Autógrafos Raros De Detroit City Mel Tillis Tom Jones Bobby Bare Danny Dill Letras

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Vendedor: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Ubicación del artículo: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Realiza envíos a: US y muchos otros países, Número de artículo: 176283104158 AUTÓGRAFOS RAROS DE DETROIT CITY MEL TILLIS TOM JONES BOBBY BARE DANNY DILL LETRAS. DETROIT CITY WORDS AND MUSIC BY DANNY DILL AND MEL TILLIS. SHEET OF PAPER WITH LYRICS SIGNED BY DANNY DILL, MEL TILLIS, TOM JONES & BOBBY BARE Lonnie Melvin Tillis was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits Sir Thomas Jones Woodward OBE is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and he has since toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas from 1967 to 2011. His voice has been described by AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone". Horace Eldred "Danny" Dill was an American country music singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.  Robert Joseph Bare Sr. is an American country singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician.
Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home".[2] He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early career In the 1950s, Bare repeatedly tried and failed to sell his songs.[3] He finally got a record deal, with Capitol Records, and recorded a few unsuccessful rock and roll singles.[2] Just before he was drafted into the United States Army, he wrote a song called "The All American Boy"[4] and did a demo for his friend, Bill Parsons, to learn how to record. Instead of using Parsons' later version, the record company, Fraternity Records, decided to go with Bare's original demo.[2] The record reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but Fraternity erroneously credited Bill Parsons on the label.[5][6] The same track, with the same billing error, peaked at No. 22 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1959.[7] In 1965, an album of older recorded material, Tender Years (JM-6026), was released on the Hilltop label. That same year, the material was repackaged by Sears and released under the title Bobby In Song (SPS-115). These albums are not usually included in Bare's published discographies. Career at RCA Victor (1962–1970) Bare's big break in country music came when Chet Atkins signed him to RCA Victor. His debut single for the label was 1962's "Shame On Me". Follow-up "Detroit City" reached No. 6 Country,[6] No. 16 Hot 100,[5] and in 1964 earned him a Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. Then a surge of hits followed, including "500 Miles Away from Home" (based on a traditional folk ballad written by Hedy West as "500 Miles")[5] and Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds". In 1965 he received two further Grammy nominations for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance and Best Country & Western single for the latter song. In 1966, he received a yet another Grammy Nomination for Best Country & Western Male Vocal Performance for his song "Talk Me Some Sense". He also recorded two duet albums with Skeeter Davis[2] and recorded six tracks as a trio with Norma Jean and Liz Anderson, which produced a major hit with "The Game of Triangles", a wife-husband-other woman drama that hit No. 5 on the Billboard chart and earned the trio a Grammy nomination. In 1968, he recorded an album with a group from England called The Hillsiders.[8][9] In 1969, he had a Top 5 hit with Tom T. Hall's "(Margie's At) The Lincoln Park Inn".[6] Career at Mercury (1970–1972) Bare moved to Mercury Records in 1970 and immediately scored a Top 3 hit with "How I Got To Memphis",[2] and also had two Top 10 hits with early Kris Kristofferson compositions, "Come Sundown" and "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" (both 1971).[2][6] He also scored a #12 hit in 1972 with a version of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show's pop hit "Sylvia's Mother", written by Shel Silverstein. Return to RCA (1973–1977) Bare returned to RCA in 1973, after two years at Mercury. [2] and scored once more with Billy Joe Shaver's "Ride Me Down Easy", which nearly made the Top 10. Bare started to release novelty songs recorded live with selected audiences. One such song, "Marie Laveau", topped the country chart in 1974; the song was Bare's only #1 hit.[2] It was co-written by his friends Silverstein and Baxter Taylor, who received a BMI Award for the song in 1975. In 1977, Bare released an entire album of songs by songwriter Bob McDill called Me and McDill, which contained the popular hit "Look Who I'm Cheatin' On Tonight."[10] Silverstein penned other songs for Bare including a Grammy-nominated hit, "Daddy What If", which he recorded with his five-year-old son, Bobby Bare Jr.[2] The song was an immediate success as well, not only reaching No. 2 on the country charts, but nearly reaching the Top 40 on the pop charts. Bare's album, Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies, became his most commercially successful album, finding him a new audience with pop radio once again playing his songs and also gaining a new following with college kids.[2] These songs, all 14 written or co-written by Shel Silverstein, however, would become Bare's last Top 10 hits. Bare later recorded a children's album with his family, mainly of Silverstein songs, called Singin' in the Kitchen.[11] It was nominated in Best Group category in Grammy Awards,[12] but was declined by Bare himself. His biggest hits during this time included "Alimony" (1975), "The Winner" (1976), and "Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life)" (an unusual Christian-football waltz, and a 1976 Grammy nominee for Best Country Song).[13] In 1977 he recorded "Redneck Hippie Romance"[14] and "Vegas" (a duet with his wife Jeannie). Career at Columbia (1978–1983) Bare signed with Columbia Records and continued to have hits like "Sleep Tight Good Night Man", which barely cracked the Top 10 in 1978, alongside continuing to score critical acclaim with his releases Bare and Sleeper Wherever I Fall.[2] In 1979, he started off Rosanne Cash's career in a big way by being her duet partner on the Top 20 hit "No Memories Hangin' Round".[2] In 1980, he almost cracked the Top 10 with "Numbers", which came from his album Down and Dirty.[2] On that album, Bare started to experiment with Southern rock, which continued with his following album, Drunk and Crazy (1980).[2] The next year, Bare returned to his country roots with his Rodney Crowell-produced album As Is, featuring the single "New Cut Road". Bare was still doing well chartwise into the early 1980s. In 1983, his duet with Lacy J. Dalton, "It's A Dirty Job", hit the Top 30. His last trip into the Top 30 came that summer with the novelty song "The Jogger". He also released "Used Cars", the theme song from the film of the same name. Eurovision 2012 In January and February 2012, Bare joined up with Petter Øien at the 2012 Melodi Grand Prix to compete for Norway's entry to the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in May. His song "Things Change" got through to the Norwegian final where Øien and Bare finished third. Film career Bare was also given an opportunity to star in movies. He acted in a Western with Troy Donahue, A Distant Trumpet, and had a memorable scene being branded for desertion, and a few episodes of the TV series No Time for Sergeants. He turned his back on Hollywood to pursue his country career. Later country career (1983–present) From 1983 to 1988, Bare hosted Bobby Bare and Friends on The Nashville Network which featured him interviewing songwriters who sang their hit songs on the show. In 1985, Bare signed with EMI America Records where he scored three low-charting singles. In 1998, he formed the band Old Dogs, with Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Waylon Jennings. As of 2023 he is the last surviving member of the group. In 2005, he released his first new album in two decades, The Moon Was Blue, produced[15] by his son Bobby Bare Jr., who is also a musician. He continues to tour today. In 2012, Bare performed a duet of the song "I'd Fight The World" on the Jamey Johnson album Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran. On April 10, 2013, the CMA announced that Bare would be a 2013 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Other 2013 Inductees include Cowboy Jack Clement and Kenny Rogers.[16] After being inducted in the 1960s but gradually drifting away, Bare was reinstated as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on April 7, 2018, by Garth Brooks.[17] "Detroit City" is a song written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis, made famous by Billy Grammer (as "I Wanna Go Home"),[1] country music singer Bobby Bare and Tom Jones. Bare's version was released in 1963. The song — sometimes known as "I Wanna Go Home" (from the opening line to the refrain) — was Bare's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer, and became a country music standard. About the song Prior to Bare's success with "Detroit City," country singer Billy Grammer released his version of the Danny Dill-Mel Tillis penned song.[2] His version was known as "I Wanna Go Home" and peaked at #18 on the Billboard country charts in 1963.[3] The song is the working man's complaint, and "with its melody reminiscent of the 'Sloop John B,' describes the alienation felt by many rural southerners in the mid North," wrote country music historian Bill Malone. "Here, [Bare's] earnest and plaintive interpretation lends great believability to this mournful song."[4] Bob Dylan describes the song as "...not so much the song of a dreamer, but the song of someone who is caught up in a fantasy of the way things used to be. But the listener knows that it just doesn't exist."[5] Bare's version begins in the key of E, until after the repeat of the refrain, he makes a transition to the key of B for the second verse and refrain. He makes a transition back to the key of E as the song fades out. Bare's version also features a spoken recitation following half of the second verse, before singing the refrain before the song's fade. The song's peak in popularity during the summer of 1963 came during a time when Tillis was still experiencing most of his success as a songwriter. He had previously written hits for Webb Pierce, Brenda Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others, but this was one of his earliest major hits as a songwriter outside of those artists. The song won Bobby Bare a Grammy for the Best Country & Western Recording in 1963.[6] Chart performance Grammer's "I Wanna Go Home" reached #18 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in early 1963. That summer, Bare's re-titled version peaked at #6 on the Billboard country chart (it spent total of 18 weeks on this chart) and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] Billy Grammer Chart (1963) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 18 Bobby Bare Chart (1963) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report 93 Danish Singles Chart 7 German Singles Chart 40 Norwegian Singles Chart 1 Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[8] 1 Sweden (Tio i Topp)[9] 1 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 4 U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[10] 6 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 16 Tom Jones Chart (1967) Peak position U.K. Singles Chart 8 Austrian Top 40 14 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 27 German Singles Chart 35 Canadian Singles Chart[12] 16 Dean Martin Chart (1970) Peak position U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under-Hot 100 1 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles 36 Canadian RPM Top Singles 93 Other Covers Jan & Dean covered the song for their 1963 album Surf City And Other Swingin' Cities. Arthur Alexander released the song as a single in 1965 backed with "You Don't Care," but it did not perform well and proved to be his last single for Dot Records.[13] Nonetheless, historian Nat Hentoff described Alexander's rendition as "deeply compelling," stating that it "[eclipsed] the original version by Bobby Bare."[14] Alexander biographer described it as "a stirring rendition."[13] Music USA: A Rough Guide also praised Alexander's version.[15] No Depression magazine states that Alexander's version "mourns a rural-to-urban migration that black Americans could relate to every bit as much as poor Southern whites."[16] Jerry Lee Lewis released a version on his 1965 album Country Songs for City Folks.[17] The Jordanaires released a cover on their 1966 album The Big Country Hits. Charley Pride released his cover of the song as the b-side of his 1966 hit "Just Between You and Me".[18] Both songs were later included on the 1967 album Pride of Country Music.[19] In 1967, the song was also covered by Tom Jones, who had a UK Top 10 hit with it.[20] The Jones version features Bare's spoken Recitation as well. Jones also included the song on his 1967 album Green, Green Grass of Home. Solomon Burke covered the song in 1967 as well. His version reached #10 in the Canadian RPM Soul charts, January 27, 1968.[21] Dolly Parton covered the song on her 1980 album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs.[22] The song has also been covered by soul singer Joe Tex. The song was covered by Yugoslav beat band Tomi Sovilj i Njegove Siluete on their 1967 EP Stoj, Džoni (Stop, Johnny). Buried within the book for the hefty box set Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus lays a disclaimer by liner notes author Dave Samuelson: “Newcomers to the Bare/Silverstein catalog should note several of these recordings contain language that may surprise if not shock more sensitive ears. Always the iconoclast, Silverstein generally directed his ribald, often dark humor to a predominantly male audience. His world straddled both the ‘Playboy’ philosophy and the bohemian Beat Generation of the 1950s. Anyone offended by his depiction of women should remember his work mirrors the attitudes, sensibilities and humor of an earlier era.” A content warning may be necessary for listeners who are only familiar with Shel Silverstein as the author of children’s books, blissfully unaware of the existence of such gleefully pornographic records as 1972’s Freakin’ at the Freakers Ball. Much of Silverstein’s reputation rests upon the enduring popularity of The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and A Light in the Attic, children’s books published between 1964 and 1981, years where he also worked as a cartoonist, a Playboy satirist, and a folk singer, a vocation he pursued despite the inconvenient fact that he couldn’t sing, he shrieked. He might not have been able to carry a tune, but he could write one, a talent recognized by Johnny Cash, who was drawn to the literal gallows humor of Silverstein’s “25 Minutes to Go” and put it on his 1965 LP Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West. Four years later came “A Boy Named Sue,” a near-novelty written by Silverstein and delivered with thundering menace by Cash—a combination that gave the Man In Black his biggest hit and opened up Nashville for its songwriter. Silverstein found some kindred spirits in Nashville—he wrote Waylon Jennings’ 1970 hit “The Taker” with Kris Kristofferson and authored Loretta Lynn’s 1971 “One’s on the Way” on his own—but he discovered his muse in Bobby Bare, a towering progressive country singer who had been kicking around Nashville for over a decade. Bare had a hit straight out of the gate in 1958 with “The All American Boy,” a loving parody of Elvis Presley, then scored a pair of career-making singles in 1963 with the lonesome “Detroit City” and “500 Miles Away from Home.” The country Top 10 was no stranger to Bare throughout the 1960s, a period where he demonstrated an ear for distinctive songwriters, helping bring Tom T. Hall, Mel Tillis, and Tompall Glaser into the spotlight. Before he met Silverstein, Bare cut “Sylvia’s Mother,” the number-five hit for Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show. WATCH What’s on Mavi’s Mood Board? “Sylvia’s Mother” was one of the last hits Bare had at Mercury Records before he returned to his old home of RCA, lured back to the label by then-president Chet Atkins’ promise that he could produce his own records. Ever since he heard Joe South’s Introspect on the radio in LA, he wanted to make a concept album, asking all of his songwriter friends to write him a song cycle, but they all demurred. Then, Bare met Silverstein at a Country Radio Seminar party one Saturday night in early 1973. The singer told the songwriter about his hard luck. That next Monday, he got a call from Silverstein saying he had an album’s worth of songs ready to go. The resulting Lullabys, Legends and Lies kicked off a lifelong collaboration between the pair. Until Silverstein’s death in 1999, Silverstein wrote country songs with Bare in mind, while Bare turned to Silverstein whenever he needed a new project, as he did for his 1998 supergroup Old Dogs. That record isn’t featured on Bear Family’s hefty new box set Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus, as the box set focuses on recordings made between 1972 and 1983, a period where Bare released three full albums devoted to Silverstein songs, recorded another complete set that sat in the vaults for decades, released another two where Shel dominated all other songwriters, and then regularly fit a Silverstein song or two onto his other LPs, leaving a handful of other tracks unreleased. All told, Bare recorded well over 100 Silverstein compositions during this period, and that sheer number is proof of their symbiotic partnership: the singer found his songwriter, the spinner of yarns found his storyteller. Their potent chemistry was palpable on Lullabys, Legends and Lies, the concept album Bare longed to make. Silverstein gathered some old tunes of his, wrote a few new ones, then handed Bare a bunch of songs hanging off the very loose notion conveyed in the title. Acting as his own producer, the singer kept things cheap and lean, creating the impression that he and his band were singing and picking at home. The immediacy of this intimacy was striking but Silverstein came up with an ingenious notion: record an in-studio audience’s reaction to the playback of the album, then add their whoops, laughter, and off-key singalongs to the finished product, giving the illusion of a concert album. Their gamble paid off. “Marie Laveau” gave Bare his first number one country hit and “Daddy, What If,” his sticky-sweet duet with his young son Bobby Jr., almost cracked the Top 40, sending the album into Billboard’s Country Top 10, its success paving the way for other self-produced mavericks like and Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger. If Lullabys, Legends and Lies didn’t prove to be as enduring as what followed in its wake, chalk it up to the album’s contrived charm working a little bit too well: Some of Silverstein’s stories are a bit too cutesy, as is the framing device of the crowd. Still, the record is powerful, particularly in how Bare’s casual authority undercuts Silverstein’s impish tendencies, a quality evident in the still, plaintive “In The Hills of Shiloh” and, especially, how the singer keeps the winding story-song “The Winner” compelling, delivering each successive punchline with an widening smile. MOST READ REVIEWS I Am Not There Anymore I Am Not There Anymore Joni Mitchell at Newport Joni Mitchell at Newport The Ones Ahead The Ones Ahead “The Winner” would wind up as the template for much of the work Bare and Silverstein would do together, but first they had to attempt to replicate the success of Lullabys, Legends and Lies. Inspired by Studs Terkel’s oral history Working, Silverstein decided to address the plight of those downtrodden by the recession of 1973 through Hard Time Hungrys, but it took a long time to weave his stories with man-on-the-street interviews, so the pair decided to bash out Singing in the Kitchen first. Billed equally to Bare and his family, Singing in the Kitchen built off the success of “Daddy What If,” finding the amiable patriarch singing kid-friendly songs with his children. Listening to it is like viewing snapshots of another family, one you might not know particularly well: their affection is evident, but not quite contagious. Still, Singing in the Kitchen bought Bare time to complete Hard Time Hungrys, the most ambitious record he ever made. The attempt to cross-pollinate Silverstein’s storytelling with audio vérité is admirable but also exhausting. Every time the music gains momentum, like when the tongue-in-cheek blues “Alimony” rambles into view, the interviews cut in and derail the record. These three albums may have flaws, but they’re flaws born of ambition, and that adventurousness helped place Bare in the vanguard of the burgeoning outlaw country movement. He also was scoring just enough hits to gain the attention of other labels, so he decided to jump ship for Columbia in 1978, a move that coincided with a brief ill-fated association with rock manager Bill Graham. RCA, particularly its Nashville president Jerry Bradley, didn’t take well to this news. Bradley never agreed with Atkins’s decision to let Bare produce his own records, so when the singer decided to leave the label, RCA buried Great American Saturday Night, a Silverstein-written concept album capturing all the different kinds of debauchery and despair on a random weekend night. Originally planned for 1977, the version on this box is longer than the BFD release from earlier in 2020 and, in this narrative-filled edition, it’s the clear bridge between the duo’s earlier records and Bare’s sleazy, Silverstein-heavy 1980 records Down & Dirty and Drunk & Crazy; it tempers its cinematic scope with earthy lasciviousness. Bare recorded songs by other writers during the latter half of the 1970s—1977 brought Me And McDill, a salute to Bob McDill—but he still found a way to fit Silverstein songs onto his other concept albums (1975’s Cowboys and Daddys) and kept him by his side when he took a stab at crossover success with Bare, his 1978 debut for Columbia. This box collects these tunes, as well as several unreleased cuts, as a pair of “Stray Bare Tracks” discs, collections that have more in common with the middle-aged crazies of Down & Dirty and Drunk & Crazy than the redneck hippie dreamer of Lullabys, Legends and Lies. The contrast between these two phases is startling. The first three records are intimate and sweet, sometimes hinting at earthier concerns, but their good intentions triumph over their devilish instincts. MOST READ REVIEWS I Am Not There Anymore I Am Not There Anymore Joni Mitchell at Newport Joni Mitchell at Newport The Ones Ahead The Ones Ahead That’s not the case with the rest of the material on the box. Once Bare and Silverstein grew comfortable with each other, they indulged in each other’s strengths and excesses as only a pair of close friends can. Appropriately, as the pair’s familiarity increased, the music turned bolder, even burly, with the productions accumulating some slick period flair. Bare’s records wound up pitched halfway between swaggering outlaw and smooth Urban Cowboy country-pop crossover, a transition that suited Silverstein’s narrowing of vision. Where he once devoted himself to myths and finding the mysteries in everyday lives, he now busied himself with mundanities of modern life: telling dirty jokes, sucking on a glass of wine at TGIFridays, and cursing diets. He still could summon some genuine pathos—as late as 1983, Bare cut the hard barroom weeper “Drinkin’ from the Bottle”—but these Stray Tracks also show how Silverstein sometimes like to push Bare right up to the edge and the singer happily went along. With its chorus of “does anybody here want to or fight,” the title track of Great American Saturday Night itself is testament to this fact, but “They Held Me Down”—an unreleased Bare track Silverstein recorded for his 1978 LP Songs and Stories—is a veritable index of immoralities, delivered with a sideways grin. Bare channeled some of this cheerful perversion onto Drunk & Crazy, an album where he laments his hard-rocking band and celebrates the sloth of “Drinkin’ and Druggin’ and Watchin’ TV.” Drunk & Crazy is also home to “If That Ain’t Love,” a song that could have earned the box set’s disclaimer all on its own. With his tongue firmly in cheek, Silverstein’s narrator chronicles a list of domestic terrors, and while the abuser is clearly the one the songwriter is targeting as the butt of the joke, the intensity of the imagery (“"Baby I’m sorry I done you like that/I called you a name and I gave you a whack/I spit in your eye and gave your wrist a twist/And if that ain’t love, what is”) is as jarring as the rowdiness of the performance. That seediness illustrates that it was a long road from the genial tall tales of Lullabys, Legends and Lies and the dive-bar soundtrack of Drunk & Crazy. Hearing Bare and Silverstein make that journey over the course of these eight CDs leaves you with a new appreciation for their funky, off-color chemistry. Horace Eldred "Danny" Dill (September 19, 1924[1] – October 23, 2008) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.[2] Biography Dill, born in Clarksburg, Tennessee, got his start as a professional musician while working with Annie Lou Stockard as Annie Lou and Danny, a duet act who performed on the Grand Ole Opry during the 1940s and 50s. Annie Lou And Danny Dill were made members of The Opry in the 1940s.[3] Although Dill recorded as a solo artist, he found his greatest success as a songwriter. His 1959 tune, "Long Black Veil", written with Marijohn Wilkin, was Top 10 country hit for Lefty Frizzell and has become a standard recorded by many country, folk and pop music musicians. Another notable Dill composition was "Detroit City (I Wanna Go Home)", that was a hit for Bobby Bare, Tom Jones and Dean Martin. Selected compositions "I'm Hungry for your lovin" "Long Black Veil" "Detroit City" (with Mel Tillis) "Partners" (recorded by Jim Reeves in 1959) "So Wrong" with Carl Perkins and Mel Tillis "The Comeback" "Let Me Talk to You" " There's A Time" "I'll Take It Before I Say Goodbye" "Coming Home" "Partners" "Come In Outta' The Rain" "Where The Sad People Are" Danny Dill INDUCTION YEAR: 1975 Birth Name: Horace Eldred Dill Birth Date: 09-19-1924 Place of Birth: Dollar Hill, Tennessee Death Date: 10-23-2008 Place of Death: Nashville, Tennessee Danny Dill always thought of himself as a performer first and a songwriter second. He began singing in public while he was in high school in Carroll County, Tennessee. In 1943, Dill hitchhiked to Jackson, Tennessee, where he landed a radio job at WTJS. He was initially typecast as a stock country clown character in a red wig with blacked-out teeth. Other early broadcasting stints were spent in Memphis and Knoxville. Returning to Jackson, he met and married Annie Lou Stockard in 1945, and they formed a singing team. The couple came to the Grand Ole Opry in 1946. They were billed as "Annie Lou and Danny, The Sweethearts of the Grand Ole Opry," and patterned their act after the hugely popular Lulu Belle & Scotty of Chicago's National Barn Dance. The Dills recorded for Nashville's independent Bullet Records label and toured with Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, the Duke of Paducah, Ernest Tubb, George Morgan and other Opry stars. The duet act ended in the early 1950s, and the two later divorced. Annie Lou died in 1982. While at the Opry, Danny Dill began making inroads into Nashville's then-infant music industry. In 1952, he became the first songwriter signed to the new Cedarwood Publishing firm, co-owned by Opry executive Jim Denny with singers Webb Pierce and Carl Smith. The latter soon dropped out of the company. Dill wrote successful songs for both Pierce and Smith during Cedarwood's early days. He also discovered songwriting great Wayne Walker and signed him to the publishing company. In years to come, Dill co-wrote two country standards, 1959's "The Long Black Veil" (with Marijohn Wilkin) and 1963's "Detroit City" (with Mel Tillis). Despite his penning several other hits, these remain the jewels in his songwriting legacy. He resumed recording in the 1960s, creating the concept albums Folk Songs of the Wild West (1960) and Folk Songs from the Country (1963). Danny Dill also became known as one of the music industry's most entertaining and humorous show emcees and commercial pitchmen. In 1976, he reunited with former song collaborator Marijohn Wilkin and began working for her Buckhorn Music publishing firm. Steve Wariner cast him in a leading role in his 1992 video for "The Tips of My Fingers." Danny Dill issued Quality Is Always in Style as his final album in 2006. Sir Thomas Jones Woodward OBE (born 7 June 1940) is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and he has since toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas from 1967 to 2011. His voice has been described by AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone".[1] Jones's performing range has included pop, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, soul, and gospel. In 2008, the New York Times called him a "musical shapeshifter [who could] slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty".[2] He has sold over 100 million records, with 36 Top 40 hits in the UK and 19 in the US, including "It's Not Unusual", "What's New Pussycat?", the theme song for the James Bond film Thunderball (1965), "Green, Green Grass of Home", "Delilah", "She's a Lady", "Sex Bomb", and a cover of Prince's "Kiss".[3] Jones has also occasionally dabbled in acting, first making his debut in the lead role of the television film Pleasure Cove (1979). He also appeared as himself in Tim Burton's film Mars Attacks! (1996).[4][5] In 1970, he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy nomination for hosting the television series This Is Tom Jones. In 2012, he played his first dramatic acting role in an episode of Playhouse Presents.[6] He received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966, an MTV Video Music Award in 1989, and two Brit Awards: Best British Male in 2000 and Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2003. He received an OBE in 1998 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 for services to music. He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 2010s due to his role as a coach on the talent show The Voice UK (2012–2015, 2017–present). Early life Thomas John Woodward[7] was born at 57 Kingsland Terrace in Treforest[8][9] on 7 June 1940,[10][11][12] the son of Freda Jones (1914–2003) and coal miner Thomas Woodward (1910–1981).[7] He is primarily of English descent; his maternal grandfather was Welsh, his maternal grandmother was born in Wales to English parents from Somerset and Wiltshire, his English paternal grandfather was from Gloucestershire, and his English paternal grandmother was from Wiltshire.[13] He attended Wood Road Infants School, Wood Road Junior School, and Pontypridd Central Secondary Modern School.[14] He began singing at an early age; he would regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings, and in his school choir. He did not like school or sports, but gained confidence through his singing talent.[15] At the age of 12, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Many years later, he said, "I spent two years in bed recovering. It was the worst time of my life." During this time, he could do little else but listen to music and draw.[7]: 9–10  Career Rise to fame Jones's voice has been described as a "full-throated, robust baritone".[1] According to Jones himself, his young voice was a tenor voice. He said: "What you lose on the top end, you gain on the bottom end. I used to be able to hit a top C when I was young now it's a B flat."