Date News Posted: April 11, 2004

There is no doubt about it if you plan a June vacation then think about this one, that is if you really love the best of Country Music.  Jeanne Pruett (and who don’t know her) is heading up what will probably be the last big show if it’s kind in the last many years and we hate to say this, but maybe forever.

Now the place will be “Franklin, Tennessee” which is about 19 miles out of Nashville:

The location will be at the “Williamson County Agriculture Expo Center”:

Which is I-65 south to exit 61 (Peytonsville Road):

It is “Open Seating”:

And the ticket prices are 40 bucks each:

You Can> buy your tickets by mail by sending your request to “PBF %Jeanne Pruett>4446 Trinity Peytonsville Rd. Franklin, Tennessee 37064> along with a self addressed stamped envelope with your check or money order.

The Show is called “The Golden Voice Show” and it is for the “Performers Benefit Fund”.

To give them time to process all the request for tickets that will be coming in the date line for mail order tickets will stop May the 15^th.04 you will still be able to buy tickets at the door the day of the show. (But if you plan to go, I would buy tickets and make plans now) especially if you are driving down from Alaska, or flying over from Australia.

Most of us are just plain old workin’ people and 40 bucks may seem like a lot, but how many times do you really ever take a nice vacation? In a lifetime, let alone every year? Some of us, “Never” so here is your chance to do something good for yourself for once in your life, it will do you a world of good and will sure help out those that may need a little help down the road apiece that have give us about two billion four hundred thousand memories and for some of us, that’s all we have left.

Usually when a show comes to town the “Big” star is the last one on, makes sense when you think about it, if the “Star” came on first, nobody would stick around to watch Buford Q. Monkey and his Banana Peelers.

If I was puttin’ on this show (which I am not) I would just say, OK boys and girls we are going to pull numbers outa’ the old hat and that’s when you’ll go on.

When we read you this list of talent you’ll know why because this is the cream of the crop.   “ARE YE READY”.

First off the Emcee will be none other then Mr. Nashville himself and a man that has done “MUCH” to promote, talk about and play the music of every name to follow: Mr. Eddie Stubbs>and here we go:

Rhonda Vincent>John Conlee>Charlie McCoy>Jeanne Pruett>Razzy Bailey>Freddie Hart>Stu Phillips>Helen Cornelius>David Frizzell>Brenda Lee>LeRoy VanDyke>Ricky Headly>Jimmy C. Newman>Ronnie Milsap>Jim Ed and the Browns>Jean Shepard>Billy Swan>Johnny Carver>Jett Williams>Jeannie Seely>Margo Smith>Sonny James>the Opry Staff Band>the O’Brien Singers>Stonewall Jackson>Hank Locklin>Sketter Davis>& Charley Pride.

Folks you couldn’t get into any big room in Las Vegas to see any “one” of these artist for 40 bucks let alone see all of those listed above all on one show.

SO, why not make your plans now to be in Franklin, Tennessee June the 10^th in the year of our Lord 2004 and that’s just a couple months away, I really hate to say this, but, it may be your last chance ever to see a show like this.
 

Not much notice was given for this event in Oklahoma but we are sure it will be a standing room only event for the “Inductees of the Cowboy Hall of Fame” in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

You may remember him as “Cheyenne Bodie” in one of the great westerns of all time, which was TV’s first hour-long western that ran for 8 years.

Or you may remember him as Clint Walker, actor of many roles and a native of the great state of Illinois, or shucks, maybe you just remember him as a for-real life deputy sheriff at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas (If he ever got you by the collar for doing a no-no you would remember him) that was back in the early days and one way or the other it seems like everything we do in life adds up to us having a better understanding of our fellow man and for some real or un-real role we may have to play later on in life.

Cecil B. DeMille was among the first to recognize Clint’s talent and gave him a role in what turned out to be one of the “Classics” of all times, “The Ten Commandments” and it just kept going from there with roles in one of my favorites “The Dirty Dozen” which by the way has never stopped running somewhere on TV to this day and probably never will, anyway “None But The Brave” “The Great Bank Robbery” “Send Me No Flowers” “Night Of The Grizzly” “Fort Dobbs” and a lot of others including “Gold Of The Seven Saints” are just a few more that Clint can still be seen in Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and a few others..

There might be one side of Clint Walker that you don’t know about, but that’s about to change, and I am sorry to say we can’t tell you all the details right now but it won’t be long before you and the rest of the world will soon here the voice of Clint Walker set to music.

According to our good friend Charley Aldridge or “Walkin’ Talkin’ Charley” if you like, Clint Walker has a singing voice second to none and Charley ought to know since he himself is a “Western writer” of songs and stories second to none himself, anyway he and Clint have been working on a project that we are sure will be a winner.

When you think about “Country Singers” thank God we still do have some great ones left, but other then just a choice few that really tell the great tales of the old west, well then by-doggies, there ain’t many left, Don Edwards, Red Steagall, Riders In The Sky, Herb Jeffries>>Henson Cargill sings a great western song but he doesn’t record much any more and there are a couple of other groups but nothing like there used to be, So we are ready for the voice and music of Clint Walker.

