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NEW SHOW
HEART OF AMERICA MUSIC JAMBOREE
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CONCESSIONS & DOOR PRIZES
Admission $4 Children 12 & under $1
Old Time Country - Bluegrass - Gospel
Host Band - Clinton County Bluegrass
Friday Night Shows - October 19th - December 14th
Doors open - 5:30 PM Shows start - 6:30 PM
No Alcohol or Drugs!!!!
Turney Community Center - H Hwy. - Turney, MO
FOR MORE INFORMATION - DERYLE OR JEAN
816-580-7886
BRAND NEW SHOW
HEART OF AMERICA MUSIC JAMBOREE
Free Admission - Donations Accepted
Old Time Country - Bluegrass-Gospel with Regular Performers - Open Stage Guests
Doors Open - 5:30 PM Show Starts - 6:30 PM
No Alcohol or Drugs!!!
October 20 - October 27 - November 10 - November 24 - December 1 - December 8
Clinton County Youth Bldg.
251 E. 116 Hwy. Plattsburg, MO.
No Electrified Instruments
For more info.: Deryle or Jean 816-580-7886
As we entered the back door of the BK Lounge (or in acuality, the Burger King at 95th & Quivera Rd., Lenexa, KS) we heard the familiar sounds of Larry Dean singing Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried," Willie's "No Reason To Quit" and a song written by friend Garry Bichelmeyer, "Gone Fishin'." There shouldn't be a single doubt in anyone's mind as to Larry's versatility, his extensive knowledge of music and his genuine talent as he later went on to sing "Boot Scootin' Boogie," a couple more Hag numbers: "Walking On The Fighting Side" & "Me And Crippled Soldiers," Billy Walker's "Charlie's Shoes," Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel" and "For The Good Times." Larry got some loud applause for his efforts here tonight and one particularly enthusastic group was introduced, along with their translator, as a group of students from Erfurt, Germany who were enjoying their first taste of country music (and loving it from their reactions). Speaking of Garry Bichelmeyer, he and wife Mary, the group's electric bass player, sang a great duet of "Black Coffee," both returning later: he to sing "Marie" & "Kansas City," she doing "Bill Bailey" and "There He Goes." It's always a pleasure to hear Art Covey play his mandolin and sing and tonight it was two instrumentals, "Golden Slippers" & "Maiden's Prayer" and two vocals, "Fallen Leaves" and "Royal Telephone." Gordon Riley's lead guitar and Lou Moore's drums and the rest of the band played some great instrumentals as well tonight with "Gordon's Boogie #2" and "Banks Of The Ohio" among them.
Among tonight's guests was Mike Hughes whose father Hershel plays lead guitar with Mike Polsgrove's band at the Oregon Opry in Oregon, MO. We've heard Mike's sister Rhonda sing as well and he proved talent runs deep in his family as he sang "Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me," "Your Cheating Heart," "Blue Suede Shoes" and "My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You." We were really surprised to look up and see Connie Henry and her husband Duane. Although they live in Kansas City, KS, Connie sang for many years with Delmar Hatcher's band at the opry in Stewartsville, MO. Tonight she did a bang-up job singing "It Don't Hurt Anymore," "Pass Me By," "Corina Corina" and "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You" while Duane did some interpetive dancing with some of the 'live wires' that inhabit the Lounge each Tuesday. Little Sandy Barnett was on hand tonight to sing "Don't Be Angry," Jimmy Dickens' "I'm Little But I'm Loud" and "Truck Drivin Man" much to the crowd's delight.
