weekend opening of Nashville’s $123.5 

million acoustic marvel Schermerhorn Symphony 

Center, earning a standing ovation.) 

Other magical compositions Crowell 

created include four #1 numbers on his 1988 

million-selling “Diamonds & Dirt” - “I 

Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried,” “She’s 

Crazy For Leaving,” “After All This Time,” 

“It’s Such a Small World” - an album which 

boasted an astounding fifth #1, Harlan 

Howard’s “Above and Beyond.” 

Crowell confided that award winner 

Newbury was a music hero: “I was really 

transformed by Mickey, and for many years 

I emulated Mickey Newbury.” Others he 

praised for their influence were Guy Clark, 

Townes Van Zandt and Emmylou Harris. 

Rodney then pointed out, “My family’s 

here tonight,” prompting a knowing crowd’s 

chuckle, as his ex- Rosanne Cash was also 

performing that evening. “Yeah . . .we set 

aside Monday for therapy a long time ago,” 

a tongue-in-cheek Rodney responded. 

Assisting him musically on stage was 

Will Kimbrough as they lit into Crowell’s 

melodic composition boasting haunting lyrics 

that seem to come from soul deep: “What 

we had was not enough/I saw it coming from 

the start . . . She’s as smooth as she is smart 

. . . a moving work of art . . .” 

British entertainer Elvis Costello expressed 

amazement at being invited to honor 

New Orleans’ producer-pianist-arranger 

Allen Toussaint with an AMA Lifetime 

Achievement award: “I don’t know how it 

is an English guy got up here at the Americana 

awards . . . ,” then proclaimed, “It’s 

one of the greatest pleasures of my career” 

honoring Toussaint, pointing out Allen lost 

his home and more to Hurricane Katrina. 

Two decades earlier, Costello called on 

Toussaint to produce a song for him, noting 

how the Crescent City artist had captured 

the soul of New Orleans. They reunited after 

Katrina to record an album (“River in 

Reverse”) in the Piety Street Studio, which 

somehow had survived destruction in the 

then-nearly deserted Ninth Ward. 

Toussaint accepted his award sans 

speech, but instead sat at the piano and was 

joined by Costello to play one of their collaborations, 

receiving a standing ovation 

amid calls for an encore. Their poignant 

“Ascension Day” recording recalls the eerie 

aftermath of the hurricane-devastated 

city, “Not a soul was stirring/Not a bird was 

singing . . .” 

Others gracing the stage either as performer 

and/or presenter throughout the 

three-hour program included Kim Richey, 

Delbert McClinton, Sam Bush, Uncle Earl, 

James Hunter, Robinella, and Rosanne 

Cash, who had been nominated as best artist 

and also best song, “Black Cadillac,” 

which ironically put her in competition with 

Rodney Crowell, cited for “Don’t Get Me 

Started.” As fate would have it, they lost to 

“We Can’t Make It Here” by McMurtry. 

Sam Bush and Buddy Miller launched 

the show’s finale, a rousing rendition of Bob 

Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” as all the 

participants still there were invited back on 

stage to join in. It was refreshing not having 

to hear "I Saw the Light" or "Will the 

Circle Be Unbroken" as a closer. Thankfully, 

Dylan had the last word this evening. 

Reportedly, simultaneous broadcasts of 

AMA’s awards were airing via Sirius and 

XM Satellite stations, as well as worldwide 

by Voice of America, and abroad to Europeans 

by BBC Radio 2. 

Anderson, Shepard, Hall, 

Louvin and Cash compete 

for ’06 ROPE trophies . . . 

The 19th annual Reunion Of Professional 

Entertainers (ROPE) awards banquet 

is slated Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Nashville 

Airport Marriott Hotel (off Briley Parkway). 

“We just outgrew our previous places,” 

says ROPE’s Executive Secretary Leslie 

Elliott. “We didn’t even have room to walk 

between the tables at last year’s dinner.” 

Entertaining this year’s crowd will be 

Tommy Cash’s Tribute to Johnny Cash, featuring 

the Cash Crew. Leslie also points out 

that doors will open at 5:30 p.m. 

Nominees for the 2006 awards are as 

follows: 

Entertainer of the Year - Jean Shepard, 

Bill Anderson, Tommy Cash, Tom T. Hall 

and Charlie Louvin; 

Best Musician - Ray Edenton, Ray 

Emmett, D.J. Fontana, Doyle Holly, Chris 

Parker and Don Warden; 

Best Songwriter - Red Lane, Dickie Lee, 

Jeannie Seely, Glenn Sutton and Kent 

Westberry; 

Business Person - Patsy Bradley, Rose 

Drake, John A. Hobbs, Frank Oakley and 

Gene Ward; 

Media Person - Bill Littleton, Bob 

Oermann, TomCat Reeder, Hazel Smith and 

Walt Trott. 

Other awards presented at the ROPE 

show usually include the Ernest Tubb Humanitarian 

Award, and the Mac Wiseman 

Nightingale Awards given to caregivers for 

those within the music community. In addition, 

announcements will be made on the 

election of new Executive Board members, 

according to John E. Denny, president. 

Deadline for ticket sales ($45) is Friday, 

Oct. 27. For details on the show or how to 

become a ROPE member, telephone (615) 

860-9257. 

Union 

music is 

best!


Hitmaker Johnny Duncan dies 

Singer-songwriter Johnny Duncan, 67, 

died of a heart attack Aug. 14, in his home 

state of Texas. Best known for the #1 hits 

“Thinkin’ Of a Rendezvous,” “It Couldn’t 

Have Been Any Better” and “She Can Put 

Her Shoes Under My Bed (Anytime),” he 

charted 39 singles on weekly Billboard. 

Hailing from a talented Texas family, 

Johnny was a cousin to fellow artists Jimmy 

Seals (of soft-rock duo Seals & Crofts), Dan 

Seals (formerly of England Dan & John 

Ford Coley), Troy Seals (wrote such as 

“Seven Spanish Angels”), Chuck Seals (cowriter 

of the Grammy Hall of Fame song 

“Crazy Arms”) and Brady Seals (lead vocalist 

of Little Texas). 

Born John Richard Duncan on Oct. 5, 

1938 in Dublin, Texas, he grew up on a farm 

near Stephenville. His mother Minnie 

taught Johnny how to play guitar, and influenced 

by such pickers as Les Paul and 

Chet Atkins, he hoped to be a professional. 

“About that time, a guitar became a 

magic thing to me. It meant everything. All 

of a sudden the whole world became a guitar,” 

he said in an earlier interview. 

In his teens, Johnny’s vocals convinced 

him he might consider a singing career. In 

high school he also had played basketball. 

Johnny once performed in a band with his 

fiddlin’ uncle Ben Moroney, as did cousins 

Jimmy and Dan. He also attended Texas 

Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. 

In 1959, shortly after his marriage to 

hometown sweetheart Betty (Fisher), he 

moved to Clovis, New Mexico, where he 

worked with producer Norman Petty (think 

Buddy Holly), who made some pop demos 

on Duncan, though little came of it. He also 

worked as a DJ in the Southwest. 

Like idols Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves, 

his vocals were smooth and romantic. 

In 1963, the six-foot, four-inch Texan 

relocated to the Nashville area, working at 

odd jobs, and as a DJ on WAGG-Franklin. 

“We had some bad times,” he recalled, 

regarding his family. “But my babies never 

went hungry. When I came to Nashville, I 

was laying concrete and making like $1.40 

an hour.” 

