It was a hot, steamy, muggy evening out there, so it was quite a relief when we stepped into the back door into the air conditioned comfort of the BK tonight.  As the magic hour approached, Larry Dean stepped front & center to sing Alan Jackson's "Don't Rock The Juke Box" and Merle Haggard's "Working Man Blues."  Showing his great versatility, Larry returned later with Travis Tritt's "Living On Borrowed Time," Charlie Louvin's "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye" and Johnny Cash's "The Night Hank Williams Came To Town." 

What a pleasant surprise it was to see our friend Larry Smith, whose singing talents are almost legendary throughout this area.  Larry, who has appeared at practically every opry & country show throughout the region, got a huge hand as he greeted everyone with a Hank Locklin tune, "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You," followed by Merle's "Okie From Muskogee," Eddie Arnold's "Make The World Go Away" and Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues."  Returning shortly after intermission, Larry did a bang-up job with Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee" & "Johnny B. Goode," Ray Price's "Heart Aches By The Number" along with Merle's "Today I Started Loving You Again."  The group's terrific lead guitarist Gordon Riley and the rest of the band including drummer John Malone got the dancers moving with the self-penned "Gordon's Boogie #2," "Buckaroo" while Gordon demonstrated his vocal abilities as well with Hank Thompson's "Six Pack To Go" and Elvis' "Big Boss Man."  "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier got quite an ovation tonight as he put bow to fiddle and played Bob Wills' "Milk Cow Blues," "Down Yonder," "The Waltz You Saved For Me," "Rubber Dolly" and George Strait's "Right Or Wrong."  Marvin, of course is part of the great band which plays every Saturday night at Annie's Country Jubilee. Mary Bichelmeyer's soft, mellow voice certainly did justice to Loretta Lynn's "Blue Kentucky Girl," Pam Tillis' "Don't Tell Me What To Do" and Warner Mack's "Once A Day." Garry Bichelmeyer gave everyone a taste of his many talents tonight singing John Denver's "It's Good To Be Back Home Again," "Kansas City," his newly self-written "One Room School House," then picking up the banjo led the band playing "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."  It's always great to see and hear crowd favorite David Purcell and tonight he greeted everyone with Alan Jackson's "Just Playing Possum," Willie Nelson sound-alikes "On The Road Again" & "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and a bit later, George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away." 

Tonight's festivities came to a close with the band playing "I Saw The Light" and Larry Dean singing an old bluegrass gospel number recorded by Tom T. Hall and others, "Rank Stranger."  (Below)  Tonight's special guest, Larry Smith

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 1 September 2010 6:17 PM CDT

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Another pleasant evening awaited us as our friends, the Petterschs picked us up for the trip tonight to the Wagon Wheel, a country music showplace and dance emporium located just north of Pattonsburg, MO, off of US 69.  Featuring a large rustic-decorated stage, a huge dance floor, a "Veteran's Wall," clean, well-maintained restroom facilities, the Wagon Wheel is always being upgraded, thanks to the efforts of co-owners John & Lorrie Green and Howard & Debbie Sinclair.  We arrived early enough to take advantage of the big, full-service snack bar & kitchen, opting for a delicious cheeseburger, a tub of yummy cheezy fries with a bottle of ice-cold water and sat back and relaxed as John Green and the Green River Band took the stage.

John Green, who not only is a top-notch lead guitarist but whose vocal abilities and range allow him to perform such a wide variety of song selections and his Green River Band kicked off the evening's festivities with Rodney Crowell's "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried" followed by George Strait's "Amarillo" and the group's namesake "Green River" which featured solos by drummer Craig Burks and Dennis Hansen who plays bass.  John returned with Eddie Raven's "I Got Mexico," "She's My Pride & Joy," Billy Walker's "Charlie's Shoes," David Ball's "Look What Followed Me Home" (we saw David himself perform this song on this very stage last April), Strait's "Adilida," George Jones' "Grand Tour," "Tears On My Pillow," Gene Watson's "14 Carat Mind," John Anderson's "Swingin'." Garth's "Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old" and Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally."  After the Waterfall Dance, in which men line up on one side and women on the other and whomever you meet at the end of the line you dance the length of the floor with, the 50-50 drawing, the Chicken Dance (especially for polka lovers) and the cake walk (they walk in a circle until the music stops and if you step on the right number, you win a cake!), John returned with Porter Wagoner's "My Blue House Painted White," "I Don't Know What She Said," Garth's "The Dance," "Tennessee Whiskey," the Bellamy Bros. "Redneck Girl," Jimmy Buffet's "Brown-Eyed Girl," Roy Orbison's "Cryin'" (wow!) and the Allman Bros.' "Stormy Monday."