It's always a pleasure to see and welcome Larry Smith, one of this area's finest country singers and musicians. Larry recently underwent a hip replacement, but with the aid of a cane, seems to be getting around very well. Larry, along with Mike O'Roark will be appearing at the Big Creek Country Show in Pleasant Hill, MO, this Saturday night. You won't want to miss it. Tonight he sang "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," Eddie Arnold's "Crying Time," Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee," Hag's "Swinging Doors," "Today I Started Loving You Again" and "Folsom Prison Blues" for the exuberant audience. It was a grand time this evening and we were glad Glen Smith (Glen's Opry, now Annie's Country Jubilee in Tonganoxie, KS) could drop in and enjoy it as well. Connie & Duane closed the show with the spiritual "God On The Mountain." (Below) top l. Larry Smith r. Connie Henry & husband Duane bottom l. Sandy Barnett r. Mike Hughes
Annie’s Country Jubilee
4th & Main
Tonganoxie, KS
3:30 pm and 7:30 pm
Ticket Price: $18.00 advance
$20.00 at the door
Call: 1-866-426-6437
In the past whenever we drove the long trek from our homebase in Merriam, KS to Laredo, MO and the Young Country Show, we always drove to Chillicothe via US 36, then took US 65 north to Chula and drove quite a distance on secondary roads to get there. Using our new GPS tracking device today, we discovered another route and drove I-35 to Winston, MO and took US69/MO6 over to Trenton, MO and it was a very short distance into Laredo via E highway. There must be some difference in mileage and driving conditions as we arrived a half-hour earlier than we had anticipated and used a lot less gas!
We always enjoy our visits here, and who wouldn't with the great family atmosphere and this band of incredible musicians. The show started promply at 8 PM and Todd Young who plays bass and emcees the show introduced the Young Country Band: Clitus Meeker, lead guitar- Gene Wyant, rhythm guitar & vocals - Jamie Pauls, keyboards - Rick Phillips, drums - Ann Brock, vocals plus tonight's special guest Teri Henry, keyboards & vocals. Gene Wyant's beautiful tenor voice started the evening off with Vince Gill's "Oklahoma Borderline," then it was George Jones' "Grand Tour," "Luckenbach, Texas," "Kaw-Liga and a great duet with Ann of "Oklahoma Swing." Ann Brock showed her great vocal talents here tonight with Suzy Bogguss' "Someday Soon," the Jo Dee Messina hits "Fool Hearted Man" & "Bye Bye," "He's A Heartache," a George Jones song entitled "Sometimes You Just Can't Win" and a duet with Todd of the David Frazzel/Shelly West smash, "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma." Todd himself is quite a vocalist as well as being the group's bass player. He recalled during the show that the first song he sang from stage was Merle's "Daddy Frank" some 23 years ago. Tonight he also sang "Small Town Saturday Night," Clint Black's "I'm Leaving Here A Better Man" and "Don't Be Angry" to the audience's delight. Clitus Meeker amazes us everytime we hear him play that electric guitar. Tonight, after playing "Nervous Breakdown," he picked and sang "Bony Maroni," "I'm My Own Grandpa" and Jerry Reed's "Lord Mr. Ford (What Have You Done?)" to thunderous applause. Rick Phillips, the group's drummer, showcased his talent doing a great job on "Wipeout!"
Every time we head up this way for a show we think of Jamie Pauls who is an extraordinary musician who plays keyboard and happens to be blind. His is an extra special talent and it showed threefold here tonight with the addition of guest artist Teri Henry. It proved to be quite a combo: twin keyboards and Teri's first-rate vocals. First it was "Bill Bailey," each playing a chorus, setting the twin-keyboard theme, then it was Jamie with an instrumental of the Keith Whitley/Lorrie Morgan song "Till Each Tear Becomes A Rose" and Floyd Cramer's "Last Date." Teri did a lovely job singing Linda Rhonstadt's "Blue Bayou" and "Tennessee Waltz," then it was Jamie with "Wheels" and Teri again with "Blue Moon Of Kentucky." It was a wonderful concept and a lot of fun! As an added surprise, Dean (Pappy) Allnut, 84 years young and a local music legend took the stage and treated everyone to "Truck Driving Man" and "Good Old Mountain Dew." Jamie Pauls closed the show with "Just A Closer Walk With You." (Below) top: l. Teri Henry r. Jamie Pauls bottom: Ann Brock & Todd Young harmonize on "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma"
H.A.B.O.T. or the Heart Of American Bluegrass & Old Time Music club meets every third Friday of the month from September thru April. There is a regular stage show but always a lot of jamming in many of the adjacent rooms as well. There is a snack and beverage bar, a dessert table, prize drawings and always lots and lots of pickers and singers around.