Duncan also appeared on Ralph Emery’s 

Al Casey succumbs in Phoenix 

Pop music guitarist Al Casey, 69, died 

in his hometown of Phoenix, Sept. 17, 

where he returned after years as a hit maker 

in Los Angeles. Among those whose records 

he played on were the Beach Boys, Duane 

Eddy, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Cash, The 

Monkees, Ricky Nelson, The Everlys and 

both Nancy and Frank Sinatra. 

According to Nashville producer 

Ronnie Light, “Los Angeles studio players 

told me Al gave Duane Eddy the low, 

tremolo sound that was on all of Duane’s 

hits . . . I got to work with Al in L.A. and 

can say he was a nice man and a great 

picker.” 

Unsung Al worked with Eddy to create 

a twangy, echoing guitar sound that led 

to such successes as “Rebel Rouser” and 

“40 Miles of Bad Road.” 

Casey can be heard on numerous other 

hits, such as “Good Vibrations” (Beach 

Boys), “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” 

(Glen Campbell) and “These Boots Are 

Made For Walkin’” (Nancy Sinatra). Other 

career highlights include playing guitar for 

Elvis Presley’s comeback concert televised 

in 1968, and performing on the haunting 

ballad “Everybody’s Talkin’,” for the 

and Bobby Lord’s WSM-TV shows in 1966. 

Columbia A&R chief Don Law spotted him, 

recognized his talent and suggested the signing 

of Duncan to the label that year. Johnny’s 

first chart single to was “Hard Luck Joe” in 

1967. 

According to Duncan, “It tried like hell 

to be a hit, but didn’t quite make it.” 

Johnny was headlining at The Town Towers 

in Bowling Green, Ky., when Charley 

Pride’s manager Jack Johnson convinced 

Pride to take him on tour as an opening act. 

In appreciation, Duncan later wrote two #1 

songs for Pride, “I’d Rather Love You” and 

“She’s Too Good To Be True,” as well as “I 

Ain’t All Bad” (#6, 1975). 

Duncan’s own first successful charting 

was a 1968 Top 20 duet with June Stearns 

on “Jackson Ain’t a Very Big Town,” a cover 

of Norma Jean’s RCA single, and it charted 

eight weeks. Johnny confided that when he 

was about to ask the label to release him 

from their contract, his next record proved 

a winner. 

Once linked up with production ace Billy 

Sherrill, Duncan enjoyed a string of hits, 

among them Kris Kristofferson’s “Strangers” 

(#4, 1976), a song he first heard on a 

Billy Swan album: “The record started 

slowly, but it kept on moving up the charts 

week by week.” 

It was while doing backup vocals on 

Duncan’s recordings that Janie Fricke was 

asked to step out of the group to sing a line 

on “Strangers,” a single that changed her life, 

and helped make her a star in her own right. 

He and Janie had a full-fledged duet success 

on “Come a Little Bit Closer” (#4, 

1977). 

Other Duncan hits were “A Song In the 

Night,” “Hello Mexico (And Adios Baby To 

You),” “Slow Dancing” and in 1979 his last 

Top 10 “Lady In the Blue Mercedes.” 

During the early 1980s, Duncan moved 

back to Texas to live the life of a Gentleman 

Farmer. He married again, tying the knot 

with longtime companion Connie. 

Throughout the years, Duncan continued 

to accept bookings and reportedly had just 

completed a new recording project, his first 

in many years. The Harrell Funeral Home 

in Dublin handled arrangements, with a memorial 

service at First Baptist Church in 

Stephenville, Texas, Aug. 17. Besides his 

widow Connie; and daughters Angela, 

Lezlie and Lori; survivors include his and 

Connie’s son Ike Duncan; grandson John 

Dewey Haggard; sister JoAnn Black; and a 

brother Tommy Duncan. - Walt Trott 

highly-acclaimed movie “Midnight 

Cowboy’s” soundtrack. 

Early in his Phoenix career, Al hooked 

up with the Sunset Riders band, which performed 

on the 1955 TV series The Arizona 

Hayride. Noted producer-composer Lee 

Hazlewood helped give him studio recognition, 

and in turn Casey introduced him to 

singer Sanford Clark, who recorded 

Hazlewood’s “The Fool” for Dot Records, 

taking it into the Billboard pop Top 10 in 

’56. Part of its success was attributed to 

Casey’s blues guitar riffs. 

After relocating to Phoenix, Al taught 

guitar. In recognition of his many career accomplishments, 

Casey was inducted into the 

Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of 

Fame last year, and is an instrumental member 

of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. 

The musician has since suffered from 

lung and kidney ailments, prompting his 

being cared for in a nursing home. 

A memorial was scheduled at the AFM 

Phoenix Local 586, Sept. 23, conducted by 

Dionne Hauke, a friend who runs Ziggy’s 

Music store in Phoenix. - WT 

Give To TEMPO 

Mack King, Jr. in 1990. 

Guitarist’s spirit soared 

despite crippling illness 

As a newcomer, he was playing backup 

lead guitar for Alice Cooper on the shockrock 

superstar’s “Welcome To My Nightmare” 

tour, but Mack King, Jr.’s first instrument 

was drums, according to dad Mack, 

Sr., himself a member of the Rockabilly Instrumental 

Hall of Fame. 

Sad to say, King Jr. died Aug. 11 at the 

University of Tennessee Medical Center in 

Knoxville, where he was being treated for 

complications resulting from a transplant 

and his longtime diabetes affliction. Earlier 

his right leg was amputated. 

A member of Local 257, King also 

played bass, though his passion was guitar. 

He became a Nashville studio musician, 

playing on a variety of recordings, ranging 

from rock and roll to country. 

Reportedly, the heavy metal band Foreigner 

wrote their cut “Headknocker” after 

witnessing an incident involving young 

Mack in a Tampa nightclub: “He’s a dedicated 

rocker/a real headknocker . . . He’s 

got an old Fender Strat/Plays behind his 

back/While he sings out ‘Louie, Louie’ . . . 

He might like to fight/Oh, but boy, does he 

love to play . . .” 

The only child of Bette Jean and Mack 

King, he was born April 22, 1954 in Florala, 

Ala., but moved with his family to Tampa, 

Fla., when 14 months old. At age 16, Mack 

won a Battle of the Bands contest in Florida, 

which helped him decide on his life’s work. 

“Jimmy Bryant (noted for his ‘Flaming 

Guitars’ partnership with Speedy West) 

taught him to play guitar,” recalls King Sr., 

who says his son had suffered from diabetes 

since age 11. 

Nonetheless, the young musician also 

went on to earn a Sixth Degree Black Belt 

in Karate, the martial art, which he also 

taught for several years. 

In February 2001, Type 1 diabetic King 

became a double (pancreas/kidney) transplant 

recipient. For a short time, he lived 

free of insulin and dialysis, and once again 

could play guitar. Prior to his death, he had 

wed his childhood schoolmate Bonita Barja. 

“I knew Mack since I was 9 years old. 

We were married on Valentine’s Day 2005,” 

says his widow, a.k.a. “Bonnie.” “We were 

very close and I am glad I got to be with 

him . . . We were in the process of building 

a studio here.” 

The here she refers to is Rock King 

Ranch on Pick Mountain, near Gainesboro, 

Tenn. 

“We bought this l’il old farm here so 

he’d be closer to Nashville,” recalls Dad, 

who calls himself a “minor musician,” who 

hasn’t performed professionally since 1960. 

“But somehow I ended up in the Rockabilly 

Hall of Fame. I think the main thing there 

was my early association with Elvis 

(Presley), before he got his drummer (D.J. 