Lorrie Green who did just an outstanding job backing up her hubby vocally, showed she has some super vocal talents of her own as she sang Charly McClain's "Who's Cheatin Who," Patsy Cline's "You Belong To Me," Skeeter Davis' "Don't They Know It's The End Of The World," Anita Cochran/Conway Twitty's "I Want To Hear A Cheatin Song," Faron Young's "Wine Me Up," Jeane Pruett's "Satin Sheets" and Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again."  Kenny Breneman, the group's keyboardist (he also plays accordian, harmonica and who knows what else) did a beautiful job playing Floyd Cramer's "Last Date," then showed his vocal talents as well, singing Lefty Frizzell's "Waltz Of The Angels" and Marty Stuart's "Farmer's Blues." There were some highly talented walkons tonight as well with Nadine Watts of Gallatin, MO singing Alan Jackson's "Mercury Blues" and who will be joining the band in October to help put on a karaoke/country music/fish fry program in October.  Stay tuned!  Wilber Groves stepped front and center to sing "The Key's In The Mailbox" before Gene Hulett put his great vocal talents to work on Jimmy Rodgers' "California Blues" and the Mills Bros.' "Cab Driver." Donna Graves with husband Ray backing her, sounded swell singing "Help Me Make It Through The Night,"  Scott Bridges did a dandy job with Hank Thompson's "Wild Side Of Life" while Ray Graves turned the clock back a bit with Ferlin Husky's "Wings Of A Dove."  Wrapping up this evening's entertainment were Helen Perks and Carol Clark singing Kitty Wells' answer to "The Wild Side Of Life" -----  "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."  (Below) Nadine Watts who will be leading the karaoke part of a show planned for October, poses with the band.

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Sunday, 29 August 2010 6:57 PM CDT

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What a grand evening to be out and about with the cooler weather and what better sight could await us as we entered the BK tonight than to see Annie Dunavin of Annie's Country Jubilee, husband Terry and some close friends.  Each and every Saturday night, Annie's features one of the Midwest's finest country bands and a wide variety of exciting guest artists.  Showtime is 7:30 PM and it's just a short drive from the NASCAR complex in KCK (take US 40 west) to 4th & Main in beautiful, tropical, downtown TONGANOXIE, KANSAS!

Tonight's festivities began with Larry Dean welcoming the big crowd with a Ricky Skaggs classic "Hiway 40 Blues," followed by Cash's "Big River," Brooks & Dunn's "Boot Scootin Boogie" and Elvis' "All Shook Up" and Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie" a bit later.  Lead guitarist Gordon Riley and the rest of the band, including John Malone on the drums got the dancers loosened up with "Honky Tonk" and Gordon returned to sing Dave Dudley's "Truck Drivin' Man" and Elvis' "Big Boss Man."  Our friend Marvin Bredemeier, who plays fiddle at Annie's Country Jubilee every Saturday was up next and he chose to start with one of the most beautiful fiddle tunes we know of, "Shogun Farewell," followed by our favorite fiddle tune, "Ragtime Annie."  Mary Bichelmeyer, the group's bass player used her soft, mellow voice to do a marvelous job with Hank Sr.'s "Your Cheating Heart" and Pam Tillis' "Don't Tell Me What To Do" while Dave Purcell did an awesome job with George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away" and a Willie Nelson sound alike, "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away."  Garry Bichelmeyer showcased his writing talents as well as his vocal abilities as he sang three self-penned numbers: "Mike's Guitar" (a song about the late Mike O'Roark, who was such an exciting performer), "The One Room School House" (a brand new song which everyone thought will turn out to be one of his best) and by request...."Tonganoxie."  Somewhat later, he was joined by wife Mary as they sang a duet of Lacy J. Dalton's "Black Coffee." We always look forward to seeing and hearing Art Covey play his mandolin and sing and tonight he picked a couple of favorites, the Pat Boone classic "Love Letters In The Sand" and Darrell McCall's "There's Still A Lot Of Love In San Antone."  It was a real kick to see Bill Clark and wife Louise and we really enjoyed Bill's harmonica work on an old-fashioned hoedown - "Bile That Cabbage Down" and then the beautiful "Faded Love" accompanied by Marvin's fiddle and the rest of the band as well.

