Western Swing Tribute To Shelly Lee Alley “The Show ... - Joe Baker

Joe Baker 

Publisher 

Academy Western 

Artists 

Backforty Bunkhouse Newsletter 

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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Published by Joe Baker 

Cowtown Society of Western Music Heroes 

Academy of Western Artists Disc Jockey of the Y ear 

Cowtown Society of Western Music Disc Jockey of the Year 

Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest Hall of Fame 

Membership Director—Cowtown Society of Western Music 

Board of Directors—Cowtown Society of Western Music 

Seattle Western Swing Music Society POWS Hall of Fame 

Backforty Newsletter—CSWM‟s Publication of the Year 2009 

The Western Swing Society Sacramento CA Hall of Fame 

Totsie Slover, Editor 

Joe Baker's Top 20 – September, 2009 

Western Swing 

1. Pat Jacobs, Legendary Western Swing 

2. The Desperados, Lucky 7 

3. Hillside Records Country Song Roundup-Potter/ 

McCall/Trevino/Seratt/Inman/Sanders 

4. Rebecca Linda Smith, Jesus‘ Grace 

5. Cornell Hurd, Songs Of Moon Mullican 

6. Wild Oats, Classic Country Music 

7. Jerry Webb, There‘s A Song In That 

8. Saddle Cats, Herdin‘ Cats 

9. Johnny Lyon, Wynn Stewart Favorites Vol. #2 

10. Brady Bowen In My Spare Time, Vol. #5 

11. Liz Talley, More Than Satisfied 

12. Hank Stone, Somewhere In Texas 

13. Willie Nelson, Willie & The Wheel 

14. Darrell McCall, A Way To Survive/All She Did Was 

Fall In Love 

15. River Road Boys, Houston 

16. Johnny Bush, Lillie‘s White Lies 

17. Stephanie Davis, Western Bling 

18. Richard Wolfe, Country Music Turns Her On 

19. Leona Williams, New Patches 

20. Dave Caley, It‘s A Long Way Back 

Western Music/Cowboy Poetry 

1. Stardust Cowboys, Ridin‘ Back To You 

2. Ken Cook, Cowboys Are Like That 

3. Bar-D Roundup Vol. 4, Various Artists 

Joe Baker‟s Backforty Bunkhouse Show is broadcast on 100,000 watt KNMB, 96.7FM “New Mexico Bear” & 100,000 watt KWMW, 105.1FM, “Regional 

Radio W-105” every Saturday morning 6 am to 10 am in Ruidoso, New Mexico covering New Mexico & West Texas. Member: Western Music Broadcasters 

Association (WMBA). Also available „Streaming live‟ 24/7 on the internet at W-105 

Cowtown Society of Western Music ‘2009 Publication of the Year’ 

1 

4. Chuck Woller, Desert Moon 

5. Backforty Roundup Vol. #42 

6. Flying J Wranglers, My Adobe Hacienda 

7. Stephanie Davis, Western Bliss 

8. Rich Flanders, Ride Away 

9. Backforty Roundup Vol. #41 

10. JD Seibert, Cowboy Poetry 

11. Joe Herrington, Shalako 

12. Gil Prather, Last Of The Border Cowboys 

13. The Buckarettes, Cowgirl Serenade 

14. Prescott/Masterson/Hollenbeck Ranchlife101 

15. Bob & Johnny Boatright, Lost Trails 

16. Belinda Gail/Curly Musgrave, Forever West 

17. Cowboy Slim Rinehart, King Of Border Radio 

18. Willie P Richardson, Live At Ritz (Humor) 

19. Chuck Cusimano, Wind Blow My Blues Away 

20. Ray Doyle, The Emigrant Trail 

20 th Annual Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium 

is October 9-11, 2009 with a Thursday night concert 

on October 8 th with the legendary Mel Tillis and the 

Statesiders followed by Bob Wills‘ Texas Playboys, 

kicking off three days with some of the finest music 

in the world. This cowboy symposium has, for many 

years, been tagged the granddaddy of them all. There 

will be hundreds of western oriented vendors throughout 

Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Billy The Kid Casino. 

The infield of the racetrack will be home for many 

chuckwagons competing for the big $12,000 prize 

money. There will be a Kid‘s Rodeo sponsored by the 

Lincoln County Sheriff‘s Posse, Craig Cameron Horse 

seminars, food vendors and of course, the music. That‘s 

right folks, cowboy music, cowboy poetry, Texas honky 

tonk and western swing music every day with concerts 

and dancing on Friday & Saturday nights featuring the 

best of the best. Our master of ceremonies as always is 

the one and only Hall Of Famer and the legendary western 

music disc jockey, Larry Scott from Terrell, Texas 

Sunday morning from 9am til noon, you can enjoy the 

LCCS Cowboy Church for good down home gospel 

singing by many stars in the gospel music industry as 

well as the local Good News Band, featuring Pastor

inside Billy The Kid Casino with Brady Bowen & Friends from 

10am to 1am on Friday and Saturday as many performers stop by 

to perform a couple of tunes in between the act‘s on other stages. 

There are four stages in all throughout Ruidoso Downs Racetrack 

& Billy The Kid Casino. MTD Radio has exclusive symposium 

coverage and will be broadcasting 28 hours with live interviews 

and western swing music and if you can‘t make it this year, 

just go to www.BackfortyBunkhouse.com and hear it live on the 

internet. 

We will have David Stallings and his film crew from Texas County 

Line Productions, shooting a lot of film coverage throughout the 

LCCS. You can catch previous shows in the archives at: 

www.TexasCountyLine.tv 

Tickets for the 20 th Annual Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium 

go on sale August 1 st , 2009. To reserve your tickets and more 

information Please call 575-378-4114. Or visit: 

www.cowboysymposium.org 

- Joe Baker 

Charles Clery from Ruidoso‘s J-Bar-J Country 

Church. Take a look at who will be here, 

Bobby Flores Band, Billy Mata & the Texas 

Tradition, Lucy Dean Record, Red Steagall, 

Ginny Mac, Justin Trevino, R.J. Vandygriff, 

the official voice of Bob Wills‘ Texas Playboys 

the legendary Leon Rausch, Tommy 

Allsup, Bobby Koefer, Larry Gatlin, Liz 

Talley, Floyd Domino, The Quebe Sisters 

Band, Call Of The West, Rollie Stevens, 

Albert Talley, Neil Butler, Derwood Strube, 

Chris York, Brady Bowen, Bobby Baker, 

J.W. Beeson, Jimmy Burson, Billy Dozier, 

The Flying J Wranglers, Chuck Cusimano, 

Harlen Kubos, Tuffy Cooper, Pete Laumbach, 

Mark Lowe, Rick McRae, Jess 

Meador, Rich & Valerie O‘Brien, Del 

Puschert, Dennis Kubos, Darrell & Mona 

McCall, Tony Booth, Kimberly Murray, Tracy 

Pitcox and many more. Again this year, emcee 

Joe Baker will be working the stage 

It Costs A Lot Of Money To Be 

Broke 

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy Julie Carter 

Superstition suggests bad luck comes in 

threes and for Rob, the third had just hit. 

Actually, it was the fourth, but the rules 

say after three, quit counting. Rob and his 

wife had been subsidizing their cattle ranching in the usual 

sweaty, working ways. Lately, those hadn't been too successful. 

Perpetually looking for a way to keep the wolf from the door, Rob 

had a plan. 

The cutting horse reject colt he had bought to make a heeling 

horse to sell was working out fairly well. That is, until a steer 

came out of the roping chute, cut hard to the right and the colt, 

true to his training, did the same. Rob had not cleared the end of 

the roping box when everybody went "hard right" and his boot 

caught on the corner. The sickening sound told the story before 

anyone had to look. The bone was broke and the shin was split. 

This didn't bode well for any money-making activity in the near 

future. 

2 

Later, with a walking cast in place, Rob decided he would cut a 

few cedar stays out of the brush pastures to sell, but his chainsaw 

was on the blink. His wife Sue recalled an ad in the paper where a 

chainsaw was offered at a weekend garage sale. When Rob returned 

with his treasure, his plan was to show it off to his bride. He 

pulled the rope and got the usual chainsaw resistance to starting. 

He pulled it again. Nothing. After about a dozen tries with no luck, 

Sue remembered something she had to do in the house, knowing 

it was a good time to remove herself from the premises. 

When she went back a couple hours later, Rob was nowhere 

around. The bar and chain were lying to one side and a thousand 

pieces of orange plastic were scattered throughout the area. The 

sledgehammer was leaning up against the barn door. 

Next, Rob decided that since their ranch had some good coastal 

Bermuda, he'd sell some of the upcoming hay crop. He laid down 

a good-sized field of it in anticipation of the income that it would 

bring. Of course, it had not rained in that part of the world in anybody's 

distant memory, but that night it poured down three inches. 

He also had some farm ground and decided a crop of peanuts 

would be just the thing. He worked the ground, planted his pea-

nuts, and went to bed that night counting his millions. The next 

morning he found that every peanut had been rooted up. Feral 

hogs had never been a problem on his place, that is, until the 

peanuts were in the ground. He did reflect with some gratitude 

that the pigs hadn't helped themselves to his beer stash in the 

barn to wash down the peanuts. 

As soon as he could find someone to tell him what pigs wouldn't 

eat, he'd consider replanting. The next accounting issue came 

when Sue announced that their son needed braces. Rob asked 

how many sets of teeth the kid had because they'd just put him in 

braces a year or so ago. Sue informed him there were a couple of 

kids and this was a different one. 

Rob was a good hand at roping but had put the sport on hold 

while he married, had a family and set up his ranching enterprise 

to seek his fortune. However, there was a big team roping coming 

to town. He had many bills to pay, but uncannily, he had just 

enough money to pay entry fees. He called a former roping buddy 

and they entered up. It worked out better than anything had so 

far. They won the roping, got their names called, new trophy 

buckles and a big payout. 

On the way home, Rob bought new tires for Sue's pickup and an 

extra case of ropers' aiming fluid (beer). The logic was clearly 

before him. He could ride in a cast and had proven he could still 

catch his share at the ropings. Subsidizing the ranch in this manner 

was going to be a whole lot more fun than riding colts, chainsaws, 

hay or peanuts. 

Some cowboys have to work a little harder to get to the same 

result; heeding the call of the roping arena. 

Julie can be reached for comment at www.julie-carter.com 

"Swingin' West"- Mike Gross 

WVOF-FM 

September 1, 2009 

Songs 

1. Over the Hill- River Road Boys 

2. Brownsville- John England & Western Swingers 

3. Are You Teasing Me- Bobby Flores 

4. Southern Hospitality- Cornell Hurd Band 

5. Feelin‘ Blue for Texas- Marshall Ford Swing Band 

6. Crystal Canyon- Patty Parker 

7. California Mountains- The Stardust Cowboys 

8. I Can Almost Tell- Rich Lester 

9. Swingtown- Andrew Dean & The Farm Machine 

10. Heartless Lover- Cornell Hurd Band 

Albums 

1. Houston- River Road Boys 

2. Western Bling- Stephanie Davis 

3. This is Tommy Duncan- Billy Mata & Texas Tradition 

4. Open That Gate- John England & Western Swingers 

5. Willie and the Wheel- Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel 

6. Last Call for Heartaches- Price Porter 

7. Herdin‘ Cats- The Saddle Cats 

8. Favorite Requests- Don Sulesky 

9. Something Old, Nothing New- Dennis Ivey 

10. The Songs of Moon Mullican- Cornell Hurd Band 

swinginwest.com 

3 

All Things Country Top 10 CDs 

Rowena Muldavin 

1. Tracey K. Houston - Just The Way I Am 

2. Jake Hooker - Lost Along The Way 

3. Liz Talley - More Than Satisfied 

4. Vance Lane - Texas Two Step 

5. Ethyl & The Regulars - High Octane Honky 

Tonk & Western Swing 

6. Stephanie Davis - Western Bling 

7. Rod Moag (Producer) - A Salute to the Heroes of 

Texas Swing 

8. Teri Joyce - Kitchen Radio 

9. L'il Mo & The Monicats - On The Moon 

10. Amber Digby - Passion, Pride & What Might Have Been 

rowena@hpr.org 

Ken Bass KALH - Variety 95.1 FM 

Alamogordo - La Luz - Holloman AFB 

& Tularosa, NM 

01 - Charlie Daniels - Back in the Saddle 

Again 

02 - Larry Gatlin & Gatlin Brothers - Johnny Cash is Dead 

(and His House Burned Down) 

03 - Stephanie Davis - Soon 

04 - Jimmy Bowen & Santa Fe - Baby's Single Down in San 

Antone 

05 - Ray Sanders - One More Memory 

06 - Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan - Shadows of the 

Leaves 

07 - Starla Queen & Jazzabillies - I'm Beginning to See the 

Light 

08 - Mel McDaniel - Jukin‘ 

09 - Texoma All-Stars - Don't Fence Me In 

10 - Cornell Hurd Band & Brad Moore - Cherokee Boogie 

11 - Jerry Webb - Wall to Wall 

12 - Vince Gill - Oklahoma Hills 

13 - Jason Mitchell - (I'm Yo') Chicken Man 

14 - Charlotte Autry - Be Honest With Me 

15 - Kevin Fowler - Beer Season 

16 - Travis Andrews - This Honky Tonk's Home 

17 - Cow Bop & Pinto Pammie - Honeysuckle Rose 

18 - Desperados - Leaving & Saying Goodbye 

19 - Steve Martin, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill - Pretty Flowers 

20 - Tracy Lawrence - Up to Him 

kalhlp@earthlink.net 

A-10 Etcheverry, Creative Achievement Award Winner Cowtown 

Society of Western Music 2009 CrayolaCowboy.com

Becoming An Actor — 

By Jim Gough 

PO Box 14003 

Mill Creek, WA 98082 

I got into acting through the 'back-door.' 

I was an advertising art director in Houston 

when I acquired a western wear store as 

an account, I was producing a TV spot to 

feature all-around cowboy Larry Mahan, 

when he had to back out at the last minute. 

As they say, the show must go on, so I 

filled in and did the on-camera spot. 

Shortly afterward, I found an agent and 

it wasn't long 'til I did my first character part 

in a film. I played 

Jim Gough 

the head of an Indian 

reservation in Mississippi in a two-part TV 

Over the years, we have received 

mini-series 

many nominations 

"Attack 

for 

on 

our 

Terror." 

annual 

The 

Hall 

show 

of 

featured 

Fame that 

many 

profile 

Texas 

the 

actors 

development 

like Rip Torn, 

and 

Dabney 

Western 

Coleman 

Swing attributes 

and Wayne 

of many 

Rogers 

great 

from 

"MASH." 

musicians. 

