More Conway and Loretta

I received the "Definitive Collection" Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. This is the one I would buy. There are duets on there that I have never heard.

The first suprise was "Don't Tell Me You're Sorry," written by Loretta and is a perfect example of her simple and fun writing. She walks into a bar and catches Conway with a blond on his lap.

"I'm just seeing how much she weighs," says Twitty. "I'm sorry."

"I know how SORRY you are, Conway!"

The song is a blast. But the neat thing about this CD than the other CDs, I bought on Loretta and Conway. I bought them at oldies.com. They will sell you a bunch of CD's of Loretta and Conway, ... but don't buy them. They are only CDs of Loretta singing and Conway singing, ... not duets.

Loretta mentions in the credits that she had gotten many letters of irate Conway fans for breaking his marriage up. The duet started in England where both Loretta and Conway were singing. They decided to do a couple of songs together; the people loved it, and their responses to the songs were great. On this CD is 24 songs, much worthwhile.

On this CD is also, Freddy Heart's, "Easy Loving," "The telephone song, written by Conway (it's awesome), John Denver (Who has Oklahoma Roots.) "Back Home Again." Jim Stafford's "Spiders and Snakes," (One song that got him, 'The Rest Of His Life Gig in Branson,") "Your the Reason Our Kids are Ugly," (a hoot), "I Still Believe in Waltzes," (Incredible) and "Making Believe." (One of the greatest songs ever written by Jimmy Work). I am going to google him.

Have Prof Hill buy downloads of, Spiders and Snakes, "the Ugly Song," and the fabulous, Work song "Making Believe." It is such an incredible song, I am putting his bio below to show how tough the music business is.




Jimmy Work isn't a name that most country music fans are familiar with, even though as a songwriter he was responsible for "Tennessee Border," "Making Believe," and "That's What Makes the Jukebox Play." Like a handful of performers, he worked happily at music for many years but felt privileged simply to have had the opportunity to record and perform, and gladly kept his day job as a millwright.

Jimmy Work was born in Akron, OH, in 1924. Two years later, his parents moved to a farm in Dukedom, TN. He began playing guitar when he was seven years old after he picked up a guitar his father had originally bought for his mother. His two biggest influences at that point in his life, and for many years after, were Gene Autry and Roy Acuff, and one can safely include Jimmie Rodgers on the list as well. He was in a band in high school, and was a good enough fiddle player to win contests on that instrument as well. He began writing songs before he was in his teens, and was encouraged by reactions to his music.

By 1945, he was playing country music in Pontiac, a suburb of Detroit, MI; and while things started slowly for Work, playing country music in a northern industrial area, they got better in the years immediately as Southerners, white as well as black, moved there to take defense plant jobs and stayed on afterward as part of the automobile and related industries. Players like Jimmy Work were a welcome reminder of home for many of these newly transplanted country listeners. By the mid-'40s, Work had a big enough audience from his local radio appearances to justify the publication of a songbook, as he later cut his first two singles for a tiny label called Trophy. Those first two singles, featuring Work on acoustic guitar and a single electric guitar backup, were highly derivative of Jimmie Rodgers, and even featured Work yodeling in the manner of the Singing Brakeman.

His third single, "Tennessee Border," was his first version of the song, cut for the tiny Alben label. His record didn't sell, but a year later, "Tennessee Border" was picked up by five different artists -- Red Foley, Bob Atcher, Jimmie Skinner, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Hank Williams -- and became a hit for four of them, all at once. Foley's led the pack, peaking at number three on the country charts, with Ford's following at number eight, Atcher's at number 12, and Skinner's bringing up the rear at number 15; ironically, it was Hank Williams' version that failed to chart.

The success of those records got Jimmy Work his first major-label contract with Decca Records in 1949, and "Tennessee Border" also got him invited to appear on the Grand Ole Opry; Work also played at the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree. By the time of his second session for Decca in August of 1949, Work was being backed by Red Foley's Pleasant Valley Boys, which included Jerry Bird and Delmore Brothers veteran Zeke Turner on guitars, Ernie Newton on bass, and the legendary Tommy Jackson on fiddle. Unfortunately, despite the quality of the players and the momentum imparted by the success of "Tennessee Border," Work never had any hits from his Decca work, and by 1950 he was released from the label. After a short stay with the tiny Bullet label in 1950, Work jumped to the London label in 1951, which yielded "Pickup Truck," his witty slice-of-Southern-life song, and "Do Your Honky Tonkin' at Home."

During this period, Work's music, mostly by virtue of the bands he was using for backup, was heavily influenced by the honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell. It may have been the derivative nature of his sound, coupled with the indifferent nature of the material, that left Work out in the cold where sales of his own records were concerned during this period.

Still without a hit of his own to his credit, Jimmy Work signed with Capitol Records in 1952, and although his first four songs yielded no hits, the label stuck with him. It was only after a second round of sessions that he was dropped from the label's roster in 1953. He then moved to the Dot label, and it was there that he cut two of his most popular songs, "Making Believe" and "That's What Makes the Jukebox Play." "Making Believe," issued in 1955, rose to number 11 for Work, but it was Kitty Wells, releasing a rival version, who saw the lion's share of record sales with a number two single.

"That's What Makes the Jukebox Play" became a number six single for Work in the summer of 1955. Work's success boosted his concert activity during the mid-'50s, and he happened to share a number of concerts in 1955 with Elvis Presley, who was still a regional phenomenon. His future with Dot Records was secure for the time being, with two major hits behind him, and Work continued playing dates, recording, and writing songs; occasionally he would experiment with new sounds, as with his rockabilly-style cover of "Rock Island Line," issued in the wake of English skiffle king Lonnie Donegan's hit version (which charted in America).

Work wasn't a rockabilly player or a rock & roller, however, and the rise of the new music took away just enough of the impetus from country music in general that he eventually was forced to give up the music business. He sold real estate and cut some singles (including yet another version of "Tennessee Border") for the All label, based in Whittier, CA. By 1959, it was all over, and Work knew it; the music had passed him by, and the honky tonk style wasn't even in favor among the country audience that did remain. He returned to the job he was trained for and knew best, a millwright, on the farm in Dukedom, TN, near the border with Kentucky.

Jimmy Work kept his hand in songwriting, signed with the Acuff-Rose organization, and some of his past glories were revisited in later years. Emmylou Harris brought "Making Believe" back into the Top Ten with a new version in 1977, and Moe Bandy, that diehard honky tonk enthusiast, brought "That's What Makes the Jukebox Play" to number 11 on the country charts a year later.