[16] He became the frontman in 1963 for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a Welsh beat group. They soon gained a local following and reputation in South Wales. In 1964, the group recorded several solo tracks with producer Joe Meek, who took them to various record labels, but they had little success. Later that year, Decca producer Peter Sullivan saw Tommy Scott and the Senators performing in a club and directed them to manager Phil Solomon, but the partnership was short-lived. The group continued playing gigs around South Wales. Gordon Mills met Jones, became his manager, and introduced him to London, where Mills worked in music.[17] Mills renamed him "Tom Jones", to exploit the popularity of the Academy Award-winning 1963 film.[18] Eventually, Mills got Jones a recording contract with Decca. His first single, "Chills and Fever", was released in late 1964. It did not chart, but the follow-up, "It's Not Unusual", became an international hit after offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline promoted it. The following year was the most prominent of Jones's career, making him one of the most popular vocalists of the British Invasion. In early 1965, "It's Not Unusual" reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom and the top ten in the United States. During 1965, Mills secured a number of film themes for Jones to record, including the James Bond film Thunderball,[19] and What's New Pussycat? (written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David).[19][20] Jones was skeptical about the latter song when first approached about it. He said when it was offered to him, he felt it was "sort of a backhanded compliment: 'I've got to have you, but this is the song.'"[20] Jones said it took convincing from Bacharach to perform "What's New Pussycat?": "When I first heard it I thought, 'Christ! What the bloody hell do they want me to sing this for?' But Burt Bacharach explained, 'I want the big voice to sing this bloody crazy song.' And you put it on, it's a classic."[20] Jones was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966.[21] During a filming break at Paramount Studios (1965) in Hollywood, Jones met Elvis Presley for the first time;[22] he recalls Presley singing, 'With These Hands' as he walked towards him from the film set.[23] The two men became good friends.[24] In 1966, Jones's popularity began to slip somewhat, causing Mills to reshape the singer's image into that of a crooner. Jones also began to sing broader material. Jones soon topped UK charts and reached the top 40 in US charts. Over the next few years he scored a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "I'm Coming Home", and "Delilah", each of which reached No. 2 in the UK chart.[25][26] 1967 to 1987 In 1967, Jones performed in Las Vegas for the first time, at the Flamingo.[19] His performances and style of dress became part of his stage act, and increasingly featured his open, half-unbuttoned shirts and tight trousers. He soon chose to record less and focus on club performances. Jones played in Las Vegas at least one week each year until 2011. Jones singing a duet with Janis Joplin on the television programme This Is Tom Jones in 1969 Jones had an internationally successful television variety show titled This Is Tom Jones from 1969 to 1971. The Associated Television-produced show was worth a reported US$9,000,000 (equivalent to about $65,000,000 in 2022) to Jones over three years. It was broadcast by ITV in the UK and by the American Broadcasting Company in the US. As a result of the show, Jones was nominated in 1970 for a "best actor" Golden Globe.[27] From 1980 to 1981, he had a second television variety show, Tom Jones, which was produced in Vancouver, Canada, and lasted 24 episodes.[citation needed] Both television shows were the subject of litigation with the original licence holder C/F International. As of December 2004, C/F International was a secured judgment creditor of Classic World Productions and its principal, Darryl Payne, for approximately US$1,000,000 (equivalent to about $1,500,000 in 2022), and was the principal secured creditor at the time of the subsequent bankruptcy filing by the company. C/F International's action against Classic World Productions and owner Darryl Payne was based on unpaid royalty payments from This Is Tom Jones[28] and related recordings.[29] This Is Tom Jones is sold on DVD by Time Life rather than by Classic World Productions or C/F International.[30] C/F International's rights to later Tom Jones material were also disputed. In March 2007, Tom Jones and Tom Jones Enterprises sued C/F International to stop the company from licensing sound recordings made from the 1981 Tom Jones series. It was contended that any rights that C/F International had to license the Tom Jones show did not include the right to make and license separate recordings of the performances on the show, and that any rights that C/F International had in the Tom Jones show no longer existed because of numerous breaches of contract.[31] Examples of contentious CDs are Live on the Tom Jones Show, released in 2006, and Greatest Hits Live, originally issued by C/F International in 1981 and later licensed to and issued by Prism Leisure Corporation as 30 Greatest Hits – Live in Concert.[32][33][34] On 26 April 1970, CBS released the Raquel Welch television special Raquel! directed by David Winters, in it Jones is among guests.[35] Jones (left) and Oliver performing on This is Tom Jones in 1970. The star commemorating Jones at the Orpheum Theatre, Memphis In the 1970s, Jones toured with the female singing groups Quiet Elegance and the Blossoms as his backing groups. He had a number of hit singles, including "She's a Lady", "Till", and "The Young New Mexican Puppeteer", but in the mid-1970s his popularity declined. He did, however, have a big hit in 1976 with "Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow", which went to No. 1 on the US country chart, No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1972, he co-starred with Jennifer O'Neill in David Winters's television special The Special London Bridge Special.[36] Jones explained that he accepted to do the special because it allowed him to continue doing television without having the confinement of a series.[37] In 1976, Jones was set to make his film debut in the film Yockowald, in which he was to play a CIA assassin. The film was shelved after the production ran out of money three weeks into filming.[38] In 1979, Jones made his acting debut in Pleasure Cove, an ABC television film which was a pilot for a potential television series but was not picked up. In the film, he played a suave conman named Raymond Gordon staying at the holiday island resort of the title. His co-stars in the film included Constance Forslund, Tanya Roberts and David Hasselhoff.[7]: 326  In 1984, he guest-starred in an episode of the television series Fantasy Island as an accountant who fantasises about living life as Dick Turpin.[39] In the early 1980s, Jones started to record country music. From 1980 to 1986, he had nine songs in the US country top 40, yet failed to crack the top 100 in the UK or the Billboard Hot 100.[40] Jones's manager Gordon Mills died of cancer on 29 July 1986, and Jones's son Mark became his manager.[7]: 271, 275  In 1987, Tom Jones re-entered the singles chart with "A Boy from Nowhere", which went to No. 2 in the UK. The following year, he covered Prince's "Kiss" with Art of Noise. The song reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 31 in the US. The video for "Kiss" was played frequently on MTV and VH1, and won the MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video.[41] 1990s resurgence Jones received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989, located at 6608 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, in front of Frederick's of Hollywood. He collaborated with Van Morrison on his album Carrying A Torch, released in 1991 on Dover Records, featuring Jones's cover of Morrison's title track. Partly recorded at Townhouse Studios in London, Morrison wrote and produced four songs for the album.[42][43] In 1992, he made his first appearance at the UK's Glastonbury Festival, and in 1993 he appeared as himself in episodes of two popular US sitcoms, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ("The Alma Matter") and The Simpsons ("Marge Gets a Job"). Jones signed with Interscope Records in 1993 and released the album The Lead and How to Swing It. The first single, "If I Only Knew", went to No. 11 in the UK.[40] Jones performed the song at the 1994 MTV Europe Music Awards, for which he also served as host. In 1997 Jones recorded a cover of Randy Newman song "You Can Leave Your Hat On" for the soundtrack of The Full Monty.[44] In 1996, Jones appeared as himself in Tim Burton's ensemble science-fiction comedy film Mars Attacks!. A scene in the film features him performing on stage when aliens attack and he manages to escape with a gun.[45] In 1999, Jones released the album Reload, a collection of cover duets with artists such as the Cardigans, Natalie Imbruglia, Cerys Matthews, Van Morrison, Mousse T, Portishead, Stereophonics and Robbie Williams. The album went to No. 1 in the UK and sold over 4 million copies worldwide.[46] Five singles from Reload charted in the UK top 40.[40][47] The single "Sex Bomb" was released in early 2000 and became the album's biggest single, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Into the 21st century US President Bill Clinton invited Jones to perform on New Year's Eve at the 2000 millennium celebrations in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Jones garnered a number of honours for his work, including a BRIT Award for Best British Male.[48] He was also hired as the new voice of Australia's National Rugby League, singing in an advertisement to market the 2000 season.[49] In 2002, Jones released the album Mr. Jones, which was produced by Haitian-American rapper Wyclef Jean. The album and the first single, "Tom Jones International", were top 40 hits in the UK.[50] Jones received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2003.[48] The following year he performed "You Can Leave Your Hat On" with The Pussycat Dolls and Carmen Electra on the seventh annual Vh1 Divas concert. The only male guest part of that year's lineup; which included Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Debbie Harry among many others; his cover of "Kiss" was included in an 80s finale medley. Later that year, he teamed up with pianist Jools Holland and released Tom Jones & Jools Holland, a roots rock 'n' roll album. It peaked at No. 5 in the UK.[40][51] On 28 May 2005, in celebration of his upcoming 65th birthday, Jones returned to his homeland to perform a concert in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd, before an audience of about 20,000. This was his first performance in Pontypridd since 1964.[52] That same year, the BBC reported that Jones was Wales's wealthiest entertainer, having amassed a fortune of £175,000,000.[53] Jones collaborated with Australian pop singer John Farnham in 2005 and released the live album John Farnham & Tom Jones – Together in Concert. The following year, Jones worked with Chicane and released the dance track "Stoned in Love", which went to No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart.[40] Jones, who had been awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 at Buckingham Palace for his services to music.[54][55] After receiving a knighthood, Jones stated: "When you first come into show business and get a hit record, it is the start of something. As time goes by it just gets better. This is the best thing I have had. It's a wonderful feeling, a heady feeling."[54] 2007–2009 Performing at Hampton Court Palace in London, 2007 On 1 July 2007, Jones was among the artists who performed at Wembley Stadium at the Concert for Diana, joined on stage by guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith and soul singer Joss Stone. In addition to performing some of his own songs, the group covered the Arctic Monkeys song, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".[56] A boxing fan, Jones has performed national anthems before a number of boxing matches. He sang "God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the United Kingdom, before the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton fight in 2007; he sang "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", the Welsh national anthem, at the Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe fight between fellow Welshman Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins in 2008; and he sang "God Save the Queen" before the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight in 2009.[57][58][59] In 2008, he released 24 Hours on S-Curve Records, his first album of new material to be issued in the United States for over 15 years. Jones, who was still performing over 200 dates a year as he approached his seventieth birthday, set out on a world tour to promote the album. "The fire is still in me. Not to be an oldie, but a goodie. I want to be a contender", Jones said.[60][61][62] Also in 2008, Jones was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. On 16 November 2008, he was invited to perform on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing; he performed the debut single from 24 Hours, "If He Should Ever Leave You", which was named the ninth-best song of 2008 by Spinner.[63][64][65] One of the songs from 24 Hours, "Give a Little Love", would later be featured in the first trailer for the 2010 comedy film, Little Fockers. In February 2009, Jones appeared in an exclusive show with Vincent Moon, performing three songs live in front of a camera in a New York hotel room.[66] In March 2009, Jones went to the top of the UK Music Charts for the third time in his career with a cover of "Islands in the Stream", sung with Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon and Robin Gibb, who co-wrote the original with his brothers Barry and Maurice. The record, which was inspired by the song's having featured in the BBC's hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey, was released in aid of Comic Relief and reached No. 1 in March 2009.[67] This was his first UK chart topper since "Green, Green Grass of Home" in 1967, setting a new record of 42 years between two UK number ones; this record would be surpassed by Kate Bush when "Running Up That Hill" topped the charts in 2022, a 44-year gap between number ones.[68] 2010–2020 Jones at House of Blues, Anaheim, 2009 Jones's album Praise & Blame was released on 26 July 2010. The album, consisting primarily of gospel and blues songs, included covers of songs by Bob Dylan, John Lee Hooker and Billy Joe Shaver, and featured guest musicians such as Booker T.[69][70] On 7 June 2010, which was Jones's seventieth birthday, the single "Burning Hell", a cover of the John Lee Hooker song from the Praise & Blame album, was released. In July 2010, it was reported that David Sharpe, vice-president of Island Records (to whom Jones had moved, from EMI, for £1.5m in October 2009), had told his colleagues over email to "pull back this project immediately or get my money back" and asked whether the spiritually themed record had been a "sick joke".[71] Jones later strongly criticised Sharpe and said that he was furious about the leaked email.[72] In July 2010 Jones appeared on the penultimate episode of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and performed "Burning Hell". In August 2010, Praise & Blame debuted at No. 2 on the UK album chart.[73] By 2010 Jones had sold a total of over 100 million records.[74] On 11 September 2010 Jones performed for an audience of 50,000 at the Help for Heroes charity concert at Twickenham Stadium performing "Strange Things Are Happening Every Day" and his hit "Green, Green Grass of Home". On 22 September, Jones appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.[75] In May 2011 Jones appeared as a guest vocalist on the debut album Let Them Talk by Hugh Laurie. On 15 May 2011, he appeared alongside Laurie in the UK ITV series Perspectives, singing music from the album in New Orleans.[76] On 25 May 2011, he appeared on American Idol after a medley of his hits performed by the American Idol "Top 13".