As a small boy I grew up on high lonesome bluegrass there in the mountains of east Tennessee. There was always a certain few groups and singers I really liked. Bill Monroe was one and I remember we would always sing his Christmas Times Coming every Christmas there in the mountains and we even put the high tenor in there to. I never met Bill but Jimmy Martin told me a lot of stories about Bill and himself. Jimmy Martin grew up over in Sneedville and I worked at the same plant in Morristown he did only at a different time..Lowland I became good friends with Jimmy and always loved his bluegrass voice that was pure bluegrass. Some told me he was hard to get along with but he and I never had a short word..He told me his life story. The Louvin Brothers was one of the sounds I liked to and my mom and dad liked. Their harmony was just so smooth and that sound I still play today. I also became good friends with Charlie Louvin too. He did some interviews on my radio show and i think I might have helped him sell some records. We done several interviews and was always fun to do. Charlie invited me down to Nashville one weekend and got to spend the weekend with him over in Bell Buckle. He got me a motel room at the Fiddlers Inn for two days and even payed for the motel for me. I even stopped by his place at that time was behind the Nashville Palace and got up on stage and sang a song. Charlie was a sweet as a ear of corn and always as nice a gentleman you would ever wanna meet and be around Then there was The Stanley Brothers and Ralph Stanley. I used to work the flea market a lot and buy bluegrass tapes there and take them back up to my store and resale them. One of the most popular tapes was The Stanley Brothers I was also pickin and singing in several local bluegrass bands at that time all over east Tennessee and western North Carolina.I always told folks bluegrass kept food in my belly for 4 years and Billy Ray Cyrus..his Achy Breaky Heart tee shirts..musta sold a million of those. The Stanley Brothers and Ralph...I got a job at the radio station and was still into the bluegrass and the radio station was a country radio station so after about 2 years there I decided to create a 2 hour bluegrass show and do it myself so I did just that.In 1995 The Appalachian Mountain Bluegrass Hoedown was born. The show go so popular it stayed on the radio for 7 years I was doing album release parties at the Ryman in Nashville for some record labels . I did one for Rebel Records out of Virginia and got to have dinner with Sonny and Bobby Osborne The Osborne Brothers also Blue Highway was there too...great show and food I must add. I did a lot of bluegrass history on the show and was doing a lot of promoting bluegrass at that time. I got to the radio station one morning and bout 9:00 am I got a call that Ralph Stanley was coming by the radio station during the bluegrass show and wanted to do a interview..he was performing at the fair grounds that afternoon. I remember when I 1st met Ralph that morning I could see all the miles in his eyes. I remember thinking to myself this guy has had a long journey..this is Ralph Stanley in person the man I had listened to since a kid. I never got nervous or nothing I just felt right at home and so did Ralph. We had a great talk on the radio. I shook his hand and told him it was an honor. That afternoon at the fairgrounds we warmed him up for his show. We were the only band to play before he went on. This was a time I would never forget..I felt like I had grew up with this man. There are so many bluegrass stories I can tell and you couldnt put um all in a 50 pound toe sack. Some are after me to write a book and Im thinking about doing just that and ever word is gonna be the real deal..Ive done got the title of the book TRAILS Of APPALACHIAN THE JOURNEY.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 06:51:36 +0000
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