A prodigious talent with an ear for songwriting that would be the envy of most country players, and a smooth-yet-jaunty honky tonk style, Jimmy Work was unjustly forgotten and overlooked for many years by too many people. Even on those occasions when the songs were less than first-rate, or the backing band wasn't what it might have been, his delivery saved the record. He was never too bothered by the obscurity into which he fell in the 1960s, satisfied that he'd had the chance to make music, and having settled into a comfortable living. In 1986, Bear Family Records issued the first LP of Jimmy Work's songs, which was followed by a second vinyl disc, and later by a double-CD set from the same label, tying up all the loose ends of Work's career. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Covers
* Making Believe by Kitty Weels (1956)
* Making Believe by The Louvin Brothers (1958)
* Making Believe by Wanda Jackson (1958)
* Making Believe by Faron Young (1959)
* Making Believe by Willie Nelson (March 1966)
* Making Believe by Emmylou Harris (January 1977)
* Making Believe by Merle Haggard and The Strangers
* Making Believe by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
(September 1977)

Oklahoma, Nashville Song Writer Dies.

Cheatin' Heart
Police Investigate Rising Country Music Star's Death

Randy Hardison is from a Podunk town in Oklahoma, named Inola.
May 13, 2006
Randy Hardison (CBS)



"He was just … one of the finest people that you'd ever have the chance to meet. He's the last person you could ever imagine somebody wanting to hurt."
Lee Ann Womack


(CBS) In a Nashville recording studio, old friends have come together to make the music they love — country music. On hand are keyboardist Jim "Moose" Brown, bass player Kevin "Swine" Grant and songwriter Wynn Varble.

They're considered the best of the best along Nashville's music row but tonight, one special member of their musical family is missing from the mix: Randy Hardison.

"He was such a part of our lives, it's hard to believe, even still, that he's not here," says Jim Brown, who adds that the whole town misses Randy.

Randy, 41, was a player.

"He's probably one of the most talented people in this town but you would never know by talking to him," says Varble.

"He had been nominated as drummer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and had had several big cuts by big artists," adds Brown.

Randy's friends include artists like country star Darryl Worley. "He could do anything. Drums, singing, playing guitar, writing songs," Worley recalls. "Randy was getting ready to set this town on its ear. He had the momentum."

"He would have gone on to be probably one of the people that changed the business," says Lee Ann Womack, who is a superstar now but was a new kid on the block when she met Randy.

"He was one of the first people that I met when I came to town, one of the first real friendships that I had," she remembers.

Asked if Randy opened some doors for her and helped her career, Womack says: "Oh absolutely. Randy introduced me to a lot of other singer/songwriters and taught me a lot about writing. I was just a new writer and just learning how."

Randy wrote a song that appeared on her second gold album, and is one of her favorites, titled "When The Wheels Are Coming Off."

Randy's lyrics could warm your heart but they could also really make you laugh. "He's got some funny stuff like 'Beauty's in the eyes of the beer holder,' " jokes Varble.

Randy's humor was the stuff of legends in Nashville. "He kept everyone in stitches all the time," remembers Worley.

"He used to tell me he couldn't get a date in a woman's prison with a handful of pardons," says Jim Brown.

"It wasn't true. Randy Hardison had more girlfriends than you could shake a stick at," explains Worley. "His wit and his charm and his ability to make people happy. Just make your feet lift up off the ground."

Randy grew up in Inola, Okla., population 988. By the time he was 8 years old, his mother Becky says Randy got his first guitar; by age 14 he was playing drums.

As his talent grew, so did his Nashville dream.

"I worried about him going out there," remembers Becky. "He was barely out of high school. But he was a very independent boy. He could take care of himself."

But in June 2002, Randy's long journey from Oklahoma to country music stardom was over. A neighbor discovered Randy lying just outside his apartment in a pool of blood.

"Looked like somebody had poured a bucket of blood on the ground," recalls Jack Crawford, who lived next door. "I didn't know what to think. All I was worried about was making sure my family was OK and to call an ambulance for this man to get some help."

Immediately, friends from all over Nashville descended on the hospital to be at Randy's side. "I asked what happened and the nurse said, 'Well, we think he fell off a ladder,' " Jim Brown remembers.

From all appearances, Randy had simply fallen and hit his head on the cement.

Jim and Kevin tried to talk to Randy but say he couldn't remember a thing. But Randy's friends, like Worley, knew better. "The first thing out of my mouth, I said, 'He didn't fall off no ladder. Somethin' has happened.' "

CBS)
Six months earlier, Randy had begun helping Catina Skipper, a budding singer from Lakeland, Fla. But helping became much, much more.

Kevin Grant tells Van Sant that Randy told him he thought he was falling for her. "That's all. He might have said falling in love but that, I mean, that don't sound like his diction."

Randy was a little worried. After all, Catina was married. "He'd make crazy, silly remarks, you know, about this woman was gonna be the death of him," remembers Worley.

Was Randy playing with fire getting romantically involved with Catina? "I think so," says Worley.

Randy's friends say Catina's husband, Ronnie Skipper, began calling him, threatening him.

"He told me that Ronnie said he was gonna kill him," says Jim. "I could tell he was nervous about it, but it was more joking, ya know. He said, 'Hey if anything happens to me, it's Ronnie Skipper.' And he kinda laughed it off."

But no one was laughing now. Randy's friends were convinced he had been attacked and that the person responsible was Ronnie Skipper.

"It was a person strong enough to hit him with such force, with one punch that it knocked him backwards without him ever putting his hands down to brace himself and he hit his head on the concrete and fractured his skull," says Jim Brown.

On June 4, 2002, three days after being rushed to the hospital, Randy Hardison slipped into a coma and died.

"We didn't stop believing and praying for him until we knew he was gone. But I just didn't get there in time to really talk to him. I wish I had. But he knew I loved him," Worley tearfully recalled.

"I didn't really ever get to share … didn't get to share a lot of the things, you know, that I ended up being able to do, in great part thanks to him," adds Womack.

Randy's death quieted Nashville's music row. "It was like a big ole blanket, like a wool blanket or a cloud just fell on the place. Music row just kind of had the wind knocked out of it," says Worley.

With Randy now gone, his friends turned their attention to the man they say was responsible for his death.

When Ronnie Skipper met Catina at a Mickey D's in Lakeland, Fla., it was love at first bite. "There is such thing as love at first sight. But I had sight of her, but until you talk to somebody, you really learn more about them," he says.

Ronnie was 18 at the time; Catina was 16 years old.

The teenagers started dating. At first, Catina was quiet, reluctant to talk about her past. "She had actually never really known her dad, her real dad. She lived with her grandparents. And her mom had committed suicide," Ronnie explains.

Shortly after she turned 17, Catina moved in with Ronnie. "And it was just one night, we were by ourselves and I asked her, you know, if she would marry me. And she said, 'Yes,' " he recalls.

The pair married in the spring of 1990.

CBS)
Ronnie went into construction, worked hard, and soon was running his own successful company. It helped to finance his other passion in life, stock car racing.

"I love racing," he explains. "Racing takes you to a different place. You're in a car. You're by yourself. You think about nothing else but what you're doing at that moment. It's just an adrenaline rush. It takes you places."