President Byron Jones and the "house band" (Alan Prater (bass), Kenny Coates (banjo), Walt Weigand (guitar), Mike O'Roark (guitar) & Janice Wolebracht (fiddle)) opened the show with "How I'd Love To Be Alone With You" and "Gotta Travel On." Kenny Coates had those banjo strings jumpin' with "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" while Mike O'Roark sang a couple of songs from his new gospel CD, "Road To Gloryland" & "Precious Memories," then a crowd favorite: "Old Shep." After Walt Weigand treated the folks to "Grandfather's Clock," Alan Prater swapped his doghouse bass for a guitar and sang "Meet Me On The Mountain" and "Streets Of Gold" to the crowd's appreciation. We can't for the life of us remember where we've seen and heard Royce King before, but it was sure nice to hear his smooth voice again, singing "House Of Gold" and "Suppertime." We appreciate Mary Edding's hard work at every H.A.B.O.T. meeting and we surely enjoyed hearing her sing "A Daisy A Day" and "Long Black Train" for the folks.
The band portion of the program usually consists of three bands which perform several numbers each and tonight the first of these bands was called CC Bluegrass from Cass County, MO and consisted of five senior gentlemen (Jim Sears, fiddle; Bobby Glenn, banjo; Don Duvall, bass; Joe Wilkerson, guitar & Doug Mathis, mandolin) from that area who sure knew their old time music. Among their selections were: "Just Because," "Home Sweet Home," "Blue Bonnet Land," "Hell Among The Yearlings," "Tennessee," "Take This Hammer," "Love Of The Mountain," "John Henry," "Gold Rush," "Frankie & Johnny" and a great gospel medley: I Saw The Light/Somebody Touch Me/I'll Fly Away." An absolutely great job! The second group of folks to take the stage are called Clinton County Bluegrass, and right away we noticed a lot of familiar faces: none other than Deryle Cline (guitar), Jean Bartee (vocals), Monty Parker (mandolin & Dobro), Alan Prater (bass) & Jeremy Peiter (banjo & fiddle). These folks are incredible musicians & singers and everyone enjoyed hearing "Hit Parade Of Love," "Close By," "Swing That Hammer," "Roving Gambler," "You'll Get No More," "Bluegrass Breakdown," "Till The End Of Time," "Mama's Hand," "Somebody Touched Me" and one of our favorite fiddle/mandolin tunes: "Back Up And Push." The last group of the evening were the Gray Family from St. Joseph, MO and consisted of the dad, Lonnie (guitar), mother Vicki (bass) and daughter Shayla (fiddle & vocals). Although the son couldn't be here tonight, we thought Shayla had a beautiful voice and we enjoyed hearing "Souling," "Moses On The Mountain," "Wayfaring Stranger," "Green Pastures," "Old Suzanna," "Rank Stranger," "Old Crossroads," "Hold To God's Unchanging Hand," & "Wild Moor" among others. This was a great start to hopefully another great H.A.B.O.T. season. See you in October!! (Below) Royce King sings "Suppertime" with the "house band"
We met with Marty Smith for a quick bite at Pegah's Restaurant (75th & Nieman, Shawnee, KS) this afternoon and discussed over lunch his early years and how his musical career evolved. "I was actually born in England," Marty told us, "But moved here to the States when I was about 3 years old, so I really don't remember much other than being an American." I went to school in Arkansas, the Mountain View area and became familiar with the old-style of picking and singing as that was where Grandpa Jones was from and we attended the Ozark Mountain Festival there every year. Although I grew up with this grassroots type of music, in high school I took up rock and roll and it was many years before I would return to it. Finally, I was at a show in Branson with Mom and Dad and I made the remark, "I bet I could do just as good!" They didn't think this was possible of course and I set out that very day to do so."