About 

Then, 

the 

typically, 

same time 

we 

(I 

honor 

really 

those 

never 

thought 

selected 

much 

with written 

about 

and 

acting 

verbal 

as I 

accolades 

was satisfied 

of their 

with 

musical 

my career 

past, 

as 

while 

an art 

frequently 

director) 

we 

an 

agent 

are also 

I had 

treated 

helped get 

to 

started 

their 

asked 

personal 

if I 

would 

presence, 

audition 

and 

for 

performances, 

a film being 

at 

directed 

our Hall 

by 

the 

of Fame 

young 

Festivals. 

Stephen Speilberg. The show is 

called 

In meeting 

"Sugarland 

and enjoying 

Express" 

these 

and 

talented 

I must 

have 

musicians, 

impressed 

our conversations 

Stephen as he 

usually 

commented 

gravitate 

on 

to 

my 

our 

voice 

common 

as being 

bond, 

one 

our music 

of the 

best 

– a 

he'd 

seemingly 

ever heard. 

endless 

It was 

topic 

only 

in and 

a walk- 

of 

on, 

itself. 

but it led to many more character roles 

in the 

Included 

ensuing 

in 

20 

their 

years. 

original profiles were 

often 

When 

a short 

someone 

mention 

asked 

of the 

me 

"real 

how 

things" 

I got 

into 

that 

acting 

supported 

(and 

their 

they 

enjoyment 

still do from 

of 

time 

being 

to 

time 

able 

to 

to 

time) 

be a 

I 

performing 

always say 

musician 

I didn't have 

– but 

to 

study 

who wants 

it, it comes 

to talk about 

natural 

such 

when 

hum-drum 

you're a 

musician/band 

things? 

leader, you are always acting 

Last 

on the 

year, 

band-stand! 

in putting together the bios 

of the 

My 

2008 

real 

Hall 

entry 

of 

into 

Fame 

all 

inductees, 

this acting 

there 

and 

announcing 

on the back 

business 

of Jim Gough's 

started 

photo, 

as a 

was 

coinci- 

a 

dence 

listing of 

while 

his "Movie 

working 

Credits." 

in an ad 

Wow! 

agency in 

Dallas 

My 

in 

wife 

the 

Beryl 

mid-sixties. 

is a real 

I 


had played 

movie 

guitar 

nut, 

around 

and says 

town 

she 

in 

recognizes 

combos 

Jim 

with 

in 

my 

some 

talented 

of his roles. 

wife when 

Certainly 

a friend 

many 

in 

of 

a 

you 

recording 

have 

studio 

seen or 

asked 

heard 

me 

Jim 

to 

in 

announce 

other than 

a "demo" 

a musical 

he 

was 

environment 

working on for a major Detroit account. 

I initiated recent communications with 

Jim 

The 

and 

campaign 

added in some 

was for 

e-mail 

Dodge 

research 

cars and 

to 

trucks and was called "The Good Guys in 

put together the following article, showing 

that most musicians do in fact have a "real 

life." — Ray 

Becoming An Actor — 

By Jim Gough 

Jim Gough: Musician, 

Character Actor, Narrator 

I got into acting through the 'back-door.' 

I was an advertising art director in Houston 

when I acquired a western wear store as an 

account. I was producing a TV spot to 

feature all-around cowboy Larry Mahan, 

when he had to back out at the last minute. 

As they say, the show must go on, so I 

filled in and did the on-camera spot. 

Shortly afterward, I found an agent and 

it wasn't long 'til I did my first character part 

in a film. I played the head of an Indian 

reservation in Mississippi in a two-part TV 

Gough, Dabney Coleman, Wayne Rogers 

―Attack on Terror‖ 

mini-series "Attack on Terror." The show 

featured many Texas actors like Rip Torn, 

Dabney Coleman and Wayne Rogers from 

"MASH." 

About the same time (I really never 

thought much about acting as I was 

satisfied with my career as an art director) 

an agent I had helped get started asked if I 

would audition for a film being directed by 

the young Stephen Spielberg. The show is 

called "Sugarland Express" and I must 

have impressed Stephen as he commented 

on my voice as being one of the best he'd 

ever heard. It was only a walk-on, but it led 

to many more character roles in the 

ensuing 20 years. 

When someone asked me how I got into 

acting (and they still do from time to time to 

time) I always say I didn't have to study it, it 

comes natural when you're a musician/ 

band leader, you are always acting on the 

band-stand! 

4 

Jim Gough & James Callahan 

―Outlaw Blues‖ - 1975 

My real entry into all this acting and 

announcing business started as a 

coincidence while working in an ad agency 

in Dallas in the mid-sixties. I had played 

guitar around town in combos with my 

talented wife when a friend in a recording 

studio asked me to announce a "demo" he 

was working on for a major Detroit account. 

The campaign was for Dodge cars and 

trucks and was called "The Good Guys in 

the White Hats." This was my first 

significant commercial and it was picked up 

Jim Gough with John Travolta 

―Urban Cowboy‖ in 1979 

by the Detroit people immediately and went 

on to be a national campaign that would 

last some 20 years. I was still doing TV 

and radio spots for Dodge in 1990 in 

Houston. The tag line on those spots is 

now legendary in automobile advertising ... 

"you can tell they're good guys, they all 

wear white hats."

After this, I traveled all over the country, 

recording in all the major markets doing my 

'cowboy'-style deliver often mistaken for 

Rex Allen. Luckily, I'm still doing it today. 

As to your "audiobook" question . . . I 

got into narrating them through my late 

friend Ralph Compton. I did his entire 

works (all "Westerns" of course) and they 

were published by Otis Audio of Oklahoma 

City. I then did many Zane Grey and Louis 

L'Amour novels for Blackstone Audiobooks 

of Ashland, OR. 

I would never have been able to 

accomplish any of these things had I not 

been a singer/bandleader in Western 

Swing . . . my first love. — Jim 

A Long and Colorful Career — 

Native Texan Jim Gough never had just 

one job in his long and colorful career. 

At one time or another Jim's been a 

newspaper cartoonist, display man, disc 

jockey, advertising art director, jingle 

Jim Gough with Howard Keel in ―Walker‖ 

producer, copy-writer producer, free-lance 

voice talent, TV show host, talk show host, 

movie character actor, and professional 

musician/band leader. Much of the time he 

performed all these duties simultaneously. 

Jim was raised and educated in Austin, 

Texas. He attended the University of Texas 

and studied Advertising Design at the Los 

Angeles Art Center. 

It was in Dallas that Jim's career as an 

artist-designer began. He worked as an art 

director for several major regional agencies 

and eventually started his own advertising 

business in Houston in 1970. During these 

years, Jim traveled to major cities around 

the country voicing commercials for various 

products and services. 

In 1894 Jim produced a series of 

programs called "Rhythm Roundup" that 

featured interviews and the music of most 

of the then living Pioneers of Western 

Swing. This series of programs is proudly 

housed in the Writer's Collection of 

historical Texas memorabilia at Texas 

State University in San Marcos. 

Jim's radio series on Texas history, 

"Today in Texas" has been featured on 

radio stations throughout the state for 

years. The series was recognized as the 

best documentary radio program of 1993 in 

a national competition. Gough has written 

and hosted a series of TV reports called, 

"Rodeo Roundup" for Houston's Paramount 

20 TV station and his series, "True Tales of 

Jim Gough with Dwight Yoakam in 

―Newton‖ 

Texas" aired on Houston's KNWS-TV 51. In 

'94 and '95, Jim hosted a regular weekend 

radio program, "Texas USA" on the Texas 

State Network. 

Since retiring from the ad business in the 

late '90's Jim has concentrated on voice 

work and narrating audiobooks. His radio 

and TV commercials have won many 

awards over the years and Jim is still in 

demand to voice spots today. 

In the past he's been spokesman for 

Ford Tractors, Ford dealers in New 

England, West Texas and North Texas, 

Chevy dealers in North Texas, Green Light 

Auto Parts, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Texas 

Hot Sauce, etc. 

Jim has been heard on the airwaves 

5 

lately doing commercials for The Star of 

Texas Fair & Rodeo, The Fort Worth Stock 

Show & Rodeo and the San Antonio Stock 

Show & Rodeo. He's voiced spots for Wolf 

Brand Chili, Gilley's Nightclub in Dallas, 

and KFC restaurants in the Houston area. 

These days. He's broadcast 

spokesman for Golden Chick restaurants in 

Texas and Texas Title and Loan Co. 

A Life of Western Swing — 

Jim Gough studied guitar with the great 

Joe Castle at the age of ten in Austin. 

Along with steel player Wayne Wood, he 

formed his first string band "The Rhythm 

Wranglers" in 1947. They played dances 

around Austin at nightspots like Hilltop Inn, 

Copenhagen, Cinderella Club, Dessau Hall, 

and Skyline from '47 thru '50. The band 

was featured on local radio shows and in 

1949 won the "Texas Tower Time" talent 

show at Radio House on the UT campus. 

Jim went into the Navy in 1951 and 

formed a Western Swing Band on a Navy 

Airfield near Manila. He also built and 

managed an Armed Forces Radio affiliate 

in the Philippines. While stationed in Long 

Beach during 1954, Jim played all over 

Southern California in Doug McGinnis' 

band with the great Jimmy Bryant on guitar. 

Returning from military service in 1955, 

Gough immediately joined Dowell Smith's 

great band "Smitty and The Ranchhands" 

as vocalist and front man, with Joe Castle, 

Gilbert Anderson, Jimmy Grabowske, and 

Steve Lightsey. With Elvis Presley and the 

beginning of Rock and Roll, Western Swing 

almost died out. It spelled the demise of 

Smitty's great band in 1955 

Jim married a talented pianist Gail 

Williams and they made Dallas their home 

while entertaining at various country clubs 

in the area, with Jim trading his boots and 

hat for a sport coat and bowtie and joining 

Vic Sterzing's Society Orchestra, singing 

and playing rhythm guitar. Jim formed a 

pop combo, "The Jimmy Gough Quintet" 

and played clubs and private parties for 

several years. 

In 1975, Jim returned to Western Swing 

and founded "The Cosmopolitan Cowboys." 

This band featured some of the great Gulf 

Coast sidemen, Ernie Hunter, Bill Dessens, 

Herb Remington, Bob White, etc. They 

played most every venue on the Coast for 

over twenty years. 

Around 1990, Jim and Herb Remington 

co-led an all-star band called "The Texas 

Cowboys.‖ The band played folk festivals, 

dances, and shows from Boston to San

Jose, Dallas to Denver. 

During the period from 1981 thru 1990, 

Jim was vocalist, front man, and rhythm 

guitarist for Cliff Bruner's "Texas 

Wanderers." The band featured Doc 

Lewis, Lefty Nason, Bill Dessens, Don 

Collins, and Sonny Stewart. 

When Herb Remington formed 

Cowboy Jam Session by Jeri Dobrowski 

―Western Gypsy‖ 

A half-dozen communities 

in our 

area celebrated 

centennials this 

summer. With 

each came a 

smorgasbord of 

activities, in addition 

to the usual 

summer offerings of rodeos, fairs, weddings, 

milestone birthdays, and festivals. It 

was easy to be entertained and hard to 

completely unpack before heading off 

again. I was beginning to wonder if my 

English ancestors might not have had a bit 

of Gypsy in them. 

Photographer John Hockensmith, who produces 

the official Kentucky Derby Winner‘s 

Print and Winner‘s Collection, spent two 

summers traveling with the Romani Gypsies 

of northland country England. His 

adventures are chronicled in the superb 

Gypsy Horses and the Travelers Way: The 

"Playboys II," Jim joined the band as front 

man, singer, and rhythm guitarist. He continues 

to play with this outstanding group of 

ex-Playboys to date. 

Upon retirement and moving back to the 

Austin area, Jim has formed another fine 

Western Swing band featuring Bert Rivera, 

Ray Tesmer, Rick McCrae, Gail Gough, 

and Jim Gough, Jr. 

Road to Appleby Fair (University of Oklahoma 

Press, 2007, 184 pages, 235 travel 

images, 15 historical images, 40 artistic 

images, hardback, ISBN: 1599755971). 

Peek inside this exquisite coffee table book 

that is part travel log and part history lesson: 

www.finearteditions.net/book.htm 

Invited to join a prominent Gypsy family 

during their annual 60-mile horse-drawn 

pilgrimage to Appleby Fair, Hockensmith 

was allowed unusual access to the 

shielded society. Camera in hand, he traveled 

with the caravan of bow-topped wagons 

as they made their way through quaint 

villages, along busy and often dangerous 

highways, camping in lush pastures as 

families have for more than 300 years. 

Chartered in 1685 by King James II, Appleby 

Fair has been conducted ever since 

without fail. It‘s a spirited gathering where 

thousands of Gypsies and non-Gypsies 

assemble to participate in and watch the 

festivities. The Romani heritage is celebrated 

with music, food, drink, fortune telling, 

trading and contests. 

6 

Jim Gough's article is re-published by 

Backforty Bunkhouse Productions with permission 

from Jim Gough and Ray Shawley 

The original article was first published in 

the Northwest Western Swing Music Society 

July, 2009 Newsletter. 

Listed below are just a few of the more memorable performances by Jim Gough 

FEATURE FILMS 

Sugarland Express 

Attack on Terror 

Outlaw Blues 

Urban Cowboy 

Hot-Wire 

Liar's Moon 

Eddie Macon's Run 

Places in the Heart 

J.F.K. 

The Trial 

"8" Seconds 

The Newton Boys 

A Texas Funeral 

"Mi Amigo" 

Wildfire 

Walker, Texas Ranger 

"Dallas" (TV Series) 

ROLE 

Deputy 

Indian Agent 

Band Leader 

Sissy's Dad 

Dudley LeBlanc 

Band Leader 

Judge 

Hillbilly Musician 

Eye Witness 

"Morse" 

Rodeo Official 

Sheriff 

State Official 

Sheriff Durgette 

Rodeo Announcer 

Auctioneer 

State Senator 

U.S. Congressman 

Rodeo Announcer 

COMPANY 

Universal 

TV Miniseries 

Warner Bros. 

Paramount 

Independent 

Independent 

Universal 

Tri-Star 

Camelot 

TV Miniseries 

Independent 

20th Century Fox 

Independent 

Azalea Films 

NBC Family 

TV Series 

Lorimar TV 

Gypsies prove their horsemanship and the 

prowess of their beloved ―cobs‖ in contests. 