Among the fans was his wife, Catina. They've stayed together despite the affair and Ronnie's suspected involvement in Randy's death.

Eventually, Ronnie owned two race cars and dreamed of becoming a NASCAR driver. Catina, meanwhile, was racing in another direction.

Asked to describe her voice, Ronnie says, "Oh it's awesome. If you had to compare it to somebody — Lee Ann Womack, Allison Krause. I mean, she can sing just as good as they can."

Catina began winning country music talent competitions and she knew exactly where she wanted to go. In December 2001, she headed to Nashville.

"Catina Skipper was like thousands of people who come to Nashville every year," remembers Nashville journalist and music writer Beverly Keel. "For her to become a country music recording star, she would absolutely have to meet either a producer or a song writer or somebody who could create for her a demo that could capture the ears of record labels."

But for Catina to record a demo, it was going to take tens of thousands of dollars and Ronnie says he decided to sacrifice his dream for hers. "Everything that I had. I had two cars and I sold it in order for her to pursue her music career," he recalls.

Why did he do that?

"Because I love her. She had a better chance of making it than I did."

Catina took Ronnie's race car money and hired the best studio musicians she could find. And that's where she met Randy Hardison.

"And we played on this album project for her. And afterwards, we all went out and had a drink," remembers Jim Brown.

Randy offered to lend a hand with Catina's career, just as he had done with superstars Worley and Womack.

"Here I sit today, you know, platinum albums later and No. 1s and awards and things like that. Somebody like Randy is invaluable," Womack says.

"You have to meet someone like that," says Worley. "You have to find somebody that has the inside connections. That believes in you. She was in good hands."

Catina now had a demo and a new boyfriend and Ronnie had a broken heart.

Ronnie admits he felt betrayed. "I felt devastated 'cause this is the person I put my whole heart into," he says.

In April 2002, Catina told him she was having an affair. Ronnie got angry and admits he hit Catina. "We were just kind of scuffling, guess you would say. And I busted her nose," he admits. "You know, not meaning to."

But Ronnie swears he didn't lash out at Randy Hardison because, he says, he didn't know who Catina was sleeping with.

"I asked. She said she didn't want to go into that. She says she didn't want to tell me," he says.


(CBS)
Randy Hardison's friend Kevin Grant calls that a blatant lie. "Randy told me personally, Ronnie called and threatened him," Grant says.

But Ronnie maintains he never threatened to kill Randy.

While Randy was in the hospital fighting for his life, his friends went to his apartment and found a message on his answering machine confirming their worst fears.

"Hey, Randy, you all right? That's what you get for messin' with other people's wives. Don't make me come up there again," the message said.

Jim Brown says he immediately knew it was Ronnie Skipper, hearing the recording. Randy's friends delivered that message to Nashville homicide Det. Brad Corcoran.

The message, Corcoran says, was a big clue. "We started to try to locate Ronnie to find out is there anything to this."

Ronnie admits the answering machine message sounds like something a "jealous mad husband" would say, but he swears it's not his voice that can be heard on the tape.

Then, just as investigators closed in on Ronnie Skipper, a phone call came in to police headquarters from a man who says he killed Randy Hardison. But it's not Ronnie Skipper.

In June 2002, Det. Corcoran was focusing all his attention on the death of Randy Hardison, and the ominous message left on Randy's answering machine.

Corcoran believed Randy's death was a crime of passion. Asked who had reason to be jealous, Corcoran said, "Ronnie Skipper."

The autopsy report indicated that Randy had been punched. "He had an injury to his left eye and had a hairline fracture. It could have simply been a fist, or a fist that had a large ring on it," says Corcoran.

But just two days into his investigation, the case is turned upside down when an unexpected phone call came into the homicide bureau, from a man named Julius.

Talking to Corcoran, "Julius" claimed to be in Nashville and went on to say he was hired to beat up Randy Hardison by a Dr. Jones.

"I done told y'all the man gave me $5,000 to beat this guy up. I hit him and he fell and hit his head and now he's dead and I can't do nothin' about it," Julius told police.

Suddenly Corcoran had another potential suspect. Was Randy having an affair with the wife of a Dr. Jones?

And investigators did track down a Dr. Jones. Using information from the Julius calls, investigators discovered that Dr. Jones was a mild mannered Nashville eye doctor, family man, and — according to Corcoran — the furthest thing from a jealous husband.

"Dr. Jones was a very pleasant man. His wife was very delightful as well," says Corcoran, who realized he was being conned. "There was nothing that indicated they had anything to do with this," he adds.

But the Julius lead wasn't a dead end. Corcoran traced the "Julius" phone calls and discovered they didn't originate in Tennessee, but came from a cell phone in Lakeland, Fla., Ronnie Skipper's hometown.

CBS)
Detective Corcoran was sure the Julius voice wasn’t Ronnie’s. But he wondered if Ronnie had somehow orchestrated the calls in an attempt to derail the investigation.

Ronnie says he knew nothing about the Julius. "At the time, I had no idea who was calling and claiming being Julius or why they would want to do that," he says.

But Ronnie had a theory that it might be Billy Herman, a close friend who was convinced of Ronnie's innocence and, on his own, thought he could derail the investigation.

"Where did Billy Herman get the name Dr. William Jones from Franklin Tennessee?" Van Sant asked Ronnie. "I guess he got it off the Internet somehow, just randomly picked this guy out."

But Billy Herman denies ever making those calls. "I didn't do it. And I don't care what nobody says, I did not do it."

But there’s one thing Ronnie does know. He had nothing to do with the death of Randy Hardison.

Asked who else might have had a motive to assault Randy, Ronnie Skipper says, "I know he had affairs with other women. Other husbands or other boyfriends had a motive too."

In fact, Ronnie claims it was one of those other men who left that chilling message on Randy's answering machine. Ronnie maintains he did not leave that message and that he has no idea whose voice it is.

Investigators took a voice sample of Ronnie Skipper, but Corcoran says results of that comparison were inconclusive. "We could never say that it was Ronnie or whoever," he says.

"There's nothing at all, no evidence at all, that would link me to Nashville, Tenn., on June 1," Ronnie says. What's more, he says some of his own workers can confirm he was nowhere near Nashville that day.

One worker, Clarence Zinc, told 48 Hours he and Skipper were working at a Walgreen's location in Sun City, Fla.

What's more, Catina also backs up her husband's alibi. Although she refused to sit down for an interview with 48 Hours, she told authorities she knew nothing about the attack on Randy.

But two former employees, including Tommy Maynard, tell a different story.

"There was only three people on that job site. It was me and two other guys and Ronnie was not one of them," claims Maynard.

Ronnie says Maynard is a disgruntled employee, seeking revenge, and called him a liar.

But Corcoran chose to believe Tommy Maynard; Ronnie Skipper had motive and means and in February 2003, Skipper was arrested for the death of Randy Hardison. He was charged with second degree murder.

