We were playing a show at Webb Pierces Golden Guitar nightclub in Nashville with Grand Ole Opry Stars Jimmy Dickens, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Penny DeHaven and, of course, Webb and his great band.....must have been at least 40 years ago. The huge club and stage were on the ground floor and behind the stage a spiral staircase led up to a large room where we ate, hung out and visited between acts. We were all sitting around talking when Shot Jackson comes rushing up the stairs, waving his arms and yelling Tater, youre on, hurry, theyve already introduced you! Jimmy grabbed his Guitat and quickly rushed down the stairs. About a minute later he was back up those stairs....steaming mad and calling Shot everything he could think of. Of course Jimmy had not been introduced....it wasnt even time for him to perform....and I thought sure we were going to see a fight (not that unusual in those days). Then Jimmy cracked a little smile which broke into a big horse laugh almost as loud as Shot whose practical jokes and big hee haw laugh were legendary in Nashville (Shot was a member of our Family and Friends Band at that time). Well, I think that was the night I learned what it was that endeared Jimmy Dickens to everyone he met....that great sense of humor....to Jimmy if it was funny it was funny....even if the joke was at his expense. Most performers have a tremendous ego but they can take most anything except people making fun of them.Jimmy didnt have an ego....he was a true gentleman who treated everyone the same....whether a fellow headliner like Roy Clark or a nobody sideman like me....and he could laugh at himself as quickly as he could laugh at anything else....and he kept us laughing for all those years. At his shows he could make you laugh so hard your sides would ache for an hour or so, but he would always end his shows with this simple piece of material (written by the great songwriter Red Hayes) that would absolutely bring tears to almost everyone in the audience. If you want to know what made Jimmy Dickens the legendary performer that he was, take a couple of minutes to listen to this....its the way he always ended his show....and now has ended his career. RIP Little Jim!
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:48:54 +0000
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