[77] Jones released a single on 19 March 2012, produced by former White Stripes frontman Jack White, called Evil.[78] The single was first made available through independent record shops in 7" vinyl format on 5 March.[79] An exclusive three-coloured vinyl was also sold at only one shop – Spillers Records in Cardiff. The shop, which Jones visited as a boy, was founded in 1894 and is listed in Guinness World Records as the world's oldest record shop.[80] Jones experienced a resurgence in notability in the 2010s due to his coaching role on the BBC talent show The Voice UK from 2012 (with the exception of 2016).[81] In March 2012 he became a coach on the show and was joined by will.i.am, Jessie J and Danny O'Donoghue. He mentored Leanne Mitchell to win the first series. Jones returned to coach in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In August 2015, it was announced that Jones's contract with the show would not be renewed and that he would be replaced by Boy George. Jones criticised BBC executives for "sub-standard behaviour", having not consulted with him and informing him only 24 hours before the official announcement.[82] Jones at the Turku Castle in Turku, Finland, 2012[83] In May 2012 Jones released the album Spirit in the Room on Island Records/Universal Music. The track listing included covers of songs by Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen and Richard and Linda Thompson, Blind Willie Johnson, Tom Waits and the Low Anthem.[84] Also in May, he starred in a one-off television drama titled "King of the Teds" which aired on Sky Arts as part of a series of standalone teleplays for Playhouse Presents.[85] On 4 June Jones performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace, singing "Delilah" and "Mama Told Me Not to Come".[citation needed] On 18 August Jones performed a fifty-minute set at the V Festival's Weston Park site in Staffordshire.[86] On 9 September 2012, Jones headlined at BBC Radio 2's Live in Hyde Park festival.[87] In May 2014 Jones opened for Morrissey at a special show in the United States.[88] On 27 September 2014, Jones performed at the Australian Football League's pre-game entertainment for the 2014 Grand Final along with Ed Sheeran.[89] In September 2015 Jones announced the long-awaited release of his album Long Lost Suitcase, on 9 October, through Virgin/EMI. The album is the third in a trilogy of albums, following Praise & Blame (2010) and Spirit in the Room (2012). The album's track titles are interwoven into the chapters of his autobiography Over the Top and Back released at the same time. It was produced by Ethan Johns and the diverse range of compositions includes songs from Gillian Welch, the Rolling Stones, Hank Williams and the Milk Carton Kids.[90] In November 2015 Jones appeared, alongside Rob Brydon, in a special 90-minute show, from the SSE Arena, Wembley, for BBC's Children in Need.[91] In December 2015 he appeared on the BBC's Jools' Annual Hootenanny, on duetting with Paul Weller.[92] In 2017 he returned to The Voice as a coach for series 6.[93] In 2018 he embarked on a live summer tour, which was planned to run from 1 May to 11 August.[94] In July, however, many shows were cancelled due to sickness or bad weather.[95][96] In 2020 Jones again appeared on the BBC's Jools' Annual Hootenanny, broadcast on New Year's Eve, on which he duetted with Jools Holland[97] and with Celeste.[98] 2021–present In January 2021 Jones announced Surrounded by Time, his fourth covers album to be produced by Ethan Johns, alongside the release of a new single, his rendition of Todd Snider's "Talking Reality Television Blues".[99] In March he appeared on Later... with Jools Holland where he sang "I'm Growing Old" from that album.[100] The album was released on 23 April. On 17 and 18 June 2022 Jones appeared at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff alongside Stereophonics, whose Saturday concert was broadcast live on BBC Two.[101][102] On 3 September 2022, Jones performed "I Won't Crumble With You If You Fall", taken from his Surrounded by Time album, on The Voice UK.[103] After the performance, Jones explained the meaning behind the song: "My wife, she was dying of lung cancer [...] I was always able to fix stuff, I was always able to do things, if she needed me for anything I was always there, but she said 'you can't crumble with me, don't fall with me now, you've done everything you can, you must carry on and do what you do' [...] When I heard it I thought, 'My God it's like this was written for this situation'. It's a lovely song."[104] Within 24 hours, the song had peaked on the UK iTunes chart at number 1.[105] "I Won't Crumble With You If You Fall" debuted at number 3 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart on 9 September 2022.[106] Personal life Jones was married to his high school girlfriend, Melinda Rose "Linda" Trenchard, from 2 March 1957 until her death from cancer on 10 April 2016.[107] They were married at the age of 16 when she became pregnant; their son, Mark, was born shortly after the wedding.[108] To support his young family, Jones worked in construction and at a glove factory before finding success as a singer.[109][110] He stayed married to Trenchard despite his many well-publicised infidelities.[111] After his wife's death, Jones sold the family's Los Angeles mansion and its contents (apart from treasured photos) and moved into an apartment in London, which was his wife's dying wish.[112] Jones has stated that he had sex with up to 250 groupies a year at his peak of fame.[5] He had affairs with famous American women such as singer Mary Wilson, presenter Charlotte Laws,[113] and former Miss World Marjorie Wallace.[114] Actress Cassandra Peterson (better known as her character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) revealed in 2008 that she lost her virginity to Jones, calling the experience "painful and horrible" and stating that she required stitches afterwards.[115] One of his affairs resulted in a son. While on tour in the U.S. in October 1987, he had a brief relationship with model Katherine Berkery, who later discovered she was pregnant. After a legal battle that included DNA testing, a U.S. court ruled in 1989 that Jones was the boy's father. He denied the court's findings until 2008, when he admitted they were true but expressed no interest in meeting his son, singer Jonathan Berkery.[116] Following the UK's 1974 election of a Labour government, Jones became a tax exile to avoid a 98% income tax.[7] In 1976, he purchased the mansion at 363 Copa De Oro Road in the East Gate Bel Air area of Los Angeles from Dean Martin for $500,000.[117] He sold it to Nicolas Cage in 1998 for a reported $6.4 million.[47][118] Jones met his idol Elvis Presley in 1965 at the Paramount film stage, when Elvis was filming Paradise, Hawaiian Style.[119][19] They became good friends, spending more time together in Las Vegas singing and carousing until the early hours at Presley's private suite. The friendship endured until Presley's death in 1977.[19] One year after the death of Jones' wife, rumours began that he had started dating Presley's wife Priscilla. In 2021, he said they had known each other since the 1960s and simply enjoyed spending time together.[120] People had thought they were dating because they had been seen together dining and at Jeff Franklin's house.[121] In 2015, Jones' autobiography Over the Top and Back was published by Michael Joseph.[122] Reviewing the book in the Daily Express, Clair Woodward said, "In the tradition of so many autobiographies these days, Tom Jones's doesn't tell you what you really want to hear. [...] What you are left with is a riotously enjoyable story of Jones 'The Voice' which nicely doubles as the story of British pop and light entertainment from the Sixties onwards."[123] In 2021, Jones revealed that he uses inversion therapy to stay in good health.[124] Artistry and influence Jones' singing style developed out of the sound of American soul music. His early influences included blues, R&B, and rock and roll singers such as Little Richard, Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson, Brook Benton, Elvis Presley (his idol and later close friend), and Jerry Lee Lewis.[119] Space and Cerys Matthews released "The Ballad of Tom Jones", a song about a fighting couple who are calmed down by listening to Jones's music on the radio. The song reached No. 4 in the UK in 1998.[125] A musical, Tom: A Story of Tom Jones, based on his life and recordings, produced by Theatr na nÓg, opened at the Wales Millennium Centre in March 2016.[126] Another jukebox musical, What's New Pussycat? based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (set in the 1960s) which uses Jones' music opened at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in October 2021 to critical acclaim. It is written by Joe DiPietro, directed by Luke Sheppard, and choreographed by Arlene Phillips.[127] Similar to Presley with his impersonators, Jones has his own imitators around the world.[128][129][130] In the 2006 film Flushed Away, the main character, Roddy, is mistaken for Jones by another character while Roddy performs "She's a Lady". Jones' song, "What's New Pussycat?", is played during the ending credits.[citation needed] In the video game Team Fortress 2, the Scout character is a collector of Tom Jones merchandise, and Jones is depicted being murdered by the Soldier character in the tie-in comics. The Spy character later uses his shape-shifting ability to convince the Scout that Jones is his father. Jones is also depicted using the phrase "What's new pussycat?" several times.[131] Selected discography Main article: Tom Jones discography Along Came Jones (1965) What's New Pussycat? (1965) A-tom-ic Jones (1966) From the Heart (1966) Green, Green Grass of Home (1967) Delilah (1968) Help Yourself (1968) This Is Tom Jones (1969) Tom (1970) I Who Have Nothing (1970) She's a Lady (1971) Tom Jones Close Up (1972) The Body and Soul of Tom Jones (1973) Somethin' 'Bout You Baby I Like (1974) Memories Don't Leave Like People Do (1975) Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow (1977) What a Night (1977) Rescue Me (1979) The Country Side of Tom Jones (1981) Country (1982) Don't Let Our Dreams Die Young (1983) Love Is on the Radio (1984) Tender Loving Care (1985) At This Moment (1989) Carrying A Torch(1991) The Lead And How To Swing It (1994) Reload (1999) Mr. Jones (2002) Tom Jones & Jools Holland (with Jools Holland) (2004) 24 Hours (2008) Praise & Blame (2010) Spirit in the Room (2012) Long Lost Suitcase (2015) Tom Jones The Complete Decca Studio Albums Collection (17 CD) (2020) Surrounded by Time (2021) Compositions Jones wrote or co-wrote the following songs: "And I Tell the Sea",[132] "Looking Out My Window",[133] "Feel the Rain" from the 2002 Mr. Jones album,[134] "Jezebel",[134] "The Letter",[134] "Younger Days",[134] "Tom Jones International",[134] "Holiday",[134] "The Road",[135] "24 Hours",[136] "Seasons",[136] "We Got Love",[136] "Seen That Face",[136] "Give a Little Love",[136] "If He Should Ever Leave You",[136] "Whatever it Takes",[134] and "Traveling Shoes" from the 2012 album Spirit in the Room.[137] Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1965 What's New Pussycat? Theme Singer Promise Her Anything Thunderball 1972 The Special London Bridge Special A fantasy story about London Bridge being brought to America 1974 On Happiness Island BBC special 1979 Pleasure Cove Raymond Gordon US TV Movie 1984 Fantasy Island Dick Turpin (ABC series; season 7, episode 19) 1987 The Grand Knockout Tournament as himself TV special 1991 The Ghosts of Oxford Street Gordon Selfridge Christmas TV Movie celebrating the 200th anniversary of London's Oxford Street 1992 The Simpsons as himself "Marge Gets a Job" 1993 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Season 3 episode 18 : The Alma Matter 1994 Silk n' Sabotage Photographer 1995 The Jerky Boys: The Movie as himself 1996 Mars Attacks! 1999 Agnes Browne 2000 The Emperor's New Groove Theme Song Guy Animated film 2004 Duck Dodgers as himself "Talent Show A Go-Go"[138][better source needed] 2012–15, 2017–present The Voice UK Coach or "judge" and mentor for artists, Seasons 1 until 4 and 6 onwards 2012 Playhouse Presents Ron Episode: "King of the Teds" 2014 Under Milk Wood Captain Cat TV film 2014 Superheroes Unite for BBC Children in Need as himself TV film Accolades Amadeus Austrian Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref. 2001 Reload Best International Pop/Rock Male Nominated [139] Brit Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref. 1977 Himself British Male Solo Artist Nominated [140] 1989 "Kiss" (with Art of Noise) British Single of the Year Nominated [141] 1995 "If I Only Knew" Nominated [142] 2000 Himself British Male Solo Artist Won [143] 2003 Outstanding Contribution to Music Won [144] 2010 The Full Monty Performance Live Performance of 30 Years Nominated [145] Danish Music Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 1995 Himself Best International Male Won [146] NME Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref. 1968 Himself Best Male Singer – UK Won [147] 1969 Won Silver Clef Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref. 2001 Himself Silver Clef Award Won [148] 2014 Outstanding Achievement Award Won 1966: Grammy Award for Best New Artist 1966: Grammy Award nomination for Contemporary Rock & Roll Male Vocal Performance for "What's New Pussycat?" 1966: Grammy Award nomination for Contemporary Rock & Roll Single for "It's Not Unusual" 1970: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for This Is Tom Jones 1970: Ivor Novello Award for International Artist of the Year[149] 1989: MTV Video Music Award – Breakthrough Video for "Kiss" 1989: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 1999: appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)[150] 2006: Knighthood for "services to music" 2017: Bambi Award in the category "legend" Tom Jones’ 50+ year career has remarkably gone from strength to strength. Along with sustaining his popularity as a live performer and recording artist for five decades, he has garnered at the age of 75, the best reviews of his career for his most recent albums Long Lost Suitcase, Spirit In The Room and Praise & Blame. Critics across the world are unanimous in their approval and admiration for both the recorded work and the performance of it in concert.   c8168739d7410e355d27e34ff018a73b--disney-toms--records.jpg Thomas Jones Woodward was born in Pontypridd, South Wales, Great Britain on June 7, 1940 to a father who worked the coal mines of the Rhondda Valley. After quitting school at 15, working a variety of manual jobs, singing in the clubs at night and marrying at 17, Jones went on to sign with Decca Records in London. h_00170489.jpg Jones has a fundamental interest in a wide range of music. Although he is well known for hits including It’s Not Unusual, Kiss, Delilah, What’s New Pussycat, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again and If I Only Knew, he is first and foremost an artist with a true rhythm and blues soul. He has remained a vital recording artist, with his 1999 album Reload the biggest selling (5m) of his then 35-year career. Tom was a key player in Martin Scorsese’s Red White & Blues series, and in 2004 released an album of roots rock n roll with Jools Holland. In 2008, 24 Hours, was a critical career highlight with many of the self-penned tracks being an insightful and evocative reflection of his spirited and rich life.  4 copy.jpg 2010 saw a change of direction with Tom releasing his 39th studio album, Praise & Blame. The Praise & Blame mantra was ‘get back to basics’, and the album was recorded as wholly live performances at Peter Gabriel’s studio in Bath, England, produced by Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne, Laura Marling, Paolo Nutini). The result witnessed a singer at the top of his game, with the songs themselves coaxing exhilarating performances out of Tom and his band.  