They also sell the colorful, calm-natured 

horses. Essential to work and play, the 

Gypsy cob is thought to be a combination 

of Shires and Clydesdales, Dales and Fell 

ponies, Friesians and Galloway trotting 

ponies. There are no written records of 

bloodlines; no breed registry. Horses are 

sold and traded on the seller‘s word. To 

question his word is an insult. 

Gypsy Horses and the Travelers Way: The 

Road to Appleby Fair retails for $49.95 and 

is available at Amazon.com. You may also 

order from the author at 

www.finearteditions.net/books.htm; 

Hockensmith Fine Arts, 146 E. Main St., 

Georgetown, KY 40324; (800) 972-8385. 

Montana‘s horse culture—and that of the 

American West—was the focus of the 2009 

National Folk Festival held this summer in 

Butte, Montana. Performers and craftsmen 

from across America made their way to the 

Richest Hill on Earth to share their talents. 

As one of the Nation‘s largest and most

prestigious celebrations of the arts, there was traditional music, 

food, crafts, dance, culture, and plenty of family fun: 

www.nationalfolkfestival.com/2009/ We joined friends at the festival 

and immersed ourselves in the rich and colorful atmosphere. I 

encourage you to attend the 72nd National Folk Festival when it 

concludes its run in Butte, July 9-11, 2010. It‘s an amazing gathering. 

Best of all, admission is free! 

On our way back from Butte, we passed through Reed Point and 

Columbus, Montana. Singer/songwriter Stephanie Davis makes 

her home in between on a working cattle ranch. (Find out what‘s 

happening at her Trails End Ranch at www.stephaniedavis.net/ 

ranch%20news.htm.) Whether or not you‘re familiar with her 

name, it‘s likely you‘re familiar with her work. Davis wrote ―We 

Shall be Free‖ and ―Wolves,‖ both recorded by Garth Brooks. 

Others who have cut her songs include Don Edwards, Trisha 

Yearwood, Maria Muldaur, Roger Whittaker, Daniel O'Donnell, 

and Martina McBride. 

A Montana native and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, 

Davis released two albums this year: Western Bliss and 

Western Bling. I knew she was working on the pair and was anxious 

to hear what she did with the standards she selected. You 

read right—standards—with a dose of Western swing. Think Bob 

Wills, Bobby Darin, Billie Holiday. (Davis talks about the CDs and 

studio musicians at www.stephaniedavis.net/Bliss%20and% 

20Bling.htm.) 

Davis‘ rich, almost sultry voice is reminiscent of the days when 

couples flocked to ballrooms to enjoy an evening out with their 

favorite dance band. (Listen to sample tracks at 

www.cdbaby.com/Artist/StephanieDavis.) On Bling, I favor 

―Nevertheless,‖ ―Beyond the Sea,‖ ―The Best Things in Life Are 

Free‖ and ―Goin‘ Away Party.‖ On Bliss you‘ll find ―Montana Cowgirl,‖ 

―Leanin‘ on the Old Top Rail,‖ ―Navajo Trail‖ and ―Texas 

Blues.‖ For complete track listings and liner notes: 

www.cowboypoetry.com/stephaniedavis2.htm 

Western Bliss and Western Bling sell for $17 each (postpaid) from 

Recluse Records, 838 Countryman Creek Road; Columbus, MT 

59019; (406) 326-2180; www.stephaniedavis.net 

Submit items for consideration to Jeri Dobrowski, 1471 Carlyle 

Road S, Beach, ND 58621; 

jamsession@robscabinets.com. 

© 2009, Jeri Dobrowski, All rights reserved 

Cowboy Poetry at 

the BAR-D Ranch by 

Margo Metegrano, 

Editor, 

CowboyPoetry.com 

Fall means roundup 

time, for cows and 

cowboy poets. Poets and musicians will gather at Wyoming's 4th 

Annual Pinedale Cowboy Roundup on October 3, 2009. The 

event is a community benefit, noted for its high-quality cowboy 

poetry and music--and for the most inventive gathering logo, created 

by the infamous poet and artist Pat Richardson. Check it out 

at their web site pinedalecowboyroundup.com. Among this year's 

performers are R.W. Hampton, Chris Isaacs, Jesse Smith, Jerry 

Hall and Trick Shot, and Andy Nelson. 

Pinedale happens to be where popular poet, writer, and emcee 

Andy Nelson hangs his hat and his shoeing apron. Andy and his 

brother Jim also co-host the weekly Clear Out West 

7 

(C.O.W.) Radio (clearoutwest.com) from Pinedale. The C.O.W. 

boys are known for their hilarity as well as for the excellent selections 

of top cowboy poetry and music on their syndicated show. 

Andy tells that the following poem, like all good cowboy poems, is 

"all true." Its title comes from a phrase in Curley Fletcher's classic 

"Strawberry Roan." 

The Worst One to Buck 

She chatters my teeth, and rattles my bones, 

And she is the worst one to buck; 

She squeals like a pig, she snorts and she moans, 

And shimmies like an old feed truck. 

She beats on my kidneys, bruises my spleen, 

And is cantankerous as heck; 

Runs away at will, she's ornery and mean, 

And thrills in whiplashing my neck. 

Why do I keep her? She pounds me each time, 

I swing a leg and get on her; 

She cost way too much, and ain't worth a dime, 

Each ride I think I'm a gone 'er. 

She just takes her head, goes as she pleases, 

No matter what cue I give her; 

She breaks plum in two, jumps, kicks and wheezes, 

Jarring my tonsils and liver. 

I tell her back up, she plows straight ahead, 

Runs bucking and stirring up dust; 

She spews out exhaust, and revels instead, 

In flaunting her growing distrust. 

With all her bad habits, her noises and smells, 

She plain torques me off every day; 

If I didn't need her, to clean my corrals, 

I'd give that darn skid steer away. 

© 2008, Andy Nelson, All rights reserved 

About the poem being true, Andy adds, "... that sonuvagun bucks 

and beats me up every time I get on it, I've never been on a more 

rough piece of equipment in my life..." 

The poem is on the 2009 volume of The BAR-D Roundup, an annual 

CD of classic and contemporary poetry from CowboyPoetry.com. 

Andy's most recent CD is Full Nelson Shoeing, available 

for $18 postpaid from Andy Nelson, PO Box 154, Pinedale, WY 

82941. His new book of stories and poetry will be published later 

this year. 

You can catch Andy's performances at a number of impressive 

forthcoming events, including the Heber City Cowboy Poetry 

Gathering and Buckaroo Fair, the Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering, 

and at the 2010 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. See his 

web site, cowpokepoet.com for his entire schedule. 

Find more about hundreds of cowboy poets and Western musicians 

at CowboyPoetry.com. It's an on-going gathering, with continuous 

news, features, poetry, lyrics, gathering reports, and an 

extensive event calendar. Come on by and stay a while. 

margo@cowboypoetry.com

Cade‘s Cadence 

(watch yer step!) 

―The Honorable‖ 

I recently had to go to court to contest a 

traffic ticket and I arrived a little early and 

was sitting in the court room when the judged walked in. When he 

did, the bailiff announced his presence as ―The Honorable So and 

So‖ and instructed everybody to rise. Court then continued and 

everybody gave the judge due respect and addressed him as 

‖your honor‖ and as this went on I began to think. What is implied 

by the title ―honorable‖ and why are judges given that title? Is it 

because he or she has worked very hard to attain that position 

and because they are experts in their profession? I think that may 

be part of it but it can‘t be the sole reason. Many of us have 

worked very hard to get where we are and many of us are experts 

in our field but we are still not bestowed with the title ―The Honorable‖ 

I think it has more to do with the position a judge holds. As 

elected officials judges are expected to carry out their duties in a 

professional and honorable fashion and because the position 

carries with it great power it also carries with it great responsibility. 

We have faith that our judges will do their job in a nonbiased 

and honorable way based on their knowledge of the law and convictions 

they hold true. 

I expect most judges are honorable in character as well but that 

may not always be the case. Take ―The Honorable Judge Roy 

Bean‖ for instance who described himself as the ―The Law West 

of the Pecos.‖ Now some may not consider Judge Bean‘s character 

as all that honorable. I guess it just depends on how high or 

how low your standards are. Before being appointed as Justice of 

the Peace in Pecos County in 1882 Bean spent 2 months in 

prison in San Diego, California for attempted murder but dug out 

with some knives that were hidden in a case of tamales, a gift 

from one of the ladies in town. He later moved to San Antonio, 

Texas where he attempted to run a firewood business, cutting 

down a neighbor's timber. He then tried to run a dairy business, 

but was soon caught watering down the milk, and later worked as 

a butcher, rustling unbranded cattle from other area ranchers. 

Despite his personal affairs though, Judge Bean embraced his 

position as a judge and ran it as honorably as he could. He held 

court in his own saloon and if you found yourself in Judge Bean‘s 

court you best have all your ducks in a row. He was known for his 

outrageous judgments and often times, coincidentally enough, the 

fine you had to pay equated to the exact amount you had in your 

pocket at that time. 

How do you achieve honor or, for that matter, respect? In the 

military you are taught to salute a higher ranking officer. As a veteran 

of the U.S. Navy, I saluted many officers and while I was 

paying respect to person I was also paying respect to the position. 

What does it mean to be honorable and can the title 

―Honorable‖ be given to other positions in life? Positions like Father, 

Mother, Husband, Wife, Daughter, Son and Friend. We all 

hold one of these positions but the question is – Are we holding it 

with honor? 

cade@cadeschallacowboypoetry.com 

The 17th Annual Stony Plain, AB Cowboy 

Festival 

Report from Doris Daley 

For cowboy poetry and music lovers in Western 

Canada, all roads lead to Stony Plain, AB 

on Aug 14-16 for the town's 17th annual festival 

celebrating cowboy poetry, music and art. Seventeen years 

means 17 opportunities to grow, refine and enhance this hugely 

popular event, and each year just builds and improves on the last. 

Thanks to the support of Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine, 

highlights of the Stony Plain gathering can be seen on-line at 

www.canadiancowboy.ca/downthetrail. View clips from Stony 

Plain favourites Eli Barsi, Bryn Thiessen and Hugh McLennan, 

hot young rising star Brett Kissel, special California guest Sour- 

8 

dough Slim, and Juno award winner Gary Fjellgaard. Americans 

will be familiar with Fjellgaard's Reins of Glory, recorded by Jean 

Prescott, Prickly Pair, and many others. (Be sure to fast forward 

through the Doris Daley section....do I bob around on my toes like 

that during every performance? Good grief! I think Sharky filled 

my boots with red ants!) 

Friday and Saturday night performers 

were deliberately reserved for 

their evening performances, guaranteeing 

huge night crowds and ensuring 

lots of variety during the day 

shows. The incomparable team 

work of Gary and Brett highlighted 

the Friday night show, while Saturday 

night's feature showcased one 

of Alberta's most exciting and enjoyable 

country music shows: Alberta 

Country Music Legends. Bev Munro, 

Alfie Myhre, Pete Hicks, Joyce 

Smith and Randy Hollar delivered a 

country music blockbuster that folks 

will remember for the next 17 festivals! 

Special guests Sourdough Slim (California) and Sue Harris 

(Arizona) followed on the heels of 2008 special guest, Montana 

singer-songwriter DW Groethe. One or two top notch international 

performers ensures that Stony Plain fans are treated not only to 

tried-and-true Canadian favourites but also to some of the west's 

top entertainers. 

Huge accolades go to major 

sponsors Best Western 

Sunrise Inn and Suites, 

Boston Pizza Stony Plain, 

CFCW am 790, Decker 

Properties Inc., and the PTI 

Group. Many, many other 

local businesses make financial 

and in-kind donations, 

a real tribute to the 

level of community support 

in this great western town. Sharky & Chris Shauer, Randy Smith 

I haven't been to all 17 

Stony Plain Gatherings, but I've sure been to most of them. I remember 

hail storms, campfires, tall tale contests, mud swamps, 

outdoor stages, weather so cold you could see your breath, 

weather so hot that even the shade from a barb wire fence felt 

good, nights when we danced to great pick-up bands, and almost 

two decades of laughs and tears on stage. Volunteers and committee 

members are among the West's best, and this year's crew, 

lead by Donna Cowan, was no exception. It was an honour to be 

among this year's performers: Eli Barsi, Ed Brown, The Command 

Sisters, Stewart McDougall, Hugh McLennan, Harry Rusk, Chris 

and Sharkey Schauer, BJ Smith, Randy Smith , Bryn Thiessen, 

The Alberta Country Music Legends, Gary Fjellgaard, Brett Kissel, 

Sue Harris and Sourdough Slim. The 18th Stony Plain Festival will 

be another barnburner; be sure to flag 

www.stonyplaincowboypoetry.com for details. 

ddaley@telusplanet.ne 

What folks are sayin”... 

Eli Barsi 

Hello folks, this is Jerry Webb and I would like to say a great big 

THANK YOU to my friend Joe Baker and his staff for all the hard 

work they do at the Backforty Bunkhouse. I look forward to getting 

their newsletter each and every month and I sincerely appreciate 

their support of traditional country and western swing music. 

Keep up the good work. 

Jerry Webb 

www.JerryWebbMusic.com

Story Behind The Song... 

According to Lynn Anderson, her husband was the reason 

that it took so long for her to record ―Rose Garden.‖ 

Lynn commented,‖ Glenn (who was also her record producer) 

kept telling me I couldn‘t record that song because it just wasn‘t a 

girl‘s song...that there were lines in that song that a girl just 

wouldn‘t sing! I had heard the tune ―Rose Garden‖ on a Joe 

South album and fell in love with the song and started in trying to 

get him to let me record it and he kept telling me no! He said that 

a woman couldn‘t sing lines like, ―I could promise you things like 

big diamond rings,‖ so the song just wasn‘t a female vocal. But 

during one recording session we simply ran out of songs. We 

didn‘t have anything else to record so Glenn finally gave in and let 

me record ―Rose Garden.‖ We cut it and the rhythm pattern just 

didn‘t work. So, Charlie McCoy and Jerry Kennedy came up with 

a kind of shuffle beat pattern.‖ It was the same kind of beat or 

rhythm pattern that Bill Anderson used on several of his records.‖ 

But Sutton hadn‘t planned on releasing ―Rose Garden‖ that soon, 

until Columbia record, president Clive Davis, happened to be in 

Nashville for a convention and dropped by the recording studio 

and heard the ―Rose Garden‖ recording and loved it! The recording 

was suddenly re-booked as Lynn‘s next single release. 