"By this time we were living in the small town of Cherokee, KS (near Ft. Scott) and I played my first show there at the little theatre in the Spring of 2000. I only knew two songs all the way through, I sang those and when they wanted more, I didn't have any more so had to beg off. I worked on my repertoire after that and soon after met Jack Sanders who asked me to sing at the Ft. Scott Opry. It was quite an adjustment, going from that small theatre in Cherokee to the big stage in Ft. Scott and all those people. But the audience was so nice and enthusastic, that I began to feel right at home there and became a regular. I also became a part of a honky tonk band, 'Lighting Creek' that played in many of the bars and clubs around that area. When that finally fizzled out, I moved to the Kansas City area and one Saturday evening attended Byron Jones' Northtown Opry. I asked him during intermission how I might get an interview or audition and he said 'How about the second half?" And that was my audition, I sang on the second half and I guess I did all right, the people seemed to take to me and I did a lot of work for Byron and still do for that matter. " Today Marty plays most of the oprys in this area, among them Annie's Country Jubilee, Country Pickin Opry, Middle Creek, Nowata (OK) Country Jubilee, Ft. Scott, Old Town Jamboree and many others.
"My mom sang a little church music," Marty told us, "But my dad was tone-deaf, couldn't carry a tune. But he loved country music, even named me after Marty Robbins, his favorite entertainer. My first CD was a tribute to Marty (is still available) and was very well received and my new CD is being mixed as we speak and should be available by Christmas (what a great X-mas present!)." If you haven't heard Marty Smith sing Marty Robbins or Jim Reeves (and many others), you owe it to yourself to give this young man a listen. We understand he is working on a new website www.martysmithcountry.com, which should be up and running before too long. (Below) the uncomparable Marty Smith
It was past 6:30 PM before we were able to get to the Burger King at 95th & Quivera in Lenexa, KS (or the BK Lounge as it is fondly known as) and the jam was already going strong, Larry Dean doing a bang-up job singing the Merle Haggard hit, "Big River." He later sang "I Am A Pilgram," Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee," "Boot Scootin' Boogie," Charlie Daniels' "Long-Haired Country Boy" and "That'll Be All Right," much to the audience's delight. Art Covey played a great mandolin solo with the band on "Redwing," then sang a old Grandpa Jones tune, "Falling Leaves" and "Rebel Soldier." Gordon Riley, Lou Moore and the rest of the band played some great instrumentals tonight, "Ghost Riders In The Sky" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" among them. Mary Bichelmeyer (bass guitar) sang "Walk The Way The Wind Blows," "Satin Sheets" and Barbara Fairchild's "Teddy Bear Song" while husband Garry sang a couple of songs he has written, "Marie" and "Nodaway River." It's always great to see Annie Little and tonight she sang "I Must Have Been Out Of My Mind," "Somewhere Between" and "Jesus Got A Hold Of My Life" beautifully.
It was a neat surprise to see Marty Smith walk through the doors about 8:00 and head for the bandstand. He got the audience worked up to say the least as he sang George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," Marty Robbins' (his speciality) "Don't Worry 'Bout Me," "White Sport Coat" and Travis Tritt's T.R.O.U.B.L.E.. Great stuff! Amanda Brock has sung at many of the local oprys and shows in past years, but has been busy with family and work recently. We were sure glad she was able to stop in tonight and treat us all to some great singing with Anne Murray's "Snowbird," "When You Say Nothing At All," "Before The Next Teardrop Falls," "Daddy's Hands" and Janie Fricke's "I'll Need Someone To Hold Me When I Cry." The band closed with "Good Night Irene." (Below) Amanda Brock with Larry Dean
Thanks to Annie & Terry Dunavin (& cast) for a most enjoyable evening. Every one of the 419 seats (there will be 430 by the time construction is complete, Terry tells us) was filled as Annie welcomed everyone with a robust "Come On In, Sit Right Down And Make Yourself At Home!" Annie, in spite of not feeling 100% (she was in the hospital Thursday) sounded great nonetheless, launching into a couple of Patsy Cline songs ("Crazy Dreams" & "Heartaches"), then later it was "Low And Lonely," "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Always" for a couple in the audience celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary (this was one of my Dad's favorite songs; he was a big band enthusiast).
