It's strange how your opinion changes on things as you get older. Back in 1978, my grandfather passed away. I was four years old. The funeral was conducted not more than a mile from where I live now---at McDonald Funeral Home in Centerville. The people that own it---Bill McDonald--- is about one of the best people you will find anywhere, but for some reason, my grandfather's funeral put a fear in me of funerals. If you have ever been the McDonald Funeral Home, one of the entrances is a long and somewhat narrow wooden hallway. I dreamed of that one well into my teenage years.
I am glad to say that my fear of funerals came to an end before I reached adulthood. My jobs helped me on some of this, as working in radio exposed me to a lot of people. Still, if I could get away with a phone call or a sympathy card...I probably would have done that, rather than go to visitation. That is until 2005, and my mother died. That totally changed my thought process. Since then, I have always tried to make a stop...even just for a few minutes....It's not about keeping score, but you do remember people's acts of kindness.
OK...on to the point. Over the weekend, I attended the memorial service for Jessie Lucille Galya. To my knowledge, I only was around her a few times. She was the mother of Bobby Galya, who I think is one of the finest people on earth. One of my closest friends is his son, Bobby. So, I have always been made to feel a part of the family, and I wanted to extend my sympathy to him.
As human beings, I think we tend to overemphasize our importance sometimes. I went to the service feeling that I was doing something noble. Then, the service started. I can honestly tell you that it was one of the most beautiful and moving services that I have ever been to. They are called "Celebrations Of Life" for a reason. Several of Mrs. Galya's family got up and shared some rich and beautiful (and in some cases, funny) memories about her, which hammered the point home that what they were celebrating was the life...and not the end of one's life. Too many times, we are so overcome that we forget the good times at that point. The Galya family is blessed to be a little different.
Then, there were the preachers. Have you ever been to a funeral, and you wonder if the preacher ever knew the person they speak of? Granted, a lot of them do...but there were tears in one of the speakers' eyes----something you don't see...I don't know if I ever had....I don't want anyone to cry for me necessarily, but what a tribute to someone's life.
Anyway, I write this to say that it's not about the start of life....or even the finish that's important. We all are born cute little babies, and all die, maybe in various ways and circumstances....but we all will....It's about what I am finding referred to as "The Dash," that little - between the year of your birth and your passing....How you affect people. To be honest, I'm still working on mine-- but I think that given what people were saying about Jessie Lucille Galya yesterday, she more than left a mark on those that knew her. I'm sorry to say that I didn't, but to her family---I give my sincere condolences ...but also congratulations to have had a person in their family that was so universally loved!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
HOW 'BOUT THEM LADY COUGARS!
It was definitely a season of magic at Dickson County High School this spring. Though it ended earlier than a lot of people (including the team) would have liked for it to, the season for the Dickson County Lady Cougars was one for the books.
I can honestly say, having covered the school for radio / newspaper since 1995, that aside from the football seasons of 1999 and 2006---I don't know if I have enjoyed covering a team on Cougar Hill any more. (Note---When Coach Buck's team won the title back in 2002, we weren't covering games for radio then...We started the next season.)
I wanted to tip my hat to this team, because game in and game out, they have represented the school with a huge amount of grace and class...and as principal Ed Littleton might say, "Cougar Pride."
The team's first five games were won by a collective score of 55-3. That's not a misprint. Simply put, this team was loaded strong. After those first games, I think a lot of people thought we could make a strong run...and indeed we did. 29-9 is a great record, and we ran roughshod during the District Tournament.....To quote Montgomery and Gentry...That's something to be proud of!
Few teams have matched this squad for characters. Yes, the team has a lot of character, but the five seniors this team loses have a lot of firepower....and chemistry galore. Julianna Bass is a player that lived up to the term "Taking one for the team." I can not begin to tell you how many times she put herself in harm's way for a walk to first...and her hitting...not bad either. Kayla Edwards proved herself great at any position---pitching or hitting....Plus, as a Country Music fan, I appreciated the songs she used as she stepped to the plate over the past couple of years. Then you have the dynamic duo of Cat Petty and Ashley Ford. Without a doubt, they are great players...the numbers prove that. But, what I will remember the most is having them on the weekly Cougars' coaches show. Most players get a little shy when put in front of a microphone. Not these two! I honestly think they could host a show of their own. Just don't call out all those "cocky pitchers," # 8!
I don't know if you can single a player out as the leader, but pitcher Lauren Keele definitely played as such this season. At every game, she brought out her fan club as well. I joked to Coach Buck that the team was kind of like rock stars this season. They were that exciting to watch. Keele, who will play at MTSU next season, had a lights out season--grace under fire. I'm not going to say that I knew your mother well besides the concession stand, and the way that she took care of my daughter at games (I wonder just how many Air Heads she got free?), but I'm sure she was looking down and smiling at you each and every game.