 A huge ovation greeted Annie Dunavin as she took mike in hand to sing the Jeanne Pruett classic "Satin Sheets" and Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight" to close the first half of tonight's session and returned later to do a marvelous job singing "Bonaparte's Retreat" and  Lorrie Morgan's "Don't Touch Me (If You Don't Love Me)."  Here's hoping she can find the time to return again, real soon!  Also on hand tonight was Ron Fine who used his great vocal abilities on Bobby Helms' "Fraulein" and the old Hank Snow standard "Now And Then There's A Fool Such As I."  Annie Little sounded super as well tonight singing Keith Whitley's "Somewhere Between" and a Garry Bichelmeyer tune "I Must Have Been Out Of My Mind."  Larry Dean closed out the evening's entertainment with George Morgan's "I've Got A Mansion (Just Over The Hilltop)."  (Below) Annie Dunavin entertains the crowd at the BK

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 25 August 2010 5:09 PM CDT

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The Rutlader Outpost which contains the Middle Creek Theatre, a spaceous RV park, an antique business, the Cowboy Chapel (which holds services that feature great music every Tuesday night) and assorted shops is located just east of the junction of US 69 and 335th St. on Metcalf Rd.  We arrived early (around 6 PM) for tonight's second show which started at 7:30 PM as did many others to take advantage of and enjoy the great full service snack bar and visit with friends and acquaintances in the large dining area.  As show time approached, we found our seats and settled back to watch the first half of tonight's show which featured Elijah Chastain and the Middle Creek Band. 

As the lights dimmed, Elijah, who is Middle Creek's musical director and lead guitarist, stepped forward and welcomed everyone to tonight's performance before joining the rest of the band including Bobby DeMoss on steel guitar and Brad Meadows on drums, picking and singing Ricky Skaggs' "Hummingbird" and our favorite Johnny Bush song "What A Way To Live."  Angie Larson, who almost everyone in attendance was familiar with (she used to be a band member) used her super vocal talents tonight to sing Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Miranda Lambert's "White Liar" and joined Elijah in a Gene Watson/Rhonda Vincent duet of "Staying Together."  Our friend, bass player Carl Butler was in fine voice himself tonight, getting the feet a'pattin with "Louisiana Saturday Night" followed closely by Glen Campbell's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix."  Jodi Austin, who plays a great keyboard showed her vocal talents singing "Kansas City" and Crystal Gayle's "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" while Barbara Walker greeted everyone with another Crystal Gayle tune "Why Did You Leave The One You Left Me For?"  Barb was joined by Angie & Jamie 'Gumm' Ogle for some great harmonizing on Dolly's "Those Memories" and "My Baby's Gone," an old Louvin Brother's number.   Jamie returned to close out this first half of super entertainment with Connie Smith's "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and Dolly's "Put It Off Until Tomorrow."

After a short intermission, it was time for the evening's main event which, of course featured two great country superstars: Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius.  Helen Cornelius grew up on a farm not far from Hannibal, MO and listened to the Grand Ole Opry and sang with her sisters accompanied by her brothers who played in country bands.  Since her musical debut at the age of five, Helen won numerous contests including three winning appearances on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1970.  Her songwriting first got her foot in the door of Music Row, but her singing landed her her first contract at RCA records in 1975.  Although she is best know for her teaming with Jim Ed, which resulted in the CMA Award for "Vocal Duo Of The Year," "Single Of The Year" and "Album Of The Year" in 1977, she has achieved notoriety and success as a single artist as well.  Music City News named her the "Most Promising Female Artist" also in 1977, while the Academy Of Country Music named her "Best New Female Vocalist" that same year.  Elijah recalled seeing her perform at the old Englewood Theatre in Independence, MO (home of the KC Opry) in 1984 when she was playing the lead in Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun."  In May of 2005, Helen was inducted into the Missouri Country Music Hall Of Fame" during a ceremony in Springfield, MO.  Helen told us that she and Jim Ed had just finished appearing at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia last night, along with many other major performers and when she awoke this morning, to her horror, she had a case of acute laryngitis, which she attributed to her allergies and the high pollen and ragweed count.  She proved to be quite a trooper and we personlly thought she sounded terrific, singing Faron Young's "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," Hank Sr.'s "Lonesome Blues," Jesse Coulter's "I'm Not Lisa" and LeAnn Rimes' "Some Say Love."  "I've been happily divorced for the past 15 years," she told us. "We split over religious differences, he thought he was God and I didn't!"

