Country Music Month - The Colorado Connection: Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.

I might, and rightfully so, get an argument as to whether Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. was a Country singer or a Pop singer. Since I am the final, and only, arbiter of the content of this blog, I say Country. And Country it is. HJD, Jr. was born in Roswell, New Mexico on New Year's Eve, 1943. It wasn't until he pursued a musical career that he changed his name (Deutschendorf was a little long to put on a marquee) to John Denver. He chose Denver because it was the capital of his favorite state, Colorado. Country or Pop, John Denver wrote and sang songs that Mid America could relate to. (Take Me Home) Country Roads, Rocky Mountain High and Annie's Song. A great song that Denver wrote was one that was a huge hit for Peter, Paul and Mary, many of you will recognize and say "I didn't know that!", Leavin' On a Jet Plane. One line I have memorized for well over 30 years is the opening line to Rocky Mountain High, "he was born in the summer of his 27th year coming home to a place he'd never been before". That's some serious songwriting right there. That line says in 19 words what I feel every time I find a special fishin' hole. I may have never before been there physically, but I have seen that place in my mind and felt it in my soul at least a hundred times. I'm home at place I've never been before. Good stuff. Besides being a singing star, John Denver was a good man, with his own set of flaws, but the good works he did for the less fortunate, including starving people in Africa and conservation projects.

Denver hosted the Grammys in 1983 & 1984, did a ton of TV shows and starred in a few movies, including the popular hit Oh, God with George Burns. Oh, I almost forgot he did some great Christmas songs with the Muppets. Sadly, he died doing one of the other things in life that brought him solace and joy - flying. John Denver was a very experienced pilot with over 2700 hours and several certifications. An experimental aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Pacific Ocean on October 12, 1997. As much as I like my music with an edge to it (Hank, Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.), there's something about the imagery in a John Denver song that "takes me home to a place I've never been before".

Country Music Month - The Texas Connection: Shotgun Willie

Here's a question for you: Can you remember a time when Willie Nelson was not a part of Country Music? I can't either. The man became a part of the Country Music scene in 1956! I was born in 1956!

The Favorite Son of Abbott, Texas was born April 30, 1933, where at age six, Willie's Dad bought some mail-order music lessons that young Willie delved into head first. Willie wrote his first song at seven years old and was in a band by the time he was nine. His father was a pool hall owner, so honky tonks were like a second home to Willie. As a young man, Willie sang in the local watering holes, while being a DJ at various radio stations. He moved to Vancouver, Washington and then to Nashville, but still had little success as a singer. However, Willie was a prolific songwriter having penned such hits as Funny How Time Slips Away for Billy Walker, Night Life for Ray Price, Crazy for Patsy Cline and Hello Walls for Faron Young. Still, a singing career was not in the cards for Willie at this time. In 1973, the critically acclaimed (which means nobody bought it) Shotgun Willie  was released followed by Phases and Stages with the hit single Bloody Mary Morning.. In 1975 after changing record labels where he got full control over his music, and moving to Austin and becoming a part of the Outlaw Music scene, Willie captured lightning in a bottle with the release of  The Red Headed Stranger. Willie Nelson was now a bona fide star. For the last thirty-five years, Willie has written and produced some of the most memorable music of any genre. From his classic duets with Waylon Jennings , Ray Price, Ray Charles and an offer to do a duet with me(!) and a host of others to that magical album of standards, Stardust, Willie has gone places with music that few, if any, others would even consider. There is so much to write about when Willie is the subject, that I'd have to write a book to cover it all. Instead, I'll leave you with  this link to Wikipedia to dive in a little deeper into the man that is Willie Nelson.

