9/12/10 Since I launched my website on Grandparent's Day, September 12th, I decided to feature on the "Grand New Stage" a tribute song to all the Grandmothers we hold dear in our hearts. I wrote and recorded the song for my own grandmother, Lula Evelyn "Granny" Grooms. I sang this at her memorial service a few years back. I have put together a video montage of the song. So here on opening night of the Grand New Opry, I present....
The
Grand New Opry
Click on the
heart for
The Gran Song
10/21/10 Somewhere around the early sixties, my Dad had some music going on in Beaumont, Texas. I was born there in 1963. He got Dickey Lee and Allen Reynolds to come out there and they were setting trends. During this time my Dad recorded one of the silliest songs ever. I asked him about it the other day. I was curious how he made the record, using the technology from back then. He said that he had done "All of the splicing himself and had hired singers to come in and do their parts and then spliced it all together." He also told me that Steve Allen had his show on TV at the time and had heard the record and thought my Dad did all of the voices himself and wanted him to come perform the song on his show. My Dad told me that Steve was very disappointed when he learned that it was all "Trickery". So for a little laugh and a little insight into the wacky brain of Jack Clement, I give you....My Voice Keeps Changing On Me.
Click on Jack's nose for
My Voice Keeps Changing On Me
5/31/2011 I would like to feature my good friends the FLAT RIVER BAND in the Grand New Opry this week. You know how you hear a band at an event and you can't believe that they are not ALREADY giant mega stars? Well, the FLAT RIVER BAND is THAT band. Don't get me wrong, they have a solid fan base and a large radio following BUT
they SHOULD be getting Grammys and CMA Awards. If you ask me, it is just a matter of time before that happens. Not only are these guys magnificently talented, they are just about the nicest Band of Brothers that you could ever meet. The fact that they are all absolutely adorable, funny and delightful is just the icing on the cake. I recently had some family in from out of town and the FLAT RIVER boys came and picked and sang under the carport for us. They are absolutely as pitch perfect and tight as they sound on their records. Trust me, not everybody can do THAT. One day when you are watching them on some big awards show you can thank me for introducing you to them before the rest of the industry was slick enough to catch on. I love these guys. Personally and musically. They are as good as it gets..... Sidebar: If all that talent wasn't enough..... they are all so stinkin' cute that if you have a pulse, you can't help but do a double take.
Chad Dennijo Andy
Click on this photo to visit their official website and to sample their fantastic music.
Make sure you listen to their beautiful song LOVELY, it's my fave!
Previously Featured Grand New Opry Stars
FEATURED STAR(S)
October, 2012
I would like to introduce you to Trapper Haskins.
For the last few years, my husband and I have hosted a little Hoedown at our house for our Northern friends that come to Nashville to visit. We invite a bunch of friends and pickers and singers and we sit out under the carport and jam and laugh and sing. Pickin' and Singin's in Nashville are commonplace but not so much up North. My Yankee friends love the live music and the southern hospitality. One year, I invited a friend from a nearby city and he asked if he could bring his friend, Trapper, with him. "Why SURE!!" At the last minute my friend was unable to come and asked if it was okay for Trapper to come anyway. "Why SURE!!"
When Trapper arrived, he hugged my neck like he had known me forever, he sat down, took his guitar out of the case and joined in like part of the family. It was like he had been here a thousand times. What a sweetheart of a guy. And friendly and funny to boot. Then he sang. He sang one of his own songs, his way, by himself. You could have heard a pin drop. I was KNOCKED OUT! His voice is so rich and pure and real. You usually don't get all three of those in one voice. We couldn't get enough!!
You know, the reason for the Grand New Opry is to share the talent of people that have somehow fallen under the radar of the major labels and all that jazz. It takes a really great singer to sit down, under the carport, with no band, no echo, no tuning equipment and no mixing board and sing perfectly and bring a tear to everyone's eyes. When you couple that with the fact that the song they just sang, gripped at your heartstrings and stirred memories in your soul, you just can't get that on the radio or the TV.
You really have to experience it to believe it. It's better than ANY recorded music. Plus, you get to be "in the moment" with the person who wrote it.
I wish you could invite Trapper over and just sit around the table and listen to him sing his heartfelt songs with his warm wonderful voice. You would wonder, like we do here at the Grand New Opry, why you had not heard him on the radio and why he was not a big star. Yeah, well, Good Question.
Click on Trapper's picture for a link to his website. There is a song there called WHAT MORE CAN I DO. Listen to it. It's a story about a guy that loves his wife and loves his child and would do anything for them. I've met the guy, he does and he would. Do yourself a favor, become a fan.... Take a stand for the Real Deal. I'm a fan. I've shed the tears to prove it.......
MAY 2013
Pictured here is my dear friend, Kathy Louvin.
Not only is she like a sister to me, she is a brilliant songwriter and great singer. We also share the distinction of both of our Fathers being in the
Country Music
Hall of Fame.
We have decided to collaborate this year on a number of projects. We will keep you posted in the
section.
Look for some exciting things from us, SOON!
In the meantime, though, Kathy has just released a new CD entitled, Time Served.
This is a record of victory. I love this record. I know the painful road that led to the truth that is clear in each lyric. After a long road of recovery and healing, Kathy looked within and found strength and listened to the voice of the Lord encouraging her to make a Joyful Noise. With a message. A strong, clear message of hope and love. The cast of musicians that Kathy put together speak for themselves in every note. A beautiful Gospel, BlueGrass, Americana statement of a record. That's what this is. It will make you stomp your feet and bow your head and sing along. That's what great, profound records do. Click on Kathy's picture to go to iTunes and have a listen. Do yourself a favor..... put this CD in your collection.
I was so inspired by one of the songs on Kathy's CD, TIME SERVED, that I created a video for it. I respect Kathy for her victory story. Her courageous move to put the photos that she chose on the cover of her CD brought tears to my eyes. It is hard sometimes to tell the WHOLE truth. This cover is proof that she was ready and willing to do just that. And then she did it.
Click on the cover above and see for yourself.