Screen Shot 2018-11-26 at 14.42.32.png Following the success of Praise & Blame, in May 2012 Tom released Spirit In The Room. Paired once again with producer/guitarist Ethan Johns at Bath’s Real World Studios, Spirit In The Room, like it’s predecessor, allows an unvarnished Tom to bring a voice to songs as only he can. Accompanied by Ethan Johns throughout, the album includes gems from a diverse choice of writers - Richard Thompson, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon and Paul McCartney amongst others. Spirit In The Room is simple, raw and soulful. Screen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.13.21.png Tom was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2006, an honour he deeply cherishes. An honour he was able to celebrate once again in 2012 when he performed at the Queens Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace. Other highlights of his long career include receiving a BRIT Awards for Best Male and Outstanding Contribution to Music, a Silver Clef Award and a Silver Clef Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Hitmaker Award from the [US] Songwriters Hall of Fame, GQ Man Of The Year, and the prestigious [UK] Music Industry Trust Award. He has been animated as himself in The Simpsons, Duck Dodgers, The Emperors New Groove; other film roles include Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks. In 2012 he landed his first acting role not playing himself, alongside Brenda Blethyn and Alison Steadman, in “Playhouse Presents: King of The Teds for Sky Arts. CD28105741.jpg In and amongst a very successful touring year in 2014, Tom had the thrill of performing at the MCG in Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final, the premier sporting event in Australia, alongside Ed Sheeran. Later in the year, he had the honour of appearing at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit concert, sharing the bill with Florence + The Machine, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Brian Wilson and others.  And over in the UK, he was pleased to close the first Annual BBC Music Awards, helping to salute a fantastic year of music across the BBC by performing alongside Paloma Faith, a chorus of hundreds and the BBC Concert Orchestra.    Screen Shot 2015-05-06 at 15.56.19.png In 2015, Sir Tom continued his role as Coach on The Voice UK, working alongside will.i.am, Rita Ora and Ricky Wilson.  In February, a very special invitation was received to perform at the 25th Anniversary of MusiCares Person Of The Year tribute honouring Bob Dylan, alongside musical luminaries Bruce Springsteen, Beck, Jack White, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson and many more. The following evening he performed at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.  After a busy few months touring, Sir Tom released his first ever autobiography entitled Over The Top And Back (Penguin Books), and the book’s companion soundtrack entitled Long Lost Suitcase (VirginEMI/Caroline) which he actively promoted internationally. He also hosted and headlined a special 2-hour television event with his friends in music and comedy in a major fund-raising effort for the BBC’s charity Children In Need.   2016 was a difficult but busy year of performing and touring for Sir Tom as he has laboured to work through the grief of losing his childhood friend and wife of 59 years, Melinda, in April.  Tom and his band lifted performances to a different level, garnering rave reviews in Europe and America. A quick trip to Germany to perform with the stellar Helena Fischer finished the year on a positive note.   Screen Shot 2018-11-19 at 15.58.44.png 2017 to present has seen the return of Sir Tom to prime time Saturday night TV, resuming his role of coach and mentor on ITV’s The Voice alongside fellow coaches will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson and Olly Murs. In 2017, Sir Tom helped to secure the runner-up position for Welsh duo Into The Ark; in 2018, Sir Tom’s finalist singer/songwriter Ruti Olajugbagbe went on to win the seventh series, with Ruti and Sir Tom’s delightful duet of Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ becoming a critical and popular highlight of the series. The summer months brought a sell out tour and rave reviews for Sir Tom and his band as they toured the US, UK & Europe, bringing his Voice finalists out on the road as show openers and special guests.  2021, sees Sir Tom having recorded three hugely acclaimed albums with producer Ethan Johns (Laura Marling, Paolo Nutini, Kings Of Leon, Ray Lamontagne), Sir Tom was keen to continue what was already the longest musical association of his career. An avid record collector, there were songs he had set aside for decades, waiting to reach an age at which he would truly be able to do them justice.  This new collection is entitled…  Surrounded By Time  (Released 23rd April 2021)   Sir Tom is indeed a living legend, one of the few musical artists whose profession began at the dawn of modern popular music who continues to have a vital recording and performing career to this day. His irresistible show traverses musical eras and genres, cuts across class divides and appeals to young and old, male and female, mainstream and cutting edge. Sir Tom has always been about the power of the song, the power of the voice.  "What's New Pussycat?" is the theme song for the eponymous movie, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David,[1][2] and sung by Welsh singer Tom Jones. The original single included a 13-second instrumental introduction, ending in the sound of shattering glass, but later issues omitted this introduction.[3] Jones was skeptical about the song when first approached about it. He said when it was offered to him, he felt it was "sort of a backhanded compliment: 'I've got to have you, but this is the song.'"[1] Jones said it took convincing from Bacharach to perform it: "When I first heard it I thought, 'Christ! What the bloody hell do they want me to sing this for?' But Burt Bacharach explained, 'I want the big voice to sing this bloody crazy song.' And you put it on, it’s a classic."[1] Chart performance It was Jones' third UK top 30 record, and peaked at number 11.[4] In the US, "What's New Pussycat?" peaked at number 3, and was Jones' second entry on the top 40.[5] Accolades It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1966, and lost to "The Shadow of Your Smile".[6] In popular culture and cover versions It has also been performed by: Bobby Darin[7][8] Steve Lawrence Stefán Karl Stefánsson[9] Anita Kerr[10] The Wailers The Four Seasons[3] Barbra Streisand performed several lines in her "Color Me Barbra Medley" from the TV special and album Color Me Barbra. The song was covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks in their 1965 album Chipmunks à Go-Go. It has also been referenced in John Mulaney’s popular segment “The Salt and Pepper Diner,” the last segment in his stand up routine The Top Part.[11] Wendy Carlos recorded a version performed with a moog synthesizer on her album By Request (1975). This version features cat's meow voices imitated with a synthesizer.[12][13] A metal version of the song was recorded by Leo Moracchioli for his YouTube channel, Frog Leap Studios.[14] The song was also used in the episode Husbands and Knives of The Simpsons where Milo (voiced by Jack Black) plays the Korean-language version.[15] In a Shining Time Station 1995 family special: "Once Upon a Time", a rat group called "The Rat Pack" performs this song while taking over The Jukebox Band's place. In Cats & Dogs, the song appeared in the credits. In Flushed Away, the song appeared in the credits. In Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, in the casino in Monte Carlo, Alex lifts up the disguise of the King of Versailles to reveal the chimps and the penguins. Mason covers himself saying, "What's new, pussycat?", and Skipper says, surprised, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." In Turbo, the song played on Turbo's music shell while moving in the grass. Carole Baskin performed the song in Episode 2 of the 29th season of Dancing with the Stars.[citation needed] Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932[1] – November 19, 2017)[2] was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits. Tillis' biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music.[3] He also won the Country Music Association Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. Tillis was a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Country Music Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was known for his stutter, which did not affect his singing voice. His daughter is 1990s country hitmaker Pam Tillis. Early life Mel Tillis was born in Tampa, Florida, US. His parents were Burma (née Rogers; 1907–1990) and Lonnie Lee Tillis (1907–1981).[4] While he was still young, the family moved to Pahokee, Florida (near West Palm Beach). After a bout of malaria during his childhood, he developed a stutter.[5] As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar. At age 16, he won a local talent show. He attended the University of Florida, but he dropped out and joined the United States Air Force.[6] While stationed as a baker on Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.[5] Early music career After leaving the Air Force in 1955,[1] Tillis returned to Florida where he worked a number of odd jobs, eventually finding employment with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa. He used his railroad pass to visit Nashville and eventually met and auditioned for Wesley Rose of the publishing house Acuff-Rose Music. Rose encouraged Tillis to return to Florida and continue honing his songwriting skills.[7] Tillis eventually moved to Tennessee, and began writing songs full-time. He wrote "I'm Tired",[1] a No. 3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957.[5] Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tong Song" and "Tupelo County Jail".[1] Ray Price, Kitty Wells and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis' material around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records.[1] In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose",[1] followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill". Rise to fame Although Tillis charted his own hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, he had more success as a songwriter, particularly for Webb Pierce. He wrote the hits "I Ain't Never" (Tillis' own future hit) and "Crazy, Wild Desire". Bobby Bare, Tom Jones ("Detroit City"), Wanda Jackson, and Stonewall Jackson also covered his songs. (Some well-known songs from his Columbia years include "The Brooklyn Bridge", "Loco Weed", and "Walk on, Boy".) In 1967 Jack Greene had a No. 1 hit with a song Tillis co-wrote, "All the Time." Tillis continued to record on his own, but did not achieve major success on the country charts at first. In the mid-1960s, Tillis switched to Kapp Records, and in 1965, he had his first Top 15 hit with "Wine". Other hits continued to follow, such as "Stateside" and "Life Turned Her That Way", which was later covered by Ricky Van Shelton in 1988, going to No. 1.[1] He wrote for Charley Pride ("The Snakes Crawl At Night")[1] and wrote "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", which was a hit for Kenny Rogers and The First Edition.[1] He also wrote the hit "Mental Revenge" for outlaw country star Waylon Jennings. It has also been covered by the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Barbara Mandrell, and Jamey Johnson. In 1968, Tillis achieved his first Top 10 hit with "Who's Julie". He also was a regular featured singer on The Porter Wagoner Show. Height of his career Mel Tillis (1970) Things turned around in 1969 for Tillis. He finally achieved the success he always wanted with two Top 10 country hits, "These Lonely Hands of Mine"[1] and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere". In 1970, he reached the Top 5 with "Heart Over Mind", which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs list. After this, Tillis' career as a country singer went into full swing. Hits soon came quite easily, such as "Heaven Everyday" (1970), "Commercial Affection" (1970), "Arms of a Fool" (1970), "Take My Hand" (a duet with Sherry Bryce in 1971),[1] and "Brand New Mister Me" (1971). In 1972, Tillis achieved his first chart-topper with his version of his song "I Ain't Never".[1] Even though the song was previously a hit by Webb Pierce, Tillis' version is the better-known version of the two. Most of the above-mentioned song hits were recorded on MGM Records, Tillis' record company in the early part of the decade. After the success of "I Ain't Never", Tillis had another hit, which came close to No. 1 (reaching No. 3), titled "Neon Rose", followed by "Sawmill", which reached No. 2. "Midnight, Me and the Blues" was another near chart-topper in 1974. Other hits Tillis had on MGM include "Stomp Them Grapes" (1974), "Memory Maker" (1974), "Woman in the Back of My Mind" (1975), and his version of "Mental Revenge" (1976). Tillis achieved his biggest success with MCA Records, with which he signed in 1976. It started with a pair of two No. 1 hits in 1976, "Good Woman Blues" and "Heart Healer".[1] In an interview, he mentioned having written five hits in one week. Thanks to this success, in 1976 Tillis won the Country Music Association Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year, and was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame that year. In 1977 he appeared on the game show Match Game. He achieved another No. 1 in 1978 with "I Believe In You" and then again in 1979 with "Coca-Cola Cowboy",[1] which was put in the Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way but Loose,[1] in which he also made a cameo appearance. Also in 1978, Tillis co-hosted a short-lived variety series on ABC television, Mel and Susan Together, with model Susan Anton. Other hits around this time included "Send Me Down to Tucson", "Ain't No California", and "I Got the Hoss". In mid-1979, Tillis switched to another record company, Elektra Records. After signing with Elektra, he continued to make hit songs such as "Blind In Love" and "Lying Time Again", both hits in 1979. Until 1981, Tillis remained on top of his game as one of country music's most successful vocalists of the era. "Your Body Is an Outlaw" went to No. 3 in 1980, followed by another Top 10 hit, "Steppin' Out". "Southern Rains" in 1981 was his last No. 1 hit.[1] That same year, he released Mel and Nancy, an album of duets with Nancy Sinatra, which spawned two hit singles, the Top 30 hit "Texas Cowboy Night" and the double A-side, "Play Me or Trade Me/Where Would I Be". He remained with Elektra until 1982 before switching back to MCA for a brief period in 1983. That summer, he scored a Top 10 hit with "In The Middle Of The Night" and had his last Top 10 hit with "New Patches" in 1984. By this time, however, Tillis had built up a financial empire, thanks to investing in music publishing companies such as Sawgrass and Cedarwood. Movie roles Tillis appeared in movies, including Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981), The Cannonball Run II (1984), Beer for My Horses (2008), and comedy westerns The Villain (1979) and Uphill All the Way (1986), in which he starred with fellow country singer Roy Clark. Radio stations In 1979, Tillis acquired radio station KIXZ (AM) in Amarillo, Texas, from Sammons-Ruff Associates, which converted from Top 40 to country music and became a force in the Texas Panhandle region (the station is now known today as a News/Talk radio station). A short time later, Tillis acquired Amarillo, Texas, Rock FM station KYTX, which changed calls to KMML (a play on Tillis' stutter) (that station is now known today as KXSS-FM, a Top 40 radio station and is currently still a sister station to KIXZ). Still later, he operated WMML in Mobile, Alabama. All of his stations were sold after a time for a healthy return. Later career and projects Following his heyday in the 1970s, Tillis remained a songwriter in the 1980s, writing hits for Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis. He also wrote his autobiography called Stutterin' Boy. Tillis appeared as the television commercial spokesman for the fast-food restaurant chain Whataburger during the 1980s. He briefly signed with RCA Records, as well as Mercury Records, and later Curb Records in 1991. His last top-10 hit was in 1984 and his last top-40 country hit in 1988; like most country artists of the classic era, his recording career was dented by changes in the country music industry in the early 1990s. He also built a theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed on a regular basis until 2002. In 1998, he teamed with Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed to form The Old Dogs. The group recorded a double album of songs penned entirely by Shel Silverstein. In July 1998, Old Dogs Volumes 1 and 2 were released on the Atlantic Records label. A companion video, as well as a Greatest Hits album (composed of previously released material by each individual artist), were also available. The Grand Ole Opry inducted Tillis on June 9, 2007. He was inducted into the Opry by his daughter Pam. (In the 1990s, Pam became a very successful country music singer in her own right,[1] with Top Ten hits like "Maybe It Was Memphis", "Shake the Sugar Tree" and the Number One "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)".) Along with being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, it was announced on August 7 that year that Tillis, along with Ralph Emery and Vince Gill, were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Personal life and death Tillis had six children, including singer-songwriter Pam Tillis.