Fontana).” 

Senior, who once headed up his own 

band The Western Hayriders in Tampa, even 

remembers a time Elvis playfully tossed tiny 

Mack Jr. up in the air. 

Mack Sr. recorded for Starday Records, 

and joshes, “We had a lot of trouble selling 

them for 90-cents, and I hear now they’re 

worth over $400 (among collectors).” 

“My son liked Nashville, but he also 

loved Colorado and went out there to work 

for a while. B. J. Thomas became a good 

friend to him. He knew a lot of people, particularly 

musicians, including Nashville 

pickers like Josh Graves, Ernie Rowell, Walt 

Cunningham, Clyde Phillips, and some of 

the original Outlaws. His friend Mark, I 

think, was soundman for Martina McBride.” 

When he was a teen-ager, country singer 

Ruby Wright (of “Dern Ya” fame) offered 

to hire Jr. to perform in her backing band, 

but the Kings felt he was too young to tour. 

Mack Jr. relished the session scene, but 

also headed up his own Mack King Band, 

and performed some with Frank Evans’ The 

Homesteaders, and Randy Hatfield’s The 

Real McCoys, among others. 

In 1985, Mack’s illness slowed him 

down, necessitating frequent hospitalization, 

all of which left him too weak to play 

guitar. Following his transplant, Mack had 

high hopes of returning to the music scene. 

Mack Jr. & Sr. more recently. 

Bonnie says, “He was inspired by the 

idea of building a recording studio, and said 

the Rock King Ranch will rock once again!” 

Mack, however, suffered a light stroke, 

says Mack Sr., “But he was always a fighter, 

and his spirit remained strong . . . ” 

Proud of his Native American Indian 

heritage, he asked that he be cremated and 

his remains scattered in Colorado Springs. 

Mack King, Jr. was preceded in death 

in 1995 by his previous wife, Patricia Reed; 

and by his mother Bette Jean King in 2001. 

Besides his widow Bonita King, survivors 

include a daughter Christina Nicole Foye; 

and stepsons Robert Mack King and Jeffrey 

Montgomery Walker. At his services, 

led in prayer by Don Bryant and John Barja, 

songs played were “Go Rest High On That 

Mountain,” “Headknocker,” “When I Get 

Where I’m Going” and “Go Ahead,” the 

latter performed by his father. A video was 

shown of the deceased playing a benefit in 

Venice, Fla., and Bonnie King delivered the 

Eulogy. - Walt Trott 

Cover boy Mack King in his heyday.


Dulcimer champ David Schnaufer dies 

Dulcimer champion David Schnaufer, 53, 

died Aug. 23 at Nashville’s Alice Hospice of 

cancer. The transplanted Texan was credited 

with reviving the use of the all-but-forgotten 

dulcimer, and recorded with such acts as The 

Judds, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Albert Lee, 

Kathy Mattea, Mark Knopfler, Chet Atkins, 

Mark O’Connor, Dan Seals and Emmylou 

Harris. 

For the uninformed, the dulcimer’s a fourstringed 

instrument used in Appalachia at 

least since the 18th century, and no doubt 

derived from zithers first brought into the 

country by German immigrants. While the 

oldest known surviving U.S. dulcimer dates 

back to 1816, it’s believed to have been 

around even in Colonial days. 

Schnaufer, who once toured with the 

Everly Brothers, explained, “It's the simplest 

of all the stringed instruments, but can be as 

complex as anything else . . . I’ve always felt 

that if people heard the dulcimer, they would 

love it. It creates such a beautiful sound. I 

knew that the thing that attracted me to it 

would attract others, as well.” 

In 1976, Schnaufer was named the first 

national dulcimer champion. He recalled the 

first time he heard the instrument played on 

stage was at a ’60s’ Rolling Stones’ concert. 

He also pointed out that other rock bands 

known to use the dulcimer included 

Aerosmith, R.E.M. and Led Zeppelin. 

Since July 1, 1995, Schnaufer had been 

an adjunct associate professor at Vanderbilt 

University's Blair School of Music. According 

to a prepared statement by Mark Wait, 

dean of Blair School, “David was one of the 

first teachers in the Blair School’s folk music 

program, along with Mark O’Connor and 

Butch Baldassari . . . He was a wonderful 

artist and teacher, one whose influence will 

be felt for many, many years.” 

I first started hearing about David 

Schnaufer, the dulcimer artist who passed 

away on Aug. 23, when he was a Cactus 

Brother. He and the rest of the group used to 

“pick the splinters” out of “Fisher’s Hornpipe” 

and other assorted alt-country tunes. 

A few years later, after we’d become acquainted, 

he said that he’d seen me playing 

with Bill Monroe and the Nashville Mandolin 

Ensemble at one of the Country Music 

Foundation’s New Artists Christmas parties—David 

was a New Artist, we were the 

hired help. 

The first tune we ever sat down together 

and played was “Wild Rose of the Mountain” 

a beautiful “crooked” old gem from West Vir- 

After moving to Nashville in the mid- 

1980s, he set up his music stand in the Slice 

of Life natural foods restaurant near Music 

Row, where his playing garnered attention 

from such future associates as O’Connor and 

Chet Atkins. Before long, David and his 

unique instrument sat in on sessions. Eventually, 

he recorded his own solo albums, such 

as “Dulcimer Deluxe.” (1988), “Dulcimer 

Player” (1989), both released by Smithsonian 

Folkways, and “Dulcimore” (2000) on the 

indie Collecting Dust. 

David taught dulcimer to other artists like 

pop star Janis Ian, rock queen Cindi Lauper 

(who recorded his “Twilight Eyes”) and 

rockin’ Bare Jr.’s Tracy Hackney. He also performed 

in the 1990 PBS national TV tribute 

In The Hank Williams Tradition. 

As a member of the Cactus Brothers, 

David appeared in the music videos “I’m So 

Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Fisher’s Hornpipe,” 

each of which earned Bronze Awards 

at WorldFest, the Houston International Film 

& Video Festivals of 1991 and ’92. The group 

was also featured in George Strait’s first 

movie starrer “Pure Country” in 1992. 

Once managed and produced by John 

Lomax III, Schnaufer also wrote music with 

notables like Townes Van Zandt on “Waltz 

of the Waters”; Herb McCullough, “Starry 

Lullaby”; and Conni Ellisor on “Blackberry 

Winter,” a concerto, which he performed with 

the Columbus (Ga.) Symphony. In early 

1991, he released his instructional video 

“Learning Mountain Dulcimer” on Homespun 

Videos. 

In reviewing David’s double album “Dulcimer 

Player Deluxe,” British reviewer Al 

Moir wrote in the UK’s February 1990 issue 

of Country Music People magazine, 

“America’s only genuine and indigenous instrument 

positively sparkles on numbers like 

ginia. I don’t know why, but for some reason 

I had thought David actually was from West 

Virginia. He had the look, talked the talk, 

wore the clothes and had the musical lick— 

he was the living, breathing tradition! 

So when he told me that he grew up a 

“surfer” down on the Texas Gulf Coast, I just 

had to tell him that I used to be a professional 

ski instructor and had also worked the dice 

tables in Las Vegas. We laughed long and 

hard at each other—“so much for past lives.” 

By then, we were more about dealing 

with the here and now, and the future. A 

couple of 50+-year-old dreamers, we were 

going to make a record, a CD of Appalachian 

music—just dulcimer and mandolin. Unfortunately, 

Appalachian Mandolin and Dulcimer 

turned out to be David’s last CD, though 

not his last recordings. Earlier this year he 

recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill, 

and I recall David commenting on how nice 

they were to him. Those women were sharp 

enough to know that they were in the presence 

of real musical greatness. 

