Chapter XXXIII (Hillbilly Music) 2/10/23 (33)

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Spent a lotta time
on airplanes
Traveling across
our fair land.

So how is this
any different
Then playing
in a band

While watching the Ken Burns documentary about Country Music a while ago, I was very interested in their segment about Buck Owens.

When I was a kid, I used to play in a band called The Jury, and we played all over Manitoba and the Northern United States.
Sometimes getting back home from some of these gigs required driving all night and unfortunately, the only music on the radio was Country and Western, which I didn’t care for, but I kinda liked Buck Owens cuz he rocked a little.

Anyway, fast forward to a night some twenty years later.
On this particular evening, when I left my office in La Jolla for a change of pace, I dialed up KSON, and  I had no idea that I’d end up on the streets of Bakersfield.

As I left the hills of La Jolla behind and was driving south on I-5, all of a sudden, Dwight Yoakam’s, “Guitars and Cadillacs” came on so I cranked it up and sang along.
I like Dwight’s music because he reminds me of Buck Owens, which reminds me of my old band days.

As the tune began to wind down, the jock says, “Hey, I bet Dwight will be singing that one when he takes the stage at the Convention Center. tonight.”
At that moment, my headlights hit the Convention Center exit sign, and even though I had an early morning flight the next day to Nashville, I thought, “What the hell!”

After buying a ticket and looking for my seat, I realized that the opening act wasn’t very good, so I decided to cut my losses and leave.
Fortunately, as I was walking out, I noticed they had a bar in the back, so I decided to have a couple of CCs and Coke so the whole night wouldn’t go to waste.

As I stood there sipping my adult beverage, Dwight hit the stage.
Talk about electric, he was rockin’, and the ladies were howlin’.
He had his cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes, and as he strutted and pranced all over the stage in his skin-tight jeans, he had the ladies all heated up, and I was having a ball.

The next morning, I headed to Nashville, and as I was changing planes in Dallas, I thought I recognized RC Bradly at the front counter.
RC had been the Sales Manager of KZBS in Oklahoma City when I was their consultant, so taking a chance, I called out his name, and sure enough, it was him.

When he came over to say hi, I asked him what he was up to now, and he said that he managed a hillbilly singer by the name of Dwight Yoakam.
When I told him I’d seen Dwight in concert last night in San Diego, he laughed and said, “Let me see, do I have this right? George Johns, one of America’s most respected radio consultants, spends his downtime going to cowboy concerts?”

After telling him I liked Dwight’s music because he reminded me of Buck Owens, RC asked if I would like to meet him.
Sure, I said, so off he went and was back a few minutes with two guys who were wearing these very cool long trail coats made out of Indian blankets.

After introducing me to Dwight, RC says, “And George, this is the legendary Buck Owens.”
You’re sh*ting me. How f#king cool is that?
It turned out that they were going to Nashville to tape a TV Special honoring the legends of Country Music.
Luckily, when they called our flight because I’d used my reward miles to upgrade to first class, I got to sit up front with them.

Once we were in the air and I was enjoying a couple of cocktails, all of a sudden, Dwight and Buck got their guitars down from the overhead.
For the next hour, we were entertained by Buck teaching Dwight the song that they were going to do together on the TV special.

None of us, including them, had any idea that we were also witnessing the birth of Dwight Yoakam’s first #1 record, “The Streets Of Bakersfield.”

One thought on “Chapter XXXIII (Hillbilly Music) 2/10/23 (33)

  1. Angela Manfredi: Love this story, George, for so many reasons. I can picture the scenes as I’m reading your words. And, I do love county music! I also love that you were spontaneous – and justly rewarded for living in the moment. I’m inspired. (Hill Billy Music)
    Geo: Thanks for your response Angela, I can hardly wait until I get to induct you into the Radio Hall Of Fame.

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