―Rose Garden‖ entered the country music charts November 7th, 

1970 and made it to number the week of December 26th, where it 

stuck for 5 weeks. 

It was Anderson‘s 9th charted song and her first number one. 

The Columbia Records single also scored a #3 on the pop music 

charts. 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

QUESTION: Didn‘t some country singer have a hit record on the 

pop song ―Yellow Ribbon?‖ 

ANSWER: Johnny Carver had a 1973 # 5 country hit with the 

Tony Orlando pop hit ―Yellow Ribbon‖ 

QUESTION: Have you ever heard of a Conway Twitty song 

about ―Don‘t Let It Go To Your Heart?‖ My dad says he heard it 

on the radio years ago. 

ANSWER: ―Don‘t Let It Go To Your Heart‖ was the flip side of 

Conway‘s 1974 # one, ―There‘s A Honky Tonk Angel.‖ 

QUESTION: Is there any way to find out if Margo Smith might 

have been our next door neighbor years ago? The family‘s last 

name was Smith and they had a little girl who sang and yodeled. 

This was in Florida. 

ANSWER: It‘s highly unlikely that Margo Smith was your next 

door neighbor. She was born Betty Lou Miller in Dayton, Ohio. 

QUESTION: My dad says that Elvis Presley‘s hit ―Are You 

Lonesome Tonight‖ was a very old song before Elvis ever recorded 

it. Is that true? 

ANSWER: ―Are You Lonesome Tonight‖ was a pop hit for 

Vaughn Deleath in 1927. Elvis‘s version scored a # 22 on the 

country charts and a # 1 on the pop charts in 1960. 

QUESTION: Who was the country singer who played a lute? 

He was a little fellow and was popular back in the 60‘s and 70‘s. 

ANSWER: That little fellow was Bobby Lewis, who placed 26 

songs on the country charts between 1966 and 1985 

TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC 

by Bill Morrison 

Charlie Bowman, "The Hill Billies," born Gray Station, TN 1889. 

Buddy Guy, guitarist, born Lettsworth, LA 1936. 

Chris Darrow, vocals/violin/guitar/mandolin born Sioux Falls, SD 

1944. 

Elvis Presley made his first advertised concert appearance on the 

Slim Whitman Show, At the Overton Park Band Shell in Memphis, 

TN 1954. Another unknown artist on the show that day was Marty 

Robbins. 

Patsy Cline released "Honky Tonk Merry Go Round," 1955. 

Johnny Cash recorded "Folsom Prison Blues" 1955. 

Brenda Lee's first recording session completed 1956. 

Neal McCoy born "Hubert Neal McGauhey Jr." in Jacksonville, TX 

1958 

Danny Roberts, mandolin, of "New Tradition" born Louisville, KY 

9 

1963. 

Alabama's ―Mountain Music," album certified quadruple platinum 

1985. 

Martina McBride's, "My Baby Loves Me," charted in 1993. 

Sam Phillips, age 80, founder of SUN Records, died in Memphis 

2003. 

Courtesy Bill Morrison 

NUMBER ONES ON THIS DATE 

1947 

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) - Tex Williams 

1955 

I Don‘t Care - Webb Pierce 

1963 

Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash 

1971 

I‘m Just Me - Charley Pride 

1979 

You‘re the Only One - Dolly Parton 

1987 

The Weekend - Steve Wariner 

Andy and Jim Nelson‘s C.O.W. Radio 

4-Week Playlist 

8/29/09, Lineage of Cows 

Luke Reed: If there Wasn't Any Cows 

The Quebe Sisters Band: Along the Navajo Trail 

Roy Rogers: Tennessee Stud 

Bob Peterman: A Couple Good Horses to Ride 

Baxter Black: Cow Committee 

Wylie and the Wild West: I Get High 

8/22/09, Cowboys Then and Now 

Sons and Brothers: Cold High Mountain Wind 

Kevin McNiven: Four Strong Winds 

Rex Allen/Don Edwards: It's My Lazy Day 

Andy Hedges: Tribe of the Forty and Found 

Jane Morton: The Cows Came First 

Tall Boots: Lonesome Cowboy Blues 

8/15/09, Capriola's 80th Anniversary 

Asleep at the Wheel: Ain't Nobody Home But Us Chickens 

Dan Roberts: Cowboy T.V. 

Sons of the Pioneers: Cheyenne 

Ian Tyson: Fifty Years Ago 

Al Clark: The Star Planters 

KG and the Ranger: Bury Me Out 

8/8/09, The Stories Behind the Songs 

Hot Club of Cowtown: The Girl I Left Behind Me 

Buck Ramsey: The Trail to Mexico 

Harry McClintock: Goodbye Old Paint 

Skip Gorman: The Old Chisholm Trail 

Diane Tribitt: Half the Hand 

Cowboy Celtic: The Cowboy's Lament 

8/1/09, Cowboyisms 

The Saddle Cats: Roly Poly 

The Desperados: Lily Dale 

Hank Snow: The Auctioneer 

Cora Wood: Itty Bitty Outlaw 

D.W. Groethe: Star Cavvy 

Paul Harris: Autumn Reflections 

cowboypoet@wyoming.com

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Host Symposium during 

Clovis Music Festival! 

We are proud to have The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in town 

during the Clovis Music Festival! The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 

will host a symposium on Saturday and will be in town for all four 

days of the Music Festival. Having such a prestigious group attend 

the Clovis Music is Festival is an honor and a huge connection 

for Clovis to the State of New Mexico and the History of Rock 

and Roll. Shelby Morrison from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will 

host the Symposium with Kenneth Board, David Bigham, Gary & 

Ramona Tollett, George Tomsco, Stan Lark and Tommy Allsup 

and others will serve on the rock & roll panel. 

In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Clovis/Curry 

County Chamber of Commerce will host the New Mexico Tourism 

Commission for its quarterly meeting at the Clovis Business Enterprise 

Center. Mike Cerletti and his commission will rock with 

us, kicking off the first night of the music festival center stage to 

let everyone know how important this event is to the local area 

and the entire state. This is the first time the Tourism Commission 

has made an official visit to Clovis. The New Mexico Music 

Commission has also been invited to the Music Festival and 

Nancy Laflin will represent the commission during the Music Festival 

weekend. 

The Clovis Music Festival is finally here, and what better way than 

to start the festivities than with some of the most rockin‘ acts 

around? Thursday, September 20th will be the kick off of the 

Clovis Music Festival at the Curry County Events Center, and will 

feature musical acts Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, Johnny Tillotson, 

Shirley Alston Reeves of the Shirelles, Dave Somerville 

and the Killer Bees, and Charlie ―Sugartime‖ Phillips! 

Hailing from Raton, New Mexico in the late 50‘s, the Fireballs 

were New Mexico‘s first Rock and Roll recording band to become 

internationally know. The Fireballs, who made their name in instrumental 

music with hits like "Bulldog" and "Torquay", continued 

their success as a vocal group with vocalist Jimmy Gilmer producing 

smash successes like "Sugar Shack" and "Bottle of Wine." 

The Fireballs recorded all of their greatest hits right here in Clovis, 

and having these music legends back in the local area is sure to 

be a nostalgia-filled party! 

Johnny Tillotson‘s recording career spans 5 decades. He has 6 

#1 international hits and hundreds of charted records worldwide. 

He has 9 top 10 hits and 15 top 40 hits on the Billboard charts in 

the USA alone. Some of his biggest records include ―Poetry in 

Motion,‖ ―Without You,‖ ―Talk Back Trembling Lips," "It Keeps 

Right on a Hurtin'‖ and many more. 

Bridging doo wop and uptown New York pop-soul, The Shirelles 

projected a beguiling mixture of tenderness and innocence that 

was grounded in R&B as much as pop/rock. The Shirelles soon 

became known throughout the world when they placed six singles 

in the Top Ten, and their songs have become classics and have 

since been covered by many artists, including the Mamas and the 

Papas and Dusty Springfield. Manfred Mann had a hit with a 

cover of the Shirelles' song "Sha La La". And the Beatles themselves 

covered " Baby, It's You." So come and enjoy a legend in 

musical history as Shirley Alston Reeves sings personally for you. 

The Shirelles, you may remember! Legendary lady, Shirley Alston 

Reeves, you will never forget! 

David Somerville will rock out the festival as he did when he was 

lead singer of The Diamonds singing ―Little Darlin‘‖, one of the 

seminal songs of rock and roll and classics and others such as 

"Why do Fools Fall in Love?", "Silhouettes," and "The Stroll." 

10 

David‘s vocals on these anthems have become staples of radio 

programming. His music influenced the evolution of rock and roll 

and many legendary artists over the years, including Elvis, who 

was a big fan of The Diamonds. Dave's current act is full of songs 

and vignettes of the late and great as well as his own 16 hits plus 

a variety of material from his past repertoire tailored to his audience. 

Legend? More accurately, he's a renaissance man whose 

musical history and creative talent bridges several decades and 

artistic realms. 

Charlie ―Sugertime‖ Phillip worked with Norman Petty on several 

of his recordings, including the last major recording project that 

Petty worked on before his death including ―Sugartime.‖ His new 

CD, ―Full Circle: The Last Norman Petty Sessions,‖ contains 16 

updated fully restored, remixed and re-mastered multi-track 

1980‘s recordings produced at Norman Petty‘s world famous studio 

in Clovis. 

Contact the Clovis Chamber of Commerce at (575) 763-3435 or 

visit website at www.clovismusicfestival.net! 

Bill McCallie‘s Cowboy Jubilee Radio Show 

Classical 90.5 WSMC-FMF Chattanooga, TN 

Fall weather in the Tennessee Valley brings 

out the great colors in our changing foliage and 

it's the best time to get outside and enjoy the 

scenery, but we did manage to stay in the studio 

long enough to get the Cowboy Jubilee 

Radio Show on the air. We kicked off the 

month with a tribute CD to Bob Wills. The title 

is ―Bob Wills, A Tribute to Bob's 100th Birthday.‖ Lots of great 

songs here done by a plethora of folks who have been touched by 

his music. ―Lilly Dale‖ by Gene Watson, ―Sugar Moon‖ by Larry 

Gatlin, and ―Bob's got a Swing Band in Heaven‖ by Red Steagall 

were on the bill just to name a few. R.W. Hampton's 

―Oklahoma...Where The West Remains‖ still is a favorite around 

here. This is an award winning CD and hopefully you have a copy 

in your saddle bag for sure. Don Edwards is a standby around 

here and his ―Moon Light and Skies‖ CD is one of his best. We 

featured Don on a segment of the show and did cuts from that CD 

as well as his ―Kin to the Wind‖ CD. ―My Blue Heaven,‖ ― Land of 

my Boyhood Dreams,‖ ―Coyotes‖ and ―Kin to the Wind‖ were 

among the songs in that segment. I did some Ian Tyson throughout 

the month with his ―Fifty Years Ago‖ being one of the most 

requested. ―Casey Tibbs,‖ ―Steel Dust Line‖ and ―The Gift‖ were 

also among the Ian Tyson tunes for the month. I did a segment 

on "Outlaw Songs" and featured Tim Ryan, Townes VanZandt, 

MMM, Marty Robbins, Norman Blake and Tom Russell. Those 

"Outlaw Songs" were ―Pancho and Lefty,‖ ―Horse Thief's Row,‖ 

―Sam Bass,‖ ―Horse Thief Moon,‖ ―Fastest Gun Around,‖ ―Bill 

Miner the Gentleman Bandit‖ and ―Claude Dallas.‖ Vern Thompson's 

group The Flying W Wranglers did some inspirational music 

with ―Farther Along‖ and ―The Place Where I Worship.‖ I always 

have some Western Swing @ the top of the show and feature 

regularly Buddy Emmons and Ray Pennington, Carolyn Martin, 

Bobby Flores, Jody Nix, Asleep at the Wheel, The Time Jumpers, 

and Hot Club of Cow Town as well as many others. Western 

swing is an integral part of the Cowboy Jubilee Radio Show and 

has been so from the start. We are in our 16th year of broadcasting 

the show and it would never have been possible without the 

help of all the groups providing their latest CD to me...so THANKS 

once again to you all for keeping me in the loop with your music. I 

preview every CD and try my best to get something from each CD 

on the show. 

Our TV series with Fox affiliate WDSI is going well and we are in 

our second month of that production. It's called Tennessee River

Vacation and provides information about the perfect affordable 

vacation spots along the Tennessee River. Next month we travel 

to Knoxville, Tennessee for our show. That's just about all the 

news that is fit to print…remember we are 100,000 watt public 

radio station here at WSMC and stream to the Internet. We 

broadcast from beautiful downtown Collegedale, Tennessee…"where 

the air always smells like a big oatmeal 

cookie.‖ Ride safe and remember to "Get up, dress up and show 

up"...cause today might be the day they take the CLASS PIC- 

TURE! RIDE SAFE! 

billmccallie@gmail.com 

wsmc.org/webstream.html 

Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering 

By Jane Morton 

The 24th Annual Montana Cowboy Poetry 

Gathering & Western Music Rendezvous was 

held in Lewistown, Montana, August 14-16, 2009. 

This gathering is dedicated to the celebration and 

preservation of central Montana‘s heritage and 

history. After Elko, this is the oldest cowboy poetry 

gathering in the country. I was impressed by the 

fact that Montanans take their heritage seriously. I was amazed at 

how many participants in the daytime programs were descended 

from homesteaders, or were at least the fifth generation on the 

land. One doesn‘t have to be invited to participate, one simply 

signs up. A handful of performers were from other places; Canada, 

Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado, Florida, and the other 

ninety percent were from Montana. Most of those grew up on or 

had lived on a ranch. 

Dick Morton 

The thing was, these people knew what 

they were talking about, and some of the 

poems, I believe, are already classics. 

Mike Logan wrote and performed ―The 

Men Who Rode the Ranges,‖ Jim Hamilton‘s 

poem, ―The Changing of the 

Guard,‖ brought tears to a few eyes, 

Owen Badgett‘s poem about his mule 

and his recitation of Bruce Kiskaddon‘s 

―An Old Western Town,‖ were as good as 

being there when it happened. Although 

he‘s relatively new to Montana, Jerry Laskody‘s poem regarding 

branding on his ranch and the way he feels about Montana and 

the land made a powerful statement. Joe Charter had many good 

poems but the one about the old cowboy in a nursing home was 

particularly moving. Dick Morton‘s recitation of ―Anthem‖ sounded 

much like the author, Buck Ramsey, reciting his own poem. Dick 

Hall‘s recitation of Tim McCoy‘s poem, "Wyoming‘s Azure Skys," 

also known as "The Real Thing," 

brought some good laughs, and a 

recognition of the truth in the 

poem. The audience enjoyed Meryl 

and Lloyd McKenna‘s music as 

well as their fine poems. I had the 

opportunity to recite many of my 

poems to the gathering‘s receptive 

audiences. I‘m sure there were 

many other poems worthy of mention, 

but I can only comment on 

those I heard in the sessions I went 

to. 

