Coming To Terms.....

Some dates have a way of affecting you forever. Obviously, the one on which you draw your first breath is one of them. Maybe another could be when you get your drivers license….or you graduate high school. In the course of one’s life, there are so many dates in history that have a definite impact on our sense of being.

For me, December 22, 2017 will be one of them.

I had just had breakfast with one of my friends at Cracker Barrel in Dickson, and was headed back to Centerville. It was a rainy and cold Friday morning. Nothing much was on my radar that day except for my 3-6pm shift at the station. I probably was headed home to sleep for a few hours. It was a good day for it. I was in between Lyles and Centerville when all of a sudden, my windshield began to crack. There was a body colliding with it. The impact of the collision sent the person into the culvert on the side of the road – killing them instantly.

For the past six weeks, I have tried to come to terms with the facts of that morning. Which, to be totally honest, I still can’t rationalize. A man crosses the road between two cars coming from the west going toward Nashville, and never slowed down in his run across the road to check his mail. Because of where the first car was on the highway, I literally didn’t see the person coming – until the point of impact. After a lengthy meeting with the sheriff – which I asked for myself – there is nothing else I can say except that I was meant to be in that one spot, just like the other person was to be in theirs.

That’s the rational explanation, but it sure doesn’t make it any easier.

I know that it wasn’t my fault, and there was nothing that I could have done – but knowing that I had a part in the end of someone else’s life is something I am going to live with for the rest of my life. Most nights, unless I have a ball game or a work-related reason to be out, you will find me home and in bed by 8 or 9 at the latest. I stay in bed pretty late too. If my job was a full-time one technically, I would probably cut back a little, but the bad thing about freelance work is that if you don’t do it, someone else will….and as much as I like _______ (fill in the blank of other freelance writer), I like eating and paying my bills more. So, I can’t stop.

There are so many emotions that I have about the accident. Guilt and Sadness are two that come to mind with a lot of questions. My biggest is ….why. Obviously, why did this have to happen? Couldn’t I have stopped at the gas station to get a drink like I do so many times? Why did I have to be there at that moment? Or him….But, I will never know the answers to those questions. Later, after the accident, I found out that he helped to care for his partially disabled mother – and was recently engaged. Needless to say, those two bits of information made me wish that it could have been me even more instead of him in that ditch. My mother has been gone for over twelve years, and what I wouldn’t give to have one more conversation, one more moment. And, my dating status since my divorce? Non-existent. From those two aspects, it felt – and still feels, to some extent – that he had much more to live for than seeing how many articles I can write this year or trying to avoid the proverbial poorhouse that I teeter so close to.

I will say that these events and thoughts have brought about more conversations with someone who I hadn’t talked to in a while – God. I grew up in the Church, and still consider myself a Christian. I will tell you that since my divorce in 2012, sometimes the absolute last place I want to be is….at Church. There’s a couple. Here’s a couple. Everywhere a couple. Not what I want to see a lot of times. That, combined with the fact that some people – particularly at the Church I grew up at – seem to treat me differently since then, has made me stay away more than I need to. I still pray – and from a career point, He has blessed me, but socially I feel like a odd man out. From a personal standpoint, I sometimes wonder if God’s there…..and after December 22, I felt that faith tested as ever before. But, I will say this. For someone who spent much of the last few years questioning God…..I sure spent a lot of time talking to him….now, granted some of it was yelling….and saying things that aren’t in Leviticus or 1 Corinthians, but it’s still talking. So, there is that.

I say all that to say this. I want to thank each of you who has reached out, said a prayer, talked on the phone. Your support has meant a lot to me. I am going to be working through this for a long time, if not forever, and am going to be in need of those vibes for as long as I can get them. I pray that I can somehow drop some of the self-worth issues that I have had since Junior High. I’ve got some things I am going to have to work on, with career, finances, and spiritual all having their own chapters. But, I have plenty of support – including my own therapist, so I am grateful for that.