Jim Ed Brown has firmly established himself as a presence in every aspect of the Country Music Industry for the past 40 years.  One of five children growing up in Sparkman, AR, some of his earliest memories are listening to the Grand Ole Opry on an old battery powered radio.  Jim Ed and his older sister Maxine began harmonizing together and a few years later began performing occasionally on local radio shows.  By Jim Ed's second year in college, he and Maxine were regular members of the "Barnyard Frolic" in Little Rock and together they penned what was to become their first hit record "Looking Back To See."  They became members of the Louisiana Hayride and in 1955 joined Red Foley on the Ozark Jubilee.  It was later that year they were joined by sister Bonnie and became known as "The Browns."  The group had great success including a couple of number one hits, but it was when Jim Ed returned from a two-year stint in the service to rejoin his sisters and record the song which would leave an indelible mark in  musical history."  Released in 1959, "The Three Bells" sold over a million copies and was the first number one country record to cross over to number one on the pop and rhythm and blues charts as well.  Other chart-busters followed, but by the mid-60's the rigors of combining busy careers and caring for their growing families brought both girls to the decision to retire, to leave Jim Ed to carry on alone.  Jim Ed began a six-season run as co-host of the syndicated TV series "Nashville On The Road" in 1975 and in 1976 teamed up with Helen Cornelius to form one of the most successful duos of all time.  In 1983, he began working with TNN, the Nashville Network's "You Can Be A Star" for six years and co-hosted a show with his wife Becky, "Going Our Way."  Jim Ed still hosts and performs on about 30 shows a year on the Opry and continues to tour throughout the nation.

There was no missing Jim Ed Brown as he stepped front and center in his regal bright red w/black piping blazer, opening his set with the song that started everything -- "Looking Back To See."  We know it was a real thrill for Barb, Angie and Jamie to sing backup harmony here tonight as well as the entire band which backed them.  Next up was 1970's "Morning" followed by "Southern Lovin," "Pop A Top," "Family Bible," "Old Lamplighter" and of course "Three Bells," the story of Little Jimmy Brown.  Joined by Helen Cornelius, it was time for some of those great duets and they were great, believe us.  "Fools" was followed by "Leavin' It Up To You," "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," "Rockin Years," "Lying In Love" and their blockbuster hit "I Don't Want To Have To Marry You."  We had an absolutely marvelous time including the opportunity to visit with both of these friendly down-to-earth folks after the festivities.  Middle Creek has plenty of great shows still ahead this year.  Check out their website for more information: http://www.rutladeroutpost.com/opry.htm  (Below) Miss Jean (c.) poses with Jim Ed Brown (l.) and Helen Cornelius (r.) 

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 10:07 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 23 August 2010 2:06 PM CDT

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This was definately a poor night to be traveling with the insane construction on I-35 and the big lightning and rain storm which pelted our area throughout the evening.  But nevertheless, we jumped in the car with the Petterschs, who were kind enough to drive and left about 5:30 PM for the trek northward.  It turned out to be a wise decision, leaving as early as we did because traffic was not only slow, we spent almost 10 min. completely stopped, parked in a long line of traffic on I-35 as sheets of rain pelted the car and lighting flashed all about us. What a relief it was when we finally turned into the parking lot of Wayne Hoover's Countryside Hall, located on US 69, just south of the Cameron, MO city limit sign!

Lots of friendly faces greeted us as we entered the hall and it was great having a little time to visit with these friendly folks who gather here every Friday evening to visit, dance or maybe, like us just sit back and enjoy listening to Wayne Hoover and the Countrysiders play the very finest in traditional country music.  Almost before we realized it, the lights dimmed and it was time for the evening's festivities to begin.  Billy Dean Bennett, the group's lead guitar player, who can also play almost anything else with strings, slung his guitar across his back and kicked the evening off fiddling our favorite fiddle tune, "Ragtime Annie."  Also a great vocalist to boot, Billy returned later to sing Don Williams' "Living On Tulsa Time," Hank Williams Sr.'s "Kawlijah," "Get Along Home Cindy," the Bellamy Bros. "Neon Moon" and joined wife Lisa singing Patty Lovelace's "That's All It Took," and "I Wanna Be A Hillbilly."  Billy returned a bit later with Vern Gosdin's "Set Em Up Joe (And Play Walkin The Dog)," John Anderson's "Don't Hand Me No Lines" and breaking out his fiddle again played an old classic "Back Up And Push."  Mr. Countryside himself, Wayne Hoover, who can sing those old country standards with the best of 'em, got the dance floor packed as he sang "Talk To Me," Buck Owens' "Act Naturally," Darrell McCall's "There's Still A Lot Of Love In San Antone," Keith Whitley's "I Wish Hard Living Didn't Come So Easy For Me," Anne Murray's "Could I Have This Dance" (w/Lisa), "Wind Me Up" and Jerry Lee Lewis' " Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On."  At one point during the festivities, Wayne introduced his grand-nephew Frank Roberts who is the spitting image of actor Leonardo Dicaprio.  As a matter of fact, Frank has appeared on the Regis & Kelly show, been to New York & Hollywood several times and recently appeared in Branson for a month as part of the Titanic exhibit (Dicaprio starred in the film version).  Check out the photo below, it's uncanny! 