Then, there's the parents. Each season, I find that I have gotten a little bit closer to them, and this year was no exception. I don't know if there's ever been a group any more classy.....DCHS crowds are great all around, but this was a neat bunch to cover. Coach Buck and Coach Bert, you guys had a fantastic season. Dickson County should be very proud of what they've got.
Friday night, the afore-mentioned seniors will throw their hats onto the football field, and begin a new chapter of life. Other players will move into their positions next season. It's simply a rite of passage, I guess. Still, the group that I alluded to as "Buck's Bunch" in a couple of HERALD articles this season was a fun one to watch and cover. Thanks to all for letting me be a part of it!
I can honestly say, having covered the school for radio / newspaper since 1995, that aside from the football seasons of 1999 and 2006---I don't know if I have enjoyed covering a team on Cougar Hill any more. (Note---When Coach Buck's team won the title back in 2002, we weren't covering games for radio then...We started the next season.)
I wanted to tip my hat to this team, because game in and game out, they have represented the school with a huge amount of grace and class...and as principal Ed Littleton might say, "Cougar Pride."
The team's first five games were won by a collective score of 55-3. That's not a misprint. Simply put, this team was loaded strong. After those first games, I think a lot of people thought we could make a strong run...and indeed we did. 29-9 is a great record, and we ran roughshod during the District Tournament.....To quote Montgomery and Gentry...That's something to be proud of!
Few teams have matched this squad for characters. Yes, the team has a lot of character, but the five seniors this team loses have a lot of firepower....and chemistry galore. Julianna Bass is a player that lived up to the term "Taking one for the team." I can not begin to tell you how many times she put herself in harm's way for a walk to first...and her hitting...not bad either. Kayla Edwards proved herself great at any position---pitching or hitting....Plus, as a Country Music fan, I appreciated the songs she used as she stepped to the plate over the past couple of years. Then you have the dynamic duo of Cat Petty and Ashley Ford. Without a doubt, they are great players...the numbers prove that. But, what I will remember the most is having them on the weekly Cougars' coaches show. Most players get a little shy when put in front of a microphone. Not these two! I honestly think they could host a show of their own. Just don't call out all those "cocky pitchers," # 8!
I don't know if you can single a player out as the leader, but pitcher Lauren Keele definitely played as such this season. At every game, she brought out her fan club as well. I joked to Coach Buck that the team was kind of like rock stars this season. They were that exciting to watch. Keele, who will play at MTSU next season, had a lights out season--grace under fire. I'm not going to say that I knew your mother well besides the concession stand, and the way that she took care of my daughter at games (I wonder just how many Air Heads she got free?), but I'm sure she was looking down and smiling at you each and every game.
Then, there's the parents. Each season, I find that I have gotten a little bit closer to them, and this year was no exception. I don't know if there's ever been a group any more classy.....DCHS crowds are great all around, but this was a neat bunch to cover. Coach Buck and Coach Bert, you guys had a fantastic season. Dickson County should be very proud of what they've got.
Friday night, the afore-mentioned seniors will throw their hats onto the football field, and begin a new chapter of life. Other players will move into their positions next season. It's simply a rite of passage, I guess. Still, the group that I alluded to as "Buck's Bunch" in a couple of HERALD articles this season was a fun one to watch and cover. Thanks to all for letting me be a part of it!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
A NOT SO ORDINARY JOE
It has been quite the month in Music City. One of the biggest labels of the past decade, Lyric Street Records. closed its' doors--leaving some very talented and creative people out of a job. Rounder Records was sold, even though I have a feeling that the label home of Alison Krauss will keep its' highly artistic reputation intact. The same week that all of this happened, I was leaving the house for Dickson when I received an e-mail that Joe Galante was stepping down from his post at Sony Music---after being with the company (RCA, BMG, SonyBMG) for almost forty years. You could have knocked me over with a feather!
There has been no other music exec in Nashville with the success record as Galante. No one--bar none. Some have come close, but the man stands as one of Nashville's geniuses. He has had the reputation of being tough as nails, and I get it. He is. You can't run the company he did without it. There are many cases of artists having a top ten record one year, and being off the label the next. He's not afraid to pull the plug, even though when I had the honor of interviewing him in 2006, he told he that's not something he relishes. In saying that, I will tell you that I don't always agree with who he drops. Take Jamey Johnson, an artist I fawned over last week. He released an album for the label a few years, had a hit ("The Dollar"), but was dropped. I think things worked out the way they were supposed to, but it remains that Johnson is a great talent--one that should have been able to make his music his way. Rachel Proctor is another one that I think the label missed out on. She had a fantastic album a few years back, but I believe we will hear from her again.