[1] Pam recorded for Arista Nashville in the 1990s where she had multiple country hit singles such as "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)" and "Maybe It Was Memphis".[8] His son Mel "Sonny" Tillis Jr. is also a songwriter. Sonny co-wrote Jamie O'Neal's 2001 hit single "When I Think About Angels".[9] Tillis suffered from several illnesses beginning in January 2016. On November 19, 2017, he died of respiratory failure in Ocala, Florida, at age 85.[10] After this, Sonny Tillis began touring as a tribute act to his father.[11] Discography Main article: Mel Tillis discography The Statesiders The Statesiders were Mel's longtime backing band. They were named after his 1966 hit single "Stateside." Between 1969 and 1980 14 studio albums and 4 live albums were released credited to Mel Tillis and the Statesiders, and the Statesiders released one studio album on their own in 1975. Several notable musicians have served as Statesiders, such as Buddy Cannon, Paul Franklin, Hoot Hester, and Jimmy Belken of the Strangers. While many other members have played with them during their run from 1967 to 2017, below is a timeline of just the members during their recorded output. Outlaw country[2] is a subgenre of American country music created by a small group of iconoclastic artists active in the 1970s and early 1980s, known collectively as the outlaw movement, who fought for and won their creative freedom outside of the Nashville establishment that dictated the sound of most country music of the era. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and David Allan Coe were among the movement's most commercially successful members. The music has its roots in earlier subgenres like Western, honky tonk, rockabilly and progressive country, and is characterized by a blend of rock and folk rhythms, country instrumentation and introspective lyrics.[3][4] The movement began as a reaction to the slick production and limiting structures of the Nashville sound developed by record producers like Chet Atkins.[3][5] History Some country fans consider outlaw country a slightly harder-edged variant of progressive country.[6] The outlaw sound has its roots in blues music,[7] honky tonk music of the 1940s and 1950s, rockabilly of the 1950s, and the evolving genre of rock and roll.[4][8] Early outlaws were particularly influenced by predecessors like Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly. However, an even greater transition occurred after Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were able to secure their own recording rights, and began the trend of bucking the "Nashville sound". According to Michael Streissguth, author of Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville, Jennings and Nelson became outlaws when they "won the right" to record with the producers and studio musicians they preferred.[4] The 1960s was a decade of enormous change, a change reflected in the music of the time. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and many who followed in their wake cast off the traditional role of the recording artist. They wrote their own material, had creative input in their albums, and refused to conform to what society required of its youth. One author states that the Beatnik movement, from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, was a precursor to outlaw country, as participants in both movements emphasized that they felt "out of place" in mainstream society.[9] At the same time, country music was declining into a formulaic genre that appeared to offer the establishment what it wanted with artists such as Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton making the kind of music that was anathema to the growing counterculture. While Nashville continued to be the focus of mainstream country music, cities like Lubbock and Austin became the creative centers of outlaw country. Southern rock also had a strong influence on the outlaw country movement, and that sound and style of recording was centered in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In the Western United States, the Bakersfield sound was providing a counterpoint to the traditional Nashville sound, and the counterculture was also giving rise to the fusion genre of country rock, with groups such as the Flying Burrito Brothers and The First National Band (whose lead singer Michael Nesmith had similar creative rebellion against the West Coast music establishment dating to his time with The Monkees). Origin of term The movement was named, at various points, "redneck rock", progressive country, or "armadillo country", after the animal which would become the movement's unofficial mascot, before it was termed "outlaw country".[1] The origin of the outlaw label is debated. According to Jason Mellard, author of Progressive Country: How the 1970s Transformed the Texan in Popular Culture, the term "seems to have sedimented over time rather than exploding in the national consciousness all at once".[10] The term is often attributed to "Ladies Love Outlaws", a song by Lee Clayton and sung by Waylon Jennings on the 1972 album of the same name.[11] Another plausible explanation is the use of the term a year later by publicist Hazel Smith of Glaser Studios to describe the music of Jennings and Tompall Glaser. Art critic Dave Hickey, who wrote a 1974 profile in Country Music magazine, also used the term to describe artists who opposed the commercial control of the Nashville recording industry.[10] In 1976, the Outlaw movement solidified the term with the release of Wanted! The Outlaws, a compilation album featuring songs sung by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. Wanted! The Outlaws became the first country album to be platinum-certified, reaching sales of one million.[12] L-R Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings at the Dripping Springs Reunion in 1972 Development As Southern rock flourished, veteran country artists incorporated rock into their music in this genre. Songwriters/guitarists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams, Jr. shed formulaic Nashville sound, grew long hair, and replaced rhinestone-studded suits with leather jackets. Outlaw country artists spoke openly about smoking marijuana.[13] Fiercely independent, the "outlaws" abandoned lush orchestrations, stripped the music to its country core, and added a rock sensibility to the sound.[2] At the same time, outlaw country performers brought back older styles that had fallen into disuse, such as honky tonk songs and "cowboy ballads".[14] As well, Nelson and Jennings incorporated more R&B and soul music into their country music by working with Memphis and Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section musicians.[13] The outlaw country artists aimed to resist the big "machine" of the Nashville establishment, which "codified" norms of sounds, styles, and even appearance and behavior through influential "tastemaker" shows such as Grand Ole Opry.[15] The Grand Ole Opry, which was "staunchly conservative", used its influence over Nashville's Music Row to control who could play and what types of songs they could perform. Jennings described his experience in that city's recording industry as like working on an assembly line, in which records were produced like "clockwork".[15] In 1973 Jennings produced Lonesome, On'ry and Mean. The theme song was written by Steve Young, a songwriter and performer who never made it in the mainstream, but whose songs helped to create the outlaw style.[citation needed] The follow-up album for Jennings was Honky Tonk Heroes and the songwriter hero was Texan Billy Joe Shaver. Like Steve Young, Shaver never made it big, but his 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is considered a country classic in the outlaw genre.[citation needed] Willie Nelson's career as a songwriter in Nashville peaked in the late 1960s. As a songwriter, he had written a number of major pop-crossover hits, including "Crazy" for Patsy Cline and "Hello Walls" for Faron Young, but as a singer, he was getting nowhere. He left Nashville in 1971 to return to Texas. The musicians he met in Austin had been developing the folk and rock influenced country music that grew into the outlaw genre. Performing and associating with the likes of Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey and Billy Joe Shaver helped shape his future career. Williams Jr. had long spent much of his early career in the shadow of his father Hank Williams Sr., who died when Williams Jr. was three years old. In 1975, Williams was severely injured in avalanche while mountain climbing, disfiguring him to the point where he no longer resembled his father; he grew a beard to hide the scars, which he has maintained ever since. He also began collaborating with the other outlaws, beginning with his album Hank Williams Jr. and Friends released shortly before he was injured. At the same time as Nelson was reinventing himself, other influential musicians were writing songs and playing in Austin and Lubbock. Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore formed the Flatlanders, a group that never sold huge numbers of albums, but continues to perform. The three founders have each made a significant contribution to the development of the outlaw genre. The Lost Gonzo Band and their work in conjunction with Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Murphey were integral in the birth of Outlaw Country.[16] Other Texans, like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Guy Clark, have developed the outlaw ethos through their songs and their lifestyles. Although Johnny Cash spent most of his time in Arkansas and Tennessee, he experienced a revival of his career with the outlaw movement, especially after his live albums At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin, both of which were recorded in prisons. Cash had working relationships with Nelson, Jennings and Kris Kristofferson in his later career, culminating in the formation of The Highwaymen; the four would record and perform as a supergroup in addition to their solo careers through the late 1990s. Cash had also been on good terms with several folk counterculture figures, a fact that irked Nashville and television executives (Cash hosted a variety show from 1969 to 1971). Like the other outlaw singers, he eschewed the polished Nashville look with a somewhat ragged (especially in later years), all-black outfit that inspired Cash's nickname, the "Man in Black". Decline of the movement The outlaw movement's heyday was in the mid- to late 1970s; although the core artists of the movement continued to record for many years afterward (Nelson, in particular, was recording hits well into the following decade while Hank Williams, Jr. achieved his greatest success during the 1980s), the outlaw movement as a fad was already declining by 1978. By 1980 mainstream country music was practically dominated by country pop artists and crossover acts. The movement was furthermore falling victim to the same pigeonholing and commercialization as mainstream country music; Mickey Newbury, a prominent influence on many outlaw artists, rejected the "outlaw" label, stating "I quit playing cowboys when I grew up."[17] Williams also noted in his song "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" that many of the core "outlaws" were growing up and abandoning the drugs and hard partying that had driven much of their lives in the 1970s in favor of their home lives and other pursuits. Jennings had a hit song with "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand" in 1978, which likewise attributed the decline to pressures from drug use. Some of the outlaws would have a slight career renaissance in the mid-1980s with the neotraditional country revival, which revived the older styles of both mainstream and "outlaw" country music of years past. Related genres The Tulsa sound out of Tulsa, Oklahoma was closely related to outlaw country;[18][19] "Tulsa Time" became a hit for Don Williams in 1978, and for Eric Clapton (who, though English, was closely associated with the Tulsa sound in the late 1970s and early 1980s[20]) in 1980. The Grand Ole Opry is an American weekly live country music radio broadcast from – and a several nights per week performance held at – the Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.), it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history.[1][2] Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits.[3] It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners. In the 1930s, the show began hiring professionals and expanded to four hours. Broadcasting by then at 50,000 watts, WSM made the program a Saturday night musical tradition in nearly 30 states.[4] In 1939, it debuted nationally on NBC Radio. The Opry moved to its most famous former home, the Ryman Auditorium, in 1943. As it developed in importance, so did the city of Nashville, which became America's "country music capital."[5] The Grand Ole Opry holds such significance in Nashville that it is included as a "home of" mention on the welcome signs seen by motorists at the Metro Nashville/Davidson County line. Membership in the Opry remains one of country music's crowning achievements.[6] Since 1974, the show has been broadcast from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown Nashville, with an annual three-month winter foray back to the Ryman from 1999 to 2020. In addition to the radio programs, performances have been sporadically televised over the years. The Opry's television partner is currently Circle, a digital multicast network which is partially-owned by Opry Entertainment and Gray Television, and broadcasts portions of the live Saturday night performance on an irregular basis. Dolly Parton recently celebrated 50 years of performing on The Grand Ole Opry. History Beginnings Decorative brickwork at Opryland Hotel depicting Ryman Auditorium with Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff The Grand Ole Opry started as the WSM Barn Dance in the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville on November 28, 1925. On October 17, 1925, management began a program featuring "Dr. Humphrey Bate and his string quartet of old-time musicians." On November 2, WSM hired long-time announcer and program director George D. Hay, an enterprising pioneer from the National Barn Dance program at WLS in Chicago, who was also named the most popular radio announcer in America as a result of his radio work with both WLS and WMC in Memphis, Tennessee. Hay launched the WSM Barn Dance with 77-year-old fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson on November 28, 1925, and that date is celebrated as the day the Grand Ole Opry began.