Bill Rankin's steel guitar work is legendary in this area and tonight he sounded as good as we've ever heard him beginning with an old Bob Wills classic, "Deep Water" and continuing with "Faded Love," "Kentucky Waltz," "Playboy," Bill Mack's "Drinking Champagne," Marty Robbins' "Begging To You" and "Bumming Around."   Lisa Marie Bennett, Billy Dean's wife and the group's drummer showed her great vocal abilities as well tonight as she sang Sara Evans' "Suds In The Bucket," "I've Got A New Heartache" (recorded by Kitty Wells, Ray Price, Webb Pierce and others), Patty Loveless' "Don't Toss Us Away," Lorrie Morgan's "Except For Monday," "Who's She To You?" and "I'm A Walkin, Talkin, Crying, Barely Beatin Broken Heart."  Even the group's super bass player, John Bennett (Billy's brother) showed his vocal talent and got the toes a'tappin with Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock." Tonight's walkons did a spectactular job as well tonight with Charlie Curtis turning the clock back with "Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy" and a song first made famous by Patsy Cline, "If I Could See The World Through The Eyes Of A Child," Elmer Clark's super renditions of Jack Greene's "I Made Her The Image Of Me" and Jim Reeves' "He'll Have To Go" and a bit later Art Damgar gave it his best singing Leroy Van Dyke's "Just Walk On By" and George Morgan's "Candy Kisses."  Wayne Hoover closed out the evening with a great job on Johnny Paycheck's "Eleven Months & 29 Days."  (Below)   top - Some of the great dancers that congregate here every Friday night   bottom - Wayne Hoover (r.) and great nephew Frank Roberts (l.), the spitting image of actor Leonardo Dicaprio

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 August 2010 2:42 PM CDT

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The Grinter Barn was packed tonight as traditional country music lovers gathered to enjoy Sloppy Joe sandwiches and root-beer floats and their favorite tunes courtesy of the Stranger Creek Band and tonight's two great guest artists.  The band, including John Malone on drums, kicked off the evening with "Gordon's Boogie" and Gordon Riley himself, the group's great lead guitar player returned to pick & sing Elvis's "Big Boss Man" before they took off on a great instrumental of "Honky Tonk."  Larry Dean was in extra-fine voice tonight singing a pair of Merle Haggard tunes "Pair Of Blue Eyes In Texas" and "I Had A Beautiful Time.  Later Larry got a big hand as he sang a Ricky Skaggs classic "Hiway 40 Blues," a great bluegrass tune, the Stanley Bros. "Hills Of Roan County," "Back To Louisiana," "Down Deep" and for the young at heart "Old Time Rock & Roll."  Our friend Marvin Bredemeier, who plays fiddle at Annie's Country Jubilee every Saturday night sure got our approval as he began by playing our personal favorite fiddle tune "Ragtime Annie."  Somewhat later, Marvin returned with the old Bob Wills' classic "Milk Cow Blues" and "Maiden's Prayer," one of the prettiest fiddle tunes you will ever hear.

Mary Bichelmeyer also sounded just super tonight singing an old standard "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You," Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," "Bill Bailey" and Highway 101's "Walkin' Talkin' Cryin' Barely Beatin' Broken Heart."  Husband, multi-talented Garry Bichelmeyer sang four of the many songs he has composed, "Northern Star" (beautiful!), Nodaway River (song about the hardships our pioneer ancestors endured), "Would You Catch A Falling Star" and the brand-new "Losing You."  Great job Garry!  Of course, through all of the music we heard tonight we were doubly entertained with the dobro-playing of Fred Uzzell on dobro (he's also a fixture at Annie's Country Jubilee, playing steel guitar & dobro there each Saturday) and Frankie Kay, one of this area's best know steel players who at one time played in Cowboy Copus' band.  But there was also some great solo work from these two as well with Fred beginning with a crowd favorite, "Redwing" then returning with the beautiful "McHattie's Waltz," "Fireball Mail" (one of our favorites) and the pretty "Peach Pickin' Time In Georgia."  Frankie on the other hand played some sweet steel and sang "Sugar Moon" then it was "Boothill Drag" and the "Down & Dirty Blues" with Larry Dean doing the honors on harmonica.  Larry closed this terrific evening with Merle's "Silver Wings."