David George, band director & lead guitar who was recently named the Kansas State Flatpicking Champion, assumed the emcee duties here tonight as Jim Winters had the evening off. David sang Ricky Skaggs' "Heartbroke," then did an awesome job playing "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" and later it was John Conley's "Backside Of Thirty" to the audience's delight. Fred Uzzell not only plays his triple bar steel guitar beautifully, but is quite adept on the dobro and mandolin. Tonight he treated everyone to "September In The Rain" and "Somewhere My Love." Pretty Ronni Ward sang "Cheatin'," "How's The World Treating You," Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Down At The Twist And Shout" and "Long, Long Time" beautifully while husband Ted Ward, the group's bass player, showed his vocal skills with "Only The Lonely." We always enjoy hearing drummer Steve Straub sing as well and tonight he did a dynamite job with Merle Haggard's "Farmer's Daughter" and Jack Greene's "Statue Of A Fool." BTW: Country Music Legend Jack Greene himself will be appearing here at Annie's October 13, 2007 for two great shows - 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM, tickets $18 advance, $20 door. For more information call 1-866-426-6437. We look forward to hearing some great fiddle music from "Mighty" Marvin Bredemeier every time we get out here to Tonganoxie, and Marvin didn't disappoint us tonight as he did such a great job on "Orange Blossom Special" (whew!), "Rubber Dolly" as well as "Redwing" as he helped the band close out the first half. We again saw our former schoolmate Glen Smith, who ran Glen's Opry at this location for many years and Barbara Ackley who publishes the Midwest Country News (the little newspaper which is given away at most oprys in the area), who came down all the way from Des Moines for her first visit. She also has a website: www.midwestcountrynews.com for more information. The July issue features a story about Sarah Getto.
Beth Hunter is not only a singer or a musician, for that matter. She is an extraordinary entertainer to say the least. We have seen her perform here at Annie's several times; even at her own show in Centerville, Iowa and we always leave thinking we can't wait until we get to do this all over again. Her high energy, spontaneous delivery is certainly addictive to say the least. Tonight it was Trisha Yearwood's "She's In Love With The Boy," "You Don't Know Me," "Bumming Around," Patsy Montana's "Cowboy's Sweetheart" (complete with some great yodeling), "Too Many Rivers" and she had the audience in stiches with "Don't Leave Your Records In The Sun" and her signature "Washing Machine Song" which was written by John Hartford of "Gentle On My Mind" fame. Beth always performs at the New Year's show and we're looking forward to that. (Below) the dynamic Beth Hunter - try her website: http://www.nightskyopry.com/
Sarah Getto was born blind and with a severe cleft palate. Despite these severe handicaps, she taught herself to play the piano at age 3 and the fiddle at age 10! Today, she tours throughout the mid and southwest with her parents Mike & Pat Getto, performing at various oprys and variety shows in the area. She is a prolific songwriter, records her own CDs, graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University this year and will begin teaching musical education in her home town of Norman, Oklahoma this coming Monday morning. Additionally, the US government recently contacted Sarah, asking her to perform for some of the wounded troops who will be arriving back from bases in Iraq and Afghanistan! And it's no wonder - who wouldn't be motivated after seeing, hearing and meeting Sarah? Tonight it was Alison Krause's "The Lucky One," her friend Reba McEntire's "Somebody Should Leave," "When I Fall In Love," "Today I Started Loving You Again," Anne Murray's "You Needed Me" and some great boogie woogie piano music. The gospel section tonight featured Beth Hunter singing "Sweet Hour Of Prayer" and Sarah Getto's "God Bless America." The band closed the show with "I'll Fly Away." (Below) Miss Sarah Getto "truly the voice of an angel" (she also has a website: http://www.sarahgetto.com/)
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Sarah Getto will be returning for a special Christmas show, December 22nd. We have heard some of her wonderful Christmas and holiday music. Don't miss it!