Lloyd & Meryl McKenna 

While the poetry sessions were going on in different rooms, for 

the most part, the musicians were playing in the Centermark. The 

Centermark was an inside court at the Yogo Inn, which is where 

the Western Art and Gear Show was held during the gathering. 

Thursday night featured a BBQ hosted by the Lewistown Art Center 

and Open Mic Poetry and Music hosted by Lloyd and Meryl 

McKenna. Friday night was a Cowboy Jam ‗n Dance hosted by 

Almeda Terry and Jack Styer, and Saturday night‘s show featured 

Baxter Black with Mike Logan reciting his own poetry. Judging 

11 

from the applause at the end of the show, the audience loved it 

all. 

This gathering has recently been listed in the book, 1000 Places 

to See in the US and Canada Before You Die. The author Patricia 

Schultz writes, "...This is one of the nation‘s largest events dedicated 

to cowboy verse and visual history of Montana and the 

West. Up to 60 cowboys and cowgirls recite their poetry to over 

1500 fans who range from academic 

folklorists to cowboy wannabes 

to grizzled ranchers who 

have spent their life on the 

range..." 

On top of that, the Montana Cowboy 

Poetry Gathering has been 

chosen as one of the American 

Bus Association‘s Top 100 

Events in North America for 

group travel in 2010. 

Double Diamond 

Another thing my husband and I 

enjoyed about this gathering was the travel it required for us to get 

there from Colorado. There are probably more wide open spaces 

between us in Colorado and Lewistown, Montana than anywhere 

in the U.S. The skies and the miles of grasslands take the breath 

away. On the way we stopped to see the herds of wild horses on 

the Pryor range, which takes in border land between Montana and 

Wyoming. Those horses, now threatened by herd reduction, were 

a sight to see. 

The roads from Colorado to Lewistown are rich in western history 

with numerous trail crossings, battlefields, forts and historic buildings 

to be seen along most any route. It was easy to visualize the 

cattle going up the old trails from Texas to the north, and easy to 

visualize the river crossings and happenings along the Yellowstone, 

the Bighorn, the Musselshell, and the Powder. All figure in 

the history of the state. 

Jane Morton dickandjane2@earthlink.net 

The Big Fred Walker Show 

WOES 91.3 FM Mid-Michigan 

TOP TEN SONGS 

01 Bobby Flores – Are You Teasing Me 

02 Leon Seiter – Where True Love Waits For 

Me 

03 Joe Paul Nichols – Your Old Love Letters 

04 Dottie Jack – I‘ll Save Some Blues For You 

05 Dusty Owens – Don‘t Tell Me What To Do 

06 Electa Winter & Wesley Lalacy – If You‘re Going Dancing 

07 David Church – Softer Side Of Blue 

08 K. Wilder – Caffeine & Country Music 

09 Jody Nix – I‘ve Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand 

10 Liz Talley – Bump Bounce Boogie 

TOP TEN CDs 

01 David Church – A Legend Froze In Time 

02 Billy Mata – This Is Tommy Duncan Vol. 1 

03 Robert Mizzell – The Louisiana Man 

04 James Hand – The Truth Will Set You Free 

05 Red Kilby – Keeping It Real 

06 Bobby Flores – Eleven Roses 

07 Leon Seiter – Nashville Memories 

08 Jody Nix – The Fiddle Man 

09 Bobby Mackey – Ten Shades Of Green 

10 David Cline – Good Old Country Music & Western Swing 

djcountryone@charter.net

Bobbe’s Tips 

Hello fellow Players, 

Quite often I get replies to my newsletters that are very interesting 

and convey a lot of thought and knowledge. And as I read them I 

say to myself, ―Boy, I wish everybody out there could see what 

this gentleman is saying.‖ 

Also quite often, I hear from very knowledgeable players that 

have spent a lifetime playing in country or great western swing 

bands, not to exclude brilliant musicians in front of the nation‘s 

greatest music schools like Mike Ides from Berkeley in New York. 

Here‘s a letter I‘d like to share with you. 

As a teen aged student of Hank Thompson's legendary fiddle 

players, to include Curly Hayes, Joe Tierney and Red Hayes, I 

must say that the beauty filled massive sound Bert Rivera got out 

of his peddle steel guitar flipped me. It has been 30 years and two 

careers later but I am now spending all my practice time learning 

the pedal steel. I have traveled great distances to play and study 

the violin/fiddle and I must say, "I fail to believe there is such a 

thing as innate talent." It is all about discipline and the want to. So 

it is most often aptitude; and aptitude is learned from your environment 

and experience, not hard-wired at birth. I found the aptitude 

to become an educational psychologist to feed my desires to 

learn and play music, and I got it from following my dad as he 

travelled with Hank and the late Bob Wills. I have no desire to 

earn money playing the Pedal Steel, I simply have an unfulfilled 

desire to share this awesome music form with others and make 

an effort to spark the aptitude in other young people, making sure 

it is not lost to the rock gazels so prominent in county and western 

music today. So Hank was the most appropriate example I could 

imagine. Sadly many rising country and western entertainers in 

South Texas no longer recognize his name or contribution to the 

C&W swing genre, and he lives and was based just outside of 

Austin, Texas close to Baylor University in Waco. 

Bill Ross, Jr. another old man still learning and studying in 

South Texas. 

I just felt that this letter should be shared as I understand this man 

and totally agree with his assessment of how what and why to 

learn. I myself was inspired greatly by the western swing bands 

of the ‗40s, ‗50s and 1960s era. And there were a lot more than 

just one or two. 

Every Friday and Saturday night from California to Oklahoma and 

Texas, there was a bar, skating rink or VFW with a seven to 

twelve piece traveling western swing band on the stage. 

Most were pretty astounding musically. Most also were copying 

the great arrangements of Glenn Miller, Jimmy Lunsford, Tommy 

Dorsey and Chick Webb or one of the big, famous jazz bands of 

the era. Songs like "Big Beaver,‖ ―Stompin‘ At The Savoy,‖ 

―Flying Home,‖ "Little Brown Jug,‖ ―Tuxedo Junction‖ and 

―Johnson Rag‖ were all tunes that the western swing bands had 

arrangements on. 

These great tunes and arrangements were known by everybody 

on the street in the fifties. When television made it into most 

homes in the fifties, the love for the big swing bands was diluted 

by Milton Berle, Howdy Doody, Fay Emerson, Ken Nelson, Gary 

12 

Moore, Jackson Gleason, Imogene Coca and Sid Caesar. 

Not that this was not entertaining, however after watching the Milton 

Berle show, you really didn‘t go to bed with a great big band 

arrangement rolling around in your head. 

Remember, you can hear the same song over and over and over 

and enjoy it. But if you hear a celebrity do a joke, the next time 

you hear somebody tell the joke, it really isn‘t very funny. 

Music is wonderful thing that seems to have gotten pushed to the 

background in our lives and replaced with what Paris Hilton was 

doing, bad politics, news shows that are more into entertainment 

than giving us unbiased, factual reporting. 

Then again, we have rap that has pushed real music pretty well 

into the background. This is all to say nothing of some of the rock 

groups that care much more about volume than they do about 

tone. 

I just got a phone call from a long lost brother that I hadn‘t seen in 

15 years or more. He talked on the phone for half an hour and he 

reminded me of my great Les Paul and Mary Ford record collection 

that I played continuously every moment I was home. 

I still appreciate the wonderful musical efforts of Les Paul. He 

might have been known as trickster to some people because of 

his multi-track recording, but every note he played was clear as a 

bell with no distortion and very little reverb or echo if any. When 

you heard a blur of notes or great chord jamming in the background, 

that was him too. He and his guitar were a complete orchestra. 

I can remember times in the fifties when you could go across the 

dial of a radio and find at least six stations that were playing Les 

Paul songs in one five minute sweep of the dial. He was probably 

the most popular, loved and famous guitar player that ever was. I 

wonder how many other steel guitarists and standard guitarists he 

inspired in this world. 

From him, I went on to become a Chet Atkins and Merle Travis 

fan and then still in junior high, my mind slowly opened up to accept 

the great jazz guitarists of the day. 

Now that I look back, learning to play music was much more enjoyable 

than it has become to perform it as a professional. 

Music is for enjoyment, not just for the listener, but also for the 

performer. A good musician does it for the love of doing it, not for 

the amount of money they make or the pretty girls they can pick 

up, but they do it for what it does for them also. 

If you are one of those players that sits in your den learning song 

after song, lick after lick and try to play like several different players, 

I think this is incredible. Keep doing it and keep loving it. Go 

ahead and feel sorry for the thousands that only have a grand 

piano in their den. 

Bobbe, I had one of the old Fender reverbs in 1964. Like an idiot I 

traded it off. The new FRV1 I just purchased from you is a great 

box and gives the reverb sound every bit as good as the original. 

Having all kinds of fun. 

c c johnson 

Your buddy, 

Bobbe 

www.steelguitar.net 

sales@steelguitar.net

JODY NIX 

By Dugg Collins 

What were you doing when you were eight years old? In my 

neighborhood in Memphis, Texas, the neighbor boys and I were 

playing Cowboys, pretending we were Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, 

Rex Allen, Durango Kid, Whip Wilson, etc. The girls were playing 

with dolls and saying how silly we looked riding stick horses and 

shouting bang, bang, bang. Now that's how it was when I was 

eight years old. 

Let's take a look at how things were for another eight year old boy 

in 1960. When I was playing cowboys in 1951 Jody Nix joined 

the human race one year later in 1952 and eight years later he 

was playing drums in his Father's band The West Texas Cowboys. 

I'm sure he must have started learning drums much earlier 

because I doubt if Daddy Hoyle just one night said, "Jody boy, 

tonight you're my drummer." My point is, all this young man has 

ever known in his life is Western Swing Music. He was born into 

Western Swing Royalty 

when he became 

the son of 

Hoyle Nix. Hoyle, 

his brother Ben and 

all those West Texas 

Cowboys ruled West 

Texas. Even at the 

height of his popularity, 

when he tried to 

move into to Big 

Spring, Texas, Lefty 

Frizzell soon found 

he was no match for 

Joey Nix age 8 

the Nix Brothers and 

moved on along. 

A lot happened in the young life of Jody Nix. He didn't learn what 

he knows about music from listening to records. No sir, he 

learned at the feet of his Daddy Hoyle and the King of Western 

Swing Bob Wills. Jody told me that Bob was very much in his life 

during those young learning years. I have a picture of Jody already 

playing fiddle with Bob and Hoyle at age eleven. He became 

a professional fiddler Christmas Day 1963. Hell, I could 

barely tie my shoes at age eleven. He was singing with the band 

by the time he was sixteen. Can't you musicians reading this just 

imagine what it must have been like to have great players like Joe 

Holly, Eldon Shamblin, Red Hayes, Billy Bowman and a host of 

other players in your house during any given week of the year? 

Jody worked all the way through elementary school, Jr high, high 

school and two years of college. He worked a total of twenty five 

years with Daddy Hoyle and The West Texas Cowboys. 

The Jody Nix story really begins when he lost his Daddy and he 

steps out front to lead the band, late August 1985. For twenty five 

years he was basically just a side man, but he had been learning 

and preparing himself for the day when he went to the front to 

become one of the most respected band leaders in Texas. When 

he took over, changes were made and it then became the Jody 

Nix Texas Cowboys band, with the personality of it's new leader. 

It was and still is a very tight, well oiled machine that keeps the 

dancers dancing and having fun. 

Jody recorded his first album in 1979 the same year he and I became 

friends. He came to see me one night when the band and I 

worked Big Spring. When he got off from the Stampede, he came 

to our place and finished the night with me. What really blew me 

away was our fiddle player was right handed, Jody left handed 

and he took that fiddle...turned it upside down and freaked me 

out. 

Some career highlights include..... 

*Bob Wills Day celebration Turkey, Texas - 34 consecutive 

years. 10 years with Hoyle, 24 on his own. 

13 

*Texas Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo-Stamford, Texas 19 consecutive 

years. 

*Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo 21 years. 

*Western Heritage Classic Ranch Rodeo Abilene 15 years. 

*Played for the George H.W. Bush Inauguration-Texas State Society 

Black Tie Ball 1989. Rode the Texas float in the inauguration 

parade. 

*The American Music Festival at Silver Dollar City six years. 

*The Smithsonian Folklife Festival June 2008 representing the 

State of Texas. 

Those are but a few of the many, many things he has done. He's 

recorded at least nine CD's in his own right and recorded two 

great CD's with Asleep at the Wheel as guest vocalist. The first 

one was nominated for a CMA Award and should have won, might 

I add. 

He has worked with a Who's Who in Music: Johnny Bush, Moe 

Bandy, Gene Watson, Red Steagall, Dottie West, Glen Campbell, 

George Strait, Ray Price, The Wheel, Dixie Chicks, Bob Wills, 

Johnnie Lee Wills, Marty Robbins, Chubby Wise, Shoji Tabuchi, 

Jimmy C. Newman and Red Sovine to mention just a few. Jody 

was also in the original play of "A RIDE WITH BOB," with Ray 

Benson and Asleep at the Wheel. He played the roles of Eck 

Robertson, Tommy Duncan, Joe Holly and Smokey Dacus. 

I venture to say the most important piece of work he has ever 

done was performing with the great Bob Wills and The Texas 

Playboys on the album FOR THE LAST TIME in Dallas, Texas. 

Jody told me he first heard about the project in September 1973. 

Bob requested that Hoyle and Jody Nix be on this album with him. 

I think it was his way of showing his love for these two men with 

whom he had spent so many enjoyable hours out in West Texas 

and he had to know this would be the last thing he would ever do 

in the studio. Jody was just 21 years old when this session happened. 