I also want to ask you to continue to remember the other family affected. I can’t begin to understand their grief. I feel bad even talking about my pain and feelings about all of this, but my therapist did tell me that this happened to me too….so if I seem self -serving, I don’t mean to be…..but I really needed to write this out. Thanks for reading and understanding.

Let The Holdays Begin!!!

As I write this, I don’t truly know I am at – at least from a literal standpoint. It appears that I am in a town called Fremont, Virginia. If you were to give me $500 – and take away my phone – I doubt that I could find this town by senses alone. I am on the 75^th running of the Santa Train, an annual locomotive excursion from Pikeville, KY to Kingsport, TN. Let me set the scene for you – It’s about fifty degrees and overcast, and the Train is riding through the mountains, with that jolly old man in red, passing out toys, clothes, and candy to children all along the 126-mile ride.

Yep, in my terminology, absolutely beautiful!

This is the fourth year that I have been blessed to make this trip, which definitely qualifies as a trip back in time.  You know that little coal mining town where Loretta Lynn (as Sissy Spacek) went chasing after Mooney’s (Tommy Lee Jones) girlfriend with a stick in Coal Miners’ Daughter? Towns like that still are here in the heart of Appalachia. It’s a soul-stirring sight, although mixed with a bit of melancholy that “progress” doesn’t always extend to every area in this United States. You see everything from small children to great-grandparents lined along the route in towns that never likely never even see the Governor of their respective states, let alone anyone from Washington. To call it a slower pace would be putting it mildly. Think The Waltons (you knew I’d put a reference to that show in there somewhere) in modern day.

Santa Train is kind of the “official” kickoff for the holiday season for me. And, when I say that – let me explain. I have been listening to the sounds of the season for about a month…..have got just about all of my Christmas shopping done….and I call it “Holiday” season not in any way trying to be politically correct.  To me, it is Christmas, pure and simple. But, beginning this week, I can wholeheartedly embrace my inner Kris Kringle and not feel ashamed one bit.

From here, the road goes home, where I have a really cool week planned on the radio – with interviews with three very distinct musical personalities…….Tracy Lawrence, Justin Moore, and…..Mavis Staples. (If you ever think I get used to interviewing people, think again. The fact that I got to talk to one of the greatest female singers in American music history is not lost on me one bit – nor something that I take for granted!)…..Thursday is Thanksgiving……I’m not quite sure where I will be that day, but I can tell you that at some point I will likely be watching The Waltons’ Thanksgiving episode – hoping that John-Boy passes his college entrance exam….(I sense a trend here!)….and watching the Dallas Cowboys play football……hopefully, that won’t go like last week against Atlanta. But, it will be a good day. Oops, let me backtrack. I can tell you one place I will be – at the local gas station to pick up a copy of the Tennessean, so I can find out who’s selling what, when, and where the next day.

Ever since I was sixteen years old in 1990 – which seems to be a little longer of a time period each year – I have been among the hustle and bustle of what is known as “Black Friday,” also known as the Greatest Show on Earth. Usually - though not in the past few years – that day has included my brother Randall, and we will hit the stores. The sales can be great, but what’s really great is the people watching. You see a little bit of everything. I wouldn’t take a hundred dollars for that day. And, I don’t really do a lot of shopping that day for presents – aside from a couple for the kids (which I could get on the second Tuesday in December at Walmart in Hohenwald), I am actually done – that I know of. So, I have mentioned the spiritual side of the next few weeks, and also the commercialism that so many seem to detest. So, what is the Christmas season to me?

All of the above.

I celebrate the way I do because I am thankful. Thankful for a baby that was born in a manger that grew up to be a man who made the ultimate sacrifice. I celebrate the way I do because I am thankful for the job -s- that I have that allow me to make a living for me, feed my two little fur balls, and show people that I care about them. Thankful for my two kids – that while it hasn’t been always been textbook, I think they know I care about them and them me. Thankful for the opportunities that I am blessed with which allow me to be a better writer. I think that this year  I have raised my game a bit. I hope that 2018 is even better….and I am grateful for the relationships I have – blood and otherwise. Life overall is pretty good right now. After spending some time in the darkness in my life, the sun isn’t a bad place to be. There are still goals, and those who know me know what those are – but I am about as content in my own skin as I ever have been before. And, those are words that I never thought I would write.

