Taking advantage of the moderate weather, we noticed several folks gathered outside the side entrance before the show, enjoying Annie & Terry's beautiful koi pond, watching the fish swim and relaxing. As show time approached, the theatre seemed to fill up fast and by the time the curtains opened, there were very few empty seats to be found. In Annie's absence (she was appearing at a show near Wichita with the Bucky Fowler Family), Jim Winters greeted everyone with "Gonna Have A Party" and then introduced the Jubilee's resident fiddle player, "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier who did a magnifient rendition of the old fiddle tune, "Black Mountain Rag" and he did equally as well when he opened the second half with "Down Yonder." It always amazes us how musical director & lead guitarist David George can pick a guitar the way he does and sing at the same time, he is just amazing. Tonight he sang "Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms," Merle Haggard's "The Fugitive" and later it was a bluegrass tune "How Mountain Girls Can Love." Cute Haylie Walter (she's getting married next month!) loves to sing those old country tunes as much as we enjoy hearing 'em and tonight it was "Farewell, Goodnight," a song written by her friend Leona Williams & Merle Haggard when they were married, "Anyone Ought To Know," "Hinges On The Door" and "I Never Go Around Mirrors."
The "Chairman Of The Board" Fred Uzzell turned his triple-deck Remington steel guitar loose on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Midnight In Old Amarillo" to the audience's complete delight while pretty Ronni Ward did such a great job singing "Blue Side Of Town," "A Fool Such As I," "Hey Mister" and "Kansas City." Husband Ted Ward, the group's bass player, honed his vocal skills with "Honky Tonk Man."
The problem with a tribute to a performer like Conway Twitty is that although his career was cut short by his untimely death, the man still recorded a lot of songs and this in itself makes it difficult to choose which ones to use. We thought Jim Winters did a fabulous job in picking the cream of Conway's material and an incrdible job performing them tonight. Beginning with "Hello Darlin'," it was "You've Never Been This Far Before," Baby's Gone" and if that didn't have the gals all excited, he returned after intermission with "Tight Fittin' Jeans," "I Talked To The Man In The Moon," "Fifteen Years Ago" and "I Love To Lay You Down."
Tonight's guest artist, Duke Mason may only rise 43" above the floor, but he has 9 miles of talent. Hailing from Joplin, MO, Duke has appeared at many local oprys & shows and has toured with Elvis' TCB Band, the Jordanaires and many other artists. Although this was his first appearance here, we predict it certainly won't be his last. From the upbeat "All Shook Up" to the deep resonance of "Treat Me Like A Fool," he sang them all impeccably. "Let Me Be There," "Funny How Time Slips Away," "Teddy Bear," Jim Reeves' "He'll Have To Go," "Promised Land" and Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man." Check out Duke's website @ www.dukemason.com .
As the show neared it's close, David George dedicated to his wife (Mother's Day tomorrow) and sang "Wonderful Tonight" and Duke Mason sang the gospel selection "This Old House." We also want to mention the man who sits behind the drums and keeps everything in rhythm as well as announcing a portion of each show and can sing with the best of 'em -- Steve Straub. If you will scroll down, below the picture, you will find a short interview we had with Steve backstage, after the show. We think you will find it interesting. (Below) Duke Mason & Jim Winters
Steve Staub was born in Kansas City, Kansas and lived in the Turner area, where he attended school through the 8th grade. When he was 8 yrs. old, the Staub family began singing gospel music and by the time he turned 14, they were playing professionally, touring a four-state area just making it back on Mondays in time for school and work. Finally this grueling schedule got to be too much and everyone quit school and their jobs to tour and Steve, from that point on was home-schooled. They began to perfom at school functions, 3 or 4 a day sometimes, touring South Carolina, Georgia & southern states for three months, then Wisconsin, Illinois & northern states for another similar period. They did this for about two and a half years, then began playing show clubs, state and county fairs.
Steve told us one of the things he was most proud of were the two USO tours the family was involved in, bringing enterainment to our men and women in uniform at remote outposts. The first was an Alaskan tour in which the family flew over 22,000 miles to remote areas of that state and the other in Greenland! There was also a 3 month Western Canadian Fair circuit the family performed at. During a rare 3 week stay in Sioux City, Nebraska, Steve met future wife Rita. They dated, fell in love, eventually married and she, too joined the group which now consisted of Steve's mom & dad, brother & his wife, fiddler Mark Walker, Steve & Rita. The group by now was becoming very well known, touring with Marty Robbins, Willy Nelson, Kenny Rogers, The Oak Ridge Boys and many others.
There were two more tours in 1982 and when they came off the road after a tour with Amy Grant, Steve & Rita decided to settle down in Nebraska and raise a family. But after experiencing a winter in which he had to pull a sled back & forth to the grocery store due to the weather, they decided to move back to the Kansas City area, first he in March and she followed in August. Steve, incidently, was not always a drummer. The family decided, at an earlly age, he needed something else to do besides just sing and he literally learned from his brother (who was left-handed) to play while touring, in the back of a bus. Thirty-five years and still going strong!
At any rate, Steve played at several clubs in the KC area but as he doesn't drink, that scene didn't appeal to him. As fate would have it, he just happened to have gone to school with Jim Winters and Glen Smith, who operated the Opry at that time as Glen's Opry was related to Steve, by marriage. It seemed the perfect fit and Steve has been a fixture either behind the drums or center stage behind the mike, for the past 12 seasons - six of those with Annie's. Steve & Rita's son A.J. has become quite the drummer in his own right and both mom and dad are equally proud of their lovely daughter Alexis or "Lexie" as she is called. We found Steve's story fascinating as we are sure you did and although we think Steve is a world-class drummer, we are looking forward to the next time he lowers that mike and does such a fantastic job singing the Jack Greene classic "Statue Of A Fool." (Below) Steve Staub