David lost his parents when he was a teenager, 

which got me to wondering about the 

way he always wanted to play Hank Williams’ 

“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” When 

he did, time stood still, and people listened. 

He seemed to be lonesome, and kind of all 

alone in The Music City. 

Zada Law told me that he’d run off two 

or three girlfriends over the years; I guess 

David knew what was best for David. At 

some point The Grand Old Dulcimer Club 

and the Nashville Dulcimer Quartet became 

his family, and Zada Law and Sandy Conatser 

became his closest friends, personal assistants—confidantes 

in all things David. 

Schnaufer, as he used to refer to himself, 

also had pockets of friends back in the day at 

‘San Antonio Rose,’ ‘Steel Guitar Rag’ and 

‘Wildwood Flower,’ all evergreens, to which 

a new dimension is added by Schnaufer’s 

virtuoso deliveries.” 

Schnaufer’s survivors include a brother 

The Reverend Eric Schnaufer of Greenville, 

N.C., a nephew Nicholas, and a great-nephew 

Garrett. Services were handled by Crawford 

Funeral Home, and conducted Aug. 26 at 

Dyer Observatory. 

It was suggested that contributions could 

be made either to the David Schnaufer Fund 

at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt 

University, or Alice Hospice. - Walt Trott 

Musician friend and associate has fond memories of Schnaufer 

David Schnaufer snapshot by Kathy Shepard. 

By BUTCH BALDASSARI 

David Schnaufer recording. 

In next issue, read 

about Americana’s 

Music Festival! 

The Villager, and more recently at his 

Wednesday night hangout, the Sportsman’s 

Grill. 

One day last fall, David popped in while 

I was cooking up some red beets—he loved 

red beets—and brown rice. I served him up a 

nice-sized bowl, but all he could eat was two 

or three bites. That’s when I started to realize 

how diabetes dominated his health, ravaging 

his fragile frame for the last 10+ years. 

Nashville lost some real music royalty 

when David Schnaufer left this earth. I wish 

we’d done more together; maybe I should 

have listened to him as early as last Christmas 

Eve, when he was telling me to get cracking 

on that Appalachian Christmas CD that 

he wanted us to do. Maybe he knew deep 

down that he just didn’t have much time left. 

I miss the hell out of my pal. David 

Schnaufer won’t be forgotten—not if I can 

help it. 

David toting his ol’ dulcimer. 

Acoustic album’s a joy 

Bluegrass musician Butch Baldassari has 

co-produced a new family-oriented album “The 

Arkansas Traveler: Music From ‘Little House 

On the Prairie’ (By Laura Ingalls Wilder),” 

boasting performances by such as Jeff Black, 

Alison Brown, Riders in the Sky, Elizabeth 

Cook, Buddy Greene, David Schnaufer, Andrea 

Zonn and Mac Wiseman. 

It’s a mixed, well-crafted package of oldtimey 

parlor tunes, minstrel music and 

children’s ditties, resulting in a stunning example 

of what the right combination of production 

and performers can yield. 

“ . . . Traveler” remains true to its folksy 

roots, especially evident in the imagery evoked, 

sparkling arrangements and spirited performances 

kicked off by John Cowan’s rousing 

rendition of “Battle Cry of Freedom.” 

This is the second presentation of Pa’s 

Fiddle Project, which is co-produced by Dale 

Cockrell, musicology professor at Vanderbilt 

University, and has a release date of Nov. 14. 

Baldassari, of course, founded the Nashville 

Mandolin Ensemble in 1991, featuring instrumentalists 

who could play everything from 

Bluegrass to Bach to Beatles. 

The Baldassari-Cockrell “ . . . Traveler” 

effort follows the 2005 album “Happy Land: 

Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder,” 

which featured music to match the “conflict, 

humor, hope and joy that have made the 

(Wilder) books so beloved.” 

“Arkansas Traveler’s” release coincides 

with the 50th anniversary of the author’s death 

and 75th anniversary of the initial publication 

of the first book in the “Little House . . .” series. 

(Wilder was born 140 years ago.) 

Selections on the new album include “Old 

Dan Tucker” (Cook), “The Gum Tree Canoe” 

(Greene), “The Blue Juniata” and the title track 

(Riders in the Sky), “Oh, California!” (Zonn- 

Brown), “Daisy Deene” (Mike Eldred) and 

“Gypsy King” (Black). 

“Irish Washerwoman,” a toe-tapping reel, 

is indebted to the instrumental talents of Butch, 

Mike Bubb, Bob Carlin, Matt Combs and Pat 

Enright performing collectively as Pa’s Fiddle 

Band. Incidentally, “Devil’s Dream” a collaboration 

by Butch on mandolin and David on dulcimer 

marks Schnaufer’s final recording prior 

to his recent death. 

According to the liner notes, “The most 

popular of these books is the third one published 

‘Little House On the Prairie’ (1935). Eighteen 

songs are woven into this book, many of them 

among the greatest in 19th century American 

music . . .” 

It also promises “this recording is of all the 

songs from that book, performed in such a way 

that the music of yesteryear is made new and 

fresh today for children and adults alike.” 

We won’t quibble with the assessment, as 

it’s one of the best albums we’ve reviewed this 

year. Highlights include the fiddle tune “Devil’s 

Dream,” this time a fascinating duet of mandolin 

and dulcimer; then there’s the plaintive and 

unaffected vocals of Deborah Packard on the 

wistful “Green Grows the Laurel,” augmented 

by instrumental support of bassist Byron House 

and John Mock on guitar, tin whistle and 

harmonium; and last but not least, the inimitable 

Mac Wiseman’s fun-filled interpretation 

of the preposterous tale of “The Monkey’s Wedding,” 

getting superb support by Mark 

Howard’s guitar and Butch’s mandolin. Riders 

in the Sky also emerge triumphant on two divergent 

tracks. 

This CD consists of an uplifting, intelligently-conceived 

set of songs that bear up to 

repeated listening. - Review by Walt Trott


Kelly Preston and Toby Keith on the red carpet. 

Director Steve Goldmann. 

Jimmy C. Newman marks 50th 

A-A-A-eeee! Belated cheers to Cajun country 

king Jimmy C. Newman, who on Aug. 4 

marked his 50th year as a cast member of 

WSM’s Grand Ole Opry. 

“Hey Walt, they got me a cake and everything! 

It was great,” says Local 257 Lifetime 

Member Newman. 

One of country’s true gentlemen, Jimmy 

got his professional start in showbusiness 60 

years ago, playing in a band in Ville Platte, 

La., and pioneered his own TV show on new 

KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, before joining 

KWKH-Shreveport’s Louisiana Hayride. 

Jimmy C. Newman 

Thanks to his self-penned debut charting 

“Cry, Cry Darling” in 1954, he went on to 

place 33 singles on the Billboard country chart, 

among them a near-charttopper “A Fallen 

Star,” which crossed over into the Pop Top 20 

in 1957. Other Top 10s include “Blue Darlin’,” 

“A Lovely Work of Art,” “DJ For a Day” and 

“Artificial Rose.” 

Among his Cajun-flavored fan favorites 

are “Alligator Man,” “Bayou Talk” and “Louisiana 

Saturday Night,” all of which he helped 

write. In fact, Jimmy’s New-Keys publishing 

firm gave a helping hand to promising 

songwriters such as Tom T. Hall, who enjoyed 

his first #1 “Hello, Vietnam” thanks to 

Newman (as recorded by Johnny Wright). 