He drove his own drums down to be used on the session 

and sang some 

songs along the 

way too. MY 

SHOES KEEP 

WALKING BACK 

TO YOU, I CAN'T 

GO ON THIS 

WAY and WHEN 

YOU LEAVE 

AMARILLO. Jody 

said when he did 

the Amarillo song, 

his vocal microphone 

was right 

by Bob. He was to 

Jody's immediate left and watched him the whole time. Jody said 

he'll never forget those black eyes looking him with much approval 

and when the song ended and Bob said "Cut out the lights," that 

was the last recorded voice of Bob Wills. 

What a career this man has had and it's not over by a long shot. 

Next year Jody hits a milestone in his life. He will celebrate fifty 

years in the music business. I think that calls for a celebration 

myself and if there is one, I hope I am invited to attend. He, like 

everyone else who has made a living in the music business has 

known peaks and valleys. I must say there have been more peaks 

than low spots. He has done things some only dream about doing. 

Jody and I talk many times a month via phone and he always reminds 

me that nobody out there loves Bob Wills more than he and 

I. That is the gospel truth, little brother and I love you dearly as 

well. You have been a great friend and I love attending your 

dances when I can. Let‘s sing together again one day soon. I'd be 

a pretty good opening act. Until that happens, you just keep carrying 

on the show for Hoyle, Ben, Bob, Milton Brown, Leon 

McAuliffe and all the great swing band leaders who have gone on 

before. 

Happy Trails Jody Boy. 

duggcollins.com

Album: Ridin' Back to You 

Artist: The Stardust Cowboys 

Here is a brand new 

album of 11 exciting 

cuts from a very talented 

Western oriented 


Swing group from 

Northern California. 

In the spotlight on 

vocals are husband 

and wife, Gary Alan 

and Vicki Campbell. 

In addition, they are 

two very accomplished 

song writers 

with nine of the 

songs from either 

one or both their pens. Gary Alan is also heard playing guitar. The 

talent doesn't stop there. 

Western Swing Hall of Fame member Dave Wren is heard playing 

pedal steel guitar and dobro while fellow Hall of Fame members 

Ronnie Elkan and Olen Dillingham are the twin fiddlers. Olen also 

is heard playing mandolin as did his mentor, the great Tiny 

Moore. Bob Woods plays guitar and electric bass while Steve 

Clark is featured on bass guitar and harmony vocals. Ryan Goodpastor 

is heard playing drums and Duncan Elledge plays standup 

bass. Conrad Nelson plays harmonica. Robert Metzler is heard 

playing drums and Jim Grey is the steel guitarist on She Loves to 

Dance, a previously issued hit single of the band that is included. 

The two standards are the Cliff Bruner and Adolph Hofner memory 

Jesse Polka and an incredible 5:29 minute instrumental version 

of Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust from the great Artie Shaw 

and Tommy Dorsey big bands. This time Dave plays some awe 

15 

some steel. The originals include lots of very interesting tunes with 

a Western touch like B-Western, Ridin' Back to You, John Wayne 

Hero and Cow Camp Lullaby. A real treasure in this album is one 

about the home state of this band, California Mountains. The 

group again does another original gem of their beautiful part of the 

world, Beaver Moon. The remaining two originals are the inspirational 

God's Always Watchin' and a beautiful love song with a 

Western touch, If You Were Mine. 

The album can be obtained for $15 plus $5 S&H ($20) from starcow@ftcnet.net 

or 916-708-3426 or Stardust Cowboys, Box 58, 

Foresthill, CA 95631. You can order both this new CD and their 

previous one, Honky Tonk Cowboy & the Desert Flower for $25 

plus $5 S&H ($30). 

Mike Gross, WVOF-FM, Fairfield, CT and www.swinginwest.com 

Around The Campfire 

1. Appaloosa Moon - Tom Hiatt 

2. Heaven on Horseback - Don Edwards 

3. The Faraway Look - Daron Little 

4. Roads to Colorado - Liz Masterson 

5. Life-Love-Legends - Carin Mari & Pony 

Express 

6. Come Ride With Me - Dave Stamey 

7. Ride Away - Rich Flanders 

8. Western Bliss - Stephanie Davis 

9. Just in Case - Bill Barwick 

10. Ridin' Back to Yesterday - The Old West Trio 

These CD's exhibit a high standard of excellence in recording, 

writing, and performing: 

Marvin O'Dell 

Around the Campfire 

Heartland Public Radio 

www.hpr.org

TEXAS HAS IT ALL 

Feeling a Little Down?- Why not Visit: 

Smiley , Texas 78159 

Paradise , Texas 76073 

Rainbow , Texas 76077 

Sweet Home , Texas 77987 

Comfort , Texas 78013 

Friendship, Texas 76530 

Love the Sun? 

Sunrise , Texas 76661 

Sunset, Texas 76270 

Sundown, Texas 79372 

Sunray, Texas 79086 

Sunny Side , Texas 77423 

Want something to eat? 

Noodle , Texas 79536 

Oatmeal , Texas 78605 

Turkey, Texas 79261 

Trout ,Texas 75789 

Sugar Land , Texas 77479 

Salty, Texas 76567 

Rice , Texas 75155 

Pearland , Texas 77581 

Orange , Texas 77630 

And top it off with: 

Sweetwater , Texas 79556 

Why travel to other cities? Texas has 

them all! 

Cleveland, Texas 75436 

Colorado City, Texas 79512 

Denver City, Texas 79323 

Klondike, Texas 75448 

Nevada, Texas 75173 

Memphis, Texas 79245 

Miami, Texas 79059 

Boston, Texas 75570 

Santa Fe, Texas 77517 

Tennessee Colony, Texas 75861 

Reno, Texas 75462 

Pasadena, Texas 77506 

Columbus, Texas 78934 

Feel like traveling outside the country? 

Athens, Texas 75751 

Canadian, Texas 79014 

China, Texas 77613 

Egypt, Texas 77436 

Ireland, Texas 76538 

Italy, Texas 76538 

Turkey, Texas 79261 

London, Texas 76854 

New London, Texas 75682 

Paris, Texas 75460 

Palestine, Texas 75801 

No need to travel to Washington D.C. 

Whitehouse, Texas 75791 

We even have a city named after our 

planet! 

Earth, Texas 79031 

We have a city named after our state 

Texas City, Texas 77590 

Feeling tired? 

Energy, Texas T6452 

Pep, Texas 79353 

Cold? 

Blanket, Texas 76432 

Winters, Texas 79567 

Like to read about history? 

Goliad, Texas 

Alamo, Texas 

Gun Barrel City Texas 

Robert Lee, Texas 

Need Office supplies? 

Staples, Texas 78670 

Want to go into outer space? 

Venus, Texas 76084 

Mars , Texas 79062 

You guessed it, it's on the state line. 

Texline, Texas 79087 

For the kids... 

Kermit , Texas 79745 

Elmo , Texas 75118 

Nemo , Texas 76070 

Tarzan , Texas 79783 

Winnie, Texas 77665 

Sylvester , Texas T9560 

Other city names in Texas , to make you 

smile... 

Bigfoot , Texas 78005 

Hogeye , Texas 75423 

Cactus, Texas 79013 

Notrees, Texas 79759 

Best, Texas 76932 

Veribest , Texas 76886 

Kickapoo, Texas 75763 

Dime Box , Texas 77853 

Old Dime Box , Texas 77853 

Telephone , Texas 75488 

Telegraph , Texas 76883 

Whiteface , Texas 79379 

Twitty, Texas 79079 

And last but not least, the Anti-Al Gore City 

And our favorites... 

Gun Barrell City , Texas 

Hoop And Holler, Texas 

Ding Dong, Texas and, of course, 

Muleshoe , Texas 

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say 

about Texas: 

If someone in a Lowe's store offers you 

assistance and they don't work there, you 

may live in Texas. 

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the 

same time, you may live in Texas. 

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation 

with someone who dialed a wrong 

number, you may live in Texas. 

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south 

of Dallas for the weekend, you may live in 

Texas. 

16 

If you measure distance in hours, you may 

live in Texas. 

If you know several people who have hit a 

deer more than once, you may live in 

Texas. 

If you install security lights on your house 

and garage, but leave both unlocked, you 


If you carry jumper cables in your car and 

your wife knows how to use them, you may 

live in Texas. 

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph 

… you're going 80 and everybody's passing 

you, you may live in Texas. 

If you find 60 degrees 'a little chilly,' you 


If you actually understand these jokes, and 

share them with all your Texas friends, you 

definitely live in Texas. 

Here are some little known, very interesting 

facts about Texas 

1. Beaumont to El Paso - 742 miles 

2. Beaumont to Chicago - 770 miles 

3. El Paso is closer to California than to 

Dallas 

4. World's first rodeo was in Pecos, July 4, 

1883. 

5. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the 

only hotel in North America built over water. 

Destroyed by Hurricane Ike -2008! 

6. The Heisman Trophy was named after 

John William Heisman who was the first full 

-time coach at Rice University in Houston 

7. Brazoria County has more species of 

birds than any other area in. 

8. Aransas Wildlife refuge is the winter 

home of North America 's only remaining 

flock of whooping cranes. 

9.Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson 

in 1978. 

10. The worst natural disaster in U.S. history 

was in 1900, caused by a hurricane, in 

which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston 

Island . 

11. The first word spoken from the moon, 

July 20,1969, was " Houston ," but the 

space center was actually in Clear Lake 

City at the time. 

12. King Ranch in South Texas is larger 

than Rhode Island. 

13. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a 

U.S. rainfall record of 43" in 24 hours in 

and around Alvin in July of 1979. 

14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. 

by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 

1845 by The Republic of Texas to enter the 

Union ) instead of by annexation. This allows 

the Texas Flag to fly at the same 

height as the U.S. Flag, and may divide into 

5 states.

15. A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated 

to be 1500 years old. 

16. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in 

the state. 

17. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 

1885. There is no period in Dr Pepper. 

18. Texas has had six capital cities: 

Washington -on- the Brazos, Harrisburg , 

Galveston ,Velasco, West Columbia and 

Austin. 

19. The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only 

dome in the U..S. which is taller than the 

Capitol Building in Washington DC (by 7 

feet). 

20. The San Jacinto Monument is the tallest 

free standing monument in the world 

and it is taller than the Washington monument. 

21. The name '―Texas‖ comes from the 

Hasini Indian word 'tejas' meaning friends. 

Tejas is not Spanish for Texas. 

22. The State Mascot is the Armadillo (an 

interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo 

is they always have four babies. They have 

one egg, which splits into four, and they 

either have four males or four females.) 

23. The first domed stadium in the U.S. 

was the Astrodome in Houston 

Cowboy's Ten Commandments posted 

on the wall at Cross Trails Church in 

Fairlie, Texas : 

(1) Just one God. 

(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa. 

(3) No telling tales or gossipin'. 

(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting. 

(5) Put nothin' before God. 

(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's 

gal. 

(7) No killin'. 

(8) Watch yer mouth. 

(9) Don't take what ain't yers. 

(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's 

stuff. 

Y'all git all that? 

News from BobWills.com 

Well, Western 

Swing fans, 

we‘re back 

again with another 

look at 

Bob Wills Radio on BobWills.Com. First let 

me say what a privilege it is to be included 

in my friend Joe‘s informative newsletter 

each month. Dwight Adair and I are honored 

to be here. I want to thank those of 

you who‘ve commented favorably about 

our programs and encourage anyone to 

drop us a note at www.jimgough.com or at 

www.bobwills.com. We appreciate your 

comments and suggestions. 

I‘m excited about the 

upcoming shows in 

weeks ahead. You‘ll 

hear interviews with 

famous folks like my 

longtime friend the legendary 

steel player 

Herb Remington, a 

recent interview I did 

with ―Bob‘s sister Helen‘s kid,‖ Dayna Wills, 

the great guitar player from Leon 

McAuliffe‘s band, Billy Dozier and a young 

fiddle player from North Texas who‘s carrying 

on the Will‘s tradition, Brady Bowen. 

In the months ahead, we‘ll feature important 

Western Swing legends like Cliff 

Bruner, Smokey Montgomery and Adolph 

Hoffner. You‘ll hear these and important 

contemporary artists that were all influenced 

by the Texas Playboy style in their 

music. So plan on logging in to Bob- 

Wills.Com often and we‘d be mighty 

pleased if you‘d tell your friends about our 

show. Remember, all of our programs are 

archived so you won‘t have to miss any of 

them. When you‘re down in Austin, drop 

into the Broken Spoke and tell James 

White how much you appreciate his involvement 

in the programs. 

Til next time….Happy Listening, 

Jim Gough 

jimgoughmrtexas@aol.com 

THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST 

Hugh McLennan 

Program #2934 Weekend 

of August 22, 2009 

MUSIC LIST 

1. Wild in the West - 

Curly Musgrave 

2. Back in the Good 

Old Days - Justin & The Montanas 

3. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys 

- Tom Cole 

4. Cowboy Rough - Sons of the San 

Joaquin 

5. Other People‘s Cattle - Sid Marty 

POEM: The Worst One to Buck - Andy 

Nelson 

THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST Program 

#2935 Weekend of August 29, 2009 

MUSIC LIST 

1. Sierra Nevada - Belinda Gail 

17 

2. Dusty Winds - The Babcocks 

3. Barrel Racing Angel - Suzanne Depaoli 

4. Ridin‘ Down the Canyon - Prickly Pair 

5. Reins of Glory - Gary Fjellgaard 

Poem: Haunting Headlines - Yvonne 

Hollenbeck 


Program #2936 Weekend of Sept. 5, 2009 

MUSIC LIST 

1. Far Away Horses - Pedro Marquiez 

2. Silver Stallion - Highwaymen 

3. Get Back on That Horse - Sheep River 

Rounders 

4. Somewhere In The Hills - Rick & Casey 

Peden 

5. Cattle Call - Slim Whitman 

POEM An Old Western Town - Randy 

Reiman 

THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST PROGRAM 

#2937 

Weekend of Sept. 12, 2009 

MUSIC LIST 

1. Rodeo Wind - Joyce Smith 

2. How I Love Them Old Songs - Bev 

Munro 

3. The Blizzard - Jim Reeves 

4. South Dakota Cowboy - Rusty Richards 

5. Sunset Years of Life - Pete Hicks 

POEM: A Baxter of Blacks - Doris Daley 



MUSIC LIST 

1. Buckaroo Dreams - New West 

2. Share The Range - Gary Fjellgaard 

3. Saddle Tramp - Kevin McNiven 

4. Trail Dust - Jim Reader 

5. Twilight on The Trail - Sons of the Pioneers 

POEM: Who Will Pack The Lantern - Tom 

Cole 



MUSIC LIST 

1. Ridin‘ Back to Yesterday - The Old West 

Trio 

2. Cowboys & Rodeos - Quartette 

3. Cowboy Morning Church - Fred Doberstein 

4. If They Only Knew a Cowboy - Dan 

Roberts 

5. Twilight - Kevin Davis 

POEM: Headin‘ Home - Slim McNaught 

By the way, in addition to being on 18 commercial 

country stations across western 

Canada and the U.S., the Spirit of the West 

now has a full video version, it can be seen 

on demand at www.hugh-mclennan.com 

Ranch 

Home of The Spirit Of The West 

http://www.hugh-mclennan.com

52,000 intelligent good-looking readers. 

