BILL BLOG

Monday January 19, 2026

 

Another Monday morning has arrived. Just 35 degrees for the high today in Nashville. And I’m a little bleary eyed after watching so much football over the weekend.

 

THE WEEKEND

Friday morning, David Morris and I wrote in a room that had our names pinned to the door.

 

So, we were in the right place. David is a writer for Billy Blue Publishing, as I am.

 

About every four weeks or so, David drives from the East Coast to Nashville to write songs with folks like me. I brought a bluegrass idea on Friday, and that’s what we wrote. I always get to hear some wonderful stories from David about his prior career, including covering a World Series or two, and being on the field multiple times at Yankee Stadium.

 

So I got a good song and a good story or two out of David this past Friday.

 

GOOD MUSIC NEWS

This is my friend Caroline Owens celebrating in her car.

 The song that I wrote with Andrea Pearson, “Telluride”, the current single for Caroline has climbed up to #8 this week on the Bluegrass Grassicana chart. 

 

All three of us are celebrating that. That fun, up-tempo, bluegrass song has surely been a musical blessing.

 

MORE BOOK NEWS

My wife’s first book, “Subtle Frequency,” can now be found at Foyle’s Bookstore in London.

 

And you’ll find it at Dussman’s in Germany as well, Berlin to be exact.

 

Those who have already pre-ordered will be receiving their books in the mail shortly. And if you haven’t already, share the news with friends about this great book…and yes, I’m biased!

 

DOLLY DAY

Today is Martin Luther King Day. But it’s also “Dolly Parton Day” here in Tennessee.

 

The Governor had declared today as “Dolly Parton” day, celebrating the icon’s 80^th birthday. It would be hard to find a better ambassador for the “Volunteer” state. 

 

 

She’s battled some health issues recently, but is still going strong as she just did a re-release of an old song of hers, “Clear Blue Morning,” and she’s got her Goddaughter Miley Cyrus singing with her, along with Queen Latifah, Lainey Wilson, and Reba. The video recording with all those stars is pretty great, so just click on that link above to watch, and listen.

 

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Dolly a couple of times and met her once when I was young, coming out of a recording session with my band. We were making an album at the old Dolly and Porter studio, with “The Kendalls” producing. We took a break, and there in the hallway, wearing a red bandana around her hair was Dolly. She could not have been nicer. In fact, she gave me a bunch of her albums, some with Porter Waggoner, that I carried back home to Missouri, where I was living at the time. I still have those today.

 

You just never hear anyone say anything but good things about her.

 

Dolly once said, “I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for money, never did.”

 

Yep, Dolly deserves her day.

 

UP AHEAD

Looking very forward to this show coming up this Saturday night in Lebanon, Tennessee.

 Hope to see some of you out front.  

 

SONG OF THE DAY

This is a new song, “Cheat Sheets,” that I wrote with my two young, talented friends, Lauren Mascitti & Caroline Owens.

 

 

Lauren brought the idea into the writing room that day, and I had fun adding a few lines to her idea. Click on the link above and you can hear Lauren performing it “live” from a show she did last week at the world famous Station Inn here in Nashville.

 

HEALTH NOTES

Tens of thousands of water bottles distributed to several states are being recalled after officials discovered a foreign black substance floating in the product. Meijer Steam Distilled Water is the brand.

 

Researchers, after a massive study, have found that a brisk 5-minute walk per day was associated with a 10% in deaths across the general population. 

A new study finds that a simple blood test can predict which breast cancer treatment will work best.  

 

HERE’S YOUR SIGN

I think I need a room without a balcony.

 

VALENTINE

Sneaking up on us guys. I saw this gift-giving idea over the weekend.

It’s a Lego kit that helps you spell out the word L O V E. Costs $63.99 on Amazon right now. It will cost me more, because I can’t build anything. I’ll have to pay an elf or somebody to put it together.

 

BIG BUC-EE’S

The world’s largest will open in Fort Pierce, Florida, in 2027, down near West Palm.

 

How big? 76,245 square feet of large. That’s about 1.3 football fields in size. And there will be 120 gas pumps out front! That’s big. There will be a LOT of “brisket on the board” in that location.

 

THIS ENDED BADLY

One of those Uber-delivery robots got stuck on the train track in Florida over the weekend. Guess what happened? Yep. Somebody missed their delivery.

 

THE SPHERE

The big “Sphere” that has become such a popular attraction in Las Vegas is going to show up at the National Harbor near Washington, D.C., next.

 

 

The Sphere in Vegas seats 20,000. The one in DC will be much smaller, with a seating capacity of 6,000. But basically, it will be the same experience

 

It’s on my list of places to see.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

From comedian Steven Wright:

 

“You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?”

 

TODAY

Today I’m back with the great songwriter-teacher Thomm Jutz, along with Caroline Owens. Something good always comes out of the studio, it seems, when we get together. I’m looking forward to seeing what we receive today.

 

 

Then tonight it’s Miami vs Indiana for the College Football Championship. Go Hoosiers.

 

 

Have a great Monday!