Also arrested was Orlando Smith, another employee of Ronnie's. Corcoran believes Ronnie paid Smith to come with him to Nashville to ambush Randy.

"If Ronnie was having a problem with somebody, he'd send Orlando over to take care of the problem. So this was his strong arm," says Corcoran.

The crime appeared solved. But just as the trial was about to begin, Catina Skipper called Corcoran with a shocking revelation: she said she committed the homicide, that she had actually assaulted Randy and it wasn't Ronnie.

CBS)
"It was a bombshell when Catina finally said, after I don't know how long, of letting her husband be charged with this murder that she changes her story totally and says 'I did it,' " explains Beverly Keel.

Catina's stunning confession came just two weeks before the start of her husband's murder trial.

"Why shouldn't we believe that Catina made this up to protect you?" Van Sant asks Ronnie Skipper.

"I don't really think that any woman would risk their life going to jail for second degree murder for any man. Husband or friend," he replies.

In spite of the dramatic turn, prosecutor Bret Gunn is convinced he had the right man and planned to use Catina's story to his advantage.

Asked why he thinks Catina's story would actually help the prosecution, Gunn says, "Because it's so unbelievable."

With Randy Hardison's mother and friends looking on, Bret Gunn begins opening arguments. Ad in a case full of surprises, Gunn drops his own bombshell

He drops the murder charges because he thinks Ronnie Skipper and Orlando Smith only meant to rough up Randy, not kill him. The new charges are reckless homicide and aggravated assault.

But defense attorney Rich McGee says Ronnie Skipper isn't guilty of any charge.

"You will not hear one witness testify that Ronnie Skipper was at the apartment complex on June 1 or any other day," McGee told the court.

Maybe not, but the prosecutor presents witnesses that say Ronnie and Orlando were not in Florida, either

"Ronnie asked us to provide his alibi for his time in Tennessee," says Maynard. "And he, that Ronnie was supposed to be at work with us on that Saturday."

Maynard testified that neither Skipper nor Smith showed up the job site that day.

Another former employee, Ronald Harvey, testified that Orlando Smith even bragged about what he had done to Randy Hardison during their trip to Nashville.

"Yeah about break time he said: the easiest two grand he'd ever made. He said all he had to do was hit him over the head once and he fell," Harvey testifies.

But Ronnie's defense attorney immediately tried to discredit him by bringing up his criminal past. "The fact is that man paid that man to beat somebody to death! And you're putting me on trial," Harvey responds.

But now this music row homicide all came down to one star witness: Catina Skipper, who took center stage to give the most important performance of her life. Six months earlier she had told a grand jury she had no idea what happened to Randy. But now she was singing a completely different tune.

Catina told the court she feel in love with Randy and that she left her whole life in Florida behind to be with him. But Catina testified Randy didn't think it was a good idea. "He didn't want to get in between my and Ronnie's problems," she tells the court.

Catina had shown up at Randy's apartment unannounced. But Catina says Randy surprised her when he said he had another girlfriend

Asked how that made her feel, Catina told the court she was very hurt and upset.

At this point, Catina says Randy walked out of his apartment. Catina grabbed a mug off Randy's bookcase, a sweetheart mug she had given him, that said "Randy and Cantina."

Catina says she put the mug in her purse but that the little keepsake soon became a deadly weapon.

Catina claimed Randy grabbed her arm and that she fought back by hitting him with her purse. She testified that she did not see him fall.

But Randy's friends, such as Worley, and his mother say they saw right through Catina's tears.

"She's a fake. A big fake, put on," Randy Hardison's mom said.

Catina says after she left Randy's apartment, she drove around Nashville for several hours unsure of what to do next, until she stopped at a gas station where she says she paid a homeless man $20 to make a call for her

Catina believes that message is proof that she alone is responsible for Randy's death, but prosecutor Gunn had a completely different take on it.

Asked what he heard in the message, Gunn says: "If I just heard the message, I would think that's the person who did the assault. The only person that would be asking if he's alright would be somebody that knew he had been injured. The second part of the message, that tells me that that's a jealous boyfriend. Jealous husband type. And number three, it tells me that it's somebody that's not from this immediate area, you would think that it was somebody south of Nashville."

Gunn believes Catina made the whole story up. Why? Because she knew she wouldn't be punished if she lied. She had been given immunity months earlier when authorities hoped she would implicate her husband.

After that phone call, Catina says she checked into a Nashville motel; a receipt backed up her story.

"Doesn't that support her story?" Van Sant asks the prosecutor.

"It supports her story that she was here. I don't deny she was here," he says.

He is just not convinced she was alone. "I've always felt that she came up here and showed Mr. Skipper where Mr. Hardison's apartment was."

And once that happened, prosecutors believe this crime took on a life of its own. As Randy Hardison came out to get his mail, Orlando Smith ambushed him and threw that deadly punch.

Meanwhile, Catina Skipper's story of slapping Randy Hardison with her purse has left his friends speechless.

"She's just a horrible liar," says Worley. "It was just the biggest joke I ever witnessed in my life."

As Gunn begins his closing argument, the question is, will the jury feel the same way?

"Miss Skipper did not do this. It just doesn't add up," Gunn argues. "We're asking you to find these men guilty. That they came up here to Nashville and did with premeditation with forethought with malice. … Find them guilty."

But defense attorney Rich McGee tried to focus the jury's attention not on Catina Skipper but on the lack of hard evidence.

"Keep in mind, folks, there is not one piece of physical evidence that links Ronnie Skipper to these charges. Not one," he told the jurors.

After 10 hours of deliberations, the jury reached their verdict, finding Ronnie Skipper guilty of criminally negligent homicide and finding Orlando Smith guilty of negligent homicide. Jurors also found both men guilty of aggravated assault.

Family and friends were relieved when the sentences were read, but that sense of satisfaction disappeared, when the court reconvened for sentencing.

Both men received five-year sentences but would only have to spend one year behind bars.

"I'm shocked. I can't believe it. You come across two state lines and you kill somebody and you get a year in jail. It's b---s---," Wynn Varble says.

Randy's friends are outraged, but under Tennessee law the judge's hands are tied. When the charges were lowered from second degree murder, so were the penalties.

"Nobody got more than a slap on the hand," Worley says.

No one was more devastated than Randy's mother, Becky. "Yes, I'm very angry," she said outside the courthouse. "They killed my son. When you kill somebody you should pay for it."

Surprisingly, one thing that will survive in this twisted country tale is the Skipper's marriage. Catina is standing by her man, since Ronnie forgave her for cheating.

Ronnie and Orlando have returned to court to surrender to authorities and begin serving their sentence.

"Ronnie Skipper is spineless," Worley says. "He had to hire some guy, some goon, to throw the punch that knocked Randy down and killed him. He's a cowardly bum."

