BILL BLOG
Thursday October 10, 2024
Thursday morning has rolled in. Sunny and 80 in Music City today.
YESTERDAY
We had a beautiful Fall day in Nashville. “Comfortable” would be. great word to describe it. So I got to a doctor (no biggie) and a gym on the same day. How’s that for appropriate?
So a bit of a lazy day, and yea…I did spend some time watching the baseball playoff games. 4 really good series going on right now with a one team the Mets advancing last night to the National League Championship series.
All of my teams that I could really root for the Reds, Brewers and Cardinals are all out of it…so now I’m rooting for a small market team to pull off an upset like the Kansas City Royals from my home state of Missouri.
MILTON
The weather in Florida of course is not so calm. Tornadoes broke out yesterday to go with the high winds…120 mph and flooding. Multiple folks lost their lives in the tornadoes.
In Tampa the roof blew off the baseball stadium that’s going to be replaced in a couple of years for the Tampa Bay Rays.
One TV reporter was nearly crushed by a falling tree covering the hurricane. And you can’t help but wonder why that doesn’t happen even more.
They’re predicting as much as 245 billion dollars’ worth of damages, the most in hurricane history. And 3 million are without power in the state.
When daylight hits we’ll really be able to see some of the damage from Milton…but it was a small blessing that it came in as a Category 3 and not a 4 or 5 and some thought it could be. And you’ll take every blessing you can get if you live anywhere near where it came ashore in Florida.
A SONG FOR A GREAT CAUSE
My friend and sometimes co-write Kristen Bearfield has a big ole heart.
Kristen is a singer-writer and soon to be TV host of “Little Bit of Country Little Bit of Faith” that will be show on the TV Cable channel Singing News. Kristen is a member of the gospel group “High Road” as well.
Last year she asked me and Bob Minner (Tim McGraw’s longtime guitar player and writer) to help her write the theme song for that show. We did, they loved it, and indeed it will be the theme song…but it will be promoted as her first single as well off a new album that is being released tomorrow morning everywhere.
But Kristen is from North Carolina as well and she’s been heartbroken over the devastation she’s seen from the floods and hurricane Helene in her backyard. She’s involved in getting product to her section of the state Western North Carolina giving of herself big time to try and help.
Now get this. Some of the proceeds of this song will go to help out those folks. Just goes to show you what a huge heart she has…and I’m proud of her for stepping up big time. Check out this VIDEO of Kristen talking about this…from her heart.
MORE FREEDOM SINGS
My next journey with Freedom Sings USA will be special as our group of songwriters that write veteran’s stories into songs will be performing some of those at this year’s Frank Brown Songwriters Festival in Gulf Shores-Orange Beach on Veteran’s Day.
We wrote with some of those veterans a couple of weeks ago at the Coastal Arts Center in Orange Beach. My veteran was Larry Perino who was part of the mission “Black Hawk Down”. So I’ll be singing his song for sure.
If you’re coming to the festival…don’t miss the red, white and blue evening where we have a chance to honor and say “thank you” to those who have given so much.)
MORE GRAMMY NEWS
And yet one more album I’m part of is up on the first ballot for Grammy consideration. How about that.
The Kristy Cox album “Burn It Down” that I have 3 songs on including “How Lucky Am I” that I wrote with Jimmy Fortune and Sydni Perry about Dean Raymer my dear friend and second Mom who passed away a few years ago.
The Darin & Brooke Aldridge album is on the ballot with two song I helped write including their last single that did so well “Wildflower Too”. That song was written with the two of them.
And the “Blue Collar Gospel” album where I have two songs including the title track “Blue Collar Gospel” by Jerry Salley and the Oak Ridge Boys featuring the late Joe Bonsall written with Rick Lang and Jerry Salley.
A LOT of songs get considered so as a songwriter you don’t get your hopes overly high. But I’m really proud of all these songs and will hope that we might get a little lucky and land one on the final ballot when that comes out in a few months.