ALSO: Next week (Sept. 22nd) at Annie's it will be the Bucky Fowler Family performing and in two weeks (Sept. 29th) the boys from Arkansas, Bart O'Neal and Johnny Hutson will be there.
For more information try Annie's website: http://www.anniescountryjubilee.com/
We have wanted for some time now to get back up to Ravenwood, MO and enjoy Bill & Vicki Walker's Barn Door Opry. This is a fairly long trip for us, so we arranged to take off Saturday as well. We left early, stopping in St. Joe for Miss Jean to buy me a new Stetson hat at the factory outlet in south St. Joe for my birthday (yesterday) and take advantage of that great shrimp special every Friday at Manchester's restaurant on the Belt Highway. It was a pleasant drive from St. Joe, up through Marysville and on to Ravenwood, with the cooler weather and the road resurfacing completed on US 71. We arrived in plenty of time to visit briefly with Bill (emcee) & Vicki (keyboards, vocals), their son Tanner (drums, vocals), sisters Linda Adwell (saxophone) & Melanie Coulter (fiddle), Vance (steel & lead guitar, fiddle, vocals) & Lila (percussion, vocals) Monday and Jim (lead guitar) & Dona (electric bass) Wells.
It's always a pleasure to see Vance & Lila Monday perform. Vance plays just about every instrument imaginable and helped open the show fiddling "Back Up And Push" with the band, then it was the steel guitar ("Steel Guitar Rag" & "Night Sky," the latter written by Vance) and "Walking In Dreamland," a beautiful song which has a real special meaning to him; a duet of "Don't Call Me From A Honky Tonk" with Lila and "Letters Have No Arms" on the lead electric guitar. Lila did a fine job as well with "Hey, Good Lookin'," "Right Or Wrong" and "On My Father's Side." We enjoyed hearing Vicki as well, tickling those ivories and singing "Walk The Way The Wind Blows," "I'll Lose My Mind Before I'm Over You," "Once A Day" and Colin Raye's "Every Second." "Gentleman" Jim Wells did a wonderful job picking "Wheels" & "A Fool Such As I" on his lead guitar as did Linda, playing crowd favorites "Wabash Cannonball" and "Tennessee Waltz" on her saxophone. Melanie always amazes us with her knowledge of old fiddle tunes and tonight was no exception with "Ruby With The Eyes That Sparkle," "Foot Prints In The Snow," "Ragtime Annie." "Mississippi Sawyer" and "Bill Cheatum." Tanner Walker showed his vocal talents on "Long Black Train" and Cash's "Hey Porter" as well as waking up the audience with his own version of "Wipeout!"
Tonight's special guests were Jim McGlasson & his wife Hazel (known as Sugar Bear to the entire civilized world). They are a delightful couple whom we had met sometime ago at the Mosby (MO) Opry. Jim, by the way, sounds so much like Ernest Tubb that it should be illegal. (Just kidding) Of course, he started with an ET classic, "Waltz Across Texas," followed by "Warm Red Wine," "Women Make A Fool Out Of Me," "I Missed You At Tootsie's Last Night," "Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello," Jimmy Rodger's "Waiting For A Train" and "I'll Call You When I'm Running Out Of Blues." Sugar Bear proved to be a crowd pleaser as well with "Jackson Ain't A Very Big Town," "Sweet Thing," "You Must Have Been Out Of Your Mind" and Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."
There were some terrific walk-ons as well tonight: little Solon Rawson showed what a trooper he's going to be as he sang "Waltz Of The Angels" and 90-year young Phyllis Oxley from Bedford, Iowa was on hand to sing "Have You Ever Been Lonely" and "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You" for the appreciative crowd. Howard Miller, also from Bedford, IA contributed "Hello Darlin'," "Just Because," "Juke Box In My Mind" and "Bobby McGee." The show closed with "Will The Circle Be Unbroken." (below) Jim & "Sugar Bear" McGlasson.