So, to all of you from me….Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad ( or ‘Felice Nallydall,’ as it was once called by a little girl named Bella….who isn’t so little anymore…..though she can still do a teenage eyeroll as good as anyone!), Season’s Greetings, or Mele Kalikimaka…I hope your last six weeks of the year are all good ones, and remember that favorite writer / radio announcer on your list. (Tacky? Perhaps. But, if one person believes in my “Santa Claus” with gift cards or a package of “Nuts and Bolts” (Chex Mix – homemade!), then it’s entirely worth it!

October 26 - 12 Years Later

 Mama,

Wow. It’s been twelve years today. In a lot of ways it seems like it was yesterday that I made that drive to Nickell Cemetery in  a town that I had no idea that I would be living less than two years later – Centerville. Some ways, it seems like it has been forever. There hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t thought of you since you left us. I don’t guess there ever will.

I wonder what you would think about my life today. Sometimes, I feel that it’s like one of those hot side / cold side sandwiches that McDonalds used to sell. The good – well, I wound up doing what I always wanted to with my life. That feels good, considering it’s about the only thing I know how to do. I can’t say that I ever had a concrete plan, but fortunately God did, and I somehow have been blessed to do what I do on the scale I do it. It’s not perfect, and I live close to the edge every month – but I wake up in the morning ready to roll, and love what I do. That part of my life couldn’t be better.

The personal side isn’t all that bad. I am blessed with a close inner circle of friends and family that have always made me feel accepted and loved. I am blessed to have two or three “Mamas” that I can go to when things get rough. I am blessed for each of them. I have two wonderful children. I can’t say that I have always been “Father of the Year” to either, but I think there is genuine love and affection between us. I am grateful for that. They have provided me some of the happiest moments of my life. Marriage / Dating hasn’t been as smooth, and I get down about that from time to time, but I’m better than I used to be concerning it. If someone comes along, that would be great, but you can’t force it. But, it’s cool. Life heals a lot of wounds, and I feel pretty confident that 95 – no, 92% of the people I know like me in spite of myself. Depression is something that takes away a lot of my positive energy at times, but I do think I’m 120% better than I used to be.

I hope that you’re doing well up there. I don’t know if Heaven has a store that sells Pall Mall Golds, but I do know that Buck Owens has been there since 2006 – and I’m sure you’re on the front row, (Yeah, you can’t get me for that one where you’re at!)……Life is good today. I am staying busy with work, and am about to go on my first pure vacation since….well, I don’t know when.  No concerts, No interviews, Nobody I have to see. Yeah, I’ll probably be a miserable sap….but I’m gonna try it. I don’t guess it’s a coincidence I’m leaving for Florida on your birthday. Guess I will have a Pina Colada. That’s the tradition. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello, and that I was thinking of you. Today, tomorrow, and forever.

Missing You,

Chuck

Garth Made Me Cry.....and 1,500!

This week has been one of reflection for me in a lot of ways. After debating it for a while, I decided to sign up for a membership of Amazon Music this week. After a few days, I can tell you that it’s $7.99 that I don’t think I will regret spending for a while. For a fan of music, it’s like being a kid in a candy store – without having to worry about where you store the CD’s. (Yes, I am still old-school in how I listen to music.) I have been typing every name into the search engine I can – from iconic legends to one or two-hit wonders – and have only stumped it once! (Thankfully, YouTube satisfied my need to hear “Kissing The Wind” by singer-actress Nia Peeples. Don’t ask!) I am late to the party on tech stuff. I was recently given an Amazon Echo, and while I haven’t done anything with it yet – it is at least out of the box. Learning new technology scares me! But, I will say that I am a very satisfied customer! I still will likely buy music or need CD’s for radio purposes, but it’s a very cool thing!