Apple Pickin' and Pumpkin Choosin' With the Family Updated With Photos (Scroll down)

By the time many of you read this, I'll be enjoying the 39 degree Maine morning out in an apple orchard like this one. Neat, huh? I am taking Heather, Issy and Bailey to not only pick apples, but to pick a couple of pumpkins for Halloween also. It's our first time to do this kind of stuff so it should be a lot of fun, especially watching the kids be kids. This orchard charges no admission and apples straight off the trees are just a dollar a pound. Another cool thing is that when you park upon arrival, the orchard staff pick you up in a hayride-type wagon and off you go into the orchard for apple pickin'! You are allotted a certain amount of time to pick apples, 15 minutes, I think, and here comes the hay ride guy again and it's away to the pumpkin patch! Heather is taking her Blackberry and will snap and post some pictures right from the orchard, so look for them on Facebook. A good time is to be had by all.

UPDATE: We ended up with 22 pounds of McIntosh apples and 2 pumpkins for the kids to eventually destroy. Heather and I had a great time and the kids had even more fun than we did.


UPDATE WITH PHOTOS!

A Quarter Mile of Apples on One Row!

Issy : I see one!

Bailey: To eat or not to eat, that is the question

Country Music Month - The Texas Connection - Waylon Jennings (For My Brother Mark)

Texas and Country Music go together like a hand and glove. A short list of country superstars from Texas reads like a Who's Who of the industry - Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, George Strait, George Jones, Waylon Jennings... I'll never forget the day that I heard Waylon had died, February 13, 2002. My Brother Mark and I were roommates in a little house in Tyler, Texas. We were/are early risers and one of the first things we did each morning was crank up some music, followed by beer for breakfast and a manually assembled relaxation device. Mark is a Waylon guy, I am a Hank, Jr guy. On this day, we were both Waylon guys. It was like a swift kick in the gazebos. Painful and you can't believe it just happened. Mark and I liked Waylon's music because of the stories that Waylon wrote about. We had lived those songs. Waylon put them to music, singing about our Rough and Rowdy Days. But now the music had stopped, no more of that familiar thumping bass, no more stories about a Good Hearted Woman or Luckenbach, Texas.

Looking back, it's hard to believe that Waylon Arnold Jennings started his singing career in 1949! He was twelve years old. Ten years later he would be the bassist for Buddy Holly's new band and would be the man that gave up his plane seat to a fellow Texan, The Big Bopper, on The Day the Music Died, February 3, 1959. From there, the man from Littlefield, Texas would record over sixty albums and gain worldwide fame as one of the original Outlaws of Country Music. But Waylon knew that Ladies Love Outlaws, just ask Jessie Colter. Waylon was a Ramblin' Man  and his hometown of Littlefield knew it too and saw fit to name an RV Park after him. That's when you know you are a superstar in Texas! Hank Williams, Jr recorded several songs with Waylon and in one of them said about Waylon, "he's got a string of hits about two miles long". True that, and thanks to websites like You Tube, Waylon and his two miles of hit music live on.

Country Music Month - The Texas Connection featuring Garth Brooks

It was 1991, I think, when I  met a young man who, in a few weeks, would set Country Music on its ear. A young man who would make selling 10 million or more albums almost routine, instead of unheard of. At the time I met him, he had had a couple of hits that set the tone for what was about to happen - If Tomorrow Never Comes and Much Too Young to Feel This Damn Old. You've figured it by now that I am talking about Troyal Garth Brooks. I talked with Garth before one of his shows in Wichita Falls, Texas. It was just me and him in a very relaxed atmosphere, backstage at the concert venue. It wasn't so much an interview as it was a conversation. We talked about everything under the sun, but music was at the heart of our visit. He told me to look out for a particular song that was going to be his next single, Friends in Low Places. Little did I know what would happen when he tore into that song. Garth was going ape on the stage, the crowd was going ape in their seats and then Garth went into the audience singing his ass of, high fiving people and generally working the crowd into a frenzy like I had never seen at country concert. And this crowd was sober! The auditorium EXPLODED and stayed exploded for the rest of the show. This was almost like Elvis in concert. It was nuts! Garth got called for several encores, each "encore, encore!" louder than the last! I got the feeling at that point that this chubby, balding guy from Tulsa just might become a star. After sales of more than two hundred million albums, I suppose it was a pretty good guess. By the way that 200 million number includes the time Garth was "in retirement" for about eight years and not cranking out two or three albums a year. During our conversation, Garth told me how much playing in Texas meant to him, "If you can make it in Texas, you can make it anywhere". That's why I included Garth in the Texas Connection to country music. The question I get asked most about Garth has to be "what's he like?" Garth Brooks is just like you and me. He's a regular guy. He is extremely polite and very friendly and probably the best show man I have ever seen in person - on stage he's an animal. Off stage, a pussycat.