(Below)  top  Fred Uzzell (l.) & Frankie Kay (r.)  below:  Larry Dean, Garry Bichelmeyer, Marvin Bredemeier & Gordon Riley watch guest artists Fred Uzzell & Frankie Kay perform

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 3:59 PM CDT

Updated: Friday, 20 August 2010 5:36 PM CDT

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Another big crowd, taking advantage of the cooler weather, jam-packed the BK tonight as Gordon Riley, the band's great lead guitar player and the rest of the band including John Malone on drums kicked the night's festivities off with "Gordon's Boogie" and "Won't You Ride In My Little Red Wagon."  After Gordon did a super job singing "Red Necks, White Socks & Blue Ribbon Beer," he and the band returned with the upbeat "Panhandle Rag."  Larry Dean stepped front and center to sing a favorite Johnny Cash tune "The Night Hank Williams Came To Town" and David Allan Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name."  Next up was Marvin Bredemeier, whose legendary fiddling can be heard every Saturday night at Annie's Country Jubilee.  Tonight Marvin chose "Rubber Dolly," "Take Me Back To Tulsa" and "The Waltz You Saved For Me" (with Larry Dean on vocals).  David Purcell got a big hand as he stepped to the mike to sing Willie's "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "A Once In A Lifetime Thing."  Mary Bichelmeyer used her soft voice this evening to sing Hank Sr.'s "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" and "Your Cheating Heart" while multi talented husband Garry Bichelmeyer sang one of his original songs "I'm So Lonesome In The Saddle Since My Horse Died" which has become know fondly as "The Dead Horse Song" and a song he is presently working on, "Losing You."  It was great seeing Art Covey again, listening to him play his mandolin and sing Darrell McCall's "There's Still A Lot Of Love In San Antone" and "Falling Leaves."

Mark Hayden, one of this area's top banjo players joined the gang tonight and was featured on "Down Yonder," "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and "Rollin In My Sweet Baby's Arms" with Gordon, Larry & Marvin doing the vocals.  Jerome Oberle brought along his button accordian this evening and really got the dance floor packed as he played the "Pennslyvania Polka" and the "Beer Barrell Polka."  We were delighted to see that Ron Fine made the trip tonight and he put his awesome vocal talents to work on Elvis' "Now And Then There's A Fool Such As I" and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Little Mountain Church House."  Our friend Mike Hughes also showed what a great singer he is with Eddy Arnold's "Make The World Go Away" and Merle's "Swinging Doors."  Although Annie Little is practically a regular, we never tire of hearing her beautiful voice and tonight she sang "Have You Ever Been Lonely" and a Garry Bichelmeyer tune "I Must Have Been Out Of My Mind."

Tonight's program ended with Larry Dean's beautiful recitation of "Old Barns & People" and Mark Hayden & the band playing "Cripple Creek."  (Below)  l. to r.  Ron Fine, Mike Hughes, Mark Hayden, Jerome Oberle  P.S.  Photo taken with new camera.  Getting somewhat used to it.

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 2:20 PM CDT

Updated: Thursday, 19 August 2010 11:18 PM CDT

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Byron Jones' Northtown Opry tonight featured their first major artist since moving to their new location at 1419 Swift in North Kansas City.  Johnny Rodriguez, the first famous Latin American country music performer who, at his zenith in the 70's & 80's charted six number one country hits and many others which placed high in the standings.  Less than one year after arriving in Nashville with a guitar & $14 in his pocket, with some help from his friend Tom T. Hall, Johnny landed a contract with Mercury records, testifying to his universal appeal.

Tonight's festivities, however started at 8PM (there were two shows this evening, one at 3PM and the later show at 8PM) with Kevin Jones and the Northtown Opry Band featuring Mr. Northtown Opry himself, Byron Jones.  Byron chose an old Buck Owens' tune "Love's Gonna Live Here Again" with Mel Tillis' "New Patches" close behind.  Carl Cook, the group's fiddle player got the blood pumpin' as he fiddled the Texas version of "Cotton Eyed Joe" for the appreciative audience. Chastity Jones lent her beautiful voice to Loretta Lynn's "I'll Need Someone To Hold Me When I Cry," Jan Brown's "You Ain't Down Home," Juice Newton's "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known Is Loving You) and joined father-in-law Byron a bit later for an old Porter/Dolly tune "We're Holding On." Stan Steele, the group's super keyboard player, took his turn behind the mike with the oft-recorded "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On," and the Carl Smith, Mickey Gilley hit "I Overlooked An Orchid" while bass guitarist Mike Bush did a great job with Mel Tillis' "I Ain't Never (Seen Nobody Like You)" and a Marty Robbins' classic "My Woman My Woman My Wife."  Even Darrin Chumbley, the group's drummer showed he is blessed with outstanding vocal abilities as he sang Ray Price's "The Other Woman" and George Strait's "The Chair." Kevin Jones, who is not only the band leader, plays lead and steel guitar but has an awesome voice as well got a big hand from the audience as he sang Waylon's "Stop The World And Let Me Off," Hank Jr.'s "Eleven Roses" and Clint Black's "I'm Leaving Here A Better Man."  Kevin then led the band playing the Buck Owens band's theme song "Buckaroo."  Byron then closed the first half with the invitation "Y'all Come And See Us When You Can."