Jimmy believes in longevity and has been 

married 58 years to Ville Platte native Mae, 

noted for her Cajun cuisine. Their son Gary’s 

getting dad back in the studio to recut his classics 

for a new generation to enjoy. Viva le 

Cajun! 

Nashville site of Hollywood film premiere 

By WALT TROTT 

Willie Nelson and Burt Reynolds were 

no-shows for Nashville’s red-carpet premiere 

of the Toby Keith starrer “Broken 

Bridges,” screened Sept. 7 at the historic 

Ryman Auditorium. 

Although the two were busy elsewhere, 

Keith, co-stars Kelly Preston (“Urban Cowboy” 

John Travolta’s better half), Lindsey 

Haun (seen as a teen Barbara in 1997’s TV 

movie “The Barbara Mandrell Story”), 

Anna Maria Horsford and director Steven 

Goldmann made the journey. 

First-time screenwriters Cherie Bennett 

and Jeff Gottesfeld, who hail from here, 

were present. Given the “chick flick” 

script’s shortcomings and Toby’s celluloid 

inexperience, the country superstar walked 

through his part with relative ease as moody 

Bo Price, by more-or-less playing himself. 

He scores best while singing, such as the 

solo “Jackie Don Tucker.” 

We viewed the PG-rated film at an advanced 

press screening in Nashville’s 

100Oaks Mall, where the print seemed a bit 

on the dark side, but then maybe that was to 

reflect the star’s darker aspects. The 

storyline was chockful of little dramas that 

commenced after young Bo ran off to evade 

pending fatherhood, thus abandoning teenaged 

girlfriend Angela (Kelly), who faced 

the wrath of family and community in giving 

birth to daughter Dixie. 

Although filmed in Georgia (under a 

working title “Angel From Montgomery”), 

its setting is Armour Springs, a small town 

in Tennessee. There folks are mourning the 

loss of five young soldiers who died in a 

tragic training accident at what could be Fort 

Campbell. 

The fact that two of the trainees were 

their kid brothers, reunites Angela and Bo, 

who return for funeral services. It also marks 

Bo’s first encounter with teen-aged Dixie 

(Lindsey), who’d rather be anywhere but 

there. By now Bo has had a shot at country 

music stardom, then blew it, gaining a discredited 

“No-Show Bo” monicker due to 

substance abuse. 

Meanwhile, almost miraculously - sans 

support of family - Angela had become a 

successful TV journalist in Miami, Fla., 

where she’s being pursued by her station’s 

producer-boss. At a community memorial 

for the deceased, the cynical but cool Bo 

has to face down Angela’s father (Burt) and 

mother (Tess Harper), who in addition to 

being grief-stricken over loss of a son, aren’t 

in a very forgiving mood, considering his 

behavior resulted in a 15-year estrangement 

from Angela and a granddaughter they 

didn’t get to know (who’s named after her 

grandmother). During all of this aggravation, 

grandma Dixie suffers a stroke. 

Characters bobbing in and out of the 

picture include Angela’s former best friend 

Patsi (Kate Finneran), a fiery redhead who 

still lusts after Bo; Loretta, a loyal friend 

(Anna Maria), who seeks to reconcile the 

dysfunctional family; a small-town boy with 

big city ideas, with eyes on Dixie; and the 

self-serving producer-boyfriend seeking to 

turn a personal tragedy into a ratings boost 

and an opportunity for national coverage. 

It’s hard to feel much sympathy for Bo’s 

character, who initially shirked responsibility 

and continued to do so after winning success 

in the spotlight, without even a minor 

overture to his daughter. In a script full of 

contrivances, a slight rewrite to offer a more 

understanding departure might have made 

Bo a more agreeable protagonist. 

On the plus side, it’s fun seeing familiar 

faces like Randy Scruggs, BeBe Winans, 

Rich Eckhardt and the Easy Money Band, 

and hey, isn’t that Conway’s grandson Trey 

Twitty listed among the behind-the-scenes 

camera crew? Unfortunately, Nelson’s appearance 

amounts to little more than a 

cameo. 

One of the film’s more heartwarming 

sequences has Bo and Dixie going over a 

song she’s composing, in her desire for a music 

career. We dug Bo’s insider joke about 

changing a lyric here or there to let one cut 

himself in on song royalties, We chuckled, 

too, over a line when Dixie points out the 

camera automatically adds 20 pounds to 

one’s torso, that sort of explains why Toby, 

who looks trim in person, appears chunkier 

on screen. 

Acting honors go primarily to the female 

leads: Kelly as career-obsessed Angela, coping 

with a rebellious teen-ager and conflicting 

emotions about daughter’s dad; Tess as 

a woman who walks the line drawn by a bitter 

husband, while maintaining her dignity 

and spirit; and especially Lindsey in the challenging 

role of Dixie, a saucy but sweet 16, 

who despite mixed signals in her life, finds 

an outlet in song. 

Musical highlights are the trio - Toby, 

Willie and BeBe - vocalizing on “Uncloudy 

Day” at a fund-raiser for the fallen heroes; 

and Lindsey’s near showstopping rendition 

of “Broken,” proving the fruit doesn’t fall 

far from the tree, on screen as well as off 

screen, as she’s the real-life daughter of 

former Air Supply leader Jimmy Haun. 

The strapping 6-foot, 4-inch Keith must 

be satisfied with the production, credited 

jointly to CMT and Paramount Classics, a 

division of Paramount Pictures, for he’s already 

started a follow-up film. It’s based on 

his and Willie’s #1 duet “Beer For My 

Horses,” for which he’ll share some of the 

cost and hopefully more of the profits. 

“Broken Bridges” soundtrack album is 

available now on Keith’s own ShowDog label, 

which has released Haun’s “Broken” as 

the CD’s first single. Other performers on 

the album (co-produced by Keith and Randy 

Scruggs) include Matraca Berg - “Along For 

the Ride,” Scotty Emerick - “What’s Up 

With That,” Sonya Isaacs - “Battlefield,” 

Flynnville Train - “High On the Mountain” 

and Fred Eaglesmith - “Thinkin’ About You.” 

Incidentally, the CD bowed on Billboard’s 

country albums at #4. 

The movie’s having a limited run in theaters. 

Catch the DVD or video. 

Movie Premiere Photos 

by Patricia Presley 

Fans greet screen star Kelly Preston (who plays Angela), as she arrives on the red carpet. 

Anna Maria Horsford plays a family friend. 

Fan favorite Lindsey Haun plays Bo’s daughter. 

Podcaster Wichita’s new book 

Celebrated podcaster Wichita Rutherford 

boasts a new book “The Bluegrass Way,” just 

published by GrooveGrass Books in Nashville. 

It’s the world seen thru the eyes of the everyday 

Bluegrasser. According to our downloaded 

e-mail copy, it’s a sprightly series of 

bromides, quotes and essays pertaining primarily 

to the Bluegrass music genre. 

Rutherford hosts a popular iPod program 

beamed by SIRIUS Satellite Radio - Five 

Minutes With Wichita - and it’s broadcast to 

more than 275 stations, including 11 foreign 

countries. The squint-eyed podcaster also 

hosts both 30- and 60-minute shows. 

Among the artists interviewed on 

Rutherford’s mini-programs have been Doc 

Watson, Alison Krauss, Dierks Bentley, Mac 

Wiseman, Del McCoury and Bela Fleck. 