At the same time, what can you say about a man who signed The Judds, Keith Whitley, and Lorrie Morgan....and though he didn't sign them....ask Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, or Alabama how their careers might have fared without Joe and his first-class team on their side. Maybe his biggest leap of faith was signing a 45-year old woman from Arkansas named K.T. Oslin back in the mid 80s. She wasn't going to win the "Sexiest" title, but she had something better---incredible songs, and an ability to relate to a core section of Country's audience. Nobody else would take a chance on her, but Galante's risk paid off...."I'll Always Come Back," 'Do Ya," "Hey, Bobby," and one of the best singles and videos of all time, "80's Ladies."
He would be a legend in my eyes for all of that, but for all his toughness...all his business acumen---one of the reasons he has my respect is for answering a letter from a teenager inquiring about the music business.
Back in 1990, I had an assignment from one of my teachers. I had to write a letter to someone who was doing a job that I wanted to do one day.....Well, I had three choices.....Keith Bilbrey at WSM Radio, Debbie Gibson's personal bodyguard (I was sixteen at the time!), or Galante. I chose the latter. As he has been the past decade, he was on an unbelievable roll at the time, and extremely busy...so I didn't think anything about it. About a month or two later, I checked the mail one day, and there was a package----RCA Records. Nipper himself was on the label! Not only had he answered my letter, but he had sent me a copy of each cassette (Those were the days!) that the label was working at the time...everything from the Judds to Prairie Oyster. I still have the letter.....He didn't have to answer it....but I'm glad he did!
I have been described by my wife as someone who doesn't like change. I guess that is true. But the idea of a Sony / RCA without Galante is as foreign as a WSM without Bilbrey. I have no doubt that the label will continue to thrive under the new management.....but it will be a lot different......Anyway, though I have never thanked him face to face, I want to thank a certain label head from RCA named Galante for not being an "Ordinary Joe," and for what he has done for the music business!
There has been no other music exec in Nashville with the success record as Galante. No one--bar none. Some have come close, but the man stands as one of Nashville's geniuses. He has had the reputation of being tough as nails, and I get it. He is. You can't run the company he did without it. There are many cases of artists having a top ten record one year, and being off the label the next. He's not afraid to pull the plug, even though when I had the honor of interviewing him in 2006, he told he that's not something he relishes. In saying that, I will tell you that I don't always agree with who he drops. Take Jamey Johnson, an artist I fawned over last week. He released an album for the label a few years, had a hit ("The Dollar"), but was dropped. I think things worked out the way they were supposed to, but it remains that Johnson is a great talent--one that should have been able to make his music his way. Rachel Proctor is another one that I think the label missed out on. She had a fantastic album a few years back, but I believe we will hear from her again.
At the same time, what can you say about a man who signed The Judds, Keith Whitley, and Lorrie Morgan....and though he didn't sign them....ask Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, or Alabama how their careers might have fared without Joe and his first-class team on their side. Maybe his biggest leap of faith was signing a 45-year old woman from Arkansas named K.T. Oslin back in the mid 80s. She wasn't going to win the "Sexiest" title, but she had something better---incredible songs, and an ability to relate to a core section of Country's audience. Nobody else would take a chance on her, but Galante's risk paid off...."I'll Always Come Back," 'Do Ya," "Hey, Bobby," and one of the best singles and videos of all time, "80's Ladies."
He would be a legend in my eyes for all of that, but for all his toughness...all his business acumen---one of the reasons he has my respect is for answering a letter from a teenager inquiring about the music business.
Back in 1990, I had an assignment from one of my teachers. I had to write a letter to someone who was doing a job that I wanted to do one day.....Well, I had three choices.....Keith Bilbrey at WSM Radio, Debbie Gibson's personal bodyguard (I was sixteen at the time!), or Galante. I chose the latter. As he has been the past decade, he was on an unbelievable roll at the time, and extremely busy...so I didn't think anything about it. About a month or two later, I checked the mail one day, and there was a package----RCA Records. Nipper himself was on the label! Not only had he answered my letter, but he had sent me a copy of each cassette (Those were the days!) that the label was working at the time...everything from the Judds to Prairie Oyster. I still have the letter.....He didn't have to answer it....but I'm glad he did!
I have been described by my wife as someone who doesn't like change. I guess that is true. But the idea of a Sony / RCA without Galante is as foreign as a WSM without Bilbrey. I have no doubt that the label will continue to thrive under the new management.....but it will be a lot different......Anyway, though I have never thanked him face to face, I want to thank a certain label head from RCA named Galante for not being an "Ordinary Joe," and for what he has done for the music business!
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