THE LAST DAY. 

Simon Lescart woke up on his last day, 

plugged in the coffee maker, 

and sat down at the computer to check his email. 

There was the usual spam and forwarded jokes, 

which he deleted without reading. 

The sixth message subject line read "Final Notice", 

and the sender was an acronym, "T.P.T.B." 

He started to dump it as spam, 

but, for some reason he clicked it open. 

The message was this: 

"NOTICE OF EXPIRATION. 

Dear Mr. Lescart, 

This is an automatic reminder that your life expires at midnight 

tonight. 

Please do not try to reply to this email. 

Have a nice day. 

Very truly yours, 

The Powers That Be." 

Simon tried to reply anyway, 

but his email bounced back from the "unknown recipient". 

He knew it was most likely a stupid joke, 

but he couldn't stop thinking about it 

as he fought the city traffic on his way to work. 

What if this really was his last day? 

He'd often heard the old saying, 

You should live every day as if it were your last. 

What should a person do on his last day, anyway? 

Get drunk? Smell some flowers? Confess his sins? 

What? 

He didn't have much of a family to visit 

just a brother up in Akron, and an ex-wife in Atlanta. 

They hadn't spoken in years. 

He couldn't think of any old sins offhand. 

Maybe he should commit some? 

He knew that the weird email was a fraud, 

but he decided not to go to work today, just in case. 

He pulled off at an exit and got back on the expressway going the 

other way, 

toward the ocean. 

This is nuts, he thought. 

He couldn't think of anything really important to do, 

befitting a persons last day on the planet, 

so he just sat on the beach for most of the day, 

and drank a few beers. 

He felt a little nervous, like a high school truant, 

but he also felt something else he couldn't define. 

Was it freedom? 

He had some guilt too, for wasting the day looking at the ocean. 

Someone whose approach he hadn't noticed sat down beside 

him. 

The man was obviously homeless, 

in his ragged black suit and dirty torn sneakers. 

The man said, "Are you okay, friend? You look kinda lost." 

Simon said this: 

"That's an odd word... 'Friend'. 

Now that you mention it, I guess I don't have any of those. 

Just a bunch of acquaintances." 

"Maybe you never really tried,‖ said the man. 

"I've been pretty busy,‖ said Simon. 

"You must have accomplished a lot of great things, being so 

busy,‖ the man said. 

"No great things. Just keeping even. Paying the bills,‖ said 

Simon. 

18 

"Do you think you have any great things in you", asked the man? 

Simon said, "Maybe. 

I've been doing a lot of thinking. 

If I had the time I'd do things differently." 

That's when the chest pain struck and the world faded to black. 

He vaguely heard voices. "What Happened?" "Get back!" 

He was being carried. 

Then a blinding light above. People working over him. 

"We're losing him!" "Clear!" 

Then a huge shock. The world was gone again. 

The smiling nurse said, "Welcome back. You've had quite a day." 

"What time is it", he asked? 

"Almost midnight,‖ she said. 

"I have to call my brother,‖ he insisted. 

"We'll contact him for you. You can talk to him in a few days." 

"I wish I HAD a few days,‖ he said! 

A cell phone rang. 

"That sounds like mine", he said. "Where is it?" 

"It's beside your bed, but you need to rest." 

He tried to reach for it, but she stopped him. 

"I'll answer it for you", she said. "Lie back down!" 

She said, "It's just a text message." 

"What does it say", he gasped? 

The letters on the cell phone screen said this: 

"EXTENSION GRANTED." 

Jack Blanchard 

© 2009. 

-- 

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan... 

Grammy Nominees. Billboard's Country Duet of the Year. 

OUR HOME PAGE: http://jackandmisty.com 

Review - Daughters Of The Purple Sage 

"The Best Of The Daughters Of The Purple Sage" 

Here's one of the groups 

whose fame spread 

across the southwestern 

US and beyond, but by 

the time many people had 

heard about them, they 

were tantalizingly gone. 

Well, ok...the members 

didn't live close together 

any more. That's a less 

romantic story, though. 

For fans of close Western 

harmony ala femme, 

here's a double-disc "Best 

Of" set from one of the 

better groups to ever put 

lip and larynx to the task. 

For more than a decade, 

The Daughters Of The 

Purple Sage were mainstays 

at Arizona festivals 

and particularly near their 

home stompin' ground "Out Wickenburg Way" (that song is here, 

of course). Through their recordings, many more folks got to hear 

them than ever saw them in person. Here we have a 24-song 

compendium, drawn from albums dating back to the mid 90s. 

Two of their breathtaking acapella arrangements are here, namely 

"Shenandoah" and "Twilight On The Trail." You've heard all of the 

songs here covered by others..."Wagon Wheels," "Timber Trail," 

"Roundup Lullaby," "Teardrops In My Heart"...you get the 

idea...but no one has done them any better. 

Any harmony singer will tell you one of the toughest assignments 

in the art form is unison singing on the same note. The passages

done in that manner by the Daughters are letter perfect and very 

effective. 

A couple of miscreditings I feel obligated to flag. "Don't Fence me 

In" was also largely written by Cole Porter no matter how much 

we want to see poet Robert Fletcher get his due! In what probably 

is just a misprint, the writers of "Along The Navajo Trail" are 

also credited with having written "Cattle Call." That should be 

Tex Owens, and if you really want to get specific this version is 

the Fred Rose adaptation. 

2 CD set: $30 ppd through www.cowgirlmusic.com or you can 

download an order form and go by mail directly from Daughters 

Of The Purple Sage, 13623 Hart St., Valley Glen, CA 91405 

� by Rick Huff 

bestofthewest@swcp.com 

Backforty Bunkhouse Trivia 

This photo was taken in the late 1950s at the Melody Club in Odessa, Texas. Name the musicians‘ first and last names. 

1st correct answer wins "The Bob Wills Story" from your friends at Backforty Bunkhouse Productions. 

Email you answer to joe@backfortybunkhouse.com photo used by permission; Thompson/Loessberg 

19 

The 2009 WMA Showcase and Awards Show 

November 19 - 22, 2009 

Albuquerque, NM 

For information regarding 

Registration and Tickets 

Log onto www.westernmusic.com 

See you there!

Western Swing Tribute To Shelly Lee Alley 

“The Show Must Go On!” 

Hot Club of Cowtown Leon Rausch 

Hot Club of Cowtown are 

one of the hardest, energetic, 

Western Swing trios 

around, their unique sound 

blending the roots of the 

hot jazz era, Americana, 

vintage pop and folk. 

Amongst the youngest 

members ever to be inducted 

into the Texas 

Western Swing Hall of 

Fame, their sixth studio 

album, Wishful Thinking, 

was just released in August. 

Clyde Brewer and the River Road Boys 

2Time Grammy Winner 

As a session pianist Floyd 

has played on several recordings, 

including five 

albums with George Strait 

and won two Grammys. His 

most recent Grammy was 

awarded in February 2000 

for best Country Instrumental 

as a featured performer 

with Tommy Allsup, 

Larry Franklin, Vince Gill 

and Steve Wariner on the 

Asleep at the Wheel recording, 

Ride With Bob. 

Shelly Lee Alley Jr. Chad Alley Joel and Wendy Brewer 

& More 

20 

Leon Rausch is a Western Swing 

Singer and bandleader who 

worked as singer for the legendary 

Bob Wills and his Texas 

Playboys. Their association 

began in 1858 and culminated in 

Rausch taking over as bandleader 

from 1965 to 1966. 

Though Rausch would remain 

close with Wills’ band right up 

until the ‘90s, he also led his 

own bands and recorded many 

sides as a vocalist for instrumental 

stars like Johnny Gimble 

and Herb Remington 

The River Road Boys are best known as one of 

America’s premier Western Swing dance bands. 

Organized in 1971 by founding members Clyde 

Brewer and Tommy Howser, this band carries on the 

traditional western swing music genre inspired by 

other great legends such as Bob Wills and his Texas 

Playboys, Clif Bruner, Milton Brown, Shelly Lee Alley 

and many others. The entire River Road Boys band 

was inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of 

Fame in 1998. 

Inducted into the Country Music 

Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 1993, 

Larry Scott commenced his radio 

career in Neosho, MO in 1955. From 

1982 through 2002 hosted the Interstate 

Road Show, first from 

KWKH in Shreveport, LA and then 

KVOO in Tulsa, OK. A former owner 

of a hot shot trucking business in 

Texas, Larry can be heard Sunday 

mornings on KWKH hosting Singin’ 

and Swingin’ as well as The Glory 

Road. 

2 SHOWS 

2:00 PM and 7:30 PM 

Saturday, March 27, 2010 

Texas Opry 

Magnolia, TX

LEESWING88 TOP 12 CDs 

Kountry Korral Magazine, Bennerstigen 

120, Sata Sweden 

Top 12 CDs 

01 - Bobby Koefer – Thumbin´ It 

02 – Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys – Live 

at Boeing Aircraft 

03 – Gaylynn Robinson – Love & Heartache 

04 – Kelli Grant – Swings & Sings 

05 – Leon McAuliffe – Tulsa Straight Ahead 

06 – Liz Talley – More Than Satisfied 

07 – Louise Rowe – My Time With Bob 

08 – River Road Boys – Houston 

09 – Sons Of The Pioneers – Way Out There 

10 – Stardust Cowboys – Ridin´ Back To You 

11 – Stephanie Davis – Western Bling 

12 – Texas Playboys – Live at Pawhuska `99 

TOP 12 SONGS 

01 – Blue Guitar Stomp – Leon McAuliffe 

02 – Cow Camp Lullabye – Stardust Cowboys 

03 – Don´t Change The Rose Of San Antone – Pap Hamlet 

04 – Don´t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes – Louise Rowe 

05 – Honeysuckle Rose – Joaquin Murphey & The Plainsmen 

06 – Hubbin´ It – Stephanie Davis 

07 – John Wayne Hero – Stardust Cowboys 

08 – Keeper Of The Flame – Gaylynn Robinson 

09 – Me, My Truck & God – Ambrogio Gaigher 

10 – South – Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys Live at Boeing 

Aircraft 

11 – Talkin´`Bout You – Stephanie Davis 

12 – Way Out There – Sons Of The Pioneers 

Lillies Ohlsson - LeeSwing88@sheab.net 

Graham Lees Top 10 Songs and Albums 

HWD Radio - United Kingdom 

Top Ten CDs 

1. The Stardust Cowboys - Ridin‘ Back To You 

2. Gretchen Peters & Tom Russell - One To 

The Heart, One To The Head 

3. The Stephanie Davis - Western Bliss 

4. The Cornell Hurd Band - American Shadows 

5. John England & Western Swingers - Open That Gate 

6. Desperados - Lucky Seven 

7. Various Artists - Hillside Records Country Song Roundup 

8. Johnny Johnson - One Last Time 

9. Janet McBride - Still Lovin‘ The Ride 

10. Dave ‗Pappy‘ Hamel - Back Here With You 

Top Ten Songs 

1. Gretchen Peters & Tom Russell – Guadalupe 

2. Red Steagall - How Green Was The Grazin‘ Back Then 

3. Lynn Davis- Wild Turkey & 7 Up 

4. Curtis Potter - The Other Woman 

5. Les Gilliam - Supper Time 

6. Flying J Wranglers - The Last Cattle Drive 

7. The Saddle Cats - You‘ve Got The Right Key, But The Wrong 

Keyhole 

8. Palo Duro Navajo - Trail 

9. Justin Trevino - Bright Lights & Country Music 

10. Journey West - Call Of The Canyon 

graham@grahamless.co.uk 

21 

Mr. Jolly - Jean Pierre 

Planet Country 93.3 FM 

42/31 Rue de la Femme 

59640 Dunkerque 

France 

� Robert Mizzell - Walk The Line 

Revisited 

� The River Junction Band - Born 

Country 

� Dry Country - God Loves All His Rednecks 

� Jay Hollis - One More Day 

� Derek McCorkell - That's All I Said 

� Karl Sapp - Time & Place Back Then 

� Will Cox - Nothing But Tequila 

� Neil Hersey - Summer Roll 

� McCoy Grass - Walking For My Call 

� Tony Malone - Take A Sling 

� Jerry T. Yates - Jesus I Thank You 

� Darrenn Mullins - Blue Days Black Nights 

� Dave Caley - Let's Chase Each Other Around The Room 

Tonight 

� John Saculla - Get Out Of The Boat 

� Rebecca Linda Smith - Everlasting Love 

� The Greigs - Please Don't Call 

� Dana Jordan - The Right Kind Of Man 

� The Bushwakers - The Road To Thargomindah 

� Kel Anne Brandt - I‘m A Big Girl Now 

� The Heartleys - Hands Of My Heart 

� The Heartleys - No Mans Land 

� Dobe Newton - The Bush Dance 

� Tracy Coster - Way Back Then 

� Angela Lidin - A Life Passes By 

� Angela Lidin - Shack On The Hill 

� Lotta Kallstrom - Countryside 

� Lotta Kallstrom - Salty Teardrops 

� Frank Fara - Charming Billy – Billy The Kid 

� Robert Mizzell - Walk The Line Revisited 

Myspace.com/papy435 

What folks are sayin’... 

Joe Baker's Backforty Newsletter is the place to go to 

find out what is happening in the world of western 

swing, cowboy poetry and western music! Joe's newsletter 

covers all the bases. It is informative and enjoyable 

to read and keeps me up to date on who's doing 

what and where it's happening. Joe's newsletter is the 

best source that I know of to keep up with the music 

and poetry that I love and it comes right to my inbox 

each month. It just doesn't get any better than 

that. "Thanks, Joe, for all you do for the folks who play 

and listen to the best music in the world!” 

Jean Prescott 

Ovalo, TX 

jeanprescott@taylortel.net

Janet McBride and husband, John Ingram 

JANET MCBRIDE TO BE PRESENTED THE GENE 

AUTRY OKLAHOMA MUSEUM ‗LIFETIME ACHIEVE- 

MENT AWARD SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 , GENE AUTRY 

OKLAHOMA. 