With the exception of Gary Goss who did a terrific job handling the sound duties and playing keyboard and vocal backup, Johnny Rodriguez was backed by the Northtown Opry band which had to be thrilled to play behind such a country music legend.  We thought they did an outstanding job and Johnny complemented them throughout the evening.  Johnny began his set with 1982's "Foolin'" followed by "Cuando Caliente El Sol (Love Me With All Your Heart)," 1976's "Desparado," "I Wonder If I Ever Said Goodbye" and "We Believe In Happy Endings."  Johnny recalled an evening in the early 70's when  Lefty Frizzell along with Merle & son Marty Haggard, Johnny and others  were attending a DJ convention in Nashville and gathered in a motel room to enjoy some adult beverages (we suppose) and share some songwriting ideas.  Lefty Frizzell was pitching a song to Merle, wanting him to cut it and Merle was most insistent that Lefty should record it because he believed it was a hit.  After haggling back and forth a bit, Johnny spoke up and said if they didn't want to, he would record it.  Lefty Frizzell gave Johnny the song that night and he subsequently recorded it and it became another chart-topper for him.  "That's The Way Love Goes" of course was to be recorded by both Merle & Lefty, but Johnny's was the original.  "If Practice Makes Perfect" preceeded one of Johnny's earliest hits "Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through."

Johnny brought to the stage a very talented young man, a friend of his -- Waylon Henley from Ardmore, OK.  We were very intrigued and although he only performed a couple of original numbers, would like to see more of him.  We thought the first number "If She Was Anyone Else (Anyone Else Would Be Gone)" was cleverly written & performed, but the second left us somewhat amazed - "That's How I Got My Name (My Daddy Played With Waylon)."  Johnny returned with 1975's "Just Get Up And Close The Door," then it was his 1973 self-written blockbuster "Ridin' My Thumb To Mexico" before closing the evening with "We're Over."

We apologize for the lack of good photography this evening.  Our old camera gave up the ghost last week after years of dependable service and we bought a new SLR camera last week and we're afraid we haven't had enough practice to take good pictures as yet.  Below is the only pic we were able to salvage.  Promise things will improve by next show.

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 10:50 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 18 August 2010 10:12 PM CDT

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Tonight's get-together saw the BK filled close to capacity in spite of the soaring temperatures outside.  We arrived a bit late due to problems that postponed us getting away from work, but we understand Larry Dean kicked off tonight's festivities with Billy Jo Shaver's "I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal and Waylon Jennings' "I May Be Used (But I Ain't Used Up."  Gordon Riley, the group's great lead guitar was up next showing his vocal abilities on Hank Thompson's "Six Pack To Go," then it was he and the rest of the band including John Malone, who does such a terrific job each week behind those drums, with a super rendition of "Bells Of St. Mary."   "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier put bow to fiddle tonight to play an upbeat version of the old Mills Bros. hit "Up A Lazy River" followed by the beautiful "Faded Love."  Marvin, of course plays at Annie's Country Jubilee each and every Saturday night.  Multi-talented Garry Bichelmeyer was joined by Larry Dean for a duet of the Soggy Bottom Boys' "In The Jailhouse Now" which got a huge hand from the appreciative audience.  Garry returned to sing the old Kingston Trio mega hit "Tom Dooley," Bobby Bare's "Detroit City" and a tune he wrote not too long ago, "Losing You."   Mary Bichelmeyer, Garry's wife and the group's bass guitarist used her vocal talents tonight to sing Terri Gibbs' "Somebody's Knocking," "You Belong To Me" and Highway 101's "I'm A Walkin, Talkin, Cryin, Barely Beatin Broken Heart."  Our pal David Purcell was in fine voice himself tonight as he treated the folks to Alan Jackson's "Here In The Real World," Merle Haggard's "It's Not Love But It's Not Bad," Waylon & Willie's "Good Hearted Woman" and George Jones' "I Always Get Lucky With You."

Tonight was an extra special night for sure as we suddenly looked up and spotted not one, not two but three great artists who dropped in to share in the festivities tonight.  Arnie Johnson, who has appeared at many of the local oprys and whose band some years ago played dance halls and other venues throughout this area working out of the Lawrence, KS area, was up first and chose a Merle tune, "Branded Man" to start his set.  An old Louvin Bros. tune, "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" was next, followed by "Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle To You."  Arnie returned a bit later with Elvis' "That's All Right Mama," Hank Sr.'s "Your Cheating Heart," and Merle's "Silver Wings."  Larry Smith, who is certainly familiar to opry-goers throughout this region and has been a frequent visitor to the BK displayed his awesome talent next and showing what a Merle Haggard fan he is, began with "Big City" and "Okie From Muskogee" followed by Waylon's "Amanda" and "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down."  Ron Fine, whose vocals take a back seat to no one, stepped front and center to sing B. J. Thomas' "I Love You Most Of All Because You're You" and Ricky Skaggs' "I Wouldn't Change You If I Could" for the appreciative crowd. 

