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A New Contract...Chart Action...Cicada's Again

BILL BLOG

Thursday April 10, 2025 


Thursday and some rain is falling in middle Tennessee. Today’s high will be 67 in Nashville.

 

YESTERDAY

I had great fun writing with hit songwriter Byron Hill yesterday…our third time rhyming together. Byron’s been doing this a long time with a long string of folks who have recorded his songs through the years. Randy Travis, Alabama, Ray Charles, Anne Murray, and on and on.



 

One of my favorite songs of his is titled "Blame It On Kristofferson” written about the late great songwriter Kris Kristofferson of course.

 

Byron is from North Carolina and grew up playing and was around those bluegrass musicians and singers from the Tarheel State. I brought in a start to a bluegrass song and it did not take us long to finish it and that gave us a chance to catch up with each other and to share some great music stories of which Byron has a suitcase full.

 

Just a pleasure creating stuff with him.

 

NEW CONTRACT

After my songwriting session, my publisher Joe Dan Cornett pictured on the right and Jerry Salley the head of Billy Blue Records took me to lunch to extend my songwriting contract for another 3 years.



 

When Billy Blue Records was being formed six years ago Ed Leonard the President of Daywind-Billy Blue and Jerry recognized the importance of launching a publishing company so that they could sign writers and have in-house songs that they could then pitch to the artists they were signing to the label. And I was the very first writer they signed. Since that time the label has grown as has the publishing company. There must be maybe 15 songwriters or more now in our building…all of them talented. And I write with all of them and some of the artists on the label as well.


 


 I don’t know how many of my songs have been recorded since I signed that deal…but more than I could have hoped for. It’s been a wonderful blessing to have had that happen at this stage of my life. Happy to be part of this very creative family.

 

THE CHARTS

So great to see two of my songs STILL on this gospel bluegrass chart.



 

Country Faith from Kristen Leigh Bearfield and gospel singer Karen Peck went back UP to #2 this week.


 

 

And “God Never Made A Mountain” from Kristy Cox is perched at #10 after being on this chart for months now.  A great thing. 


 

 

SONG OF THE DAY

Since the Masters has started this week I thought I’d share this little golf song parody that I helped write that Cledus T. Judd recorded and made this VIDEO of “Man Crush” is all about the love Cledus has for Tiger Woods. And it’s pretty danged funny. It’s a parody of course of the big hit from Little Big Town “Girl Crush”. 


 

 

HEALTH NOTES

A nutritionist says that a coffee nap is healthier than just a nap, or just drinking coffee. And that one should not nap more than 20 minutes. It takes coffee about 20 minutes to kick in. You close your eyes, the caffeine takes over, and you wake up from a shorter nap. That’s the theory.

 

The Food and Drug Administration increased the recall of one of Frito-Lay’s most popular chips, noting they “could cause death”. The chips in question are Tostitos Traditional Yellow Corn Chips.

 

And get this. Another study finds that drinking coffee only in the morning lowers the risk of death from any cause.

 

HERE’S YOUR SIGN



 

I actually wrote a Christmas song with that title that was put on a Christmas album from Sli Dawg & The Redneck Ramblers. If you’d like some EARLY funny Christmas music…click HERE to listen.

 

STOCK MARKET

What goes down…just come up…I guess. A record rally yesterday on Wall Street calmed some never yesterday as Trump put a pause on tariffs. A $3,000 rally is historic. And what happens today of course is anybody’s guess.

 

And on the very same day, the market rallied Trump is giving us back our water pressure. So, the next time the stock market is taking a bath, I’ll be able to fill up my tub a little quicker. I’ve got THAT going for me.

 

GONNA GET NOISY

A 17-year brood of cicadas is getting ready to unleash in Tennessee and other states. Noisy danged things. And if you walk? It will be a “crunchy” walk. We had them just a few years ago, and now they’re coming back in a couple of weeks. I’m hoping they stay over in east Tennessee and leave us alone here.

 

If they do show up it will give me a chance to wear this T-shirt that sums up a Cicada’s short life.



 

EXPENSIVE

The Postal Service wants another increase in the price of a stamp. It could go from 73 cents to 78 cents by July 13 if it’s approved.

It’s getting really expensive to lick y’all.

 

THIS MADE ME LAUGH



 

GENIUS

How about the restaurant owner in Prospect, Kentucky who flooded his own place deliberately to keep the flood waters from racing in? The restaurant named Captain’s Quarters has been flooded numerous times. The owner has come to learn that cleaning up after clean water is better than having to clean up after dirty flood water so he flooded his own place. Some kind of ingenuity there.



 

Every table now has a water view.

 

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

Georgia Suspect Named Speedy Gonzalez Arrested For $20 K Walmart Shoplifting Spree. (Guess ole Speedy wasn’t speedy enough)



 

TODAY

I have an off day and I think I’ll put my feet up and watch a bit of the Masters Golf Tournament’s opening round today down in Augusta. It’s the greenest thing one can watch once a year on TV.

 

And if you missed it yesterday, check out the 4-year-old daughter of golfer Rory McIlroy sinking this putt in the Par 3 tournament yesterday. 


 

 

Have a great Thursday!


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