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Memphis Weekend With Ducks...Top of Chart...It's Hot

BILL BLOG

Friday July 12, 2024


Friday morning with a road trip ahead today. 94 degrees in Nashville today and getting warmer.

 

YESTERDAY

A lazy Wednesday for the most part. The biggest “gotta do” was getting packed for the trip to Memphis this weekend. Down to a guitar and a small suitcase.



 

I’m getting better and packing light. I’ll be at the old famous Peabody Hotel all weekend and get to watch the ducks walk across the hotel lobby floor into an elevator that will take them upstairs to a fountain to float around in. It’s a thing.



 

It is a pretty cool hotel for sure. Lovingly maintained…that’s easy to see. First time I stayed there was a lot of years ago when I was with a radio station in Cincinnati and we were part of the St. Jude Radiothon that helped raise a money for the Danny Thomas facility, hospital, research center in Memphis that has saved countless lives of children each year. I always think about touring the hospital and talking with the Doctors, nurses, and researchers there who continue to make great strides in childhood cancer. Pretty sure I’ll think about it again when I check in at the Peabody later this afternoon.



 

MORE CHART ACTION

Gosh, I’ve been really blessed lately with the success of some of the songs I’ve helped write. This morning the Bluegrass Today Gospel Chart rolled out and the song “Never Too Lost” is number one from Troy Engle that we co-wrote together and “BlueCollar Gospel” with Jerry Salley & The Oak Ridge Boys is at #4 that I wrote with Jerry and Rick Lang.



 

I never thought that I’d ever be writing gospel-bluegrass songs…especially quite a few of them. It’s taken me back to my roots in Missouri and how I grew up and was in church a lot with my family. We all sang gospel songs together at one time. So I’m able to draw from those memories when I write these kinds of songs with other folks who grew up with similar memories. It’s led to more success in that genre than I could have ever imagined. I’m grateful.

 

FUN VIDEO

Yesterday I mentioned how my friends Darin & Brooke Aldridge tore up the Station Inn on Wednesday night with their great band.


 

 

 

 And how they got Adam and Amy Pope up who we’re all friends with who are also a great musical duo that I write songs with as I do with Darin & Brooke. Adam’s 9 year old boy caught a bit of his Mom and Dad’s performance of a song I helped them write “Alabama Coast.” Click on the link and you can check that out. Thank you Avery for filming this!



 

ALSO…

Darin and Brooke were on RFD TV yesterday and they sang our song “Grand Ole Circle” on that TV show. Click on this LINK and you can watch that wonderful “live” performance of our tribute to the Grand Ole Opry.Just scroll down on the RFD Facebook Page and you'll see it.

 


 

 

HEALTH NOTES

Pfizer is moving forward with a once-daily weight-loss pill to compete with Wegovy.

 

200 New York & New Jersey residents now have dengue fever as there has been a spike recently in those kinds of cases.

 

In lupus breakthrough, researchers say they may have found what causes the autoimmune disease. That would be good news.

 

FAIR IS FAIR HUH?



 

PLEASE COME TO BOSTON

I was sad to see that songwriter singer Dave Loggins passed away at 76. Man there’s too much of that happening right now it seems. How can you not love that song?  I wore out “Please Come To Boston” when it came out on the radio. And if you’re a golfer you’ve heard the instrumental Masters theme song "Augusta" that Dave Loggins wrote that’s played year after year during the CBS Master’s coverage. Though we lost Dave, his music will live on. RIP



 

THE EAGLES

Yep…I’m a huge Eagles fan. My favorite pop-rock band by far. When people ask me what’s the best “live” concert I’ve ever seen? And I’ve seen a few. I always say The Eagles. The “Hell Freezes Over Tour” came to Milwaukee when I was working radio there and I bought a ticket. Worth every dollar. Their harmony alone was just amazing to hear in a “live” setting.


 

 

I bring that up because I read an article this morning about the late Glenn Frey of The Eagles who said he thought the most Eagle type song ever recorded was “Hole InThe World” that was on one of their very last albums. I don’t think I could argue that. They sing it basically in acappela which really shows off their amazing harmony skills. If you’re a fan of tight harmony at all…click the link.

 

IN THE UK

It’s that time of year. It’s flying ant season. Uh huh. There’s a SEASON for flying ants over there. Who knew?  As long as I’ve lived, I’m pretty sure I never knew ants could fly. So now I have high hopes for pigs in the future.

 

HEAT

There’s crazy high heat everywhere right now it seems. Starting this Monday the temperatures in Tennessee are going to hovering around 100 degrees daily. And I don’t want to know what the heat index is going to be. Folks are going to have spray both Right and Left guard to stay dry.

 

Perfect time for some of my favorite “It’s so hot” jokes.

 

It’s so hot, I saw a funeral procession pull through a Dairy Queen.

 

It’s so hot, Jehovah’s Witnesses started telemarketing.

 

And my favorite was written by my songwriter friend Wynn Warble who says in his song “It’s Hot”….It’s hotter than Cyndy Crawford in a cedarwood sauna."

 

DON’T FORGET

Today Krispy Kreme is 87 years old. And you can get a dozen of their donuts today for just 87 cents as they celebrate their birthday. Just thought you should know in case you want to get on a sugar high for a month.

 

SHE DID WHAT?!
Whoopi Goldberg admitted in a recent interview that she and her brother scattered some of her Mother’s ashes in the water at the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney. True. It happened back in 2010. “It’s A Small World” was one of Mom’s favorite rides ever. So now she gets to hear that repetitive song for all of eternity I guess.

 

So if you were to have your ashes scattered at a Disney ride or attraction…which one would it be?  If I were still on the radio I’d be asking that question of the audience to see what they’d say.

 

Me? Maybe the Haunted Mansion so that a part of me could scare people forever and ever. Maybe.

 

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

And my friend Linda Davis sent this one to me.

 

Several injured In Brawl When Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses Arrive On Porch At The Same Time. 

I’m pretty sure that Dana White the head of the UFC is wondering how many he can get into an Octagon at the same time.



 

TODAY

It’s off to Memphis with Freedom Sings USA. Tonight myself and the group of writers you see on the poster below will have a little meet and greet at the VA with some veterans and staff and volunteers there. We will do a little mini-songwriter show after dinner before returning to the VA on Saturday morning and being assigned a veteran to write with. Then Saturday night the songwriters will perform the songs written Saturday morning in a free concert that’s always moving. Proud to be part of this every single time.


 

 

Have a great Friday!

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