Of course, Amazon Music made headlines last year when it announced that it would be the digital home for Garth Brooks. So, naturally – Garth was one of the first names I looked up while walking around the trail in Centerville. I wasn’t quite prepared for the emotions that I felt. As someone who has been in this business for a long time – 1991 – it’s easy to forget that long before I was doing this for a living, I was – and still am – a fan. Just like with the music of Taylor Swift and today’s generation, there was NO bigger event in the 1990s than a Garth Brooks release day. During my WDKN days, we even did a lunchtime remote at Walmart when his 1998 The Limited Series box set was released. Even last year, when he released a box set through Target, I drove from Centerville to Spring Hill at 7am in the morning to be there when the store opened at 8. His music served as much of the soundtrack to my 1990s, a fact that is easy to forget because so much is made of his overwhelming Soundscan numbers. Simply put, his music was that good – and then some.

If there is any album that means more to me than any other Brooks disc, it would have to be Ropin’ The Wind. Released in 1991, this album was a very important one in my music history. I remember during Homecoming week 1991 – my Senior Year at Dickson County High, if you walked around the parking lot on Cougar Hill, you would hear album cuts such as “Cold Shoulder,” “Burning Bridges” and the western epic “In Lonesome Dove.” The students who were staying late that week working on floats were not just listening to the hits from the album on the radio. They had the tape in their decks. That was a big moment for me, as you were looked down upon for being a Country Music fan back then. And, by our senior year, the theme of the Homecoming Pep Rally for our class was the CMA…..standing for the Cougar Music Awards. Between that and the arrival of a new classmate from Texas named John Rich, you weren’t made fun of by the Gooch Brothers (they did that to everyone….probably even each other!) or told you were going to Hell by “Jesus” for listening to anything other than Christian Music. (An inside thing for members of the Class of ‘92). It was a great moment in time.

But, more importantly, that album was about the music. Songs like “Rodeo,” “Shameless,” and “The River” just seemed to sound bigger than anything else that had been out to that point….and then, there was “What She’s Doin’ Now.” While the song does bring someone to mind – someone who has done very well with her life, and always treated me with respect – that’s not that important. The song was – and is – one that I would put with any song from any decade as far as emotional vulnerability and performance. It ranks in my Top Five favorite songs of all time, and will always do so. Though it’s been twenty-six years since the album was originally released, and I’ve played music from it countless times since then, hearing it again through the ears of a fan was something that shook me up this afternoon. It made me grateful for the music that affected me – and the life that I’ve been blessed enough to live. That seventeen-year old kid who was so awkward about everything back then – and now, to a large degree – has had the chance to meet Garth a couple times before. One day, I would love to tell him how much that music – that album in particular – has meant to me. Some people think of music as a disposable item. Thank God that for me, it matters as much now as it did when I attended my first Fan Fair in 1987, when Ropin’ The Wind came out in September 1991, or now.

And, that leads me to now. Sometime this week, I will have passed my 1,500th article for Billboard. Ironically, this milestone takes place six years to the week of my first one. I am humbled and honored to still get to do what I love at the level I do it at. That’s not being cocky or arrogant. I can’t do anything else. Music – though I’ve never played it – is my life, my passion, my friend, and stirs my soul like nothing else. With that being said, I do feel the need to acknowledge a few people who have been instrumental in the past six years!

Beville Dunkerley – My career would probably have never gotten off the ground were it not for you. You have my respect and my friendship – and my appreciation.

Tye Comer – Thank God I didn’t delete the email that you sent me six years ago, thinking it was nothing more than a marketing email. Your belief in me has been one of my greatest blessings.

Marc Schneider – My first supervising editor. You showed me the ropes, and from you I learned so much – such as the art of spacing your articles out. Thank you. I’m glad our paths cross from time to time at .Biz

Serena Kappes – In maybe the most challenging time of my six years, you challenged me as no one ever before. I mean that in a good way. Through you, I learned about going deeper than the talk points or the new album. I appreciate you.