It’s nice to considered.
MORE GOOD NEWS
And “God Never Made A Mountain" from Kristy Cox written with Josh Shilling and Andrea Pearson, and “Blue Collar Gospel” from Jerry Salley and the Oak Ridge Boys, AND "Never Too Lost" by Troy Engle that we co-wrote are STILL on this gospel bluegrass chart from David Pugh who does a bluegrass gospel show online. Thank you David!
A friend sent me this gospel-bluegrass chart that has 3 songs I'm part of.
"Blue Collar Gospel" that I just mentioned is #3, Danny Paisley's "Church Bells-A Ringin" written with Rick Lang is perched at #5 and the Troy Engle song we wrote together "Never Too Lost" is at #20. Wow. Yea, I had a pretty good day yesterday.
SONG OF THE DAY
I thought I’d choose one of the songs from one of the albums being considered for a Grammy. So here’s “How Lucky Am I” from Kristy Cox featuring Jimmy Fortune that I mentioned above. In more than one interview Kristy has said that this is her favorite song on her new album. Thank you Kristy.
FUNNY MUSIC STORY
Mutt Cooper who is a veteran and a songwriter and a lot more was my roommate this past weekend at the Pensacola Songwriters Festival down on Pensacola Beach. He told me a really funny story one day about playing a songwriter show and some nut yelling out “Freeeebird!!!”. Why they do that I never know. But it happens.
Mutt didn’t blink an eye when the redneck screamed that interrupting his show. He quickly gave the guy his “middle finger” on stage and said, “There’s your free bird”. Man I laughed. And now I’m hoping someone hollers “Freeeebird” in the middle of one of my shows!
HEALTH NOTES
A new study says that gardening is good for the body and soul. This on the heels of study yesterday that claims hiking falls in that category too. So, if you really want to be healthy, take a 4 mile hike, come home and start pulling weeds…I guess.
Ultra-processed foods now make up 60% of America’s diet.
A new study reveals that Baby Boomers are living longer than previous generations but have worse health.
IS HE PLAYING THROUGH?
And how big is the hole he’s shooting for?
THEM AND US
How much does Carrie Underwood make for singing the Sunday Night Football theme? A lot! A million dollars every time it’s played. And she’s been singing it for 12 seasons now. 12 games or so a season? You do the math. I’d apply for that job big time, but unfortunately I don’t have voice or legs for it.
MOST EXPENSIVE
PLACE ON EARTH
How expensive is a ticket to get into Disneyland these days out in
California? It ain’t cheap to ride “It’s
A Small World” anymore. Prices have gone up 114% in the past decade. And get
this. While Disney World shuttered it’s gates to prepare for hurricane Milton…overnight
Disneyland raised the price of single-day ticket to $200. That’s the price on
its busiest days. Off season you can get a ticket for $104.
Go in the off-season folks.
WITH A “Y”
I’m surprised that a barista has never pushed my Grande Pike to me with the label of “Whyte” with a “Y”. Every time I order anything I have to say, “that’s Whyte with a Y”. This is why when I go to the “Y”-MCA I feel right at home.
DYING TUNES
Marie Curie just listed the top songs people want to hear during their final moments here on earth. Here’s the Top 5 requests.
5…Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
4…Over The Rainbow
3…Simply The Best from Tina Turner
2…I Will Always Love You…Whitney or Dolly
And did you guess the #1 song people want to hear near death?
“My Way” by Frank Sinatra.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
A Couple Walked From Opposite Ends of China’s Great Wall And Met in the Middle. Then They Broke Up. (Proof I guess that there really was a wall between them that they couldn’t get over.)
TODAY
For the first time in a while Brent Burns and I are getting together online to write. There’s goes the beach neighborhood. I’ll be seeing Brent soon at the “Meeting of the Minds” and all those Parrot Heads coming to Gulf Shores for that festival October 23-26. I’m already cleaning my flip-flops.
Have a great Thursday!
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