We don't know about anyone else, but we felt extra lucky this eve of 7-7-07 to not only see a wonderful show, but to share a special moment with Dennis & Cindy Dittemore. Larry Ellis, who must know every fiddle tune ever written or close to it, kicked things off with the band playing "Avalanche" and later the beautiful "Charmaine" and "Old Town." He also remarked that you knew you were having a bad day when you came out of a memory improvement class and forgot where you parked your car! Can't argue with that. Kevin Hoff, the group's drummer showed his skills off on "Wipeout" with some help from bass player Jim Doney and the rest of the band. Emcee Dennis Dittemore used his extraordinary vocal talents to sing "Something Tells Me It Must Be Love" and "An Old Flame" then later returned to play "Yakety Sax" on his saxophone in honor of the late Boots Randolph who recently passed away. Debbie Martin, who we recently interviewed (see Friday, July 6th) was tops as she sang Tanya Tucker's "Strong Enough To Bend," "Emma Jean's Guitar" (which has a personal meaning to her and is on her CD) and later sang "I Feel Lucky" for all of us lucky people on this lucky date. Phil Hilton got a big ovation as he showed his prowess on the keyboard with "Little Waltz In C" and "Polonaise" by Chopin.
Cindy Dittemore got a huge ovation from the big crowd for her "In God We Trust" and "Love Sick Blues." Wow, what a voice! Mike Campbell was also on hand tonight with some great 5-string banjo pickin' on Earl Scruggs' "Flint Hills Special" and "Arab Bounce." One of the finest lead guitar players around, Jim Lower showed he has a great voice as well, singing Gene Watson's "14 Carat Mind" then did a super job picking Jerry Reed's "Jerry's Breakdown." Pretty Kim Howard from Lee's Summit was a guest artist tonight and she did a terrific job on Loretta's "You Ain't Woman Enough," "Today I Started Loving You Again," "Two More Bottles Of Wine," and "I'm Doing All Right." But our absolute favorite was "I Will Always Love You." She did a fabulous job on all her songs but this was our personal favorite and whenever we see her we're going to ask her to sing it. Pleasant Hill's own Chad Vaughn was on hand tonight as well to sing some popular selections: Ricky Skagg's "Highway 40 Blues," "Right Or Wrong," Roger Miller's "King Of The Road" and Hag's "Sing Me Back Home." Tonight's other guest artist, Jack Wicker is always a crowd favorite as he sings and tickles those ivories. He always brings back memories and tonight that was true as always as he started with the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace," "How Great Thou Art" and a medley of "White Sport Coat/Blueberry Hill." Jack returned the second half with an upbeat version of "Goodnight Irene," "I Know A Man Who Can" and "I'll Fly Away."
The evening turned out to be even more special as it was revealed that it was Dennis & Cindy Dittemore's 30th wedding anniversary! Debbie Martin, who met them only a couple of months after they were married and has literally been a life-long friend, presented them with a beautiful cake to commemoriate the occasion. Fittingly, the show closed with Debbie, Dennis, Cindy and David Taylor singing the gospel number "The First Day In Heaven." (Below) Debbie Martin with Cindy & Dennis Dittemore and their beautiful anniversary cake.