Joe Lynch – In the past year, you have given me an abundance of freedom and confidence to sometimes delve outside of the Top 40. I credit my pieces on Bobby Osborne and Jon Walmsley to your belief and confidence in me. I hope I never let you down!

Matt Medved – Thank you so much for your belief in me, and all of the opportunities as of late. I don’t take them for granted! Here’s to more!

Taylor Weatherby – I can’t say that I know you that well – yet. But, I appreciate working with you, and your passion for Country Music. I know the feeling!

Thom Duffy – Though I don’t get to work with you on a daily basis, you have always been in my corner, and I appreciate you using me from time to time on special projects. You are class personified, and I respect you immensely.

Here’s to the next 1,500! I’ll keep those pitches coming!

A Really Good Place

(Sitting in a less-than-crowded airport at BNA)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here. And, there’s a good reason for that. This summer, I have been about as busy as I can ever remember being in my life and career. This season always used to seem to be the slowest to pass by, but this year has turned out to be different. June, July, and August are rushing by at the speed of light. When I take off for Detroit in a few minutes, it will be the fourth out-of-state trip that I will have taken this summer. Between that, doing a radio show, working on my usual articles and such, I have been blessed tremendously – all my life, actually, but it seems that things have really kicked into a higher gear this year.

And, for that I am grateful.

This summer has been one of healing, discovery, and a little bit of acceptance – a little bit. I won’t go into the details on the first, other than to say that one of the trips I have taken this summer had nothing to do with career. But, as it surrounds someone else I love – who doesn’t post their lives as freely as I do, I will digress. But, let me say that even as a Cowboys fan, I only think warm thoughts about the state of Pennsylvania – fifty weeks of the year! It was a trip that I needed to take, and I’m glad I did.

Whether it be flying to Myrtle Beach to cover a festival, going to Bristol for an event at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, or going to cover one of the top artists in the format this weekend in the Motor City, I am getting to spend a lot of time on the road this year. I hope it continues, although I have to admit that I am going to have to be a little smarter about planning those runs. I stay about one inch from the poor house at all times anyway, but I can usually place the blame on the sometimes-erratic world of freelance payments. You might get three in one week, or go a month without any. That being said, I realize that I have been burning through my travel like Sherman through Atlanta. At the very least on these trips, there is car rental, food, etc….and when you do as many as I have done lately, you look at your bank account and think ‘Why?’ But, as it is this time, I only have myself to blame. I’ve never traveled this much in a short amount of time before. However, I am grateful for those – editors, publicists, record companies, that have given me that chance. So, there are no regrets.

I have prayed to be taken seriously in this business for many years now. I am beginning to think that maybe I am getting there. One of my good friends in the industry told me one day recently that he wondered why I have this feeling of inadequacy about my work. I joke with people that I feel that I just kind of snuck into the back door, and as long as the “real journalists” don’t realize I’m in the room, I may be able to stay a while. To answer his question, it’s partly because I was never trained to do what I do. When it comes to radio, I pretty much learned it on the fly, and the same with writing. I do what I do not because I can sing music, or I am the best at putting words on paper – or a screen, but because I always have had a passion for music – and telling the world at large about it. It can be about Don Rich, The Blind Boys of Alabama, or Brantley Gilbert, and I’m passionate about all three. You have to be a self-starter to stay in this business, and it took me a while to realize that. While I have nothing but fond memories and love for people I have worked with in radio, there wasn’t a lot of positive re-inforcment about my abilities doing it – until I started working for Steve Turner at Kix 96 in 2009. I won’t say it was negative, but I never really felt supported. One owner – whom I never worked for – told me that I needed to work on my interview skills – after I had done well over 300 interviews eight years ago. It’s easy to take that stuff to heart, and I wear mine directly on my sleeve.