Texas Tidbits : A Special Birthday & Country Music Month

Today is the first day of October and that means two things to me. One, today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Teri!!! We love you! The second thing about today is that it marks the beginning of Country Music Month. I was in the radio bidness for over 15 years and country music was my thing. I learned about country music from people that knew the music - Big Jim Russell being my main mentor. In the process, I soaked up information about country music like a sponge. I came to appreciate the honesty, simplicity, imagery and lyrics of country music as well as the availability of the artists. Ninety-nine per cent of them were just down home folks like you and me, willing and eager to talk the DJ's who played there music and the fans that bought their records. I was lucky enough to have interviewed, drank beer and whiskey with and picked the brains of some the greatest country artists of all time. Some names that come to mind are Hank, Jr, Willie Nelson, Reba, Ernest Tubb, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, Faron Young, Garth Brooks  and dozens of others. In honor of these men and women, I plan on doing a post a day featuring them and their music throughout the month of October. It'll be a lot of fun to do and even more fun to learn about the people who, through their unique individual talents, have become the best at what they do. So, saddle up! It's Country Music Month on Three States Plus One!

Texas Tidbits : PO'ed At Some Coaches and Parents UPDATED! Again (Scroll down)

I posted this story on my other blog, Dumbass News, late last night. It made me so mad I was spittin' sparks. This is not normally the kind of thing I post here, but I wanted to get it out there to as many people as possible. At the end of the story, you'll notice that I want to do something to reward these kids for their efforts during the season since the "grown ups" messed it all up with a few minutes of being dumbasses. I'll have more information and post an update every time I can. Please consider helping these kids out. If I can set it up, it will be through a bank or whatever in Texas and ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE KIDS ON THE TWO FOOTBALL TEAMS. More later.
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AHEAD! What the fuck?! My wife came across this story on Aol News. Recently in Pearland, just south  of Houston, there was a Pee Wee football game that ended up looking like a bunch of pussy European soccer fans rioting over that dumbass game they are so attached to. Instead, it was a bunch of pussies I am ashamed to call Texans that did the riot thing. At a Pee Wee Football Game! Here's the video. Prepare yourself to be disgusted and pissed off. Thanks to the dumbass actions of the so-called adults in charge of these kids' football teams, both teams have been disqualified from participating in the league playoffs. What kind of dumbass sets this kind of example for our young people? I feel like flying to Houston to find these dickweeds and kicking all their "adult" asses or buying them all a plane ticket to fucking Paris where nobody fights because they are too pussy to stand up for themselves. You "coaches" and "parents" will be all the rage over there, you can kick 100,000 French asses and be the fucking Big Dogs. Dumbasses. One of the young men on one of the teams, Justin Robinson, was more adult than any of the dumb fucks involved in the brawl when he said, "I still can't believe they, the coaches actually did that in front of us because that just sets a bad example for us." Justin, you make me proud, son. You are a true Texan and a fine young man.

LET'S HELP THE KIDS! I am going to do some phone work tomorrow and do what I can to set up a fund for the kids on the teams to receive a trophy for their sportsmanship during this sad display by their elders. I want to let them know how proud of them we are for being fine young men. I'll fill you in as I get this thing rolling.

UPDATE #1: I just got off the phone with Wells Fargo Bank in Pearland, Texas and they are gathering some information so we can do something for these kids. I am waiting for their return call. More to follow.

UPDATE #2: I got in contact with some banks in Pearland, but so far no bueno. I also contacted a local (Maine) radio guy who has some pull with folks up here, I am waiting for his response.