BILL BLOG
Monday, May 18, 2026
It’s Monday morning, and I’ve got a guitar and a bag packed for a trip to Marion, Illinois. More on that at the end of the Blog.
Hot in Music City today with a high of 91. In Marion, it looks like a little rain is in the forecast.
THE WEEKEND
It was a weekend finishing up getting rid of the huge mound of mulch that was sitting in our driveway (yuk), watching baseball, preparing for this morning’s trip, and watching the ACM Awards last night from Vegas.
ACM’S
Sunday night, I watched the ACM Awards on Prime. It was a huge night for Ella Langley, who picked up 5 awards. Her hit, "Choosing Texas" was such a HUGE hit, her having a big night was a not a surprise.
And it was a great night for Cody Johnson as well, as he won Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year Awards.
Megan Moroney was up for 9 and didn’t win any. She was not present either, as she was a bridesmaid for one of her best friends instead.
A couple of new names won. Parker McCollum for “Album of the Year”, while Tucker Wetmore and Avery Anna won for best new Male and Female Vocalists.
Shania Twain hosted the event, and I thought she did an okay job at best. At 60, Shania has a new album on the way.
Seems like yesterday when she walked into my morning radio show in Milwaukee and handed me a tape to play that had her first single on it, “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under.” And I remember telling her that I could not imagine that not being a big hit. One of the few times I was “dead on” right.
Congratulations to all the winners last night.
SOME GREAT NEWS
The new single from bluegrass stars Dailey & Vincent, “Moon Shines on the Still,” which I co-wrote with Laura Leigh Jones, jumped from #20 to number 2 this week on the Bluegrass Today Chart!
Laura Leigh and I were celebrating by text this weekend when we got that news. We’ve got our fingers crossed that it will sneak up to #1 soon.
SONG OF THE DAY
I’m choosing the song that my friend Brent Burns and I wrote that’s helped us make a lot of people laugh through the years, “Going Ugly Early Tonight.” Brent performed the song “live” one morning on the syndicated “Big D & Bubba” radio show. The producer over at Koch Records was listening and called the station to ask how to get a copy of the song. They got a copy, and then Cledus T. Judd recorded our funny song that went on his album, “BIPOLAR & PROUD”. Here is his VERSION of “Ugly Early.”
HEALTH NOTES
A possible hantavirus case in upstate New York is under investigation and has no connection to the deadly cruise ship outbreak.
The WHO has sounded a global alarm over an ‘extraordinary’ Ebola strain spreading through central Africa.
How about this? According to a new study from the United Kingdom, people who regularly visit museums or participate in creative activities may be aging more slowly on a biological level.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
I believe it.
GRADUATION
Those are going on right now. Here’s a question. Do you remember who your commencement speaker was? Me neither. I don’t remember who it was when I graduated from Elsberry High School in Missouri.
And I certainly don’t remember who it was at Central Missouri State when I graduated on that football field either.
But the kids who just graduated from North Carolina won’t soon forget that their commencement speaker was a North Carolina graduate and country superstar, Eric Church, who gave what many are saying is the best graduation speech of this generation. So good that it went viral.
He carried his guitar to the podium and wrapped his speech around each of its six strings. And you don’t have to be a guitar player or musician to understand the significance of what he was saying. If you missed it, watch it HERE. It's remarkable.
When I met Eric the first time, his career was just getting started. I'm sure at that time he never would have dreamed that he would someday give the commencement speech at his alma mater.
FUNNY
Once again, from the writers at Babylon Bee…this fake headline:
“Hockey Ticket Holders Issued Refund After No Fights Break Out.”
THEY’RE OUT THERE
An ex-government researcher is claiming that 4 alien species have been pulled from crashed UFOs. Uh huh. And where are those 4 now? And the crashed spaceships? I never understand how they just disappear.
SOME TRUTH IN THIS
My friend Linda Davis found this VIDEO comparing a young boy solving a Rubik’s cube to a grown man trying to figure out how to get a roll of toilet paper to unroll. Made me laugh.
MORE AI STUFF
Get this. Research shows that AI job screeners prefer an AI resume over one done by humans. I mentioned a couple of blogs ago about someone I know who interviewed for a job, and it was all done by an AI chatroom.
So, your resume is AI, your interviewer is AI, which would make me wonder, “Is the job real?”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
From George Carlin:
“Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.”
TODAY
I’m on the road to Marion, Illinois, with songwriter Bill DiLuigi. This evening, we will be at the Marion airport playing songs we’ve written for veterans for a crowd waiting for a plane load of veterans to arrive from their Honor Flight to DC to greet them royally. We play at 7:15, and their plane should be landing shortly afterwards. No doubt, this is going to be pretty special.
Have a great Monday!
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