But, this summer, there has started to be a shift in my attitude about my place in life. There are writers that I still feel a little less than when I am in a room – but that’s getting better. I guess that after fifteen years of writing – and close to 1500 pieces for Billboard, I’m still in the game because…...I am actually kind of good at it.

Damn, that was hard. Not as hard as asking a woman out, mind you, but still difficult. Please don’t take that for overconfidence or cockiness. Heck, I am about as insecure about my talent as it gets from time to time. When I see another writer with a story that I’m not doing, my first thought is too often (sadly) why isn’t that me? But, to quote the sweetest soul in Nashville, Deborah Evans Price, “There’s enough for everybody.” I guess that includes me. This summer, between trips, special features, and my usual profiles, I have gotten more opportunity to prove myself. I think I’ve done ok with it. Enough that the chances keep a’coming! And, between all of those, Kix 96, the Dickson Herald, and football season beginning next week, it looks like it’s going to be more of the same for this fall. At least I hope so!

So, I’m about to grab my kindle, and unwind as the plane taxis out. It's been a crazy week, with work, and caring for a sick cat.....but she is doing better - enough to fight with her brother over catnip and claw the heck of me when I gave her liquid vitamins! Life is in a pretty good spot right now, and if I can just keep it up, I think I will be in a good place!

From 300 to 30,000

As I write this, I am about five miles from the ocean. There is a bit of peaceful tranquility that one feels when they are close to such a powerful vessel of water. Anyone who can look at such a picturesque view and not feel the presence of a higher power, well, I think they miss the point. There's a sense of everything being ok. Too bad the Atlantic isn't in Hickman County!

I'm writing this while I am covering the Carolina Country Music Festival in Myrtle Beach, SC. For four days, some of the biggest stars in the format - Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Jason Aldean included are playing in front of 30-40,000 Country fans within rock throwing area of the ocean. It's been really interesting to see the reaction to the various performers this year. 

Maybe, being outside of Nashville for an event of this magnitude is a little bit of an experience upon itself. I've traveled for Country Music shows and interviews before, but being in Nashville kind of makes you immune to just how cool it is that music has such an impact on the world we live in. In Nashville, it's an automatic part of the culture. Heck, growing up and watching Channel 2 as a kid, the newsman's name was.....George Jones. So, you kind of get used to your surroundings.

And, as a longtime fan of the format, I will be the first to say that I get a little jaded at the changing sound. For better or worse, I am a traditionalist. (With a love of all kinds of music, however, as anyone who knows me can attest, Kenny Rogers is my favorite - and he was never honky-tonk). I still hold out hope that the next big thing will be someone who makes traditional Country bad-ass - kind of like Ricky Skaggs did in the 80s. But, times have changed. I still hope that artist is out there, but you can't begrudge anyone for having success these days. And, it's interesting to see so many styles of song coming into the format nowadays. My generation - the middle agers (Did I really just write that?) - was probably the last that were probably exposed to just one kind of music growing up. At least that how it was for me. Sure, I loved Janet Jackson, Richard Marx, and Billy Joel as much as anyone - the night before my high school graduation, I was at Starwood (again, dating myself) watching Paula Abdul and Color Me Badd. But, it was 90 percent Country, and ten percent everything else for me. It's almost impossible to be that single-minded musically, now. Chances are, one's music collection includes as much Drake and Katy Perry as it does mainstream Country. That's not a complaint, just an observation. It's going to remain that way. I have to admit that seeing the reaction to some of the newer acts like a Brett Young has been very interesting and entertaining to watch. I think we've got some pretty good acts out there right now that are making a name for themselves. I hope it continues for everyone, though if a Kentucky Wildcat like Skaggs comes along, I would be game!

That leads me to something that happened today that I have to share with you. I went on the bus to interview Granger Smith at CCMF today. He and his crew graciously invited me to hang and watch the show from the stage. I enjoyed the moment thoroughly. I wrote my first piece on Granger in the summer of 2011 - a few months before I started working for Billboard. So, to see him go from being primarily a Texas act that might play for 300 or so a night back in those days to an artist who was playing for at least 30,000 this afternoon was an incredible feeling. He has worked for it, as has his whole team. And, trust me, Granger Smith would have signed with Wheelhouse and topped the chart with "Backroad Song" without Chuck Dauphin's words. I know that. But, it feels good to have been a part of a sliver of the story. 