With a lifetime of performing behind her now, and many years 

since she was actively trying for a career in the entertainment 

field, Janet found a more than satisfying vocation in coaching 

youngsters who have a desire to perform traditional music including 

the art of yodeling. It is as a result of her continuing work in 

the western and country side of the music business, her long 

and successful performing and recording careers and her dedication 

to helping young, hopeful performers, Janet will receive the 

coveted ‗Lifetime Achievement Award,‘ to be presented on the 

Saturday evening show of the Gene Autry Oklahoma Film and 

Music Festival. 

McBride and husband John Ingram owned and operated the Mesquite 

Opry Country Music Show for 15 years, while they worked 

‗day jobs‘ as deputies in Dallas County, TX. They now base in 

Forney, TX where her life is a joyful blend of wife, mentor and 

singer as she works to keep the traditional music she loves alive 

and strong in the hearts of young people who come her way. 

Career highlights for McBride include multiple awards for top female 

singer, top yodeler, plus the Western Music Hall of Fame 

Pioneer Award, The Traditional Music Hall of Fame Award, song 

of the year, emcee of the year and the Patsy Montana Cowgirl 

Spirit Award. 

She performs at the occasional Opry show or music festival these 

days but spends most of her time tutoring young entertainers in 

such areas as stage presence, song delivery, yodeling, singing, 

playing guitar, marketing and effective practice and it‘s results. 

Several of her protégés have gone on to record on major record 

labels, at theme parks, Branson shows and the like. 

Recent successes include Mallary Hope and Kacey Musgraves 

both of whom began working under Janet‘s guidance when they 

were 11 years old. Mallary now has a recording contract and 

her first video is now being played on GAC and CMT. According 

to Mallary‘s mother, Kaye Whitener, Mallary wrote ten of the 

eleven songs on her current CD. Kacey Musgraves has her origi- 

22 

nal songs being considered for release by many of the top Nashville 

stars, she is currently touring with Radney Foster and has a 

recording contract pending. Both girls now live in Nashville. 

Mallary‘s mother wrote "Janet has such a heart for teaching children, 

and she does it without charge. There is no magic yellow 

brick road into the music business, but with people out there like 

Janet McBride who are willing to share their talent with young 

people, it makes the journey easier." 

McBride has watched former students perform at some of the 

country‘s finest shows including the Fiddlers Feast Chuckwagon 

Show in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, and the "Fire on the Mountain 

Show" at Dollywood. She also watched Le Ann Rimes skyrocket 

to fame with the song "Blue" in the 1990‘s with the yodeling yips 

she picked up from Janet while she was a youngster singing on 

the Mesquite Opry in Downtown Mesquite TX. 

The Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum‘s "Lifetime Achievement 

Award" will be presented to McBride on Saturday Night, September 

26th, 2009. 

Contact Mary Schutz, 903-467-9545, texschutz@aol.com 

The messenger…Rhonda Craig from 

Enid, OK 

My Upcoming Events: 

Amarillo: By the time you read this the 

WSMSS (Western Swing Music Society 

of the Southwest) Showcase in Amarillo 

will be just about ready to kick off. It is 

the last weekend in September, (24th, 

25th, and 26 th ). It‘s another three days 

of wonderful western swing music, 

dancing, and reuniting with our friends from all over the southwest. 

Jim & Gwen Cox have worked very hard all year to make 

this event fun, affordable, and filled with music from beginning to 

end. Everything is under one roof at the Airport Plaza hotel. They 

have extended great rates, ($49 per night) for all the Western 

Swing folks and it includes a hot breakfast. All day admission is 

always reasonable, $5 for members, $10 for non members. Don‘t 

miss this one if you can possibly go. 

Ruidoso: 

Then it‘s on to Ruidoso for the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium 

October 8-9-10. 

As much as I love western swing music, I have never gotten to 

attend this one. I am more than EXCITED because we are going 

this year and I can‘t wait! Back in June at Gloria Miers Legends 

event in Wichita Falls, I conversed with 90 year old Mrs. Oleda 

Flud. Being a long time Bob Wills enthusiast and western swing 

supporter she asked me, ―Have you ever been to Ruidoso to the 

Cowboy Symposium?‖ When I said no, that we had never had the 

opportunity, she mournfully shook her head and responded, 

―That‘s the granddaddy of them all!‖ Well Mrs. Flud…you didn‘t 

have to say anything else. We have rearranged our schedule and 

wouldn‘t miss this one for the world. We‘re going on Wednesday 

the 7th just in case something might be happening that we might 

miss. 

WSPN for our Friends in need: 

Our email prayer network is growing everyday. It has been amazing 

to watch so many become a part of this. For many of us, except 

for relatives and a few close friends, there was no place to 

turn for prayer support when a crisis occurs in our lives. Now there 

is. It is the Western Swing Prayer Network. I have shortened it 

to the acronym ―WSPN‖ for easier reference. We certainly have 

seen unbelievable results, comfort, and strength, through this network. 

I really appreciate those of you who are willing to stop and

pray for folks you don‘t even know, when you get my email requests. 

That‘s just the kind of people who make up this great 

western swing family. Like I said in my article in the August issue 

of the Backforty Bunkhouse …we are not religious zealots…just 

old fashioned Believers who were raised knowing how to pray 

and praise our Maker. 

If you have a need… let us know. 

If you want to be a part…let us know. 

You are God‘s obscure Gem….hidden jewels. 

What are Obscure Gems? 

We were very poor monetarily but not spiritually when I was growing 

up. Mother had been abandoned when she was 8 months old 

but never let that be an excuse for laxity in her mothering skills for 

my siblings and me. She was raised by grandparents, step parents 

and anyone who would give her shelter while her parents 

made only brief appearances in her life at separate intervals. As 

a child I was well aware of her prize possession, a 21 Jeweled 

Bulova Watch given to her by her daddy on her 14 th birthday, a 

gift given during one of those brief encounters. It was the only 

thing she ever had that declared his love for her which was never 

demonstrated otherwise. 

Through the years mother guarded and treasured that watch. 

One day, when I was about 9 years old, I asked my mother what 

the words ―21 Jeweled‖ meant on her watch. When she told me 

that her watch had 21 gems or jewels I stared, confused, at her 

watch because there were no jewels any where to be seen. 

Mother saw my confusion and in her infinite wisdom carefully 

removed the back and crystal exposing the encased workings on 

the inside of the watch. As mother frequently did, she used this 

opportunity to teach me a ―life lesson‖ which I have never forgotten. 

She took a magnifying glass and invited me to view all the precious 

little gems inside the watch. I was amazed at the array of 

colorful little gems inside…diamonds, rubies, and emeralds She 

pointed out that these jewels were the little team, hidden in obscurity, 

that did all the work. She told me that those gems wouldn‘t 

wear out like man made materials. ―Those jewels are responsible 

for the watch keeping perfect time!‖ As mother put the watch 

back together, she said, "Rhonda, You must always remember, 

not all of God‘s jewels are for adornment…worn so everyone 

can see and admire them. Some of God‘s finest and most 

important jewels are small and hidden, doing the work that 

must be done and don‘t wear out…like the jewels keeping 

the time in my watch even when no one is looking and no 

one can see them…but they are jewels nonetheless.‖ 

The longer I live the more I understand and appreciate my 

mother‘s profound wisdom as she taught me about being a gem 

in this life. God has raised up a whole army of gems, hidden in 

obscurity…who carry on the work that needs to be done, without 

23 

wearing out. They are in all walks of life…and do not necessarily 

sit on a pew. 

Case in point…YOU, dear friends, are the obscure Gems who 

keep the prayers going for those who desperately need them in 

our music family…and no one even knows who you are…but He 

does! Our prayers are keeping His perfect time. 

I am so honored to be a part of this 21 Jeweled Bulova WSPN 

with you wonderful gems. 

Serving with joy, 

The messenger….Rhonda 

rhondacraig@suddenlink.net 

The Jacksboro VFW in Jacksboro, Texas will be hosting a Benefit 

Western Swing Dance on Saturday, September 26, 2009. 

Fred Berry, the VFW Comander and longtime supporter of western 

swing music has prostate cancer. This benefit will help him 

with his medical expenses. The first dance will kick off at 7PM 

featuring Brady Bowen and Swing Country. The Cowtown Society 

Of Western Music will be on hand so please bring something 

for the auction as all monies collected will to the Fred Berry 

Benefit.$20 a person or $30 a couple at the door For more information 

please contact: 

Brady Bowen at: 940-507-1454 or 

Joe Baker at: joe@backfortybunkhouse.com 575-808-4111 

A Backforty Bunkhouse Production 

The Real West from the Old West 

KOTS 1230AM - Deming, NM 

Streamed at www.demingradio.com 

Totsie Slover 

Top 10 CDs 

Bar-D Roundup Vol. 3 

Let‘s Put the Western Back in the Country – Joni Harms 

Ranch Life 101 – Prescott, Masterson & Hollenbeck 

Goodnight Cowboy Sweetheart – Larry Wilder 

Ridin‘ High – Naomi Bristow 

Lucky Seven – The Desperados 

Still Ridin‘ – Jim Jones 

Herdin‘ Cats – The Saddle Cats 

This is Tommy Duncan Vol. 1 – Billy Mata 

Best of … - Hot Club of Cowtown 

RealWestOldWest@live.com

Empty Saddles 

Elmer Kelton dies at 83 

By Cowboy Stan Paregien 

Elmer Kelton, the dean of Western novelists, died of natural 

causes on Saturday, August 22, 2009 in San Angelo, Texas. 

I first met Elmer Kelton in 1984 at the Western Writers of 

America convention in Branson, Missouri. It was ―like‖ at 

first sight. He was humble, helpful and . . . well, just West 

Texas friendly. He always had a warm handshake and smile 

for everyone. 

In 1986, I interviewed Elmer during the WWA convention in 

Fort Worth, Texas. That interview was later published in the 

organization‘s official magazine, The Roundup. As he published 

more and more excellent Western novels, he became a 

celebrity. Yet he never changed a bit. 

Over the years Peggy and I got to share many meals and 

hours with Elmer and his gracious wife, Ann. And in more 

recent years, we saw him annually at the National Cowboy 

Symposium in Lubbock, Texas. We often stayed at the same 

hotel and frequently had breakfast together, where we enjoyed 

his quick wit and storytelling ability. 

His books were always well researched for historical accuracy, 

but it was his storytelling that made his characters 

come to life on each finely crafted page. He set a bar for excellence 

that few writers will ever surpass. 

So we say a fond ―adios‖ to another Western legend. Much 

more than that, though, we bid farewell to a beloved friend. 

At a later time I will post a major update to Elmer Kelton‘s bio 

on my web site, www.cowboydirectory.com, If you have stories 

or photos of Elmer that you would like to have considered 

for inclusion, please send them to me at: cowboystan@live.com 

---Stan Paregien August 24, 2009 

____________________________________________________ 

The following obituary was written by Kelton’s family and appeared 

in the San Angelo Times newspaper. 

SAN ANGELO — Elmer Stephen Kelton, 83, died Saturday. He 

was born April 29, 1926, at Horse Camp in Andrews County to 

Mr. and Mrs. R.W. ―Buck‖ Kelton, and grew up on the McElroy 

Ranch in Upton and Crane counties. He completed his education 

at the University of Texas after serving in Europe during World 

War II. 

Kelton married Anna Lipp of Ebensee, Austria in 1947 and began 

a career in agriculture journalism at the San Angelo Standard- 

Times in 1949. He became editor of the Sheep & Goat Raiser 

25 

magazine in 1963 and associate editor of Livestock Weekly in 

1968, retiring in 1990. Kelton maintained a parallel career as a 

freelance writer, beginning with short stories in the post-war pulp 

magazine trade, progressing to novels, non-fiction books and 

countless magazine articles. In all, he wrote more than 40 books, 

including ―The Time it Never Rained,‖ ―The Wolf and the Buffalo,‖ 

―The Day the Cowboys Quit,‖ and ―The Good Old Boys,‖ which 

became a Turner Network movie directed by and starring Tommy 

Lee Jones. Kelton was named the number-one Western writer of 

all time by the Western Writers of America. The WWA voted him 

seven Spur awards for best Western novel of the year and the 

career Saddleman Award, and he received four Western Heritage 

Wrangler awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. 

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ann Kelton of San Angelo, 

sons Gary Kelton of Plainview and Steve Kelton of San Angelo, 

with wife Karen McGinnis, and daughter Kathy Kelton, also of San 

Angelo and companion Pat Hennigan. He and Ann have four 

grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and one great-great 

grandchild. He is also survived by his brothers, Merle and wife 

Ann of May, Texas, Bill and wife Pat of Atlanta, Texas, and 

Eugene and wife Peggy of McCamey. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to 

the giver‘s favorite charity or the Tom Green County Library‘s 

Elmer Kelton statue fund through the San Angelo Area Foundation 

at 2201 Sherwood Way, Suite 205. Arrangements are pending 

at Johnson‘s Funeral Home. 

Kelton recently completed his last book, "Texas Standoff," due out 

next year. Another novel, "Other Men's Horses," will be released 

this fall. 

Folks who need our prayers 

Fred Berry Jimel Bible 

Bob Bone Rosie Carberry 

Leon Chambers Joyce Collins 

Jim Cox and Family Mark Giles 

Paige Haas Darci Hahn 

Lelsie Harris Briggs Hill and his family 

Earl Hill Marian Howell 

Ray Hunter Dennis Ivey 

Norma Johnson Rick Langford 

Mel McDaniel Bob Nible 

Joe Paul Nichols Beverly and Joel North 

Curly Musgrave Walter Pate 

Johnny Patterson Lyall and Donna Paulson 

Jim Quisenberry Louise Rowe 

Ronona Sellars Connie Stom 

Buddy and Darlene Thornton Mike Ward 

Charlie Watkins Ed White 

What folks are sayin’... 

"I use the Backforty Bunkhouse Newsletter like a cheat 

-sheet on a high school history test. I know the DJs 

that report to the newsletter only play the best in Western 

and Western Swing music, I know the articles are 

entertaining and informative, and I know the information 

contained within is accurate. So rather than reinventing 

the wheel, I glean all the information I need 

from the Backforty Bunkhouse Newsletter." 

Andy Nelson 

cowboypoet@wyoming.com

Western Swing Tribute To Shelly Lee Alley “The Show ... - Joe Baker

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