Some of “The Bluegrass Way’s” passages 

promote pickers’ nuggets of knowledge: “If 

you can’t keep time, don’t play loud” or “Stay 

in tune, people will listen longer.” There’s also 

some redneck ramblings like, “If I’d know’d 

you wanted to went, I’d a seen you’d get the 

get to go.” 

The author-host suggests a perfect squelch 

for a nemesis: “A free banjo and two lessons 

is what you give your enemy’s kids.” 

Rural reminiscences featured cover 

downhome topics, among them “What Makes 

‘Us’ Different,” “When I Was Little,” “Hats” 

and “Dinner On the Ground.” 

Wichita’s book makes a good gift, especially 

for Bluegrassers. For further information 

about “The Bluegrass Way,” check out 

WichitaRutherford@gmail.com or the 

5MinutesWithWichita.com on line. 

- Walt Trott 

Union Music 

Is Best!


ICSOM Mixer first event at Schermerhorn Symphony Center 

(SCC), co-hosted by Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO) & 

AFM’s Nashville Local 257. (Photos courtesy of Laura Ross) 

ICSOM Chair Jan Gippo, and NSO Committee Co-Chairs Dan Lochrie and Brad Mansell address crowd. 

Ted Dedee leads ICSOM attendees (from left) Jane Corl, Jan Gippo, Bruce Ridge, Meredith Snow, Mark 

Blakeman and wife Sarah on tour of Schermerhorn Symphony Center, three weeks prior to grand opening. 

SSC’s ‘chair cart’ in Laura Turner Concert Hall moves chairs into storage, converting to flat floor. 

Sam Levine listens to AFM President Tom Lee sitting in with Roy Vogt and Denis Solee at ICSOM Mixer. 

ICSOM delegates, Local officers, Symphony members and guests tour SSC’s 

Laura Turner Concert Hall, prior to sit-down dinner for 130 in West Lobby. 

Staircases for floor transition from seating to flat floor in SSC’s Laura Turner Concert Hall. 

Schermerhorn Symphony Center’s West Lobby set up for first event - the August ICSOM Mixer. Alan Valentine, Nashville Symphony Association President & CEO, leads a toast at the ICSOM Mixer.


Symphony hall’s premiere public performance a special treat 

By WALT TROTT 

An Evening With Amy Grant was an inspiring 

night for music lovers, who not only 

got a chance to enjoy her angelic vocals enhanced 

by wondrous orchestral accompaniment, 

but were treated to four superlative 

guest artists. 

Additionally, it marked the premiere paid 

public performance - Sept. 10 - in the classic 

$123.5 million downtown Schermerhorn 

Symphony Center’s sterling Laura Turner 

Concert Hall, whose first-time patrons were 

awestruck by its superb acoustics. (Prices 

for both the gala dinner and concert were 

$200-350, while tickets for the concert only 

were $50-200.) 

Prior to showtime, ticket holders were 

welcomed on various levels of the Center, 

where complimentary food and entertainment 

celebrated different genres of music, 

including Cajun cuisine in the Curb Education 

Center, which boasted the Beegie Adair 

Jazz Trio serenading diners; Southern style 

eats at the West Lobby, accompanied by the 

Craig Duncan Bluegrass Trio; Latin dishes 

with the spicy sounds of the Jack Jezzro Trio 

in the East Lobby; while braised beef 

shortribs augmented by cheeses and fruits, 

awaited visitors on the Balcony Lobby, with 

classical notes of the Nashville Symphony 

String Quartet; and inspiring Gospel sounds 

emanated from the Christian Fellowship 

Singers in the Garden Courtyard, where the 

menu featured field and seafood servings. 

Starting off the Sunday night concert 

presentation was Nashville Symphony Orchestra 

guest conductor David Hamilton, 

who launched his eager troupers into a stirring 

rendition of our National Anthem, the 

tune of which customarily prompts people 

to their feet. 

Following NSO’s opening performance, 

Amy Grant and her players sauntered 

onstage unannounced and took their places 

behind mics, while the Symphonic musicians 

remained, ready to augment the guests’ 

selections. 

As Amy sang her radio hit “Takes a 

Little Time,” backup singer Kim Keyes 

added a little heartfelt harmonica. Also 

among those assisting Amy were Tony 

Harrell, keyboards; Gene Miller, guitar/vocals; 

Dan Needham, drums; Craig Nelson, 

bass; Will Owsley, guitar/vocals; and Kim, 

guitar and percussion (most are Local 257 

members). 

Amy shared a little anecdotal pre-show 

dressing-room chatter between her and 5year-old 

Corrina Gill, who stood admiring 

mom’s gown, saying: “You look so pretty 

in that dress . . . when you die, can I have 

it?” “Sure,” smiled Mama, “But get a little 

taller and we can both get in it.” 

During the show’s second half, Corrina 

came out and did an engaging bit of balletic 

pixyish prancing about, while mother sang 

“Innocent Child.” With her own indomitable 

spirit, Amy went from being Contemporary 

Christian Music’s queen diva to the uncertain 

realm of pop and adult contemporary 

music, only to astound critics with her quintuple 

platinum-selling “Heart in Motion” 

album, and scoring a #1 Billboard pop single 

“Baby Baby” (which she wrote for daughter 

Millie at birth, during her first marriage 

to singer-songwriter Gary Chapman). 

Born in Augusta, Ga., where her doctor 

dad was working, Amy Lee Grant was 

raised in Nashville. At age 17, her distinctive 

performances gained Amy a recording 

contract in 1977. One of her early major 

contemporary Christian successes was “My 

Father’s Eyes.” She went on to garner numerous 

Dove Awards, and named to the 

Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Last 

year’s album “Rock of Ages” earned Grant 

her sixth Grammy Award. Among her hits 

Longtime Symphony champion, vocalist Amy Grant. 

are “Find a Way,” “The Next Time I Fall in 

Love” (with Peter Cetera), “Saved By Love,” 

“Innocence Lost,” “Every Heartbeat” and 

“Lucky One.” 

Amy’s always been generous with the spotlight. 

For this concert, she invited former country 

moppet LeAnn Rimes to revisit her 

showstopping breakthrough hit (at only 13) 

“Blue,” which when sung with Symphonic 

support sounds even more powerful. Now 24, 

Rimes was equally riveting with her second 

selection “Some People” (from her new album). 

Pardon the vernacular, but she knocked 

their socks off! 

Yet another artist threatening to upstage the 

star attraction was Local 257 violin virtuoso 

Ruth McGinnis, whose solo held the audience 

in rapt attention throughout. As its final notes 

faded, they jumped to their feet in unison, giving 

her the night’s first standing ovation. (Her 

album “Breathing Freely” features such 

instrumentals, including those of Celtic and 

Scottish sounds.) 

Next up, Alan Valentine, NSO President/ 

CEO, literally stopped the show to present a 

plaque honoring longtime Symphony champion 

Grant, by naming a portion of the Turner 

Hall Concert stage The Amy Grant Performance 

Platform. Truly, after the Symphony’s 

low points - a 1985 strike and a 1988 bankruptcy 

- Grant dedicated herself to helping 

NSO emerge from debt, via annual Christmas 

concerts that helped raise some $2 million for 

NSO. (Incidentally, she and hubby Vince Gill 

are listed among donors volunteering more 

than $100,000 towards the new hall.) 

Grant wasn’t the only one honored for generosity. 

Former touring partner Michael W. 