There are times that this business can break your heart, or piss you off. I alternate between the two more often than not. With over 2,500 stories written in the past decade, you would think I would be a little more secure than I am. I'm still waiting to feel comfortable. When I don't get invited to participate in an album launch, the competitor in me gets upset. I think there are two writers in Nashville who are better than everyone else, and the rest of us have our good days, but I would put my work up against anybody else. I feel I'm writing as good as I ever have, so I guess I'll keep at it. There's been more good days than the other as of late. I know I am rambling a bit, but after twenty-six years of talking or writing about music, I'm just glad to be in the game.....and glad when success happens to good people, like it has my good friend, Granger Smith. And, with that, I will close and say 'Yee Yee.'

Every Small Town Has One

I was talking to someone the other day who asked how long I had been "in the business." I won't say just how young the person was.....but needless to say, I realized that when I played "Bop" by Dan Seals for the first time in April 1991, this person wasn't alive. Now, there are two ways of looking at that distinction. One - for better or worse, I am a survivor. Or two, I'm not as young as the seventeen-year old who went on the air that spring. (I choose the first.....it sounds better!)

That being said, every town has a radio personality that it identifies with. In Dickson, for example, though I was there for eighteen years, the voice of Warren Medley defined WDKN for almost six decades. In 1957, there was a little kid named Stevie Turner who started singing on WHLP in Centerville. Chances are, if you tune into WNKX on Saturday mornings, you will hear that same person.....only now he's the owner. Each town has a voice, a personality that defines it. 

With that said, let me tell you about a good friend of mine named Jerry Wilson. Midway through my career at WDKN, I started to try to spread my wings somewhat. I began to write a weekly music column, and even tried record promotion for a time. While I enjoy meeting radio programmers and travelling, I will say that I don't think anyone is going to give me a Gold record for my promotion skills. Too much like sales. During my time promoting records, I met Jerry. He was the Music Director at the radio station in Brownsville. More importantly, he became a friend. I would call into his show weekly and talk about the news from Nashville, and we got to be buddies. I would occasionally drive to Brownsville and take him to lunch. I remember eating on the square there at a restaurant that had SWEET Tea, (Trust me, even sweeter than a Papa Kayjoe's quart straight from Oma's kitchen!) 

He invited me to speak to a class he taught at Haywood County High School, which I did a few times. I appreciate him thinking that I had something to say. But, more importantly, Jerry believed in me. He was one of the first cheerleaders that I had in the business outside of Dickson. For his belief, I will always be grateful.  Over the past few months, I have returned to radio, and though it's a different dynamic than the old days, I love it. There's something about a connection you make with your listeners that make you become their friends. Whether that comes from behind a mic in the studio - or in a small town on a Friday night inside the press box , there's an adrenaline flow that is unlike anything I've done. I'm not saying I'm even that good at it, but I will tell you that i try to apply little bits of announcers that had an influence on me. Sometimes, that influence is all they can give. Radio, more often than not, is not something that you're going to make a lot of money at. In a lot of ways, it's like journalism....the perks are unbelievable, but you're constantly chasing your backside in a circle......but you do it because you love it.

That's true for people who inspired me - your Keith Bilbrey's of the world, that's also true of the passionate people who work and program small-town radio stations....names like Ken Loggains (Batesville, AR), Ed Carter (Pulaski, TN), Lee Richey (New York), Mike Thomas (Warrenton, MO), Steve Ferguson and Jim Quinton (Georgia). That was also true of Jerry Wilson. The man was passionate about music, radio, and Haywood County - its' people and its' traditions. That's a passion that you can't fake. It's either there or it isn't. About the only thing he cared about more was his Lord and his family. Jerry passed away just a few days ago at the age of 75. I regret that I won't be able to attend the service, but I can only imagine how packed that church is going to be. He had an impact on so many lives through his work, and he will be missed by a lot of folks, me included! 