Randy Hardison is gone, but for friends such as Worley, his spirit lives on through his music.

"You mention Randy to the crowd … why did you do that?" Van Sant asks.

"It just keeps him alive to me. It keeps him with us. We miss him really bad," Worley replies.


Produced by Jay Young
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

1) Use the Internet to find out some of the names of Randy's songs.
2) Find out if any of them were in movies, and if so, what movies.
3) Who has covered, or sung his songs. (Hint, one is from Oklahoma)
4) Print out the words to the songs, and have you Prof Hill provide you with the music to the song, and try to sing along.
5) Try writing a song. Is it hard or is it easy.
6) Do you have to be able to read music to write a song.
7) See if you can find the money facts on a hit song.
8) Does Randy Hardison have a CD out? If so, what are the songs in it and who wrote them.

Jody Miller

Blanchard, Oklahoma has an underground high school, as well as Verden High School. From Anadarko, you have to pass through both towns to go to Norman, Oklahoma. Done it hundreds of times.

Back in "Olden Days," when I was in The University, it was a fairly long trip, over one of the oldest and worst roads in Oklahoma. My friend, the oldest working Dentist in Oklahoma, and I would go to OU games together. On the court house in Chickasha, it is written in the stone, up next to the top of the building, "It is the function of the people, to support the state."

"Read that," he would say, EVERY Time we went. "That is totally false. It is just the opposite. The function of the state is to support the people."

Jody Miller is an important person in Country Music History.

Now we will talk about Roger Miller, in depth, in one of these posts, later on. Roger wrote a song, that I have been singing for over 30 years, "King Of The Road." In the US, when you write a song, both words and tune, that song is instantly copyrighted by you. If someone sings it, they pay you royalties on the song. The first to get rich on a song, would be the writer. Writing songs is a huge business in the United States. A writer has to be verbally and musically talented. Roger was both.

A writer put new words to it, and renamed it "Queen Of The House." Would the writer get royalties on it? No. Unless, the original writer would allow it. Look up "Queen Of The House," and see if Roger gave the writer who penned the new words, part of the royalties.

Jody Miller recorded the song, and it was again, an instant hit. Two instant hits and Grammies on the same song. Pretty cool. If a musician wants to make a lot of money, there is a chance, a slim chance, that a writer could make a lot of money on their songs. Here is what happens.

The writer goes to the publishing companies in Nashville and see if they are interested and willing to copyright the song, and then try to sell it to musicians to sing. That is the purpose of the publishing houses in New York, Muscle Shoals, South Carolina, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Bakersfield, California, and Los Angeles, ... not mentioning the hundreds of other hot, writer's cities. Chicago. New Orleans, Austin, Dallas, ... .

Jody Miller now lives full time near Blanchard, Oklahoma, in a comfortable home on, what she calls, "a ranch." I'm not sure that she is on contract with any major lable. If not, Jody will record a new album and pay for it herself. Then she has to try to sell the 1,000 CDs she gets on the first cut.

Jody can pretty much be assured that she will sell that many CDs. Each year she sponsors a festival on her ranch, where she invites other professional singers to join her, and perform, letting the attenders have the opportunity to buy CDs. Right now, Jody sings mostly Gospel and patriotic songs.

As a musician, Jody has an incredible, three octave range. It wasn't luck that gave her the Grammy. She is a very talented musician. I'm not big on karoaky singing, or singing with background tapes. When I say, I'm not big, ... that means, I would never in my life, do that; and I really don't like going to hear other people get up and sing with the "canned" music supporting them.

Marcella and I have seen her sing at The Oklahoma Opry, which used to be a place in OKC, where dreamers hope that they can get the experience to make it in Nashville. It closed, though, because it was not financially able to recover its utilities, even with corporate sponsors.

Now, as a student of The Internet, it is your job to find out, if the company that Jody Miller is a recognized, for profit, ligit music company or is it a "vanity" recording company. A vanity recording company would be one in which you pay the money to have the record produced, and you have the full responsibility to sell your music. Instead of them paying you, to record their music; you pay them, to pay your music. If it is the last way, the Jody Miller, could well have found a rich rancher who will finance her fledgling musician business.

Now, it is not going to be easy to figure out. Don't believe everything you read on the Net. Do some real checking on the company that produces her records. And let me share this with you, Jody Miller does not tour to support her music business.

There are as many "scam companies" in Nashville as there is regular ones.

"Send us your poems, and we will put music to them. Then you can make millions of dollars, selling your music." Anybody want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?

The Flaming Lips Revisited

THE FLAMING LIPS


For the first time ever, The Flaming Lips were on Jay Leno. You remember. We have discussed The Flaming Lips before. They're the band that's from "Podunk" towns in Oklahoma. (Ask Bro what "Podunk Town" means, if you don't know.)

Jay had a comic on, and then he had the guy that won The American Idol Award. This guy leaves to get out of New Orleans by taxi. He gets to Monroe, Lo. and buys a plane ticket to some place. The airline people were all booked up, and they said, "Listen, we are so busy now, with all these people flying to other cities, that we will give you a plane ticket to go to Las Vegas. The plane is virtually empty."

"Hmm," he thought. "I've never been to Las Vegas." He was singing at weddings, small bars, ... anywhere he could. So, he goes. And, did I say, broke?

It just so happens that they are having auditions in Vegas for American Idol. What the hay? I'll try out, and the rest is history.

Now, Jay Leno, always has a format. First the monologue, which always disses Bush and pokes fun at politicians in general. The show leaves to go to a commercial, while Kevin Eubanks and his band plays. After the commercial, he is in his seat and says who is going to be on.

"Tonight we have The Flaming Lips, from Podunk, Oklahoma, " he says. "This is the first time we have had The Flaming Lips on. It should be fun."

He then goes over some stuff that really should be named differently. He shows a product, and its name; then he turns it around or pulls off the name and the real name is under it - well, ... his made up name. It's nonsense but it gets laughs.

Then the comic comes out and sits down. The guy has a new HBO Show coming on about 3 comics in a bus, going to their gigs. Jay likes interviewing comics. The comic tells about his worst plane trips.

Then the American Idol comes out, who has gray hair and is singing, "Hound Dog." The winner also has a "chin," so they talk about that and the gray hair, and the man tells how he got to be on Idol. Then it is time for The Lips.

Now generally, Jay and his guests will sit in their chairs and watch the singers on the monitors. NOT!!!!!!!!! They all leave their chairs and go over to watch The Flaming Lips on stage left.

The lead singer, Wayne, comes out with one of these Megaphones and is singing through it. It was hard for anyone to tell what he was singing. Nobody cares what he is singing. PUFFFF! Then 2 puffs of confette flitters into the air, suspended above them and slowly drops to the floor. We are talking two different blasts of air and confette. Then Wayne, turns on the siren that the megaphone, a function built in. He walks every where, with the siren going off, like the police is after them. A bomb warning. Two police chasing a drug dealer! It's Bedlam basketball game at Stillwater. Wayne is having fun, running out into the crowd then over by Jay, who is watching in amazement. He gets over by Jay and the guys, and then he goes into the crowd, again.

