BILL BLOG
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Tuesday morning, and we say goodbye to August. It’s the first day of September, with August-like temperatures. It will be a toasty 97 degrees in Nashville today.
And with that, most of us are looking for cooler temperatures and the turning of the leaves. Those in the know say upstate New York and New England will have the best Fall colors this year.
YESTERDAY
I had no writing appointment yesterday, so I used the time to rehearse songs for the two upcoming shows this week out west with Linda Davis and Lang Scott. Thursday night in Alto, New Mexico, and then Friday night in Midland, Texas.
STILL ON THE CHART
I took a snapshot of the Bluegrass Today Chart yesterday.
Sitting there in the #8 slot is the song “Moonshines on the Still” from Dailey & Vincent that Laura Leigh Jones and I wrote. I’m not even sure how many weeks the song has been on the chart, but a lot. It’s been number one for a couple of weeks, slipped, came back to #2, and then I thought it would fall off the chart. But it hasn’t. Within the last three weeks, “Moonshines” had gone from #15 to #17, and then this week, all the way back up to #8!
What a blessing this little bluegrass song has been.
DAUGHTER BRAGGING
This is my daughter Heather’s latest dress that she’s modeling at Balboa Park in San Diego.
Nope, I don’t know how she does this either. I’m giving partial credit to my mom, who sewed a lot when my brothers and sisters and I were growing up in Missouri. I’m glad Heather has that to share with the grandma she never met.
Of course, my mom also cooked with lard, and Heather did not pick up on that. Probably a good thing as well.
SONG OF THE DAY
Australian singer, comedian Pete Denahy is in Nashville for a few days. We had hoped to get together and write in person for the first time. But a last-second booking happened for him, so we’ll have to wait until he comes back to the States again.
I did write a funny song with Pete years ago, online. An idea that Pete had, “Long White Train.” Someone who knew me had suggested that Pete reach out to me as we both write a lot of funny songs. And this one with Pete is my choice for today’s tune.
HEALTH NOTES
A dietitian claims that if you ingest 4-6 ounces of 100% tart cherry juice, it will help you sleep better.
Walmart mangos have been recalled over salmonella concerns. (And I just realized, I’ve never eaten a mango.)
A 22-year-old woman was diagnosed with cancer after her ears never popped on a flight.
HERE’S YOUR SIGN
Sorta, kind of clever.
ONE MORE DOLLY STORY
Most folks know that Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” for Porter Waggoner and that story about how it moved him so much that he let her out of her deal, with the caveat that he got to produce that song.
And a lot of us know that when Elvis wanted to record it, his manager Tom Parker asked for Dolly’s publishing on it, which Parker did all the time and most songwriters gave in. Not Dolly. She said, “No.” She may have been the only one to turn down an Elvis cut. Certainly, she’s one of the few.
What most people may not know is how much money she made later by standing her ground. After Whitney Houston recorded it, Dolly may have made as much as 20 MILLION off that recording alone.
And you wonder where she found the money to build Dollywood?
SPACE ELEVATOR
NASA says there’s no reason this won’t work. A space elevator with a cable that runs 66,000 miles into space. It will deliver supplies to the space station, and one day, even humans will be able to take a ride into space on something like this.
And no elevator operator will be asking, “Which floor?”
NUDE FOOD
A guy in Houston ordered food to be delivered from DoorDash. When the order arrived, the customer checked his door camera and saw his delivery guy stark naked with the food order. He left the food, then walked away…still naked.
The salad had more dressing than the delivery dude.
HAPPIEST CITIES
According to WalletHub, the 5 happiest cities in the country are:
5…Fargo, North Dakota
4…Burlington, VT
3…Scottsdale, Arizona
2…Bismarck, North Dakota
And the HAPPIEST city in America?
Fremont, California, which is up near San Francisco.
I would just like to ask WalletHub, “Have you been to North Dakota in the winter!?)
GOOD QUESTION
A comedian asked, “If smoking is so bad, why does it cure salmon?”
NEW MOVIE
I loved the original Facebook movie, “The Social Network,” that Alan Sorkin produced that told the story of how Mark Zuckerberg made a kazillion dollars creating (stealing) the Facebook idea.
Now comes a sequel titled “The Social Reckoning” that Alan Sorkin says should shock us. Here’s the TRAILER they just released. I’m in.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
From the late funny woman Phyllis Diller:
“Housework won’t kill you, but why take the chance?”
TODAY
I’m writing with Caroline Owens today, the great young bluegrass artist on Billy Blue Records. Boy, her star continues to grow. If you like old-time one-room church gospel songs, you’ll love her new song, “Old Time Church,” that features the Isaacs as well. Some folks hear a little "Dolly" in Carolline's voice. You can hear that in this great song.
Then tonight I’ll be packing a bag for an early flight tomorrow morning for two shows out west with Linda Davis and Lang Scott.
Have a great Tuesday!
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