East Bound And Down

I didn’t realize it at the time – and to be honest, had to go back and research it a bit, but in retrospect – Tuesday, November 11, 1980 proved to be a momentous day in my life. I was six years old at the time, and my Uncle was visiting from Milan,TN.

I wasn’t too happy about that.

Now, let me explain that statement a bit. I had nothing against my Uncle Darty. As a matter of fact, along with my Uncle Burt on my father's side, he was one of my two favorite Uncles. When he passed away in 1990, I was one of his pallbearers, and he remains one of my favorite people of all-time. However, in visiting his sister - my grandmother - he was going to disrupt my schedule. But, in doing so, he helped to shape my love of Southern Culture, and this weekend, some twenty-seven years following his passing, his visit has a profound impact on me to this day!

I have made no secret of the fact that I was a child of television growing up. Whether it be the Dukes, the Ewings, or the Waltons, the TV series I watched growing up were a big part of my life,especially being an only child. I can still tell you about flop shows of the pre-Cable era when we only had three networks. Even at six years old, I had my favorites. I hung with The Fonz, had a crush on Valerie Bertinelli, and dreamed of making a car jump in the General. (Even though, the picnic table at Burns Elementary did serve that purpose for us Dukes-wannabes in 1980, and Heather Shelton and Mary Ann Honeycutt were just as cute as Daisy Duke back then!)

So...my Uncle is coming. He was coming up to visit, as he would do from time to time. Sometime after getting home from school, my grandmother told me there was a movie he wanted to watch that was coming on TV that night.

Wait a minute. What?

Yes, as the Dauphin clan only had one television at the time, the visitor was going to get to choose the entertainment for the evening – and boy, I didn’t like it one bit. I wanted to watch whatever it was that I wanted to watch. (And, for the record, I don’t know what that was…..It was a Tuesday, so I’m guessing Happy Days or The Misadventures of Sherrif Lobo – two of my early favorites)…...He wanted to see a movie. Some two hour film about a guy who drove a car. Sounds thrilling, right?

You may know where this is going.

The movie he wanted to see was Smokey and The Bandit, a film that starred Burt Reynolds as well….The Bandit. (I think his name was Bo) He drove a black Trans Am and Jerry Reed, his sidekick, drove a truck. The plot of the film centered around the transport of Coors Beer from Texas to Georgia – which was illegal at the time. How much of the movie I understood at six, I don’t know. But, it became a favorite. And, next to Coal Miners’ Daughter, probably the movie I have seen the most over my lifetime.

Some might call it the perfect fantasy film – especially for a six year old in the big city of Burns. Truth be told, even now, I have to admit that for one day, it would be a little bit of fun to get behind the wheel of a fast car, drive around with a pretty woman, and as Reynolds did so well…..”Show off.”

So, that’s what I am going to do this weekend. The film celebrates its 40th anniversary with a re-release this Sunday and Wednesday only. I plan on being at both. While I have never seen Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, or any movie with the word Sith in it (What is a “Sith” anyway?), I have always kind of been envious of the fans of that movie who act like kids - and allow themselves that privilege – on days where another Prequel or Sequel or re-release comes out.

So, today is my day. For a few hours today and Wednesday (because I want to ensure that my son gets to experience this movie for sure as we couldn’t decipher whether he had seen the DVD or not back in his younger days with me), I am going to be a kid again. And, I’m going to be proud of it. So, fix me a Diablo Sandwich, and watch me head ‘East Bound and Down’ on Sunday…..With any apologies to those I might offend with this, you might even hear me utter the word “Sumbitch” in honor of Jackie Gleason, as well. As I recall, I think that six year old did say that once or twice that night…...So, let’s go back to 1977 when life was a lot more innocent and free….Uncle Darty, this weekend is for you! And, that’s a Big 10-4!