The one thing as far as the old west goes that seems to be still in tact and growing is the Western Poetry festivals around the country and believe you me some of them old cowboys can spin some mean yarns.

You’ll be the first to know when Clint releases his CD of some of the classics and maybe some new ones but all of them first class with Walkin’ Charley Aldridge behind him on one of the many guitars he has.

Something we just thought of, Charley would have been a “GPT” that’s guitar pickin’ terror if he had of been born with three sets of arms and hands, he has got more guitars then Carter’s got peanuts, he just gets upset because he can’t play them all the same time.
 

Also going into the Cowboy Hall Of Fame on April the 17^th will be our very good friend Mr. Herb Jeffries, with out a doubt, Herb is one of the finest human beings on God’s green earth, kind, soft spoken, always a smile and a handshake for whoever is in front of him at that moment, a great outlook on life, happy, still a great looking young man for 90 years young, well actually he was born on September 24^th.1911 in Detroit, but looks like he’s 50 and acts like he’s still a new comer to the business, but you can take it to the bank good friend Herb knows exactly what he is doing.

Herb does concerts for university’s where ever he is wanted (and that’s many places) he just recently did a show in person live and in the hide for the President and Mrs. Bush at the White House.

As a vocalist with Duke Ellington’s orchestra he was voted by his piers in the largest trade publications in America as being the “number one” baritone “period”, bar none.

He has the credit for being the number one black cowboy in the business of westerns, I don’t know who was second, and fact is I don’t even know if there ever was a second.

Warner Westerns released a couple of album CDs on Herb, they should still be releasing albums on him, and he is still a fine singer.

One of Eddie Dean’s favorite people was Herb Jeffries, one of Herb Jeffries favorite people was Eddie Dean, they were/are two of a kind when it comes to how each viewed the likes of their fellow man, they both gave great respect for everyone that tried.

As the old saying goes, behind every good man there is a good woman, I don’t know who said that, I think it was some guys wife so I guess it must be true, behind, beside or in front, Herb’s wife Savana is there, to help him and encourage him with all that he does, sorta like the great old George Morgan tune “You’re The Only Good Thing That Ever Happened to Me:

Anyway, we love um both and whatever Herb Jeffries does is always “First Class”.
 

We have got two or three more stories lined up like we talked about last week but with the Cowboy Hall Of Fame show coming up in just a few days we’ll just do this one other little short story on a guy that was one of our Dad’s favorite singers back in those great old days, and do the other stories next time.

And that favorite singer of Dad’s was Bradley Kincaid they called him “The Kentucky Mountain Boy”

Bradley recorded his first record back in 1928 and continued recording right up ‘till the early 50’s, few people in today’s times probably don’t even know who he was or even heard of him despite the fact that he sold some twenty million records.

At the time when Bradley was hotter then a firecracker he appeared on every 50,000 watt station owned or affiliated with NBC and also appeared on the giant station in Ohio, WLW.

At WLS out of Chicago Bradley received more than a hundred thousand letters a year for four years, and in a four-week period of time at WLW he received fifty thousand letters.

We don’t know anyone in this day and time that gets ten letters a year unless it might be George Jones.

In the beginning (so to speak) the thing most artist sold most was song books, of their songs or songs they had recorded, sheet music most all of them (so it would sell and they could sign) of course would have their picture on the covers. Bradley wrote some 13 or more songbooks containing his mountain music and old time songs.

Not taking into consideration his later re-release recordings, would anybody venture to guess what 20 million 78RPM records would weigh? Somebody out there weigh one and multiply it by 20-mill.

Songs of the 20’s 30’s and most of the 40’s were songs of just plain old down right “LIFE” songs were written about what was going on now, today, this minute, songs of tragedy when someone was stuck in a mine or a well, somebody wrote a song, when there was a war, somebody wrote a song, when something happened to a child or an old dog, somebody wrote a song.

Today, songs are written about everything and anything they come and go so fast you can’t remember ten words to the songs, but give me an old 70-80 year old farmer I bet he can remember every word to “Old Shep” or “On Top Of Old Smokey”.

Yea, I know, things change, and we can’t keep on singing “On Top Of Old Smokey” forever or “Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition”. I bet all those same folks that do remember those songs could tell you who the artist was from those 50’s and before days before that needle got five turns into the record.

A couple of Bradley Kincaid’s songs that help make him famous were, “Letter Edged In Black” “Life’s Railway To Heaven” and “I Love My Rooster” (and before you ask, I don’t have a clue as to why he loved that bird).

Anyway, Bradley Kincaid had a great run at life, we are not really sure if he is still with us or not, last time we knew of his whereabouts was in Springfield, Ohio, but wherever he is, up-there or down-here, there are still those who remember you and your great music and you will always be in our “Hall Of Fame”.
 

We need to go to press like “rat” now. Like we mention now and then if you have some good stories or are kin folk to anybody we write about or even if we haven’t, written about them we will if you let us know who.

We did hear this past couple weeks from a couple friends and kin’s and we’ll tell you about that next time.

In the mean time we’ll see ye later, but just in case we don’t, take care of yourself.

Don Bradley