[7] Some of the bands regularly on the show during its early days included Bill Monroe, the Possum Hunters (with Humphrey Bate), the Fruit Jar Drinkers with Uncle Dave Macon, the Crook Brothers, the Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers, Sid Harkreader, DeFord Bailey, Fiddlin' Arthur Smith, and the Gully Jumpers.[8] Judge Hay liked the Fruit Jar Drinkers and asked them to appear last on each show because he wanted to always close each segment with "red hot fiddle playing". They were the second band accepted on Barn Dance, with the Crook Brothers being the first. When the Opry began having square dancers on the show, the Fruit Jar Drinkers always played for them. In 1926, Uncle Dave Macon, a Tennessee banjo player who had recorded several songs and toured on the vaudeville circuit, became its first real star.[8] Signs welcoming motorists to Nashville on all major roadways include the phrase "Home of the Grand Ole Opry". Name The phrase "Grand Ole Opry" was first uttered on radio on December 10, 1927.[9] At the time, the NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour, a program with classical music and selections from grand opera, was followed by Hay's Barn Dance. That evening, as he was introducing DeFord Bailey, the show's first performer of the night, George Hay said the following words: For the past hour, we have been listening to music largely from Grand Opera, but from now on, we will present 'The Grand Ole Opry'.[9][10] Larger venues The Hillsboro Theatre (now the Belcourt Theatre), home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1934 to 1936 The War Memorial Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1939 to 1943 As audiences for the live show increased, National Life & Accident Insurance's radio venue became too small to accommodate the hordes of fans. They built a larger studio, but it was still not large enough. After several months with no audiences,[clarification needed] National Life decided to allow the show to move outside its home offices. In October 1934, the Opry moved into then-suburban Hillsboro Theatre (now the Belcourt) before moving to the Dixie Tabernacle in East Nashville on June 13, 1936. The Opry then moved to the War Memorial Auditorium, a downtown venue adjacent to the State Capitol, and a 25-cent admission fee was charged to try to curb the large crowds, but to no avail. In June 1943, the Opry moved to Ryman Auditorium.[11] Roy Acuff Ryman Auditorium, the "Mother Church of Country Music", home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, and seasonally from 1999 to 2020 One hour of the Opry was nationally broadcast by the NBC Red Network from 1939 to 1956, and for much of its run, it aired one hour after the program that had inspired it, National Barn Dance. The NBC segment, originally known by the name of its sponsor, The Prince Albert Show, was first hosted by Acuff, who was succeeded by Red Foley from 1946 to 1954. From October 15, 1955, to September 1956, ABC-TV aired a live, hour-long television version once a month on Saturday nights (sponsored by Ralston-Purina) that pre-empted one hour of the then-90-minute Ozark Jubilee. From 1955 to 1957, Al Gannaway owned and produced both The Country Show and Stars of the Grand Ole Opry, both filmed programs syndicated by Flamingo Films. Gannaway's Stars of the Grand Ole Opry was the first television show shot in color.[12] On October 2, 1954, a teenage Elvis Presley had his only Opry performance. Although the audience reacted politely to his revolutionary brand of rockabilly music, Opry manager Jim Denny told Presley's producer Sam Phillips after the show that the singer's style did not suit the program.[13] 1960s In the 1960s, as the hippie counterculture movement spread, the Opry maintained a strait-laced, conservative image with "longhairs" not being featured on the show. Artists were expected to dress conservatively, with women regularly wearing gingham country dresses; Jeannie Seely, upon joining the Opry in 1967, fought management to wear more contemporary attire such as miniskirts and go-go boots, arguing that if the Opry were going to have a dress code, it should enforce it upon the audience as well, and that she was only wearing what most young women of the time were wearing.[14] Seely's actions effectively caused the fall of a "gingham curtain".[15] Despite her disputes with the dress code, Seely would remain loyal to the Opry, setting the record for most appearances on the program over 55 years (and ongoing) as a member.[16] The Byrds were a notable exception. Country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, who was a member of The Byrds at the time, was in Nashville to work on the band's country rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo.[17] The band's record label, Columbia Records, had arranged for The Byrds to perform at the Ryman on March 15, 1968, a prospect that thrilled Parsons.[17] However, when the band took the stage the audience's response was immediately hostile, resulting in derisive heckling, booing, and mocking calls of "tweet, tweet" and "cut your hair"[18][19] The Byrds further outraged the Opry establishment by ignoring accepted protocol when they performed Parsons' song "Hickory Wind" instead of the Merle Haggard song "Life in Prison", as had been announced by Tompall Glaser.[17] Two decades later, long after Parsons's death, members of The Byrds reconciled with the Opry and collaborated on the 1989 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two. Another artist that ran afoul of the Opry's stringent standards was Jerry Lee Lewis, who made his first and only appearance on the show on January 20, 1973, after several years of success on the country charts. Lewis was given two conditions for his appearance – no rock and roll and no profanity – and he proceeded to disregard both, even referring to himself as a "" at one point. In a continuous 40-minute set, Lewis played a mixture of his rock and roll hits and covers of other singers' country songs. It has been said that he was bitter about how he was treated when he first arrived in Nashville in 1955, and he supposedly used his Opry appearance to exact revenge on the Nashville music industry.[20] Country legend Johnny Cash, who made his Opry debut on July 5, 1956, and met his future wife June Carter Cash on that day, was banned from the program in 1965 after, drunkenly, smashing the stage lights with the microphone stand. Cash commented on the incident years later: "I don't know how much they wanted me in the first place," he says, "but the night I broke all the stage lights with the microphone stand, they said they couldn't use me anymore. So I went out and used it as an excuse to really get wild and ended up in the hospital the third time I broke my nose."[21] Cash was accepted back in 1968, after the success of his At Folsom Prison album and his recovery from addiction.[22] Grand Ole Opry House For the venue named Grand Ole Opry House from 1943 to 1974, see Ryman Auditorium. Grand Ole Opry House U.S. National Register of Historic Places the Grand Ole Opry House in 2022 Grand Ole Opry is located in TennesseeGrand Ole Opry Show map of Tennessee Show map of the United States Show all Location 600 Opry Mills Dr, Nashville, Tennessee 37214[24] Area 4 acres (approx.)[24] Built 1972-74[24] Architect Welton Becket & Associates; Pierre Cabrol[24] Architectural style Modern/Brutalist[24] Restored 2010 (flood damage remediation) NRHP reference No. 14001222[23] Added to NRHP January 27, 2015 Interior in 2022 Ryman Auditorium was home to the Opry until 1974. By the late 1960s, National Life & Accident desired a new, larger, more modern home for the long-running radio show. Already 51 years old at the time the Opry moved there, the Ryman was beginning to suffer from disrepair as the downtown neighborhood around it fell victim to increasing urban decay. Despite these shortcomings, the show's popularity continued to increase, and its weekly crowds were outgrowing the 2,362-seat venue. The Opry's operators wanted to build a new air-conditioned theater, with greater seating capacity, ample parking, and the ability to serve as a television production facility. The ideal location would be in a less urbanized part of town to provide visitors with a safer, more controlled, and more enjoyable experience.[25] National Life & Accident purchased farmland owned by a local sausage manufacturer (Rudy's Farm) in the Pennington Bend area of Nashville, nine miles east of downtown and adjacent to the newly constructed Briley Parkway. The new Opry venue was the centerpiece of a grand entertainment complex at that location, which later included Opryland USA Theme Park and Opryland Hotel. The theme park opened to the public on June 30, 1972,[26] well ahead of the 4,000-seat Opry House, which debuted nearly two years later, on Saturday, March 16, 1974. The last show of the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium was held on March 15, 1974. Opening night was attended by sitting U.S. President Richard Nixon, who played a few songs on the piano.[27] To carry on the tradition of the show's run at the Ryman, a six-foot circle of oak was cut from the corner of the Ryman's stage and inlaid into center stage at the new venue.[28] Artists on stage usually stood on the circle as they performed, and most modern performers still follow this tradition. The theme park was closed and demolished following the 1997 season, but the Grand Ole Opry House remains in use. The immediate area around it was left intact, even throughout the construction of Opry Mills, which opened in May 2000.[29] The outside was decorated with the commemorative plaques of country music Grammy winners, formerly of Opryland's StarWalk, until the display was retired, reconfigured, and moved downtown to become the Music City Walk of Fame in 2006.[30] The Grand Ole Opry continues to be performed every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and occasionally Wednesday and Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry House. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 2015.[31][32] The Grand Ole Opry House was also the home of the Country Music Association Awards from 1974 to 2004, and hosted three weeks of tapings for the long-running game show Wheel of Fortune in 2003. The venue has also been the site of the GMA Dove Awards on multiple occasions.[33] On December 21, 2018, the backstage band room was officially named the Jimmy Capps Music Room in honor of Capps's 60th anniversary on the Opry.[34] Return to Ryman Auditorium Following the departure of the Opry, Ryman Auditorium sat mostly vacant and decaying for 20 years. An initial effort by National Life & Accident to tear down the Ryman and use its bricks to build a chapel at Opryland USA was met with resounding resistance from the public, including many influential musicians of the time. The plans were abandoned, and the building remained standing with an uncertain future. Despite the absence of performances, the building remained a tourist attraction throughout the remainder of the 1970s and 1980s.[35] In 1991 and 1992, Emmylou Harris performed a series of concerts there and released some of the recordings as an album entitled At the Ryman. The concert and album's high acclaim renewed interest in reviving Ryman Auditorium as an active venue. Beginning in September 1993, Gaylord Entertainment initiated a full renovation of the Ryman, restoring it to a world-class concert hall that reopened with a broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion on June 4, 1994.[35] On Sunday, October 18, 1998, the Opry held a benefit show at Ryman Auditorium, marking its return to the venue for the first time since its final show on March 15, 1974.[36] Beginning in November 1999, the Opry was held at Ryman Auditorium for three months, partly due to the ongoing construction of Opry Mills. The Opry returned to the Ryman for the three winter months every year until 2019–20, allowing the show to acknowledge its roots while also taking advantage of a smaller venue during an off-peak season for tourism.[36] While still officially the Grand Ole Opry, the shows there are billed as Opry at the Ryman. From 2002 to 2014, a traveling version of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular took up residence at the Grand Ole Opry House each holiday season while the Opry was away. It was replaced by Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical from 2015 in 2017 and by Cirque Dreams Holidaze in 2018.[37] 2010 flooding Grand Ole Opry logo used from 2005 to 2015 In May 2010, the Opry House was flooded, along with much of Nashville, when the Cumberland River overflowed its banks. Repairs were made, and the Opry itself remained uninterrupted. Over the course of the summer of 2010, the broadcast temporarily originated from alternate venues in Nashville, with Ryman Auditorium hosting the majority of the shows. Other venues included TPAC War Memorial Auditorium, another former Opry home; TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall; Nashville Municipal Auditorium; Allen Arena at Lipscomb University; and Two Rivers Baptist Church.[38] Much of the auditorium's main floor seating, the backstage areas, and the entire stage – including the six foot inlaid circle of wood from Ryman's stage – was underwater during the flood. While the Grand Ole Opry House's stage was replaced, the Ryman circle was restored and again placed at center stage in the Grand Ole Opry House before shows resumed.[39][40] The renovations following the flood also resulted in an updated and much-expanded backstage area, including the construction of more dressing rooms and a performer's lounge. The Opry returned to the Grand Ole Opry House on September 28, 2010, in a special edition of the Opry entitled Country Comes Home that was televised live on Great American Country.[41] The evening included Martina McBride and Connie Smith singing Smith's signature hit "Once a Day" together, and other collaborations included Dierks Bentley and Del McCoury ("Roll On Buddy, Roll On"), Josh Turner and Lorrie Morgan ("Golden Ring"), and Montgomery Gentry and Charlie Daniels Band ("Devil Went Down to Georgia"), before closing with a guitar jam featuring Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs, and Marty Stuart.[citation needed] COVID-19 pandemic response The Opry closed its doors to spectators and trimmed its staff in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee but continued to air weekly episodes on radio and television, relying on advertising revenue to remain solvent.[42] The Opry resumed allowing spectators on a limited basis in October, and resumed full operations in May 2021.[43] Due to the restrictions, the show did not move to the Ryman Auditorium in November 2020 as was customary. The Winter Ryman residency did not resume in 2021–22, partly due to scheduling conflicts from Ryman concerts postponed during the pandemic closure. The Opry livestreams were celebrated by viewers as something to look forward to during the pandemic, with the majority of viewers being under lockdown. According to Pollstar, Opry Live was the number one most-watched livestream series in 2020 across all genres and received more than fifty million viewers from over fifty countries throughout the year, with two individual episodes (Vince Gill/Reba McEntire and Brad Paisley/Carrie Underwood) placing at numbers nine and ten respectively in the top ten. President of Opry Entertainment Scott Bailey explained that "as the stewards of the Grand Ole Opry, it was never a question of if the Opry would play on, but how could it provide a safe and much-needed source of comfort during what has been an extraordinary year around the world. We are proud of this tremendous result and the numbers of viewers who have tuned in, not only for what it has meant for Circle, but also for what it says about the country music genre and country music fans. On behalf of all of us at the Grand Ole Opry and Opry Entertainment, I'd like to thank the artist community, industry and music lovers around the world for their continued support".