A back shot shows the cameras, scurrying to catch what he is doing. He goes back, and sings another verse through the megaphone. The guys on the musical Instruments, God only knows what instruments they were playing, because everyones eyes are focused on the megaphone and all the confette falling down, harmonize in falsetto. You get pulled back, and you see Jay and the guys watching, ... blown away with what is happening. POOFFF!


Another round of confette comes flying up into the air, and the lead singer starts the last verse. It was crazy, wild, and creative. First time, anything like this has ever happened on the Jay Leno Show.

After the show, Jay goes and shakes everbody's hand in the band. "Great job guys. It was great!"

So, there they were; the same band that made the cover of The Oklahoma Today Magazine, and they were all and more than what the world press says about them. I would say the lead singer is in his late 40s, and he is still having fun, playing with confette, megaphones, and other nonsense toys, ... but it works. Big Time!!! How do you spell "Podunk," Bro Cecil? These guys come home and head for The New Apple Store in OKC, and they go to all the other places that is home for them.

No drugs here, just a bunch of guys having fun!!!!!

I think the song they sang was "Peace Power," because he had that running across his megaphone written on paper. My son, Darrin is right; they will spazz you out.

Got an email from Byron Berline, today. More about him, later.

Merle Haggard

But Merle Haggard is not from Oklahoma. Right, but ... his family was from Oklahoma, and during the dustbowl, they moved to California, just like Buck Owens' family did. Buck never engaged in alcohol or drugs. He was smart. Lived modestly, and invested his money in his music and music stations. Merle didn't get his purpose for life until after he had been picked up for several felonies and served time in prison. (Pictured is Merle (left) with his Stratocaster and Toby, a HUGE Oklahoma University Fan.) Maybe they will be up for an award next year, since their "Some People Fly; Everyone Falls" song that is out now.

While Merle was in prison, he played the guitar and wrote songs. Now, Merle was certainly not in a lock-down situation, because bad prisoners would never have the opportunity to mess with a guitar. Remember Cape Fear?

The daughter was taking piano lessens, and her dad came in and ran his hand down the piano, but ... one of the strings was missing. Odd? But no big deal. Of course it was a big deal. Take a guitar string, walk up behind someone, with the string in both hands, and loop it over their head and engage their neck, and it is lights out, big time. The X-Con, killed the maid that way, in the latest Cape Fear. There are two of them, and, this time, I like the 2nd version better than the first. Another thing you can do with guitar or piano strings is, ... take off a front windshield of your car, using it as a hacker's saw.

You want to hear some great Blues? Get the FIRST "Sounder" and listen to Lighting Hopkins play the guitar. It's incredible. Taj Mahal did the second one, and the music in it is worthless and so is the movie.

Back to Merle Haggard. The man is still doing gigs and putting out some awesome music. Right now he has a duet with Toby Keith named, "Some of Us Flie, But All of Us fall," written by Merle.

You see, in Nashville, they punish those who refuse to move to Nashville and get into the Music Row business. Toby lives in Norman, Oklahoma. They hate it. Yet, he's probably the top Country Act, that's on the road these days. Garth Brooks has pulled out of Nashville and is bought and owned by WalMart. The association had the awards Tuesday night, and guess who wasn't voted the number one act. Not Willie. Not Toby. Not Garth. Not Merle, but one of their own.

Like the dust storms in Iraq, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle had big time, dust storms, back in the 30s. They were so bad, that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The farmers would get all the chickens inside the coop, and the cattle and horses in the barn. They would wet down their towels and put them up in the windows. There was so much dust, that there were two or three inches of it on the front porch. Bad times, and Merle's family moved West to California. Haggard got in trouble over petty crimes and larceny.

By the end of 1951, Haggard had returned home, and he was again arrested for truancy, as well as petty larceny. In the beginning of 1952, he was sent to Fred C. Nelles School for Boys in Whittier, CA; again, he ran away. This time, the courts decided he was incorrigible and sent him to the high-security Preston School of Industry; he was released after 15 months. Shortly after his release, he and a boy he met at PSI beat up a local boy during an attempted robbery, and Haggard was sent back to PSI.

"After getting out of PSI for the second time, Merle Haggard had the first major event in his musical career. Haggard went with Teague to see Lefty Frizzell in concert in Bakersfield. Before the show, he went backstage with several friends, and he sang a couple songs to Frizzell. Lefty was so impressed he refused to go on-stage until Haggard was allowed to sing a few songs. Merle went out and sang a few songs to an enthusiastic response from the audience." (CMT)

http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/haggard_merle/bio.jhtml

Merle's big break came on the, you guessed it, Buck Owens Show. I thought it was odd, at the time, that Buck introduced him, and then it showed him play, "Play Me Back Home," and Buck didn't go out and shake his hand. Duh! That cut had already been made in Bakersfield and spliced into the program. The Hag and Toby consider themselves, song writers first, performers second. By the way, they are both in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Prof Cecil, had a friend in Junior College who drove all the way to Muskogee to hear Merle sing, "Okie From Muskogee, " which was recorded live to play on the radio. It was a huge hit, and allowed Merle to explore Country Music at its best. I bought his "Same Train" 2 LP Albums covering Jimmy Rogers. He also did an album devoted to "Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys." Like I have mentioned before, I saw the Playboys in good form in OKC.

My favorite "Hag" song is "Today, I Started Loving You Again." The Hag always wished Ray Charles would have sung that song. But there were so many. Have BRO download "Shelly's Winter Love." This song was never released as a single, and yet is still one of his most popular songs, he's ever recorded. A lady in Anadarko, woke up one morning, and her husband was dead. She wrote the lyrics, "Go Ahead And Lay There Like Cold, Cold Heart," I think. He recorded it.

I don't drink alcohol, but I love his "I'm Going To Hang Around and Drink," because of the great, Blues licks that his lead guitar player, blew away every one with.


"The reception persuaded Haggard to actively pursue a musical career. While he was working during the day in oil fields and farms, he performed local Bakersfield clubs. His performances led to a spot on a local television show, Chuck Wagon. In 1956, he married Leona Hobbs; the couple moved into his family's old converted boxcar. Throughout 1957, Haggard was plagued by financial problems, which made him turn to robbery. At the end of the year, he attempted to rob a restaurant along with two other burglars; the three were drunk at the time. Believing it was three o'clock in the morning, the trio tried to open up the back door of the restaurant. However, it was 10:30 and the establishment was still open. Although the trio fled the scene, Haggard was arrested that day. The following day, he escaped from prison in order to make peace with his wife and family; later that day, he was recaptured. Haggard was sentenced to a 15-year term and sent to San Quentin prison." (CMT) Remember that The Hag was in the audience when Johnny Cash played for them.

