BILL BLOG
Monday July 28, 2025
The last Monday of July is here. And it will be another HOT one. A heat advisory is out again, with a high of 96 on tap today.
THE WEEKEND
Mine started Friday morning, writing with Bill DiLuigi. Bill is from Pennsylvania originally, but has lived in Nashville for a very long while now, writing songs and performing. He’s one of the songwriters in our Freedom Sings USA group who writes songs with veterans, as the two of us, along with Steve Dean and Bobby Tomberlin, will do this coming weekend in Shiloh, Illinois.
This was only the second time the two of us sat down to co-write. We should be doing that more often, considering we cranked out TWO songs Friday morning, both with a bit of a spiritual theme to them. So it was a very fun and productive Friday morning.
SATURDAY NIGHT BASEBALL
I took in a Nashville Sounds baseball game Saturday evening, staring at the greatest baseball scoreboard ever made.
I was in great company as my friends Darin and Brooke Aldridge were in town from North Carolina to play the Grand Ole Opry, and we were joined by their manager Brian …and his wife, and country artist John Berry and his wife. Brian manages both Darin and Brooke as well as John.
It was a great way to catch up with Darin and Brooke and their busy career. They told me at the ballpark they were once again going to sing our song “Grand Ole Circle” while they were standing on that grand ole circle at the Opry on Sunday night. And they did!
It was a great way to spend a Saturday evening in Music City.
SUNDAY NIGHT
I hit the “WSM” app on my phone at 7:15 pm to listen to the Opry and my friends Darin and Brooke sing our SONG.
That never gets old. Getting to hear a song you helped write being performed at the Grand Ole Opry.
So blessed to be part of that song.
GREAT MUSIC NEWS
I got this press release sent out by Billy Blue Records on Friday in my email that made my day.
From the chart-topping album Blue Collar Gospel: From the Pen of Rick Lang, the single “Church Bells-A-Ringin’” is now available as a standalone release. The track, written by Rick Lang and Bill Whyte and featuring the unmistakable lead vocal of Danny Paisley, captures the heart of bluegrass and gospel tradition and is now making its way to radio.
A standout track from an album that has earned widespread acclaim, including a nomination from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), “Church Bells-A-Ringin’” has become a fan favorite for its classic bluegrass sound that honors gospel music’s rich heritage.
“When Bill Whyte and I sat down to write ‘Church Bells A-Ringin,’ our goal was
to paint a picture of an old-fashioned church service experience ‘back in the
day.’ Danny Paisley was the perfect choice and the perfect voice to take folks
on this nostalgic journey,” said Rick Lang.
Great news for sure, and I’m glad that a lot of people are going to get to hear this song that Rick and I wrote. I was lucky to have 2 songs on this great project, and now both have been released as singles. The first one is the title track “Blue Collar Gospel” sung by Jerry Salley and the Oak Ridge Boys, that’s been nominated for the Gospel Song of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
My thanks to Rick for choosing me to write a couple of great song ideas he had.
SONG OF THE DAY
Since I just mentioned my friend, Jerry Salley, I thought I’d share a song the two of us wrote that was a single for him a few years ago, “Front Porch Philosophy”. We were working on a song one day that really wasn’t going anywhere. During a break, we got to talking about Dad’s and Grandpa’s, and now they used to sit on a front porch and talk about the weather, politics, religion, you name it. At one point I said to Jerry, “Well, that sounds like front porch philosophy to me”. We threw the idea we were working on and wrote that, and it went on to do very well for Jerry.
There’s a line in the song about the dog being on the front porch while Grandpa is philosophizing, so I suggested that Jerry find a front porch and a blue tick hound. And danged it that didn’t turn into the album cover you see here.
Thanks for recording the song, Jerry.
HEALTH NOTES
Pretty big news. Researchers say they have found that a pair of drugs can not only slow down Alzheimer’s disease but also reverse it and restore memory in mice. Both drugs are already FDA-approved, albeit for cancer. Hope.
New research suggests that drinking a small amount of a certain nutrient-packed vegetable juice twice a day may help lower blood pressure in older adults…no medications needed.
A cluster of Legionnaire’s disease cases has been found in NYC, putting health officials on the alert.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
I think I’ll choose another place to go for when I go.
BEAUTIFUL PLACES
The publication Wanderlust listed the top places we should see before we die. Here’s their Top 5 Choices.
5…Grand Canyon. (No brainer for me. Been there many times. This is one of my favorite pictures of the Canyon of a woman with her mural perched on the rim, trying to capture the beauty in her painting.
Hard to capture that kind of beauty with just paint and an easel.
4…Swiss Alps
3…Santorini, Greece
2…Banff National Park in Canada (on my list)
1…Amalfi Coast (also on my list)
GUINNESS ICE CREAM ANYONE?
Yep. It’s available. Guinness is all about the “perfect pour”. Wonder if they are perfecting the “perfect scoop” for their ice cream?
SPEAKING OF TRAVEL
It looks like Elon Musk is going to bore a tunnel here in Nashville that will take one from downtown to Nashville to our Airport. We have a major traffic issue in that stretch. Every day. And it doesn’t seem to matter what time of day it is. Backed up.
Will it get done? We’ll see. A press conference is being held later today on that very issue.
SPEAKING OF TRAFFIC
How about this Robo Cop directing traffic in downtown Shanghai?
It can direct traffic, help with directions, and answer some basic safety questions from tourists. How about using them to replace the safety workers who have to hold signs on hot asphalt during the summer?
BIG SNAKES
In Florida, they are releasing AI bunny rabbits in an effort to fight the invasion of Burmese Pythons. Those are BIG snakes. The bunnies mimic a real rabbit with rabbit-like movement and scents. They are meant to draw out the pythons, which will then be captured on a bunny-cam that will be relayed to snake wranglers, who will go in and grab them.
Pretty sure that’s one job I would never sign up for. Snake wrangler. Nope.
YEP…WE’RE ADDICTED
A poll reveals that Americans spend half of their day on the internet. Shopping, working, streaming, you name it. On average, we spend 10 hours a day on the World Wide Web.
A comedian jokes that you know you’re addicted to the internet when your dog has its own home page. And so does your goldfish.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
Arizona Psychic Hit By A Car. He Said He Never Saw It Coming. (I could have predicted he’d say that.)
TODAY
I’m writing with my Aussie friend Angus Gill, again today, who is bringing a young 16-year-old girl artist with him from Kentucky, for whom Angus is producing an album. What to write for a 16-year-old? We’ll see.
Have a great Monday!
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