Smith was recognized by having his name attached 

to a plaque on the hall’s new Steinway 

Grand Piano, which his performing efforts 

made possible. Thus Smith no doubt felt right 

at home performing his nightly numbers on it, 

including “There She Stands,” a piano solo 

dedicated to victims of 9-11 on the fifth anniversary 

eve of the tragedy; and an endearing 

duet with host Amy on James Taylor’s “You’ve 

Got a Friend.” 

Skip Cleavinger also offered a standout 

performance on bagpipes (and flute). 

Then Gill’s Mrs. invited him to center 

stage, where he started to share his awesome 

feelings about being in the new concert hall, 

but Hamilton started the introductory music, 

forcing him to instead announce, “. . . I guess 

I’m going to sing now!” 

Earlier on, Vince had appeared to accompany 

Amy on mandolin only for a 

single song, but this time got to sing one 

of his inspirational favorites, Fernando 

Ortega’s “Forgive Me, Jesus,” noting “I 

was really moved by this song.” 

After spotting family and friends of 

the musicians seated behind the orchestra, 

he also quipped, “You know it’s 

nerve-wracking to have people sitting 

behind you, because you can’t scratch!” 

Vince sang a love song he said he 

wrote for Amy - “These Days” - which 

serves as the title track for a forthcoming 

4-CD box-set on the MCA artist, who had 

his first Top 10 “If It Weren’t For Him” 

(with Rosanne Cash), 21 years ago. 

The goodnatured country star praised 

the hall’s acoustics then ordered no mics 

or electronic amplification as he sang 

with piano accompaniment, “Feels Like 

Love,” which amazingly was heard 

throughout Laura Turner Hall. His audience 

was stunned, but nonetheless 

greeted it with an enthusiastic standing 

ovation. 

A highlight of Grant’s second half 

was mi’lady’s haunting rendition of 

Michael Card’s composition “El 

Shaddai!” Come Sept. 26, Warner released 

her new album “Time Again: Amy 

Grant Live,” recorded at the Bass Per- 

On Nov. 13, the Nashville String Machine 

marks its Silver Anniversary, while 

looking back on studio sessions in support 

of such notables as Garth Brooks, 

The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Tim 

McGraw and Martina McBride. 

Carl J. (Carlos) Gorodetzky, Local 

257 violinist, founded NSM on Nov. 13, 

1981. 

“Originally, we only booked string 

sessions, but as time went by, we started 

booking all kinds of sessions, including 

wind, brass, rhythm and full orchestra,” 

notes Gorodetzky. 

Carol Gorodetzky assists with the 

NSM’s administrative work, says husband 

Carlos: “I still do some of the playing, 

but am semi-retired in that respect.” 

The Nashville String Machine boasts 

a core group of players who do nothing 

Conductor David Hamilton. 

forming Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, reportedly 

the venue where she played her first 

paid gig. 

Hamilton is no stranger to sharing the 

stage with Grant. Not only had he served as 

musical director for her national Christmas 

tours, but has also recorded in the studio 

with the singer. 

Thanks to David, the Symphony musicians 

and the talented headliners, it was a 

treat for theatergoers, who were surprised 

upon entering the lobby after the show to 

see servers offering them champagne and 

tasty sweets. A fitting climax to a truly 

memorable evening. 

The Nashville String Machine during a rehearsal. 

Nashville String Machine marks 25th 

NSM founder Carl Gorodetzky 

but recording sessions, augmenting those 

with other instrumentalists, including symphony 

musicians, as needed. 

“Even out-of-towners such as Matchbox 

20 and Bruce Springsteen have recorded 

with us,” adds Gorodetzky. 

He points out, too, that NSM always 

strives to work with the top arrangers and 

producers available in Music City. 

“During the 1990s’ we worked very 

closely with Harold Bradley and Local 257 

to bring the Christian music companies on 

board with the Union,” explains 

Gorodetzky. “We were quite successful at 

that.” 

Besides Carlos, those participating in 

the Nashville String Machine are Pam 

Sixfin, Alan and Cathy Umstead, Conni 

Ellisor, Mary Kathryn and Gary Vanosdale, 

Dave Angell, Karen Winkelmann, Jim 

Grosjean, Carole Rabinowitz, Kris 

Wilkinson, Anthony LaMarchina, Kirsten 

Casell, Craig Nelson and Jack Jezioro, 

among many others. Congratulations to all 

of these fine players on their milestone 25th 

anniversary. (Photos by Carol Gorodetzky) 

UNION MUSIC 

IS BEST!


Former Mel McDaniel bandsman Joe Cossey dies of cancer 

Joe Cossey 

Chesnutt’s new indie CD 

release Mark’s comeback 

By WALT TROTT 

Mark Chesnutt, one of the ’90s’ New Traditionalists, 

is on a new label - CbuJ Entertainment 

- boasting a commendable new CD “Heard 

It In a Love Song.” 

The title tune is Marshall Tucker Band’s 

classic cut penned by Toy Caldwell, and a highlight 

of Chesnutt’s 10-track set. 

Chesnutt credits include three multi-million-selling 

albums, starting with his premiere 

album “Too Cold At Home.” A winner of the 

1993 CMA Horizon, Chesnutt fulfilled the 

award’s promise with 20 Top 10 singles, eight 

at #1, notably his big seller “I Don’t Want To 

Miss a Thing” (a cover of the Aerosmith 

charttopper), which also became a pop Top 20. 

CD Review 

It would seem on this new CD that Mark’s 

honoring some additional heroes, by including 

Merle Haggard’s “A Shoulder To Cry On,” a 

#1 for Charley Pride; Allan Reynolds’ “Dreaming 

My Dreams With You,” a Waylon Jennings 

Top 10; Johnny Paycheck’s “Apartment #9,” 

Tammy Wynette’s first charting; Leon Payne’s 

“Lost Highway,” a Hank Williams success; and 

Hank Jr.’s own “You Can’t Find Many Kissers.” 

. . . Heartland has first hit: ‘I Loved Her First’ 


Musician-songwriter Larry Joe Cossey, 56, 

of Burns, Tenn., died Oct. 18. Cossey, who had 

been battling cancer, had played electric bass 

guitar for Mel McDaniel’s band during the past 

five years. 

Born March 30, 1950 in Oklahoma City, 

Okla., he was the son of Elsie Marie (Northcutt) 

and Gene Cossey. 

Young Cossey, who started his career in 

Oklahoma as a band musician and backup 

singer, earned the Oklahoma Country Music 

Association’s Bass Player of the Year Award. 

Joe moved to Nashville in 1992. His composing 

talents earned him first place in a 1995 

country writers’ contest sponsored by Billboard 

magazine, the trade weekly. He won a similar 

contest, sponsored by TNN, in 1998. 

Marks’ latest album. 

Not sure whether the inclusion of “A Day 

in the Life Of a Fool,” which stalled at #30 for 

George Jones, is a salute to his fellow Texan, 

or merely that he likes the Eddie Noack song. 

Mark also adds one he had a hand in writing, 

“That Good That Bad” (co-written with Roger 

Springer and Clessie Morrissette), given a great 

reading here. 

Mark revisits his illicit affair nod “A Hard 

Secret To Keep,” originally appearing on his 

’04 Vivatoni CD “Savin’ the Honky Tonks.” 

Nonetheless, it challenges Mark’s take on 

Tommy Collins’ “Goodbye Comes Hard For 

Me” and the title track as the best performance 

delivered on Chesnutt’s current set. 

where I couldn’t see very well, and I jumped over a monitor and slipped in a puddle and 

went flying off the front of the stage. Then Craig and I ran into each other one night . . .” 

“And I took out the drums,” laughs Craig. “But we haven’t been hurt, luckily.” 