"Merle Haggard became a genuine country superstar in 1966, with three Top Ten hits, including "Swinging Doors." "The Bottle Let Me Down" climbed to number three and "The Fugitive" (later retitled "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive") became his first number one. He was voted the Top Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards, while he and Bonnie were named the Top Vocal Group for the second year in a row." (CMT)

I have that album some where around here. Darrin has become a Country Music buff, big time, and he may have the album. I know all the songs on the album, because I sure played it enough.

I wish I could play, Hag's "Working Man Blues," but I haven't learned it. Hag became a champion of the working man. One of California's governors, gave a written and certified paper, wiping his career in crime off his record.

Now, Tommy Collins was a big influence in Hag's writing. Hag's song, "Leonard" was really about Tommy Collins. Your job is to find out where Tommy Collins home was, and what happened to him after he quit writing.

More Buck Owens

Country music is big every where for white folks. That doesn't mean that African Americans can't make a dent in it. There is one, right now, trying to introduce Country to Rap. We'll see, but, I will remind myself right now, to write some about Charlie Pride, a great Country singer with a Great Sound.

When I was selling books in Kentucky and West Virginia, everybody was listening to Country Music, and believe me, Buck was big. I knocked on one door and the song, "The Race is On," another great Buck Owens Classic, was blaring. This cute, 15 year old teenager, had a mike hooked up to her parent's big stereo, and she was singing along. And she was good, too. She invited me in, and I sat and watched and heard sing. She had lots of songs she had memorized.

No, I don't remember her name, and it wasn't Dolly Parton. I think I am a year older than Dolly, and by that time, Dolly already had shows on many of the radio stations. And Dolly had been writing her own songs since she was 7 years old.

The "hay decade" for Buck's music was in the 60's. See if you can find out how many #1 hits he had, over those years. You'd think, with all of his success, Owens really didn't need anyone else to make his records, right? Wrong. Bucks lead guitarist and tenor singing, Don Rich, really set the standards in those days, with his high harmonies and his lead guitar licks. Great stuff. Bucks band was getting rich as well as he was. But get this, on all or almost all of his songs, Don, did not, DID NOT, sing the high harmony part. Well, then who did. Play a Buck song and listen to it closely. Doesn't the harmonizer sound like Buck himself. Yep, you're right. Don, did, though, play the Stratocaster Finder Guitar. I have always been told, that if you have a 1967 or before, Stratocaster Guitar, it's worth money. Your job is to verify or negate that statement.



Most of the Buckaneers bought motorcycles and road them to work. It scared Buck, and he asked them not to drive them to work. Just keep them on the off road business, because he couldn't afford to lose his band. He had nightmares about some of his great musicians ending up in a morgue, caused by a motorcycle accident.

Then on July 16, 1974, three worlds, Don's, his family's and Buck's, abruptly shattered. Finished working at Buck's Bakersfield studio, Don jumped on his motorcycle, en route to Morro Bay to meet Marlene and the boys for some deep sea fishing. He died after his bike hit a highway divider. Buck's son Michael, who managed Buck's Bakersfield radio station KUZZ, delivered the sad news to his Dad in an early morning phone call. It then fell to a devastated Buck to inform Marlene that her husband was gone. Don would have turned 33 in August.

Is it not odd, that one of Buck's big hits was about Oklahoma? Not at all. "Sweet Rosie Brown"

"I met a girl, from Oklahoma,
Down where the old Red River Flows."

I've got to add a bunch on Don Rich, because he deserves, and once you hear their music, you will understand why.

Mathis Brothers Furniture

Oklahoma Connections To American Music

Even in the summer of 1969, I had no television in my room in one of the high-rise, Oklahoma State University dorms. The only television was on the verandah, which was a large floor, above the ground floor, that had steps leading up to it. I had won a Economics, summer workshop at OSU, that started about June 1 through July 30, tuition free. There was about 75 high school teachers from all over the United States, gathered to study Economics, and get some ideas, with which we could take back to our high school Economics class.

On the first day, I set the dress-code, ... BIG TIME. Everyone else showed up in white shirts and ties and beautiful dresses, except me. I showed up in "Jesus sandals," bermuda shorts, and a ragged t-shirt. Not an OU t-shirt. No since in flaunting it, right?

The roll call gave us each a time to tell everyone who we were, and where we were from. Then the two professors started talking about the "scope and sequence" of the summer class. For Bro. Cecil, that means: What we were going to study and when we were going to study it? Or, what we should teach in high schooI and when should we teach it. I suppose, in today's terms, it meant, "What was our agenda?"

After the first break, we came back in and sat down. One of the guys below me, said, "I think I will go ahead and sit here below "Jesus," referring to my sandals. ROTFLMHO!

The thing that I did bring was my stereo system, which had a FM/AM radio with it, and a turn table for my records. I know this is very hard for Bro. Cecil to believe, but I bought the system for music and not to listen to nonsense, political, or religious programs, like "Paul Harvey."

Harvey was probably the first "far right" radio program, that dealt with news-cast, with his "Other Side of the story - Page 2." Harvey was a graduate of Tulsa Central High School who refused to come back and speak without a "15,000" up front payment. Nice alumn, right? The problem with him, and yes, his son has taken the mantle and carried on with the same quirky dialect as his dad, is that you can't tell the difference between news and commercials, since both are done by him. Little ol' ladies, listening, might not be able to discern the difference. My bet is, that he sells lots of Bozz Music Systems. You wanna' bet?

I digress, so back to the topic at hand. I would always end up in front of the television on Saturday afternoons, watching, first the Buck Owens Show, The Wilburn Brothers, and, my favorite, Porter Wagoner Show. No one else was usually there at that time, but by "Hee Haw" time, 7 pm, the seats filled up. Little did I know at the time, just how Oklahoma was involved in all four of those programs.

Years before, Mathis Brothers Furniture, saw the rise of an upstart Country Musician in Bakerfield, who had started a "back to the roots" style music. Nashville, forced its singers to use studio musicians, and then slap the songs full of orchestral strings and lushy oboes. Owens was different. So, ... I will give my impression of the Country Scene, which I developed at Oklahoma University and in my '65 Volkswagon. Listen to a Toby Keith song. To me, many of them are overproduced.

The VW came with an FM/AM radio, which was an iffy investment, because there were so few FM stations at the time. But, Oklahoma City, had a great Country Station, KEBC. (Keep Every Body Country) That station was not smothered with commercials and one song every 15 minutes like KLPR was on the AM dial. We're talking music, here. And the station seemed to lean to the Backersfield Sound, that Buck Owens started in California.