Marvin Bredemeier closed the evening fiddling the "Beaumont Rag."  (Below) l. to r. Arnie Johnson, Ron Fine, Larry Smith

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 11 August 2010 2:57 PM CDT

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What turned out to be a fantastically entertaining evening began tonight without two of the show's regulars, Annie Dunavin herself, who was with her mother in northern Missouri and Jim Winters, Annie's emcee and one of the best male vocalists in these parts who had a conflicting date and was forced to miss tonight's performance.  We thought David George did an admirable job filling in as emcee as well as his other duties as Annie's musical director and lead guitarist and the rest of the gang played and sang a lot of our old favorites as well.

The evening began with "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier, who at one time played fiddle with Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys, playing perhaps the most popular fiddle tune of all time, the "Orange Blossom Special."  Marvin was to return the second half with an old fiddle tune entitled "Flop Eared Mule."  Pretty Ronni Ward, who we just love to hear sing, certainly showed her great versatility here tonight as she sang Highway 101's "Somewhere Tonight," Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good," Dolly Parton's "Rockin' Years," Dottie West's "Paper Mansions," Dolly's "Jolene," Patty Loveless' "Nothing But The Wheel" and Lee Ann Womack's "Never Again Again."  Ronni's husband Ted Ward, the group's bass player showed off his vocals skills as well as he sang T. Graham Brown's "Tell It Like It Used To Be" and a bit later the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' In The Dark."  Anyone who's ever attended a show at Annie's knows what a beautiful voice drummer Steve Straub was blessed with and tonight was a rare opportunity to hear him perform three outstanding numbers, Collin Raye's "Every Second (Every Minute Every Hour Of Every Day)," Merle Haggard's "The Farmer's Daughter" and Ray Stevens' "Misty."  David George turned back the clock a bit as he stepped front and center to sing an old Buck Owens tune "Under Your Spell Again," followed by Marty Robbins' "Devil Woman" and Jerry Reed's "Amos Moses."  Dave was, of course the 2007 flatpicking champion of the state of Kansas and he showed why as he picked a bluegrass medley of "Redhaired Boy/Salt Creek.  David returned the second half to sing Gene Watson's "Got No Reason Now (For Going Home) and another Marty Robbins tune,  "Don't Worry About Me."  Fred Uzzell's triple-decked Remington steel guitar & dobro playing is legendary and tonight he got a big hand from the audience as he played "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "McHattie's Waltz."

We have seen tonight's special guest artist perform at many of the local opry's but always look forward to seeing her again and again.  Vocalist and entertainer  Lorena Prater simply oozes with talent, not only as a supurb singer but is blessed with amazingly creative comedic abilities as well.  Lorena began her first set with Tammy Wynette's "Apartment #9," then it was Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day" and Patsy Cline's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky."  A bit later in the program, there was a stirring in the audience and the spotlight picked up a pregnant lady with duster in hand, trying to stop the proceedings.  Evidently she had been hired by management to clean the place after the show.  As this was being explained to her, she came onstage to explain she was working three jobs now to help support her husband who had been laid up for the last ten years with an infected toe nail.  Not one to complain about her plight though, she let everyone know how she felt as she sang Tammy's "Stand By Your Man."

Not long after the second half of tonight's program had begin, there was another disturbance in the audience, this time an evidently upset, scorned woman who was looking for her husband who had brought another woman to tonight's show ("That's him -- Harry!  The bald one!")  Eventually abandoning the idea of wringing Harry's neck, she proceeded to climb over tier after tier of occupied seats to the stage as the side-splitting audience looked on.  Bertha Mae told her rival that she had something she didn't and was going to audition, no matter what and got everyone's feet a' tappin and fingers a' poppin as she sang "Old Time Rock 'N Roll."  Lorena returned a bit later (as herself) to sing Ronstadt's "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," Martina McBride's "Broken Wing" and Patsy's "Walking After Midnight."  Lorena has three CD's available at the present time, "What This Woman Wants," "Dreamin'" and "The Real Deal."  You can obtain more information on the CD's and Lorena at her website: www.lorenaprater.com

Tonight's show closed with some great gospel tunes:  Steve Straub's beautiful "Thanks To Calvery" and David George's equally delightful "I Know A Man Who Can."  (Below) Ted (l.) and Ronni (r.) Ward pose with guest artist Lorena Prater (c.) backstage

Posted by hawkshaw5 at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 16 August 2010 7:37 PM CDT

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