Bill's Blog

BILL BLOG Monday, July 6, 2026   Monday morning has rolled around. Hope you had a great 4 th of July weekend. It was a hot one here in Nashville. Last Thursday and Friday, we hit 100 degrees. Today we are looking for a little cooler, with a high of 87 predicted.   THE WEEKEND A pretty quiet 4 th here at the Whyte House as America turned 250 years old. We had a lot of fireworks booming on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.   Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Bridge caught fire after fireworks were shot off on the bridge. And in LA, fireworks were shot into a crowd. Fortunately, nobody got hurt.     It’s safer to watch fireworks on TV, sit on the couch, and go “ooh” and “ahh”.   NEW DATE I’m going to be in Paris, Kentucky a week from today, which is about 3 and a half hours from the house, for a special Freedom Sings USA trip. I’ll be going by myself on this one, and I’ll drive to the home of a 102-year-old World War II veteran. Our Freedom Sings gr...

BILL BLOG Friday, July 3, 2026    It’s Friday. Fire up the fireworks. It’s the 4 th of July weekend. And oh yeah, it’s hot. 97 for the high today in Nashville.   It’s so hot that when you jump into your car, you need to protect your hands from the hot steering wheel. Potholder driving, I call it.      YESTERDAY I wrote online with my New Hampshire friend Rick Lang yesterday morning. Rick always sends good ideas, and one he sent this time blossomed into a really cool tune.    Rick ran an exotic hardwood business for a lot of years with his wife before selling it, and now he can afford to be a songwriter! And he is with a list of bluegrass recordings a mile long. Hopefully, the one we penned yesterday will be another one of those.   I was blessed to be Rick’s co-writer on the song “ Blue Collar Gospel, ” which our mutual friend J erry Salley recorded with the Oak Ridge Boys , which was nominated for “Best Blu...

BILL BLOG Thursday, July 2, 2026   Thursday it is. And the heat is in the “crazy” hot range. We were near 100 yesterday, and may get there today with a projected high of 98. But at least, there’s humidity to go with it!   YESTERDAY I wrote with the IBMA (Bluegrass) reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the first time, Jaelee Roberts .   And, our friend Alex Miller jumped in to help write a great “cheating song. Yep, they are still writing and singing those. In Nashville, I’m pretty sure it’s the law to have to write a cheating song every once and again.   We were up to the task. And it was great getting to know Jaelee, who, besides being an individual performing artist, is also a member of the esteemed group “ Sister Sadie. ”    Jaelee is the brunette to the right in this picture. She is such a great singer. Here’s an EXAMPLE . And, at lunch yesterday she confided she has a few tattoos. And one was brand new on her arm that was ach...