[44] After seven months of performing without a live audience, in October of 2020, the Opry kicked off its 95th anniversary by welcoming back 500 guests to the Opry House – and so began a month-long celebration of the Opry, country music, its artists, and its fans.[45] The Grand Ole Opry celebrated its 5,000th Saturday night show on Oct. 30, 2021 with performances by country superstars and Opry members like Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Darius Rucker, Vince Gill, Chris Young and several others.[46] On June 11, 2022, Opry member Vince Gill invited both Charlie McCoy and Don Schlitz – who both made frequent appearances as guests on the show – to become Opry members, marking the first double invitation in Opry family history. Current On the day of legendary Opry member Loretta Lynn’s passing, Oct. 4, 2022, Carly Pearce performed her song “Dear Ms. Loretta” on the Opry stage. A memorial concert was held for Lynn a few weeks later that featured performances by George Strait, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna, and several other artists. Thousands of Lynn’s friends, family, and fans were in attendance at the Opry House.[47] The Opry unveiled a new, upgraded stage with all-new, advanced audio technology – the first major updates to the set in over two decades – in February of 2023.[48] Opry NextStage, a program that spotlights a select number of up-and-coming country artists each year, began bringing younger and more diverse acts to the Opry stage in 2019.[49] Artists from more genres like Folk, Americana, Gospel, Blues, and Southern Rock frequently appear on the show. And in 2022, Opry management invited two new comedians – Henry Cho (the Opry’s first Asian American member) and Gary Mule Deer – to become Opry members.[50] Broadcasts Dolly Parton at the Opry in 2005 Eddie Stubbs announcing for the Opry in 2012 The Grand Ole Opry is broadcast live on WSM-AM at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday nights, changed from a previous time start of 6:30. A similar program, Friday Night Opry, airs live on Friday nights. From February through December, Tuesday Night Opry is also aired live.[51] Wednesday shows are typically presented in the summer months, while an "Opry Country Classics" program sporadically airs on Thursdays, devoted solely to older artists. Additional Christmas-themed shows, entitled Opry Country Christmas, began production during the 2021 holiday season. The Opry provides a fourteen-piece house band for performers should they not have a band of their own.[52] The Opry can also be heard live on Willie's Roadhouse on channel 59 on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, and the program streams on WSM's website.[51] ABC broadcast the Grand Ole Opry as a monthly series from 1955 to 1956, and PBS televised annual live performances from 1978 to 1981.[53] In 1985, The Nashville Network, co-owned by Gaylord, began airing an edited half-hour version of the program as Grand Ole Opry Live. The show moved to Country Music Television, also owned by Gaylord, where it expanded to an hour, and then to the Great American Country (GAC) cable network,[54] which no longer televised its Opry Live show after both networks channel drifted towards generic Southern lifestyle programming.[55] Circle, a new over-the-air digital subchannel network operated by Gray Television and Ryman Hospitality Properties, resumed telecasting the Opry as its flagship program when it launched in 2020, and former WSM radio sister station WSMV-DT5 is the network's flagship station. Initially simulcasting the radio version, since 2021, the television Opry Live has been pre-recorded live to tape telecasts of recent Opry shows (the show's time slot often coincides with intermission and less demographic-friendly radio segments such as square dancing and audience participation bits). RFD-TV carries reruns of Opry telecasts under the title Opry Encore.[56] Membership Main article: List of Grand Ole Opry members New members are invited to join the Opry by other members. Here, Mel Tillis (right) receives his Opry induction offer from Bill Anderson, 2007. Jeannie Seely (pictured at the Opry in 2012) has made the most appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, inducted as a member in 1967, she has made over 5,000 appearances on the Opry, more than anyone else. Regular performers at the Grand Ole Opry can be inducted into the organization as a member. Opry management, when it decides to induct a new member, directs an existing member to publicly ask them to join, usually during a live episode; an induction ceremony happens several weeks later, where the inductee is presented with a trophy and gives an acceptance speech. As the Opry is a running series, membership in the show's cast must be maintained throughout an artist's career, through frequent performances, and expires when the performer dies. Duos and groups remain members until all members have died; following the death of a member, the others maintain Opry membership. More recent protocols have allowed performers who are incapacitated or retired (such as Barbara Mandrell, Jeanne Pruett, Stu Phillips and Ricky Van Shelton) to maintain Opry membership until they die. Randy Travis has maintained his Opry membership largely through non-singing appearances since his 2013 stroke, while Loretta Lynn was granted similar accommodation from 2017 until her 2022 death. The Opry maintains a wall of fame listing every member of the Opry in the show's history. Receiving Opry membership is considered an honor that is similar in prestige to a hall of fame induction, with the caveat that a number of prominent country musicians never received it. When Don Schlitz was inducted on August 30, 2022, he became the first-ever member of the Opry inducted for his songwriting and not as a performer, having begun regular appearances only after Travis's incapacitation, performing songs he had written for Travis and for non-Opry member Kenny Rogers. The Opry also has a history of inviting comedians to join the cast, though none were invited to join between Jerry Clower's induction in 1973 and when Henry Cho and Gary Mule Deer became members in 2023. Following the death of Bobby Osborne on June 27, 2023, there are 70 active members and one member-in-waiting (Jon Pardi), plus the Opry Square Dancers, who enjoy sui generis membership status and open every Saturday show.[57] Controversies In April 1963, Opry management mandated that members had to perform no less than 26 shows a year in order to maintain their membership.[58] WSM decreased the number of those required performances to 20 in January 1964,[58] and the minimum number was 12 in 2000.[59] Although the minimum number of performances has been reduced over the years, artists offered membership are expected to display their dedication to the Opry with frequent attendance.[59] Another controversy raged for years over permissible instrumentation, especially the use of drums and electrically amplified instruments. Some purists were appalled at the prospect; traditionally, a string bass provided the rhythm component in country music, and percussion instruments were seldom used. Electric amplification, new in the beginning days of the Opry, was regarded as the province of popular music and jazz in the 1940s. Although the Opry allowed electric guitars and steel guitars by World War II, the restrictions against drums and horns continued, causing a conflict when Bob Wills[60] and Pee Wee King[61] defied the show's ban on drums. Wills openly flouted the rule. King, who performed at the Ryman in 1945 after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, did not technically defy the ban. He did not use his drums on the Opry, but this particular Saturday night, the Opry was cancelled due to FDR's death. He and his band were asked to perform their theater show (with their drummer) because a number of fans showed up assuming the Opry would go on. It took years after that before drums became commonly accepted at the Opry; as late as 1967, an item in Billboard claimed that "[a] full set of drums was used on the 'Grand Ole Opry' for the first time in history when Jerry Reed performed last week. Jerry's drummer, Willie Akerman, was allowed to use the entire set during his guest performance there."[62] Stonewall Jackson, an Opry member since 1956, sued the Opry management in 2007 alleging that manager Pete Fisher was trying to purge older members of the Opry from its membership and committing age discrimination.[63] Jackson settled the lawsuit in 2008[64] and resumed appearing on the program until retiring in 2012.[65] In early 2022, Morgan Wallen performed on the Grand Ole Opry alongside Ernest. This move was criticized by many country music fans, as Wallen had been taped less than a year prior shouting a racial slur, and the Opry had previously made stances against racism on social media. In response to the latter, music writer Holly G. founded the Black Opry as a means of raising awareness of black artists in country music.[66] Commercialization June Carter Cash at the Opry in 1999 The company has enforced its trademark on the name "Grand Ole Opry," with trademark registrations in the United States and in numerous countries around the world. It has taken court action to limit use of the word "Opry" – not directly trademarked – to members of the Opry and products associated with or licensed by it and to discourage use of the word in ways that would imply a connection to the Grand Ole Opry.[67] In late 1968, for instance, WSM sued Opry Records, a record label that was independent of WSM,[68] and the court decided that "the record is replete with newspaper and magazine articles and clippings which demonstrate conclusively that the term 'Opry,' standing alone as defendant has used it, is constantly used in country and western music circles in referring to plaintiff's 'Grand Ole Opry'."[69] The court also stated "the defendant has appropriated, at its peril, the dominant or salient term in the plaintiff's mark, a term which identified the 'Grand Ole Opry' in the mind of the public many years before the inception of 'Opry Records' – the name adopted by defendant."[70] In another case, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board granted summary judgment that the term "Opry" is a generic term (and thus no more protected than the words "Grand" or "Ole"), but the Federal Circuit court reversed this decision.[71] As recently as 2009, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board granted judgment against Texas Opry House, LLC, which had filed a trademark application for TEXAS OPRY HOUSE.[72] In 2004, the Grand Ole Opry sold naming rights to its first "presenting sponsor", Cracker Barrel.[73] Insurance company Humana became a sponsor in September 2007,[74] was the presenting sponsor by no later than January 2010,[75] and still holds that top sponsorship level as of May 2023.[76] Honors Peabody Award, 1983[77] National Radio Hall of Fame induction, 1992[78] See also Country Music Association Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Music & the Spoken Word - "The longest-running continuous network radio program in the world" (began July 15, 1929).[1] Mel Tillis, country music singer and songwriter, has died, the Country Music Hall of Fame confirmed in a statement. He was 85. According to the Tennessean, Tillis died early Sunday morning at the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Fla. after almost two years of ill health stemming from a bout of diverticulitis, for which he received surgery. The suspected cause of death is respiratory failure. Tillis began recording in the late 1950s and continued to perform through 2015, but remained best known for a string of No. 1 country hits in the late ’70s, along with a succession of appearances in Hollywood movies alongside Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood that helped make him a household name even outside the country music sphere. “Mel Tillis spent a lifetime giving us joy and laughter and music, which is why his death brings such sadness,” said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young. “Had he never stepped on a stage, he would still have been one of the funniest and most genuine people on the planet.” “But his whimsy and warmth were only a part of his appeal. He wrote some of country music’s most compelling and consequential songs, he fronted a remarkable band, and he sang with power and emotion. He also shone as an inspiration, revealing what others called an impediment as a vehicle for humor and hope.” In 1976, Tillis won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award and was inducted in the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. In 2007, Tillis was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame. President Barack Obama bestowed the National Medal of Arts award upon Tillis in 2012. Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, grew up in Florida and developed a stutter that would stay with him throughout his life as a result of an early bout of malaria; the stutter did not affect his singing voice. Not only did Tillis not try to hide the condition, he trumpeted it with good humor and made it enough of a trademark that he eventually titled his memoir “Stutterin’ Boy.” He joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed as a baker in Okinawa, where he formed a band called the Westerners. After leaving the Air Force in 1955 and working several odd jobs, Tillis auditioned for Wesley Rose, who encouraged him to pursue songwriting. Tillis eventually moved to Nashville and began writing songs full-time, most notably for Webb Pierce. Through the late ’50s and ’60s, Tillis balanced his career as a then-minor hitmaker in his own right with bigger songwriting successes for other artists, including Kenny Rogers and the First Edition’s “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” and Bobby Bare’s “Detroit City.” It wasn’t until 1971 that he had his own first No. 1 hit as a recording artist, with “I Ain’t Never,” which he followed later in the decade with the chart-toppers “Good Woman Blues,” “Heart Healer,” “I Believe In You,” and “Coca-Cola Cowboy.” After his recording career faded in the 1980s, Tillis acquired several radio stations including KIXZ and KYTX in Amarillo, Tex., and WMML in Mobile, Ala., which he eventually sold for a sizable profit. He also found a different kind of fame with a new generation by virtue of being the father of Pam Tillis, who had a run of 13 top 10 hits in the 1990s and often referred to her famous dad. Tillis was a familiar screen presence in the ’70s and ’80s, with small roles in films including “W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings,” “The Villain,” “Every Which Way But Loose,” “Smokey and the Bandit II,” and both “Cannonball Run” movies. He also briefly co-hosted an ABC prime-time series, “Mel and Susan Together,” with supermodel Susan Anton in 1978. TV guest spots were frequent, including a debut acting appearance on “Love: American Style” in 1973, followed by shows like “The Dukes of Hazard,” “The Tim Conway Show,” and “The Love Boat.” The most prominent latter-day cover of a Tillis song came when Robert Plant and Alison Krauss recorded “Stick With Me Baby” for their T Bone Burnett-produced “Raising Sand,” which won a 2007 Grammy for Album of the Year. “Mel Tillis was a guy who had it all: He could write, he could sing and he could entertain an audience,” said Grand Ole Opry announcer and WSM DJ Eddie Stubbs. “There’s a big difference between a concert and a show. Mel Tillis always put on a show….You always felt good about being around him.”
  • Condition: Usado
  • Industry: Music
  • Signed: Yes
  • Original/Reproduction: Original
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

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