Find out how Owens got his first Fender Stratoscaster, non-accoustic sound, heavy on the elctric amplified solid body, strong drums, and high on the high harmonies, which set him at opposition in Nashville. It was different, and KEBC played the Backersfield Sound. Little did I know, that the Buck Owens Ranch programs were shot right in Oklahoma City, at the WKY-TV studios, now KFOR. Here's how it happened. (Read his lengthy biography

http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/owens_buck/artist.jhtml

This is a CMT, or Country Music Television website, so there are pictures, a long bio, and tons of other stuff. After you study it, and Bro. Cecil, selects some Buck Music for you to hear, you can go back up to that link, and then sign in a comment, like, "Buck was my main Country Star, back in the '60s," and for me, he came close to being just that. His songs were easy to play, without difficult melodies. (The way the song sounds)

Mathis Brothers Furniture is a high volume, million dollar a day business, and back then, they had a Mathis Brothers Music Show that they sang on and sponsored. They would use any Country Musician, who happened into town that day. The Nashville artists, usually starving artists, could always be assured that they would have good food, good living quarters, and get paid for being on the Mathis Brothers program, once they made it to the parking lot, near I-40 and the 235 junction, across and south of the old fairgrounds. Though the geographic middle of the nation is just above, Lebanon, Kansas; for Country musicians, OKC was the center of the states. Back then, the Country Music was still in its infancy, and getting some fast, easy money, by performing on the Mathis Brothers Shows was a given. They could do some clips and actually get paid and with money, the band players could get paid also.

Not only that, the Country Musician found a friend in the furniture store. If their bus broke down in Colorado, all the bus driver had to do was call the Mathis Brothers, and they would get a tow and an engagement. I talked to some salesmen back then, and all they said was, "There's a lot of money to be made if you are a good Mathis Salesman who can really close a deal."

http://mathisbrothers.com

It is fun to explore google.com using the words, "mathis brothers furniture," especially on how they affect this entire continent and much of China. Maybe Bro. Cecil's wife can come in and read some of the Chinese webpages. There are listed many more hits than you can find, and I am pretty sure, some of the web pages would be government censured, without the Mathis Brothers name in it. Can you believe that!

I suppose that the Mathis Brothers decided that it would be to their advantage, to get a broader "audience," buying base, they could hire a professional Country Musician and his crew, and do the program from WKY Television; at that time it was owned by E. K. Gaylord, who owns The Daily Oklahoman. Who was their first pick? None other than the upstart, Country Musician from Bakersfield, California, Buck Owens. Buck saw this as a way to market his music, quite effectively. At its peak, Owens had his 30 minute show in over 100 television markets across the US.

Now you can do a lot of research on Buck, because he did a lot of new stuff in Country Music. You can read his, difficult and lengthy biography here. It is not grammatically perfect, but it is a long, comprehensive read. But the neat thing, is that you don't have to read it all in the first sitting. I am sure the Prof finds all this information, news to him.

http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/owens_buck/artist.jhtml


Find out, where Buck grew up and what happened to him. Was he rich or was his family as poor as Dolly Parton's and Loretta Lynn's families? What did he share with Oklahoma, back in those days. What were their occupations? Who named Buck, "Buck?" How did Buck get started in the business? What was the defining, musical instrument of his band?

Believe me, Buck had a head for getting-ahead in the business and staying there. It seems he loved to snub his thumb at Nashville; the way they "over-produce" their records. Find out, if you can get rich in Nashville on one song? If you need some help, I can get you some neat websites, and will probably be adding them, as I go along. After you study them, you may not decide to become a popular recording artist.

I worked at Central State Hospital, while attending the University of Oklahoma, on the Maximum Security Unit, a floor where they sent all the fighters (combative) patients and also, men from McAllister State Prison, who the judge would send them there for observation and testing, before they went in front of their parole committee. They talked tough, but I wasn't scared of them. I acted tougher than they did.

I told one of the Big Mac guys, off-handedly, that I had to "register my hands at the police office, because they're considered lethal weapons!" LOL!

Then one day, one of the prisoners came up and asked me, "Is it true you have to have your hands registered at the police station?"

I stared at him a bit, and said, "What do you think?"

I worked from 3-11, and by that time my shift was over, KEBC was playing only music with little commercial time. I listened to a lot of Country Music back then, and still sing a lot of the songs that were made popular back in the late 50's and 60's.

But, basically, here is what Buck would do. First, he built himself a set at WKY TV, and then two times a year, he and his "Buckaroos" would show up and do a bunch of shows that would last for a season. But ol' Buck had a computer mind, clear back in the 60's.

He thought, "What the hay? Why don't we just lay down the tracks here in Backersfield, and get our great sound, then bring 'em to OKC, get up and play along with the already, ready for hearing, performances." The same thing we do with computers. Why should one start from scratch, a document that you have to use all the time. Just make a template, and pull it up, and use it over and over. Buck was doing that back then, and was really setting the "paradigm," for Country Music, and the Mathis Brothers paid them handsomly and set no limits on how the programs would go. The only thing was, that at each commercial time, Mathis Brothers was the sponsor.

Now days, Mathis Brothers is a mover in Oklahoma City, as well as in the nation. They seem to have their hands in many areas. Don't believe? Do a google! Try "Mathis Brothers Furniture+China."

Matt Hoffman, the world's greatest "stunt bicyclists," came from Chickasha, Oklahoma. He now lives in OKC, a multi-millionaire, with almost ever bone in his body mended, went in with the Mathis Brothers to build two great, we are talking, GREAT, skateboard and bicycle parks in OKC.

My son, Darrin, skates them all the time. There is never a time, that when Darrin takes me to one of them, there are cars there with out-of-state licenses. These are free parks made out of cement, with cement bowls, ramps, drop offs, ...! I'll put some pictures on here to show you. Maybe even Darrin getting some air! (That means, you take a picture of him when his skateboard is not touching the cement.) Darrin is a big time skateboarder freak, a great Macintosh user, and is 30 years old, "... still skating strong." He's also getting ready to have a brand new baby boy named, Seth.

I sold Bibles in the summer, so I listened to the radio a lot. TLC was big then, which stood for Tender, Love and Care. Guess who wrote a song about it? Of course, Buck. Other songs he did, that I liked are, too many to count. "Together Again." "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail." (Big!) "Waitin' In Your Welfare Line." "Under Your Spell Again." "Tall Dark Stranger." "Sweet Rosie Jones." "Streets Of Bakersfield." (Twice, one with Dwight Yokuam.) "Love's Gonna Live Here," "Truck Drivin' Man," ... . (He had always hoped that Ray would cover that one.) "Act Naturally." (He didn't write it, but he published it, and the Beatles covered it twice, as did hundred other artists.)

There are just too many of his songs to list here. Now Ray Charles had enough clout to own his on masters. Buck did the same thing. He started a publishing company, and thus, he got all the royalties from his songs, and a percentage of the others. But, on most of those "Copyrights" you will see another name, "Don Rich." I'll write about him later. Buck made a deal with Capitol, that after four years of his songs on the radio, any song he wrote would revert right back to him.