What are some of their other interests? 

“Keith’s into recording live music and the engineering part of it, and I suppose Mikey 

would like to see his music take him towards a wrestling career one day (ha! ha!). There 

are a lot of aspects of the music business we’ll all be interested in,” offers Craig. 

One of their first moves in Music City, however, was to join the American Federation 

of Musicians’ Nashville Local 257 union enmasse. 

“We did! And that was pretty good,” claims Chuck. 

“Yeah, we walked in there like a gang, kicked the door down and said, ‘We want to 

join the Union, Bubba!’ (ha! ha!),” interjects Todd playfully. “So no more playing for 

the door.” 

Jason adds, “The next day we played the Opry, and when we got paid we were 

surprised. I didn’t know you got paid to be on there. I got a check for $200 and I thought 

that was for the whole band. So that was pretty neat.” 

Cellist Michelle McTeague dies; spent 19 years with NSO 

Cellist Michelle Jeanne McTeague, 48, died Sept. 11. McTeague played cello with 

the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for 19 years. A native of Oregon, she is survived by 

her son Andrew of Nashville; parents Dorine and Kenneth McTeague of Salem, Ore., 

three brothers, and a sister. Crawford Funeral Home handled arrangements. A memorial 

service was conducted Sept. 15 at Belmont Church on Music Row. Donations in her 

memory may be made to the Belmont Singles Ministry at Belmont Church. 

Christian artist Thomas Nance, a lawyer, succumbs at age 50 

Attorney-Christian music enthusiast Thomas Charles Nance, 50, has died. Nance, 

who has been practicing law in Nashville since 1981, wrote and recorded several albums 

of Christian music here, and also performed his sounds in churches and other inspirational 

venues. Survivors include his fiance Cay Collins of Hermitage, Tenn.; children 

Jared Thomas Nance of Knoxville, Hilary Grace and Lucas Nance, both of Nashville; 

parents Sue and Charles Nance of York, S.C.; brother Richard Nance of Cresco, Iowa; 

and sister Beth Smith of Rock Hill, S.C. A memorial services was held at Harpeth Hills 

Funeral Home. 

He joined AFM Local 257 on Nov. 12, 2002. 

Cossey’s dream of performing on the Grand 

Ole Opry, became reality, when Joe joined the 

band of McDaniel, whose hits include the #1 

“Baby’s Got Her Bluejeans On.” He also played 

on a number of studio recordings in Nashville. 

Mr. Cossey was preceded in death by his 

mother. Survivors include his wife Malinda of 

Burns; daughter Jacy Cable of McAlester, 

Okla., granddaughter Bren Marie Cable, also 

of McAlester; father Gene Cossey of Tecumseh, 

Okla.; and sister Janis Brooks of Wewoka, 

Okla. 

Services were handled locally by Taylor 

Funeral Home, Oct. 20, of Dickson, Tenn. A 

Celebration of Life was scheduled Oct. 24 at 

Stout-Phillips Funderal Home in Wewoka. 

Burial followed at the Oakwood Cemetery, also 

in Wewoka. Serving as Pallbearers were Denson 

Cable, Steve Walker, Chris Walker, Jeff 

Brooks,Tyler Benton, Aaron Argo and Fred 

Argo. 

The family has suggested donations may be 

made in the name of the deceased to the American 

Cancer Society, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital 

or the Nashville Rescue Mission, through 

Taylor Funeral Home. 

. . . Fender’s fight over 


Freddy was clearly excited about the latest accomplishments, 

noting with personal satisfaction, 

“I still have some respect from my peers, 

especially the people with the Grammys. That 

respect for me is just really wonderful, because 

I’ve always been very serious about my music. 

When people take me serious, I’m just overwhelmed.” 

Funeral services were conducted Oct. 18, 

arranged by San Benito Funeral Home in his 

old hometown, officiated by Father Isaac Emeka 

Erondu at Queen of the Universe Catholic 

Church, with interment following at San Benito 

City Cemetery. Besides his widow, survivors 

include sons Baldemar (Sonny) Huerto, Jr. of 

Corpus Christi, and Daniel Huerta of Jacksonville, 

Fla.; and daughters Tammy Mallini of 

Houston, and Marla Garcia of Victoria, Texas. 

- Walt Trott 

615-330-6885 

615-424-6924 

. . . Leona’s new life, new love 


three years in his younger days.) Leona won 

control of the masters, so Pitcox re-released 

it on the Heart of Texas label in 2004. Her 

eyes twinkling, she adds, “So now it’s available 

in CD form.” 

Life seems to be kinder to the lady lately 

and she’s taking it all in stride: “I do the best 

I know how, but I make mistakes. Like other 

people, I’ve had my share of ups and downs.” 

Among her greatest joys are the youngsters 

in her world: “Ron and (wife) Amy’s 

little girl Olivia Grace came to us on Jan. 11. 

So yes, I’m a grandma. I have eight grandchildren, 

and I’m proud of it. I even have a 

great-grandbaby. It’s a girl and the cutest 

thing. I’m just so proud of her.” 

Mom’s also proud of Ron Williams’ talents. 

“Many of you know me from NCS. I’ve been selling 

property for 6 years. ‘ZERO’ down or a simple 

‘stated’ income loan can get you a home. I’ll save 

you money if you list with me . . . guaranteed! 

I respect your privacy. I want your business!” 

615-424-6924 

615-370-8282 

* SELLERS - MENTION THIS AD - 

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“Many music business referrals”


Notice: 2007 Annual Dues 

Members must pay their dues annually to Local 257’s Secretary-Treasurer on or before 

Dec. 31, 2006. 

Members who have not paid dues by Jan. 31, 2007 shall stand Suspended. To reinstate 

after Jan 31, and no later than March 31, such member shall pay to the Local’s Secretary- 

Treasurer a reinstatement fee of $10, together with all dues, fines and assessments accrued. 

However, if a member does not pay the 2007 dues by March 31, he or she will be Expelled. To 

reinstate, an additional $25 reinstatement fee must be paid, together with all dues, fines and 

assessments. (Article II, Section 3) 

Within a year after expulsion, a membership can be reinstated by paying annual dues and 

all late fees. Members expelled forfeit all rights and titles to the funds and property of the 

Association. 

To reinstate after expulsion, a list of musical activities since expulsion must be submitted 

to the Secretary-Treasurer, and upon his recommendation, the former member may be required 

to seek approval from the Executive Board for reinstatement. 

March 28, 2005 

REGULAR DUES 2007 

Annual Dues $97.00 

Federation Per Capita dues 54.00 

Building Fund 35.00 

Funeral Benefit 15.00 

Emergency Relief Fund 3.00 

Sub-Total $204.00 

TEMPO (Optional) 3.00 

TOTAL $207.00 

LIFE MEMBERS 2007 

Annual Dues $24.25 

Federation Per Capita 38.00 

Building Fund 35.00 

Funeral Benefit 15.00 

Emergency Relief Fund 3.00 

Sub-Total $115.25 

TEMPO (Optional ) 3.00 

TOTAL $118.25 

Union music is best! 

Members 

Notice 

General Membership 

Meeting 

6:30 p.m. Thursday, 

Dec. 7, 2006 

At George Cooper, Jr. 

Union Hall 

11 Music Circle North 

For details, see page 1 

or call 

(615) 244-9514, Ext. 224 

Featuring many of Nashville’s 

finest Union musicians. 

4104 Hillsboro Road 


Tel: (615) 383-1461

Musicians Web pages - Nashville Musicians Association

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